Discrete Whale Optimization Algorithm for Disassembly Line Balancing With Carbon Emission Constraint

With the advancement of science and technology in recent years, the rate of product upgrading by end users has increased, resulting in a high number of End-Of-Life (EOL) products. For environmental protection and economic benefits, disassembly lines are set up to recycle them. A disassembly line balancing problem arises and has attracted widespread attention. In this paper, we design a model to address a class of disassembly line balancing problems in which the main optimization objective is to maximize profits, while keeping carbon emission in a tolerable range. A discrete whale optimization algorithm is proposed to solve them. Its efficiency is verified by comparing its solutions with their analytic solutions obtained from a commercial optimization solver and other swarm intelligence algorithms. Experimental results show that it is significantly faster than its peers in solving large-scale optimization problems while guaranteeing its solutions, quality.