Yuan Xigang

A simulated annealing-based approach to the optimal synthesis of heat-integrated distillation sequences

Abstract A simulated annealing-based approach to synthesis of multi-component distillation systems is developed. An encoding procedure that makes use of an integer number series is developed to represent and manipulate the flow sheet structure of the system. With the representation procedure, the overall synthesis problem is formulated as an implicit mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) problem. A simulated annealing approach suitable for MINLP optimization is adopted and improved to solve the problem. Four example problems, including large-scale ones are solved to illustrate the approach.

An approach to optimal design of batch processes with waste minimization

Abstract A formulation of multi-objective optimization problems is proposed for the optimal design of batch processes with waste minimization. An EQW (effective quantity of waste) is defined as a standard of environmental impact assessment. Four cases for an example problem are studied with different weight policies and the results are compared and analyzed.

A hybrid global optimization method for design of batch chemical processes

Combining Simulated Annealing (SA) algorithm with Linear Programming (LP), SA/LP algorithm is proposed for solving nonconvex MINLP problems. An MINLP model for optimal design of multipurpose batch process with multiple routes is developed. It allows the existence of intermediate storage, parallel units in and out of phase as well as discrete equipment size. SA/LP algorithm is implemented to solve the proposed MINLP model. The results of illustrating examples are conducted and compared with those of some previous published paper. SA/LP procedure find the global optima and is shown to be far more efficient in computing time.