In this paper we combine recent results that link passivity, as it is understood in system's theory, with concepts from irreversible thermodynamics to develop a robust control design methodology for distributed process systems. In this context, we show that passivity and stabilization of systems where non-dissipative phenomena are taking place is possible under very simple, finite dimensional control configurations. These include, boundary and high gain controllers. which combined with robust identification schemes should be able to provide efficient plant operation.