A PLC-Embedded Implementation of a Modified Takagi–Sugeno–Kang-Based MPC to Control a Pressure Swing Adsorption Process

The paper presents a case study that applies a model predictive control (MPC) approach in a Micro850 programmable logic controller (PLC) to a laboratory pressure swing adsorption (PSA) process used for separating gas mixtures of CO2 and CH4. PLC is an industrial hardware characterized by its robustness to hazardous environments and limited computational capacities, which poses computational challenges for MPC implementation. This paper’s main contribution is the application of the modified Takagi–Sugeno–Kang-based MPC (MTSK-MPC) algorithm to this PSA unit, which provides features to investigate and implement feasible MPC designs in PLCs. The investigation consists of a sensitivity analysis of how some design parameters influence the PLC memory and the MPC implementation and a comparative evaluation of the computational processing from different MPC algorithms and simulations. The comparison comprises software-in-the-loop simulations with three algorithms in the PC: an implicit MPC, an explicit MPC, and the MTSK-MPC. Additionally, it includes a hardware-in-the-loop simulation with the implemented MTSK-MPC in Micro850. The results show that the MPC algorithms achieve close performance, tracking setpoint changes and rejecting output disturbances, with the MTSK-MPC presenting the lower processing time among the MPCs in the PC. The study concludes that the implementation of MTSK-MPC in the Micro850 is feasible.