Modeling based on machine learning to investigate flue gas desulfurization performance by calcium silicate absorbent in a sand bed reactor.

Flue gas desulfurization (FGD) is a critical process for reducing sulfur dioxide (SO) emissions from industrial sources, particularly power plants. This research uses calcium silicate absorbent in combination with machine learning (ML) to predict SO concentration within an FGD process. The collected dataset encompasses four input parameters, specifically relative humidity, absorbent weight, temperature, and time, and incorporates one output parameter, which pertains to the concentration of SO. Six ML models were developed to estimate the output parameters. Statistical metrics such as the coefficient of determination (R) and mean squared error (MSE) were employed to identify the most suitable model and assess its fitting effectiveness. The random forest (RF) model emerged as the top-performing model, boasting an R of 0.9902 and an MSE of 0.0008. The model's predictions aligned closely with experimental results, confirming its high accuracy. The most suitable hyperparameter values for RF model were found to be 74 for n_estimators, 41 for max_depth, false for bootstrap, sqrt for max_features, 1 for min_samples_leaf, absolute_error for criterion, and 3 for min_samples_split. Three-dimensional surface plots were generated to explore the impact of input variables on SO concentration. Global sensitivity analysis (GSA) revealed absorbent weight and time significantly influence SO concentration. The integration of ML into FGD modeling offers a novel approach to optimizing the efficiency and effectiveness of this environmentally crucial process.