Search results for: portable water

Authors: D. Jagath Kumari, K. Srinivasa Rao

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Quality assurance of the structures subjected to high temperatures is now enforcing measure for the Structural Engineers. The existing relations between strength and nondestructive measurements have been established under normal conditions are not suitable to concretes that have been exposed to high temperatures. The scope of the work is to investigate the influence of high temperatures of short durations on the residual properties of reinforced HVFA concrete columns that affect the strength by non-destructive tests (NDT). Fly ash concrete is increasingly used in the design of normal strength, high strength and high performance concretes. In this paper, the authors revealed the influence of high temperatures on HVFA concrete columns. These columns are heated from 100oC to 800oC with increments of 100oC and allowed to cool to room temperature by two methods one is air cooling method and the other immediate water quenching method. All the specimens were tested identically, before heating and after heating for compressive strength and material integrity by rebound hammer and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) meter respectively. HVFA concrete retained more residual strength by water quenching method than air-cooling method.

Keywords: HVFA concrete, NDT methods, residual strength, non-destructive tests

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Authors: Tatiane Benvenuti, Fernando Hamerski, Alexandre Giacobbo, Andrea M. Bernardes, Marco A. S. Rodrigues

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Population growth in urban areas has caused damages to the environment, a consequence of the uncontrolled dumping of domestic and industrial wastewater. The capacity of some plants to purify domestic and agricultural wastewater has been demonstrated by several studies. Since natural wetlands have the ability to transform, retain and remove nutrients, constructed wetlands have been used for wastewater treatment. They are widely recognized as an economical, efficient and environmentally acceptable means of treating many different types of wastewater. T. domingensis Pers. species have shown a good performance and low deployment cost to extract, detoxify and sequester pollutants. Constructed Floating Wetlands (CFWs) consist of emergent vegetation established upon a buoyant structure, floating on surface waters. The upper parts of the vegetation grow and remain primarily above the water level, while the roots extend down in the water column, developing an extensive under water-level root system. Thus, the vegetation grows hydroponically, performing direct nutrient uptake from the water column. Biofilm is attached on the roots and rhizomes, and as physical and biochemical processes take place, the system functions as a natural filter. The aim of this study is to diagnose the application of macrophytes in artificial floating in the treatment of domestic sewage in south Brazil. The T. domingensis Pers. plants were placed in a flotation system (polymer structure), in full scale, in a sewage treatment plant. The sewage feed rate was 67.4 m³.d⁻¹ ± 8.0, and the hydraulic retention time was 11.5 d ± 1.3. This CFW treat the sewage generated by 600 inhabitants, which corresponds to 12% of the population served by this municipal treatment plant. During 12 months, samples were collected every two weeks, in order to evaluate parameters as chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand in 5 days (BOD5), total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), total phosphorus, total solids, and metals. The average removal of organic matter was around 55% for both COD and BOD5. For nutrients, TKN was reduced in 45.9% what was similar to the total phosphorus removal, while for total solids the reduction was 33%. For metals, aluminum, copper, and cadmium, besides in low concentrations, presented the highest percentage reduction, 82.7, 74.4 and 68.8% respectively. Chromium, iron, and manganese removal achieved values around 40-55%. The use of T. domingensis Pers. in artificial floating for sewage treatment is an effective and innovative alternative in Brazilian sewage treatment systems. The evaluation of additional parameters in the treatment system may give useful information in order to improve the removal efficiency and increase the quality of the water bodies.

Keywords: constructed wetland, floating system, sewage treatment, Typha domingensis Pers.

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Authors: Moustafa Ali Elwan, Ibrahim Salem Abdelrafa, Ashraf Moharm

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Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are among the most commonly prescribed oral and topical drugs worldwide. Moreover, NSAIDs are responsible for most of all adverse drug reactions. For several decades, there are numerous attempts to use the cutaneous layers as a gate into the body for the local delivery of the therapeutic agent. Transdermal drug delivery is a validated technology contributing significantly to global pharmaceutical care. Transdermal Drug Delivery systems can be improved by using therapeutic agents. Moreover, Transdermal Drug Delivery systems can be improved by using chemical enhancers like ultrasound or iontophoresis. Iontophoresis provides a mechanism to enhance the penetration of hydrophilic and charged molecules across the skin. Objective: to compare the drug administration by ‘iontophoresis’ versus the oral rule. Methods: This study was conducted at the Faculty of Physical Therapy, Modern University for technology and information, Cairo, Egypt, on 20 participants (8 female & 12 male) who complained of tennis elbow. Their mean age was (25.45 ± 3.98) years, and all participants were assessed in many aspects: Pain threshold was assessed by algometer. Range of motion was assessed by electro goniometer, and isometric strength was assessed by a portable hand-held dynamometer. Then Participants were randomly assigned into two groups: group A was treated with oral NSAID (diclofenac) while group B was treated via administration of NSAIDs (diclofenac) via an iontophoresis device. All the participants were subjected to blood samples analysis in both pre-administration of the drug and post-administration of the drug for 24 hours (sample/every 6 hours). Results: The results demonstrated that there was a significant improvement in group b, “iontophoresis NSAIDs group,” more than in group B,” oral NSAIDs group,” in all measurements ‘ pain threshold, strength, and range of motion. Also, the iontophoresis method shows higher maximum plasma concentrations (Cmax) and concentration-time curves than the oral method.

Keywords: diclofenac, iontophoresis, NSAIDs, oral, tennis elbow

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Authors: Ar.Abhishek Ranka

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Cultural landscapes are a part of a nation’s heritage, which represent the exquisite combination of Natural (Ecological) & Built (Architectural) fabric, consisting of many historic gardens, water management system, sustainable planning, and designed framework. The use of landscape and topography with Tangible &Intangible heritage components (forts, temples, tombs, mosques, etc.) are locally, regionally, and nationally significant. The paper speaks about the contribution of Bahmani Sultanate to military architecture in the Deccan region. It is a study of the series of seven land forts as a cultural landscape, which plays an important role in shaping the knowledge systems in the form of typologies of military architecture, water management system, and the administrative setups, which are presently located in the cultural region, Marathwada of the Deccan. Conservation of Culturall and scapeasan approach offers opportunities to better integrate natural and cultural heritage conservation. Conserving of Seven Land forts could act as an inspirational model for other sites.

Keywords: bahmani sultanate, deccan region, land forts, culture landscape, military architecture, tradational knowledge system, architectural conservation

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Authors: Abdeghani Qadem

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Climate change is now an undeniable reality with increasing impacts on water systems worldwide, especially leading to severe drought episodes. The Southern Mediterranean region is particularly affected by this drought, which can have devastating consequences on water resources. Morocco, due to its geographical location in North Africa and the Southern Mediterranean, is especially vulnerable to these effects of climate change, particularly drought. In this context, this article focuses on the study of climate variability and drought characteristics in the Saiss Plateau region and its adjacent areas with the Middle Atlas, using specific statistical indices. The study begins by analyzing the annual precipitation variation, with a particular emphasis on data homogenization and gap filling using a regional vector. Then, the analysis delves into drought episodes in the region, using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) over a 12-month period. The central objective is to accurately assess significant drought changes between 1980 and 2015, based on data collected from nine meteorological stations located in the study area.

Keywords: climate variability, regional vector, drought, standardized precipitation index, Saiss Plateau, middle atlas

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Authors: A. Bayat, R. Bello-Mendoza, D. G. Wareham

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Two major categories of green waste are fruit and vegetable (FV) waste and garden and yard (GY) waste. Although, anaerobic digestions (AD) is able to manage FV waste; there is less confidence in the conditions for AD to handle GY wastes (grass, leaves, trees and bush trimmings); mainly because GY contains lignin and other recalcitrant organics. GY in the dry state (TS ≥ 15 %) can be digested at mesophilic temperatures; however, little methane data has been reported under thermophilic conditions, where conceivably better methane yields could be achieved. In addition, it is suspected that at lower solids concentrations, the methane yield could be increased. As such, the aim of this research is to find the temperature and solids concentration conditions that produce the most methane; under two different temperature regimes (mesophilic, thermophilic) and three solids states (i.e. 'dry', 'semi-dry' and 'wet'). Twenty liters of GY waste was collected from a public park located in the northern district in Tehran. The clippings consisted of freshly cut grass as well as dry branches and leaves. The GY waste was chopped before being fed into a mechanical blender that reduced it to a paste-like consistency. An initial TS concentration of approximately 38 % was achieved. Four hundred mL of anaerobic inoculum (average total solids (TS) concentration of 2.03 ± 0.131 % of which 73.4% were volatile solid (VS), soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCOD) of 4.59 ± 0.3 g/L) was mixed with the GY waste substrate paste (along with distilled water) to achieve a TS content of approximately 20 %. For comparative purposes, approximately 20 liters of FV waste was ground in the same manner as the GY waste. Since FV waste has a much higher natural water content than GY, it was dewatered to obtain a starting TS concentration in the dry solid-state range (TS ≥ 15 %). Three samples were dewatered to an average starting TS concentration of 32.71 %. The inoculum was added (along with distilled water) to dilute the initial FV TS concentrations down to semi-dry conditions (10-15 %) and wet conditions (below 10 %). Twelve 1-L batch bioreactors were loaded simultaneously with either GY or FV waste at TS solid concentrations ranging from 3.85 ± 1.22 % to 20.11 ± 1.23 %. The reactors were sealed and were operated for 30 days while being immersed in water baths to maintain a constant temperature of 37 ± 0.5 °C (mesophilic) or 55 ± 0.5 °C (thermophilic). A maximum methane yield of 115.42 (L methane/ kg VS added) was obtained for the GY thermophilic-wet AD combination. Methane yield was enhanced by 240 % compared to the GY waste mesophilic-dry condition. The results confirm that high temperature regimes and small solids concentrations are conditions that enhance methane yield from GY waste. A similar trend was observed for the anaerobic digestion of FV waste. Furthermore, a maximum value of VS (53 %) and sCOD (84 %) reduction was achieved during the AD of GY waste under the thermophilic-wet condition.

Keywords: anaerobic digestion, thermophilic, mesophilic, total solids concentration

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Authors: Omogoriola Hannah Omoloye

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Fish is a key ingredient on the global menu, a vital factor in the global environment and an important basis for livelihood worldwide1. The length – weight relationships (LWRs) is of great importance in fishery assessment2,3. Its importance is pronounced in estimated the average weight at a given length group4 and in assessing the relative well being of a fish population5. Length and weight measurement in conjunction with age data can give information on the stock composition, age at maturity, life span, mortality, growth and production4,5,6,7. In addition, the data on length and weight can also provides important clues to climatic and environmental changes and the change in human consumption practices8,9. However, the size attained by the individual fish may also vary because of variation in food supply, and these in turn may reflect variation in climatic parameters and in the supply of nutrient or in the degree of competition for food. Environment deterioration, for example, may reduce growth rates and will cause a decrease in the average age of the fish. The condition factor and the relative condition factor10 are the quantitative parameters of the well being state of the fish and reflect recent feeding condition of the fish. It is based on the hypothesis that heavier fish of a given length are in better condition11. This factor varies according to influences of physiological factors, fluctuating according to different stages of the development. Condition factor has been used as an index of growth and feeding intensity12. Condition factor decrease with increase in length 12,13 and also influences the reproductive cycle in fish14. The objective here is to determine the length-weight relationships and condition factor for direct use in fishery assessment and for future comparisons between populations of the same species at different locations. To provide quantitative information on the biology of marine fish species trawl from Nigeria coastal water.

Keywords: condition factor, growth pattern, marine fish species, Nigerian Coastal water

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Authors: Fatma Zuhrotun Nisa, Aprilina Ratriany, Agus Wijanarka

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Background: Cassava leaves are widely used by the people of Indonesia as a vegetable and treat various diseases, including anticancer believed as food. However, not much research on the anticancer activity of cassava leaves, especially in colon cancer. Objectives: the aim of this study is to investigate anti-cancer activity of cassava leaves (Manihot esculanta C.) against colon cancer (WiDr) cells in vitro. Methods: effect of crude aqueous extract of leaves of cassava and cassava leaves boiled tested in colon cancer cells widr. Determination of Anticancer uses the MTT method with parameters such as the percentage of deaths. Results: raw cassava leaf water extract gave IC50 of 63.1 mg / ml. While the water extract of boiled cassava leaves gave IC50 of 79.4 mg/ml. However, there is no difference anticancer activity of raw cassava leaves or cancer (p> 0.05). Conclusion: Cassava leaves contain a variety of compounds that have previously been reported to have anticancer activity. Linamarin, β-carotene, vitamin C, and fiber were thought to affect the IC50 cassava leaf extract against colon cancer cells WiDr.

Keywords: boiled cassava leaves, cassava leaves raw, anticancer activity, colon cancer, IC50

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Authors: Rieski Prihastuti, Meliana Depo, Trisno A. Wibowo, Misinem

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On October 19, 2017, Yogyakarta Islamic Hospital reported 38 garment employees with nausea, vomiting, headache, abdominal pain, and diarrhea after they had lunch on October 18, 2017, to Sleman District Health Office. Objectives of this study were to ensure the outbreak and identify source and route of transmission. Case-control study was conducted to analyze food items that caused the outbreak. A case was defined as a person who got symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea with/without vomiting, fever, and headache after they had lunch on October 18, 2017. Samples included leftover lunch box, vomit, tap water and drinking water had been sent to the laboratory. Data were analyzed descriptively as frequency table and analyzed by using chi-square in bivariate analysis. All of 196 garment employee was included in this study. The common symptoms of this outbreak were abdominal pain (84.4%), diarrhea (72.8%), nausea (61.6%), headache (52.8%), vomiting (12.8%), and fever (6.4%) with median incubation period 13 hours (range 1-34 hours). Highest attack rate and odds ratio was found in grilled chicken (Attack Rate 58,49%) with Odds Ratio 11,023 (Confidence Interval 95% 1.383 - 87.859; p value 0,005). Almost all samples showed mold, except drinking water. Based on its sign and symptoms, also incubation period, diarrheal Bacillus cereus and Clostridium perfringens were suspected to be the causative agent of the outbreak. Limitation of this study was improper sample handling and no sample of food handler and stools in the food caterer. Outbreak investigation training needed to be given to the hospital worker, and monitoring should be done to the food caterer to prevent another outbreak.

Keywords: disease outbreak, foodborne disease, food poisoning, outbreak

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Authors: Amrit Pal Singh Arora

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The paper reports the results of a study undertaken to study the effects of addition of steel fibres of different aspect ratios on the permeability and strength characteristics of steel fiber reinforced fly ash concrete (SFRC). Corrugated steel fibres having a diameter of 0.6 mm and lengths of 12.5 mm, 30 mm and 50 mm were used in this study. Cube samples of 100 mm x 100 mm x 100 mm were cast from mixes replacing 0%, 10%, 20% and 30% cement content by fly ash with and without fibres and tested for the determination of coefficient of water permeability, compressive and split tensile strengths after 7 and 28 days of curing. Plain concrete samples were also cast and tested for reference purposes. Permeability was observed to decrease significantly for all concrete mixes with the addition of steel fibers as compared to plain concrete. The replacement of cement content by fly ash results in an increase in the coefficient of water permeability. With the addition of fly ash to the plain mix the7 day compressive and split tensile strengths decreased, however both the compressive and split tensile strengths increased with increase in curing age.

Keywords: curing age, fiber shape, fly ash, Darcy’s law, Ppermeability

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Authors: Tomasz Łęga, Marta Sosnowska, Mirosława Panasiuk, Lilit Hovhannisyan, Beata Gromadzka, Marcin Olszewski, Sabina Zoledowska, Dawid Nidzworski

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Toxic heavy metal ion contamination of industrial wastewater has recently become a significant environmental concern in many regions of the world. Although the majority of heavy metals are naturally occurring elements found on the earth's surface, anthropogenic activities such as mining and smelting, industrial production, and agricultural use of metals and metal-containing compounds are responsible for the majority of environmental contamination and human exposure. The permissible limits (ppm) for heavy metals in food, water and soil are frequently exceeded and considered hazardous to humans, other organisms, and the environment as a whole. Human exposure to highly nickel-polluted environments causes a variety of pathologic effects. In 2008, nickel received the shameful name of “Allergen of the Year” (GILLETTE 2008). According to the dermatologist, the frequency of nickel allergy is still growing, and it can’t be explained only by fashionable piercing and nickel devices used in medicine (like coronary stents and endoprostheses). Effective remediation methods for removing heavy metal ions from soil and water are becoming increasingly important. Among others, methods such as chemical precipitation, micro- and nanofiltration, membrane separation, conventional coagulation, electrodialysis, ion exchange, reverse and forward osmosis, photocatalysis and polymer or carbon nanocomposite absorbents have all been investigated so far. The importance of environmentally sustainable industrial production processes and the conservation of dwindling natural resources has highlighted the need for affordable, innovative biosorptive materials capable of recovering specific chemical elements from dilute aqueous solutions. The use of combinatorial phage display techniques for selecting and recognizing material-binding peptides with a selective affinity for any target, particularly inorganic materials, has gained considerable interest in the development of advanced bio- or nano-materials. However, due to the limitations of phage display libraries and the biopanning process, the accuracy of molecular recognition for inorganic materials remains a challenge. This study presents the isolation, identification and characterisation of metal binding phage clones that preferentially recover nickel.

Keywords: Heavy metal recovery, cleaning water, phage display, nickel

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Authors: Saem Lee, Thanh Nguyen, Hio-Jung Shin, Thomas Koellner

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Land-use management has an influence on the provision of ecosystem service in dynamic, agricultural landscapes. Agricultural land use is important for maintaining the productivity and sustainability of agricultural ecosystems. However, in Korea, intensive farming activities in this highland agricultural zone, the upper stream of Soyang has led to contaminated soil caused by over-use pesticides and fertilizers. This has led to decrease in water and soil quality, which has consequences for ecosystem services and human wellbeing. Conventional farming has still high percentage in this area and there is no special measure to prevent low water quality caused by farming activities. Therefore, the adoption of environmentally friendly farming has been considered one of the alternatives that lead to improved water quality and increase in biomass production. Concurrently, farm households with environmentally friendly farming have occupied still low rates. Therefore, our research involved a farm household survey spanning conventional farming, the farm in transition and organic farming in Soyang watershed. Another purpose of our research was to compare economic advantage of the farmers adopting environmentally friendly farming and non-adaptors and to investigate the different factors by logistic regression analysis with socio-economic and benefit-cost ratio variables. The results found that farmers with environmentally friendly farming tended to be younger than conventional farming and farmer in transition. They are similar in terms of gender which was predominately male. Farmers with environmentally friendly farming were more educated and had less farming experience than conventional farming and farmer in transition. Based on the benefit-cost analysis, total costs that farm in transition farmers spent for one year are about two times as much as the sum of costs in environmentally friendly farming. The benefit of organic farmers was assessed with 2,800 KRW per household per year. In logistic regression, the factors having statistical significance are subsidy and district, residence period and benefit-cost ratio. And district and residence period have the negative impact on the practice of environmentally friendly farming techniques. The results of our research make a valuable contribution to provide important information to describe Korean policy-making for agricultural and water management and to consider potential approaches to policy that would substantiate ways beneficial for sustainable resource management.

Keywords: organic farming, logistic regression, profitability, agricultural land-use

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Authors: Anton Trník, Lenka Scheinherrová, Robert Černý

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Silica fume is a by-product of the ferro-silicon and silicon metal industries. It is mainly in the form of amorphous silica. Silica fume belongs to pozzolanic active materials which can be used in concrete to improve its final properties. In this paper, the influence of silica fume on hydration of cement pastes is studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TG) at various curing times (2, 7, 28, and 90 days) in the temperature range from 25 to 1000 °C in an argon atmosphere. Samples are prepared from Portland cement CEM I 42.5 R which is partially replaced with the silica fume of 4, 8, and 12 wt.%. The water/binder ratio is chosen as 0.5. It is identified and described the liberation of physically bound water, calcium–silicate–hydrates dehydration, portlandite and calcite decomposition in studied samples. Also, it is found out that an exothermic peak at 950 °C is observed without a significant mass change for samples with 12 wt.% of silica fume after two days of hydration. This peak is probably caused by the pozzolanic reaction between silica fume and Portland cement. Its size corresponds to the degree of crystallization between Ca and Si. The portlandite content is lower for the samples with a higher amount of silica fume.

Keywords: differential scanning calorimetry, hydration, silica fume, thermogravimetry

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Authors: Humphrey Danso, Seth Adu

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The high cost of cement and its greenhouse effect on the environment have led to the use of alternative building materials in the production of block and bricks. This study seeks to investigate the properties of compressed earth blocks (CEBs) enhanced with clay pozzolana. CEBs of size 290 × 140 × 100 mm were prepared with 10, 20 and 30 % weight of clay pozzolana. The CEBs were compressed at a constant pressure of 5 MPa and cured for 28 days. The blocks, after 7, 14, 21 and 28 days of curing were tested for density, water absorption, compressive strength and erosion. It was found that amount of pozzolana content did not have much influence on blocks’ density. There was a decline in water absorption of the stabilised blocks ranged between 32.8% and 252.2% over the unstabilised blocks. The highest compressive strength (3.75MPa) of the stabilized blocks was achieved at 28th day of curing with 30% clay pozzolana content, which showed an improvement of 116.8% strength over the unstabilised blocks. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant difference in the erosion resistance between the stabilized blocks and the unstabilised blocks. The study concludes that the inclusion of the clay pozzolana increased the properties of the CEBs, and therefore recommended for use in the building of houses.

Keywords: clay pozzolana, compressed earth blocks (CEBs), compressive strength, erosion test

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Authors: Mimeche Leila, Debabeche Mahmoud

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It is question to study and to value the possibility of settling the process of purification by plants (constructed wetland) to treat the domestic waste water of Biskra, city in a semi-arid environment with grave problems of. According to the bibliography, the process of treatment by plants is considered as more advantageous than the classic techniques. It is the use of beds with macrophytes where the purification is made by the combined action of plants and micro-organisms in a filtering bed. The micro-organisms which are aerobic bacteria and\or anaerobic have for main function to degrade the polluting materials. Plants in the macrophytes beds have for function to serve as support in the development of bacteria and to favour also their development. In this study, we present a preliminary experimental analysis of the potentialities of treatment of some macrpohytes plants, implanted in basins filled of gravel. Analyses physico chemical and bacteriological of the waste water indicate a good elimination of the polluting materials, and put in evidence the purifier power of these plants, in association with bacteria. The obtained results seem to be interesting and encourage deepening the study for other types of plants in other conditions.

Keywords: constructed wetlands, macrophytes, sewage treatment, wastewater

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Authors: Ming-Chan Chung, Wen-Ming Huang, Yi-Chu Liu, Li-Hui Yang, Ming-Jyh Chen

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introduction: Hospital buildings require considerable energy, including air conditioning, lighting, elevators, heating, and medical equipment. Energy consumption in hospitals is expected to increase significantly due to innovative equipment and continuous development plans. Consequently, the environment and climate will be adversely affected. Hospitals should therefore consider transforming from their traditional role of saving lives to being at the forefront of global efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. As healthcare providers, it is our responsibility to provide a high-quality environment while using as little energy as possible. Purpose / Methods: Compare the energy-saving benefits of solar photovoltaic systems and solar hot water systems. The proportion of electricity consumption effectively reduced after the installation of solar photovoltaic systems. To comprehensively assess the potential benefits of utilizing solar energy for both photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal applications in hospitals, a solar PV system was installed covering a total area of 28.95 square meters in 2021. Approval was obtained from the Taiwan Power Company to integrate the system into the hospital's electrical infrastructure for self-use. To measure the performance of the system, a dedicated meter was installed to track monthly power generation, which was then converted into area output using an electric energy conversion factor. This research aims to compare the energy efficiency of solar PV systems and solar thermal systems. Results: Using the conversion formula between electrical and thermal energy, we can compare the energy output of solar heating systems and solar photovoltaic systems. The comparative study draws upon data from February 2021 to February 2023, wherein the solar heating system generated an average of 2.54 kWh of energy per panel per day, while the solar photovoltaic system produced 1.17 kWh of energy per panel per day, resulting in a difference of approximately 2.17 times between the two systems. Conclusions: After conducting statistical analysis and comparisons, it was found that solar thermal heating systems offer higher energy and greater benefits than solar photovoltaic systems. Furthermore, an examination of literature data and simulations of the energy and economic benefits of solar thermal water systems and solar-assisted heat pump systems revealed that solar thermal water systems have higher energy density values, shorter recovery periods, and lower power consumption than solar-assisted heat pump systems. Through monitoring and empirical research in this study, it has been concluded that a heat pump-assisted solar thermal water system represents a relatively superior energy-saving and carbon-reducing solution for medical institutions. Not only can this system help reduce overall electricity consumption and the use of fossil fuels, but it can also provide more effective heating solutions.

Keywords: sustainable development, energy conservation, carbon reduction, renewable energy, heat pump system

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Authors: G. Lei, P. C. Dong, X. Q. Cen, S. Y. Mo

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One of the most significant parameters, describing the effect of water flooding in porous media, is flood-response time, and it is an important index in oilfield development. The responding time in low permeability reservoir is usually calculated by the method of stable state successive substitution neglecting the effect of medium deformation. Numerous studies show that the media deformation has an important impact on the development for low permeability reservoirs and can not be neglected. On the base of streamline tube model, we developed a method to interpret responding time with medium deformation factor. The results show that: the media deformation factor, threshold pressure gradient and well spacing have a significant effect on the flood response time. The greater the media deformation factor, threshold pressure gradient or well spacing is, the lower the flood response time is. The responding time of different streamlines varies. As the angle with the main streamline increases, the water flooding response time delays as a "parabola" shape.

Keywords: low permeability, flood-response time, threshold pressure gradient, medium deformation

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Authors: Jiangwan Xu, Chunyu Ding

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Lunar exploration is of significant importance in the development and utilization of in-situ lunar resources, water ice exploration, space and astronomical science, as well as in political and military strategy. In recent years, ground-based radar (GBR) has gained increasing attention in the field of lunar exploration due to its flexibility, low cost, and penetrating capabilities. This paper reviews the scientific research on lunar exploration using GBR, outlining the basic principles of GBR and the progress made in lunar exploration studies. It introduces the fundamental principles of lunar imaging using GBR, and systematically reviews studies on lunar surface layer detection, inversion of lunar regolith dielectric properties, and polar water ice detection using GBR. In particular, the paper summarizes the current development status of Chinese GBR and forecasts future development trends in China. This review will enhance the understanding of lunar exploration results using GBR radar, systematically demonstrate the main applications and scientific achievements of GBR in lunar exploration, and provide a reference for future GBR radar lunar exploration missions.

Keywords: ground-based radar, lunar exploration, radar imaging, lunar surface/subsurface detection

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Authors: G. Hodaifa, J. A. Páez, C. Agabo, E. Ramos, J. C. Gutiérrez, A. Rosal

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Currently, the continuous two-phase decanter process used for olive oil production is the more internationally widespread. The wastewaters generated from this industry (OMW) is a real environmental problem because of its high organic load. Among proposed treatments for these wastewaters, the advanced oxidation technologies (Fenton process, ozone, photoFenton, etc.) are the most favourable. The direct application of these processes is somewhat expensive. Therefore, the application of a previous stage based on a flocculation-sedimentation operation is of high importance. In this research five commercial flocculants (three cationic, and two anionic) have been used to achieve the separation of phases (liquid clarified-sludge). For each flocculant, different concentrations (0-1000 mg/L) have been studied. In these experiments, sludge volume formed over time and the final water quality were determined. The final removal percentages of total phenols (11.3-25.1%), COD (5.6-20.4%), total carbon (2.3-26.5%), total organic carbon (1.50-23.8%), total nitrogen (1.45-24.8%), and turbidity (27.9-61.4%) were obtained. Also, the variation on the electric conductivity reduction percentage (1-8%) was determined. Finally, the best flocculants with highest removal percentages have been determined (QG2001 and Flocudex CS49).

Keywords: flocculants, flocculation, olive oil mill wastewater, water quality

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Authors: Yu-Hsiang Yu

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The immunomodulatory effect of propolis has been widely investigated in the past decade. However, the beneficial effects in broilers are still poorly understood. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of propolis added in drinking water on immunomodulatory and antibody production in broiler. Total of 48 chicks were randomly allocated into four groups with 12 broilers per group. All birds were intranasal inoculated with Newcastle Disease vaccine at 4 and 14 days old of age. Four groups, including control without any treatment, groups of A, B and F [3 days of anterior (A), 3 days of posterior (P) and 6 days of full (F)] were supplied the propolis at 300 ppm in drinking water when vaccination was performed, respectively. Our results showed that no significant difference was found in growth performance, antibody production and immune organ index among groups. However, propolis treatments in broilers significantly reduced IL-4 expression in spleen at 14 days-old of age and bursa at 28 days-old of age compared with control group. The expression of IFN-gamma in spleen (A, P and F group) and bursal (F group) were elevated compared with control group at 28 days-old of age. In conclusion, our results indicated that propolis-treated birds could bear the capability for immunomodulatory effects by change Th1 subset cytokine expression in vaccination.

Keywords: propolis, broiler, immunomodulatory, vaccination

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Authors: Le Xuan Cau

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Flash flood is occurred in short time rainfall interval: from 1 hour to 12 hours in small and medium basins. Flash floods typically have two characteristics: large water flow and big flow velocity. Flash flood is occurred at hill valley site (strip of lowland of terrain) in a catchment with large enough distribution area, steep basin slope, and heavy rainfall. The risk of flash floods is determined through Gridded Basin Flash Flood Potential Index (GBFFPI). Flash Flood Potential Index (FFPI) is determined through terrain slope flash flood index, soil erosion flash flood index, land cover flash floods index, land use flash flood index, rainfall flash flood index. Determining GBFFPI, each cell in a map can be considered as outlet of a water accumulation basin. GBFFPI of the cell is determined as basin average value of FFPI of the corresponding water accumulation basin. Based on GIS, a tool is developed to compute GBFFPI using ArcObjects SDK for .NET. The maps of GBFFPI are built in two types: GBFFPI including rainfall flash flood index (real time flash flood warning) or GBFFPI excluding rainfall flash flood index. GBFFPI Tool can be used to determine a high flash flood potential site in a large region as quick as possible. The GBFFPI is improved from conventional FFPI. The advantage of GBFFPI is that GBFFPI is taking into account the basin response (interaction of cells) and determines more true flash flood site (strip of lowland of terrain) while conventional FFPI is taking into account single cell and does not consider the interaction between cells. The GBFFPI Map of QuangNam, QuangNgai, DaNang, Hue is built and exported to Google Earth. The obtained map proves scientific basis of GBFFPI.

Keywords: ArcObjects SDK for NET, basin average value of FFPI, gridded basin flash flood potential index, GBFFPI map

Procedia PDF Downloads 381

Authors: Pier Andrea Marras, Daniela Lima, Pedro Matos Soares, Rita Maria Cardoso, Daniela Medas, Elisabetta Dore, Giovanni De Giudici

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Climate change effects on the hydrologic cycle are the main concern for the evaluation of water management strategies. Climate models project scenarios of precipitation changes in the future, considering greenhouse emissions. In this study, the EURO-CORDEX (European Coordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment) climate models were first evaluated in a Mediterranean island (Sardinia) against observed precipitation for a historical reference period (1976-2005). A weighted multi-model ensemble (ENS) was built, weighting the single models based on their ability to reproduce observed rainfall. Future projections (2071-2100) were carried out using the 8.5 RCP emissions scenario to evaluate changes in precipitations. ENS was then used as climate forcing for the SWAT model (Soil and Water Assessment Tool), with the aim to assess the consequences of such projected changes on streamflow and runoff of two small catchments located in the South-West Sardinia. Results showed that a decrease of mean rainfall values, up to -25 % at yearly scale, is expected for the future, along with an increase of extreme precipitation events. Particularly in the eastern and southern areas, extreme events are projected to increase by 30%. Such changes reflect on the hydrologic cycle with a decrease of mean streamflow and runoff, except in spring, when runoff is projected to increase by 20-30%. These results stress that the Mediterranean is a hotspot for climate change, and the use of model tools can provide very useful information to adopt water and land management strategies to deal with such changes.

Keywords: EURO-CORDEX, climate change, hydrology, SWAT model, Sardinia, multi-model ensemble

Procedia PDF Downloads 213

Authors: Asnakew Mulualem Tegegne, Tarun Kumar Lohani, , Abunu Atlabachew Eshete

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Groundwater quality has become deteriorated due to natural and anthropogenic activities. Poor water quality has a potential risk to human health and the environment. Therefore, the study aimed to assess the potential risk of groundwater quality contamination levels and public health risks in the Gunabay watershed. For this task, seventy-eight groundwater samples were collected from thirty-nine locations in the dry and wet seasons during 2022. The ground water contamination index was applied to assess the overall quality of groundwater. Six major driving forces (temperature, population density, soil, land cover, recharge, and geology) and their quantitative impact of each factor on groundwater quality deterioration were demonstrated using Geodetector. The results showed that low groundwater quality was detected in urban and agricultural land. Especially nitrate contamination was highly linked to groundwater quality deterioration and public health risks, and a medium contamination level was observed in the area. This indicates that the inappropriate application of fertilizer on agricultural land and wastewater from urban areas has a great impact on shallow aquifers in the study area. Furthermore, the major influencing factors are ranked as soil type (0.33–0.31)>recharge (0.17–0.15)>temperature (0.13–0.08)>population density (0.1–0.08)>land cover types (0.07– 0.04)>lithology (0.05–0.04). The interaction detector revealed that the interaction between soil ∩ recharge, soil ∩ temperature, and soil ∩ land cover, temperature ∩ recharge is more influential to deteriorate groundwater quality in both seasons. Identification and quantification of the major influencing factors may provide new insight into groundwater resource management.

Keywords: groundwater contamination index, geographical detectors, public health · influencing factors, and water resources management

Procedia PDF Downloads 17

Authors: Md. Mamunur Rashid

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Allah (SWT) bestowed us with the Divine blessing, providing the wonderful source of water as stated in verse 15:22 of Al-Quran. Arabic “Ar-Riaaha Lawaaqiha (ٱلرِّيَـٰحَ لَوَٰقِحَ)” of this verse is translated as “fertilizing winds.” The “fertilizing winds” literally, refer the winds of having the roles: to fertilize something similar to the “zygotes” in humans and animals (formation of clouds in the sky in this case); to produce fertilizers for the plants, crops, etc.; and to pollinate the plants. In this paper, these roles of “fertilizing winds” have been validated by presenting the modern knowledge of science in this regard. Existing interpretations are mostly focused on the “formation of clouds in the sky” while few of them mention about the pollination of trees. However, production of fertilizers, in this regard, has not been considered by any translator or interpreter. It has been observed that the winds contain, the necessary components of forming the clouds; the necessary components of producing the fertilizers; and the necessary components to pollinate the plants. The Science of Meteorology gives us the clear understanding of the formation of clouds. Moreover, we know that the lightning bolts breaks the nitrogen molecules of winds and the water molecules of vapor to form fertilizers. Pollination is a common role of winds in plants fertilization. All the scientific phenomena presented here give us the better interpretations of “fertilizing winds.”

Keywords: Al-Quran, fertilizing winds, meteorology, scientific

Procedia PDF Downloads 120

Authors: Mohanapriya Subramanian, V. Raj

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Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are considered to be one of the most promising candidates for portable and stationary applications in the view of their advantages such as high energy density, easy manipulation, high efficiency and they operate with liquid fuel which could be used without requiring any fuel-processing units. Electrolyte membrane of DMFC plays a key role as a proton conductor as well as a separator between electrodes. Increasing concern over environmental protection, biopolymers gain tremendous interest owing to their eco-friendly bio-degradable nature. Pectin is a natural anionic polysaccharide which plays an essential part in regulating mechanical behavior of plant cell wall and it is extracted from outer cells of most of the plants. The aim of this study is to develop and demonstrate pectin based polymer composite membranes as methanol impermeable polymer electrolyte membranes for DMFCs. Pectin based nanocomposites membranes are prepared by solution-casting technique wherein pectin is blended with chitosan followed by the addition of optimal amount of sulphonic acid modified Titanium dioxide nanoparticle (S-TiO2). Nanocomposite membranes are characterized by Fourier Transform-Infra Red spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy, and Energy dispersive spectroscopy analyses. Proton conductivity and methanol permeability are determined into order to evaluate their suitability for DMFC application. Pectin-chitosan blends endow with a flexible polymeric network which is appropriate to disperse rigid S-TiO2 nanoparticles. Resulting nanocomposite membranes possess adequate thermo-mechanical stabilities as well as high charge-density per unit volume. Pectin-chitosan natural polymeric nanocomposite comprising optimal S-TiO2 exhibits good electrochemical selectivity and therefore desirable for DMFC application.

Keywords: biopolymers, fuel cells, nanocomposite, methanol crossover

Procedia PDF Downloads 136

Authors: Saud Hamdan Alshammari

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Photocatalytic water splitting to produce hydrogen (H₂) has obtained significant attention as an environmentally friendly technology. This process, which produces hydrogen from water and sunlight, represents a renewable energy source. Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) plays a critical role in photocatalytic hydrogen production due to its chemical stability, availability, and low cost. Nevertheless, TiO₂'s wide band gap (3.2 eV) limits its visible light absorption and might affect the effectiveness of the photocatalytic. Coupling TiO₂ with other semiconductors is a strategy that can enhance TiO₂ by narrowing its band gap and improving visible light absorption. This paper studies the modification of TiO₂ by coupling it with another semiconductor such as CdS nanoparticles using a reflux reactor and autoclave reactor that helps form a core-shell structure. Characterization techniques, including TEM and UV-Vis spectroscopy, confirmed successful coating of TiO₂ on CdS core, reduction of the band gap from 3.28 eV to 3.1 eV, and enhanced light absorption in the visible region. These modifications are attributed to the heterojunction structure between TiO₂ and CdS.The essential goal of this study is to improve TiO₂ for use in photocatalytic water splitting to enhance hydrogen production. The core-shell TiO₂@CdS nanoparticles exhibited promising results, due to band gap narrowing and improved light absorption. Future work will involve adding Pt as a co-catalyst, which is known to increase surface reaction activity by enhancing proton adsorption. Evaluation of the TiO₂@CdS@Pt catalyst will include performance assessments and hydrogen productivity tests, considering factors such as effective shapes and material ratios. Moreover, the study could be enhanced by studying further modifications to the catalyst and displaying additional performance evaluations. For instance, doping TiO₂ with metals such as nickel (Ni), iron (Fe), and cobalt (Co) and non-metals such as nitrogen (N), carbon (C), and sulfur (S) could positively influence the catalyst by reducing the band gap, enhancing the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, and increasing the surface area, respectively. Additionally, to further improve catalytic performance, examining different catalyst morphologies, such as nanorods, nanowires, and nanosheets, in hydrogen production could be highly beneficial. Optimizing photoreactor design for efficient photon delivery and illumination will further enhance the photocatalytic process. These strategies collectively aim to overcome current challenges and improve the efficiency of hydrogen production via photocatalysis.

Keywords: hydrogen production, photocatalytic, water spliiting, semiconductor, nanoparticles

Procedia PDF Downloads 22

Authors: Sumana Kumar, Abha Misra

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Micro-supercapacitors hold great attention as one of the promising energy storage devices satisfying the increasing quest for miniaturized and portable devices. Despite having impressive power density, superior cyclic lifetime, and high charge-discharge rates, micro-supercapacitors still suffer from low energy density, which limits their practical application. The energy density (E=1/2CV²) can be increased either by increasing specific capacitance (C) or voltage range (V). Asymmetric micro-supercapacitors have attracted great attention by using two different electrode materials to expand the voltage window and thus increase the energy density. Currently, versatile fabrication technologies such as inkjet printing, lithography, laser scribing, etc., are used to directly or indirectly pattern the electrode material; these techniques still suffer from scalable production and cost inefficiency. Here, we demonstrate the scalable production of a three-dimensional (3D) carbon foam (CF) based asymmetric micro-supercapacitor by spray printing technique on an array of interdigital electrodes. The solid-state asymmetric micro-supercapacitor comprised of CF-MnO positive electrode and CF-Fe₂O₃ negative electrode achieves a high areal capacitance of 18.4 mF/cm² (2326.8 mF/cm³) at 5 mV/s and a wider potential window of 1.4 V. Consequently, a superior energy density of 5 µWh/cm² is obtained, and high cyclic stability is confirmed with retention of the initial capacitance by 86.1% after 10000 electrochemical cycles. The optimized decoration of pseudocapacitive metal oxides in the 3D carbon network helps in high electrochemical utilization of materials where the 3D interconnected network of carbon provides overall electrical conductivity and structural integrity. The research provides a simple and scalable spray printing method to fabricate an asymmetric micro-supercapacitor using a custom-made mask that can be integrated on a large scale.

Keywords: asymmetric micro-supercapacitors, high energy-density, hybrid materials, three-dimensional carbon-foam

Procedia PDF Downloads 115

Authors: Phakamani Xaba, Robert Huberts, Bilainu Oboirien

Abstract:

It has been over 200 years since margarine was discovered and manufactured using liquid oil, liquified hardstock oils and other oil phase & aqueous phase ingredients. Henry W. Bradley first used vegetable oils in liquid state and around 1871, since then; spreads have been traditionally manufactured using liquified oils. The main objective of this study was to develop a process method to produce spreads using spray dried hardstock fat powders as a structing fats in place of current liquid structuring fats. A high shear mixing system was used to condition the fat phase and the aqueous phase was prepared separately. Using a single scraped surface heat exchanger and pin stirrer, margarine was produced. The process method was developed for to produce spreads with 40%, 50% and 60% fat . The developed method was divided into three steps. In the first step, fat powders were conditioned by melting and dissolving them into liquid oils. The liquified portion of the oils were at 65 °C, whilst the spray dried fat powder was at 25 °C. The two were mixed using a mixing vessel at 900 rpm for 4 minutes. The rest of the ingredients i.e., lecithin, colorant, vitamins & flavours were added at ambient conditions to complete the fat/ oil phase. The water phase was prepared separately by mixing salt, water, preservative, acidifier in the mixing tank. Milk was also separately prepared by pasteurizing it at 79°C prior to feeding it into the aqueous phase. All the water phase contents were chilled to 8 °C. The oil phase and water phase were mixed in a tank, then fed into a single scraped surface heat exchanger. After the scraped surface heat exchanger, the emulsion was fed in a pin stirrer to work the formed crystals and produce margarine. The margarine produced using the developed process had fat levels of 40%, 50% and 60%. The margarine passed all the qualitative, stability, and taste assessments. The scores were 6/10, 7/10 & 7.5/10 for the 40%, 50% & 60% fat spreads, respectively. The success of the trials brought about differentiated knowledge on how to manufacture spreads using non micronized spray dried fat powders as hardstock. Manufacturers do not need to store structuring fats at 80-90°C and even high in winter, instead, they can adapt their processes to use fat powders which need to be stored at 25 °C. The developed process method used one scrape surface heat exchanger instead of the four to five currently used in votator based plants. The use of a single scraped surface heat exchanger translated to about 61% energy savings i.e., 23 kW per ton of product. Furthermore, it was found that the energy saved by implementing separate pasteurization was calculated to be 6.5 kW per ton of product produced.

Keywords: margarine emulsion, votator technology, margarine processing, scraped sur, fat powders

Procedia PDF Downloads 90

Authors: Boldin Roman, Liliana Analía Diaz

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As the hydrogen economy continues to expand, reducing energy consumption and emissions while stimulating economic growth, the development of efficient and cost-effective hydrogen production technologies is critical. Among various methods, anion exchange membrane (AEM) water electrolysis stands out due to its potential for using non-noble metal catalysts. The exploration and enhancement of non-noble metal catalysts, such as NiFe-type catalysts, are pivotal for the advancement of AEM technology, ensuring its commercial viability and environmental sustainability. NiFe-type catalysts were synthesized through electrodeposition and characterized both electrochemically and physico-chemically. Various supports, including Ni foam and Ni mesh, were used as porous transport layers (PTLs) to evaluate the effective catalyst thickness and the influence of the PTL in a 5 cm² AEM electrolyzer. This methodological approach allows for a detailed assessment of catalyst performance under operational conditions typical of industrial hydrogen production. The study revealed that electrodeposited non-noble multi-metallic catalysts maintain stable performance as anodes in AEM water electrolysis. NiFe-type catalysts demonstrated superior activity, with the NiFeCoP alloy outperforming others by delivering the lowest overpotential and the highest current density. Furthermore, the use of different PTLs showed significant effects on the electrochemical behavior of the catalysts, indicating that PTL selection is crucial for optimizing performance and efficiency in AEM electrolyzers. Conclusion: The research underscores the potential of non-noble metal catalysts in enhancing efficiency and reducing the costs of AEM electrolysers. The findings highlight the importance of catalyst and PTL optimization in developing scalable and economically viable hydrogen production technologies. Continued innovation in this area is essential for supporting the growth of the hydrogen economy and achieving sustainable energy solutions.

Keywords: AEMWE, electrocatalyst, hydrogen production, water electrolysis.

Procedia PDF Downloads 26

Authors: Bernard Bladergroen, David Vlotman, Bradley Cerff

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The agricultural sector is one which requires and consumes large amounts of water globally. Commercial wine production, in particular, uses extensive volumes of fresh water and generates significant volumes of wastewater through various processes. The wastewater produced by wineries typically exhibits elevated levels of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS), acidic pH and varying salinity and nutrient contents. This study investigates the performance of a shear-enhanced flotation separation (SEFS) pilot plant as a primary treatment stage during winery wastewater processing by modifying a conventional Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) system. The SEFS pilot plant achieved a 99% reduction in both turbidity and TSS in comparison to the 97% achieved with the conventional DAF system. The COD was reduced by 66% and 51% for the SEFS and DAF systems, respectively. SEFS shows the advantages of hydrodynamic shear to enhance the coagulation and subsequent flocculation processes with a significant reduction of coagulant and flocculant (36% and 31%, respectively).

Keywords: shear enhanced flotation, suspended solids, primary wastewater treatment, zeta potential

Procedia PDF Downloads 62