Foreword and Endorsements

As plants are pushed beyond nameplate, it is increasingly obvious that the importance of process control has grown to the point where it is the single biggest leverage point for increasing manufacturing capacity and efficiency. The process engineer, who is best posed to use his process knowledge for getting the most from better control, typically has had just a single course in control. Furthermore, the approach was based on theory rather than on practice, and was immersed in the frequency domain. Real processes are diverse and complex and the view into their behavior is by means of real time trend recordings. This book provides a building block real time approach to understanding and improving process control systems. Practical examples and workshops using models drive home the points and make the principles much more accessible and applicable.

—Gregory K. McMillan, Principal Consultant, CDI Process & Industrial, Emerson

At the undergraduate chemical engineering level, the traditional, highly mathematical approach misses the point of what knowledge of control and dynamics the practicing process engineer requires. If BS graduates in chemical engineering simply understood the basics of time based process dynamics and control (capacitance, dead time, PID control action and controller tuning, inventory, throughput, and distillation control), the impact on process design and plant operations throughout the CPI would be immense. Today, these skills are among the least developed in BS chemical engineering graduates, despite having taken the requisite traditional process control course. This text is particularly suitable for any college, university, or technical training program seeking to provide its graduates with a truly practical and applied background in process dynamics and control. With today's widespread commercial availability of high fidelity process simulation software, the understanding gained from this text can be immediately and directly applied.

—Thomas C. Hanson, Senior Process Modeling and Advanced Process Control Specialist, Praxair, Inc.

Several years ago, a recruiter from a major chemical company told me that his company was hesitant to interview students that indicated a first preference in the area of process control because his company ‘did not have any jobs that made use of Laplace transforms and frequency domain skills’. This was an excellent example of the mismatch between what is frequently taught in universities, and what often gets applied in industry. After teaching chemical process control for over 30 years, I feel strongly that good process control is synonymous with good chemical engineering. Industry would be well served if all chemical engineering graduates, regardless of career paths, had a better, more practical working knowledge of process dynamics and control. I think the approach taken in this text is right on target, and is consistent with how we teach at the University of Tennessee. It provides a good hands-on feel for process dynamics and process control, but more importantly, it presents these concepts as fundamentals of chemical engineering. For undergraduate programs looking to transition away from the traditional mathematical-based approach to a more applied, hands-on approach, this text will be an invaluable aid.

—Charles F. Moore, Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Tennessee

What BS degree chemical engineers need is a base level understanding of differential equations, process dynamics, dynamic modeling of the basic unit operations (in the time domain), basic control algorithms (such as PID), cascade structures and feed forward structures. With these basic tools and an understanding of how to apply them, they can solve most of their control problems themselves. What they do not need is the theory and mathematics that usually surround the teaching of process control such as frequency domain analysis. Graduate education in process control is the place to introduce these concepts.

—James J. Downs, Senior Engineering Associate, Eastman Chemical Company

The control engineering profession has produced shelves of books. For the most part they have been written to support academic courses and are authored by lecturers who teach the subject using theory not relevant to the process industry and mathematics that most students find daunting. This book belongs on the shelf labelled ‘Process Control for Process Engineers’. It is one of a hopefully growing collection written by authors who recognize that the practical application of control techniques in the process industry is a quite different subject.

   The money invested in process control by the process industry has grown substantially over the last few decades. Now around a quarter of the construction cost of a modern plant is associated with its control and optimization. The industry needs professionals that properly understand the technology and what it can achieve. But highly theoretical courses dissuade most process engineering graduates from entering the control engineering profession. Those that do find rewarding that they can have an almost immediate impact on process performance.

   This book provides a valuable introduction. It will help students appreciate the true nature of the subject and enable them to make an informed decision about whether to follow it in depth.

—Myke King, Director WhiteHouse Consulting, England