Computer monitoring of a mini-refinery.

A laboratory-scale pilot plant is under construction so that problems involved in computer control of vegetable oil processing can be studied. Unit operations planned for this mini-refinery are continuous alkali-refining, bleaching, hydrogenating, and deodorizing. The alkali-refining step, similar to the Swedish 'Zenith' process, is already in operation. Transducers for oil color, sodium content, and free fatty acid concentration have been constructed; both crude and refined oils are being analyzed. Provision has been made to perform the same analyses at later stages of processing on the bleached, hydrogenated, and deodorized oils. Under Phase I of implementing computer control, electronic signals from the analytical transducers are sent to the computer via appropriate interfacing hardware, and results are returned to the operator via Teletype. Phase II will involve monitoring by the computer but with decision making and instructions to an operator, and Phase III will involve 'closing the loop,' that is, having the computer directly control the process. Development of transducers, software and hardware such as is described here for the mini-refinery, should facilitate subsequent implementation of computer control on a plant scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]