Control of the Drying Process in Spouted Bed

A short overview of the main caracteristics of a control system applied to drying processes is presented. This includes examining several considerations that must be taken into account during the design of a control system and the associated problems that must be resolved. Special attention is dedicated to analyze the control problems of spouted bed dryers. The performances of different control configurations such as a self-tuning PID, supervisory and optimizing controllers are discussed and their advances and drawbacks examine. In today’s competitive market, technology plays an important rule allowing the implementation of advance control structures, improving the quality of the dried products and simultaneously saving energy.

Keywords: PID controller, supervisory controller, controller design, optimizing controller, pressure sensor.