Nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) of the solvent-based post-combustion CO2 capture process

The flexible operation capability of solvent-based post-combustion capture (PCC) process is vital to efficiently meet the load variation requirement in the integrated upstream power plant. This can be achieved through the deployment of an appropriate control strategy. In this paper, a nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) system was developed and analysed for the solvent-based PCC process. The PCC process was represented as a nonlinear autoregressive with exogenous (NARX) inputs model, which was identified through the forward regression with orthogonal least squares (FROLS) algorithm. The FROLS algorithm allows the selection of an accurate model structure that best describes the dynamics of the process. The simulation results showed that the NMPC gave better performance compared with linear MPC (LMPC) with an improvement of 55.3% and 17.86% for CO2 capture level control under the scenarios considered. NMPC also gave a superior performance for reboiler temperature control with the lowest ISE values. The results from this work will support the development and implementation of NMPC strategy on the PCC process with reduced computational time and burden.