A bi-level optimization model for technology selection

ABSTRACT

Optimal selection of technologies by multiple decision-makers using multiple criteria is a common problem which can be modeled as a leader-follower game. This study develops a bi-level, bi-objective mixed integer non-linear program for technology selection. Both leader and follower choose their preferred alternative based on simple additive weighting of techno-economic criteria, and the leader can influence the follower’s choice via an economic incentive. The players have different sets of priority weights. The optimal solution occurs when both agree on the final technology choice. The original model is reformulated as a tractable single-level, single-objective mixed integer linear program and demonstrated on a case study on the selection of technologies for climate change mitigation. The results of the case study show how a calibrated economic incentive can be imposed by the leader on the follower to ensure the agreement of their technology choice. Implications of this methodology for practical problems are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Stackelberg game
• bilevel programming
• selection problem
• green engineering
• negative emissions technologies
• multi-criterion decision making

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kathleen B. Aviso

Kathleen B. Aviso is a University Fellow and Professor at De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines. She has published more than 160 publications in the Scopus database and has an h-index of 26. Her field of interest is in process systems engineering, focusing on the development of mathematical models for environmental decision-making. She is currently the executive editor of the Journal of Cleaner Production and a part of the editorial board of Process Integration and Optimization for Sustainability, Computers in Industry and Heliyon. She is also one of the authors of the book Input-Output Models for Sustainable Industrial Systems.

Anthony S. F. Chiu

(Anthony) Shun Fung Chiu is a University Fellow and Professor at De La Salle University.  He teaches industrial ecology and cleaner production in the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department. He has over 100 publications in the Scopus database and has an h-index of 28. He is currently the editor-in-chief of the Elsevier journal Cleaner and Responsible Consumption.

Aristotle T. Ubando

Aristotle T. Ubando is a Full Professor and Research Fellow at the Mechanical Engineering Department, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines. He is the head of the Thermomechanical Analysis Laboratory at De La Salle University – Laguna Campus. His research includes finite element analysis, computational fluid dynamics, process integration and optimization, and energy system modelling. He has published more than 130 Scopus-indexed journal papers in the national and international level. He is selected as one of the 2017 Asian Scientist 100 for his contribution in the sustainability field. He is a multi-awarded scientist in the Philippines, among his national awards is the Outstanding Young Scientist in 2016 bestowed by the National Academy of Science and Technology. He is also a recipient of the Fulbright Scholarship Program at the University of Arizona and Texas A&M University in 2013.

Raymond R. Tan

Raymond R. Tan is a Professor of Chemical Engineering and University Fellow of De La Salle University and an Academician of the Philippine National Academy of Science and Technology. In the Scopus database, he has over 400 publications and 8,000 citations, with an h-index of 47. He works in the research area of process systems engineering, with applications to process integration and carbon management. He is editor-in-chief of Process Integration and Optimization for Sustainability, associate editor of Sustainable Production and Consumption and of Cleaner Engineering and Technology, and serves as editorial board member of Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy. He is the author of the books Process Integration Approaches to Planning Carbon Management Networks and Input-Output Models for Sustainable Industrial Systems, and editor of the books Recent Advances in Sustainable Process Design and Optimization and Process Design Strategies for Biomass Conversion Systems. He has received multiple scientific awards from government and professional organizations in the Philippines.