Integrated Fuzzy Ranking Analysis for Assessing the Quality of Composting Products

An integrated fuzzy ranking analysis (IFRA) method was developed to help evaluate the quality of waste composts under a variety of system complexities and uncertainties. It combined the latent component analysis and ameliorated G-index fuzzy relationship analysis into a general framework. The IFRA could handle different types of uncertainties, investigate the complex interrelationships among multiple indicators, and determine the best-quality product among a variety of alternatives. The IFRA was then applied to assess eight types of composts. An example standard was established in relation to potting grade and soil amendment. Two main policy scenarios were investigated. The obtained results could help decision makers distinguish the compost products by different usages, and distribute the products to appropriate markets. Moreover, the IFRA method could help promote new policies that would ultimately improve the marketing and development strategies for the composting industry.

[1]  Satoshi Matsumoto,et al.  A Proposal for Quality Evaluation of Animal-Waste Compost by Statistic Analysis (Part 2) , 2004 .

[2]  Robert Rynk,et al.  On-Farm Composting Handbook , 1992 .

[3]  W. Namkoong,et al.  A Comparative Evaluation of Maturity Parameters for Food Waste Composting , 1999 .

[4]  A. R. Buhr,et al.  Compost: United States supply and demand potential , 1992 .

[5]  Stamatis Stamatiadis,et al.  Field assessment of soil quality as affected by compost and fertilizer application in a broccoli field (San Benito County, California) , 1999 .

[6]  Ackmez Mudhoo,et al.  Overall Heat Transfer Coefficients in Organic Substrates Composting , 2007 .

[7]  Hideo Tanaka,et al.  Interval regression analysis by quadratic programming approach , 1998, IEEE Trans. Fuzzy Syst..

[8]  Didier Dubois,et al.  Fuzzy sets and systems ' . Theory and applications , 2007 .

[9]  Ackmez Mudhoo,et al.  Sensitivity Analysis and Parameter Optimization of a Heat Loss Model for a Composting System , 2006 .

[10]  Robert K. Ham,et al.  Life-cycle inventory of municipal solid waste and yard waste windrow composting in the United States. , 2004 .

[11]  A. Amirkhani,et al.  Supplier Selection Via Principal Component Analysis: An Empirical Examination , 2008 .

[12]  Klaus Fischer,et al.  Agricultural reclamation of disturbed soils in a lignite mining area using municipal and coal wastes: the humus situation at the beginning of reclamation , 1999, Plant and Soil.

[13]  Eliot Epstein,et al.  Defining Biosolids Stability , 1997 .

[14]  Pierpaolo D'Urso,et al.  A possibilistic approach to latent component analysis for symmetric fuzzy data , 2005, Fuzzy Sets Syst..

[15]  P. Walsh,et al.  Decision maker's guide to solid waste management , 1995 .

[16]  R. Haug.  The Practical Handbook of Compost Engineering , 1993 .

[17]  Thomas R. Cundari,et al.  Robust Fuzzy Principal Component Analysis (FPCA). A Comparative Study Concerning Interaction of Carbon-Hydrogen Bonds with Molybdenum-Oxo Bonds , 2002, J. Chem. Inf. Comput. Sci..

[18]  Jerry Y. C. Huang.  Market Potential for Sludge Compost Product , 1986 .

[19]  Ching-Lai Hwang,et al.  Fuzzy Multiple Attribute Decision Making - Methods and Applications , 1992, Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems.

[20]  G. Almendros,et al.  Evaluation of parameters related to chemical and agrobiological qualities of wheat-straw composts including different additives , 1995 .

[21]  Guo H. Huang,et al.  Inexact de Novo programming for water resources systems planning , 2009, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[22]  Johan Springael,et al.  PROMETHEE and AHP: The design of operational synergies in multicriteria analysis.: Strengthening PROMETHEE with ideas of AHP , 2004, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[23]  Li He,et al.  Quality evaluation for composting products through fuzzy latent component analysis , 2008 .

[24]  Ivan Popchev,et al.  Comparison of clusters from fuzzy numbers , 1998, Fuzzy Sets Syst..

[25]  Gordon H. Huang,et al.  Water Quality Index: A Fuzzy River-Pollution Decision Support Expert System , 2007 .

[26]  G. Huang,et al.  A Temperature-Guided Three-Stage Inoculation Method for Municipal Solid Wastes Composting , 2007 .

[27]  Harold M. Keener,et al.  NUMERICAL MODEL FOR THE DYNAMIC SIMULATION OF A LARGE SCALE COMPOSTING SYSTEM , 1997 .

[28]  Dale A. Devitt,et al.  Residential Assessment and Perception Toward Biosolids Compost Use in an Urban Setting , 2004 .

[29]  Heribert Insam,et al.  Application of multivariate analysis of variance and related techniques in soil studies with substrate utilization tests , 1997 .

[30]  Riccardo Dulmin,et al.  Supplier selection using a multi-criteria decision aid method , 2003 .

[31]  Francesco Costantino,et al.  Multistage bilateral bargaining model with incomplete information—A fuzzy approach , 2009 .