Performance and Sustainability Assessment of Full-Scale Sewage Treatment Plants in Northern India Using Multiple-Criteria Decision-Making Methods
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 147, Issue 12
Abstract
In this study, an intensive performance assessment of 36 sewage treatment plants (STPs) is carried out. The STPs were based on the process technologies: moving-bed bioreactor (MBBR), sequencing batch reactor (SBR), waste stabilization pond (WSP), and upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor (UASB) with posttreatment technologies of extended aeration (EA), surface aeration, and polishing ponds, with treatment capacities of 3 to 40 million L per day. The pollutant removal performance of the STPs was ranked using the gray relational analysis method, which revealed that the SBR systems ranked higher, followed by UASB with EA, whereas MBBRs, UASB with other posttreatment options, and WSP performed satisfactorily to poor. Further, the preference ranking organization method for enrichment evaluation (PROMETHEE) multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process followed by preference ranking organization method for enrichment evaluation method evaluated the major wastewater treatment technologies using three sustainability criteria: environmental, economic, and technical aspects. The MCDM method evaluation revealed that the UASB + EA method, with its lower greenhouse gas emissions, energy requirement, sludge generation, and energy and resource recovery characteristics, outranked other treatment technologies, followed by SBR. The MCDM results were later confirmed using geometrical analysis for the interactive aid method. Hence, this study summarizes that the anaerobic process followed by microaerobic technologies still possesses the capability to achieve stringent disposal standards almost equivalent to intensive aerobic technologies.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
All data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Public Health Engineering Department, Haryana, during the site inspection and sample collection during this study. The authors also wish to recognize that Tinku Casper D′Silva and Mahmood Ahmad contributed equally to this work.
References
Abdullah, L., W. Chan, and A. Afshari. 2019. “Application of PROMETHEE method for green supplier selection: A comparative result based on preference functions.” J. Ind. Eng. Int. 15 (2): 271–285. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40092-018-0289-z.
Al-Zuhairy, M. S., Z. Bahaa, and W. S. Mizeel. 2015. “Biological phosphorus and nitrogen removal from wastewater using moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR).” Eng. Technol. J. 33 (7A): 1731–1739.
APHA (American Public Health Association). 2017. Vol. 23 of Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. Washington, DC: APHA.
Ayhan, M. B. 2013. “A fuzzy AHP approach for supplier selection problem: A case study in a Gear motor company.” Int. J. Manage. Value Supply Chain 4 (3): 11–23. https://doi.org/10.5121/ijmvsc.2013.4302.
Balezentis, T., X. Chen, A. Galnaityte, and A. Namiotko. 2020. “Optimizing crop mix with respect to economic and environmental constraints: An integrated MCDM approach.” Sci. Total Environ. 705 (Feb): 135896. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135896.
Behzadian, M., R. B. Kazemzadeh, A. Albadvi, and M. Aghdasi. 2010. “PROMETHEE: A comprehensive literature review on methodologies and applications.” Eur. J. Oper. Res. 200 (1): 198–215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2009.01.021.
Bhatti, Z. A., F. Maqbool, A. H. Malik, and Q. Mehmood. 2014. “UASB reactor start-up for the treatment of municipal wastewater followed by advanced oxidation process.” Braz. J. Chem. Eng. 31 (3): 715–726. https://doi.org/10.1590/0104-6632.20140313s00002786.
Brans, J. P., and B. Mareschal. 2005. “PROMETHEE methods,” In Multiple criteria decision analysis: State of the art surveys, edited by J. Figueira, S. Greco, and M. Ehrgott, 163–186. New York: Springer.
Brans, J. P., P. Vincke, and B. Mareschal. 1986. “How to select and how to rank projects: The PROMETHEE method.” Eur. J. Oper. Res. 24 (2): 228–238. https://doi.org/10.1016/0377-2217(86)90044-5.
Buckley, J. J. 1985. “Fuzzy hierarchical analysis.” Fuzzy Set Syst. 17 (3): 233–247. https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-0114(85)90090-9.
CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board). 2013. “STP report of CPCB.” Accessed May 25, 2020. http://164.100.107.13/upload/NewItems/NewItem_195_STP_REPORT.pdf.
Dewangan, S., S. Gangopadhyay, and C. K. Biswas. 2015. “Study of surface integrity and dimensional accuracy in EDM using Fuzzy TOPSIS and sensitivity analysis.” Measurement 63 (Mar): 364–376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.measurement.2014.11.025.
EPA. 1992. Sequencing batch reactors for nitrification and nutrient removal. Washington, DC: EPA.
Gaur, R. Z., A. A. Khan, B. Lew, V. Diamantis, and A. A. Kazmi. 2017. “Performance of full-scale UASB reactors treating low or medium strength municipal wastewater.” Environ. Process. 4: 137–146. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40710-017-0208-0.
Geldermann, J., T. Spengler, and O. Rentz. 2000. “Fuzzy outranking for environmental assessment. Case study: Iron and steel making industry.” Fuzzy Set Syst. 115 (1): 45–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-0114(99)00021-4.
Ghassemi, S. A., and S. Danesh. 2013. “A hybrid fuzzy multi-criteria decision making approach for desalination process selection.” Desalination 313 (Mar): 44–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2012.12.008.
Gopolang, O. P., and M. W. Letshwenyo. 2018. “Performance evaluation of waste stabilisation ponds.” J. Water Resour. Prot. 10 (11): 1129–1147. https://doi.org/10.4236/jwarp.2018.1011067.
Haq, A. N., P. Marimuthu, and R. Jeyapaul. 2008. “Multi response optimization of machining parameters of drilling Al/SiC metal matrix composite using grey relational analysis in the Taguchi method.” Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol. 37: 250–255. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-007-0981-4.
Hasan, M. N., A. A. Khan, S. Ahmad, and B. Lew. 2019. “Anaerobic and aerobic sewage treatment plants in northern India: Two years intensive evaluation and perspectives.” Environ. Technol. Innov. 15 (Aug): 100396. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eti.2019.100396.
Ishak, N. M., S. D. Malingam, and M. R. Mansor. 2016. “Selection of natural fibre reinforced composites using fuzzy VIKOR for car front hood.” Int. J. Mater. Prod. Technol. 53 (3–4): 267–285. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJMPT.2016.079205.
Kamble, S., A. Singh, A. A. Kazmi, and M. Starkl. 2019. “Environmental and economic performance evaluation of municipal wastewater treatment plants in India: A life cycle approach.” Water Sci. Technol. 79 (6): 1102–1112. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2019.110.
Khan, A. A. 2011. “Post treatment of UASB Effluent: Aeration and Variant of ASP.” Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. of Civil Engineering, IIT Roorkee.
Khan, A. A., R. Z. Gaur, I. Mehrotra, V. Diamantis, B. Lew, and A. A. Kazmi. 2014. “Performance assessment of different STPs based on UASB followed by aerobic post treatment systems.” J. Environ. Health Sci. Eng. 12 (1): 43. https://doi.org/10.1186/2052-336X-12-43.
Khan, A. A., R. Z. Gaur, V. K. Tyagi, A. Khursheed, B. Lew, I. Mehrotra, and A. A. Kazmi. 2011. “Sustainable options of post treatment of UASB effluent treating sewage: A review.” Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 55 (12): 1232–1251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2011.05.017.
Kharwar, P. K., and R. K. Verma. 2020. “Machining performance optimization in drilling of multiwall carbon nano tube /epoxy nanocomposites using GRA-PCA hybrid approach.” Measurement 158 (Jul): 107701. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.measurement.2020.107701.
Khursheed, A., V. K. Tyagi, A. A. Khan, A. Bhatia, R. Z. Gaur, M. Ali, M. Sharma, A. A. Kazmi, and S. L. Lo. 2016. “Operation and maintenance of sewerage systems: Present challenges and possible solutions: An Indian experience.” Desalin. Water Treat. 57 (7): 2887–2902. https://doi.org/10.1080/19443994.2014.980326.
Krejčí, J., O. Pavlačka, and J. Talašová. 2017. “A fuzzy extension of analytic hierarchy process based on the constrained fuzzy arithmetic.” Fuzzy Optim. Decis. Making 16 (1): 89–110. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10700-016-9241-0.
Majumder, H., and K. Maity. 2018. “Prediction and optimization of surface roughness and micro-hardness using GRNN and MOORA-fuzzy-a MCDM approach for nitinol in WEDM.” Measurement 118 (Mar): 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.measurement.2018.01.003.
Makan, A., and A. Fadili. 2020. “Sustainability assessment of large-scale composting technologies using PROMETHEE method.” J. Cleaner Prod. 261 (Jul): 121244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.121244.
Makan, A., D. Malamis, O. Assobhei, M. Loizidou, and M. Mountadar. 2012. “Multi-criteria decision analysis for the selection of the most suitable landfill site: Case of Azemmour, Morocco.” Int. J. Manage. Sci. Eng. Manage. 7 (2): 96–109. https://doi.org/10.1080/17509653.2012.10671212.
Makan, A., D. Malamis, O. Assobhei, M. Loizidou, and M. Mountadar. 2013. “Multi-criteria decision aid approach for the selection of the best compromise management scheme for the treatment of municipal solid waste in Morocco.” Int. J. Environ. Waste Manage. 12 (3): 300–317. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJEWM.2013.056197.
Milan, S. G., A. Roozbahani, and M. E. Banihabib. 2018. “Fuzzy optimization model and fuzzy inference system for conjunctive use of surface and groundwater resources.” J. Hydrol. 566 (Nov): 421–434. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.08.078.
NGT (National Green Tribunal). 2019. “Revised standard for STPs-NGT order.” Accessed May 25, 2020. http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/revised-standards-STPs-NGT-Order.pdf.
Onay, A., C. Karamasa, and B. Sarac. 2016. “Application of fuzzy AHP in selection of accounting elective courses in undergraduate and graduate level.” J. Acc. Financ. Audit. Stud. 2 (4): 20–42.
Palma, J., A. R. Graves, P. J. Burgess, W. Van der Werf, and F. Herzog. 2007. “Integrating environmental and economic performance to assess modern silvoarable agroforestry in Europe.” Ecol. Econ. 63 (4): 759–767. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2007.01.011.
Panda, A., A. Sahoo, and R. Rout. 2016. “Multi-attribute decision making parametric optimization and modeling in hard turning using ceramic insert through grey relational analysis: A case study.” Decis. Sci. Lett. 5 (4): 581–592. https://doi.org/10.5267/j.dsl.2016.3.001.
Prokopov, T., D. Mihaylova, and N. Mihalkov. 2014. Biological treatment of wastewater by sequencing batch reactors. Plovdiv, Bulgaria: Dept. of Environmental Engineering, Univ. of Food Technologies.
Saaty, T. L. 1980. The analytic hierarchy process: Planning, priority setting. Resource allocation. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Sapkota, M., M. Arora, H. Malano, A. Sharma, and M. Moglia. 2018. “Integrated evaluation of hybrid Water supply systems using a PROMETHEE–GAIA approach.” Water 10 (5): 610. https://doi.org/10.3390/w10050610.
Shirguppikar, S. S., and M. S. Patil. 2020. “Grey fuzzy multiobjective optimization of process parameters for dry electro discharge machining process.” Mater. Today: Proc. 27 (1): 671–676. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.02.234.
Singh, A., S. J. Kamble, M. Sawant, Y. Chakravarthy, A. A. Kazmi, E. Aymerich, M. Starkl, M. Ghangrekar, and L. Philip. 2018. “Technical, hygiene, economic, and life cycle assessment of full-scale moving bed biofilm reactors for wastewater treatment in India.” Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 25 (3): 2552–2569. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0605-y.
Tare, V., and P. Bose. 2009. “Compendium of sewage treatment technologies. National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD)—Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF)—Government of India (GOI).” Accessed May 26, 2020. https://nmcg.nic.in/writereaddata/fileupload/15_Technologies%20Involved.pdf.
Tchobanoglous, G., F. Burton, H. D. Stensel. 2003. “Wastewater engineering: Treatment and reuse.” Am. Water Works Assoc. J. 95 (5): 201.
Tosun, N., and H. Pihtili. 2010. “Gray relational analysis of performance characteristics in MQL milling of 7075 Al alloy.” Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol. 46 (5): 509–515. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-009-2118-4.
Uemura, S., and H. Harada. 2000. “Treatment of sewage by a UASB reactor under moderate to low temperature conditions.” Bioresour. Technol. 72 (3): 275–282. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0960-8524(99)00118-2.
Wang, S., S. Parajuli, V. Sivalingam, and R. Bakke. 2019. “Biofilm in moving bed biofilm process for wastewater treatment.” Bacterial Biofilms 1 (1): 1–15. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88520.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 147 • Issue 12 • December 2021
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 25, 2021
Accepted: Aug 11, 2021
Published online: Oct 15, 2021
Published in print: Dec 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Mar 15, 2022
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.