A Nature-inspired-Modeling-Optimization-Control system applied to a waste incinerator plant

The extensive use of energy generation processes presents a severe challenge to the environment and makes indispensable to focus the research on the maximization of the energy efficiency and minimization of environmental impact like NOx and CO emissions. Therefore, in this paper we report our experience of a Natureinspired-Modelling-Optimisation-Control (NiMOC) system, applied to a MSWI (Municipal Solid Waste Incinerator) plant, which combines fuzzy logic, neural networks and evolutionary algorithms. The main idea is based on the development of an artificial nature-inspired environment which lives in parallel with the process and that synchronously communicates with it in order to dynamically control and optimise it. The whole system has been first experimented on simulator and then on a real MSWI plant (at Ferrara, Italy). Experimental results have shown a performance plant improvement, however there are still open problems, mainly related to modelling, which are discussed.