A PCA Based Fault Detection Scheme for an Industrial High Pressure Polyethylene Reactor

A data‐based monitoring scheme is proposed to detect decomposition in low density polyethylene reactors by combining principal component analysis with a priori information on the heat balance equations around the reactor. During normal operating conditions, the heat balance equation should close at all times within reasonable limits. If excess heat is generated in the reactor, the heat balance closure error will exceed a user specified threshold limit to indicate the possible onset of decomposition. However, since precise information required to formulate the exact energy balance equations was not available, principal component analysis (PCA) was used as a model identification tool. Results from a number of decompositions case studies from an industrial low density polyethylene/ethylene vinyl acetate autoclave reactor indicate that the method was able to detect the onset of decomposition with reasonable lead time.