Multivariable control of «Shell Heavy Oil» fractionator column

Abstract

A Shell Heavy Oil Fractionator (SHOF) is a type of distillation column widely used in oil refineries. It is designed for the separation of heavy crude oil into various components based on differences in their boiling points. This project aims to control a Shell Heavy Oil Fractionator (SHOF), which is characterized by high nonlinear dynamic behavior and strong loop interactions. The Relative Gain Array (RGA) was used to determine the best loop pairing configuration for the system, and the Dynamic Relative Magnitude Array (DRMA) was used to determine the level of interaction. A multivariable control system is designed to control the fractionator using a Proportional-Integral (PI) controller, which is tuned using the Biggest Log Modulus Tuning (BLT) method.