Pinch multi-agent genetic algorithm for optimizing water-using networks

A new genetic algorithm, pinch multi-agent genetic algorithm (PMAGA), is developed for optimizing water-using networks. All agents are fixed on a lattice, and they will compete or cooperate to increase their energy. On the other hand, agents can also increase their energy with knowledge. For single contaminant water-using systems, PMAGA and other algorithms as well as Lingo can find the same minimum freshwater consumption. For multiple contaminants systems, it can find the same or better results in case studies. Moreover, PMAGA is more efficient for much shorter computational time compared with other algorithms, and furthermore, it can yield many water-using networks consuming the same minimum freshwater but with different configurations, whereas Lingo yields only one network. These alternative configurations give more options for industries.