Question: A blending process, shown in Figure Q2.7, mixes component A into a stream. The objective is to maximize the amount of A in the stream without exceeding the upper limit of the concentration of A, which is 2.2 mole/m3. The current operation is "open-loop," with the operator occasionally looking at the analyzer value and changing the flow of A. The flow during the period that the data was collected was essentially constant at 1053 m3/h. How much more A could have been blended into the stream with perfect control, that is, if the concentration of A had been maintained exactly at its maximum? What would be the improvement if the new distribution were normal with a standard deviation of 0.075 mole/m3?
