Evolutionary Optimization of Pulp Digester Process Using D-optimal DOE and RSM

Optimization of existing processes becomes more important than the past as environmental problems and concerns about energy savings stand out. When we can model a process mathematically, we can easily optimize it by using the model as constraints. However, modeling is very difficult for most chemical processes as they include numerous units together with their correlation and we can hardly obtain parameters. Therefore, optimization that is based on the process models is, in turn, hard to perform. Especially, f3r unknown processes, such as bioprocess or microelectronics materials process, optimization using mathematical model (first principle model) is nearly impossible, as we cannot understand the inside mechanism. Consequently, we propose a few optimization method using empirical model evolutionarily instead of mathematical model. In this method, firstly, designing experiments is executed fur removing unecessary experiments. D-optimal DOE is the most developed one among DOEs. It calculates design points so as to minimize the parameters variances of empirical model. Experiments must be performed in order to see the causation between input variables and output variables as only correlation structure can be detected in historical data. And then, using data generated by experiments, empirical model, i.e. response surface is built by PLS or MLR. Now, as process model is constructed, it is used as objective function for optimization. As the optimum point is a local one. above procedures are repeated while moving to a new experiment region fur finding the global optimum point. As a result of application to the pulp digester benchmark model, kappa number that is an indication fur impurity contents decreased to very low value, 3.0394 from 29.7091. From the result, we can see that the proposed methodology has sufficient good performance fur optimization, and is also applicable to real processes.