Prediction of Slag Characteristics Based on Artificial Neural Network for Molten Gasification of Hazardous Wastes

Molten gasification is considered as a promising technology for the processing and safe disposal of hazardous wastes. During this process, the organic components are completely converted while the hazardous materials are safely embedded in slag via the fusion-solidification-vitrification transformation. Ideally, the slag should be glassy with low viscosity to ensure the effective immobilization and steady discharge of hazardous materials. However, it is very difficult to predict the characteristics of slag using existing empirical equations or conventional mathematical methods, due to the complex non-linear relationship among the phase transformation, vitrification transition and chemical composition of slag. Equipped with a strong nonlinear mapping ability, an artificial neural network may be able to predict the properties of slags if a large amount of data is available for training. In this work, over 10,000 experimental data points were used to train and develop a slag classification model (glassy vs. non-glassy) based on a neural network. The optimal structure of the neural network was figured out and validated. The results suggest that the classification accuracy for the independent test samples reached 93.3%. Using 1 and 0 as model inputs to represent mildly reducing and inert atmospheres, a double hidden layer structure in the neural network enabled the accurate classification of slags under various atmospheres. Furthermore, the neural network for the prediction of glassy slag viscosity was optimized; it featured a double hidden layer structure. Under a mildly reducing atmosphere, the absolute error from the independent test data was generally within 4 Pa·s. By adding a gas atmosphere into the input of the neural network using a simple normalization method, a multi-atmosphere slag viscosity prediction model was developed. Said model is much more accurate than its counterpart that does not consider the effect of the atmosphere. In summary, the artificial neural network proved to be an effective approach to predicting the slag properties under different atmospheres. The data-driven models developed in this work are expected to facilitate the commercial deployment of molten gasification technology.