4. Control and automation

The table 1 highlights the different issues that arise depending on the class of process under consideration. These problems lead to different classes of solutions, which we will consider in greater detail below. Before addressing this subject, we feel it is essential to remember that automatic control as a science provides methods and tools which can only be applied if the problem is properly posed. When it comes to food processing (or any other process), the question is first and foremost: why automate, and then how?

Complete and very advanced automation is often motivated by industrial efficiency, which seeks to mechanize and automate operations...