Scheduling Hazardous Waste Incinerators Using a Simulated Annealing Linear Programming Heuristic

摘要

This article presents an algorithm for scheduling waste feeds for a hazardous waste incinerator based on ansimulated annealing linear programming heuristic. The originality of the formulation and solution procedure ofnthe incinerator scheduling problem lies in the large number and type of utility constraints used to model permitnand other limits. The algorithm is effective on large scheduling problems with 200 jobs and 10 feed points.nComputational experiments suggest that the incinerator scheduling problem is easier to solve to a lower boundnfor a makespan objective if the permit limits are more restrictive than the individual feed point limits. To aid innunderstanding the schedule produced, the scheduling problem is repetitively solved to determine the variationnin alternative schedules. This unique analysis demonstrates that multiple solutions to the scheduling problemnexist with similar makespans. These alternative solutions are due to the tightness of the permit limit constraintsnfor this problem and the makespan objective. The article suggests several secondary objectives to generate anunique solution. The proposed algorithm can be utilized by incinerator operators to improve efficiency.