Innovations in freeze-drying control and in-line optimization

Chapter 6 discusses open- and closed-loop control systems applied to freeze-drying processes, evidencing the possibility of model-based approaches for rejection of disturbances, failure prevention, and process optimization. At the end it will be shown how some of the recently developed tools can be useful for automatic cycle development. All three steps of the process, namely freezing, primary drying, and secondary drying, will be analyzed, with emphasis on how control of the freezing step can be beneficial and interact with the optimization of the whole process.