Search results for: urban water

Authors: V. Veena, Suguna Yesodharan, E. P. Yesodharan

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Two Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOP) i.e., sono- and photo-catalysis mediated by semiconductor oxide catalyst, ZnO has been found effective for the removal of trace amounts of the toxic dye pollutant Indigocarmine (IC) from water. The effect of various reaction parameters such as concentration of the dye, catalyst dosage, temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen etc. as well as the addition of oxidisers and presence of salts in water on the rate of degradation has been evaluated and optimised. The degradation follows variable kinetics depending on the concentration of the substrate, the order of reaction varying from 1 to 0 with increase in concentration. The reaction proceeds through a number of intermediates and many of them have been identified using GCMS technique. The intermediates do not affect the rate of degradation significantly. The influence of anions such as chloride, sulphate, fluoride, carbonate, bicarbonate, phosphate etc. on the degradation of IC is not consistent and does not follow any predictable pattern. Phosphates and fluorides inhibit the degradation while chloride, sulphate, carbonate and bicarbonate enhance. Adsorption studies of the dye in the absence as well as presence of these anions show that there may not be any direct correlation between the adsorption of the dye on the catalyst and the degradation. Oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide and persulphate enhance the degradation though the combined effect and it is less than the cumulative effect of individual components. COD measurements show that the degradation proceeds to complete mineralisation. The results will be presented and probable mechanism for the degradation will be discussed.

Keywords: AOP, COD, indigocarmine, photocatalysis, sonocatalysis

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Authors: Axel Priambodo, Dwiharso Nugroho

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Studies conducted to map the reservoir properties based on facies architecture in which to determine the distribution of the petrophysical properties and calculate hydrocarbon reserves in study interval. Facies Architecture analysis begins with stratigraphic correlation that indicates the area is divided into different system tracts. The analysis of distribution patterns and compiling core analysis with facies architecture model show that there are three estuarine facies appear. Formation evaluation begins with shale volume calculation using Asquith-Krygowski and Volan Triangle Method. Proceed to the calculation of the total and effective porosity using the Bateman-Konen and Volan Triangle Method. After getting the value of the porosity calculation was continued to determine the effective water saturation and non-effective by including parameters of water resistivity and resistivity clay. The results of the research show that the Facies Architecture on the field in divided into three main facies which are Estuarine Channel, Estuarine Sand Bar, and Tidal Flat. The petrophysics analysis are done by comparing different methods also shows that the Volan Triangle Method does not give a better result of the Volume Shale than the Gamma Ray Method, but on the other hand, the Volan Triangle Methode is better on calculating porosity compared to the Bateman-Konen Method. The effective porosity distributions are affected by the distribution of the facies. Estuarine Sand Bar has a low porosity number and Estuarine Channel has a higher number of the porosity. The effective water saturation is controlled by structure where on the closure zone the water saturation is lower than the area beneath it. It caused by the hydrocarbon accumulation on the closure zone.

Keywords: petrophysics, geology, petroleum, reservoir

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Authors: Asibor Godwin, Adeniyi Funsho

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This study was carried out to investigate the impact of biological treated effluent on the physico-chemical properties of receiving waterbodies and also to establish its suitability for other purposes. It focused on the changes of some physic-chemical variables as one move away from the point of discharge downstream of the waterbodies. Water samples were collected from 14 sampling stations made up of the untreated effluent, treated effluent and receiving streams (before and after treated effluent discharge) over a period of 6 months spanning the dry and rainy seasons. Analyses were carried out on the following: temperature, turbidity, pH, conductivity, major anions and cation, dissolved oxygen, percentage oxygen Saturation, biological oxygen demand (BOD), solids (total solids, suspended solids and dissolved solids), nitrates, phosphates, organic matter and flow discharge using standard analytical methods. The relationships between investigated sites with regards to their physico-chemical properties were analyzed using student-t statistics. Also changes in the treated effluent receiving streams after treated effluent outfall was discussed fully. The physico-chemical water quality of the receiving water bodies meets most of the general water requirements for both domestic and industrial uses. The untreated effluent quality was shown to be of biological origin based on the biological oxygen demand, chloride, dissolved oxygen, total solids, pH and organic matter. The treated effluent showed significant improvement over the raw untreated effluent based on most parameters assessed. There was a significant difference (p<0.05) between the physico-chemical quality of untreated effluent and the treated effluent for the most of the investigated physico-chemical quality. The difference between the discharged treated effluent and the unimpacted section of the receiving waterbodies was also significant (p<0.05) for the most of the physico-chemical parameters.

Keywords: eflluent, Opa River, physico-chemical, waterbody

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Authors: Bayonle Abiola Omoniyi

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In turbidite reservoirs with volumetrically significant thin-bedded turbidites (TBTs), thin-pay intervals may be underestimated during calculation of reserve volume due to poor vertical resolution of conventional well logs. This paper demonstrates the strong control of bed-scale sedimentary heterogeneity on oil recovery using six facies distribution scenarios that were generated from outcrop data from the Eocene Itzurun Formation, Basque Basin (northern Spain). The variable net sand volume in these scenarios serves as a primary source of sedimentary heterogeneity impacting sandstone-mudstone ratio, sand and shale geometry and dimensions, lateral and vertical variations in bed thickness, and attribute indices. The attributes provided input parameters for modeling the scenarios. The models are 20-m (65.6 ft) thick. Simulation of the scenarios reveals that oil production is markedly enhanced where degree of sedimentary heterogeneity and resultant permeability contrast are low, as exemplified by Scenarios 1, 2, and 3. In these scenarios, bed architecture encourages better apparent vertical connectivity across intervals of laterally continuous beds. By contrast, low net-to-gross Scenarios 4, 5, and 6, have rapidly declining oil production rates and higher water cut with more oil effectively trapped in low-permeability layers. These scenarios may possess enough lateral connectivity to enable injected water to sweep oil to production well; such sweep is achieved at a cost of high-water production. It is therefore imperative to consider not only net-to-gross threshold but also facies stack pattern and related attribute indices to better understand how to effectively manage water production for optimum oil recovery from basin-plain reservoirs.

Keywords: architecture, connectivity, modeling, turbidites

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Authors: K. Ebrahimi, Sh. Shahid, M. Mohammadi Ghaleni, M. H. Omid

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The longitudinal dispersion coefficient is a crucial parameter for 1-D water quality analysis of riverine flows. So far, different types of empirical equations for estimation of the coefficient have been developed, based on various case studies. The main objective of this paper is to develop an empirical equation for estimation of the coefficient for a riverine flow. For this purpose, a set of tracer experiments was conducted, involving salt tracer, at three sections located in downstream of a lengthy canal. Tracer data were measured in three mixing lengths along the canal including; 45, 75 and 100m. According to the results, the obtained coefficients from new developed empirical equation gave an encouraging level of agreement with the theoretical values.

Keywords: coefficients, dispersion, river, tracer, water quality

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Authors: Lakhdar Rahmani, Benhanifia Kada, Brahim Mebarki

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The present paper aims to investigate the natural convection of nanofluid (water-cu) inside a hexagonal enclosure shape embedded with a square obstacle in the presence of hot and cold side walls. The governing equations were solved in a non-uniform unstructured grid by employing the Galerkin finite element method using the software COMSOL Multiphysics. The objective of this study is to analyze the influence of Rayleigh number (103 < Ra < 105), the position of the obstacle, which is located in three different positions (center, bottom, and top side ), and the effect of Nanoparticles volume concentration (0 < Ø < 0.2) on the thermal behavior inside the enclosure, The results are reported as contours of isotherms, streamlines, and average Nusselt numbers. The obtained results illustrate that the increase in the Rayleigh number (Ra) and the Nanoparticles concentration ( Ø ) leads to an increase in the Nusselt number (Nu average ) that signifies the rate of heat transfer in the studied enclosure, in addition to the best performance observed with the position of obstacle that is located at the middle of the enclosure, where has a high effect in improving the heat transfer along the enclosure comparatively with the rest different positions.

Keywords: natural convection, nanofluid (water-Cu), hexagonal enclosure, Nusselt numbers, Rayleigh number

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Authors: Zakariya B. H., Idris M. I., Jungudo M. A.

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High energy consumptions of urban settlements in Nigeria are escalating due to strong population growth and migration as a result of crises. The demand for lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (LHVAC) is becoming higher. Conversely, there is a poor electricity supply to both rural and urban settlement in Nigeria. Generators were mostly used in Nigeria as a source of energy for LHVAC. Energy efficiency can be defined as any measure taken to reduce the amount of energy consumed for heating ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC), and house hold appliances like computers, stoves, refrigerators, televisions etc. The aim of the study was to minimize energy consumption in building through the integration of energy efficiency and renewable energy in building sector. Some of the energy efficient buildings within the study area were identified, the study covers there major cities of Nigeria namely, Abuja, Kaduna and Lagos city. The cost of investment on the energy efficiency and renewable energy was determined and compared with other fossil energy source for conventional building. Findings revealed that the low energy and energy efficient buildings in Nigeria are cheaper than the conventional ones. Based on the finding of the research, construction stake holders are strongly encouraged to abandon the conventional buildings and consider energy efficiency and renewable energy in buildings.

Keywords: energy, efficiency, LHVAC, sustainable development

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Authors: Nikou Javadi, Uğur Dağlı

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The importance of culture and tourism in the attractiveness and competitiveness of the countries is central, and many regions are evidencing their cultural assets, tangible and intangible, as a means to create comparative advantages in tourism and produce a distinctive place in response to the pressures of globalization. Culture and tourism are interlinked because of their obvious combination and growth potential. Cultural tourism is a crucial global tourism market with fast growing. Regions can develop significant relations between culture and tourism to increase their attractiveness as places to visit, live and invest, increasing their competitiveness. Accordingly, having new and creative approach to historical areas as cultural value-based destinations can improve their conditions to promote tourism. Furthermore, in 21st century, media become the most important factor affecting the development of urban cities, including public places. As a result of the digital revolution, re-imaging and re-linkage public places by media are essential to create more interactions between public spaces and users, interaction media display, and urban screens, one of the most important defined media. This interaction can transform the urban space from being neglected to be more interactive space with users, especially the pedestrians. The paper focuses on The Walled City of Famagusta. As many other historic quarters elsewhere in the world, is in a process, of decay and deterioration, and its functionally distinctive areas are severely threatened by physical, functional, locational, and image obsolescence at varying degrees. So the focus on the future development of this area through tourism promotion can be an appropriate decision for the monument enhancement of the spatial quality in Walled City of Famagusta. In this paper, it is aimed to identify the effects of these new digital factors to transform public spaces especially in historic urban areas to promote creative tourism. Accordingly, two different analysis methods are used as well as a theoretical review. The first is case study on site and the second is Close ended questionnaire, test many concepts raised in this paper. The physical analysis on site carried out in order to evaluate the walled city restoration for touristic purpose. Besides, theoretical review is done in order to provide background to the subject and cleared Factors to attract tourists.

Keywords: historical areas, media façade, sustainable tourism, Walled city of Famagusta

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Authors: Keisuke Konishi, Yoshinari Hiroshiro, Kento Terashima, Atsushi Tsutsumi

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Imazu Bay plays an important role for endangered species such as horseshoe crabs and black-faced spoonbills that stay in the bay for spawning or the passing of winter. However, this bay is semi-enclosed with slow water exchange, which could lead to eutrophication under the condition of excess nutrient inflow to the bay. Therefore, quantification of nutrient inflow is of great importance. Generally, analysis of nutrient inflow to the bays takes into consideration nutrient inflow from only the river, but that from groundwater should not be ignored for more accurate results. The main objective of this study is to estimate the amounts of nutrient inflow from river and groundwater to Imazu Bay by analyzing water budget in Zuibaiji River Basin and loads of T-N, T-P, NO3-N and NH4-N. The water budget computation in the basin is performed using groundwater recharge model and quasi three-dimensional two-phase groundwater flow model, and the multiplication of the measured amount of nutrient inflow with the computed discharge gives the total amount of nutrient inflow to the bay. In addition, in order to evaluate nutrient inflow to the bay, the result is compared with nutrient inflow from geologically similar river basins. The result shows that the discharge is 3.50×107 m3/year from the river and 1.04×107 m3/year from groundwater. The submarine groundwater discharge accounts for approximately 23 % of the total discharge, which is large compared to the other river basins. It is also revealed that the total nutrient inflow is not particularly large. The sum of NO3-N and NH4-N loadings from groundwater is less than 10 % of that from the river because of denitrification in groundwater. The Shin Seibu Sewage Treatment Plant located below the observation points discharges treated water of 15,400 m3/day and plans to increase it. However, the loads of T-N and T-P from the treatment plant are 3.9 mg/L and 0.19 mg/L, so that it does not contribute a lot to eutrophication.

Keywords: Eutrophication, groundwater recharge model, nutrient inflow, quasi three-dimensional two-phase groundwater flow model, submarine groundwater discharge

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Authors: F. T. Senberber, N. Tugrul, E. Moroydor Derun

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As a nutraceutical, sumac (Rhus Coriaria) was extracted by using different solvents of methanol, ethanol, and water. The DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate) method of free radical scavenging capacity was used to determine the effects of solvent on antioxidant activities of the plant. The total phenolic content was studied by The Folin Ciocalteu Reagent method. The antioxidant activities of extracts exhibit minor changes in different solvents and varied in the range of 84.3–86.4 %. The total phenolic contents are affected by the selected solvent. The highest total phenolic content was determined at the liquid phase of water and it was estimated as 26.3 mg/g in gallic acid.

Keywords: DPPH, solvent, sumac, total phenolic content

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Authors: Abraham Addo-Bediako, Sophy Nukeri, Tebatso Mmako

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Many freshwater ecosystems have been subjected to prolonged and cumulative pollution as a result of human activities such as mining, agricultural, industrial and human settlements in their catchments. The objective of this study was to investigate spatial variability of heavy metal pollution of sediments and possible sources of pollutants in two streams of the Olifants River System, South Africa. Stream sediments were collected and analysed for Arsenic (As), Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), Copper (Cu), Lead (Pb), Nickel (Ni) and Zinc (Zn) concentrations using inductively coupled plasma-mass mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). In both rivers, As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn fell within the concentration ranges recommended by CCME and ANZECC, while the concentrations of Cr and Ni exceeded the standards; the results indicated that Cr and Ni in the sediments originated from human activities and not from natural geological background. The index of geo-accumulation (Igeo) was used to assess the degree of pollution. The results of the geo-accumulation index evaluation showed that Cr and Ni were present in the sediments of the rivers at moderately to extremely polluted levels, while As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn existed at unpolluted to moderately polluted levels. Generally, heavy metal concentrations increased along the gradient in the rivers. The high concentrations of Cr and Ni in both rivers are of great concern, as previously these two rivers were classified to be supplying the Olifants River with water of good quality. There is a critical need, therefore to monitor heavy metal concentrations and distributions, as well as a comprehensive plan to prevent health risks, especially those communities still reliant on untreated water from the rivers, as sediment pollution may pose a risk of secondary water pollution under sediment disturbance and/or changes in the geo-chemistry of sediments.

Keywords: geo-accumulation index, heavy metals, sediment pollution, water quality

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Authors: Anton Serov, Alan Maslani, Michal Hlina, Vladimir Kopecky, Milan Hrabovsky

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Recycling of organic waste is an increasingly hot topic in recent years. This issue becomes even more interesting if the raw material for the fuel production can be obtained as the result of that recycling. A process of high-temperature decomposition of a lignite (a non-hydrolysable complex organic compound) was studied on the plasma gasification reactor PLASGAS, where water-stabilized plasma torch was used as a source of high enthalpy plasma. The plasma torch power was 120 kW and allowed heating of the reactor to more than 1000 °C. The material feeding rate in the gasification reactor was selected 30 and 60 kg per hour that could be compared with small industrial production. An efficiency estimation of the thermal decomposition process was done. A balance of the torch energy distribution was studied as well as an influence of the lignite particle size and an addition of methane (CH4) in a reaction volume on the syngas composition (H2+CO). It was found that the ratio H2:CO had values in the range of 1,5 to 2,5 depending on the experimental conditions. The recycling process occurred at atmospheric pressure that was one of the important benefits because of the lack of expensive vacuum pump systems. The work was supported by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic under the project GA15-19444S.

Keywords: atmospheric pressure, lignite, plasma treatment, water-stabilized plasma torch

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Authors: Fatemeh Dehghan Khangahi, Hakan Gunes

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Transforming a public necessity into a commercial commodity becomes more and more evident as time goes on, and it is one of the issues of water shortage. Development projects of countries, consume the water and waterbeds in various forms, ignoring the concepts such as sustainability and the negative effects they place on the environment, pollute and change the ways of waterways. Throughout these processes, the water basins and all the vital environments sometimes can suffer damage to the irreparable level. In this context, the issue of Lake Urmia that is located in the North West of Iran left alone by drought, has been researched. The lake, which is on the list of UNESCO's biosphere reserves, is now exposed to the danger of desiccation. If the desiccation is fully realized, more than 5.000.000 people that they are living around the lake, will have to migrate as a result of negative living conditions. As a matter of fact, along with the recent years of increasing drought level, regional migrations have begun. In addition to migration issues, it is also necessary to specify the negative effects on human and all-round’s life that depend on the formation of salt storms, mixing of salt into the air and soil, which threaten human health seriously because the lake is salty. The main aim of this work is to raise national and international awareness of this problem, which is an environment and a human tragedy at the same time. This research has two basic questions: 1) In the case of Lake Urmia, what are environmental problems and how they have emerged and what is the role of governments? 2) What is the social consequence of this problem in relation to the first question? In response, after the literature search, having a comparative view of the situation of the Aral Sea and the Great Salt Lake (Utah, USA), which involved the two major international examples. The first, one is related to the terms of population and migration, the second is about biological properties. Then, data and status information that provided after 3 years area research has been evaluated. Towards the end, with the support of qualitative and quantitative methods, the study of social mobilization in the region has been carried out. An example of it is using the public space of TRAXTOR matches like a protests area.

Keywords: environment problems, water, social mobilization, Lake Urmia, migration

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Authors: Tanapoom Phuncharoen, Tawiwat Sriwongsa, Kanita Boonruang, Apichit Svang-Ariyaskul

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The production of dimethyl acetal, isovaleradehyde, and pyridine were simulated using Aspen Plus simulation. Upgrading cleaning water from wine industrial production is the main objective of the project. The winery waste composes of acetaldehyde, methanol, ethyl acetate, 1-propanol, water, isoamyl alcohol, and isobutanol. The project is separated into three parts; separation, reaction, and purification. Various processes were considered to maximize the profit along with obtaining high purity and recovery of each component with optimum heat duty. The results show a significant value of the product with purity more than 75% and recovery over 98%.

Keywords: dimethyl acetal, pyridine, wine, aspen plus, isovaleradehyde, polymeric precursors

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Authors: Debasis Sarkar

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Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a holistic documentation process for operational visualization, design coordination, estimation and project scheduling. BIM software defines objects parametrically and it is a tool for virtual reality. Primary advantage of implementing BIM is the visual coordination of the building structure and systems such as Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) and it also identifies the possible conflicts between the building systems. This paper is an attempt to develop a risk based BIM model which would highlight the primary advantages of application of BIM pertaining to urban infrastructure transportation project. It has been observed that about 40% of the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) companies use BIM but primarily for their outsourced projects. Also, 65% of the respondents agree that BIM would be used quiet strongly for future construction projects in India. The 3D models developed with Revit 2015 software would reduce co-ordination problems amongst the architects, structural engineers, contractors and building service providers (MEP). Integration of risk management along with BIM would provide enhanced co-ordination, collaboration and high probability of successful completion of the complex infrastructure transportation project within stipulated time and cost frame.

Keywords: building information modeling (BIM), infrastructure transportation, project risk management, underground metro rail

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Authors: Rashad Al-Gaashani

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The physicochemical activation method was used to produce high-quality activated carbon (AC) with a large surface area of about 2000 m2/g from low-cost and abundant biomass wastes in Qatar, namely date seeds. X-Ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron spectroscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy (EDS), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis was used to evaluate the AC samples. AC produced from date seeds has a wide range of pores available, including micro- and nano-pores. This type of AC with a well-developed pore structure may be very attractive for different applications, including air and water purification from micro and nano pollutants. Heavy metals iron (III) and copper (II) ions were removed from wastewater using the AC produced using a batch adsorption technique. The AC produced from date seeds biomass wastes shows high removal of heavy metals such as iron (III) ions (100%) and copper (II) ions (97.25%). The highest removal of copper (II) ions (100%) with AC produced from date seeds was found at pH 8, whereas the lowest removal (22.63%) occurred at pH 2. The effect of adsorption time, adsorbent dose, and pH on the removal of heavy metals was studied.

Keywords: activated carbon, date seeds, biomass, heavy metals removal, water treatment

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Authors: Bruno Vicente, Sandra Rafael, Vera Rodrigues, Sandra Sorte, Sara Silva, Ana Isabel Miranda, Carlos Borrego

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Wind comfort for pedestrians is an important condition in urban areas. In Portugal, a country with 900 km of coastline, the wind direction are predominantly from Nor-Northwest with an average speed of 2.3 m·s -1 (at 2 m height). As a result, a set of city authorities have been requesting studies of pedestrian wind comfort for new urban areas/buildings, as well as to mitigate wind discomfort issues related to existing structures. This work covers the efficiency evaluation of a set of measures to reduce the wind speed in an outdoor auditorium (open space) located in a coastal Portuguese urban area. These measures include the construction of barriers, placed at upstream and downstream of the auditorium, and the planting of trees, placed upstream of the auditorium. The auditorium is constructed in the form of a porch, aligned with North direction, driving the wind flow within the auditorium, promoting channelling effects and increasing its speed, causing discomfort in the users of this structure. To perform the wind comfort assessment, two approaches were used: i) a set of experiments using the wind tunnel (physical approach), with a representative mock-up of the study area; ii) application of the CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) model VADIS (numerical approach). Both approaches were used to simulate the baseline scenario and the scenarios considering a set of measures. The physical approach was conducted through a quantitative method, using hot-wire anemometer, and through a qualitative analysis (visualizations), using the laser technology and a fog machine. Both numerical and physical approaches were performed for three different velocities (2, 4 and 6 m·s-1 ) and two different directions (NorNorthwest and South), corresponding to the prevailing wind speed and direction of the study area. The numerical results show an effective reduction (with a maximum value of 80%) of the wind speed inside the auditorium, through the application of the proposed measures. A wind speed reduction in a range of 20% to 40% was obtained around the audience area, for a wind direction from Nor-Northwest. For southern winds, in the audience zone, the wind speed was reduced from 60% to 80%. Despite of that, for southern winds, the design of the barriers generated additional hot spots (high wind speed), namely, in the entrance to the auditorium. Thus, a changing in the location of the entrance would minimize these effects. The results obtained in the wind tunnel compared well with the numerical data, also revealing the high efficiency of the purposed measures (for both wind directions).

Keywords: urban microclimate, pedestrian comfort, numerical modelling, wind tunnel experiments

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Authors: Dawid Jakimiuk, Krzysztof Mitura, Leszek Szpakowski, Sławomir Pilip, Daniel Celiński

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The Emergency Medical Teams (EMS) of the Ambulance Service in Siedlce serve the population living in the Mazowieckie Voivodeship (the area of eastern Poland with approximately 550,000 inhabitants). They provide health services at the pre-hospital stage to all life-threatening patients. The analysis covered the interventions of emergency medical teams in cases of suicide attempts that occurred in the years 2015-2018. The study was retrospective. The data was obtained on the basis of digital medical records of completed call-outs. When defining the disease entity, the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Health Problems ICD-10 prepared by WHO was used. The relationship between selected disease entities and the area of EMT intervention, the patient's sex and age, and the time of occurrence of the event were investigated. Non-urban area was defined as the area inhabited by a population below 10,000 residents. Statistical analysis was performed using Pearson's Chi ^ 2 test and presenting the percentage of cases in the study group. Of all the suicide attempts, drug abuse cases were the most frequent, including: X60 (Intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to nonopioid analgesics, antipyretics and antirheumatics); X61 (Intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to antiepileptic, sedative-hypnotic, antiparkinsonian and psychotropic drugs, not elsewhere classified); X62 (Intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to narcotics and psycholeptics [hallucinogens], not elsewhere classified); X63 (Intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to other drugs acting on the autonomic nervous system); X64 (Intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to other and unspecified drugs, medicaments and biological substance) oraz X70 (Intentional self-harm by hanging, strangulation and suffocation). In total, they accounted for 69.4% of all interventions to suicide attempts in the studied period. Statistical analysis shows significant differences (χ2 = 39.30239, p <0.0001, n = 561) between the area of EMT intervention and the type of suicide attempt. In non-urban areas, a higher percentage of X70 diagnoses was recorded (55.67%), while in urban areas, X60-X64 (72.53%). In non-urban areas, a higher proportion of patients attempting suicide was observed compared to patients living in urban areas. For X70 and X60 - X64 in total, the incidence rates in non-urban areas were 80.8% and 56%, respectively. Significant differences were found (χ2 = 119.3304, p <0.0001, n = 561) depending on the method of attempting suicide in relation to the patient's sex. The percentage of women diagnosed with X60-X64 versus X70 was 87.50%, which was the largest number of patients (n = 154) as compared to men. In the case of X70 in relation to X60-X64, the percentage of men was 62.08%, which was the largest number of patients (n = 239) as compared to women (n = 22). In the case of X70, the percentage of men compared to women was as high as 92%. Significant differences were observed (χ2 = 14.94848, p <0.01058) between the hour of EMT intervention and the type of suicide attempt. The highest percentage of X70 occurred between 04:01 - 08:00 (64.44%), while X60-X64 between 00:01 - 04:00 (70.45%). The largest number of cases of all tested suicide attempts was recorded between 16:01 - 20:00 for X70 (n = 62), X60 - X64 (n = 82), respectively. The highest percentage of patients undertaking all suicide attempts studied at work was observed in the age range of 18-30 (31.5%), while the lowest was in the age group over 60 years of age. (11%). There was no significant correlation between the day of the week or individual months of the year and the type of suicide attempt - respectively (χ2 = 6.281729, p <0.39238, n = 561) and (χ2 = 3.348913, p <0.9857, n = 561). There were also no significant differences in the incidence of suicide attempts for each year in the study period (χ2 = 3.348913, p <0.9857 n = 561). The obtained results suggest the necessity to undertake preventive measures in order to minimize the number of suicide attempts. Such activities should be directed especially at young patients living in non-urban areas.

Keywords: emergency med, emergency medical team, attempted suicide, pre-hospital

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Authors: Samuel Emeka Anarah, Kingsley Nnaemeka Ogbu, Obasi Arinze

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Quantifying the hydrological response due to changes in climate change is imperative for proper management of water resources within a watershed. The impact of climate change on the hydrology of the Upper Ebony River (UER) watershed, South East Nigeria, was studied using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrological model. A climatological time series analysis from 1985 - 2014 using non-parametric test showed significant negative trends in precipitation and relative humidity trend while minimum and maximum temperature, solar radiation and wind speed showed significant positive trends. Future hypothetical land-use change scenarios (Scenarios 1, 2, 3 and 4) representing urbanization and conversion of forest to agricultural land were combined with future downscaled climate model (CSIRO-Mk3-6-0) and simulated in SWAT model. Relative to the Baseline scenario (2005 - 2014), the results showed a decrease in streamflow by 10.29%, 26.20%, 11.80% and 26.72% for Scenarios 1, 2, 3, and 4 respectively. Model results suggest development of adaptation strategies to cope with the predicted hydrological conditions under future climate change in the watershed.

Keywords: climate change, hydrology, runoff, SWAT model

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Authors: Edson Ephraim Sanga

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This paper stems to explore possible places used for recreation in unplanned settlements in order to avail knowledge on how to create and shape urban spaces essential for recreation and leisure. The context of unplanned settlements is spatially characterized compactness and congestions of buildings developed by residents without professional inputs. These characteristics surpass greenery landscapes such as parks and squares essential for health, happiness and wellbeing. The lack of recreational greenery landscape arises a question on how possible can recreation take places in the settlements? This study used qualitative methods mainly observation and in-depth interview to explore the recreational situation in Manzese informal settlements as an instrumental case and found that ordinary spaces are re-configured into recreational spaces and used as ‘parks’ and ‘squares’ in the settlements. The spaces are diverse and complex as they possess different spatial characteristics based on their physical attributes and the way they are used and interpreted by respective users. This paper argues that the re-configuration processes of ordinary spaces should not be taken for granted because they portray the appropriation of spaces from quotidian dimensions in a particular context.

Keywords: ordinary spaces, recreation, unplanned settlement, urban spaces

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Authors: Dong Yue, Hua Chen

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The study region Xihu Harbor in Xiangshan County, Ningbo City is located in the central coast of Zhejiang Province. Concerning the wave dispating issue, Ningbo government firstly introduced Spartina alterniflora in 1980s. In the 1990s, S. alterniflora spread so rapidly thus a ‘grassland’ in the sea has been created nowadays. It has become the most important invasive plant of China’s coastal tidal flats. Although S. alterniflora had some ecological and economic functions, it has also brought series of hazards. It has ecological hazards on many aspects, including biomass and biodiversity, hydrodynamic force and sedimentation process, nutrient cycling of tidal flat, succession sequence of soil and plants and so on. On engineering, it courses problems of poor drainage and channel blocking. On economy, the hazard mainly reflected in the threat on aquaculture industry. The purpose of this study is to explore an ecological, feasible and economical way to manage Spartina alterniflora and use the land formed by it, taking Xihu Harbor in Xiangshan County as a case. Comparison method, mathematical modeling, qualitative and quantitative analysis are utilized to proceed the study. Main outcomes are as follows. By comparing a series of S. alterniflora managing methods which include the combination of mechanical cutting and hydraulic reclamation, waterlogging, herbicide and biological substitution from three standpoints – ecology, engineering and economy. It is inferred that the combination of mechanical cutting and hydraulic reclamation is among the top rank of S. alternifora managing methods. The combination of mechanical cutting and hydraulic reclamation means using large-scale mechanical equipment like large screw seagoing dredger to excavate the S. alterniflora with root and mud together. Then the mix of mud and grass was blown off nearby coastal tidal zone transported by pipelines, which can cushion the silt of tidal zone to form a land. However, as man-made land by coast, the reclamation area’s ecological sensitivity is quite high and will face high possibility of flood threat. Therefore, the reclamation area has many reasonability requirements, including ones on location, specific scope, water surface rate, direction of main watercourse, site of water-gate, the ratio of ecological land to urban construction land. These requirements all became important basis when the planning was being made. The water system planning, green space system planning, road structure and land use all need to accommodate the ecological requests. Besides, the profits from the formed land is the managing project’s source of funding, so how to utilize land efficiently is another considered point in the planning. It is concluded that by aiming at managing a large area of S. alterniflora, the combination of mechanical cutting and hydraulic reclamation is an ecological, feasible and economical method. The planning of reclamation area should fully respect the natural environment and possible disasters. Then the planning which makes land use efficient, reasonable, ecological will promote the development of the area’s city construction.

Keywords: ecological management, ecological planning method, reclamation area, Spartina alternifora, Xihu harbor

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Authors: Retang A. Mokua, Julia Glenday, Jacobus M. Nel

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Understanding hydrological processes in mountain headwater catchments, such as the Jonkershoek Valley, is crucial for improving the predictive capability of hydrologic modeling in the Cape Fold Mountain region of South Africa, incorporating the influence of the Table Mountain Group fractured rock aquifers. Determining the contributions of various possible surface and subsurface flow pathways in such catchments has been a challenge due to the complex nature of the fractured rock geology, low ionic concentrations, high rainfall, and streamflow variability. The study aimed to describe the mechanisms of streamflow generation during two seasons (dry and wet). In this study, stable isotopes of water (18O and 2H), hydrochemical tracer electrical conductivity (EC), hydrometric data were used to assess the spatial and temporal variation in flow pathways and geographic sources of stream water. Stream water, groundwater, two shallow piezometers, and spring samples were routinely sampled at two adjacent headwater sub-catchments and analyzed for isotopic ratios during baseflow conditions between January 2018 and January 2019. From these results, no significance (p > 0.05) in seasonal variations in isotopic ratios were observed, the stream isotope signatures were consistent throughout the study period. However, significant seasonal and spatial variations in the EC were evident (p < 0.05). The findings suggest that, in the dry season, baseflow generation mechanisms driven by groundwater and interflow as discharge from perennial springs in these catchments are the primary contributors. The wet season flows were attributed to interflow and perennial and ephemeral springs. Furthermore, the observed seasonal variations in EC were indicative of a greater proportion of sub-surface water inputs. With these results, a conceptual model of streamflow generation processes for the two seasons was constructed.

Keywords: electrical conductivity, Jonkershoek valley, stable isotopes, table mountain group

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Authors: Shobha Kumari Yadav, Yubaraj Satyal, Ajaya Dixit

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In addressing groundwater depletion, it is important to develop evidence base so to be used in assessing the state of its degradation. Groundwater data is limited compared to meteorological data, which impedes the groundwater use and management plan. Monitoring of groundwater levels provides information base to assess the condition of aquifers, their responses to water extraction, land-use change, and climatic variability. It is important to maintain a network of spatially distributed, long-term monitoring wells to support groundwater management plan. Monitoring involving local community is a cost effective approach that generates real time data to effectively manage groundwater use. This paper presents the relationship between rainfall and spring flow, which are the main source of freshwater for drinking, household consumptions and agriculture in hills of Nepal. The supply and withdrawal of water from springs depends upon local hydrology and the meteorological characteristics- such as rainfall, evapotranspiration and interflow. The study offers evidence of the use of scientific method and community based initiative for managing groundwater and springshed. The approach presents a method to replicate similar initiative in other parts of the country for maintaining integrity of springs.

Keywords: citizen science, groundwater, water resource management, Nepal

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Authors: Parastou Kharazmi, Folke Björk

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Some of the main causes for degradation of polymeric materials are thermal aging, hydrolysis, oxidation or chemical degradation by acids, alkalis or water. The first part of this paper provides a brief summary of advances in technology, methods and specification of composite materials for relining as a rehabilitation technique for sewage systems. The second part summarizes an investigation on frequently used composite materials for relining in Sweden, the rubber filled epoxy composite and reinforced polyester composite when they were immersed in deionized water or in dry conditions, and elevated temperatures up to 80°C in the laboratory. The tests were conducted by visual inspection, microscopy, Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) as well as mechanical testing, three point bending and tensile testing.

Keywords: composite, epoxy, polyester, relining, sewage

Procedia PDF Downloads 346

Authors: Yun-Yao Chi, Chieh-Kai Tsai, Dai-Ling Li

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In this paper, a method of fast 3D topography modeling using the high-resolution camera images is studied based on the characteristics of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) system for low altitude aerial photogrammetry and the need of three dimensional (3D) urban landscape modeling. Firstly, the existing high-resolution digital camera with special design of overlap images is designed by reconstructing and analyzing the auto-flying paths of UAVs, which improves the self-calibration function to achieve the high precision imaging by software, and further increased the resolution of the imaging system. Secondly, several-angle images including vertical images and oblique images gotten by the UAV system are used for the detail measure of urban land surfaces and the texture extraction. Finally, the aerial photography and 3D topography construction are both developed in campus of Chang-Jung University and in Guerin district area in Tainan, Taiwan, provide authentication model for construction of 3D topography based on combined UAV-based camera images from system. The results demonstrated that the UAV system for low altitude aerial photogrammetry can be used in the construction of 3D topography production, and the technology solution in this paper offers a new, fast, and technical plan for the 3D expression of the city landscape, fine modeling and visualization.

Keywords: 3D, topography, UAV, images

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Authors: I. Ben Kaddour, S. Larbaoui

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Since their first synthesis, the Silicoaluminophosphates materials have proved their efficiency as a good adsorbent and catalyst in several environmental and energetic applications. In this work, the photocatalytic hydrogen production from water splitting reactions has been conducted under visible radiations in the presence of a series of iron and/or titanium-containing microporous silico-alumino-phosphates materials synthesized by hydrothermal method, using triethylamine as an organic structuring agent to obtain the AFI structure type. These photo-catalysts were then characterized by various physicochemical methods to determine their structural, textural and morphological properties such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with X rays microanalysis, nitrogen adsorption measurements, UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-Vis-DRS), and X-rays photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and the analysis revealed that these materials have significant photocatalytic properties. The hydrogen production process has been followed by photoelectrochemical characterization (PEC). The results showed that hydrogen is the only gas produced, and the reaction takes place in the conduction band where water is reduced to hydrogen. The electron recombination has also been avoided, as holes are entrapped using hole scavengers. In addition, these catalysts have been shown to remain stable during reuse for up to five cycles.

Keywords: photocatalysis, SAPO-5, hydrothermal synthesis, hydrogen production

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Authors: Altayeb Qasem, Mousa Bani Baker, Amani Nawafleh

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The complexity of the sand-bentonite liner barrier system calls for an adequate model that reflects the conditions depending on the barrier materials and the characteristics of the permeates which lead to hydraulic conductivity changes when liners infiltrated with polar, no-polar, miscible and immiscible liquids. This paper is dedicated to developing a model for evaluating the hydraulic conductivity in the form of a simple indicator for the compatibility of the liner versus leachate. Based on two liner compositions (95% sand: 5% bentonite; and 90% sand: 10% bentonite), two pressures (40 kPa and 100 kPa), and three leachates: water, ethanol and biofuel. Two characteristics of the leacahtes were used: viscosity of permeate and its octanol-water partitioning coefficient (Kow). Three characteristics of the liners mixtures were evaluated which had impact on the hydraulic conductivity of the liner system: the initial content of bentonite (%), the free swelling index, and the shrinkage limit of the initial liner’s mixture. Engineers can use this modest tool to predict a potential liner failure in sand-bentonite barriers.

Keywords: liner performance, sand-bentonite barriers, viscosity, free swelling index, shrinkage limit, octanol-water partitioning coefficient, hydraulic conductivity, theoretical modeling

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Authors: Ricardo Mendoza, Jason Briceño, Juan F. Santa, Gabriel Peluffo, Mauricio Márquez, Beatriz Cardozo, Carlos Gutiérrez

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Coir natural fiber reinforced polyester composites were exposed to an accelerated environment aging in order to study the influence on the mechanical properties. Coir fibers were obtained in local plantations of the Caribbean coast of Colombia. A physical and mechanical characterization was necessary to found the best behavior between three types of coconut. Composites were fabricated by hand lay-up technique and samples were cut by water jet technique. An accelerated aging test simulates environmental climate conditions in a hygrothermal and ultraviolet chamber. Samples were exposed to the UV/moisture rich environment for 500 and 1000 hours. The tests were performed in accordance with ASTM G154. An additional water absorption test was carried out by immersing specimens in a water bath. Mechanical behaviors of the composites were tested by tensile, flexural and impact test according to ASTM standards, after aging and compared with unaged composite specimens. It was found that accelerated environment aging affects mechanical properties in comparison with unaged ones. Tensile and flexural strength were lower after aging, meantime elongation at break and flexural deflection increased. Impact strength was found that reduced after aging. Other result revealed that the percentage of moisture uptake increased with aging. This results showed that composite materials reinforced with natural fibers required an improvement adding a protective barrier to reduce water absorption and increase UV resistance.

Keywords: coir fiber, polyester composites, environmental aging, mechanical properties

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Authors: Md. Jahidul Islam, A. K. M. Rakinul Islam, M. Salamah Meherier

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This study investigates the suitability of using plastic, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), as a partial replacement of natural coarse and fine aggregates (for example, brick chips and natural sand) to produce lightweight concrete for load bearing structural members. The plastic coarse aggregate (PCA) and plastic fine aggregate (PFA) were produced from melted polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. Tests were conducted using three different water–cement (w/c) ratios, such as 0.42, 0.48, and 0.57, where PCA and PFA were used as 50% replacement of coarse and fine aggregate respectively. Fresh and hardened properties of concrete have been compared for natural aggregate concrete (NAC), PCA concrete (PCC) and PFA concrete (PFC). The compressive strength of concrete at 28 days varied with the water–cement ratio for both the PCC and PFC. Between PCC and PFC, PFA concrete showed the highest compressive strength (23.7 MPa) at 0.42 w/c ratio and also the lowest compressive strength (13.7 MPa) at 0.57 w/c ratio. Significant reduction in concrete density was mostly observed for PCC samples, ranging between 1977–1924 kg/m³. With the increase in water–cement ratio PCC achieved higher workability compare to both NAC and PFC. It was found that both the PCA and PFA contained concrete achieved the required compressive strength to be used for structural purpose as partial replacement of the natural aggregate; but to obtain the desired lower density as lightweight concrete the PCA is most suited.

Keywords: polyethylene terephthalate, plastic aggregate, concrete, fresh and hardened properties

Procedia PDF Downloads 443

Authors: Y. Chiang, J. R. Wang, J. H. Yang, Y. S. Tseng, C. Shih, S. W. Chen

Abstract:

Kuosheng nuclear power plant (NPP) is a BWR/6 plant in Taiwan. There is more concern for the safety of Spent Fuel Pools (SFPs) in Taiwan after Fukushima event. In order to estimate the safety of Kuosheng NPP SFP, by using MELCOR2.1 and SNAP, the safety analysis of Kuosheng NPP SFP was performed combined with the mitigation strategy of NEI 06-12 report. There were several steps in this research. First, the Kuosheng NPP SFP models were established by MELCOR2.1/SNAP. Second, the Station Blackout (SBO) analysis of Kuosheng SFP was done by TRACE and MELCOR under the cooling system failure condition. The results showed that the calculations of MELCOR and TRACE were very similar in this case. Second, the mitigation strategy analysis was done with the MELCOR model by following the NEI 06-12 report. The results showed the effectiveness of NEI 06-12 strategy in Kuosheng NPP SFP. Finally, a sensitivity study of SFP quenching was done to check the differences of different water injection time and the phenomena during the quenching. The results showed that if the cladding temperature was over 1600 K, the water injection may have chance to cause the accident more severe with more hydrogen generation. It was because of the oxidation heat and the “Breakaway” effect of the zirconium-water reaction. An animation model built by SNAP was also shown in this study.

Keywords: MELCOR, SNAP, spent fuel pool, quenching

Procedia PDF Downloads 361