IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v256y2026ipes096014812501972x.html

Sustainable wastewater-to-hydrogen systems in Canada: A scenario-based decision support analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Bonakdari, Hossein
  • Khazaei, Moein
  • Gholian-Jouybari, Fatemeh
  • Hajiaghaei-Keshteli, Mostafa

Abstract

Canada's commitment to single-family residences, supported by a 2/3 home ownership rate, clashes with the environmental issues caused by residential wastewater, highlighting the need for innovative solutions to align housing expansion with environmental sustainability. The presence of untreated wastewater and emerging contaminants also necessitates substantial investments in innovative treatment approaches, like converting wastewater into hydrogen. Faced with the burgeoning issue of wastewater management from single-family residences in Canada, this study employs the Fuzzy Combined Compromise Solution (CoCoSo) methodology to reconcile residential expansion with sustainable waste management. The approach evaluates three scenarios (private sector management, state governance, and AI monitoring) against expert-defined criteria grouped into twelve indicators across three categories: technical-environmental, economic-operational, and regulatory-social. Results show that the AI monitoring scenario ranked highest overall, with defuzzified scores of 5.91 in the economic-operational category and 6.90 in the regulatory-social category. The private sector management scenario led in the technical-environmental category with a score of 5.89, surpassing AI only when the weight of technical criteria exceeded 0.7. These findings support the adoption of an AI-integrated circular system that leverages smart technologies to balance performance, regulatory compliance, and sustainability in residential wastewater-to-energy conversion.

Suggested Citation

  • Bonakdari, Hossein & Khazaei, Moein & Gholian-Jouybari, Fatemeh & Hajiaghaei-Keshteli, Mostafa, 2026. "Sustainable wastewater-to-hydrogen systems in Canada: A scenario-based decision support analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(PE).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:256:y:2026:i:pe:s096014812501972x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2025.124308
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096014812501972X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2025.124308?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yuru Guan & Jin Yan & Yuli Shan & Yannan Zhou & Ye Hang & Ruoqi Li & Yu Liu & Binyuan Liu & Qingyun Nie & Benedikt Bruckner & Kuishuang Feng & Klaus Hubacek, 2023. "Burden of the global energy price crisis on households," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 8(3), pages 304-316, March.
    2. Xue Han & Pratibha Rani, 2022. "RETRACTED ARTICLE: Evaluate the barriers of blockchain technology adoption in sustainable supply chain management in the manufacturing sector using a novel Pythagorean fuzzy-CRITIC-CoCoSo approach," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 725-742, December.
    3. Silva, Thiago Abrantes & de Araujo, Matheus Neves & de Rezende, Elias Gabriel Fernandes & Saia, Flávia Talarico & Magalhães, Iara Barbosa & de Paula Pereira, Alexia Saleme Aona & Ferreira, Jéssica & G, 2025. "Biohydrogen production from wastewater-grown microalgae-bacteria consortia: Optimizing inoculum selection for enhanced yield," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
    4. Thumm, Alex Jürgen & Perl, Anthony, 2020. "Puzzling over parking: Assessing the transitional parking requirement in Vancouver, British Columbia," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 85-101.
    5. Ramezani, Mohammad & Khazaei, Moein & Gholian-Jouybari, Fatemeh & Sandoval-Correa, Alejandro & Bonakdari, Hossein & Hajiaghaei-Keshteli, Mostafa, 2024. "Turquoise hydrogen and waste optimization: A Bi-objective closed-loop and sustainable supply chain model for a case in Mexico," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    6. Mauro Lizot & Andreia S. Goffi & Shirley S. Thesari & Flavio Trojan & Paulo S. L. P. Afonso & Paula F. V. Ferreira, 2021. "Multi-criteria methodology for selection of wastewater treatment systems with economic, social, technical and environmental aspects," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(7), pages 9827-9851, July.
    7. Khalifeh Soltani, Sayed Rashid & Mostafaeipour, Ali & Mishra, Phoolendra & Alidoost, Sara & Jahangiri, Mehdi & Abrisham Kar, Mohammad, 2025. "Green hydrogen production and prediction using floating photovoltaic panels on wastewater ponds," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    8. Jan, Saima & Mishra, Awdhesh Kumar & Bhat, Mujtaba Aamir & Bhat, Mudasir Ahmad & Qyyum, Muhammad Abdul & Rahman, Safikur & Jan, Arif Tasleem, 2025. "Biodiesel in circular economy: A perspective study on recent trends and environmental challenges in sustainable energy production," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhou, Youcheng & Li, Bingchen & Zhao, Mengqi, 2025. "Asymmetric association between supply chain bottlenecks and consumer energy prices: Evidence from quantile-on-quantile approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    2. Nicholas Bamegne Nambie & Philomena Dadzie & Dorcas Oye Haywood-Dadzie, 2023. "Measuring the Effect of Income Inequality, Financial Inclusion, Investment, and Unemployment, on Economic Growth in Africa: A Moderating Role of Digital Financial Technology," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 13(4), pages 111-124, July.
    3. Sun, Mingsong & Song, Yutong & Ren, Fei, 2026. "Geopolitical fractures in energy markets: Cross-dimensional analysis of security, socioeconomic, and policy landscapes under Russia-Ukraine conflict," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    4. Szczygielski, Jan Jakub & Charteris, Ailie & Obojska, Lidia & Brzeszczyński, Janusz, 2025. "Energy in turmoil: Industry resilience to uncertainty during the global energy crisis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 389(C).
    5. Sergii Boichenko & Anna Yakovlieva & Stepan Zubenko & Iryna Shkilniuk, 2025. "Physical, Chemical, and Performance Properties of Biodiesel Fuels: A Comparative Study of Lipid-Based Feedstocks," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-25, August.
    6. Qiang Wang & Yuanfan Li & Rongrong Li, 2024. "Rethinking the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis across 214 countries: the impacts of 12 economic, institutional, technological, resource, and social factors," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-19, December.
    7. He, Yongda & Du, Anna Min & Lin, Boqiang & Scrimgeour, Frank, 2025. "Energy-capital substitution, technological innovation, and monetary policy," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    8. Rao, Amar & Srivastava, Mrinalini & Parihar, Jaya Singh & Chavriya, Shubham & Hosen, Mosharrof, 2024. "Minerals at the crossroads: Economic policies, global trade, and renewable energy in the global South," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    9. Alina Kalle & Miriam Muller, 2024. "If Children Aren’t Full, Can Adults Eat?," World Bank Publications - Reports 42272, The World Bank Group.
    10. Niu, Jide & Li, Xiaoyuan & Tian, Zhe & Yang, Hongxing, 2024. "Uncertainty analysis of the electric vehicle potential for a household to enhance robustness in decision on the EV/V2H technologies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 365(C).
    11. Işık, Cem & Kuziboev, Bekhzod & Ongan, Serdar & Saidmamatov, Olimjon & Mirkhoshimova, Mokhirakhon & Rajabov, Alibek, 2024. "The volatility of global energy uncertainty: Renewable alternatives," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 297(C).
    12. Chen, Yu-Hsien & Liu, John Chung-En, 2025. "Can bureaucrats change light bulbs? Institutional constraints of energy poverty alleviation programs in Taiwan," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    13. Hoppe, Janna & Tröndle, Tim & Patt, Anthony, 2025. "“I didn't like them from the beginning, and I hate them now.” Changes in attitudes towards electric vehicles and phase-out policies for conventional cars," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    14. Gu, Jiafeng, 2023. "Energy poverty and government subsidies in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    15. Zhang, Xinmin & Zang, Hong & Li, Lue & Wang, Miao, 2026. "Renewable energy technology innovation and energy security: the role of institutional environment," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(PH).
    16. McKenzie, Paul & Gawley, David, 2026. "Evaluating the potential of solar PV to reduce energy costs in fuel poor households," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(PG).
    17. Piazza, Lucia & Pietro Colelli, Francesco & Pasut, Wilmer & De Cian, Enrica, 2025. "How do domestic solar PV users respond to price and temperature shocks? Evidence from Italy between 2021–2022," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    18. Minh Nguyen Dat & Kien Duong Trung & Phap Vu Minh & Chau Dinh Van & Quynh T. Tran & Trung Nguyen Ngoc, 2023. "Assessment of Energy Efficiency Using an Energy Monitoring System: A Case Study of a Major Energy-Consuming Enterprise in Vietnam," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-15, July.
    19. Yuru Guan & Yuli Shan & Ye Hang & Qingyun Nie & Yu Liu & Klaus Hubacek, 2025. "Unlocking global carbon reduction potential by embracing low-carbon lifestyles," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-16, December.
    20. Najafov, Bakhtiyar & Garazade, Ismayil M. & Gupta, Rakesh Kumar & Singh, Gurjaspreet & Sun, Wei & Pombeiro, Armando J.L. & Mohan, Brij, 2025. "Understanding advanced membranes for clean energy: COFs and GO approaches in osmotic power generation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 402(PA).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:256:y:2026:i:pe:s096014812501972x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.