Search results for: saturated steam
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 701

Search results for: saturated steam

371 Analytical Modeling of Equivalent Magnetic Circuit in Multi-segment and Multi-barrier Synchronous Reluctance Motor

Authors: Huai-Cong Liu,Tae Chul Jeong,Ju Lee

Abstract:

This paper describes characteristic analysis of a synchronous reluctance motor (SynRM)’s rotor with the Multi-segment and Multi-layer structure. The magnetic-saturation phenomenon in SynRM is often appeared. Therefore, when modeling analysis of SynRM the calculation of nonlinear magnetic field needs to be considered. An important influence factor on the convergence process is how to determine the relative permeability. An improved method, which ensures the calculation, is convergence by linear iterative method for saturated magnetic field. If there are inflection points on the magnetic curve,an optimum convergence method of solution for nonlinear magnetic field was provided. Then the equivalent magnetic circuit is calculated, and d,q-axis inductance can be got. At last, this process is applied to design a 7.5Kw SynRM and its validity is verified by comparing with the result of finite element method (FEM) and experimental test data.

Keywords: SynRM, magnetic-saturation, magnetic circuit, analytical modeling

Procedia PDF Downloads 495
370 Iridium-Based Bimetallic Catalysts for Hydrogen Production through Glycerol Aqueous-Phase Reforming

Authors: Francisco Espinosa, Juan Chavarría

Abstract:

Glycerol is a byproduct of biodiesel production that can be used for aqueous-phase reforming to obtain hydrogen. Iridium is a material that has high activity and hydrogen selectivity for steam phase reforming. Nevertheless, a drawback for the use of iridium in aqueous-phase reforming is the low activity in water-gas shift reaction. Therefore, in this work, it is proposed the use of nickel and copper as a second metal in the catalyst to reach a synergetic effect. Iridium, iridium-nickel and iridium-copper catalysts were prepared by incipient wetness impregnation and evaluated in the aqueous-phase reforming of glycerol using CeO₂ or La₂O₃ as support. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, XPS, and EDX. The reactions were carried out in a fixed bed reactor feeding a solution of glycerol 10 wt% in water at 270°C, and reaction products were analyzed by gas chromatography. It was found that IrNi/CeO₂ reached highest glycerol conversion and hydrogen production, slightly above 70% and 43 vol% respectively. In terms of conversion, iridium is a promising metal, and its activity for hydrogen production can be enhanced when adding a second metal.

Keywords: aqueous-phase reforming, glycerol, hydrogen production, iridium

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369 Low NOx Combustion of Pulverized Petroleum Cokes

Authors: Sewon Kim, Minjun Kwon, Changyeop Lee

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This study is aimed to study combustion characteristics of low NOx burner using petroleum cokes as fuel. The petroleum coke, which is produced through the oil refining process, is an attractive fuel in terms of its high heating value and low price. But petroleum coke is a challenging fuel because of its low volatile content, high sulfur and nitrogen content, which give rise to undesirable emission characteristics and low ignitability. Therefore, the research and development regarding the petroleum coke burner is needed for applying this industrial system. In this study, combustion and emission characteristics of petroleum cokes burner are experimentally investigated in an industrial steam boiler. The low NOx burner is designed to control fuel and air mixing to achieve staged combustion, which, in turn reduces both flame temperature and oxygen. Air distribution ratio of triple staged air are optimized experimentally. The result showed that NOx concentration is lowest when overfire air is used, and the burner function at a fuel rich condition. That is, the burner is operated at the equivalence ratio of 1.67 and overall equivalence ratio including overfire air is kept 0.87.

Keywords: petroleum cokes, low NOx, combustion, equivalence ratio

Procedia PDF Downloads 615
368 Investigation of Solar Concentrator Prototypes under Tunisian Conditions

Authors: Moncef Balghouthi, Mahmoud Ben Amara, Abdessalem Ben Hadj Ali, Amenallah Guizani

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Concentrated solar power technology constitutes an interesting option to meet a part of future energy demand, especially when considering the high levels of solar radiation and clearness index that are available particularly in Tunisia. In this work, we present three experimental prototypes of solar concentrators installed in the research center of energy CRTEn in Tunisia. Two are medium temperature parabolic trough solar collector used to drive a cooling installation and for steam generation. The third is a parabolic dish concentrator used for hybrid generation of thermal and electric power. Optical and thermal evaluations were presented. Solutions and possibilities to construct locally the mirrors of the concentrator were discussed. In addition, the enhancement of the performances of the receivers by nano selective absorption coatings was studied. The improvement of heat transfer between the receiver and the heat transfer fluid was discussed for each application.

Keywords: solar concentrators, optical and thermal evaluations, cooling and process heat, hybrid thermal and electric generation

Procedia PDF Downloads 245
367 Shape Optimization of Header Pipes in Power Plants for Enhanced Efficiency and Environmental Sustainability

Authors: Ahmed Cherif Megri, HossamEldin ElSherif

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In a power plant, the header pipe plays a pivotal role in optimizing the performance of diverse systems by serving as a central conduit for the collection and distribution of steam within the plant. This paper investigates the significance of header pipes within power plant setups, highlighting their critical influence on reliability, efficiency, and the performance of the power plant as a whole. The concept of shape optimization emerges as a crucial factor in power plant design and operation, with the potential to maximize performance while minimizing the use of materials. Shape optimization not only enhances efficiency but also contributes to reducing the environmental footprint of power plant installations. In this paper, we initially developed a methodology designed for optimizing header shapes with the primary goal of reducing the usage of costly new alloy materials and lowering the overall maintenance operation expenses. Secondly, we conducted a case study based on an authentic header sourced from an operational power plant.

Keywords: shape optimization, header, power plant, inconel alloy, CFD, structural optimization

Procedia PDF Downloads 63
366 Exergy Analysis and Evaluation of the Different Flowsheeting Configurations for CO₂ Capture Plant Using 2-Amino-2-Methyl-1-Propanol

Authors: Ebuwa Osagie, Vasilije Manovic

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Exergy analysis provides the identification of the location, sources of thermodynamic inefficiencies, and magnitude in a thermal system. Thus, both the qualitative and quantitative assessment can be evaluated with exergy, unlike energy which is based on quantitative assessment only. The main purpose of exergy analysis is to identify where exergy is destroyed. Thus, reduction of the exergy destruction and losses associated with the capture plant systems can improve work potential. Furthermore, thermodynamic analysis of different configurations of the process helps to identify opportunities for reducing the steam requirements for each of the configurations. This paper presents steady-state simulation and exergy analysis of the 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP)-based post-combustion capture (PCC) plant. Exergy analysis performed for the AMP-based plant and the different configurations revealed that the rich split with intercooling configuration gave the highest exergy efficiency of 73.6%, while that of the intercooling and the reference AMP-based plant were 57.3% and 55.8% respectively.

Keywords: 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol, modelling, and simulation, post-combustion capture plant, exergy analysis, flowsheeting configurations

Procedia PDF Downloads 155
365 Desalination Technologies and Desalination Integrated with Renewable Energies – A Case Study

Authors: Ahmadali Shirazytabar, Hamidreza Namazi

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As water resources are rapidly getting diminished, more and more interest is paid to the desalination of saline waters. Desalination has become a reliable and cost effective solution in provision of fresh water particularly in the arid areas of the world such as Middle East countries. However, the dramatic increase of utilizing desalination will cause a series of problems which are significantly related to energy consumption and environment impacts. The use of renewable energy sources to provide energy required by desalination processes is a feasible and simultaneously environmental friendly solution. In this study an attempt has been made to present a review on desalination technologies, desalination integrated with renewable energies, in brief, and practical progresses made during recent years particularly in the field of desalination by wind energy which is the most common form of renewable energies. Moreover, an economic analysis of a wind powered RO desalination system comprising of 10×2.5 MW wind turbines is done, and the results will be compared to those of a cogeneration system comprising of one 25 MW gas turbines, heat recovery steam generators (HRSG) and MED-TVC desalination.

Keywords: wind turbine, desalination, RO, MED, cogeneration, gas turbine, HRSG

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364 Investigation of Compressive Strength of Fly Ash-Based Geopolymer Bricks with Hierarchical Bayesian Path Analysis

Authors: Ersin Sener, Ibrahim Demir, Hasan Aykut Karaboga, Kadir Kilinc

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Bayesian methods, which have very wide range of applications, are implemented to the data obtained from the production of F class fly ash-based geopolymer bricks’ experimental design. In this study, dependent variable is compressive strength, independent variables are treatment type (oven and steam), treatment time, molding time, temperature, water absorbtion ratio and density. The effect of independent variables on compressive strength is investigated. There is no difference among treatment types, but there is a correlation between independent variables. Therefore, hierarchical Bayesian path analysis is applied. In consequence of analysis we specified that treatment time, temperature and density effects on compressive strength is higher, molding time, and water absorbtion ratio is relatively low.

Keywords: experimental design, F class fly ash, geopolymer bricks, hierarchical Bayesian path analysis

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363 CO2 Gas Solubility and Foam Generation

Authors: Chanmoly Or, Kyuro Sasaki, Yuichi Sugai, Masanori Nakano, Motonao Imai

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Cold drainage mechanism of oil production is a complicated process which involves with solubility and foaming processes. Laboratory experiments were carried out to investigate the CO2 gas solubility in hexadecane (as light oil) and the effect of depressurization processes on microbubble generation. The experimental study of sensitivity parameters of temperature and pressure on CO2 gas solubility in hexadecane was conducted at temperature of 20 °C and 50 °C and pressure ranged 2.0–7.0 MPa by using PVT (RUSKA Model 2370) apparatus. The experiments of foamy hexadecane were also prepared by depressurizing from saturated pressure of 6.4 MPa and temperature of 50 °C. The experimental results show the CO2 gas solubility in hexadecane linearly increases with increasing pressure. At pressure 4.5 MPa, CO2 gas dissolved in hexadecane 2.5 mmol.g-1 for temperature of 50 °C and 3.5 mmol.g-1 for temperature of 20 °C. The bubbles of foamy hexadecane were observed that most of large bubbles were coalesced shortly whereas the small one keeps presence. The experimental result of foamy hexadecane indicated large depressurization step (∆P) produces high quality of foam with high microbubble distribution.

Keywords: CO2 gas solubility, depressurization process, foamy hexadecane, microbubble distribution

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362 Effect Different Moisture States of Surface-treated Recycled Concrete Aggregate on Properties of Fresh and Hardened Concrete

Authors: Sallehan Ismail, Mahyuddin Ramli

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This study examined the properties of fresh and hardened concretes as influenced by the moisture state of the coarse recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) after surface treatment. Surface treatment was performed by immersing the coarse RCA in a calcium metasilicate (CM) solution. The treated coarse RCA was maintained in three controlled moisture states, namely, air-dried, oven-dried, and saturated surface-dried (SSD), prior to its use in a concrete mix. The physical properties of coarse RCA were evaluated after surface treatment during the first phase of the experiment to determine the density and the water absorption characteristics of the RCA. The second phase involved the evaluation of the slump, slump loss, density, and compressive strength of the concretes that were prepared with different proportions of natural and treated coarse RCA. Controlling the moisture state of the coarse RCA after surface treatment was found to significantly influence the properties of the fresh and hardened concretes.

Keywords: moisture state, recycled concrete aggregate, surface treatment

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361 Investigation of the Variables Affecting the Use of Charcoal to Delay Fermentation in Wet Beans Slurry Using Chemical and Physical Analysis

Authors: Anuoluwapo O. Adewole

Abstract:

Fermentation is the conversion of monomeric sugars into ethanol and carbondioxide in the presence of microorganisms under anaerobic conditions. In line with the aim and objective of this research project, which is to investigate into the variables affecting the use of charcoal to delay fermentation in wet beans slurry, some physical and chemical analysis were carried out on the wet beans slurry using a PH meter in which a thermometer is incorporated in it, and a measuring cylinder was used for the foam level test. About 250 grams of the ground beans slurry was divided into two portions for testing. The sample with charcoal was labeled sample 'A' while the second sample without charcoal was labeled sample 'B' subsequently. The experiment lasted for a period of 41.15 hours (i.e., forty-one hours and nine minutes). During the fourth process, both samples could not be tested as the laboratory had been saturated with foul odor and both samples were packed and sealed in polythene bag for disposal in the trash can. It was generally observed that the sample with the charcoal lasted for a longer time before that without charcoal before total spoilage occurred.

Keywords: fermentation, monomeric sugars, beans slurry, charcoal, anaerobic conditions

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360 Create and Design Visual Presentation to Promote Thai Cuisine

Authors: Supaporn Wimonchailerk

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This research aims to study how to design and create the media to promote Thai cuisine. The study used qualitative research methods by using in-depth interview 3 key informants who have experienced in the production of food or cooking shows in television programs with an aspect of acknowledging Thai foods. The results showed that visual presentation is divided into four categories. First, the light meals should be presented in details via the close-up camera with lighting to make the food look more delicious. Then the curry presentation should be arranged a clear and crisp light focus on a colorful curry paste. Besides the vision of hot steam floating from the plate and a view of curry spread on steamed rice can call great attentions. Third, delivering good appearances of the fried or spicy foods, the images must allow the audiences to see the shine of the coat covering the texture of the food and the colorful of the ingredients. Fourth, the presentation of sweets is recommended to focus on details of food design, composition, and layout.

Keywords: media production, television, promote, Thai cuisine

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359 Synergistic Effect of Cold Plasma on Antioxidant Properties and Fatty Acid Composition of Rice Bran

Authors: Rohit Thirumdas, Annapure U. S.

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Low-pressure air plasma is used to investigate the antioxidant properties and fatty acid composition of rice bran at different power levels (40 W and 60 W). We observed partial hydrogenation of rice bran oil after the treatment. The fatty acid composition analysis by gas chromatography showed an increase of 28.2% in palmitic acid and a 29.4% decrease in linoleic acid. FTIR spectrum shows no new peak formation, which confirms negligible amounts of trans-fatty acids. There is a decrease in peroxide value and iodine value, which can be correlated to an increase in saturated fatty acids. The total polyphenolic content was observed to be increased by 20.1% after the treatment. There is an increase in reducing power and DPPH % inhibition of rice bran due to plasma treatment. This study shows cold plasma treatment can be considered an alternative technology for the hydrogenation of oils, replacing traditional toxic processes.

Keywords: cold plasma, rice bran, fatty acid composition, hydrogenation of oils, antioxidant properties

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358 Small Text Extraction from Documents and Chart Images

Authors: Rominkumar Busa, Shahira K. C., Lijiya A.

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Text recognition is an important area in computer vision which deals with detecting and recognising text from an image. The Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is a saturated area these days and with very good text recognition accuracy. However the same OCR methods when applied on text with small font sizes like the text data of chart images, the recognition rate is less than 30%. In this work, aims to extract small text in images using the deep learning model, CRNN with CTC loss. The text recognition accuracy is found to improve by applying image enhancement by super resolution prior to CRNN model. We also observe the text recognition rate further increases by 18% by applying the proposed method, which involves super resolution and character segmentation followed by CRNN with CTC loss. The efficiency of the proposed method shows that further pre-processing on chart image text and other small text images will improve the accuracy further, thereby helping text extraction from chart images.

Keywords: small text extraction, OCR, scene text recognition, CRNN

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357 Electric Field Effect on the Rise of Single Bubbles during Boiling

Authors: N. Masoudnia, M. Fatahi

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An experimental study of saturated pool boiling on a single artificial nucleation site without and with the application of an electric field on the boiling surface has been conducted. N-pentane is boiling on a copper surface and is recorded with a high speed camera providing high quality pictures and movies. The accuracy of the visualization allowed establishing an experimental bubble growth law from a large number of experiments. This law shows that the evaporation rate is decreasing during the bubble growth, and underlines the importance of liquid motion induced by the preceding bubble. Bubble rise is therefore studied: once detached, bubbles accelerate vertically until reaching a maximum velocity in good agreement with a correlation from literature. The bubbles then turn to another direction. The effect of applying an electric field on the boiling surface in finally studied. In addition to changes of the bubble shape, changes are also shown in the liquid plume and the convective structures above the surface. Lower maximum rising velocities were measured in the presence of electric fields, especially with a negative polarity.

Keywords: single bubbles, electric field, boiling, effect

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356 Nutritional Benefits of Soy: An Implication for Health Education

Authors: Mbadugha Esther Ifeoma

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Soybeans, like other legumes are rich in nutrients. However, the nutrient profile of soybeans differs in some important ways from most other legumes. Among other nutrients, soy is high in protein, carbohydrates, and fibers, is rich in vitamins, minerals and unsaturated fatty acids and is low in saturated fatty acids. Because of its high nutritional value, it has been rated to be equivalent to meats, eggs and milk. Soy has many health benefits including prevention of coronary heart disease, prevention of cancer growth, improvement of cognitive function, promotion of bone health, prevention of obesity, prevention of type II diabetes and promotion of growth of normal floras in the colon. Soybean consumption is also associated with some side effects which include allergy, flatulence and abdominal discomfort. Nurses/health care providers should therefore, educate clients on the precautionary measures to be taken in preparing soy food products in order to reduce to the barest minimum the side effects, while encouraging them to include soy as part of their daily meals for optimal health and vitality.

Keywords: health benefit, health education, nutritional benefit, soybeans

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355 Cytotoxic Effect of Purified and Crude Hyaluronidase Enzyme on Hep G2 Cell Line

Authors: Furqan M. Kadhum, Asmaa A. Hussein, Maysaa Ch. Hatem

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Hyaluronidase enzyme was purified from the clinical isolate Staphyloccus aureus in three purification steps, first by precipitation with 90% saturated ammonium sulfate, ion exchange chromatography on DEAE-Cellulose, and gel filtration chromatography throughout Sephacryl S-300. Specific activity of the purified enzyme was reached 930 U/mg protein with 7.4 folds of purification and 46.5% recovery. The enzyme has an average molecular weight of about 69 kDa, with an optimum pH of enzyme activity and stability at pH 7, also the optimum temperature for activity was 37oC. The enzyme was stable with full activity at a temperature ranged between 30-40 oC. Metal ions showed variable inhibitory degree with the strongest effect for Fe+3, however, the chelating and reducing agents had no or little effects. Cytotoxic studies for purified and crude hyaluronidase against cancer cell Hep G2 type at different enzyme concentrations and exposure times showed that the inhibition effect of both crude and purified enzyme increased by increasing the enzyme concentration with no change was observed at 24hr, while at 48 and 72 hrs the same inhibition rate were observed for purified enzyme and differ for the crude filtrate.

Keywords: hyaluronidase, S. aureus, metal ions, cytotoxicity

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354 Capability of Available Seismic Soil Liquefaction Potential Assessment Models Based on Shear-Wave Velocity Using Banchu Case History

Authors: Nima Pirhadi, Yong Bo Shao, Xusheng Wa, Jianguo Lu

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Several models based on the simplified method introduced by Seed and Idriss (1971) have been developed to assess the liquefaction potential of saturated sandy soils. The procedure includes determining the cyclic resistance of the soil as the cyclic resistance ratio (CRR) and comparing it with earthquake loads as cyclic stress ratio (CSR). Of all methods to determine CRR, the methods using shear-wave velocity (Vs) are common because of their low sensitivity to the penetration resistance reduction caused by fine content (FC). To evaluate the capability of the models, based on the Vs., the new data from Bachu-Jianshi earthquake case history collected, then the prediction results of the models are compared to the measured results; consequently, the accuracy of the models are discussed via three criteria and graphs. The evaluation demonstrates reasonable accuracy of the models in the Banchu region.

Keywords: seismic liquefaction, banchu-jiashi earthquake, shear-wave velocity, liquefaction potential evaluation

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353 Spectroscopy Study of Jatropha curcas Seed Oil for Pharmaceutical Applications

Authors: Bashar Mudhaffar Abdullah, Hasniza Zaman Huri, Nany Hairunisa

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This study was carried out to determine the thermal properties and spectroscopy study of Malaysian Jatropha curcas seed oil. The J. curcas seed oil physicochemical properties such as free fatty acid (FFA %), acid value, saponification value, iodine value, unsaponifiable matter, and viscosity (cp) gave values of 1.89±0.10%, 3.76±0.07, 203.36±0.36 mg/g, 4.90±0.25, 1.76±0.03%, and 32, respectively. Gas chromatography (GC) was used to determine the fatty acids (FAs) composition. J. curcas seed oil is consisting of saturated FAs (19.55%) such as palmitic (13.19%), palmitoleic (0.40%), and stearic (6.36%) acids and unsaturated FAs (80.42%) such as oleic (43.32%) and linoleic (36.70%) acids. The thermal properties using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed that crystallized TAG was observed at -6.79°C. The melting curves displayed three major exothermic regions of J. curcas seed oil, monounsaturated (lower-temperature peak) at -31.69°C, di-unsaturated (medium temperature peak) at -20.23°C and tri-unsaturated (higher temperature peak) at -12.72°C. The results of this study showed that the J. curcas seed oil is a plausible source of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) to be developed in the future for pharmaceutical applications.

Keywords: Jatropha curcas seed oil, thermal properties, crystallization, melting, spectroscopy

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352 The Effect of Fly Ash and Natural Pozzolans on the Quality of Passive Oxide Film Developed on Steel Reinforcement Bars

Authors: M.S. Ashraf, Raja Rizwan Hussain, A. M. Alhozaimy

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The effect of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) with concrete pore solution on the protective properties of the oxide films that form on reinforcing steel bars has been experimentally investigated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Tafel Scan. The tests were conducted on oxide films grown in saturated calcium hydroxide solutions that included different representative amounts of NaOH and KOH. In addition to that, commonly used supplementary cementitious materials (natural pozzolan and fly ash) were also added. The results of electrochemical tests show that supplementary cementitious materials do have an effect on the protective properties of the passive oxide film. In particular, natural pozzolans has been shown to have a highly positive influence on the film quality. Fly ash also increases the protective qualities of the passive film.

Keywords: supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), passive film, EIS, Tafel scan, rebar, concrete, simulated concrete pore solution (SPS)

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351 Energy Conversion from Waste Paper Industry Using Fluidized Bed Combustion

Authors: M. Dyah Ayu Yuli, S. Faisal Dhio, P. Johandi, P. Muhammad Sofyan

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Pulp and paper mills generate various quantities of energy-rich biomass as wastes, depending on technological level, pulp and paper grades and wood quality. These wastes are produced in all stages of the process: wood preparation, pulp and paper manufacture, chemical recovery, recycled paper processing, waste water treatment. Energy recovery from wastes of different origin has become a generally accepted alternative to their disposal. Pulp and paper industry expresses an interest in adapting and integrating advanced biomass energy conversion technologies into its mill operations using Fluidized Bed Combustion. Industrial adoption of these new technologies has the potential for higher efficiency, lower capital cost, and safer operation than conventional operations that burn fossil fuels for energy. Incineration with energy recovery has the advantage of hygienic disposal, volume reduction, and the recovery of thermal energy by means of steam or super heated water that can be used for heating and power generation.

Keywords: biomass, fluidized bed combustion, pulp and paper mills, waste

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350 Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production from Butanol over Ag/TiO2

Authors: Thabelo Nelushi, Michael Scurrell, Tumelo Seadira

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Global warming is one of the most important environmental issues which arise from occurrence of gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) in the atmosphere. Exposure to these greenhouse gases results in health risk. Hydrogen is regarded as an alternative energy source which is a clean energy carrier for the future. There are different methods to produce hydrogen such as steam reforming, coal gasification etc., however the challenge with these processes is that they emit CO and CO2 gases and are costly. Photocatalytic reforming is a substitute process which is fascinating due to the combination of solar energy and renewable sources and the use of semiconductor materials such as catalysts. TiO2 is regarded as the most promising catalysts. TiO2 nanoparticles prepared by hydrothermal method and Ag/TiO2 are being investigated for photocatalytic production of hydrogen from butanol. The samples were characterized by raman spectroscopy, TEM/SEM, XRD, XPS, EDAX, DRS and BET surface area. 2 wt% Ag-doped TiO2 nanoparticle showed enhanced hydrogen production compared to a non-doped TiO2. The results of characterization and photoactivity shows that TiO2 nanoparticles play a very important role in producing high hydrogen by utilizing solar irradiation.

Keywords: butanol, hydrogen production, silver particles, TiO2 nanoparticles

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349 Solar Pond: Some Issues in Their Management and Mathematical Description

Authors: A. A. Abdullah, K. A. Lindsay

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The management of a salt-gradient is investigated with respect to the interaction between the solar pond and its associated evaporation pond. Issues considered are the impact of precipitation and the operation of the flushing system with particular reference to the case in which the flushing fluid is pure water. Results suggest that a management strategy based on a flushing system that simply replaces evaporation losses of water from the solar pond and evaporation pond will be optimally efficient. Such a management strategy will maintain the operational viability of a salt-gradient solar pond as a reservoir of cheap heat while simultaneously ensuring that the associated evaporation pond can feed the storage zone of the solar pond with sufficient saturated brine to balance the effect of salt diffusion. Other findings are, first, that once near saturation is achieved in the evaporation pond, the efficacy of the proposed management strategy is relatively insensitive to both the size of the evaporation pond or its depth, and second, small changes in the extraction of heat from the storage zone of a salt-gradient solar pond have an amplified effect on the temperature of that zone. The possibility of boiling of the storage zone cannot be ignored in a well-configured salt-gradient solar pond.

Keywords: aqueous sodium chloride, constitutive expression, solar pond, salt-gradient

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348 Investigation of the Properties of Biochar Obtained by Dry and Wet Torrefaction in a Fixed and in a Fluidized Bed

Authors: Natalia Muratova, Dmitry Klimov, Rafail Isemin, Sergey Kuzmin, Aleksandr Mikhalev, Oleg Milovanov

Abstract:

We investigated the processing of poultry litter into biochar using dry torrefaction methods (DT) in a fixed and fluidized bed of quartz sand blown with nitrogen, as well as wet torrefaction (WT) in a fluidized bed in a medium of water steam at a temperature of 300 °C. Torrefaction technology affects the duration of the heat treatment process and the characteristics of the biochar: the process of separating CO₂, CO, H₂ and CH₄ from a portion of fresh poultry litter during torrefaction in a fixed bed is completed after 2400 seconds, but in a fluidized bed — after 480 seconds. During WT in a fluidized bed of quartz sand, this process ends in 840 seconds after loading a portion of fresh litter, but in a fluidized bed of litter particles previously subjected to torrefaction, the process ends in 350 - 450 seconds. In terms of the ratio between (H/C) and (O/C), the litter obtained after DT and WT treatment corresponds to lignite. WT in a fluidized bed allows one to obtain biochar, in which the specific pore area is two times larger than the specific pore area of biochar obtained after DT in a fluidized bed. Biochar, obtained as a result of the poultry litter treatment in a fluidized bed using DT or WT method, is recommended to be used not only as a biofuel but also as an adsorbent or the soil fertilizer.

Keywords: biochar, poultry litter, dry and wet torrefaction, fixed bed, fluidized bed

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347 High Performance Fibre Reinforced Alkali Activated Slag Concrete

Authors: A. Sivakumar, K. Srinivasan

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The main objective of the study is focused in producing slag based geopolymer concrete obtained with the addition of alkali activator. Test results indicated that the reaction of silicates in slag is based on the reaction potential of sodium hydroxide and the formation of alumino-silicates. The study also comprises on the evaluation of the efficiency of polymer reaction in terms of the strength gain properties for different geopolymer mixtures. Geopolymer mixture proportions were designed for different binder to total aggregate ratio (0.3 & 0.45) and fine to coarse aggregate ratio (0.4 & 0.8). Geopolymer concrete specimens casted with normal curing conditions reported a maximum 28 days compressive strength of 54.75 MPa. The addition of glued steel fibres at 1.0% Vf in geopolymer concrete showed reasonable improvements on the compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexural properties of different geopolymer mixtures. Further, comparative assessment was made for different geopolymer mixtures and the reinforcing effects of steel fibres were investigated in different concrete matrix.

Keywords: accelerators, alkali activators, geopolymer, hot air oven curing, polypropylene fibres, slag, steam curing, steel fibres

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346 Effect of Al Contents on Magnetic Domains of {100} Grains in Electrical Steels

Authors: Hyunseo Choi, Jaewan Hong, Seil Lee, Yang Mo Koo

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Non-oriented (NO) electrical steel is one of the most important soft magnetic materials for rotating machines. Si has usually been added to electrical steels to reduce eddy current loss by increasing the electrical resistivity. Si content more than 3.5 wt% causes cracks during cold rolling due to increase of brittleness. Al also increases the electrical resistivity of the materials as much as Si. In addition, cold workability of Fe-Al is better than Fe-Si, so that Al can be added up to 6.0 wt%. However, the effect of Al contents on magnetic properties of electrical steels has not been studied in detail. Magnetic domains of {100} grains in electrical steels, ranging from 1.85 to 6.54 wt% Al, were observed by magneto-optic Kerr microscopy. Furthermore, the correlation of magnetic domains with magnetic properties was investigated. As Al contents increased, the magnetic domain size of {100} grains decreased due to lowered domain wall energy. Reorganization of magnetic domain structure became more complex as domain size decreased. Therefore, the addition of Al to electrical steel caused hysteresis loss to increase. Anomalous loss decreased and saturated after 4.68% Al.

Keywords: electrical steel, magnetic domain structure, Al addition, core loss, rearrangement of domains

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345 The Antimicrobial Activity of the Essential Oil of Salvia officinalis Harvested in Boumerdes

Authors: N. Mezıou-Cheboutı, A. Merabet, N. Behidj, F. Z. Bissaad

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The Algeria by its location, offers a rich and diverse vegetation. A large number of aromatic and medicinal plants grow spontaneously. The interest in these plants has continued to grow in recent years. Their particular properties due to the essential oil fraction can be utilized to treat microbial infections. To this end, and in the context of the valuation of the Algerian flora, we became interested in the species of the family Lamiaceae which is one of the most used as a global source of spices and extracts strong families antimicrobial potency. The plant on which we have based our choice is a species of sage "Salvia officinalis" from the Isser localized region within the province of Boumerdes. This work focuses on the study of the antimicrobial activity of essential oil extracted from the leaves of salvia officinalis. The extraction is carried out by HE hydrodistillation and reveals a yield of 1.06℅. The study of the antimicrobial activity of the essential oil by the method of at aromatogramme shown that Gram positive bacteria are most susceptible (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis) with a strong inhibition of growth. The yeast Candida albicans fungus Aspergillus niger and have shown moderately sensitive.

Keywords: Salvia officinalis, steam distillation, essential oil, aromatogram, anti-microbial activity

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344 Permissible Horizontal Displacements during the Construction of Vertical Shafts in Soft Soils at the Valley of Mexico: Case History

Authors: Joel M. De La Rosa R.

Abstract:

In this paper, the results obtained when monitoring the horizontal deformations of the soil mass are detailed, during each of the construction stages of several vertical shafts located in the soft soils of the Valley of Mexico, by means of the flotation method. From the analysis of these results, the magnitude and percentage relationship with respect to the diameter and depth of excavation of the horizontal deformations that occurred during the monitoring period is established. Based on the horizontal deformation monitoring system and the information provided by the supervisor's site log, the construction stages that have the greatest impact on deformations are established. Additionally, an analysis of the deformations is carried out, which takes into account the resistance and deformability characteristics of the excavated soils, as well as the prevailing hydraulic conditions. This work will allow construction engineers and institutions in charge of infrastructure works in the Valley of Mexico to establish permissible ranges for horizontal deformations that can occur in very soft and saturated soils, during the different construction stages; improving response protocols to potentially dangerous behaviors.

Keywords: vertical shaft, flotation method, very soft clays, construction supervision

Procedia PDF Downloads 178
343 Hierarchical Cluster Analysis of Raw Milk Samples Obtained from Organic and Conventional Dairy Farming in Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia

Authors: Lidija Jevrić, Denis Kučević, Sanja Podunavac-Kuzmanović, Strahinja Kovačević, Milica Karadžić

Abstract:

In the present study, the Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) was applied in order to determine the differences between the milk samples originating from a conventional dairy farm (CF) and an organic dairy farm (OF) in AP Vojvodina, Republic of Serbia. The clustering was based on the basis of the average values of saturated fatty acids (SFA) content and unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) content obtained for every season. Therefore, the HCA included the annual SFA and UFA content values. The clustering procedure was carried out on the basis of Euclidean distances and Single linkage algorithm. The obtained dendrograms indicated that the clustering of UFA in OF was much more uniform compared to clustering of UFA in CF. In OF, spring stands out from the other months of the year. The same case can be noticed for CF, where winter is separated from the other months. The results could be expected because the composition of fatty acids content is greatly influenced by the season and nutrition of dairy cows during the year.

Keywords: chemometrics, clustering, food engineering, milk quality

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342 Removal of Heavy Metal Using Continous Mode

Authors: M. Abd elfattah, M. Ossman, Nahla A. Taha

Abstract:

The present work explored the use of Egyptian rice straw, an agricultural waste that leads to global warming problem through brown cloud, as a potential feedstock for the preparation of activated carbon by physical and chemical activation. The results of this study showed that it is feasible to prepare activated carbons with relatively high surface areas and pore volumes from the Egyptian rice straw by direct chemical and physical activation. The produced activated carbon from the two methods (AC1 and AC2) could be used as potential adsorbent for the removal of Fe(III) from aqueous solution contains heavy metals and polluted water. The adsorption of Fe(III) was depended on the pH of the solution. The optimal Fe(III) removal efficiency occurs at pH 5. Based on the results, the optimum contact time is 60 minutes and adsorbent dosage is 3 g/L. The adsorption breakthrough curves obtained at different bed depths indicated increase of breakthrough time with increase in bed depths. A rise in inlet Fe(III) concentration reduces the throughput volume before the packed bed gets saturated. AC1 showed higher affinity for Fe(III) as compared to Raw rice husk.

Keywords: rice straw, activated carbon, Fe(III), fixed bed column, pyrolysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 243