Black Hole—White Hole algorithm for dynamic optimization of chemically reacting systems

Dynamic optimization of chemical reactors — finding optimal control profiles over time to maximize yield or minimize cost — is a difficult problem that conventional solvers struggle with due to non-convexity and sensitivity to initial conditions. This paper extends the Black Hole algorithm by introducing a White Hole component that counterbalances the algorithm’s exploitation tendency with active exploration, preventing the search from stagnating in local optima. Tested on benchmark chemical reaction systems using both piecewise linear and piecewise constant control profiles, the Black Hole–White Hole algorithm matches or outperforms existing methods while remaining simple to implement.

Recommended citation: Ovhal, P., Valadi, J.K. (2021). Black Hole—White Hole Algorithm for Dynamic Optimization of Chemically Reacting Systems. In: Sharma, H., Saraswat, M., Yadav, A., Kim, J.H., Bansal, J.C. (eds) Congress on Intelligent Systems. CIS 2020. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 1335. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6984-9_43 https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-33-6984-9_43