Integration and Development of Fuzzy QFD for Evaluation and Selection of Biofuel Development Strategies

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Industrial Management, Faculty of Administrative and Economics, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

2 Associated Professor, Department of Industrial Management, Faculty of Administrative and Economics, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

Abstract

Introduction: In order to achieve sustainable development goals and reduce dependence on fossil fuels, biofuels are considered a sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative. The biofuels industry can increase energy security by diversifying energy sources and reducing reliance on fossil fuel imports. However, evaluating and selecting the best solutions for its development requires the use of appropriate methodologies.
Metods: This research is practical in nature and can be considered descriptive-survey research, as it focuses on identifying and ranking the challenges, strategies, and solutions for the development of biofuels. In this article, the integration and development of the quality function deployment (QFD) method are used to evaluate and select biofuel development strategies. Based on this approach, after reviewing the theoretical framework and collecting expert opinions through the fuzzy Delphi method, the challenges, strategies, and operational solutions for biofuel development were identified. Then, using a two-stage fuzzy QFD, the importance of strategies against challenges and the weight of solutions against strategies were assessed. In the final stage, by integrating and developing QFD with the TOPSIS method, the ranking of biofuel development solutions was conducted.
Result and Discussion: A systematic review of the theoretical framework identified the most important challenges and obstacles to the sustainable development of biofuels, which were categorized into four dimensions: economic, technical, environmental, and socio-political. The 20 challenges extracted from the theoretical framework were screened using the fuzzy Delphi method and reduced to 13 challenges after aggregating expert opinions. In the next step, the experts selected the best and worst challenges and compared the importance of other challenges to them. After aggregating the opinions and formulating the non-linear mathematical model, the challenges' weights were calculated using Lingo software. Based on the results of the Best-Worst Method (BWM), "unstable supply of raw materials and energy" and "lack of cost-effective innovations and technologies" were identified as the most and least important challenges, respectively. In the first phase of the QFD method, the strategies for addressing these challenges were weighted. According to the experts, the strategies of "research and development of programs to improve the biofuel production process" and "research and development of new and advanced technologies for biofuel production" were identified as the most important strategies. In the final phase of QFD, 10 executive solutions for biofuel development were evaluated and ranked against the prioritized strategies. The three top-ranked solutions were: establishing and enhancing standards, supporting sustainable producers, and protecting biodiversity.
Conclusions: Biofuels will play a crucial role in the future, but their production faces certain challenges. The unstable supply of raw materials and energy is one of the most significant challenges identified in this study. The implementation solutions proposed in this study can contribute effectively to biofuel production. In general, promoting environmental sustainability involves actions such as increasing the use of renewable resources, reducing reliance on non-renewable resources, promoting biofuels, improving energy efficiency, and managing waste and industrial effluents effectively.

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