Geospatial Multi-Criteria Approach for Ranking Suitable Shallow Aquifers for the Implementation of an On-Farm Solar-PV Desalination System for Sustainable Agriculture

Rim Mehdaoui, Makram Anane, Edgardo E. Cañas Kurz, Ulrich Hellriegel and Jan Hoinkis
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Rim Mehdaoui: Laboratory of Wastewaters and Environment, Centre of Water Researches and Technologies (CERTE), Technopark Borj Cedria, Touristic Road of Soliman, BP 273, Soliman 8020, Tunisia
Makram Anane: Laboratory of Wastewaters and Environment, Centre of Water Researches and Technologies (CERTE), Technopark Borj Cedria, Touristic Road of Soliman, BP 273, Soliman 8020, Tunisia
Edgardo E. Cañas Kurz: Center of Applied Research (CAR), University of Applied Sciences Karlsruhe, Moltkestraße 30, 76133 Karlsruhe, Germany
Ulrich Hellriegel: Center of Applied Research (CAR), University of Applied Sciences Karlsruhe, Moltkestraße 30, 76133 Karlsruhe, Germany
Jan Hoinkis: Center of Applied Research (CAR), University of Applied Sciences Karlsruhe, Moltkestraße 30, 76133 Karlsruhe, Germany

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 13, 1-25

Abstract: The main purpose of this study was to assess and rank suitable shallow aquifers for the implementation of a solar-PV desalination system (SmaIrriCube) in small-scale farms in arid and semi-arid Mediterranean regions, such as Tunisia. A GIS-based Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA-GIS) model was developed. A SMART method was applied to evaluate the relative importance of the criteria and the Weighted Sum Model was used to generate the suitability map, in line with technology efficiency (SmaIrriCube Eff ) and farmer acceptability (SmaIrriCube Acc ). The overall results showed that 188 out of the 204 Tunisian shallow aquifers are potentially viable for implementing the SmaIrriCube system. For SmaIrriCube Eff , the central and southern aquifers were found to be the most suitable, with a Suitability index (Si) exceeding 0.5, mostly due to the high solar irradiation and evaporation rate. In terms of acceptability, the southern aquifers are the most preferable, with a Si higher than 0.56, due to high solar irradiation, evaporation rate and groundwater quantity and quality. The results also indicated that the removal of evaporation and solar photovoltaic modules significantly affected the aquifer ranking, with the southern and central aquifers being the most sensitive to these criteria. The GIS-MCDA approach was proven to be a practical, upgradable and time/cost-efficient solution for decision-making, which can be extended to other technologies and/or regions with similar climatic characteristics.

Keywords: Weighted Sum Model; GIS; reverse osmosis; membrane capacitive deionization; renewable energy; evaporation pond; irrigation; shallow aquifers; Tunisia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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