Selection of plastic solid waste treatment technology based on cumulative prospect theory and fuzzy DEMATEL

Municipal solid waste management: Identification and analysis of technology selection criteria using Fuzzy Delphi and Fuzzy DEMATEL technique

Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) poses a considerable challenge to developing countries like Bangladesh because of the rising waste generation rates and lack of effective management practices such as illegal open dumping and informal waste collection. One of the crucial factors in the successful management of MSW is to select the appropriate technology which is a complex multi-criteria and laborious process. Despite the global emphasis on the importance of MSWM in the literature, there is a lack of studies conducted in developing countries that effectively identify and analyze the critical performance criteria for appropriate technology selection. This research aims to address this shortcoming by identifying, and prioritizing the selection criteria and finally investigating the inter-relationship between them and the degree to which they affect or are affected by one another. First, a thorough literature review and expert consultation were employed to determine a set of 21 key criteria using the Fuzzy Delphi method (FDM). Later, taking into account the imprecise and subjective nature of the DEMATEL method on human judgements, the Fuzzy DEMATEL technique was employed to investigate the cause-effect relationships among the identified criteria. The findings of the study demonstrated that 14 criteria were categorized as causal elements that have the most significant influence on the MSWM technology selection process and 7 criteria were categorized as effect. The selection of MSWM technology demands greater consideration of the top three ranked criteria, namely T4- Access to Technology (AT), T8- Feasibility (F), and the Ec6-Infrastructure requirements (IR). By identifying the pertinent criteria, structures and interrelationships, the outcome of the study can facilitate a better understanding of causal relationships among the criteria that require specific consideration from the decision-makers and allow them to select appropriate MSW management technology.

Waste-to-energy incineration site selection framework based on heterogeneous fuzzy regret-PROMETHEE model considering life-cycle carbon emissions

Waste incineration technology has received extensive attention for its advantages of being harmless, reducing, and recycling. However, the waste-to-energy incineration project confronts significant "not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) concerns," and irrational location choices will have negative effects on the project's economy and sustainability; it is also a great challenge to the credibility of the government. To this end, a multi-criteria decision-making framework is constructed for the site selection of waste-to-energy incineration projects. To begin with, a site selection criteria system is established including 16 sub-criteria from four aspects, where probabilistic linguistic term sets are introduced to depict the qualitative sub-criteria and probabilistic hesitant fuzzy sets are employed to express the uncertainty of quantitative sub-criteria. An optimization model is then built to determine the weights of criteria based on the Pearson correlation coefficient and least square method. Furthermore, a regret-preference ranking organization methods for enrichment evaluations (PROMETHEE) model is presented to rank alternatives in a heterogeneous decision environment. Finally, a case study in China is conducted to validate the applicability of the proposed framework; the result of the site selection demonstrates that alternative A2 located in Miyun, Beijing, is the most optimal option. This work provides investors with scientific decision reference and also extends the methods in the decision-making field.

Optimal operation mode selection of sponge city PPP projects using IFSS-prospect theory and VIKOR approach: a case study in China

The construction of sponge city (SC) public private partnership (PPP) projects is considered to be a feasible measure to solve the "water problems" in China. To ensure the success of SC PPP projects, how to select an appropriate operation mode for SC PPP projects is an urgent problem to be solved. In this paper, first, the evaluation index system of operation mode is established from the aspects of project characteristics, government capabilities, project benefits, project implementation, and cooperative partnership. Second, the DEMATEL method and entropy method are introduced to overcome the drawbacks of a single method, and the combination weights are calculated by game theory. Finally, the decision-making model based on intuitionistic fuzzy soft set (IFSS)-prospect theory and VIKOR approach is constructed to select operation mode for SC PPP projects. In this paper, the framework is applied to select an operation mode for the Qingshan demonstration zone project, and its feasibility and effectiveness are verified through sensitivity analysis and comparative analysis. The results show that BOT is the optimal operation mode for SC PPP projects, and government capabilities and project implementation are critical factors to be considered when selecting an operation mode. This study can provide guidance to the government in the OMS of SC PPP projects and improve the sustainability of the projects.