An uncomfortable observation in the Shift Logs and Process Control records of most aluminum smelting plants is that process control failures, large and small, happen every day. Although only a small fraction of these failures give rise to catastrophic events, the difference between a disaster we read about and a failure which, although expensive, has no irreversible consequences, is only chance. Control for Aluminum Production and Other Processing Industries exemplifies new control thinking fused with an understanding of process variability, and how to diagnose abnormalities and their causes in aluminum production plants. Many real life examples in the book demonstrate the importance of human behavior and a scientific, questioning approach in the control of a technologically complex process. Written from the perspective of production staff and management, the book also gives readers a view into the human aspects of accidents and their analogy with failures in control of production. Production plants regularly experience more control failures than successes and staff must continuously strive to establish stability and control of their process. Through on-the-job experiences of the authors and their industry colleagues, the control experiences described in this book provide readers with a foundation for building their own robust control rationale and a framework for avoidance of plant control problems.

An uncomfortable observation in the Shift Logs and Process Control records of most aluminum smelting plants is that process control failures, large and small, happen every day. Although only a small fraction of these failures give rise to catastrophic events, the difference between a disaster we read about and a failure which, although expensive, has no irreversible consequences, is only chance. Control for Aluminum Production and Other Processing Industries exemplifies new control thinking fused with an understanding of process variability, and how to diagnose abnormalities and their causes in aluminum production plants. Many real life examples in the book demonstrate the importance of human behavior and a scientific, questioning approach in the control of a technologically complex process. Written from the perspective of production staff and management, the book also gives readers a view into the human aspects of accidents and their analogy with failures in control of production. Production plants regularly experience more control failures than successes and staff must continuously strive to establish stability and control of their process. Through on-the-job experiences of the authors and their industry colleagues, the control experiences described in this book provide readers with a foundation for building their own robust control rationale and a framework for avoidance of plant control problems.

A global trend towards sustainable industry has highlighted a need to source energy and chemicals from renewable feed stocks. A move to farming short-rotation lignocellulosic biomass is one solution to the feed stock problem. However, it is also critical to use a fractionation technology that is appropriate to the biomass type and location. This text details doctoral research on the ethanol organosolv process for fractionation of short-rotation willow. The work is presented in three stages. First, the kinetics of delignification is studied with regard to the important parameters. The effect of prehydrolysis on subsequent organosolv pulping is revealed. Secondly, the easy recovery of organosolv lignin is illustrated with a novel application of flotation. The hydrophobic nature of organosolv lignin allows easy recovery by simultaneous precipitation and dissolved air flotation. Finally, the utility of organosolv lignin is verified with direct replacement of phenol in the manufacture of phenol formaldehyde resin. This text will be of interest to process engineers studying lignocellulosic fractionation and those in the field of lignin product development.