SPEA2 based on grid density search and elite guidance for multi-objective operation optimization of wastewater treatment process

It is challenging to introduce an optimization method to improve the operation performance of wastewater treatment process (WWTP) on account of its high energy consumption and poor water quality characteristics. In this paper, an improved Strength Pareto Evolutionary Algorithm 2 (SPEA2) based on grid density search and elite guidance (GDSEG-SPEA2) is proposed for multi-objective operation optimization of WWTP. First, the external archive is divided by an improved adaptive grid method to determine the distribution density of the solutions, and a neighborhood circle strategy as well as a mixed perturbation strategy are designed to search the neighborhood of sparse and crowded solutions, resulting in a more uniformly distributed Pareto front. Then, in order to avoid SPEA2 falling into local optimum after adding the neighborhood search strategies, the crossover and mutation operations based on individual information are proposed to generate new individuals. Finally, an elite guidance strategy, in which the poor-performing individuals of the population learn from the best-performing individuals to update their positions, is introduced into the algorithm to improve convergence. The test function verification shows that the proposed algorithm can obtain the Pareto front with better distribution and convergence than other existing algorithms. The operation optimization control experiment of WWTP shows that the proposed algorithm can better purify water quality and reduce more energy consumption on the premise of ensuring that effluent quality meets the discharge standards, which is better than other optimization algorithms in comparison. (c) 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.