Feedforward and Feedback Control of a Copolymerization Reactor

This paper uses the detailed mathematical model for the solution copolymerization of vinyl acetate and methylmethacrylate in a continuous stirred tank reactor presented previously by Congalidis, Richards, and Ray (2). Kinetic parameters and reactor operating conditions are obtained from the open literature. The model is extended to include equipment to recycle unreacted monomers and solvent. This recycle stream introduces disturbances to the reactor feed, which perturb the polymer properties. A feedforward control strategy is proposed to counter these disturbances and its effectiveness is demonstrated using the model. In addition, the feedback strategy proposed previously by the authors is added to compensate for any unmeasured reactor disturbances.