Nonlinear Model-Based Operation and Control of Chromatographic Processes

This article presents a novel control strategy for nonlinear chromatographic processes. A generalized run-to-run control (GR2R) approach is developed for the optimization and control of preparative chromatographic processes. Run-to-run control is an operational strategy that handles batch-to-batch variations and gives good performance compared to the cases where operating conditions are maintained at a constant value. Our GR2R approach synergistically employs physical and empirical models to enable the control of chromatographic processes in the presence of sporadic and autocorrelated disturbances. An additional advantage of GR2R is that it can simultaneously find the optimum conditions and control the process at that optimum in the presence of measured disturbances.