Wastewater treatment technology selection using a hybrid multicriteria decision‐making method

Abstract

AbstractVarious technological methods are available for industrial wastewater treatment (WWT), ranging from conventional to advanced treatment processes. It is therefore a complex exercise to select the most appropriate technology to treat the industrial wastewater in a particular situation. Many criteria can be considered in the decision‐making process; therefore, multicriteria decision‐making methods are especially appropriate for solving this problem. In this paper, we aim to select the most appropriate municipal WWT technology for agricultural usages. We propose a new hybrid methodology based on the best–worst method (BWM) and the behavioral technique for order of preference by similarity to the ideal solution (BTOPSIS). This new hybrid takes advantage of the benefits of both methods. The BWM incorporates consistency checks, while the BTOPSIS can model the risk behavior of the decision maker. Using the proposed methodology, we calculate the performance of seven WWT technologies using criteria categorized into sustainability dimensions (i.e., economic, social, and environmental). The results, based on different levels of decision makers’ loss aversion, indicate that energy consumption and an integrated fixed‐film activated sludge reactor are the most effective criterion and technology, respectively. The proposed new methodology is generic and can be employed for any multicriteria decision problems.