Development of an expert system shell based on genetic algorithms for the selection of the energy best available technologies and their optimal operating conditions for the process industry

The development of genetic algorithms started almost three decades ago in an attempt to imitate the mechanics of natural systems. Since their inception, they have been applied successfully as optimization methods, and as expert systems, in many diverse applications. In this paper, a genetic-algorithm-based expert system shell is presented that, when combined with a proper database comprising the available energy-saving technologies for the process industry, is able to perform the following tasks: (a) identify the best available technologies (BATs) among the available ones for a given process industry, and (b) calculate their optimal design parameters in such a way that they comply with the energy requirements of the process. By the term BAT is meant the available energy-saving technology, among the existing ones in the market, that is the best for the case.