Sequential Linearization Adaptive Control of Solution Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate in a Batch Reactor

A sequential linearization adaptive PI controller was designed to control the temperature of a batch MMA polymerization reactor. Using the mechanistic model of the polymerization, a transfer function was derived to relate the reactor temperature to the power of the heaters. The coefficients of the transfer function were calculated along the selected temperature trajectory by sequential linearization. In addition, a PI adaptive controller was designed, based on an integral type tuning criteria, to track the temperature trajectory. The controller showed an excellent performance and the maximum deviation was about 0.9°C around 90°C. Measurement of the viscosity average molecular weight shows the possibility of molecular weight control.