CONTROL OF A PILOT-SCALE KARR LIQUID-LIQUID-EXTRACTION COLUMN

The Karr column is an apparatus for countercurrent liquid-liquid extra ction equipped with reciprocating perforated plates, This arrangement improves local mass transfer between the organic and aqueous phases. T his system has been reported to be highly nonlinear and potentially di fficult to control: most previous studies have involved SISO control f or this arrangement with some MIMO exceptions. This paper describes an experimental study which included instrumentation of a Karr extractio n column, identification of empirical dynamic models, design of a full matrix (2x2) IMC controller and its implementation on the process usi ng a computer with MATLAB/SIMULINK(R) as the interface.