Sources of Data

In instrumentation and control (I&C), data acquisition is defined as the process of sampling a physical or electrical phenomenon through a data acquisition system (DAQ). The resulting samples are then converted into digital numeric values. A DAQ includes sensors, measurement hardware, and a computer. For our ultimate modelling goal of prediction, control, and optimization of chemical processes, however, we can identify at least three different sources of data for analysis: (i) plant process data, which fits with the I&C data acquisition definition; (ii) pilot plant and laboratory data; and (iii) process simulation data. Acquired data is referred to as measured data; however, synthetic data, artificially generated from measured or observed data, is a valuable source of data that we explore in this chapter, mostly when the measured data is insufficient or biased.