Multi-objective optimization of an explosive waste incineration process considering nitrogen oxides emission and process cost by using artificial neural network surrogate models

Fluidized bed incinerators are more efficient and safe for treating explosive waste than previous methods because they can emit nitrogen oxide (NOx) concentrations below the standard value (90 ppm). However, a limitation is that they have only focused on optimizing the operating conditions to minimize NOx emission concentrations till now. In this situation, it is crucial to balance NOx and process costs. Therefore, this study designed an explosive waste incineration process and performed multi-objective optimization. An artificial neural network surrogate modeling method is vital to reduce optimization time. Therefore, surrogate models with 95% and 99% accuracies were obtained, reducing the calculation time by 90%. Furthermore, an index combining NOx emission concentrations and process costs was proposed to obtain an optimal balanced operating condition of the process. By optimizing the process index, a new operating condition was obtained that could reduce 20% of the process costs while maintaining NOx emission concentrations within the standard limit. The proposed operating condition and data, such as from sensitivity analysis, would provide a valuable guideline for operating the abovementioned process associated with NOx emission standards.