Prime mover selection in thermal power plant integrated with organic Rankine cycle for waste heat recovery using a novel multi criteria decision making approach

In the present study, a hybrid multi criteria decision-making (MCDM) method based on the fuzzy analytic network process (ANP), fuzzy decision-making trail and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) and fuzzy preference ranking organization method for enrichment evaluations (PROMETHEE) is used to choose the best Prime Mover (PM) in a thermal power plant integrated with Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) for waste heat recovery. Five main options for the PM include gas turbine (GT), gas engine (GE), diesel engine (DE) and fuel cell (FC). In addition, to generalize the study, the photovoltaic (PV) panel is also considered as a power production unit and compared with the mentioned PMs. Four criteria of technological, economical, environmental and social and thirty-five sub-criteria are used in the decision-making process. The results of MCDM method show that the best to worst prime movers are the PV, GE, DE, FC and GT. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.