Recent work by Biegler (8) has investigated optimization techniques for sequential, modular flow sheet simulators. This work extends that effort. Successive linear programming coupled with a reduced gradient method gave fast, reliable optimization. A kraft pulping process involving 22 modules and 50 streams was optimized. Compared to the base case, significantly improved operating points were l...

A data mining methodology, the random forests, is applied to analyze pollutant emission from the recovery boiler of a Kraft pulping process. Starting from a large database of raw process data, the goal is to identify the input variables that explain the most output variations.

1 Author to whom correspondence should be addressed Abstract The problem of optimizing the alkaline impregnation of wood chips is posed and solved under usual restrictions. The cost to be optimized balances opposite criteria by taking economics and product quality into account, and is conditioned by the system dynamics. Evolution is modeled from typical transport phenomena equations. Optimizati...