Monitoring and control of TRUEX processes. Volume 1, The use of sensitivity analysis to determine key process variables and their control bounds.

摘要

The Generic TRUEX Model (GTM) was used to design a flowsheet for the TRUEX solvent extraction process that would be used to determine its instrumentation and control requirements. Sensitivity analyses of the key process variables, namely, the aqueous and organic flow rates, feed compositions, and the number of contactor stages, were carried out to assess their impact on the operation of the TRUEX process. Results of these analyses provide a basis for the selection of an instrument and control system and the eventual implementation of a control algorithm. Volume Two of this report is an evaluation of the instruments available for measuring many of the physical parameters. Equations that model the dynamic behavior of the TRUEX process have been generated. These equations can be used to describe the transient or dynamic behavior of the process for a given flowsheet in accordance with the TRUEX model. Further work will be done with the dynamic model to determine how and how quickly the system responds to various perturbations. The use of perturbation analysis early in the design stage will lead to a robust flowsheet, namely, one that will meet all process goals and allow for wide control bounds. The process time delay, that is, the speed with which the system reaches a new steady state, is an important parameter in monitoring and controlling a process. In the future, instrument selection and point-of-variable measurement, now done using the steady-state results reported here, will be reviewed and modified as necessary based on this dynamic method of analysis.