Search results for: carbon nano onion

Authors: Dharell B. Siano, Wendy C. Mateo, Victorino T. Taylan, Francisco D. Cuaresma

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Biofuel is one of the renewable energy sources adapted by the Philippine government in order to lessen the dependency on foreign fuel and to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Rain tree pods were seen to be a promising source of bioethanol since it contains significant amount of fermentable sugars. The study was conducted to establish the complete procedure in processing rain tree pods for village level hydrous bioethanol production. Production processes were done for village level hydrous bioethanol production from collection, drying, storage, shredding, dilution, extraction, fermentation, and distillation. The feedstock was sundried, and moisture content was determined at a range of 20% to 26% prior to storage. Dilution ratio was 1:1.25 (1 kg of pods = 1.25 L of water) and after extraction process yielded a sugar concentration of 22 ⁰Bx to 24 ⁰Bx. The dilution period was three hours. After three hours of diluting the samples, the juice was extracted using extractor with a capacity of 64.10 L/hour. 150 L of rain tree pods juice was extracted and subjected to fermentation process using a village level anaerobic bioreactor. Fermentation with yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) can fasten up the process, thus producing more ethanol at a shorter period of time; however, without yeast fermentation, it also produces ethanol at lower volume with slower fermentation process. Distillation of 150 L of fermented broth was done for six hours at 85 °C to 95 °C temperature (feedstock) and 74 °C to 95 °C temperature of the column head (vapor state of ethanol). The highest volume of ethanol recovered was established at with yeast fermentation at five-day duration with a value of 14.89 L and lowest actual ethanol content was found at without yeast fermentation at three-day duration having a value of 11.63 L. In general, the results suggested that rain tree pods had a very good potential as feedstock for bioethanol production. Fermentation of rain tree pods juice can be done with yeast and without yeast.

Keywords: fermentation, hydrous bioethanol, fermentation, rain tree pods, village level

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Authors: Mohammed Tahir, Jonas Lagergren

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Vancron 40, a nitrided powder metallurgical tool Steel, is used in cold work applications where the predominant failure mechanisms are adhesive wear or galling. Typical applications of Vancron 40 are among others fine blanking, cold extrusion, deep drawing and cold work rolls for cluster mills. Vancron 40 positive results for cold work rolls for cluster mills and as a tool for some severe metal forming process makes it competitive compared to other type of work rolls that require higher precision, among others in cold rolling of thin stainless steel, which required high surface finish quality. In this project, three roll materials for cold rolling of stainless steel strip was examined, Vancron 40, Narva 12B (a high-carbon, high-chromium tool steel alloyed with tungsten) and Supra 3 (a Chromium-molybdenum tungsten-vanadium alloyed high speed steel). The purpose of this project was to study the depth profiles of the ironed stainless steel strips, emergence of galling and to study the lubrication performance used by steel industries. Laboratory experiments were conducted to examine scratch of the strip, galling and surface roughness of the roll materials under severe tribological conditions. The critical sliding length for onset of galling was estimated for stainless steel with four different lubricants. Laboratory experiments result of performance evaluation of resistance capability of rolls toward adhesive wear under severe conditions for low and high reductions. Vancron 40 in combination with cold rolling lubricant gave good surface quality, prevents galling of metal surfaces and good bearing capacity.

Keywords: Vancron 40, cold rolling, adhesive wear, galling, surface finish, lubricant, stainless steel

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Authors: Donia Fredj, Marie Parmentier, Florence Archet, Olivier Margeat, Sadok Ben Dkhil, Jorg Ackerman

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Transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs) or transparent electrodes (TEs) are a crucial part of many electronic and optoelectronic devices such as touch panels, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), solar cells, and transparent heaters. The indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode is the most widely utilized transparent electrode due to its excellent optoelectrical properties. However, the drawbacks of ITO, such as the high cost of this material, scarcity of indium, and the fragile nature, limit the application in large-scale flexible electronic devices. Importantly, flexibility is becoming more and more attractive since flexible electrodes have the potential to open new applications which require transparent electrodes to be flexible, cheap, and compatible with large-scale manufacturing methods. So far, several materials as alternatives to ITO have been developed, including metal nanowires, conjugated polymers, carbon nanotubes, graphene, etc., which have been extensively investigated for use as flexible and low-cost electrodes. Among them, silver nanowires (AgNW) are one of the promising alternatives to ITO thanks to their excellent properties, high electrical conductivity as well as desirable light transmittance. In recent years, inkjet printing became a promising technique for large-scale printed flexible and stretchable electronics. However, inkjet printing of AgNWs still presents many challenges. In this study, a synthesis of stable AgNW that could compete with ITO was developed. This material was printed by inkjet technology directly on a flexible substrate. Additionally, we analyzed the surface microstructure, optical and electrical properties of the printed AgNW layers. Our further research focused on the study of all inkjet-printed organic modules with high efficiency.

Keywords: transparent electrodes, silver nanowires, inkjet printing, formulation of stable inks

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Authors: Devender Sharma, Shweta Goyal

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Sustainable development is a key to protect the environment for a secure future. Accelerated carbonation curing is a comparatively new technique for curing of concrete which involves sequestration of carbon dioxide gas into the precast concrete, resulting in improvement of the properties of concrete. This paper presents the results of a study to evaluate the effect of carbonation curing on cement mortars incorporating cement kiln dust (CKD) as partial replacement of cement. The mortar specimens were prepared by replacing cement with CKD in varying percentages of 0-50% by the weight of cement. The specimens were subjected to 12 hour carbonation curing, followed by sealed packing till testing age. The results were compared with the normal curing procedure, in which the specimens were water cured till the testing age. Compressive strength and microstructure of the mix were studied. It was noted that on increasing the percentage of CKD up to 10% by the weight of the cement, no considerable change was observed in the compressive strength. But as the percentage of CKD was further increased, there was a decrease in compressive strength, with strength decreasing up to 40% when 50% of the cement was replaced with CKD. The decrease in strength is due to the lesser lime content in CKD as compared to cement. High ettringite formation was observed in mixes with high percentages of CKD, thus indicating a decrease in the compressive strength. With carbonation curing, an early age strength gain was observed in mortars, even with higher percentages of CKD. The early strength of the carbonation cured mixes was found to be greater than water cured mixes irrespective of the percentage of CKD. 7 days and 28 days compressive strength of the mix was comparable for both the carbonation cured and water cured specimen. The increase in compressive strength can be attributed to the conversion of unstable Ca(OH)2 into stable CaCO3, which causes densification of the mix. CaCO3 precipitation and greater CSH gel formation was clearly observed in the SEM images of carbonation cured specimen, indicating higher compressive strength. Thus, carbonation curing can be used as an efficient method to enhance the properties of concrete.

Keywords: carbonation, cement kiln dust, compressive strength, microstructure

Procedia PDF Downloads 229

Authors: Emile Niringiyimana, LI Ji Qing, Giovanni Dushimimana, Virginie Umwere

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The development and utilization of renewable energy (RE) can not only effectively reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, but also became a solution to electricity shortage mitigation in rural areas. Hybrid RE systems are promising ways to provide consistent and continuous power for isolated areas. This work investigated the prospect and cost effectiveness of hybrid system complementarity between a 100kW solar PV system and a small-scale 200kW hydropower station in the South of Rwanda. In order to establish the optimal size of a RE system with adequate sizing of system components, electricity demand, solar radiation, hydrology, climate data are utilized as system input. The average daily solar radiation in Rukarara is 5.6 kWh/m2 and average wind speed is 3.5 m/s. The ideal integrated RE system, according to Homer optimization, consists of 91.21kW PV, 146kW hydropower, 12 x 24V li-ion batteries with a 20kW converter. The method of enhancing such hybrid systems control, sizing and choice of components is to reduce the Net present cost (NPC) of the system, unmet load, the cost of energy and reduction of CO2. The power consumption varies according to dominant source of energy in the system by controlling the energy compensation depending on the generation capacity of each power source. The initial investment of the RE system is $977,689.25, and its operation and maintenance expenses is $142,769.39 over a 25-year period. Although the investment is very high, the targeted profits in future are huge, taking into consideration of high investment in rural electrification structure implementations, tied with an increase of electricity cost and the 5 years payback period. The study outcomes suggest that the standalone hybrid PV-Hydropower system is feasible with zero pollution in Rukara community.

Keywords: HOMER optimization, hybrid power system, renewable energy, NPC and solar pv systems

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Authors: Himanshu Shekhar Maharana, S. K .Dash

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Economic Load Dispatch (ELD) proves to be a vital optimization process in electric power system for allocating generation amongst various units to compute the cost of generation, the cost of emission involving global warming gases like sulphur dioxide, nitrous oxide and carbon monoxide etc. In this dissertation, we emphasize ramp rate constriction factor based particle swarm optimization (RRCPSO) for analyzing various performance objectives, namely cost of generation, cost of emission, and a dual objective function involving both these objectives through the experimental simulated results. A 6-unit 30 bus IEEE test case system has been utilized for simulating the results involving improved weight factor advanced ramp rate limit constraints for optimizing total cost of generation and emission. This method increases the tendency of particles to venture into the solution space to ameliorate their convergence rates. Earlier works through dispersed PSO (DPSO) and constriction factor based PSO (CPSO) give rise to comparatively higher computational time and less good optimal solution at par with current dissertation. This paper deals with ramp rate and constriction factor based well defined ramp rate PSO to compute various objectives namely cost, emission and total objective etc. and compares the result with DPSO and weight improved PSO (WIPSO) techniques illustrating lesser computational time and better optimal solution. 

Keywords: economic load dispatch (ELD), constriction factor based particle swarm optimization (CPSO), dispersed particle swarm optimization (DPSO), weight improved particle swarm optimization (WIPSO), ramp rate and constriction factor based particle swarm optimization (RRCPSO)

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Authors: Yu-Ching Cheng, Yi-Kai Juan, Daniel Castro

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Energy consumption of buildings has been an increasing concern for researchers and practitioners in the last decade. Sustainable building renovation can reduce energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions; meanwhile, it also can extend existing buildings useful life and facilitate environmental sustainability while providing social and economic benefits to the society. School buildings are different from other designed spaces as they are more crowded and host the largest portion of daily activities and occupants. Strategies that focus on reducing energy use but also improve the students’ learning environment becomes a significant subject in sustainable school buildings development. A decision model is developed in this study to solve complicated and large-scale combinational, discrete and determinate problems such as school renovation projects. The task of this model is to automatically search for the most cost-effective (lower cost and higher quality) renovation strategies. In this study, the search process of optimal school building renovation solutions is by nature a large-scale zero-one programming determinate problem. A* is suitable for solving deterministic problems due to its stable and effective search process, and genetic algorithms (GA) provides opportunities to acquire global optimal solutions in a short time via its indeterminate search process based on probability. These two algorithms are combined in this study to consider trade-offs between renovation cost and improved quality, this decision model is able to evaluate current school environmental conditions and suggest an optimal scheme of sustainable school buildings renovation strategies. Through adoption of this decision model, school managers can overcome existing limitations and transform school buildings into spaces more beneficial to students and friendly to the environment.

Keywords: decision model, school buildings, sustainable renovation, genetic algorithm, A* search algorithm

Procedia PDF Downloads 118

Authors: Dipti Chand, Riya Saboo

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OBJECTIVES: Early and correct diagnosis may present a significant clinical challenge in diagnosis of patients presenting to Emergency Department with Acute Dyspnoea. The common cause of acute dyspnoea and respiratory distress in Emergency Department are Decompensated Heart Failure (HF), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Asthma, Pneumonia, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), Pulmonary Embolism (PE), and other causes like anaemia. The aim of the study was to measure NT-pro Brain Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) and exhaled End-Tidal Carbon dioxide (ETCO2) in patients presenting with dyspnoea. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This prospective, cross-sectional and observational study was performed at the Government Medical College and Hospital, Nagpur, between October 2019 and October 2021 in patients admitted to the Medicine Intensive Care Unit. Three groups of patients were compared: (1) HFrelated acute dyspnoea group (n = 52), (2) pulmonary (COPD/PE)-related acute dyspnoea group (n = 31) and (3) sepsis with ARDS-related dyspnoea group (n = 13). All patients underwent initial clinical examination with a recording of initial vital parameters along with on-admission ETCO2 measurement, NT-proBNP testing, arterial blood gas analysis, lung ultrasound examination, 2D echocardiography, chest X-rays, and other relevant diagnostic laboratory testing. RESULTS: 96 patients were included in the study. Median NT-proBNP was found to be high for the Heart Failure group (11,480 pg/ml), followed by the sepsis group (780 pg/ml), and pulmonary group had an Nt ProBNP of 231 pg/ml. The mean ETCO2 value was maximum in the pulmonary group (48.610 mmHg) followed by Heart Failure (31.51 mmHg) and the sepsis group (19.46 mmHg). The results were found to be statistically significant (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: NT-proBNP has high diagnostic accuracy in differentiating acute HF-related dyspnoea from pulmonary (COPD and ARDS)-related acute dyspnoea. The higher levels of ETCO2 help in diagnosing patients with COPD.

Keywords: NT PRO BNP, ETCO2, dyspnoea, lung USG

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Authors: Beatriz Rebocho, Elisabete Valente, Carla Palma, Andreia Guilherme, Filipa Bessa, Paula Sobral

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The global accumulation of plastic in the oceans is a growing problem. Plastic is transported from its source to the oceans via rivers, which are considered the main route for plastic particles from land-based sources to the ocean. These plastics undergo physical and chemical degradation resulting in microplastics. The i-Plastic project aims to understand and predict the dispersion, accumulation and impacts of microplastics (5 mm to 1 µm) and nano plastics (below 1 µm) in marine environments from the tropical and temperate land-ocean interface to the open ocean under distinct flow and climate regimes. Seasonal monitoring of the fluxes of microplastics was carried out in (three) coastal areas in Brazil, Portugal and Spain. The present work shows the first results of in-situ seasonal monitoring and mapping of microplastics in ocean waters between Ovar and Vieira de Leiria (Portugal), in which 43 surface water samples and 43 water column samples were collected in contrasting seasons (spring and autumn). The spring and autumn surface water samples were collected with a 300 µm and 150 µm pore neuston net, respectively. In both campaigns, water column samples were collected using a conical mesh with a 150 µm pore. The experimental procedure comprises the following steps: i) sieving by a metal sieve; ii) digestion with potassium hydroxide to remove the organic matter original from the sample matrix. After a filtration step, the content is retained on a membrane and observed under a stereomicroscope, and physical and chemical characterization (type, color, size, and polymer composition) of the microparticles is performed. Results showed that 84% and 88% of the surface water and water column samples were contaminated with microplastics, respectively. Surface water samples collected during the spring campaign averaged 0.35 MP.m-3, while surface water samples collected during autumn recorded 0.39 MP.m-3. Water column samples from the spring campaign had an average of 1.46 MP.m-3, while those from the autumn recorded 2.54 MP.m-3. In the spring, all microplastics found were fibers, predominantly black and blue. In autumn, the dominant particles found in the surface waters were fibers, while in the water column, fragments were dominant. In spring, the average size of surface water particles was 888 μm, while in the water column was 1063 μm. In autumn, the average size of surface and water column microplastics was 1333 μm and 1393 μm, respectively. The main polymers identified by Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) and micro-ATR Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy from all samples were low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The significant difference between the microplastic concentration in the water column between the two campaigns could be due to the remixing of the water masses that occurred that week due to the occurrence of a storm. This work presents preliminary results since the i-Plastic project is still in progress. These results will contribute to the understanding of the spatial and temporal dispersion and accumulation of microplastics in this marine environment.

Keywords: microplastics, Portugal, Atlantic Ocean, water column, surface water

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Authors: Kunio Yoshikawa, Ding Lu

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Small-scale, distributed and low-cost biomass power generation technologies are highly required in the modern society. There are big needs for these technologies in the disaster areas of developed countries and un-electrified rural areas of developing countries. This work aims to present a technical feasibility of the portable ultra-small power generation system based on the gasification of carbonized wood pellets/briquettes. Our project is designed for enabling independent energy production from various kinds of biomass resources in the open-field. The whole process mainly consists of two processes: biomass and waste pretreatment; gasification and power generation. The first process includes carbonization, densification (briquetting or pelletization), and the second includes updraft fixed bed gasification of carbonized pellets/briquettes, syngas purification, and power generation employing an internal combustion gas engine. A combined pretreatment processes including carbonization without external energy and densification were adopted to deal with various biomass. Carbonized pellets showed a better gasification performance than carbonized briquettes and their mixture. The 100-hour continuous operation results indicated that pelletization/briquetting of carbonized fuel realized the stable operation of an updraft gasifier if there were no blocking issues caused by the accumulation of tar. The cold gas efficiency and the carbon conversion during carbonized wood pellets gasification was about 49.2% and 70.5% with the air equivalence ratio value of around 0.32, and the corresponding overall efficiency of the gas engine was 20.3% during the stable stage. Moreover, the maximum output power was 21 kW at the air flow rate of 40 Nm³·h⁻¹. Therefore, the comprehensive system covering biomass carbonization, densification, gasification, syngas purification, and engine system is feasible for portable, ultra-small power generation. This work has been supported by Innovative Science and Technology Initiative for Security (Ministry of Defence, Japan).

Keywords: biomass carbonization, densification, distributed power generation, gasification

Procedia PDF Downloads 157

Authors: Yi-Yu Huang, Chien-Kuo Wang, Sreerag Chota Veettil, Hang Zhang, Hu Yike

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Regarding the pressing issue of reducing energy consumption and carbon footprint of buildings, past research has focused more on analyzing the thermal performance of the extensive terrestrial green roofs with sedum plants in summer. However, the disadvantages of this type of green roof are relatively limited thermal performance, low extreme weather adaptability, relatively higher demands in maintenance, and lower added value in healing landscape. In view of this, this research aims to develop the extensive wetland green roofs with higher thermal performance, high extreme weather adaptability, low demands in maintenance, and high added value in healing landscape, and to measure its thermal performance for buildings in winter. The following factors are considered including the type and mixing formula of growth medium (light weight soil, akadama, creek gravel, pure water) and the type of aquatic plants. The research adopts a four-stage field experiment conducting on the rooftop of a building in a humid subtropical climate. The results found that emergent (Roundleaf rotala), submerged (Ribbon weed), floating-leaved (Water lily) wetland green roofs had similar thermal performance, and superior over wetland green roof without plant, traditional terrestrial green roof (without plant), and pure water green roof (without plant, nighttime only) in terms of overall passive cooling (8.00C) and thermal insulation (4.50C) effects as well as a reduction in heat amplitude (77-85%) in winter in a humid subtropical climate. The thermal performance of the free-floating (Water hyacinth) wetland green roof is inferior to that of the other three types of wetland green roofs, whether in daytime or nighttime.

Keywords: thermal performance, extensive wetland green roof, Aquatic plant, Winter , Humid subtropical climate

Procedia PDF Downloads 179

Authors: D. Díaz Fernández, I. Csízi, K. Pető, G. Nagy

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An outstanding part of the animal products are based on the grasslands, due to the fact that the grassland ecosystems can be found all over the globe. In places where economical and successful crop production cannot be managed, the grassland based animal husbandry can be an efficient way of food production. In addition, these ecosystems have an important role in carbon sequestration, and with their rich flora – and fauna connected to it – in conservation of biodiversity. The protection of nature, and the sustainable agriculture is getting more and more attention in the European Union, but, looking at the consumers’ needs, the production of healthy food cannot be neglected either. Because of these facts, the effects of two specific composts - which are officially authorized in organic farming, in Agri-environment Schemes and Natura 2000 programs – on grass yields and sward compositions were investigated in a field trial. The investigation took place in Hungary, on a natural grassland based on solonetz soil. Three rates of compost (10 t/ha, 20 t/ha, 30 t/ha) were tested on 3 m X 10 m experimental plots. Every treatment had four replications and both type of compost had four-four control plots too, this way 32 experimental plots were included in the investigations. The yield of the pasture was harvested two-times (in May and in September) and before cutting the plots, measurements on botanical compositions were made. Samples for laboratory analysis were also taken. Dry matter yield of pasture showed positive responses to the rates of composts. The increase in dry matter yield was partly due to some positive changes in sward composition. It means that the proportions of grass species with higher yield potential increased in ground cover of the sward without depressing out valuable native species of diverse natural grasslands. The research results indicate that the use of organic compost can be an efficient way to increase grass yields in a sustainable way.

Keywords: compost application, dry matter yield, native grassland, sward composition

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Authors: Anil Saini, Jatinder Kumar Ratan

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Now a day, the key issue for the scientific community is to devise the innovative technologies for sustainable control of urban pollution. In urban cities, a large surface area of the masonry structures, buildings, and pavements is exposed to the open environment, which may be utilized for the control of air pollution, if it is built from the photocatalytically active cement-based constructional materials such as concrete, mortars, paints, and blocks, etc. The photocatalytically active cement is formulated by incorporating a photocatalyst in the cement matrix, and such cement is generally known as self-cleaning cement In the literature, self-cleaning cement has been synthesized by incorporating nanosized-TiO₂ (n-TiO₂) as a photocatalyst in the formulation of the cement. However, the utilization of n-TiO₂ for the formulation of self-cleaning cement has the drawbacks of nano-toxicity, higher cost, and agglomeration as far as the commercial production and applications are concerned. The use of microsized-TiO₂ (m-TiO₂) in place of n-TiO₂ for the commercial manufacture of self-cleaning cement could avoid the above-mentioned problems. However, m-TiO₂ is less photocatalytically active as compared to n- TiO₂ due to smaller surface area, higher band gap, and increased recombination rate. As such, the use of m-TiO₂ in the formulation of self-cleaning cement may lead to a reduction in photocatalytic activity, thus, reducing the self-cleaning, depolluting, and antimicrobial abilities of the resultant cement material. So improvement in the photoactivity of m-TiO₂ based self-cleaning cement is the key issue for its practical applications in the present scenario. The current work proposes the use of surface-fluorinated m-TiO₂ for the formulation of self-cleaning cement to enhance its photocatalytic activity. The calcined dolomite, a constructional material, has also been utilized as co-adsorbent along with the surface-fluorinated m-TiO₂ in the formulation of self-cleaning cement to enhance the photocatalytic performance. The surface-fluorinated m-TiO₂, calcined dolomite, and the formulated self-cleaning cement were characterized using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), BET (Brunauer–Emmett–Teller) surface area, and energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF). The self-cleaning property of the as-prepared self-cleaning cement was evaluated using the methylene blue (MB) test. The depolluting ability of the formulated self-cleaning cement was assessed through a continuous NOX removal test. The antimicrobial activity of the self-cleaning cement was appraised using the method of the zone of inhibition. The as-prepared self-cleaning cement obtained by uniform mixing of 87% clinker, 10% calcined dolomite, and 3% surface-fluorinated m-TiO₂ showed a remarkable self-cleaning property by providing 53.9% degradation of the coated MB dye. The self-cleaning cement also depicted a noteworthy depolluting ability by removing 5.5% of NOx from the air. The inactivation of B. subtiltis bacteria in the presence of light confirmed the significant antimicrobial property of the formulated self-cleaning cement. The self-cleaning, depolluting, and antimicrobial results are attributed to the synergetic effect of surface-fluorinated m-TiO₂ and calcined dolomite in the cement matrix. The present study opens an idea and route for further research for acile and economical formulation of self-cleaning cement.

Keywords: microsized-titanium dioxide (m-TiO₂), self-cleaning cement, photocatalysis, surface-fluorination

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Authors: Bozena Tyliszczak, Anna Drabczyk, Sonia Kudlacik-Kramarczyk, Agnieszka Sobczak-Kupiec

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Introduction: Nanomaterials become one of the leading materials in the synthesis of various compounds. This is a reason for the fact that nano-size materials exhibit other properties compared to their macroscopic equivalents. Such a change in size is reflected in a change in optical, electric or mechanical properties. Among nanomaterials, particular attention is currently directed into gold nanoparticles. They find application in a wide range of areas including cosmetology or pharmacy. Additionally, nanogold may be a component of modern wound dressings, which antibacterial activity is beneficial in the viewpoint of the wound healing process. Specific properties of this type of nanomaterials result in the fact that they may also be applied in cancer treatment. Studies on the development of new techniques of the delivery of drugs are currently an important research subject of many scientists. This is due to the fact that along with the development of such fields of science as medicine or pharmacy, the need for better and more effective methods of administering drugs is constantly growing. The solution may be the use of drug carriers. These are materials that combine with the active substance and lead it directly to the desired place. A role of such a carrier may be played by gold nanoparticles that are able to covalently bond with many organic substances. This allows the combination of nanoparticles with active substances. Therefore gold nanoparticles are widely used in the preparation of nanocomposites that may be used for medical purposes with special emphasis on drug delivery. Methodology: As part of the presented research, synthesis of composites was carried out. The mentioned composites consisted of the polymer matrix and gold nanoparticles that were introduced into the polymer network. The synthesis was conducted with the use of a crosslinking agent, and photoinitiator and the materials were obtained by means of the photopolymerization process. Next, incubation studies were conducted using selected liquids that simulated fluids are occurring in the human body. The study allows determining the biocompatibility of the tested composites in relation to selected environments. Next, the chemical structure of the composites was characterized as well as their sorption properties. Conclusions: Conducted research allowed for the preliminary characterization of prepared polymer composites containing gold nanoparticles in the viewpoint of their application for biomedical use. Tested materials were characterized by biocompatibility in tested environments. What is more, synthesized composites exhibited relatively high swelling capacity that is essential in the viewpoint of their potential application as drug carriers. During such an application, composite swells and at the same time releases from its interior introduced active substance; therefore, it is important to check the swelling ability of such material. Acknowledgements: The authors would like to thank The National Science Centre (Grant no: UMO - 2016/21/D/ST8/01697) for providing financial support to this project. This paper is based upon work from COST Action (CA18113), supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology).

Keywords: nanocomposites, gold nanoparticles, drug carriers, swelling properties

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Authors: H. M. Zakir Hossain

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Cenozoic mudstone samples, obtained from drilled cored and outcrop in northeastern Bengal Basin of Bangladesh were organic geochemically analyzed to identify vertical variations of organic facies, thermal maturity, hydrocarbon potential and depositional environments. Total organic carbon (TOC) content ranges from 0.11 to 1.56 wt% with an average of 0.43 wt%, indicating a good source rock potential. Total sulphur content is variable with values ranging from ~0.001 to 1.75 wt% with an average of 0.065 wt%. Rock-Eval S1 and S2 yields range from 0.03 to 0.14 mg HC/g rock and 0.01 to 0.66 mg HC/g rock, respectively. The hydrogen index values range from 2.71 to 56.09 mg HC/g TOC. These results revealed that the samples are dominated by type III kerogene. Tmax values of 426 to 453 °C and vitrinite reflectance of 0.51 to 0.66% indicate the organic matter is immature to mature. Saturated hydrocarbon ratios such as pristane, phytane, steranes, and hopanes, indicate mostly terrigenous organic matter with small influence of marine organic matter. Organic matter in the succession was accumulated in three different environmental conditions based on the integration of biomarker proxies. First phase (late Eocene to early Miocene): Deposition occurred entirely in seawater-dominated oxic conditions, with high inputs of land plants organic matter including angiosperms. Second phase (middle to late Miocene): Deposition occurred in freshwater-dominated anoxic conditions, with phytoplanktonic organic matter and a small influence of land plants. Third phase (late Miocene to Pleistocene): Deposition occurred in oxygen-poor freshwater conditions, with abundant input of planktonic organic matter and high influx of angiosperms. The lower part (middle Eocene to early Miocene) of the succession with moderate TOC contents and primarily terrestrial organic matter could have generated some condensates and oils in and around the study area.

Keywords: Bangladesh, geochemistry, hydrocarbon potential, mudstone

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Authors: Muhammad Irfan, Guillermo Requena, Jan Haubrich

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Adhesively bonded aluminum joints are common in automotive and aircraft industries and are one of the enablers of lightweight construction to minimize the carbon emissions during transportation for a sustainable life. This study is focused on the effects of two thermal processing routes, i.e., by direct and induction heating, and their parameters on void formation in PA6 bonded aluminum EN-AW6082 joints. The joints were characterized microanalytically as well as by lap shear experiments. The aging resistance of the joints was studied by accelerated aging tests at 80°C hot water. It was found that the processing of single lap joints by direct heating in a convection oven causes the formation of a large number of voids in the bond line. The formation of voids in the convection oven was due to longer processing times and was independent of any surface pretreatments of the metal as well as the processing temperature. However, when processing at low temperatures, a large number of small-sized voids were observed under the optical microscope, and they were larger in size but reduced in numbers at higher temperatures. An induction heating process was developed, which not only successfully reduced or eliminated the voids in PA6 bonded joints but also reduced the processing times for joining significantly. Consistent with the trend in direct heating, longer processing times and higher temperatures in induction heating also led to an increased formation of voids in the bond line. Subsequent single lap shear tests revealed that the increasing void contents led to a 21% reduction in lap shear strengths (i.e., from ~47 MPa for induction heating to ~37 MPa for direct heating). Also, there was a 17% reduction in lap shear strengths when the consolidation temperature was raised from 220˚C to 300˚C during induction heating. However, below a certain threshold of void contents, there was no observable effect on the lap shear strengths as well as on hydrothermal aging resistance of the joints consolidated by the induction heating process.

Keywords: adhesive, aluminium, convection oven, induction heating, mechanical properties, nylon6 (PA6), pretreatment, void

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Authors: P. Serrão, E. Costa, A. Ribeiro, V. Infante

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The characteristic sonority of the Portuguese guitar is in great part what makes Fado so distinguishable from other traditional song styles. The Portuguese guitar is a pear-shaped plucked chordophone with six courses of double strings. This study compares the two types of plain strings available for Portuguese guitar and used by the musicians. One is stainless steel spring wire, the other is high carbon spring steel (music wire). Some musicians mention noticeable differences in sound quality between these two string materials, such as a little more brightness and sustain in the steel strings. Experimental tests were performed to characterize string tension at pitch; mechanical strength and tuning stability using the universal testing machine; dimensional control and chemical composition analysis using the scanning electron microscope. The string dynamical behaviour characterization experiments, including frequency response, inharmonicity, transient response, damping phenomena and were made in a monochord test set-up designed and built in-house. Damping factor was determined for the fundamental frequency. As musicians are able to detect very small damping differences, an accurate a characterization of the damping phenomena for all harmonics was necessary. With that purpose, another improved monochord was set and a new system identification methodology applied. Due to the complexity of this task several adjustments were necessary until obtaining good experimental data. In a few cases, dynamical tests were repeated to detect any evolution in damping parameters after break-in period when according to players experience a new string sounds gradually less dull until reaching the typically brilliant timbre. Finally, each set of strings was played on one guitar by a distinguished player and recorded. The recordings which include individual notes, scales, chords and a study piece, will be analysed to potentially characterize timbre variations.

Keywords: damping factor, music wire, portuguese guitar, string dynamics

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Authors: Nazila Dehbari, Javad Tavakoli, Yakani Kambu, Youhong Tang

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Superabsorbent hydrogels (SAP), as an enviro-sensitive material have been widely used for industrial and biomedical applications due to their unique structure and capabilities. Poor mechanical properties of SAPs - which is extremely related to their large volume change – count as a great weakness in adopting for high-tech applications. Therefore, improving SAPs’ mechanical properties via toughening methods by mixing different types of cross-linked polymer or introducing energy-dissipating mechanisms is highly focused. In this work, in order to change the intrinsic brittle character of commercialized Poly Acrylic Acid (here as SAP) to be semi-ductile, a commercial available highly branched tree-like dendritic polymers with numerous –OH end groups known as hyper-branched polymer (HB) has been added to PAA-SAP system in a single step, cost effective and environment friendly solvent casting method. Samples were characterized by FTIR, SEM and TEM and their physico-chemical characterization including swelling capabilities, hydraulic permeability, surface tension and thermal properties had been performed. Toughness energy, stiffness, elongation at breaking point, viscoelastic properties and samples extensibility were mechanical properties that had been performed and characterized as a function of samples lateral cracks’ length in different HB concentration. Addition of HB to PAA-SAP significantly improved mechanical and surface properties. Increasing equilibrium swelling ratio by about 25% had been experienced by the SAP-HB samples in comparison with SAPs; however, samples swelling kinetics remained without changes as initial rate of water uptake and equilibrium time haven’t been subjected to any changes. Thermal stability analysis showed that HB is participating in hybrid network formation while improving mechanical properties. Samples characterization by TEM showed that, the aggregated HB polymer binders into nano-spheres with diameter in range of 10–200 nm. So well dispersion in the SAP matrix occurred as it was predictable due to the hydrophilic character of the numerous hydroxyl groups at the end of HB which enhance the compatibility of HB with PAA-SAP. As the profused -OH groups in HB could react with -COOH groups in the PAA-SAP during the curing process, the formation of a 2D structure in the SAP-HB could be attributed to the strong interfacial adhesion between HB and the PAA-SAP matrix which hinders the activity of PAA chains (SEM analysis). FTIR spectra introduced new peaks at 1041 and 1121 cm-1 that attributed to the C–O(–OH) stretching hydroxyl and O–C stretching ester groups of HB polymer binder indicating the incorporation of HB polymer into the SAP structure. SAP-HB polymer has significant effects on the final mechanical properties. The brittleness of PAA hydrogels are decreased by introducing HB as the fracture energies of hydrogels increased from 8.67 to 26.67. PAA-HBs’ stretch ability enhanced about 10 folds while reduced as a function of different notches depth.

Keywords: superabsorbent polymer, toughening, viscoelastic properties, hydrogel network

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Authors: Saleh Nabiyev

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Renewable energy is becoming increasingly important in today's world due to its significant impact on the green economy, ecology, environment, and climate change. Renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, are clean and sustainable, making them an ideal solution to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change. The Karabakh region is located in the South Caucasus and covers an area of approximately 11,500 km². The region has a mountainous terrain, which can affect the availability of wind and solar resources. The Karabakh region has significant wind power potential, particularly in its mountainous areas where wind speeds are typically higher. According to a study conducted by the European Commission Joint Research Centre, the average wind speed in the Karabakh region is between 4 and 6 meters per second (m/s) at a height of 50 meters above ground level (AGL). However, wind speeds can be higher in some areas, reaching up to 10 m/s in some mountainous areas. The region also has significant solar power potential, with an average of 2,000 to 2,200 hours of sunshine per year. The region's high altitude and clear skies make it particularly suitable for the development of solar power projects. In this research, the application of satellite images, solar radiation, wind speed and direction, as well as various other materials to determine suitable areas for alternative energy sources, is investigated. The methodology for selecting suitable locations for solar and wind energy consists of four main parts: identification of factors, evaluation of factors, data preparation, and application of suitability analysis. At the end of the research, the territory of the Kalbajar and Lachin districts is suitable for wind energy. The southern plain part of Karabakh is highly evaluated in terms of solar energy potential, especially Jabrayil district. Generally, outcomes taken from this research are essential data for increasing of rational using natural resources, as well as combating climate change.

Keywords: GIS, remote sensing, suitability analysis, solar energy, wind energy

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Authors: Juan A. G. Carrio, Prasad Talluri, Sergio G. Echeverrigaray, Antonio H. Castro Neto

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Hydrogen as a fuel and environmentally pleasant energy carrier is part of this transition towards low-carbon systems. The extensive deployment of hydrogen production, purification and transport infrastructures still represents significant challenges. Independent of the production process, the hydrogen generally is mixed with light hydrocarbons and other undesirable gases that need to be removed to obtain H₂ with the required purity for end applications. In this context, membranes are one of the simplest, most attractive, sustainable, and performant technologies enabling hydrogen separation and purification. They demonstrate high separation efficiencies and low energy consumption levels in operation, which is a significant leap compared to current energy-intensive options technologies. The unique characteristics of 2D laminates have given rise to a diversity of research on their potential applications in separation systems. Specifically, it is already known in the scientific literature that graphene oxide-based membranes present the highest reported selectivity of H₂ over other gases. This work explores the potential of a new type of 2D materials-based membranes in separating H₂ from CO₂ and CH₄. We have developed nanostructured composites based on 2D materials that have been applied in the fabrication of membranes to maximise H₂ selectivity and permeability, for different gas mixtures, by adjusting the membranes' characteristics. Our proprietary technology does not depend on specific porous substrates, which allows its integration in diverse separation modules with different geometries and configurations, looking to address the technical performance required for industrial applications and economic viability. The tuning and precise control of the processing parameters allowed us to control the thicknesses of the membranes below 100 nanometres to provide high permeabilities. Our results for the selectivity of new nanostructured 2D materials-based membranes are in the range of the performance reported in the available literature around 2D materials (such as graphene oxide) applied to hydrogen purification, which validates their use as one of the most promising next-generation hydrogen separation and purification solutions.

Keywords: membranes, 2D materials, hydrogen purification, nanocomposites

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Authors: Apra Sinha

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The inverted U-shaped Environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) demonstrates(pollution-income relationship)that initially the pollution and environmental degradation surpass the level of income per capita; however this trend reverses since at the higher income levels, economic growth initiates environmental upgrading. However, what effect does increased environmental degradation has on growth is the missing feedback link which has not been addressed in the EKC hypothesis. This paper examines the missing feedback link in EKC hypothesis in Indian context by examining the casual association between fossil fuel consumption, carbon dioxide emissions and economic growth for India. Fossil fuel consumption here has been taken as a proxy of driver of economic growth. The casual association between the aforementioned variables has been analyzed using five interventions namely 1) urban development for which urbanization has been taken proxy 2) industrial development for which industrial value added has been taken proxy 3) trade liberalization for which sum of exports and imports as a share of GDP has been taken as proxy 4)financial development for which a)domestic credit to private sector and b)net foreign assets has been taken as proxies. The choice of interventions for this study has been done keeping in view the economic liberalization perspective of India. The main aim of the paper is to investigate the missing feedback link for Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis before and after incorporating the intervening variables. The period of study is from 1971 to 2011 as it covers pre and post liberalization era in India. All the data has been taken from World Bank country level indicators. The Johansen and Juselius cointegration testing methodology and Error Correction based Granger causality have been applied on all the variables. The results clearly show that out of five interventions, only in two interventions the missing feedback link is being addressed. This paper can put forward significant policy implications for environment protection and sustainable development.

Keywords: environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis, fossil fuel consumption, industrialization, trade liberalization, urbanization

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Authors: Mattea Carmen Castrovilli, Antonella Cartoni

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Electrospray ionisation (ESI), a well-established technique widely used to produce ion beams of biomolecules in mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), can be used for ambient soft landing of enzymes on a specific substrate. In this work, we show how the ambient electrospray deposition (ESD) technique can be successfully exploited for manufacturing a promising, green-friendly electrochemical amperometric laccase-based biosensor with unprecedented reuse and storage performance. These biosensors have been manufactured by spraying a laccase solution of 2μg/μL at 20% of methanol on a commercial carbon screen printed electrode (C-SPE) using a custom ESD set-up. The laccase-based ESD biosensor has been tested against catechol compounds in the linear range 2-100 μM, with a limit of detection of 1.7 μM, without interference from cadmium, chrome, arsenic, and zinc and without any memory effects, but showing a matrix effect in lake and well water. The ESD biosensor shows enhanced performances compared to the ones fabricated with other immobilization methods, like drop-casting. Indeed, it retains 100% activity up to two months of storage at ambient conditions without any special care and working stability up to 63 measurements on the same electrode just prepared and 20 on a one-year-old electrode subjected to redeposition together with a 100% resistance to use of the same electrode in subsequent days. The ESD method is a one-step, environmentally friendly method that allows the deposition of the bio-recognition layer without using any additional chemicals. The promising results in terms of storage and working stability also obtained with the more fragile lactate oxidase enzyme suggest these improvements should be attributed to the ESD technique rather than to the bioreceptor, highlighting how the ESD could be useful in reducing pollution from disposable devices. Acknowledgment: The understanding at the molecular level of this promising biosensor by using different spectroscopies, microscopies and analytical techniques is the subject of our PRIN 2022 project ESILARANTE.

Keywords: reuse, storage performance, immobilization, electrospray deposition, biosensor, laccase, catechol detection, green chemistry

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Authors: Laura Santagostini, Vittoria Guglielmi

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The meaning of the word 'Nature' (literally 'that which is about to be born') has accompanied researchers throughout their study of the environment and has led to the design of technical means to improve the properties of the soil, modifying its structure and/or consistency, thus favouring the emergence and growth of plants. These include soil improvers, i.e. any substance, natural or synthetic, mineral or organic, capable of modifying and improving the chemical, physical, biological and mechanical properties and characteristics of the soil. In particular, GCSCs (Green Composted Soil Conditioners) are soil conditioners produced through a controlled process of transforming selected organic green waste materials, such as clippings from the maintenance of ornamental greenery, crop residues and other plant waste. The use of GCSC in horticulture, fruit growing, industrial cultivation and nursery gardening is an active way to return organic carbon to the soil, thus limiting CO2 emissions and the production of greenhouse gases, and also to limit the environmental impact of peat extraction, which is normally used in these areas of application. With a view to distinguish between GCSC and peats and to assess what further contributions GCSC can provide to the soil and growing plants, we studied the behaviour of the two substrates by chromatographic techniques. After treating the individual soil improvers with different solvents, used individually or by applying a polarity gradient, the extracts obtained were analysed by HPLC and LCMS in order to assess their composition mainly from a qualitative point of view. Data obtained show in GCSC the presence of polyphenolic derivatives attributable to the degradation of plant material and potentially useful for the development and growth of young plants, while commercial peat-based products only sporadically showed the presence of recognisable molecules, confirming the lower complexity of the matrix under analysis. These results allowed us to distinguish the two different types of soil conditioner based on their chromatographic profiles.

Keywords: chromatographic profile, HPLC, polyphenols, soil conditioners

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Authors: Li-hsing Shih, Tzu-hsun Yen

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Because of the long-term commitment to net zero carbon emission, utility companies include more renewable energy supply, which generates electricity with time and weather restrictions. This leads to time-of-use electricity pricing to reflect the actual cost of energy supply. From an end-user point of view, better residential energy management is needed to incorporate the time-of-use prices and assist end users in scheduling their daily use of electricity. This study uses bi-criteria optimization methods to schedule daily energy consumption by minimizing the electricity cost and maximizing the comfort of end users. Different from most previous research, this study schedules users’ activities rather than household appliances to have better measures of users’ comfort/satisfaction. The relation between each activity and the use of different appliances could be defined by users. The comfort level is at the highest when the time and duration of an activity completely meet the user’s expectation, and the comfort level decreases when the time and duration do not meet expectations. A questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data for establishing regression models that describe users’ comfort levels when the execution time and duration of activities are different from user expectations. Six regression models representing the comfort levels for six types of activities were established using the responses to the questionnaire survey. A computer program is developed to evaluate electricity cost and the comfort level for each feasible schedule and then find the non-dominated schedules. The Epsilon constraint method is used to find the optimal schedule out of the non-dominated schedules. A hypothetical case is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach and the computer program. Using the program, users can obtain the optimal schedule of daily energy consumption by inputting the intended time and duration of activities and the given time-of-use electricity prices.

Keywords: bi-criteria optimization, energy consumption, time-of-use price, scheduling

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Authors: Prami Sengupta, Randall A. Cantrell, Tracy Johns

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A typical US household consumes more energy than households in other countries and is directly responsible for a considerable proportion of the atmospheric concentration of the greenhouse gases. This makes U.S. household a vital target group for energy conservation studies. Positive household behavior is central to residential energy conservation. However, for individuals to conserve energy they must not only know how to conserve energy but be also willing to do so. That is, a positive attitude towards residential conservation and an intention to conserve energy are two of the most important psychological determinants for energy conservation behavior. Most social science studies, to date, have studied the relationships between attitude, intention, and behavior by building upon socio-psychological theories of behavior. However, these frameworks, including the widely used Theory of Planned Behavior and Social Cognitive Theory, lack a spatial component. That is, these studies fail to capture the impact of the geographical locations of homeowners’ residences on their residential energy consumption and conservation practices. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore geospatial relationships between homeowners’ residential energy conservation-attitudes, conservation-intentions, and consumption behavior. The study analyzes residential conservation-attitudes and conservation-intentions of homeowners across 63 counties in Florida and compares it with quantifiable measures of residential energy consumption. Empirical findings revealed that the spatial distribution of high and/or low values of homeowners’ mean-score values of conservation-attitudes and conservation-intentions are more spatially clustered than would be expected if the underlying spatial processes were random. On the contrary, the spatial distribution of high and/or low values of households’ carbon footprints was found to be more spatially dispersed than assumed if the underlying spatial process were random. The study also examined the influence of potential spatial variables, such as urban or rural setting and presence of educational institutions and/or extension program, on the conservation-attitudes, intentions, and behaviors of homeowners.

Keywords: conservation-attitude, conservation-intention, geospatial analysis, residential energy consumption, spatial autocorrelation

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Authors: Andi Ismanto

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Indonesia is the largest palm oil producer in the world. The increasing number of palm oil extensification in Indonesia started on 2000-2011. Based on preliminary figures from the Directorate General of Plantation, palm oil area in Indonesia until 2011 is about 8.91 million hectares.On 2011 production of palm oil CPO reaches 22.51 million tons. In the other hands, the increasing palm oil production has impact to environment. The Empty Bunch of Palm Oil (EBPO)waste was increased to 20 million tons in 2009. Utilization of waste EBPO currently only used as an organic fertilizer for plants. But, it was not a good solution, because TKKS that used as organic compost has high content of carbon and hydrogen compound. The EBPO waste has potential used as fuel by gasification because it has short time of decomposition. So, the process will be more efficient in time. Utilization of urban wastehas been created using an incinerator used as a source of electrical energy for household.Usually, waste burning process by incinerator is using diesel fuel and kerosene. It is certainly less effective and not environment friendly, considering the waste incineration process using Incinerator tools are continuously. Considering biomass is a renewable source of energy and the world's energy system must be switch from an energy based on fossil resources into the energy based on renewable resources, the "Gurza Incinerator": Design Build Powerful Biomass Incinerator Empty Bunch of Palm Oil (EBPO) as Elecrical Biomass Base Development, a renewable future technology. The tools is using EBPO waste as source of burning to burn garbage inside the Incinerator hopper. EBPO waste will be processed by means of gasification. Gasification isa process to produce gases that can be used as fuel for electrical power. Hopefully, this technology could be a renewable future energy and also as starting point of electrical biomass base development.

Keywords: incinerator, biomass, empty bunch palm oil, electrical energy

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Authors: Mohammad W. Dewan, Jahangir Alam, Khurshida Sharmin

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Synthetic fibers (carbon, glass, aramid, etc.) are generally utilized to make composite materials for better mechanical and thermal properties. However, they are expensive and non-biodegradable. In the perspective of Bangladesh, jute fibers are available, inexpensive, and comprising good mechanical properties. The improved properties (i.e., low cost, low density, eco-friendly) of natural fibers have made them a promising reinforcement in hybrid composites without sacrificing mechanical properties. In this study, jute and e-glass fiber reinforced hybrid composite materials are fabricated utilizing hand lay-up followed by a compression molding technique. Room temperature cured two-part epoxy resin is used as a matrix. Approximate 6-7 mm thick composite panels are fabricated utilizing 17 layers of woven glass and jute fibers with different fiber layering sequences- only jute, only glass, glass, and jute alternatively (g/j/g/j---) and 4 glass - 9 jute – 4 glass (4g-9j-4g). The fabricated composite panels are analyzed through fiber volume calculation, tensile test, bending test, and water absorption test. The hybridization of jute and glass fiber results in better tensile, bending, and water absorption properties than only jute fiber-reinforced composites, but inferior properties as compared to only glass fiber reinforced composites. Among different fiber layering sequences, 4g-9j-4g fibers layering sequence resulted in better tensile, bending, and water absorption properties. The effect of chemical treatment on the woven jute fiber and chopped glass microfiber infusion are also investigated in this study. Chemically treated jute fiber and 2 wt. % chopped glass microfiber infused hybrid composite shows about 12% improvements in flexural strength as compared to untreated and no micro-fiber infused hybrid composite panel. However, fiber chemical treatment and micro-filler do not have a significant effect on tensile strength.

Keywords: compression molding, chemical treatment, hybrid composites, mechanical properties

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Authors: Zhuanfang Fred Zhang, Tim C. Johnson, Yilin Fang, Chris E. Strickland

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A variety of geophysical techniques are available to image the opaque subsurface with little or no contact with the soil. It is common to conduct time-lapse surveys of different types for a given site for improved results of subsurface imaging. Regardless of the chosen survey methods, it is often a challenge to process the massive amount of survey data. The currently available software applications are generally based on the one-dimensional assumption for a desktop personal computer. Hence, they are usually incapable of imaging the three-dimensional (3D) processes/variables in the subsurface of reasonable spatial scales; the maximum amount of data that can be inverted simultaneously is often very small due to the capability limitation of personal computers. Presently, high-performance or integrating software that enables real-time integration of multi-process geophysical methods is needed. E4D-MP enables the integration and inversion of time-lapsed large-scale data surveys from geophysical methods. Using the supercomputing capability and parallel computation algorithm, E4D-MP is capable of processing data across vast spatiotemporal scales and in near real time. The main code and the modules of E4D-MP for inverting individual or combined data sets of time-lapse 3D electrical resistivity, spectral induced polarization, and gravity surveys have been developed and demonstrated for sub-surface imaging. E4D-MP provides capability of imaging the processes (e.g., liquid or gas flow, solute transport, cavity development) and subsurface properties (e.g., rock/soil density, conductivity) critical for successful control of environmental engineering related efforts such as environmental remediation, carbon sequestration, geothermal exploration, and mine land reclamation, among others.

Keywords: gravity survey, high-performance computing, sub-surface monitoring, electrical resistivity tomography

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Authors: Md. Maksudur Rahman Khan, M. Rahim Uddin, Hamidah Abdullah, Kaykobad Md. Rezaul Karim, Abu Yousuf, Chin Kui Cheng, Huei Ruey Ong

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A systematic study was conducted to explore the photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into methanol on TiO₂ loaded copper ferrite (CuFe₂O₄) photocatalyst under visible light irradiation. The phases and crystallite size of the photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and it indicates CuFe₂O₄ as tetragonal phase incorporation with anatase TiO₂ in CuFe₂O₄/TiO₂ hetero-structure. The XRD results confirmed the formation of spinel type tetragonal CuFe₂O₄ phases along with predominantly anatase phase of TiO₂ in the CuFe₂O₄/TiO₂ hetero-structure. UV-Vis absorption spectrum suggested the formation of the hetero-junction with relatively lower band gap than that of TiO₂. Photoluminescence (PL) technique was used to study the electron–hole (e⁻/h⁺) recombination process. PL spectra analysis confirmed the slow-down of the recombination of electron–hole (e⁻/h⁺) pairs in the CuFe₂O₄/TiO₂ hetero-structure. The photocatalytic performance of CuFe₂O₄/TiO₂ was evaluated based on the methanol yield with varying amount of TiO₂ over CuFe₂O₄ (0.5:1, 1:1, and 2:1) and changing light intensity. The mechanism of the photocatalysis was proposed based on the fact that the predominant species of CO₂ in aqueous phase were dissolved CO₂ and HCO₃^- at pH ~5.9. It was evident that the CuFe₂O₄ could harvest the electrons under visible light irradiation, which could further be injected to the conduction band of TiO₂ to increase the life time of the electron and facilitating the reactions of CO₂ to methanol. The developed catalyst showed good recycle ability up to four cycles where the loss of activity was ~25%. Methanol was observed as the main product over CuFe₂O₄, but loading with TiO₂ remarkably increased the methanol yield. Methanol yield over CuFe₂O₄/TiO₂ was found to be about three times higher (651 μmol/g_cat L) than that of CuFe₂O₄ photocatalyst. This occurs because the energy of the band excited electrons lies above the redox potentials of the reaction products CO₂/CH₃OH.

Keywords: photocatalysis, CuFe2O4/TiO2, band-gap energy, methanol

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Authors: Bikram K. Das, Kalyan K. Chattopadhyay

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The advent of 2-D materials in the last decade has induced a fresh spur of growth in fuel cell technology as these materials have some highly promising traits that can be exploited to felicitate Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) in an efficient way. Among the various 2-D carbon materials, graphyne (Gy) and graphdiyne (Gdy)1 with their intrinsic non-uniform charge distribution holds promises in this purpose and it is expected2 that substitutional Nitrogen (N) doping could further enhance their efficiency. In this regard, dispersive force corrected density functional theory is used to map the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics of five different kinds of N doped graphyne and graphdiyne systems (namely αGy, βGy, γGy, RGy and 6,6,12Gy and Gdy) in alkaline medium. The best doping site for each of the Gy/ Gdy system is determined comparing the formation energies of the possible doping configurations. Similarly, the best di-oxygen (O₂) adsorption sites for the doped systems are identified by comparing the adsorption energies. O₂ adsorption on all N doped Gy/ Gdy systems is found to be energetically favorable. ORR on a catalyst surface may occur either via the Eley-Rideal (ER) or the Langmuir–Hinschelwood (LH) pathway. Systematic studies performed on the considered systems reveal that all of them favor the ER pathway. Further, depending on the nature of di-oxygen adsorption ORR can follow either associative or dissociative mechanism; the possibility of occurrence of both the mechanisms is tested thoroughly for each N doped Gy/ Gdy. For the ORR process, all the Gy/Gdy systems are observed to prefer the efficient four-electron pathway but the expected monotonically exothermic reaction pathway is found only for N doped 6,6,12Gy and RGy following the associative pathway and for N doped βGy, γGy and Gdy following the dissociative pathway. Further computation performed for these systems reveals that for N doped 6,6,12Gy, RGy, βGy, γGy and Gdy the overpotentials are 1.08 V, 0.94 V, 1.17 V, 1.21 V and 1.04 V respectively depicting N doped RGy is the most promising material, to carry out ORR in alkaline medium, among the considered ones. The stability of the ORR intermediate states with the variation of pH and electrode potentials is further explored with Pourbiax diagrams and the activities of these systems in the alkaline medium are compared with the prior reported B/N doped identical systems for ORR in an acidic medium in terms of a common descriptor.

Keywords: graphdiyne, graphyne, nitrogen-doped, ORR

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