Application of Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Tool for Choosing Right Biogas Plants: Process Controllability, Suitability, and Cost Perspectives in the Indian Context

Abstract

A biogas plant is one of the promising renewable sources of energy. Employing suitable biogas plant for specific purpose is crucial to ensure that the gas production is feasible considering plant operation, suitability of the plant based on location and feedstock, and economic aspects. The selection of small-scale biogas plants for domestic applications or industrial use depends on several criteria. Some of the important criteria are the process controllability, suitability, and cost of the biogas plants. When these criteria are not appropriately considered before the deployment of biogas plants, the project will neither be technically feasible nor be economically viable. It is, therefore, recommended that all these criteria be considered while selecting small-scale biogas plants. A multi-criteria-based decision-making tool is to be considered as a better tool in order to include these criteria for better selection of biogas plants. A simple WPM (Weighted Product Method) is effective in handling multi-criteria decision-making problems. In this work, the WPM-based Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) model is developed to help select appropriate small-scale biogas plants based on process controllability, suitability, and cost. The proposed method is useful in choosing a suitable biogas for specific requirements.