Cascade predictive control design for a beer fermenter — simulation and experimental assessment

Biotechnology; Food manufacturing; Kalman filtering; Model predictive control; Process control; Switched systems; Cascade control structure; Dynamic thermal modelling; Experimental assessment; Inner loops; Kalman-filtering; Model-predictive control; Predictive control designs; Simulation assessment; Switched system; Food Science; Biochemistry; Chemical Engineering (all)

Abstract :

[en] This study reports on the development of a cascade control structure for a beer fermenter. The inner loop is based on a switched dynamic thermal model and a Kalman filter to estimate the heating (thermal resistor) and cooling (glycol cooler) power. Model predictive control (MPC) is used to track a temperature profile, which is provided by an outer loop that solves a multiobjective optimization problem. This latter task is achieved by a nonlinear model predictive controller based on an unscented Kalman filter estimating the unmeasured biological variables from a minimal number of online measurements, i.e., the flow of carbon dioxide and the density of the wort. The performance of the two control loops is demonstrated in several experiments at lab scale.

Disciplines :

Electrical & electronics engineering
Food science
Biotechnology

Author, co-author :

Denis, Pierre ; Université de Mons - UMONS > Faculté Polytechnique > Service Systèmes, Estimation, Commande et Optimisation

Zamudio Lara, Jesus ; Université de Mons - UMONS > Faculté Polytechnique > Service Systèmes, Estimation, Commande et Optimisation

Dewasme, Laurent ; Université de Mons - UMONS > Faculté Polytechnique > Service Systèmes, Estimation, Commande et Optimisation

Vande Wouwer, Alain ; Université de Mons - UMONS > Faculté Polytechnique > Service Systèmes, Estimation, Commande et Optimisation

Language :

English

Title :

Cascade predictive control design for a beer fermenter — simulation and experimental assessment

Publication date :

May 2026

Journal title :

Food and Bioproducts Processing

ISSN :

0960-3085

eISSN :

1744-3571

Publisher :

Institution of Chemical Engineers

Volume :

157

Pages :

252 - 264

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

https://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0960308526000775?httpAccept=text/xml

Research unit :

F107 - Systèmes, Estimation, Commande et Optimisation

Research institute :

R100 - Institut des Biosciences

Available on ORBi UMONS :

since 05 June 2026

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