Product Structure Optimization of Coal Preparation Plants Based on GPSOM–WOA

Coal preparation plants pursue maximum economic benefit, yet product structure optimization under fluctuating coal quality and changing market demand is a coupled decision-making problem involving the organization of primary products such as lump clean coal, clean coal, raw fine coal, coal slime, and gangue, together with commercial coal blending and process-scheme selection. Conventional optimization methods that focus on a single stage are often insufficient to address such complex coordinated decisions. To this end, a GPSOM–WOA nested optimization model was developed to achieve the coordinated optimization of primary product separation, commercial coal blending, and process-scheme selection under the objective of economic benefit maximization. In the outer layer, where process-scheme selection and primary product structure adjustment involve both discrete decisions and continuous variables, a simplified Group-based Particle Swarm Optimization with Multiple Strategies (GPSOM) was employed to search the primary product structure parameters and generate engineering-feasible primary product balance tables. In the inner layer, where the commercial coal blending problem is subject to multiple constraints, including ash content, moisture, calorific value, and supply demand, the Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) was adopted to optimize blending ratios within a restricted feasible region. A piecewise penalty function was introduced for quality-limit violations to support profit-oriented constrained optimization. Subject to commercial coal quality constraints on ash content, moisture, and calorific value, a case study of a coal preparation plant in Inner Mongolia was conducted to compare product structures and economic benefits under different process conditions. The results show that the proposed model can realize the joint optimization of primary product structure and commercial coal blending, and can provide a quantitative basis for product structure optimization and process selection in coal preparation plants.