Abstract
The study carried out in this paper unveils a survey on issues related to modelling problems control strategies of a Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR), a highly nonlinear plant containing numbers of stable and unstable operating points is considered. The issues discussed are categorised into regulation, feedback linearization, flatness, observation and estimation as well as challenges related to equilibrium points concerning CSTR. In this study, the limited capability of a conventional PID controller is discussed based on preliminary description and a dynamic modelling of the nonlinear plant. Moreover, the limitations of the conventional PID is illustrated through a simulation using nonlinear model of CSTR carried out under input constraint and the presence of bounded disturbances. The result shows that a fixed PID will not guarantee consistent performance throughout operating set points. The feedback linearization formalism is presented to prove that only regulation in the neighbourhood of operating point is possible. Non-minimum phase property exhibited by a CSTR is investigated as well. Flatness control is demonstrated as one of the possible linearization control technique achieving the objective of the trajectory tracking.