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Biodiesel Production from Waste Cooking Oil:

Plant-Wide Control System Design using
Integrated Framework Approach

Conference Paper May 2014

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 Biodiesel Production from Waste Cooking Oil: Plant-Wide Control
System Design using Integrated Framework Approach
Dipesh S. Patle, Ahmad Z., and Gade Pandu Rangaiah

oil (WCO) or crude oil, where esterification should be carried

Abstract Control system design for a complete plant with

overall control perspective, is referred to as plant-wide control out to convert FFAs, which otherwise may lead to
(PWC). Methodologies for this are of vital importance for safe, saponification. We develop PWC of a complete biodiesel
smooth and economical operation of plants. Increasing material plant including esterification and trans-esterification of WCO.
recycles, energy integrations, product purity requirements and This brings down the cost of biodiesel production and also
environmental regulations pose tough challenges to the smooth promotes sustainability as the process uses WCO.
and stable plant operation. In this article, PWC structure is
developed for a complete biodiesel plant using waste cooking oil The next section presents the design and optimization of
as the raw material. Firstly, two process alternatives are the biodiesel process. Section 3 describes the application
developed and optimized for two objectives using the elitist non- PWC methodology to the chosen process alternative. Section
dominated sorting genetic algorithm. Then, the better process is 4 discusses the performance of the control structure in terms
determined based on economic and environmental objectives. of settling time and deviation from production target (DPT),
Later, PWC system is developed, based on an integrated defined in the Appendix. Finally, the article is concluded by
framework of heuristics and simulation (IF), for the chosen outlining the conclusions.
process. This method makes effective use of rigorous process
simulators and heuristics to aid in decision making while II. DESIGN AND OPTIMIZATION OF ALTERNATIVE PROCESSES
developing a PWC structure. Also, it is simple to apply with
For this study, biodiesel plant capacity is assumed to be
minimal computations other than process simulation.
Performance of the developed control system is investigated in
120,000 metric tons per annum, based on potential WCO in
terms of settling time and deviation from the production target Malaysia. Both steady-state and dynamic simulations of the
(DPT). The proposed PWC structure is found to be stable and biodiesel process are developed using Aspen Plus V8.0 and
robust in the presence of several expected disturbances. Aspen Plus Dynamics V8.0 respectively. The property model
used for these simulations is Dortmund modified UNIFAC.
I. INTRODUCTION Unlike most previous papers, the present study considers
Many plant-wide control (PWC) methodologies have been detailed components of palm oil and more realistic kinetics
developed and implemented in several industrial processes [1- that includes mono- and di-glycerides formation;
7]. Broadly, these methodologies can be classified into esterification and trans-esterification are represented by 10
heuristics, optimization, mathematical, and mixed approaches [13] and 96 reactions [14], respectively. Details of the oil
[8]. Unlike relatively recent methodologies such as integrated constituents can be found in [14]. Composition of oil given in
framework of heuristics and simulation (IF) [2,3,8] and [14] is adjusted to include 6% FFAs. Two process alternatives
economic plantwide control [9-11], earlier methodologies do for biodiesel production from WCO, are simulated and then
not make effective use of rigorous process simulators when optimized for two objectives using the elitist non-dominated
developing a control system. IF methodology is easy to apply sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II), implemented in MS
and involves minimal computations other than process Excel using VBA. Both the process alternatives use alkali
simulation using a commercial simulator. Although PWC of catalyzed trans-esterification, which is more efficient and also
industrial processes have been widely studied, PWC of a used in industry (www.platinumgroup.com.my and
complete biodiesel process using waste cooking oil (WCO) is www.lurgi.com/website/biodiesel.57.0.html?&L=1). Process
hardly found in the literature. Recently, Zhang et al. [12] 1 is based on the process flow sheet in Sharma and Rangaiah
developed PWC for the biodiesel process, which uses pure [15], where methanol removal is followed by water washing.
vegetable oil, and so they did not include esterification Process 2 is based on the process flow sheet presented by
section required for feed with free fatty acids (FFAs). Morais et al. [16], where water washing is followed by
Availability and high cost of pure oil limit its use for biodiesel separation of products. To make these two alternatives
production. So, this study focuses on the use of waste cooking comparable, some modifications are made. The two
optimized processes are compared for both economic and
environmental merits such as maximum profit, minimum heat
*Research supported by USM Malaysia duty and minimum organic waste. This comparison suggests
(RU grant 1001/PJKIMIA/814155). that process 1 is better than process 2 in terms of both higher
D. S. Patle is with School of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Sains
Malaysia, 14300, Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia (e-mail:
profit and lower environmental impact. Hence, process 1 is
[email protected]). chosen for PWC study. The optimal values of process
Ahmad Z is with School of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Sains parameters, such as reactor temperatures, residence times and
Malaysia, 14300, Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. (corresponding feed tray of distillation columns, are determined.
author: 604-599-6401; fax: 604-594-1013; e-mail: [email protected]).
G. P. Rangaiah is with Department of Chemical & Biomolecular
Engineering, National University of Singapore, Engineering Drive 4,
Singapore, 117585 (e-mail: [email protected]).

231
 III. PWC BASED ON INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK tuned based on the guidelines in [19]; other controllers are
tuned using Autotuning tools in Aspen Plus Dynamics. Some
PWC system is designed using IF methodology proposed of the controllers are fine-tuned in the later stage. Controllers
by Konda et al. [17]. This multi-hierarchical methodology has having time lags are tuned using closed-loop tuning method.
eight levels, where steady-state and dynamic model of the Tyreus-Luyben criteria are used to determine the tuning
plant are used along with heuristics to make the decisions on parameters for such control loops. Controllers having no time
control system design. In addition, control decisions based on lags are tuned using the open-loop tuning method; Cohen-
heuristics are also validated using dynamic simulations. Each Coon method is used to determine their tuning parameters.
level is briefly described as follows.
E. Level 3.1: Product Rate Manipulator Selection
A. Level 1.1: Define PWC Objectives
This step deals with the identification of primary process
In the first step, PWC objectives are defined. Note that path from the main raw material to the main product. As the
different objectives may lead to different control structures. reactor conditions are fixed by optimization, these should not
Typically, these objectives include product rate, product be used as throughput manipulators (TPM). Steady-state
quality, process/equipment constraints, stable control and simulation can be used to identify other options. Based on the
environmental constraints. For present plant, PWC objectives steady-state gain obtained from steady-state simulations, feed
are: 1) constant production rate at normal operation with oil flow rate is identified as the next best choice for TPM.
quick and smooth performance for throughput changes, 2)
product purity (bio-diesel > 99% as per EN 14214 standards F. Level 3.2: Product Quality Manipulator Selection
and glycerol > 95%), 3) maintaining reboiler temperature of Product purity is one of the important controlled variables
biodiesel processing distillation column below 250oC and for the biodiesel plants as the main product i.e. biodiesel
glycerol processing distillation column below 150oC, and 4) should meet EN 14214 standards. Hence, biodiesel purity and
maintaining methanol to oil ratio (6:1 molar ratio at normal impurity levels, such as tri-, di-, mono-glycerides in the final
condition) and methanol split fraction (RTRANS1: product should be monitored. Although impurities are found
RTRANS2: RTRANS3= 0.77:0.12:0.11, at normal condition) to be below the permissible limit for all disturbances, tri-
to achieve the EN standards for biodiesel. glyceride content in the final product is found to be sensitive.
B. Level 1.2: Determine Control Degree of Freedom Hence, reaction conditions are maintained to consume almost
(CDOF) all oil. Consequently, methanol ratio is decided in the ratio
controllers RC100 and RC200 through the cascade loop to
Konda et al. [18] proposed the restraining number method maintain FFAs and tri-glyceride impurity in the final product
to determine CDOF. It uses unit operations in the process below the permissible limit. Methanol content in the final
flow sheet (without any valves) to determine CDOF. Using product is controlled by manipulating the wash water flow
this method, CDOF for the biodiesel plant is found to be 83. rate. Glycerol purity also has to be maintained at its desired
This large number of CDOF is due to many unit operations value. For this, a cascade loop is implemented to manipulate
and streams involved in the process (see Fig. 1). the reboiler duty of FRAC-4. An additional constraint also
has to be satisfied as the reboiler temperature should not
C. Level 2.1: Identify and Analyze Plant-wide Disturbances increase beyond 150oC to avoid glycerol decomposition.
Informed understanding of possible disturbances in the
process has a favorable effect on the control scheme G. Level 4.1: Selection of Manipulators for More Severe
development and controller tuning. The steady-state Controlled Variables
simulator is used to try and test the effect of anticipated This step deals with process constraints related to
disturbance. It is observed that 10% change in WCO leads equipments, operation, safety, environment and stability. The
to nearly 10% variation in the recycle streams and product important constraints in the biodiesel process are as follows.
flow rates. Table I shows the anticipated disturbances having 1) Reboiler temperatures, TFRAC-1 and TFRAC-4 150oC, and
considerable effect on the biodiesel plant. Impurities are TFRAC-2 and TFRAC-3 250oC: these temperatures are allowed to
found to be under control for all disturbances. vary within acceptable limits. However, the controller
becomes active when the reboiler temperature reaches the
TABLE I. ANTICIPATED DISTURBANCES IN THE BIO-DIESEL PROCESS limit, which is given as the remote set point for the respective
controller. 2) Methanol to FFA and Methanol to tri-, di-,
No. Disturbance Magnitude mono-glycerides ratios: fresh methanol is manipulated to
D1 Feed oil flow rate +10%
maintain the required methanol ratio in RC100 and RC200.
D2 -10% Similarly, ratio controllers, RC101 and RC201 are also
D3 Catalyst deactivation (pre- -10% (RTRANS1,
exponential factor of reactions RTRANS2 and
implemented to maintain the ratio of sodium hydroxide and
converting tri-glycerides to RTRANS3) sulfuric acid. 3) Methanol split ratios for the CSTRs: these are
biodiesel) maintained using controllers SP200 and SP201. 4) CSTR
D4 Dual disturbances +5 % Feed oil flow rate temperatures: optimal values given by optimization have to be
and D3 maintained. The reactor duty of each CSTR is manipulated to
D5 Dual disturbances D2 and D3 control the respective reactor temperature.
H. Level 4.2: Selection of Manipulators for less Severe
D. Level 2.2: Set Performance and Tuning Criteria Controlled Variables
In this step, settling time is chosen as the performance
criteria. At this stage, flow, level, and pressure controllers are

232
 This step, in particular, deals with level and pressure integrating. Although P-only controller is enough to
controllers. A proper level control is required as level is often

MEOH V-1 RC100 PC101

PC100 V-4
H2SO4 FRAC-2
V-2 LC103 FRAC-2-1
N2-IN V-49 1
RC101 N2-OUT
V-50
TC101
P-3
OIL 10
V-14 H-1 P-1 P-5
LC104
RFFA TC100
V-42
FC100 RFFA1
PC102
LC105
V-8
LC100
1
LC101 V-3
GLY-IN V-5 FRAC-1
P-4 H-2
W-1-1 V-6 FRAC-1-1
W-1 LC102
6 TC102

W-1-2 FRAC-1-2
V-7 P-6-1
FC101 ME-WAT-1 P-6
V-12 S-1-1 V-9
LC106
V-10 R-CAO-1
PC103

LC108 V-11 S-1 CAO

F-1 R-CAO V-15
LC107
GLY-2
F-1-2
CASO4 pH100
V-13
P-7
PC200
N2-OUT
V-43 CC200
N2-IN V-44

LC213

V-16 LC200 WATER

V-38 BIO-D
RTRANS1 V-39
R-1
V-20
LC202 LC201
V-46 N2-OUT WASH-2 V-40 WASTE
D-1-1 TC200
D-1-2 (organic)
V-19
D-1 PC201
V-17 N2-IN V-45 V-51 LC214

V-23 V-21
SP200
R-2 RTRANS2
LC205 S-2
LC204
LC203 NA3PO4
D-2 TC201
SP201
D-2-2
V-18 N2-OUT
PC203 D-2-1 V-24
PC202
V-48 V-22
V-37
pH201
LC207
N2-IN LC212

1 V-36 H3PO4
ME-WAT-2
V-47
P-8 RTRANS3
FRAC-4 V-29 R-CAT-1
LC206
10 H3PO4-2 TC202 R-CAT
V-25 V-35
V-26 PC204 P-12
LC208

FRAC-4-2 R-3

V-30
P-11 R-CAT2 pH200
H-3 H-4
TC203
1
LC209 FRAC-3-1
R-CAT2-1 FRAC-3
V-32
V-41 LC211
V-27 V-34
GLY-OUT P-9 11
P-10 NAOH
LC210
FRAC-3-2
S-3 V-33 MEOH-2
NA3PO4-2 RC201
V-31 TC204

RC200

Figure 1. PWC scheme designed for the biodiesel plant using waste cooking oil as the raw material.

233
 TABLE II. CONTROL STRUCTURE OBTAINED AND CONTROLLER PARAMETERS FOR THE BIODIESEL PLANT

Manipulated variable [valve number Parameters: Kc

Controller Controlled variable (%/%), i (min)
shown refers to the valves in Fig. 1]
Esterification Section (21 controllers)
FC100 Bio-diesel production rate Inlet oil flow (TPM) [V-14] 0.5; 0.3
FC101 Glycerol flow Inlet glycerol flow [V-5] 0.5; 0.3
RC100 Methanol to FFAs ratio {remote set point based on composition Fresh methanol flow [V-1] 0.5; 0.3
of FFAs in stream BIO-D}
RC101 Sulfuric acid to FFAs ratio Inlet sulfuric acid flow [V-2] 0.5; 0.3
PC100 Pressure in RFFA Outlet N2 flow [V-50] 20; 10
PC101 Condenser pressure in FRAC-2 Condenser duty in Frac-2 20; 12
PC102 Condenser pressure in FRAC-1 Condenser duty in Frac-1 20; 12
PC103 Pressure in F-1 Vapor flow rate [V-12] 20; 12
TC100 Temperature in RFFA Heat duty in RFFA 4.6; 9.24
TC101 Reboiler temperature in FRAC -2 {remote set point} Reboiler duty in FRAC-2 2.9; 9.24
TC102 Reboiler temperature in FRAC-1 {remote set point} Reboiler duty in FRAC-1 22.94; 2.64
LC100 Level in RFFA Liquid outlet flow [V-42] 10; 60
LC101 Light phase level in W-1 Light phase outlet flow [V-6] 10; 60
LC102 Heavy phase level in W-1 Heavy phase flow [V-7] 10; 60
LC103 Reflux drum level in FRAC-2 Distillate flow [V-4] 2; 20
LC104 Reboiler level in FRAC-2 Bottoms flow [V-8] 2; 20
LC105 Reflux drum level in FRAC-1 Distillate flow [V-3] 2; 20
LC106 Reboiler level in FRAC-1 Bottoms flow [V-9] 2; 20
LC107 Level in R-CAO Liquid outlet flow [V-10] 10; 60
LC108 Level in F-1 Liquid outlet flow [V-13] 10; 60
pH100 pH of stream R-CAO-1 Inlet calcium oxide flow [V-15] 1; 20
Trans-esterification Section (32 controllers)
RC200 Methanol to (TG+DG+MG) ratio {remote set point based on Fresh methanol flow [V-33] 0.5; 0.3
composition of TG in stream BIO-D}
RC201 Sodium hydroxide to (TG+DG+MG) ratio Inlet sodium hydroxide acid flow [V-2] 0.5; 0.3
PC200 Pressure in RTRANS1 Outlet N2 flow [V-44] 20; 12
PC201 Pressure in RTRANS2 Outlet N2 flow [V-46] 20; 12
PC202 Pressure in RTRANS3 Outlet N2 flow [V-48] 20; 12
PC203 Condenser pressure in FRAC-4 Condenser duty in FRAC-4 20; 12
PC204 Condenser pressure in FRAC-3 Condenser duty in FRAC-3 20; 12
TC200 Temperature in RTRANS1 Heat duty in RTRANS1 31.47; 17.92
TC201 Temperature in RTRANS2 Heat duty in RTRANS2 34.8; 13.96
TC202 Temperature in RTRANS3 Heat duty in RTRANS3 30.8; 15.28
TC203 Reboiler temperature in FRAC-4 {remote set point based on Reboiler duty in FRAC-4 1.4; 7.92
composition of glycerol in stream GLYC-OUT}
TC204 Reboiler temperature in FRAC-3 {remote set point} Reboiler duty in FRAC-3 3.63; 7.92
LC200 Level in RTRANS1 Liquid outlet flow [V-16] 10; 60
LC201 Light phase level in D-1 Light phase outlet flow [V-19] 34.42; 60
LC202 Heavy phase level in D-1 Heavy phase flow [V-17] 10; 60
LC203 Level in RTRANS2 Liquid outlet flow [V-23] 81.14; 60
LC204 Light phase level in D-2 Light phase outlet flow [V-24] 26.58; 60
LC205 Heavy phase level in D-2 Heavy phase flow [V-18] 10; 60
LC206 Level in RTRANS3 Liquid outlet flow [V-25] 146.74; 60
LC207 Reflux drum level in FRAC-4 Distillate flow [V-29] 2; 20
LC208 Reboiler level in FRAC-4 Bottoms flow [V-30] 2; 20
LC209 Level in R-CAT2 Liquid outlet flow [V-27] 10; 60
LC210 Reflux drum level in FRAC-3 Distillate flow [V-31] 2; 20
LC211 Reboiler level in FRAC-3 Bottoms flow [V-32] 2; 20
LC212 Level in R-CAT Liquid outlet flow [V-37] 10; 60
LC213 Light phase level in WASH-2 Light phase outlet flow [V-39] 10; 60
LC214 Heavy phase level in WASH-2 Heavy phase flow [V-40] 10; 60
pH200 pH of stream R-CAT2-1 Inlet phosphoric acid flow [V-26] 0.5; 0.3
pH201 pH of stream R-CAT-1 Inlet phosphoric acid flow [V-36] 1; 20
CC200 Methanol composition in stream BIO-D (active only when the Wash water flow rate [V-38] 0.5; 0.3
limit is exceeded)
SP200 Methanol split ratio to RTRANS1 Methanol flow rate to RTRANS1 [V-20] 7.01; 0.59
SP201 Methanol split ratio to RTRANS2 Methanol flow rate to RTRANS1 [V-21] 1.91; 0.59

234
obtain satisfactory performance, PI controller is implemented affecting these such as temperature, pressure and methanol to
to obtain tight control. Based on heuristics, inventory should oil ratio in CSTRs, are already taken care in the previous
be controlled in the direction of flow. Therefore in all steps. Also, note that the change in the WCO flow rate leads
distillation columns, level in reflux drum and in reboiler is to proportionate variation in the recycle streams, as found in
controlled using distillate flow and bottoms flow respectively. level 2.1. To conclude, the effects of integration are not
Also, liquid levels in CSTRs and phase separators are severe, and hence no modification is warranted in the control
controlled using liquid outlets as shown Fig.1. The pressure scheme.
in CSTRs is maintained by manipulating the inert gas outlet
flow. The pressure in all distillation columns is controlled L. Level 8.0: Enhance Control System Performance with
using respective condenser duty as suggested by heuristics; Remaining CDOF
these are also verified using dynamics simulations.
If required, remaining CDOFs can further be used to
I. Level 5.0: Control of Unit Operations enhance the control structure performance. As the developed
Control of individual unit operations is dealt with in this control structure is adequate, no further improvement is
step. Basic control of the most common processes is well required. The obtained control structure by the above IF
established as given in [19]. All level and pressure control methodology is presented in Fig. 1. Table II presents all the
loops are already decided in the previous steps. Temperature controllers and their tuning parameters. The percentage
control of CSTRs and distillation columns is also taken care opening of control valves for the base case operation is about
of in the level 4.2. Overall, unit-wise inventory is observed to 50%. However, as this model is based on pressure-flow solver
be well regulated; hence, no more control loops are (i.e. pressure driven simulation), where pressure depends on
implemented. In addition to the level control in the upstream conditions, valve opening may marginally deviate
neutralization reactors, pH of outlet stream is controlled using from the design opening, as was found in [12].
inlet calcium oxide in R-CAO and using inlet phosphoric acid IV. EVALUATION OF CONTROL SYSTEM
in both R-CAT and R-CAT2.
PWC based on IF is developed and successfully
J. Level 6.0: Check Component Material Balance implemented in the biodiesel plant, as shown in Fig. 1. Plant
It is necessary to ensure that the component inventory is performance is tested for the disturbances D1 to D5 (Table I).
well regulated. Plant-wide accumulation of all components It is quantified in terms of settling time (i.e. time required for
should be calculated and observed. If required, unit-wise the production rate to reach within 1% of the target) and
accumulation can be determined to investigate if further absolute DPT, as described by Vasudevan and Rangaiah [20].
improvements are required. Component balances are Initially, the plant is allowed to run for 5 h, after which the
therefore checked to ensure minimal accumulation. disturbances are introduced, one at a time. Table III shows the
Negligible accumulation suggests that the inventory is well results for the disturbances D1 to D5. For this plant having
regulated. capacity of 120,000 tons per annum, the settling time for all
disturbances is about 10 h, which is in line with the settling
K. Level 7.0: Effects of Integration
time of about 10-20 h for the biodiesel plant having the
The dynamics of the process should be studied for the approximate capacity of 200,000 tons per annum [12].
anticipated disturbances, both with and without recycles Disturbance D3 has a very small DPT as -10% change is
closed. It is done by observing (i) the overall accumulation introduced only in the pre-exponential factor of reactions
profile of WCO in a complete plant, (ii) dynamics of process converting tri-glycerides to biodiesel. DPT can be expected to
and (iii) effect on important process parameters such as be larger if the change is made in all reactions producing
conversion, production rate etc. Fig. 2 shows that the biodiesel. DPT for other disturbances is comparable (Table
accumulation is relatively more when there is recycle. III).

TABLE III. PERFORMANCE OF PWC DESIGNED BY IF METHODOLOGY

0.00
Accumulation (kmol/h)

Performance based on
No.
without recycle Settling time (h) DPT (kg)
with recycle
-0.01 D1 9.1 1643.6

D2 10.1 1614.5

-0.02 D3 9.2 21.43

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 D4 9.3 1662.7
Times (h) D5 10.5 1984.8
Figure 2. WCO accumulation due to disturbance D1, with and without
recycle.
Fig. 3 depicts the accumulation of oil in the presence of
No significant change is noticed in terms of settling time of disturbances D1 and D2. For brevity, the accumulation of
biodiesel flow rate, which suggests that plant dynamics are only WCO is observed and shown. If required, accumulation
not significantly affected. Conversion and product flow rate for the complete plant as well as for individual unit operations
are not affected after closing the recycles as the parameters can be monitored to check if any inventory loop has been left
out. Fig. 3 clearly shows that the accumulation of WCO

235
 reaches to zero after certain amount of time. TG impurity in system. Vasudevan and Rangaiah [20] defined DPT as:
biodiesel due to the disturbances D4 and D5 is shown in Fig.
4. TG impurity is observed to be below its permissible limit ( )
as per the EN standards even though a small rise is observed
for the increased flow rate of WCO. Additionally, the control
scheme is found to provide satisfactory performance for -20% Here, PA is actual production rate, PT is production target and
change in WCO; these are not shown here for brevity. ts is settling time.
Overall, the plant is stable and performing well under the
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DPT: DPT is an indirect economic measure in terms of
production rate. Smaller is the DPT, better is the control

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