Multi-criteria decision analysis for optimal planning of desalination plant feasibility in different urban cities in India

Abstract

Water scarcity is increasing in most Indian cities, exemplified by the recent 2019 Chennai water crisis. Though there were measures initiated at both institutional and local levels, water scarcity has continued. One possible solution is to install energy-efficient renewable energy-powered desalination plants (REpDP) for Indian cities, especially those in favorable climatic zones. The modeling of REpDP combined with multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) is proposed to prioritize the optimal site and REpDP selection for providing low-cost freshwater. A standalone seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) based REpDP that delivers water at a rate of 1.5 m3/h is modeled. Based on the SWRO operation; analytical modeling is carried out to optimize the hybrid energy configuration that combines solar, wind, hydrokinetic with backup energy facilities. The Fuzzy-TOPSIS MCDA with five attributes is performed to rank the modeled alternatives for selected coastal cities. The analysis identified Dwarka in the state of Gujarat, India, as the most suitable urban zone. The results also indicated that the electricity and freshwater production cost for the optimal configuration with an energy recovery scheme provide savings up to 10% and 36.4%, respectively. A comparison is made with EDAS and BWM methods. It provides consistency in results with the Fuzzy-TOPSIS.