On The Use of Nonlinear Receding-Horizon Observers in Batch Terpolymerization Processes

International audienceIn this paper, a nonlinear receding-horizon observer is proposed for state reconstruction in batch terpolymerization reactors. The related investigations show that the state reconstruction problem may be quite ill conditioned in the sense that different states may exist that lead to roughly the same output. It seems however that when constrained receding-horizon estimation is used together with a dedicated crossing singularity heuristic, state reconstruction is possible even in presence of measurement noise and up-to 10\% error on the r.h.s of the ODE's describing the system's dynamics. The efficiency and the real-time implementability of the overall scheme is shown through illustrative scenarios including both simulation and experimental validation