Modifier-adaptation methodology for RTO applied to distillation columns

Optimal process operation is not always guaranteed due to the presence of significant uncertainty about the plant models that are used to make decisions, for example in Real time optimization, and also due to the differences between control architecture layers which operate on different time-scales and use different kind of models. Modifier adaptation is a methodology that achieves optimality despite the presence of uncertainty by using plant measurements. This paper presents the Nested modifier-adaptation methodology applied to the operation of distillation columns and the results obtained are compared with the previous modifier adaptation methodology using dual control optimization.