Modelling and Feedforward Control of Pulsed Bed Adsorption Column for Colorant Removal in Sugar Syrup

In sugar refining, pulsed bed adsorption columns are used to remove colorants in sugar syrup. The pulsed bed adsorption column is a cyclic steady state operation that maximize the adsorbent utilization due to the increased driving force but requires special attention on control and optimization. The modelling and feedforward control of the pulsed bed adsorption columns is investigated in this article. The aim of this research is to develop the mathematical model of pulsed bed adsorption column by using the parameters obtained from breakthrough of fixed bed column and to investigate the optimum cycle time at different colorant concentrations in feed sugar syrup. The analysis showed that the optimum cycle time of pulsed bed adsorption column depended on feed flow rates and the colorant concentrations in feed sugar syrup. As the feed flow rate and colorant concentration increased, the optimum cycle time decreased. The feedforward control successfully compensated the effects of disturbances from colorant concentrations in feed syrup for both step and cosine functions and yielded the sugar syrup that met its specification.