Pinch Analysis helps in achieving
sustainable development through
conserving resources in various source–sink resource conservation
networks. Diverse applications and methodologies of Pinch Analysis
primarily consider only exact and precise parameters without accounting
for variabilities and uncertainties. With the unavailability of past
data and lack of proper understanding of different operations involved,
designers have to account for epistemic uncertainties during synthesizing
source–sink networks. Such epistemic uncertainties can be represented
as interval numbers, with upper and lower limits. An interval linear
programming formulation, incorporating uncertain network parameters
as interval numbers, is developed in this paper to address resource
conservations in real-world problems. Two alternate approaches, a
fuzzy satisfaction approach and a novel best–worst method,
are proposed and solved using the principles of Pinch Analysis. Proposed
methodologies to address the interval Pinch Analysis are illustrated
through diverse examples (such as water conservation networks, industrial
solvent selections to reduce environmental risk, and biochar-based
carbon management networks), and proposed approaches are compared.
It is concluded that the range of optimal resource requirement is
lower for the best–worst approach with significantly reduced
options for topological trap due to pinch-jump. Furthermore, the underlying
physical understandings of Pinch Analysis are explored, and their
implications to appropriately handle epistemic uncertainties during
the synthesis of such networks are demonstrated.