Search results for: low carbon tourism

Authors: A. Rosazlin Abdullah, I. Che Fauziah, K. Wan Rasidah, A. B. Rosenani

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The paper industry performs an essential role in the global economy of the world. A study was conducted on the paper mill sludge that is applied on the Khaya senegalensis for 1 year planning period at University Agriculture Park, Puchong, Selangor, Malaysia to determine the growth of Khaya senegalensis, soil properties, nutrients concentrations and effects on the status of heavy metals. Paper Mill Sludge (PMS) and composted Recycled Paper Mill Sludge (RPMS) were used with different rates of nitrogen (0, 150, 300 and 600 kg ha-1) at the ratio of 1:1 (Recycled Paper Mill Sludge (RPMS) : Empty Fruit Brunch (EFB). The growth parameters were measured twice a month for 1 year. Plant nutrients and heavy metal uptake were determined. The paper mill sludge has the potential to be a supplementary N fertilizer as well as a soil amendment. The application of RPMS with N, significantly contributed to the improvement in plant growth parameters such as plant height (4.24 m), basal diameter (10.30 cm), total plant biomass and improved soil physical and chemical properties. The pH, EC, available P and total C in soil were varied among the treatments during the planting period. The treatments with raw and RPM compost had higher pH values than those applied with inorganic fertilizer and control. Nevertheless, there was no salinity problem recorded during the planting period and available P in soil treated with raw and RPMS compost was higher than the control plots that reflects the mineralization of organic P from the decomposition of pulp sludge. The weight of the free and occluded light fractions of carbon concentration was significantly higher in the soils treated with raw and RPMS compost. The application of raw and composted RPMS gave significantly higher concentration of the heavy metals, but the total concentrations of heavy metals in the soils were below the critical values. Hence, the paper mill sludge can be successfully used as soil amendment in acidic soil without any serious threat. The use of paper mill sludge for the soil fertility, shows improvement in land application signifies a unique opportunity to recycle sludge back to the land to alleviate the potential waste management problem.

Keywords: growth, heavy metals, nutrients uptake, production, waste management

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Authors: I. Derek Kaka’an, P. Smolianov, D. Koh Choon Lian, S. Dion, C. Schoen, J. Norberg

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This study was designed to examine mass participation and elite football performance in Nigeria with reference to advance international football management practices. Over 200 sources of literature on sport delivery systems were analyzed to construct a globally applicable model of elite football integrated with mass participation, comprising of the following three levels: macro- (socio-economic, cultural, legislative, and organizational), meso- (infrastructures, personnel, and services enabling sport programs) and micro-level (operations, processes, and methodologies for development of individual athletes). The model has received scholarly validation and showed to be a framework for program analysis that is not culturally bound. The Smolianov and Zakus model has been employed for further understanding of sport systems such as US soccer, US Rugby, swimming, tennis, and volleyball as well as Russian and Dutch swimming. A questionnaire was developed using the above-mentioned model. Survey questions were validated by 12 experts including academicians, executives from sport governing bodies, football coaches, and administrators. To identify best practices and determine areas for improvement of football in Nigeria, 120 coaches completed the questionnaire. Useful exemplars and possible improvements were further identified through semi-structured discussions with 10 Nigerian football administrators and experts. Finally, content analysis of Nigeria Football Federation’s website and organizational documentation was conducted. This paper focuses on the meso-level of Nigerian football delivery, particularly infrastructures, personnel, and services enabling sport programs. This includes training centers, competition systems, and intellectual services. Results identified remarkable achievements coupled with great potential to further develop football in different types of public and private organizations in Nigeria. These include: assimilating football competitions with other cultural and educational activities, providing favorable conditions for employees of all possible organizations to partake and help in managing football programs and events, providing football coaching integrated with counseling for prevention of antisocial conduct, and improving cooperation between football programs and organizations for peace-making and advancement of international relations, tourism, and socio-economic development. Accurate reporting of the sports programs from the media should be encouraged through staff training for better awareness of various events. The systematic integration of these meso-level practices into the balanced development of mass and high-performance football will contribute to international sport success as well as national health, education, and social harmony.

Keywords: football, high performance, mass participation, Nigeria, sport development

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Authors: S. Vijay Kumar, Kishore K. Jena, Saeed M. Alhassan

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Elemental sulfur is currently produced on the level of 70 million tons annually by petroleum refining, majority of which is used in the production of sulfuric acid, fertilizer and other chemicals. Still, over 6 million tons of elemental sulfur is generated in excess, which creates exciting opportunities to develop new chemistry to utilize sulfur as a feedstock for polymers. Development of new polymer composite materials using sulfur is not widely explored and remains an important challenge in the field. Polymer nanocomposites prepared by carbon nanotube, graphene, silica and other nanomaterials were well established. However, utilization of sulfur as filler in the polymer matrix could be an interesting study. This work is to presents the possibility of utilizing elemental sulfur as reinforcing fillers in the polymer matrix. In this study we attempted to prepare polypropylene/sulfur nanocomposite. The physical, mechanical and morphological properties of the newly developed composites were studied according to the sulfur loading. In the sample preparation, four levels of elemental sulfur loading (5, 10, 20 and 30 wt. %) were designed. Composites were prepared by the melt mixing process by using laboratory scale mini twin screw extruder at 180°C for 15 min. The reaction time and temperature were maintained constant for all prepared composites. The structure and crystallization behavior of composites was investigated by Raman, FTIR, XRD and DSC analysis. It was observed that sulfur interfere with the crystalline arrangement of polypropylene and depresses the crystallization, which affects the melting point, mechanical and thermal stability. In the tensile test, one level of test temperature (room temperature) and crosshead speed (10 mm/min) was designed. Tensile strengths and tensile modulus of the composites were slightly decreased with increasing in filler loading, however, percentage of elongation improved by more than 350% compared to neat polypropylene. The effect of sulfur on the morphology of polypropylene was studied with TEM and SEM techniques. Microscope analysis revels that sulfur is homogeneously dispersed in polymer matrix and behaves as single phase arrangement in the polymer. The maximum elongation for the polypropylene can be achieved by adjusting the sulfur loading in the polymer. This study reviles the possibility of using elemental sulfur as a solid plasticizer in the polypropylene matrix.

Keywords: crystallization, elemental sulfur, morphology, thermo-mechanical properties, polypropylene, polymer nanocomposites

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Authors: Min-Chih Yang, Shih-Jen Feng, Bo-Tsang Li

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The concept of “Brownfield” has been developed for nearly 35 years since it was put forward in 《Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, CERCLA》of USA in 1980 for solving the problem of soil contamination of those old industrial lands, and later, many countries have put forward relevant policies and researches continuously. But the related concept in Taiwan, a country has developed its industry for 60 years, is still in its infancy. This leads to the slow development of Brownfield related research and policy in Taiwan. When it comes to build the foundation of Brownfield development, we have to depend on the related experience and research of other countries. They are four aspects about Brownfield: 1. Contaminated Land; 2. Derelict Land; 3. Vacant Land; 4. Previously Development Land. This study will focus on and deeply investigate the Vacant land and contaminated land. The subject of this study is Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corporation, Changhua branch in Taiwan. It has been operating for nearly 50 years and contributing a lot to the local economy. But under the influence of the toxic waste and sewage which was drained regularly or occasionally out from the factory, the environment has been destroyed seriously. There are three factors of pollution: 1. environmental toxicants, carbon disulfide, released from producing processes and volatile gases which is hard to monitor; 2. Waste and exhaust gas leakage caused by outdated equipment; 3. the wastewater discharge has seriously damage the ecological environment of the Dadu river estuary. Because of all these bad influences, the factory has been closed nowadays and moved to other places to spare the opportunities for the contaminated lands to re-develop. So we collect information about related Brownfield management experience and policies in different countries as background information to investigate the current Taiwanese Brownfield redevelopment issues and built the environmental assessment framework for it. We hope that we can set the environmental assessment indexes for Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corporation, Changhua branch according to the framework. By investigating the theory and environmental pollution factors, we will carry out deep analysis and expert questionnaire to set those indexes and prove a sample in Taiwan for Brownfield redevelopment and remediation in the future.

Keywords: brownfield, industrial land, redevelopment, assessment index

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Authors: Dhritilekha Deka, Deepak Patwa, Ravi K., Archana M. Nair

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Bioaccumulation of heavy metal contaminants due to intense anthropogenic interference degrades the environment and ecosystem functions. Conventional physicochemical methods involve energy-intensive and costly methodologies. Phytoremediation, on the other hand, provides an efficient nature-based strategy for the reclamation of heavy metal-contaminated sites. However, the slow process and adaptation to high-concentration contaminant sequestration often limit the efficiency of the method. This necessitates natural amendments such as biochar to improve phytoextraction and stabilize the green cover. Biochar is a highly porous structure with high carbon sequestration potential and containing negatively charged functional groups that provide binding sites for the positively charged metals. This study aims to develop and determine the synergy between sugarcane bagasse biochar content and phytoremediation. A 60-day pot experiment using perennial tussock vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides) was conducted for different biochar contents of 1%, 2%, and 4% for the removal of cadmium and zinc. A concentration of 500 ppm is maintained for the amended and unamended control (CK) samples. The survival rates of the plants, biomass production, and leaf area index were measured for the plant growth characteristics. Results indicate a visible change in the plant growth and the heavy metal concentration with the biochar content. The bioconcentration factor (BCF) in the plant improved significantly for the 4% biochar content by 57% in comparison to the control CK treatment in Cd-treated soils. The Zn soils indicated the highest reduction in the metal concentration by 50% in the 2% amended samples and an increase in the BCF in all the amended samples. The translocation from the rhizosphere to the shoots was low but not dependent on the amendment content and varied for each contaminant type. The root-to-shoot ratio indicates higher values compared to the control samples. The enhanced tolerance capacities can be attributed to the nutrients released by the biochar in the soil. The study reveals the high potential of biochar as a phytoremediation amendment, but its effect is dependent on the soil and heavy metal and accumulator species.

Keywords: phytoextraction, biochar, heavy metals, chrysopogon zizanioides, bioaccumulation factor

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Authors: Nataša Todorović, Jovana Nikolov, Ivana Stojković, Milan Vraneš, Jovana Panić, Slobodan Gadžurić

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The detection of ²¹⁰Pb levels in aquatic environments evokes interest in various scientific studies. Its precise determination is important not only for the radiological assessment of drinking waters but also ²¹⁰Pb, and ²¹⁰Po distribution in the marine environment are significant for the assessment of the removal rates of particles from the ocean and particle fluxes during transport along the coast, as well as particulate organic carbon export in the upper ocean. Measurement techniques for ²¹⁰Pb determination, gamma spectrometry, alpha spectrometry, or liquid scintillation counting (LSC) are either time-consuming or demand expensive equipment or complicated chemical pre-treatments. However, one other possibility is to measure ²¹⁰Pb on an LS counter if it is in equilibrium with its progeny ²¹⁰Bi - through the Cherenkov counting method. It is unaffected by the chemical quenching and assumes easy sample preparation but has the drawback of lower counting efficiencies than standard LSC methods, typically from 10% up to 20%. The aim of the presented research in this paper is to investigate the possible increment of detection efficiency of Cherenkov counting during ²¹⁰Pb/²¹⁰Bi detection on an LS counter Quantulus 1220. Considering naturally low levels of ²¹⁰Pb in aqueous samples, the addition of ionic liquids to the counting vials with the analysed samples has the benefit of detection limit’s decrement during ²¹⁰Pb quantification. Our results demonstrated that ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium salicylate, is more efficient in Cherenkov counting efficiency increment than the previously explored 2-hydroxypropan-1-amminium salicylate. Consequently, the impact of a few other ionic liquids that were synthesized with the same cation group (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium benzoate, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium 3-hydroxybenzoate, and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium 4-hydroxybenzoate) was explored in order to test their potential influence on Cherenkov counting efficiency. It was confirmed that, among the explored ones, only ionic liquids in the form of salicylates exhibit a wavelength shifting effect. Namely, the addition of small amounts (around 0.8 g) of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium salicylate increases the detection efficiency from 16% to >70%, consequently reducing the detection threshold by more than four times. Moreover, the addition of ionic liquids could find application in the quantification of other radionuclides besides ²¹⁰Pb/²¹⁰Bi via Cherenkov counting method.

Keywords: liquid scintillation counting, ionic liquids, Cherenkov counting, ²¹⁰PB/²¹⁰BI in water

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Authors: Moawia Abulgader Gdara

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En -Naga sub - basin considered to be the most southern of the concessions in the Sirte Basin operated by HOO. En Naga Sub – basin have likely been point-sourced of CO2 accumulations during the last 7 million years from local satellite intrusives associated with the Haruj Al Aswad igneous complex. CO2 occurs in the En Naga Sub-basin as a result of the igneous activity of the Al Harouge Al Aswad complex. Igneous extrusive have been pierced in the subsurface are exposed at the surface. The lower cretaceous Bahi Sandstone facies are recognized in the En Naga Sub-basin. They result from the influence of paleotopography on the processes associated with continental deposition over the Sirt Unconformity and the Cenomanian marine transgression In the Lower Cretaceous Bahi Sandstones, the presence of trapped carbon dioxide is proven within the En Naga Sub-basin. This makes it unique in providing an abundance of CO2 gas reservoirs with almost pure magmatic CO2, which can be easily sampled. Huge amounts of CO2 exist in the Lower Cretaceous Bahi Sandstones in the En-Naga sub-basin, where the economic value of CO2 is related to its use for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) Based on the production tests for the drilled wells that makes Lower Cretaceous Bahi sandstones the principle reservoir rocks for CO2 where large volumes of CO2 gas have been discovered in the Bahi Formation on and near EPSA 120/136(En -Naga sub basin). The Bahi sandstones are generally described as a good reservoir rock. Intergranular porosities and permeabilities are highly variable and can exceed 25% and 100 MD.In the (En Naga sub – basin), The very high pressures assumed associated with local igneous intrusives may account for the abnormally high Bahi (and Lidam Formation) reservoir pressures. The best gas tests from this facies are at F1-72 on the (Barrut I structure) from part of a 458 feet+ section having an estimated high value of CO2 as 98% overpressured. Bahi CO2 prospectivity is thought to be excellent in the central to western areas where At U1-72 (En Naga O structure) a significant CO2 gas kick occurred at 11,971 feet and quickly led to blowout conditions due to uncontrollable leaks in the surface equipment. Which reflects a better reservoir quality sandstones associated with Paleostructural highs. Condensate and gas prospectivity increases to the east as the CO2 prospectivity decreases with distance away from the Al Haruj Al Aswad igneous complex. To date, it has not been possible to accurately determine the volume of these strategically valuable reserves although there are positive indications that they are very large.

Keywords: 1)en naga sub basin, 2)alharouge al aswad igneous complex, 3)co2 generation and migration, 4)lower cretaceous bahi sandstone

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Authors: Gracious Tendai Matayaya

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The world is facing problems in finding alternative resources to offset the decline in global petroleum reserves. The use of fossil fuels has prompted biofuel development, particularly in the transportation sector. In these circumstances, looking for alternative renewable energy sources makes sense. Petroleum-based fuels also result in a lot of carbon dioxide being released into the environment causing global warming. Replacing petroleum and fossil fuel-based fuels with biofuels has the advantage of reducing undesirable aspects of these fuels, which are mostly the production of greenhouse gas and dependence on unstable foreign suppliers. Algae refer to a group of aquatic microorganisms that produce a lot of lipids up to 60% of their total weight. This project aims to exploit the large amounts of oil produced by these microorganisms in the Soxhlet extraction to make biodiesel. Experiments were conducted to establish the cultivability of algae, harvesting methods, the oil extraction process, and the transesterification process. Although there are various methods for producing algal oil, the Soxhlet extraction method was employed for this particular research. After extraction, the oil was characterized before being used in the transesterification process that used methanol and hydrochloric acid as the process reactants. The properties of the resulting biodiesel were then determined. Because there is a requirement to dry wet algae, the experimental findings showed that Soxhlet extraction was the optimum way to produce a higher yield of microalgal oil. Upon cultivating algae, Compound D fertilizer was added as a source of nutrients (Phosphorous and Nitrogen), and the highest growth of algae was observed at 6 days (using 2 g of fertilizer), after which it started to decrease. Butanol, hexane, heptane and acetone have been experimented with as solvents, and heptane gave the highest amount of oil (89ml of oil) when 300 ml of solvent was used. This was compared to 73.21ml produced by butanol, 81.90 produced by hexane and 69.57ml produced by acetone, and as a result, heptane was used for the rest of the experiments, which included a variation of the mass of dried algae and time of extraction. This meant that the oil composition of algae was higher than other oil sources like peanuts, soybean etc. Algal oil was heated at 150℃ for 150 minutes in the presence of methanol (reactant) and hydrochloric acid (HCl), which was used as a catalyst. A temperature of 200℃ produced 93.64%, and a temperature of 250℃ produced 92.13 of biodiesel at 150 minutes.

Keywords: microalgae, algal oil, biodiesel, soxhlet extraction

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Authors: L. Pu, C. Unluer

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MgO cements have the potential to sequester CO2 in construction products, and can be partial or complete replacement of PC in concrete. Construction block is a promising application for reactive MgO cements. Main advantages of blocks are: (i) suitability for sequestering CO2 due to their initially porous structure; (ii) lack of need for in-situ treatment as carbonation can take place during fabrication; and (iii) high potential for commercialization. Both strength gain and carbon sequestration of MgO cements depend on carbonation process. Fly ash and ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) are pozzolanic material and are proved to improve many of the performance characteristics of the concrete, such as strength, workability, permeability, durability and corrosion resistance. A very limited amount of work has been reported on the production of MgO blocks on a large scale so far. A much more extensive study, wherein blocks with different mix design is needed to verify the feasibility of commercial production. The changes in the performance of the samples were evaluated by compressive strength testing. The properties of the carbonation products were identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/ field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and the degree of carbonation was obtained by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), XRD and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). The results of this study enabled the understanding the relationship between lab-scale samples and scale-up blocks based on their mechanical performance and microstructure. Results indicate that for both scaled-up and lab-scale samples, MgO samples always had the highest strength results, followed by MgO-fly ash samples and MgO-GGBS had relatively lowest strength. The lower strength of MgO with fly ash/GGBS samples at early stage is related to the relatively slow hydration process of pozzolanic materials. Lab-scale cubic samples were observed to have higher strength results than scaled-up samples. The large size of the scaled-up samples made it more difficult to let CO2 to reach inner part of the samples and less carbonation products formed. XRD, TGA and FESEM/EDX results indicate the existence of brucite and HMCs in MgO samples, M-S-H, hydrotalcite in the MgO-fly ash samples and C-S-H, hydrotalctie in the MgO-GGBS samples. Formation of hydration products (M-S-H, C-S-H, hydrotalcite) and carbonation products (hydromagnecite, dypingite) increased with curing duration, which is the reason of increasing strength. This study verifies the advantage of large-scale MgO blocks over common PC blocks and the feasibility of commercial production of MgO blocks.

Keywords: reactive MgO, fly ash, ground granulated blast-furnace slag, carbonation, CO₂

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Authors: Ralph Nyadu-Addo, Francis Matambalya, Utz Dornberger

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The global music industry is a multi-billion dollar sector. The potential of Africa’s music industry is widely recognised in the socio-economic development milieu. It has impacted positively on several sectors including most especially the tourism, media and information, communication technology (ICT) among others. It is becoming increasingly clear that even in Africa (as demonstrated in Nigeria) that in addition to its intrinsic value, the sector has significant economic returns. UNCTAD observed, the creative industries offer some of the best prospects for high growth in least developed countries. The statistics from Africa may be far lower than similar sectors in developed countries but it goes to give further credence to several UNCTAD publications which say the creative industry is under researched and its potential under-estimated but holds the key to its rapid development The emerging creative economy (music in particular) has become a leading component of economic growth, employment, trade, innovation, and social cohesion in many countries. In line with these developments, the Ghana government recognizes the potential that the Creative Industries have to shape and reinforce Ghana’s economic growth. Creative sectors, particularly music, tend to rely less on sophisticated infrastructure or capital-intensive investment. Potential is particularly abundant in Africa, where musical creativity is rich, diverse, well-loved, and constantly evolving while drawing on strong traditions. The development of a popular music industry thus represents low-hanging fruit for most African economies says the World Bank. As we shift towards economic diversification using the creative industry, value is increasingly created at the intersection of arts, business and technology. Cultural and creative entrepreneurs are leading this trend. It is one of the areas where value is captured within the country as emerging trends have shown in Nigeria and Ghana among others. Yet, evidence shows that the potential of the cultural and creative sectors remains largely untapped. Furthermore, its socio-economic impact remains under-researched in many developing countries and its dynamics unknown. Despite its huge influence on music repertoire across the globe, most countries in Africa have not historically been significant markets for the international music industry. Today, that is beginning to change. Generally, reliable and adequate literature about music in the sub-region is difficult to obtain. The growing interests in academia and business cycles about a reliable data on the growing music industry in developing countries have called for an urgent need to undertake this research. Research questions: i. Who are the major stakeholders in the music value chain in Ghana? ii. How much of value is captured domestically iii. What is the economic impact of the Ghanaian music industry iv. How has the advent of ICT (internet) impacted on the music landscape? Research sources will be mainly through interviews of major stakeholders, baseline study of the industry by KPMG and content analysis of related newspapers and magazines.

Keywords: economic impact, information communications technology (ICT), music-industry, value chain

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Authors: Anastasios Zopiatis, Antonis L. Theocharous

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In the midst of a fierce war for talent, the hospitality industry is seeking new and innovative ways to enrich its image as an employer of choice and not a necessity. Historically, the industry’s professions are portrayed as ‘unattractive’ due to their repetitious nature, long and unsocial working schedules, below average remunerations, and the mental and physical demands of the job. Aligning with the industry, hospitality and tourism scholars embarked on a journey to investigate pertinent topics with the aim of enhancing our conceptual understanding of the elements that influence employees at the hospitality world of work. Topics such as job involvement, commitment, job and career satisfaction, and turnover intentions became the focal points in a multitude of relevant empirical and conceptual investigations. Nevertheless, gaps or inconsistencies in existing theories, as a result of both the volatile complexity of the relationships governing human behavior in the hospitality workplace, and the academic community’s unopposed acceptance of theoretical frameworks mainly propounded in the United States and United Kingdom years ago, necessitate our continuous vigilance. Thus, in an effort to enhance and enrich the discourse, we set out to investigate the relationship between intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction traits and the individual’s career satisfaction, and subsequent intention to remain in the hospitality industry. Reflecting on existing literature, a quantitative survey was developed and administered, face-to-face, to 650 individuals working as full-time employees in 4- and 5- star hotel establishments in Cyprus, whereas a multivariate statistical analysis method, namely Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), was utilized to determine whether relationships existed between constructs as a means to either accept or reject the hypothesized theory. Findings, of interest to both industry stakeholders and academic scholars, suggest that the individual’s future intention to remain within the industry is primarily associated with extrinsic job traits. Our findings revealed that positive associations exist between extrinsic job traits, and both career satisfaction and future intention. In contrast, when investigating the relationship of intrinsic traits, a positive association was revealed only with career satisfaction. Apparently, the local industry’s environmental factors of seasonality, excessive turnover, overdependence on seasonal, and part-time migrant workers, prohibit industry stakeholders in effectively investing the time and resources in the development and professional growth of their employees. Consequently intrinsic job satisfaction factors such as advancement, growth, and achievement, take backstage to the more materialistic extrinsic factors. Findings from the subsequent mediation analysis support the notion that intrinsic traits can positively influence future intentions indirectly only through career satisfaction, whereas extrinsic traits can positively impact both career satisfaction and future intention both directly and indirectly.

Keywords: career satisfaction, Cyprus, hotel employees, structural equation modeling, SEM

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Authors: Md. Kausar Alam, Ramin Motamed

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The damaging effects of liquefaction-induced ground movements have been frequently observed in past earthquakes, such as the 2010-2011 Canterbury Earthquake Sequence (CES) in New Zealand and the 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan. To reduce the consequences of soil liquefaction at shallow depths, various ground improvement techniques have been utilized in engineering practice, among which this research is focused on experimentally evaluating the press-in sheet piling technique. The press-in sheet pile technique eliminates the vibration, hammering, and noise pollution associated with dynamic sheet pile installation methods. Unfortunately, there are limited experimental studies on the press-in sheet piling technique for liquefaction mitigation using 1g shake table tests in which all the controlling mechanisms of liquefaction-induced foundation settlement, including sand ejecta, can be realistically reproduced. In this study, a series of moderate scale 1g shake table experiments were conducted at the University of Nevada, Reno, to evaluate the performance of this technique in liquefiable soil layers. First, a 1/5 size model was developed based on a recent UC San Diego shaking table experiment. The scaled model has a density of 50% for the top crust, 40% for the intermediate liquefiable layer, and 85% for the bottom dense layer. Second, a shallow foundation is seated atop an unsaturated sandy soil crust. Third, in a series of tests, a sheet pile with variable embedment depth is inserted into the liquefiable soil using the press-in technique surrounding the shallow foundations. The scaled models are subjected to harmonic input motions with amplitude and dominant frequency properly scaled based on the large-scale shake table test. This study assesses the performance of the press-in sheet piling technique in terms of reductions in the foundation movements (settlement and tilt) and generated excess pore water pressures. In addition, this paper discusses the cost-effectiveness and carbon footprint features of the studied mitigation measures.

Keywords: excess pore water pressure, foundation settlement, press-in sheet pile, soil liquefaction

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Authors: Jose Daniel Giraldo Arias, Camilo Rojas Gomez, David Villegas Delgado, Gullermo Idarraga Alarcon, Juan Meza Meza

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The reverse engineering processes are widely used in the industry with the main goal to determine the materials and the manufacture used to produce a component. There are a lot of characterization techniques and computational tools that are used in order to get this information. A study case of a reverse engineering applied to a secondary sandwich- hybrid type structure used in a helicopter is presented. The methodology used consists of five main steps, which can be applied to any other similar component: Collect information about the service conditions of the part, disassembly and dimensional characterization, functional characterization, material properties characterization and manufacturing processes characterization, allowing to obtain all the supports of the traceability of the materials and processes of the aeronautical products that ensure their airworthiness. A detailed explanation of each step is covered. Criticality and comprehend the functionalities of each part, information of the state of the art and information obtained from interviews with the technical groups of the helicopter’s operators were analyzed,3D optical scanning technique, standard and advanced materials characterization techniques and finite element simulation allow to obtain all the characteristics of the materials used in the manufacture of the component. It was found that most of the materials are quite common in the aeronautical industry, including Kevlar, carbon, and glass fibers, aluminum honeycomb core, epoxy resin and epoxy adhesive. The stacking sequence and volumetric fiber fraction are a critical issue for the mechanical behavior; a digestion acid method was used for this purpose. This also helps in the determination of the manufacture technique which for this case was Vacuum Bagging. Samples of the material were manufactured and submitted to mechanical and environmental tests. These results were compared with those obtained during reverse engineering, which allows concluding that the materials and manufacture were correctly determined. Tooling for the manufacture was designed and manufactured according to the geometry and manufacture process requisites. The part was manufactured and the mechanical, and environmental tests required were also performed. Finally, a geometric characterization and non-destructive techniques allow verifying the quality of the part.

Keywords: reverse engineering, sandwich-structured composite parts, helicopter, mechanical properties, prototype

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Authors: Ruchi Pathania, Ahmad Ahmad, Shireesh Srivastava

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Cyanobacteria is a promising microbe that can capture and convert atmospheric CO₂ and light into valuable industrial bio-products like biofuels, biodegradable plastics, etc. Among their most attractive traits are faster autotrophic growth, whole year cultivation using non-arable land, high photosynthetic activity, much greater biomass and productivity and easy for genetic manipulations. Cyanobacteria store carbon in the form of glycogen which can be hydrolyzed to release glucose and fermented to form bioethanol or other valuable products. Marine cyanobacterial species are especially attractive for countries with scarcity of freshwater. We recently identified a marine native cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. BDU 130192 which has good growth rate and high level of polyglucans accumulation compared to Synechococcus PCC 7002. In this study, firstly we sequenced the whole genome and the sequences were annotated using the RAST server. Genome scale metabolic model (GSMM) was reconstructed through COBRA toolbox. GSMM is a computational representation of the metabolic reactions and metabolites of the target strain. GSMMs construction through the application of Flux Balance Analysis (FBA), which uses external nutrient uptake rates and estimate steady state intracellular and extracellular reaction fluxes, including maximization of cell growth. The model, which we have named isyn942, includes 942 reactions and 913 metabolites having 831 metabolic, 78 transport and 33 exchange reactions. The phylogenetic tree obtained by BLAST search revealed that the strain was a close relative of Synechococcus PCC 7002. The flux balance analysis (FBA) was applied on the model iSyn942 to predict the theoretical yields (mol product produced/mol CO₂ consumed) for native and non-native products like acetone, butanol, etc. under phototrophic condition by applying metabolic engineering strategies. The reported strain can be a viable strain for biotechnological applications, and the model will be helpful to researchers interested in understanding the metabolism as well as to design metabolic engineering strategies for enhanced production of various bioproducts.

Keywords: cyanobacteria, flux balance analysis, genome scale metabolic model, metabolic engineering

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Authors: Shailendra M. Pradhan, Upendra M. Pradhan

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Disasters are perennial features of human civilization. The recurring earthquakes, floods, cyclones, among others, that result in massive loss of lives and devastation, is a grim reminder of the fact that, despite all our success stories of development, and progress in science and technology, human society is perennially at risk to disasters. The apparent threat of climate change and global warming only severe our disaster risks. Darjeeling hills, situated along Eastern Himalayan region of India, and famous for its three Ts – tea, tourism and toy-train – is also equally notorious for its disasters. The recurring landslides and earthquakes, the cyclone Aila, and the Ambootia landslides, considered as the largest landslide in Asia, are strong evidence of the vulnerability of Darjeeling hills to natural disasters. Given its geographical location along the Hindu-Kush Himalayas, the region is marked by rugged topography, geo-physically unstable structure, high-seismicity, and fragile landscape, making it prone to disasters of different kinds and magnitudes. Most of the studies on disasters in Darjeeling hills are, however, scientific and geographical in orientation that focuses on the underlying geological and physical processes to the neglect of social and political conditions. This has created a tendency among the researchers and policy-makers to endorse and promote a particular type of discourse that does not consider the social and political aspects of disasters in Darjeeling hills. Disaster, this paper argues, is a complex phenomenon, and a result of diverse factors, both physical and human. The hazards caused by the physical and geological agents, and the vulnerabilities produced and rooted in political, economic, social and cultural structures of a society, together result in disasters. In this sense, disasters are as much a result of political and economic conditions as it is of physical environment. The human aspect of disasters, therefore, compels us to address intricating social and political challenges that ultimately determine our resilience and vulnerability to disasters. Set within the above milieu, the aims of the paper are twofold: a) to provide a political and sociological account of disasters in Darjeeling hills; and, b) to identify and address the root causes of its vulnerabilities to disasters. In situating disasters in Darjeeling Hills, the paper adopts the Pressure and Release Model (PAR) that provides a theoretical insight into the study of social and political aspects of disasters, and to examine myriads of other related issues therein. The PAR model conceptualises risk as a complex combination of vulnerabilities, on the one hand, and hazards, on the other. Disasters, within the PAR framework, occur when hazards interact with vulnerabilities. The root causes of vulnerability, in turn, could be traced to social and political structures such as legal definitions of rights, gender relations, and other ideological structures and processes. In this way, the PAR model helps the present study to identify and unpack the root causes of vulnerabilities and disasters in Darjeeling hills that have largely remained neglected in dominant discourses, thereby providing a more nuanced and sociologically sensitive understanding of disasters.

Keywords: Darjeeling, disasters, PAR, vulnerabilities

Procedia PDF Downloads 273

Authors: Abbas Ahmadi, Bijan Raie, Mohammad Reza Neyshabouri, Mohammad Ali Ghorbani, Farrokh Asadzadeh

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In recent years, vast areas of Urmia Lake in Dasht-e-Tabriz has dried up leading to saline sediments exposure on the surface lake coastal areas being highly susceptible to wind erosion. This study was conducted to investigate wind erosion and its relevance to soil physicochemical properties and also modeling of wind erodibility (WE) using artificial intelligence techniques. For this purpose, 96 soil samples were collected from 0-5 cm depth in 414000 hectares using stratified random sampling method. To measure the WE, all samples (<8 mm) were exposed to 5 different wind velocities (9.5, 11, 12.5, 14.1 and 15 m s-1 at the height of 20 cm) in wind tunnel and its relationship with soil physicochemical properties was evaluated. According to the results, WE varied within the range of 76.69-9.98 (g m-2 min-1)/(m s-1) with a mean of 10.21 and coefficient of variation of 94.5% showing a relatively high variation in the studied area. WE was significantly (P<0.01) affected by soil physical properties, including mean weight diameter, erodible fraction (secondary particles smaller than 0.85 mm) and percentage of the secondary particle size classes 2-4.75, 1.7-2 and 0.1-0.25 mm. Results showed that the mean weight diameter, erodible fraction and percentage of size class 0.1-0.25 mm demonstrated stronger relationship with WE (coefficients of determination were 0.69, 0.67 and 0.68, respectively). This study also compared efficiency of multiple linear regression (MLR), gene expression programming (GEP), artificial neural network (MLP), artificial neural network based on genetic algorithm (MLP-GA) and artificial neural network based on whale optimization algorithm (MLP-WOA) in predicting of soil wind erodibility in Dasht-e-Tabriz. Among 32 measured soil variable, percentages of fine sand, size classes of 1.7-2.0 and 0.1-0.25 mm (secondary particles) and organic carbon were selected as the model inputs by step-wise regression. Findings showed MLP-WOA as the most powerful artificial intelligence techniques (R2=0.87, NSE=0.87, ME=0.11 and RMSE=2.9) to predict soil wind erodibility in the study area; followed by MLP-GA, MLP, GEP and MLR and the difference between these methods were significant according to the MGN test. Based on the above finding MLP-WOA may be used as a promising method to predict soil wind erodibility in the study area.

Keywords: wind erosion, erodible fraction, gene expression programming, artificial neural network

Procedia PDF Downloads 71

Authors: Ummeh Saika, Toshio Kikuchi

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Population growth and urbanization is a global phenomenon. As the rapid progress of technology, many cities in the international community are facing serious problems of urbanization. There is no doubt that the urbanization will proceed to have significant impact on the ecology, economy and society at local, regional, and global levels. The inhabitants of Dhaka city suffer from lack of proper urban facilities. The green spaces are needed for different functional and leisure activities of the urban dwellers. Again growing densification, a number of green space are transferred into open space in the Dhaka city. As a result greenery of the city's decreases gradually. Moreover, the existing green space is frequently threatened by encroachment. The role of green space, both at community and city level, is important to improve the natural environment and social ties for future generations. Therefore, it seems that the green space needs to be more effective for public interaction. The main objective of this study is to address the effectiveness of urban green space (Urban Park) of Dhaka City. Two approaches are selected to fulfill the study. Firstly, analyze the long-term spatial changes of urban green space using GIS and secondly, investigate the relationship of urban park network with physical and social environment. The case study site covers eight urban parks of Dhaka metropolitan area of Bangladesh. Two aspects (Physical and Social) are applied for this study. For physical aspect, satellite images and aerial photos of different years are used to find out the changes of urban parks. And for social aspect, methods are used as questionnaire survey, interview, observation, photographs, sketch and previous information of parks to analyze about the social environment of parks. After calculation of all data by descriptive statistics, result is shown by maps using GIS. According to physical size, parks of Dhaka city are classified into four types: Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large parks. The observed result showed that the physical and social environment of urban parks varies with their size. In small size parks physical environment is moderate by newly tree plantation and area expansion. However, in medium size parks physical environment are poor, example- tree decrease, exposed soil increase. On the other hand, physical environment of large size and extra large size parks are in good condition, because of plenty of vegetation and well management. Again based on social environment, in small size parks people mainly come from surroundings area and mainly used as waiting place. In medium-size parks, people come to attend various occasion from different places. In large size and extra large size parks, people come from every part of the city area for tourism purpose. Urban parks are important source of green space. Its influence both physical and social environment of urban area. Nowadays green space area gradually decreases and transfer into open space. The consequence of this research reveals that changes of urban parks influence both physical and social environment and also impact on urban life.

Keywords: physical environment, social environment, urban life, urban parks

Procedia PDF Downloads 429

Authors: Hiroki Kikuchi, Atsushi Fukuda, Hirokazu Akahane, Satoru Kobayakawa, Tuenjai Fukuda, Takeru Miyokawa

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According to WHO reports, fatalities by road traffic accidents in many countries of South-East Asia region especially Thailand and Malaysia are increasing year by year. In order to overcome these serious problems, both governments are focusing on road safety measures. In response, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) of Japan and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have begun active support based on the experiences to reduce the number of fatalities in road accidents in Japan in the past. However, even if the successful road safety measures in Japan is adopted in South-East Asian countries, it is not sure whether it will work well or not. So, it is necessary to clarify the issues and systematize the process for the implementation of road safety measures in South-East Asia. On the basis of the above, this study examined the applicability of "information sharing traffic safety measure" which is one of the successful road safety measures in Japan to the social implementation of road safety measures in South-East Asian countries. The "Information sharing traffic safety measure" is carried out traffic safety measures by stakeholders such as residents, administration, and experts jointly. In this study, we extracted the issues of implementation of road safety measures under local context firstly. This is clarifying the particular issues with its implementation in South-East Asian cities. Secondly, we considered how to implement road safety measures for solving particular issues based on the method of "information sharing traffic safety measure". In the implementation method, the location of the occurrence of a dangerous event was extracted based on the “HIYARI-HATTO” data which were obtained from the residents. This is because it is considered that the implementation of the information sharing traffic safety measure focusing on the location where the dangerous event occurs leads to the reduction of traffic accidents. Also, the target locations for the implementation of measures differ for each city. In Penang, we targeted the intersections　in the downtown, while in Suphan Buri, we targeted mainly traffic control on the intercity highway. Finally, we proposed a method for implementing traffic safety measures. For Penang, we proposed a measure to improve the signal phase and showed the effect of the measure on the micro traffic simulation. For Suphan Buri, we proposed the suitable measures for the danger points extracted by collecting the “HIYARI-HATTO” data of residents to the administration. In conclusion, in order to successfully implement the road safety measure based on the "information sharing traffic safety measure", the process for social implementation of the road safety measures should be consistent and carried out repeatedly. In particular, by clarifying specific issues based on local context in South-East Asian countries, the stakeholders, not only such as government sectors but also local citizens can share information regarding road safety and select appropriate countermeasures. Finally, we could propose this approach to the administration that had the authority.

Keywords: information sharing road safety measure, social implementation, South-East Asia, HIYARI-HATTO

Procedia PDF Downloads 149

Authors: Chabungbam Niranjit Khuman, Makarand Madhao Ghangrekar, Arunabha Mitra

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The cost of aeration is one of the limiting factors in the upscaling of microbial fuel cells (MFC) for field-scale applications. Wetland macrophytes have the ability to release oxygen into the water to maintain aerobic conditions in their root zone. In this experiment, the efficacy of rhizospheric oxygen release of wetland macrophytes as a source of oxygen in the cathodic chamber of MFC was conducted. The experiment was conducted in an MFC consisting of a three-liter anodic chamber made of ceramic cylinder and a 27 L cathodic chamber. Untreated carbon felts were used as electrodes (i.e., anode and cathode) and connected to an external load of 100 Ω using stainless steel wire. Wetland macrophytes (Canna indica) were grown in the cathodic chamber of the MFC in a hydroponic fashion using a styrofoam sheet (termed as macrophytes assisted-microbial fuel cell, M-MFC). The catholyte (i.e., water) in the M-MFC had negligible contact with atmospheric air due to the styrofoam sheet used for maintaining the hydroponic condition. There was no mixing of the catholyte in the M-MFC. Sucrose based synthetic wastewater having chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 3000 mg/L was fed into the anodic chamber of the MFC in fed-batch mode with a liquid retention time of four days. The C. indica thrived well throughout the duration of the experiment without much care. The average dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration and pH value in the M-MFC were 3.25 mg/L and 7.07, respectively, in the catholyte. Since the catholyte was not in contact with air, the DO in the catholyte might be considered as solely liberated from the rhizospheric oxygen release of C. indica. The maximum COD removal efficiency of M-MFC observed during the experiment was 76.9%. The inadequacy of terminal electron acceptor in the cathodic chamber in M-MFC might have hampered the electron transfer, which in turn, led to slower specific microbial activity, thereby resulting in lower COD removal efficiency than the traditional MFC with aerated catholyte. The average operating voltage (OV) and open-circuit voltage (OCV) of 294 mV and 594 mV, respectively, were observed in M-MFC. The maximum power density observed during polarization was 381 mW/m³, and the maximum sustainable power density observed during the experiment was 397 mW/m³ in M-MFC. The maximum normalized energy recovery and coulombic efficiency of 38.09 Wh/m³ and 1.27%, respectively, were observed. Therefore, it was evidenced that rhizospheric oxygen release of wetland macrophytes (C. indica) was capable of sustaining the cathodic reaction in MFC for field-scale applications.

Keywords: hydroponic, microbial fuel cell, rhizospheric oxygen release, wetland macrophytes

Procedia PDF Downloads 132

Authors: Boris G. German, Edward Jiménez, Sebastián Espinoza, Andrés G. Chico, Ricardo A. Narváez

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The unique flora and fauna of The Galapagos Islands has leveraged a tourism-driven growth in the islands. Nonetheless, such development is energy-intensive and requires thousands of gallons of diesel each year for thermoelectric electricity generation. The needed transport of fossil fuels from the continent has generated oil spillages and affectations to the fragile ecosystem of the islands. The Zero Fossil Fuels initiative for The Galapagos proposed by the Ecuadorian government as an alternative to reduce the use of fossil fuels in the islands, considers the replacement of diesel in thermoelectric generators, by Jatropha curcas vegetable oil. However, the Jatropha oil supply cannot entirely cover yet the demand for electricity generation in Galapagos. Within this context, the present work aims to provide an optimization model that can be used as a selection criterion for approving new Jatropha Curcas collection points in rural areas of Manabi-Ecuador. For this purpose, existing Jatropha collection points in Manabi were grouped under three regions: north (7 collection points), center (4 collection points) and south (9 collection points). Field work was carried out in every region in order to characterize the collection points, to establish local Jatropha supply and to determine transportation costs. Data collection was complemented using GIS software and an objective function was defined in order to determine the profit associated to Jatropha oil production. The market price of both Jatropha oil and residual cake, were considered for the total revenue; whereas Jatropha price, transportation and oil extraction costs were considered for the total cost. The tonnes of Jatropha fruit and seed, transported from collection points to the extraction plant, were considered as variables. The maximum and minimum amount of the collected Jatropha from each region constrained the optimization problem. The supply chain was optimized using linear programming in order to maximize the profits. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was performed in order to find a profit-based criterion for the acceptance of future collection points in Manabi. The maximum profit reached a value of $ 4,616.93 per year, which represented a total Jatropha collection of 62.3 tonnes Jatropha per year. The northern region of Manabi had the biggest collection share (69%), followed by the southern region (17%). The criteria for accepting new Jatropha collection points in the rural areas of Manabi can be defined by the current maximum profit of the zone and by the variation in the profit when collection points are removed one at a time. The definition of new feasible collection points plays a key role in the supply chain associated to Jatropha oil production. Therefore, a mathematical model that assists decision makers in establishing new collection points while assuring profitability, contributes to guarantee a continued Jatropha oil supply for Galapagos and a sustained economic growth in the rural areas of Ecuador.

Keywords: collection points, Jatropha curcas, linear programming, supply chain

Procedia PDF Downloads 433

Authors: Kamal Agrawal, Ved Prakash Nayak, Akshay Patil

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Raipur is known as a city of water bodies. The city had around 200 man-made and natural lakes of varying sizes. These structures were constructed to collect rainwater and control flooding in the city. Due to the transition from community participation to state government, as well as rapid urbanisation, Raipur now has only about 80 lakes left. Rapid and unplanned growth has resulted in pollution, encroachment, and eutrophication of the city's lakes. The state government keeps these lakes in good condition by cleaning them and proposing lakefront developments. However, maintaining individual lakes is insufficient because urban lakes are not distinct entities. It is a system comprised of the lake, shore, catchment, and other components. While Urban lake system (ULS) is a combination of multiple such lake systems interacting in a complex urban setting. Thus, the project aims to propose a co-evolution model for urban lake systems (ULS) and rapid urbanization in Raipur. The goals are to comprehend the ULS and to identify elements and dimensions of urbanization that influence the ULS. Evaluate the impact of rapid urbanization on the ULS & vice versa in the study area. Determine how to maximize the positive impact while minimizing the negative impact identified in the study area. Propose short-, medium-, and long-term planning interventions to support the ULS's co-evolution with rapid urbanization. A complexity approach is used to investigate the ULS. It is a technique for understanding large, complex systems. A complex system is one with many interconnected and interdependent elements and dimensions. Thus, elements of ULS and rapid urbanization are identified through a literature study to evaluate statements of their impacts (Beneficial/ Adverse) on one another. Rapid urbanization has been identified as having elements such as demography, urban legislation, informal settlement, urban infrastructure, and tourism. Similarly, the catchment area of the lake, the lake's water quality, the water spread area, and lakefront developments are all being impacted by rapid urbanisation. These nine elements serve as parameters for the subsequent analysis. Elements are limited to physical parameters only. The city has designated a study area based on the definition provided by the National Plan for the Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems. Three lakes are discovered within a one-kilometer radius, establishing a tiny urban lake system. Because the condition of a lake is directly related to the condition of its catchment area, the catchment area of these three lakes is delineated as the study area. Data is collected to identify impact statements, and the interdependence diagram generated between the parameters yields results in terms of interlinking between each parameter and their impact on the system as a whole. The planning interventions proposed for the ULS and rapid urbanisation co-evolution model include spatial proposals as well as policy recommendations for the short, medium, and long term. This study's next step will be to determine how to implement the proposed interventions based on the availability of resources, funds, and governance patterns.

Keywords: urban lake system, co-evolution, rapid urbanization, complex system

Procedia PDF Downloads 73

Authors: Omaima A. Sharaf, Tarek A. Moussa, Said M. Badr El-Din, H. Moawad

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Background: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) pose great environmental and human health concerns for their widespread occurrence, persistence, and carcinogenic properties. PAHs releases due to anthropogenic activities to the wider environment have led to higher concentrations of these contaminants than would be expected from natural processes alone. This may result in a wide range of environmental problems that can accumulate in agricultural ecosystems, which threatened to become a negative impact on sustainable agricultural development. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the physico-chemical, and microbial properties of the compost leachate (CL) to assess its role as nutrient and microbial source (biostimulation/bioaugmentation) for developing a cost-effective bioremediation technology for PAHs contaminated sites. Material and Methods: PAHs-degrading bacteria were isolated from CL that was collected from a composting site located in central Scotland, UK. Isolation was carried out by enrichment using phenanthrene (PHR), pyrene (PYR) and benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) as the sole source of carbon and energy. The isolates were characterized using a variety of phenotypic and molecular properties. Six different isolates were identified based on the difference in morphological and biochemical tests. The efficiency of these isolates in PAHs utilization was assessed. Further analysis was performed to define taxonomical status and phylogenic relation between the most potent PAHs-utilizing bacterial strains and other standard strains, using molecular approach by partial 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis. Results indicated that the 16S rDNA sequence analysis confirmed the results of biochemical identification, as both of biochemical and molecular identification of the isolates assigned them to Bacillus licheniformis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Alcaligenes faecalis, Serratia marcescens, Enterobacter cloacae and Providenicia which were identified as the prominent PAHs-utilizers isolated from CL. Conclusion: This study indicates that the CL samples contain a diverse population of PAHs-degrading bacteria and the use of CL may have a potential for bioremediation of PAHs contaminated sites.

Keywords: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, physico-chemical analyses, compost leachate, microbial and biochemical analyses, phylogenic relations, 16S rDNA sequence analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 263

Authors: Haiqin Zhou, Robin Irons

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The introduction of hydrogen into local networks may, in many cases, require the initial operation of those systems on natural gas/hydrogen blends, either because of a lack of sufficient hydrogen to allow a 100% conversion or because existing infrastructure imposes limitations on the % hydrogen that can be burned before the end-use technologies are replaced. In many systems, the largest number of end-use technologies are small-scale but numerous appliances used for domestic and industrial heating and cooking. In such a scenario, it is important to understand exactly how much hydrogen can be introduced into these appliances before their performance becomes unacceptable and what imposes that limitation. This study seeks to explore a range of significantly higher hydrogen blends and a broad range of factors that might limit operability or environmental acceptability. We will present tests from a burner designed for space heating and optimized for natural gas as an increasing % of hydrogen blends (increasing from 25%) were burned and explore the range of parameters that might govern the acceptability of operation. These include gaseous emissions (particularly NOx and unburned carbon), temperature, flame length, stability and general operational acceptability. Results will show emissions, Temperature, and flame length as a function of thermal load and percentage of hydrogen in the blend. The relevant application and regulation will ultimately determine the acceptability of these values, so it is important to understand the full operational envelope of the burners in question through the sort of extensive parametric testing we have carried out. The present dataset should represent a useful data source for designers interested in exploring appliance operability. In addition to this, we present data on two factors that may be absolutes in determining allowable hydrogen percentages. The first of these is flame blowback. Our results show that, for our system, the threshold between acceptable and unacceptable performance lies between 60 and 65% mol% hydrogen. Another factor that may limit operation, and which would be important in domestic applications, is the acoustic performance of these burners. We will describe a range of operational conditions in which hydrogen blend burners produce a loud and invasive ‘screech’. It will be important for equipment designers and users to find ways to avoid this or mitigate it if performance is to be deemed acceptable.

Keywords: blends, operational, domestic appliances, future system operation.

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Authors: Haowen Xu, Xiaobing Liu, Jin Dong, Jianming Lian

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Emerging smart buildings often employ cyberinfrastructure, cyber-physical systems, and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to increase the automation and responsiveness of building operations for better energy efficiency and lower carbon emission. These operations include the control of Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) and lighting systems, which are often considered a major source of energy consumption in both commercial and residential buildings. Developing energy-saving control models for optimizing HVAC operations usually requires the collection of high-quality instrumental data from iterations of in-situ building experiments, which can be time-consuming and labor-intensive. This abstract describes a digital twin approach to automate building energy experiments for optimizing HVAC operations through the design and development of an adaptive web-based platform. The platform is created to enable (a) automated data acquisition from a variety of IoT-connected HVAC instruments, (b) real-time situational awareness through domain-based visualizations, (c) adaption of HVAC optimization algorithms based on experimental data, (d) sharing of experimental data and model predictive controls through web services, and (e) cyber-physical control of individual instruments in the HVAC system using outputs from different optimization algorithms. Through the digital twin approach, we aim to replicate a real-world building and its HVAC systems in an online computing environment to automate the development of building-specific model predictive controls and collaborative experiments in buildings located in different climate zones in the United States. We present two case studies to demonstrate our platform’s capability for real-time situational awareness and cyber-physical control of the HVAC in the flexible research platforms within the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) main campus. Our platform is developed using adaptive and flexible architecture design, rendering the platform generalizable and extendable to support HVAC optimization experiments in different types of buildings across the nation.

Keywords: energy-saving buildings, digital twins, HVAC, cyber-physical system, BIM

Procedia PDF Downloads 110

Authors: Miaomiao Zhang, Sabrina Beckmann, Haluk Ertan, Rocky Chau, Mike Manefield

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Phenazines are a large class of nitrogen-containing aromatic heterocyclic compounds, which are almost exclusively produced by bacteria from diverse genera including Pseudomonas and Streptomyces. Phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (PCA) as one of 'core' phenazines are converted from chorismic acid before modified to other phenazine derivatives in different cells. Phenazines have attracted enormous interests because of their multiple roles on biocontrol, bacterial interaction, biofilm formation and fitness of their producers. However, in spite of ecological importance, degradation as a part of phenazines’ fate only have extremely limited attention now. Here, to isolate PCA-degrading bacteria, 200 mg L-1 PCA was supplied as sole carbon, nitrogen and energy source in minimal mineral medium. Quantitative PCR and Reverse-transcript PCR were employed to study abundance and activity of functional gene MFORT 16269 in PCA degradation, respectively. Intermediates and products of PCA degradation were identified with LC-MS/MS. After enrichment and isolation, a PCA-degrading strain was selected from soil and was designated as Rhodanobacter sp. PCA2 based on full 16S rRNA sequencing. As determined by HPLC, strain PCA2 consumed 200 mg L-1 (836 µM) PCA at a rate of 17.4 µM h-1, accompanying with significant cells yield from 1.92 × 105 to 3.11 × 106 cells per mL. Strain PCA2 was capable of degrading other phenazines as well, including phenazine (4.27 µM h-1), pyocyanin (2.72 µM h-1), neutral red (1.30 µM h-1) and 1-hydroxyphenazine (0.55 µM h-1). Moreover, during the incubation, transcript copies of MFORT 16269 gene increased significantly from 2.13 × 106 to 8.82 × 107 copies mL-1, which was 2.77 times faster than that of the corresponding gene copy number (2.20 × 106 to 3.32 × 107 copies mL-1), indicating that MFORT 16269 gene was activated and played roles on PCA degradation. As analyzed by LC-MS/MS, decarboxylation from the ring structure was determined as the first step of PCA degradation, followed by cleavage of nitrogen-containing ring by dioxygenase which catalyzed phenazine to nitrosobenzene. Subsequently, phenylhydroxylamine was detected after incubation for two days and was then transferred to aniline and catechol. Additionally, genomic and proteomic analyses were also carried out for strain PCA2. Overall, the findings presented here showed that a newly isolated strain Rhodanobacter sp. PCA2 was capable of degrading phenazines through decarboxylation and cleavage of nitrogen-containing ring, during which MFORT 16269 gene was activated and played important roles.

Keywords: decarboxylation, MFORT16269 gene, phenazine-1-carboxylic acid degradation, Rhodanobacter sp. PCA2

Procedia PDF Downloads 223

Authors: L. Kanoksak, N. Sukanya, L. Napatsorn, T. Siriporn

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A growing population and demand for packaging are driving up the usage of natural resources as raw materials in the pulp and paper industry. Long-term effects of environmental is disrupting people's way of life all across the planet. Finding pulp sources to replace wood pulp is therefore necessary. To produce wood pulp, various other potential plants or plant parts can be employed as substitute raw materials. For example, pulp and paper were made from agricultural residue that mainly included pulp can be used in place of wood. In this study, cocoa pod husks were an agricultural residue of the cocoa and chocolate industries. To develop composite materials to replace wood pulp in packaging materials. The paper was coated with polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT). By selecting and cleaning fresh cocoa pod husks, the size was reduced. And the cocoa pod husks were dried. The morphology and elemental composition of cocoa pod husks were studied. To evaluate the mechanical and physical properties, dried cocoa husks were extracted using the soda-pulping process. After selecting the best formulations, paper with a PBAT bioplastic coating was produced on a paper-forming machine Physical and mechanical properties were studied. By using the Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope/Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometer (FESEM/EDS) technique, the structure of dried cocoa pod husks showed the main components of cocoa pod husks. The appearance of porous has not been found. The fibers were firmly bound for use as a raw material for pulp manufacturing. Dry cocoa pod husks contain the major elements carbon (C) and oxygen (O). Magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), and calcium (Ca) were minor elements that were found in very small levels. After that cocoa pod husks were removed from the soda-pulping process. It found that the SAQ5 formula produced pulp yield, moisture content, and water drainage. To achieve the basis weight by TAPPI T205 sp-02 standard, cocoa pod husk pulp and modified starch were mixed. The paper was coated with bioplastic PBAT. It was produced using bioplastic resin from the blown film extrusion technique. It showed the contact angle, dispersion component and polar component. It is an effective hydrophobic material for rigid packaging applications.

Keywords: cocoa pod husks, agricultural residue, composite material, rigid packaging

Procedia PDF Downloads 76

Authors: Vuiswa Lucia Sethunya, Tonderayi Matambo, Diane Hildebrandt

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South African’s informal settlements produce tonnes of kitchen waste (KW) per year which is dumped into the landfill. These landfill sites are normally located in close proximity to the household of the poor communities; this is a problem in which the young children from those communities end up playing in these landfill sites which may result in some health hazards because of methane, carbon dioxide and sulphur gases which are produced. To reduce this large amount of organic materials being deposited into landfills and to provide a cleaner place for those within the community especially the children, an energy conversion process such as anaerobic digestion of the organic waste to produce biogas was implemented. In this study, the digestion of various kitchen waste was investigated in order to understand and develop a system that is suitable for household use to produce biogas for cooking. Three sets of waste of different nutritional compositions were digested as per acquired in the waste streams of a household at mesophilic temperature (35ᵒC). These sets of KW were co-digested with cow dung (CW) at different ratios to observe the microbial behaviour and the system’s stability in a laboratory scale system. The gas chromatography-flame ionization detector analyses have been performed to identify and quantify the presence of organic compounds in the liquid samples from co-digested and mono-digested food waste. Acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid and valeric acid are the fatty acids which were studied. Acetic acid (1.98 g/L), propionic acid (0.75 g/L) and butyric acid (2.16g/L) were the most prevailing fatty acids. The results obtained from organic acids analysis suggest that the KW can be an innovative substituent to animal manure for biogas production. The faster degradation period in which the microbes break down the organic compound to produce the fatty acids during the anaerobic process of KW also makes it a better feedstock during high energy demand periods. The C/N ratio analysis showed that from the three waste streams the first stream containing vegetables (55%), fruits (16%), meat (25%) and pap (4%) yielded more methane-based biogas of 317mL/g of volatile solids (VS) at C/N of 21.06. Generally, this shows that a household will require a heterogeneous composition of nutrient-based waste to be fed into the digester to acquire the best biogas yield to sustain a households cooking needs.

Keywords: anaerobic digestion, biogas, kitchen waste, household

Procedia PDF Downloads 199

Authors: Regiane A. Oliveira, Carlos E. Vaz Rossell, Rubens Maciel Filho

Abstract:

Lactic acid, besides a valuable chemical may be considered a platform for other chemicals. In fact, the feasibility of hemicellulosic sugars as feedstock for lactic acid production process, may represent the drop of some of the barriers for the second generation bioproducts, especially bearing in mind the 5-carbon sugars from the pre-treatment of sugarcane bagasse. Bearing this in mind, the purpose of this study was to use the hemicellulosic liquor from sugarcane bagasse as a substrate to produce lactic acid by fermentation. To release of sugars from hemicellulose it was made a pre-treatment with a diluted sulfuric acid in order to obtain a xylose's rich liquor with low concentration of inhibiting compounds for fermentation (≈ 67% of xylose, ≈ 21% of glucose, ≈ 10% of cellobiose and arabinose, and around 1% of inhibiting compounds as furfural, hydroxymethilfurfural and acetic acid). The hemicellulosic sugars associated with 20 g/L of yeast extract were used in a fermentation process with Lactobacillus plantarum to produce lactic acid. The fermentation process pH was controlled with automatic injection of Ca(OH)2 to keep pH at 6.00. The lactic acid concentration remained stable from the time when the glucose was depleted (48 hours of fermentation), with no further production. While lactic acid is produced occurs the concomitant consumption of xylose and glucose. The yield of fermentation was 0.933 g lactic acid /g sugars. Besides, it was not detected the presence of by-products, what allows considering that the microorganism uses a homolactic fermentation to produce its own energy using pentose-phosphate pathway. Through facultative heterofermentative metabolism the bacteria consume pentose, as is the case of L. plantarum, but the energy efficiency for the cell is lower than during the hexose consumption. This implies both in a slower cell growth, as in a reduction in lactic acid productivity compared with the use of hexose. Also, L. plantarum had shown to have a capacity for lactic acid production from hemicellulosic hydrolysate without detoxification, which is very attractive in terms of robustness for an industrial process. Xylose from hydrolyzed bagasse and without detoxification is consumed, although the hydrolyzed bagasse inhibitors (especially aromatic inhibitors) affect productivity and yield of lactic acid. The use of sugars and the lack of need for detoxification of the C5 liquor from sugarcane bagasse hydrolyzed is a crucial factor for the economic viability of second generation processes. Taking this information into account, the production of second generation lactic acid using sugars from hemicellulose appears to be a good alternative to the complete utilization of sugarcane plant, directing molasses and cellulosic carbohydrates to produce 2G-ethanol, and hemicellulosic carbohydrates to produce 2G-lactic acid.

Keywords: fermentation, lactic acid, hemicellulosic sugars, sugarcane

Procedia PDF Downloads 373

Authors: Hernan Arturo Blas López, Gustavo Henndel Lopes, Antonio Carlos Silva Costa Teixeira, Carmen Elena Flores Barreda, Patricia Araujo Pantoja

Abstract:

Phenols are toxic for life and the environment and may come from many sources. Uncured phenolic monomers present in phenolic resins used as binders in grinding wheels and emery paper can contaminate industrial wastewaters in abrasives manufacture plants. Furthermore, vestiges of resol and novolacs resins generated by wear and tear of abrasives are also possible sources of water contamination by phenolics in these facilities. Fortunately, advanced oxidation by dark Fenton and photo-Fenton techniques are capable of oxidizing phenols and their degradation products up to their mineralization into H₂O and CO₂. The maximal allowable concentrations for phenols in Peruvian waterbodies is very low, such that insufficiently treated effluents from the abrasives industry are a potential environmental noncompliance. The current case study highlights findings obtained during the lab-scale application of Fenton’s and photo-assisted Fenton’s chemistries to real industrial wastewater samples from an abrasives manufacture plant in Peru. The goal was to reduce the phenolic content and sample toxicity. For this purpose, two independent variables-reaction time and effect of ultraviolet radiation–were studied as for their impacts on the concentration of total phenols, total organic carbon (TOC), biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD). In this study, diluted samples (1 L) of the industrial effluent were treated with Fenton’s reagent (H₂O₂ and Fe²⁺ from FeSO₄.H₂O) during 10 min in a photochemical batch reactor (Alphatec RFS-500, Brazil) at pH 2.92. In the case of photo-Fenton tests with ultraviolet lamps of 9 W, UV-A, UV-B and UV-C lamps were evaluated. All process conditions achieved 100% of phenols degraded within 5 minutes. TOC, BOD and COD decreased by 49%, 52% and 86% respectively (all processes together). However, Fenton treatment was not capable of reducing BOD, COD and TOC below a certain value even after 10 minutes, contrarily to photo-Fenton. It was also possible to conclude that the processes here studied degrade other compounds in addition to phenols, what is an advantage. In all cases, elevated effluent dilution factors and high amounts of oxidant agent impact negatively the overall economy of the processes here investigated.

Keywords: fenton oxidation, wastewater treatment, phenols, abrasives industry

Procedia PDF Downloads 314

Authors: Aurea C. L. Lacerda, Paulo R. H. Moreno, Bruna M. P. Vianna, Cristina H. R. Serra, Airton Martin, André R. Baby, Vladi O. Consiglieri, Telma M. Kaneko

Abstract:

The modified Franz cell is the most widely used model for in vitro permeation studies, however it still presents some disadvantages. Thus, some alternative methods have been developed such as Skin PAMPA, which is a bio- artificial membrane that has been applied for skin penetration estimation of xenobiotics based on HT permeability model consisting. Skin PAMPA greatest advantage is to carry out more tests, in a fast and inexpensive way. The membrane system mimics the stratum corneum characteristics, which is the primary skin barrier. The barrier properties are given by corneocytes embedded in a multilamellar lipid matrix. This layer is the main penetration route through the paracellular permeation pathway and it consists of a mixture of cholesterol, ceramides, and fatty acids as the dominant components. However, there is no consensus on the membrane composition. The objective of this work was to compare the performance among different bio-artificial membranes for studying the permeation in skin PAMPA system. Material and methods: In order to mimetize the lipid composition`s present in the human stratum corneum six membranes were developed. The membrane composition was equimolar mixture of cholesterol, ceramides 1-O-C18:1, C22, and C20, plus fatty acids C20 and C24. The membrane integrity assay was based on the transport of Brilliant Cresyl Blue, which has a low permeability; and Lucifer Yellow with very poor permeability and should effectively be completely rejected. The membrane characterization was performed using Confocal Laser Raman Spectroscopy, using stabilized laser at 785 nm with 10 second integration time and 2 accumulations. The membrane behaviour results on the PAMPA system were statistically evaluated and all of the compositions have shown integrity and permeability. The confocal Raman spectra were obtained in the region of 800-1200 cm-1 that is associated with the C-C stretches of the carbon scaffold from the stratum corneum lipids showed similar pattern for all the membranes. The ceramides, long chain fatty acids and cholesterol in equimolar ratio permitted to obtain lipid mixtures with self-organization capability, similar to that occurring into the stratum corneum. Conclusion: The artificial biological membranes studied for Skin PAMPA showed to be similar and with comparable properties to the stratum corneum.

Keywords: bio-artificial membranes, comparison, confocal Raman, skin PAMPA

Procedia PDF Downloads 509