AHP-TOPSIS-based technology comparison for remediation of iron and manganese contaminated groundwater for operating enterprises

Screening scientific and reasonable groundwater remediation technologies for operating enterprises is of great significance for effectively remediating contaminated groundwater bodies, saving corporate environmental investment, and achieving green and sustainable development. For the groundwater contaminated by iron and manganese of an operating enterprise, four technical schemes were put forward: extraction treatment, in-situ chemical oxidation, permeable reactive barrier, and monitoring natural attenuation, and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method and the technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS) were used to select the best remediation scheme. 14 indicators in technical, economic, environmental and social terms were selected to establish the AHP model. The indicator weights were first determined by AHP, and then the four remediation schemes were ranked by TOPSIS in order of merit. The results showed that the technical scheme of monitoring natural attenuation was most suitable for groundwater treatment and remediation of the operating enterprise, due to its advantages in resource and energy consumption, waste generation and discharge, and pre-construction investment.