Implementation procedure of an advanced supervisory and control strategy in the pharmaceutical industry

This paper describes the different steps followed in implementing a temperature controller and a supervisory controller in a Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) system to control a 60 and 160 l reactor in a pharmaceutical factory. These reactors are used to produce the initial quantities of drugs needed to perform clinical tests. The chemical reactions involved are often changed (several times a week). The different steps of the project will be presented:<l type="unord"><li>design of a new heating–cooling system,</li><li>design of the predictive and Supervisory Control Algorithm (SCA),</li><li>connection of the SCA to the SCADA system,</li><li>experimental validation according to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP).</li></l>This SCA has been in daily use as the standard control system for more than 2 years. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]