Implementation of Internal Model Control (imc) in Continuous Distillation Column

Distillation columns have been widely used in chemical plants for separation process. The high nonlinearity and dynamic behavior of the column make them hard to control. Internal Model Control (IMC) is one of the model based control strategy that have become the central of research to control such column. This paper will review the implementation of IMC in controlling continuous distillation column for the past 28 years. The type of models used as internal models in the IMC is reviewed and highlighted. In addition, the past implementation of IMC weather in simulation based or real application is also reviewed. Based on the review, it is found that many implementations of IMC in the continuous distillation column were based on linear model, using binary components distillation system and tested in the simulation environment. Thus, the implementation of nonlinear based IMC using multi components distillation system is still open for research. Furthermore, the successful of the real time application for such control algorithm also need to be proved.