A Hybrid Intelligent Control Design for Improving the Quality of Petroleum Products

Authors

  • Ghada A. Mutuab Department of Control Engineering, College of Control and Systems Engineering, University of Technology-Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq
  • Mohammed Y. Hassan Department of Intelligent Control Engineering, College of Artificial Intelligence Engineering, University of Technology-Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51173/jt.v8i2.2890

Keywords:

Type-2 Fuzzy Logic Controller (T2FLC), Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit (FCCU), Nonlinear Control, Petroleum Quality, Firefly Optimization

Abstract

 One of the most crucial parts of the oil refining process is the Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit (FCCU). This system is essential for transforming heavy hydrocarbon fractions into valuable lighter products such as propylene, diesel, and gasoline. This method helps to remove impurities, enhance the quality of finished goods, and increase the yield of desirable products. The unit encounters uncertainties in its model dynamics, cross-coupling between its axes and sub-units, and extremely nonlinear effects. This study discusses the design of four hybrid controllers comprising two PD-Like Interval Type-2 (PDLIT2) fuzzy logic controllers and two Nonlinear Proportional-Integral-Derivative (NPID) controllers for controlling the reactor and regenerator temperatures in FCCU processes. The parameters of the NPID controller and each Fuzzy controller are tuned using the Firefly Optimization algorithm. These controllers make up for the model's nonlinearities, uncertainty, chattering, and cross-coupling. The overshoot of the reactor temperature response is enhanced by up to 85%, while that of the generator is enhanced by up to 60%, compared with previous published work.

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Author Biographies

Ghada A. Mutuab, Department of Control Engineering, College of Control and Systems Engineering, University of Technology-Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq

The author awarded the M. Sc. degree in control Engineering from the control and Systems Engineering Department, University of Technology-Iraq

Mohammed Y. Hassan, Department of Intelligent Control Engineering, College of Artificial Intelligence Engineering, University of Technology-Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq

      

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Simulink of the proposed FCCU-controlled system

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Published

2026-06-30

How to Cite

Ghada A. Mutuab, & Y. Hassan, M. (2026). A Hybrid Intelligent Control Design for Improving the Quality of Petroleum Products. Journal of Techniques, 8(2), 14–26. https://doi.org/10.51173/jt.v8i2.2890

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Section

Engineering (Miscellaneous): Control and Automation Engineering

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