Search results for: sustainable water

Authors: Rajkumar Ghosh, Ananya Mukhopadhyay

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This scientific paper presents a thorough investigation into the integration of roof-mounted photovoltaic (PV) array systems and home rooftop rainwater collection systems in a remote community in Himachal Pradesh, India, with the goal of optimum utilization of natural resources for attaining sustainable living conditions by 2030. The study looks into the technical feasibility, environmental benefits, and socioeconomic impacts of this integrated method, emphasizing its ability to handle energy and water concerns in remote rural regions. This comprehensive method not only provides a sustainable source of electricity but also ensures a steady supply of clean water, promoting resilience and improving the quality of life for the village's residents. This research highlights the potential of such integrated systems in supporting sustainable conditions in rural areas through a combination of technical feasibility studies, economic analysis, and community interaction. There would be 20690 villages and 1.48 million homes (23.79% annual growth rate) in Himachal Pradesh if all residential buildings in the state had roof-mounted photovoltaic arrays to capture solar energy for power generation. The energy produced is utilized to power homes, lessening dependency on traditional fossil fuels. The same residential buildings housed domestic rooftop rainwater collection systems. Rainwater runoff from rooftops is collected and stored in tanks for use in a number of residential purposes, such as drinking, cooking, and irrigation. The gathered rainfall enhances the region's limited groundwater resources, easing the strain on local wells and aquifers. Although Himachal Pradesh of India is a Power state, the PV arrays have reduced the reliance of village on grid power and diesel generators by providing a steady source of electricity. Rooftop rainwater gathering has not only increased residential water supply but it has also lessened the burden on local groundwater resources. This helps to replenish groundwater and offers a more sustainable water supply for the town. The neighbourhood has saved money by utilizing renewable energy and rainwater gathering. Furthermore, lower fossil fuel consumption reduces greenhouse gas emissions, which helps to mitigate the effects of climate change. The integrated strategy of installing grid connected rooftop photovoltaic arrays and home rooftop rainwater collecting systems in Himachal Pradesh rural community demonstrates a feasible model for sustainable development. According to “Swaran Jayanti Energy Policy of Himachal Pradesh”, Himachal Pradesh is planned 10 GW from rooftop mode from Solar Power. Government of India provides 40% subsidy on solar panel of 1-3 kw and subsidy of Rs 6,000 per kw per year to encourage domestic consumers of Himachal Pradesh. This effort solves energy and water concerns, improves economic well-being, and helps to conserve the environment. Such integrated systems can serve as a model for sustainable development in rural areas not only in Himachal Pradesh, but also in other parts of the world where resource scarcity is a major concern. Long-term performance and scalability of such integrated systems should be the focus of future study. Efforts should also be made to duplicate this approach in other rural areas and examine its socioeconomic and environmental implications over time.

Keywords: renewable energy, photovoltaic arrays, rainwater harvesting, sustainability, rural development, Himachal Pradesh, India

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Authors: Prince Amartey

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Water is critical to public health, quality of life, environmental preservation, economic activity, and long-term growth. In this environment, it is critical to ensure the ongoing improvement of all processes and practices that contribute to the quality and safety of water. Water safety plans (WSPs) developed by water companies are an essential public policy instrument for achieving these objectives. This manuscript examines international evidence of water safety planning adoption and implementation and reports on the current situation in Portugal as part of the necessary adaptation of the national legal framework to the publication of the Directive on water quality for human consumption. The goal is to take lessons from various successful WSP projects throughout the world while writing new legislation in Ghana and elsewhere. According to the findings, four crucial aspects and key factors of success in establishing and implementing WSPs exist commitment from leadership, technical proficiency, administration, and cooperation among agencies.

Keywords: safe drinking, risk, policy, implementation

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Authors: Hayder H. Kareem, Shunqi Pan

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Groundwater is a vital water resource in many areas in the world, particularly in the Middle-East region where the water resources become scarce and depleting. Sustainable management and planning of the groundwater resources become essential and urgent given the impact of the global climate change. In the recent years, numerical models have been widely used to predict the flow pattern and assess the water resources security, as well as the groundwater quality affected by the contaminants transported. In this study, MODFLOW is used to study the current status of groundwater resources and the risk of water resource security in the region centred at Al-Najaf City, which is located in the mid-west of Iraq and adjacent to the Euphrates River. In this study, a conceptual model is built using the geologic and hydrogeologic collected for the region, together with the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data obtained from the "Global Land Cover Facility" (GLCF) and "United State Geological Survey" (USGS) for the study area. The computer model is also implemented with the distributions of 69 wells in the area with the steady pro-defined hydraulic head along its boundaries. The model is then applied with the recharge rate (from precipitation) of 7.55 mm/year, given from the analysis of the field data in the study area for the period of 1980-2014. The hydraulic conductivity from the measurements at the locations of wells is interpolated for model use. The model is calibrated with the measured hydraulic heads at the locations of 50 of 69 wells in the domain and results show a good agreement. The standard-error-of-estimate (SEE), root-mean-square errors (RMSE), Normalized RMSE and correlation coefficient are 0.297 m, 2.087 m, 6.899% and 0.971 respectively. Sensitivity analysis is also carried out, and it is found that the model is sensitive to recharge, particularly when the rate is greater than (15mm/year). Hydraulic conductivity is found to be another parameter which can affect the results significantly, therefore it requires high quality field data. The results show that there is a general flow pattern from the west to east of the study area, which agrees well with the observations and the gradient of the ground surface. It is found that with the current operational pumping rates of the wells in the area, a dry area is resulted in Al-Najaf City due to the large quantity of groundwater withdrawn. The computed water balance with the current operational pumping quantity shows that the Euphrates River supplies water into the groundwater of approximately 11759 m3/day, instead of gaining water of 11178 m3/day from the groundwater if no pumping from the wells. It is expected that the results obtained from the study can provide important information for the sustainable and effective planning and management of the regional groundwater resources for Al-Najaf City.

Keywords: Al-Najaf city, conceptual modelling, groundwater, unconfined aquifer, visual MODFLOW

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Authors: K. Y. Chen, H. Chua, C. W. Kan

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Japan is a well-developed country but the environmental issues are still a hot issue. In this study, we will analyse how the environmental investment affects the sustainable development in Japan. This paper will first describe the environmental policy of Japan and the effort input by the Japan government. Then, we will collect the yearly environmental data and also information about the environmental investment. Based on the data collected, we try to figure out the relationship between environmental investment and sustainable development in Japan. In addition, we will analyse the SWOT of environmental investment in Japan. Based on the economic information collected, Japan established a sound material-cycle society through changes in business and life styles. A comprehensive legal system for this kind of society was established in Japan. In addition, other supporting measures, such as financial measures, utilization of economic instruments, implementation of research and promotion of education and science and technology, help Japan to cope with the recent environmental challenges. Japan’s excellent environmental technologies changed its socioeconomic system. They are at the highest global standards. This can be reflected by the number of patents registered in Japan which has been on the steady growth. Country by country comparison in the application for patents on environmental technologies also indicates that Japan ranks high in such areas as atmospheric pollution and water quality management, solid waste management and renewable energy. This is a result of the large expenditure invested on research and development.

Keywords: Japan, environmental investment, sustainable development, analysis

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Authors: V. Vsevolozhskaia

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Since 1990, energy-efficient development concepts have constituted both a turning point in civil engineering and a challenge for an environmentally friendly future. Energy and water currently play an essential role in the sustainable economic growth of the world in general and Russia in particular: the efficiency of the water supply system is the second most important parameter for energy consumption according to the British assessment method, while the water-energy nexus has been identified as a focus for accelerating sustainable growth and developing effective, innovative solutions. The activities considered in this study were aimed at organizing and executing the renovation of the property in residential buildings located in St. Petersburg, specifically buildings with local or federal historical heritage status under the control of the St. Petersburg Committee for the State Inspection and Protection of Historic and Cultural Monuments (KGIOP) and UNESCO. Even after reconstruction, these buildings still fall into energy efficiency class D. Russian Government Resolution No. 87 on the structure and required content of project documentation contains a section entitled ‘Measures to ensure compliance with energy efficiency and equipment requirements for buildings, structures, and constructions with energy metering devices’. Mention is made of the need to install collectors and meters, which only calculate energy, neglecting the main purpose: to make buildings more energy-efficient, potentially even energy efficiency class A. The least-explored aspects of energy-efficient technology in the Russian Federation remain the water balance and the possibility of implementing rain and meltwater collection systems. These modern technologies are used exclusively for new buildings due to a lack of government directive to create project documentation during the planning of major renovations and reconstruction that would include the collection and reuse of rainwater. Energy-efficient technology for rain and meltwater collection is currently applied only to new buildings, even though research has proved that using rainwater is safe and offers a huge step forward in terms of eco-efficiency analysis and water innovation. Where conservation is mandatory, making changes to protected sites is prohibited. In most cases, the protected site is the cultural heritage building itself, including the main walls and roof. However, the installation of a second water supply system and collection of rainwater would not affect the protected building itself. Water efficiency in St. Petersburg is currently considered only from the point of view of the installation that regulates the flow of the pipeline shutoff valves. The development of technical guidelines for the use of grey- and/or rainwater to meet the needs of residential buildings during reconstruction or renovation is not yet complete. The ideas for water treatment, collection and distribution systems presented in this study should be taken into consideration during the reconstruction or renovation of residential cultural heritage buildings under the protection of KGIOP and UNESCO. The methodology applied also has the potential to be extended to other cultural heritage sites in northern countries and lands with an average annual rainfall of over 600 mm to cover average toilet-flush needs.

Keywords: cultural heritage, energy efficiency, renovation, rainwater collection, reconstruction, water management, water supply

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Authors: Abdou Khafor Ndiaye

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The article examines clean water and sanitation in Saint-Louis region schools. It finds that 59% have clean water, with disparities between departments, urban/rural areas, and school types. Podor and Dagana lack water due to distance and costs. 70% have sanitation, but rural schools lack it due to low investment. Podor and Dagana suffer the most. Many sanitation facilities need renovation. Wastewater treatment is effective, reducing pollutants and nitrogen, but adjustments are needed for nitrates. Treated water meets Senegalese standards and can be used for irrigation but needs monitoring for strict standards. In conclusion, the wastewater system is good for regions with limited water. Meeting stricter European standards and monitoring for health and environmental standards are needed.

Keywords: water, constructed wetland, sanitation, hygiene

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Authors: Julia Terlet, Thomas H. Beach, Yacine Rezgui

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Urbanization, population growth, climate change and the current increase in water demand have made the adoption of innovative demand management strategies crucial to the water industry. Water conservation in urban areas has to be improved by encouraging consumers to adopt more sustainable habits and behaviours. This includes informing and educating them about their households’ water consumption and advising them about ways to achieve significant savings on a daily basis. This paper presents a study conducted in the context of the European FP7 WISDOM Project. By integrating innovative Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) frameworks, this project aims at achieving a change in water savings. More specifically, behavioural change will be attempted by implementing smart meters and in-home displays in a trial group of selected households within Cardiff (UK). Using this device, consumers will be able to receive feedback and information about their consumption but will also have the opportunity to compare their consumption to the consumption of other consumers and similar households. Following an initial survey, it appeared necessary to implement these in-home displays in a way that matches consumer's motivations to save water. The results demonstrated the importance of various factors influencing people’s daily water consumption. Both the relevant literature on the subject and the results of our survey therefore led us to include within the in-home device a variety of elements. It first appeared crucial to make consumers aware of the economic aspect of water conservation and especially of the significant financial savings that can be achieved by reducing their household’s water consumption on the long term. Likewise, reminding participants of the impact of their consumption on the environment by making them more aware of water scarcity issues around the world will help increasing their motivation to save water. Additionally, peer pressure and social comparisons with neighbours and other consumers, accentuated by the use of online social networks such as Facebook or Twitter, will likely encourage consumers to reduce their consumption. Participants will also be able to compare their current consumption to their past consumption and to observe the consequences of their efforts to save water through diverse graphs and charts. Finally, including a virtual water game within the display will help the whole household, children and adults, to achieve significant reductions by providing them with simple tips and advice to save water on a daily basis. Moreover, by setting daily and weekly goals for them to reach, the game will expectantly generate cooperation between family members. Members of each household will indeed be encouraged to work together to reduce their water consumption within different rooms of the house, such as the bathroom, the kitchen, or the toilets. Overall, this study will allow us to understand the elements that attract consumers the most and the features that are most commonly used by the participants. In this way, we intend to determine the main factors influencing water consumption in order to identify the measures that will most encourage water conservation in both the long and short term.

Keywords: behavioural change, ICT technologies, water consumption, water conservation

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Authors: Mmatladi D. Mnguni, Mustapha Mohammed, George Y. Mahama, Alhassan L. Abdulai, Felix D. Dakora

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Industrial-based nitrogen (N) fertilizers are justifiably credited for the current state of food production across the globe, but their continued use is not sustainable and has an adverse effect on the environment. The search for greener and sustainable technologies has led to an increase in exploiting biological systems such as legumes and organic amendments for plant growth promotion in cropping systems. Although the benefits of legume rotation with cereal crops have been documented, the full benefits of soybean-sorghum rotation systems have not been properly evaluated in Africa. This study explored the benefits of soybean-sorghum rotation through assessing N₂ fixation and water-use efficiency of soybean in rotation with sorghum with and without organic and inorganic amendments. The field trials were conducted from 2017 to 2020. Sorghum was grown on plots previously cultivated to soybean and vice versa. The succeeding sorghum crop received fertilizer amendments [organic fertilizer (5 tons/ha as poultry litter, OF); inorganic fertilizer (80N-60P-60K) IF; organic + inorganic fertilizer (OF+IF); half organic + inorganic fertilizer (HIF+OF); organic + half inorganic fertilizer (OF+HIF); half organic + half inorganic (HOF+HIF) and control] and was arranged in a randomized complete block design. The soybean crop succeeding fertilized sorghum received a blanket application of triple superphosphate at 26 kg P ha⁻¹. Nitrogen fixation and water-use efficiency were respectively assessed at the flowering stage using the ¹⁵N and ¹³C natural abundance techniques. The results showed that the shoot dry matter of soybean plants supplied with HOF+HIF was much higher (43.20 g plant-1), followed by OF+HIF (36.45 g plant⁻¹), and HOF+IF (33.50 g plant⁻¹). Shoot N concentration ranged from 1.60 to 1.66%, and total N content from 339 to 691 mg N plant⁻¹. The δ¹⁵N values of soybean shoots ranged from -1.17‰ to -0.64‰, with plants growing on plots previously treated to HOF+HIF exhibiting much higher δ¹⁵N values, and hence lower percent N derived from N₂ fixation (%Ndfa). Shoot %Ndfa values varied from 70 to 82%. The high %Ndfa values obtained in this study suggest that the previous year’s organic and inorganic fertilizer amendments to sorghum did not inhibit N₂ fixation in the following soybean crop. The amount of N-fixed by soybean ranged from 106 to 197 kg N ha⁻¹. The treatments showed marked variations in carbon (C) content, with HOF+HIF treatment recording the highest C content. Although water-use efficiency varied from -29.32‰ to -27.85‰, shoot water-use efficiency, C concentration, and C:N ratio were not altered by previous fertilizer application to sorghum. This study provides strong evidence that previous HOF+HIF sorghum residues can enhance N nutrition and water-use efficiency in nodulated soybean.

Keywords: ¹³C and ¹⁵N natural abundance, N-fixed, organic and inorganic fertilizer amendments, shoot %Ndfa

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Authors: K. Y. Chen, H. Chua, C. W. Kan

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In this study, we will analyze Germany’s environmental situation such as water and air quality and review its environmental policy. In addition, we will collect the yearly environmental data as well as information concerning public environmental investment. Based on the data collect, we try to find out the relationship between public environmental investment and sustainable development in Germany. In addition, after comparing the trend of environmental quality and situation of environmental policy and investment, we may have some conclusions and learnable aspects to refer to. Based upon the data collected, it was revealed that Germany has established a well-developed institutionalization of environmental education. And the ecological culture at school is dynamic and continuous renewal. The booming of green markets in Germany is a very successful experience for learning. The green market not only creates a number of job opportunities, but also helps the government to improve and protect the environment. Acknowledgement: Authors would like to thank the financial support from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University for this work.

Keywords: Germany, public environmental investment, environment quality, sustainable development

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Authors: Daniel F. Sava, Anton Ficai, Bogdan S. Vasile, Georgeta Voicu, Ecaterina Andronescu

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The energy crisis and environmental contamination are very serious problems, therefore searching for better and sustainable renewable energy is a must. It is predicted that the global energy demand will double until 2050. Solar water splitting and photocatalysis are considered as one of the solutions to these issues. The use of oxide semiconductors for solar water splitting and photocatalysis started in 1972 with the experiments of Fujishima and Honda on TiO2 electrodes. Since then, the evolution of nanoscience and characterization methods leads to a better control of size, shape and properties of materials. Although the past decade advancements are astonishing, for these applications the properties have to be controlled at a much finer level, allowing the control of charge-carrier lives, energy level positions, charge trapping centers, etc. Graphene has attracted a lot of attention, since its discovery in 2004, due to the excellent electrical, optical, mechanical and thermal properties that it possesses. These properties make it an ideal support for photocatalysts, thus graphene composites with oxide semiconductors are of great interest. We present in this work the synthesis and characterization of graphene-related materials and oxide semiconductors and their different composites. These materials can be used in constructing devices for different applications (batteries, water splitting devices, solar cells, etc), thus showing their application flexibility. The synthesized materials are different morphologies and sizes of TiO2, ZnO and Fe2O3 that are obtained through hydrothermal, sol-gel methods and graphene oxide which is synthesized through a modified Hummer method and reduced with different agents. Graphene oxide and the reduced form could also be used as a single material for transparent conductive films. The obtained single materials and composites were characterized through several methods: XRD, SEM, TEM, IR spectroscopy, RAMAN, XPS and BET adsorption/desorption isotherms. From the results, we see the variation of the properties with the variation of synthesis parameters, size and morphology of the particles.

Keywords: composites, graphene, hydrothermal, renewable energy

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Authors: Hassan Baji, Chun-Qing Li, Wei Yang

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Water seepage is one of the most common causes of damage in tunnel structures, which can cause direct and indirect e.g. reinforcement corrosion and calcium leaching damages. Estimation of water seepage or inflow is one of the main challenges in probabilistic assessment of tunnels. The methodology proposed in this study is an attempt for mathematically modeling the water seepage in tunnel structures and further predicting its service life. Using the time-dependent reliability, water seepage is formulated as a failure mode, which can be used for prediction of service life. Application of the formulated seepage failure mode to a case study tunnel is presented.

Keywords: water seepage, tunnels, time-dependent reliability, service life

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Authors: Hussain Ali Bekhet, Nor Hamisham Harun

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The main objective of this paper is to give a comprehensive review of non-renewable energy and renewable energy utilization in Malaysia, including hydropower, solar photovoltaic, biomass and biogas technologies. Malaysia mainly depends on non-renewable energy (natural gas, coal and crude oil) for electricity generation. Therefore, this paper provides a comprehensive review of the energy sector and discusses diversification of electricity generation as a strategy for providing sustainable energy in Malaysia. Energy policies and strategies to protect the non-renewable energy utilization also are highlighted, focusing in the different sources of energy available for high and sustained economic growth. Emphasis is also placed on a discussion of the role of renewable energy as an alternative source for the increase of electricity supply security. It is now evident that to achieve sustainable development through renewable energy, energy policies and strategies have to be well designed and supported by the government, industries (firms), and individual or community participation. The hope is to create a positive impact on sustainable development through renewable sources for current and future generations.

Keywords: Malaysia, non-renewable energy, renewable energy, sustainable energy

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Authors: Emmanuel Sachikumba, Micheal Msoni, Westone Mafuleka

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Zambia has a good climate with favourable rainfall pattern; this provides sufficient recharge for the surface and groundwater resources. In spite of the sufficient surface and ground water resources, accessibility to water at household levels is problematic both in quality and quantity. The study examined water accessibility as well as water quality at the household level. The research looked at the sources of water for the households and considered the complications of accessibility to water and the available opportunities therein. The investigation involved fifty households and the data was collected by the use of questionnaires (to assess accessibility) and laboratory tests (for ascertaining water quality). In addition to this, government departments such as the health, agriculture, forestry and education as well as the municipal council were interviewed on the topic under study. The study was descriptive in nature where clustered sampling procedures using simple random methods were utilised to select the households which were to participate in the study. The key findings were that; accessibility to water household levels is still a challenge in the settlement as most of the point sources (shallow wells, the stream and the river) were found to be contaminated. In addition to this, it was found that there was no direct relationship between the economic performance of a household and the accessibility to water. The study also observed that there were opportunities for the people in the settlement as they were increasingly getting into the education system, and adult literacy was being encouraged in the settlement. Furthermore, the settlement has groundwater resources which indicate that there can be sufficient water provision for the settlers.

Keywords: accessibility, household, water, settlement

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Authors: Tuba Tekin, Nurcan Baglam, Emine Dincer

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This study aimed to examine the effects of nutrition education received by university students on sustainable healthy eating behaviors and adherence to the Mediterranean diet. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th-grade university students studying at the Faculty of Health Sciences, Nutrition and Dietetics, Midwifery, Nursing, Physical Therapy, and Rehabilitation departments of universities in Turkey were included in the study. Students' adherence to the Mediterranean diet was evaluated using the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Scale, and their sustainable and healthy eating behaviors were evaluated using the Sustainable and Healthy Eating Behaviors Scale. In addition, the body weight and height of the students were measured by the researchers, and the Body Mass Index (BMI) value was calculated. A total of 181 students, 85 of whom were studying in the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics and 96 of whom were educated in other departments, were included in the study. 75.7% of the students in the sample are female, while 24.3% are male. The average body weight of the students was 61.17±10.87 kg, and the average BMI was 22.04±3.40 kg/m2. While the mean score of the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Scale was 6.72±1.84, in the evaluation of adherence to the Mediterranean diet, it was determined that 25.4% of the students had poor adherence and 66.9% needed improvement. When the adherence scores of students who received and did not receive nutrition education were compared, it was discovered that the students who received nutrition education had a higher score (p<0.05). Students who received nutrition education had a higher total score on the Sustainable and Healthy Eating Behaviors scale (p<0.05). A moderately positive correlation was found between the Sustainable and Healthy Eating Behaviors scale total score and the Mediterranean Diet Adherence scores (p<0.05). As a result of the linear regression analysis, it was revealed that a 1-unit increase in the Mediterranean diet adherence score would result in a 1.3-point increase in the total score of the Sustainable and Healthy Eating Behaviors scale. Sustainable and healthy diets are important for improving and developing health and the prevention of diseases. The Mediterranean diet is defined as a sustainable diet model. The findings revealed the relationship between the Mediterranean diet and sustainable nutrition and showed that nutrition education increased knowledge and awareness about sustainable nutrition and increased adherence to the Mediterranean diet. For this reason, courses or seminars on sustainable nutrition can be organized during educational periods.

Keywords: healthy eating, Mediterranean diet, nutrition education, sustainable nutrition

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Authors: Peter G. Youssef, Saad M. Mahmoud, Raya K. AL-Dadah

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Many water desalination technologies have been developed but in general they are energy intensive and have high cost and adverse environmental impact. Recently, adsorption technology for water desalination has been investigated showing the potential of using low temperature waste heat (50-85oC) thus reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions. This work mathematically compares the performance of an adsorption cycle that produces two useful effects namely, fresh water and cooling using two different adsorbents, silica-gel and an advanced zeolite material AQSOA-ZO2, produced by Mitsubishi plastics. It was found that at low chilled water temperatures, typically below 20oC, the AQSOA-Z02 is more efficient than silica-gel as the cycle can produce 5.8 m3 of fresh water per day and 50.1 Rton of cooling per tonne of AQSOA-ZO2. Above 20oC silica-gel is still better as the cycle production reaches 8.4 m3 per day and 62.4 Rton per tonne of silica-gel. These results show the potential of using the AQSOA-Z02 at low chilled water temperature for water desalination and cooling applications.

Keywords: adsorption, desalination, refrigeration, seawater

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Authors: Dnyandip K. Bhamare, Manish K Rathod, Jyotirmay Banerjee

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This paper aims to study performance of a thermosiphon solar water heating system with the help of the proposed analytical model. This proposed model predicts the temperature and mass flow rate in a thermosiphon solar water heating system depending on radiation intensity and ambient temperature. The performance of the thermosiphon solar water heating system is evaluated in the Indian context. For this, eight cities in India are selected considering radiation intensity and geographical positions. Predicted performance at various cities reveals the potential for thermosiphon solar water in India.

Keywords: solar water heater, collector outlet temperature, thermosyphon, India

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Authors: Ji-Yuan Lin, Yu-Ming Liou, Yi-Ting Chen, Chen-Syuan Lin

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Soil water index obtained by tank model is now commonly used in soil and sand disaster alarm system in Japan. Comparing with the rainfall trigging index in Taiwan, the tank model is easy to predict the slope water content on large-scale landslide. Therefore, this study aims to estimate the threshold value of large-scale landslide using the soil water index Sixteen typhoons and heavy rainfall events, were selected to establish the, to relationship between landslide event and soil water index. Finally, the proposed threshold values for landslides on country road No.89 are suggested in this study. The study results show that 95% landslide cases occurred in soil water index more than 125mm, and 30% of the more serious slope failure occurred in the soil water index is greater than 250mm. Beside, this study speculates when soil water index more than 250mm and the difference value between second tank and third tank less than -25mm, it leads to large-scale landslide more probably.

Keywords: soil water index, tank model, landslide, threshold values

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Authors: Abdulfatah Faraj Aboufayed

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Water erosion is the most important problems of the soil in the Jebel Nefusa area located in north west of Libya, therefore erosion station had been established in the Faculty of Veterinary and rainfed agriculture research Station, University of the Jepel Algherbee in Zentan. The length of the station is 72.6 feet, 6 feet width, and the percentage of it's slope is 3%. The station was established to measure the mount of soil eroded and amount of surface water produced during the seasons 95/96 and 96/97 from each rain storms. The Monitoring shows that there was a difference between the two seasons in the number of rainstorms which made differences in the amount of surface runoff water and the amount of soil eroded between the two seasons. Although the slope is low (3%), the soil texture is sandy and the land ploughed twice during each season surface runoff and soil eroded occurred. The average amount of eroded soil was 3792 grams (gr) per season and the average amount of surface runoff water was 410 litter (L) per season. The amount of surface runoff water would be much greater from Jebel Nefusa upland with steep slopes and collecting of them will save a valuable amount of water which lost as a runoff while this area is in desperate of this water. The regression analysis of variance show strong correlation between rainfall depth and the other two depended variable (the amount of surface runoff water and the amount of eroded soil). It shows also strong correlation between amount of surface runoff water and amount of eroded soil.

Keywords: rain, surface runoff water, soil, water erosion, soil erosion

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Authors: Kun-Ping Cheng, Dong-Shang Chang, Rou-Wen Wang

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Pre-treatment of automobile paint-shop procedures are the preparation of warm water rinsing tank, hot water rinsing tank, degreasing tank, phosphate tank. The conventional boiler steam fuel is natural gas, producing steam to supply the heat exchange of each tank sink. In this study, the high-frequency soldering economizer is developed for recovering waste heat in the automotive paint-shop (RTO, Regenerative Thermal Oxidation). The heat recovery rate of the new economizer is 20% to 30% higher than the conventional embedded heat pipe. The adaptive control system responded to both RTO furnace exhaust gas and heat demands. In order to maintain the temperature range of the tanks, pre-treatment tanks are directly heated by waste heat recovery device (gas-to-water heat exchanger) through the hot water cycle of heat transfer. The performance of developed waste heat recovery system shows the annual recovery achieved to 1,226,411,483 Kcal of heat (137.8 thousand cubic meters of natural gas). Boiler can reduce fuel consumption by 20 to 30 percent compared to without waste heat recovery. In order to alleviate environmental impacts, the temperature at the end of the flue is further reduced from 160 to 110°C. The innovative waste heat recovery is helpful to energy savings and sustainable environment.

Keywords: waste heat recovery system, sustainability, RTO (Regenerative Thermal Oxidation), economizer, automotive industry

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Authors: Hassan Masoumi, Rashed Alavi, Mahmoud Reza Khorshidian

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In order to measure the water deficit stress effects on seed yield and water productivity of soybean cultivars, a two field experiments wad conducted out via split plot in a randomized complete block design with four replications in 2011 and 2012. Irrigation treatments were three levels (S1; 50, S2; 62.5 and S3; 150 mm) that applied based on evaporation from the ‘class A’ pan. Cultivars were L17, Clean, T.M.S, Williams×Chippewa and M9, too. The results showed that, only extreme water deficit stresses (S3) was reduced number of pods per plants, dry weight, seed yield and also water productivity and water economic productivity, significantly. Among cultivars and at the first and second levels of irrigation (S1, S2) cultivar of L17 and at the third level (S3) cultivar of Wiiliams*Chippwea had the highest seed yield, water productivity and water economic productivity. There were observed a positive and significant correlation between seed yield with number of pods per plants and plants dry weight, too. Also, despite the reduction in water consumption at level of S2 than S1 and due to the lack of a significant reduction in seed yield, water productivity and water economic productivity was also increased, significantly (P < 0.01). All indices of sensitivity and tolerance (SSI, STI and GMP) investigated in this study showed that at the moderate and extreme water deficit stresses (S2, S3), the cultivars of L17 and Wiiliams * Chippwea had the highest tolerance and lowest sensitivity among the cultivars.

Keywords: drought, sensitivity indices, yield components, seed

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Authors: Sikander Ali Abbassi, Wazir Muhmmad Laghari, Bashir Ahmed Laghari

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Attaining sustainable development is one of the greatest challenges facing Pakistan today. A challenge that can only be met by developing and deploying confidence among the people. Transparency in project activities at all stages and other measures will also enhance its social and economic growth. Adopting sustainable practices and sensible policies, we mean that project activity should be economically viable, socially acceptable and environment friendly. In order to achieve this objective, there must be a continued commitment to encourage and ensure the public participation in development of power projects. Since Pakistan is an energy deficient country, it has to initiate power projects on a large scale in the near future. Therefore, it is the need of the hour to tackle these projects in a sustainable way, so that it can be benefited to the maximum possible level and have the least adverse effects on people and the environment. In order to get desirable results, careful planning, efficient implementation, standardized operational practices and community participation are the key parameters which ensure the positive impacts on economy, prosperity and the well being of our people. This paper pinpoints the potential environmental hazards due to project activity and emphasizes to adopt sustainable approaches in power projects.

Keywords: environmental hazards, sustainable practices, environment friendly, power projects

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Authors: A. Altomi, A. Alhebshi, M. Rasm, B. Osman

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This study explored the application of chitin nanocrystals (ChiNCs), derived from a renewable and environmentally friendly material, as stabilizers for oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions. O/W emulsions are commonly used in various applications but are prone to instability and degradation over time. Instability can occur due to factors such as flocculation, coalescence, and gravitational separation, including creaming and sedimentation, either independently or simultaneously. To produce ChiNCs, chitin powder underwent acid hydrolysis. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis revealed that ChiNCs exhibited a needle-like morphology, with lengths ranging from 200 to 800 nm and widths ranging from 20 to 80 nm. The surface charge of ChiNCs was negative at pH values above 7 and positive at pH values below 7. The rheological properties of O/W emulsions stabilized by ChiNCs were compared to those stabilized by synthetic surfactants, namely Tween 80 and CTAB. The emulsions stabilized by ChiNCs demonstrated higher yield stress and lower shear viscosity compared to those stabilized by synthetic surfactants. This indicates that ChiNC-stabilized emulsions are more stable and less prone to breakdown. Based on these findings, ChiNCs show promise as an alternative to synthetic surfactants for stabilizing O/W emulsions.

Keywords: chitin nanocrystals, colloidal pickering, emulsion rheology, oil-in-water, synthetic surfactant

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Authors: Azim Hilmy Mohamad Yusof, Muhamad Iqbal Mubarak Faharul Azman, Nur Azwin Ismail, Noer El Hidayah Ismail

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Infiltration is the process by which precipitation or water soaks into subsurface soils and moves into rocks through cracks and pore spaces. This paper explains how the water infiltration will be identified using 2-D resistivity imaging. Padang Minden, in Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang has been chosen as the survey area during this study. The study area consists of microcline granite with grain size of medium to coarse. 2-D Resistivity Imaging survey is used to detect subsurface layer for many years by making measurements on the ground surface. The result shows that resistivity value of 0.015 Ωm - 10 Ωm represent the salt water intrusion zone while the resistivity value of 11 Ωm - 100 Ωm is suggested as the boundary zone between the salt water intrusion zone and low saturated zone.

Keywords: 2-D resistivity imaging, microcline granite, salt water intrusion, water infiltration

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Authors: Ulemu Maseko

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In Malawi, empowering youth-led cooperatives is a pivotal strategy for fostering sustainable development and nurturing inclusive growth. The study delves into the pressing need to understand the impact and potential of youth-led cooperatives in driving socio-economic progress within the country. Through a mixed-methods approach encompassing qualitative interviews, surveys, and case studies, this research investigates the role of these cooperatives in promoting entrepreneurship, community engagement, and sustainable practices among young individuals. The results underscore the significant contribution of youth-led cooperatives towards economic empowerment and social inclusion in Malawi, highlighting their capacity to address local challenges effectively. The study concludes that supporting and investing in youth-led cooperatives is imperative for advancing sustainable development goals and achieving inclusive growth. Recommendations include tailored support mechanisms, capacity-building programs, and strategic partnerships to enhance the resilience and scalability of youth-led cooperative initiatives in Malawi.

Keywords: youth-led cooperatives, sustainable development, Malawi, empowerment

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Authors: Tesfaye Sisay Dessalegn

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The long-term performance of concrete structures is affected by the properties and behavior of concrete at an early age. However, the fundamental mechanisms affecting the early-age behavior of concrete have not yet been fully studied. The effect of water temperature on concrete is not sufficiently studied, and at the same time, the majority of studies focused on the effect of mixing water temperature on the workability and mechanical properties of concrete. However, to the best of the authors' knowledge, the effect of mixing water temperatures on plastic shrinkage cracking of concrete has not been studied yet.

Keywords: water temperature, early age concrete strength, mechanical properties of concrete, strength

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Authors: K. Ilicic, D. Smoljan

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The purpose of the paper is to present and verify a methodology of decreasing water losses by introducing and managing District Metered Areas (DMA) and Pressure Management Areas (PMA) by analyzing the results of the application of the methodology to the water supply system of the city of Zagreb. Since it is a relatively large system that has been expanding rapidly, approach to addressing water losses was possible only by splitting the system to smaller flow and pressure zones. Besides, the geographical and technical limitations had imposed the necessity of high pressure in the system that needed to be reduced to the technically optimal level. Results of activities were monitored on a general and local level by establishing, monitoring, and controlling indicators that had been established by the International Water Association (IWA), among which the most recognizable were non-revenue water, water losses and real losses as presented in the paper.

Keywords: district metered area, pressure metered area, active leakage control, water losses

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Authors: Eman Hegazy, Stefan Anderberg, Joakim Krook

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Urban water infrastructure is crucial for efficient and reliable water supply in growing cities. With the growth of cities, the need for maintenance and renewal of these systems increases but often goes unfulfilled due to a variety of reasons, such as limited funding, political priorities, or lack of public awareness. Neglecting the renewal needs of these systems can lead to frequent malfunctions and reduced quality and reliability of water supply, as well as increased costs and health and environmental hazards. It is important for cities to prioritize investment in water infrastructure and develop long-term plans to address renewal needs. Drawing general conclusions about the rate of renewal of urban water infrastructure systems at an international or national level can be challenging due to the influence of local management decisions. In many countries, the responsibility for water infrastructure management lies with the municipal authorities, who are responsible for making decisions about the allocation of resources for repair, maintenance, and renewal. These decisions can vary widely based on factors such as local finances, political priorities, and public perception of the importance of water infrastructure. As a result, it is difficult to make generalizations about the rate of renewal across different countries or regions. In Sweden, the situation is not different, and the information from Svenskt Vatten indicates that the rate of renewal varies across municipalities and can be insufficient, leading to a buildup of maintenance and renewal needs. This study aims to examine the adequacy of the rate of renewal of urban water infrastructure in Linköping case city in Sweden. Using a case study framework, the study will assess the current status of the urban water system and the need for renewal. The study will also consider the role of factors such as proper identification processes, limited funding, competing for political priorities, and local management decisions in contributing to insufficient renewal. The study investigates the following questions: (1) What is the current status of water and sewerage networks in terms of length, age distribution, and material composition, estimated total water leakage in the network per year, damages, leaks, and outages occur per year, both overall and by district? (2) What are the main causes of these damages, leaks, and interruptions, and how are they related to lack of maintenance and renewal? (3) What is the current status of renewal work for the water and sewerage networks, including the renewal rate and changes over time, recent renewal material composition, and the budget allocation for renewal and emergency repairs? (4) What factors influence the need for renewal and what conditions should be considered in the assessment? The findings of the study provide insights into the challenges facing urban water infrastructure and identify strategies for improving the rate of renewal to ensure a reliable and sustainable water supply.

Keywords: case study, infrastructure, management, renewal need, Sweden

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Authors: Maria Inês Faria, João Miguel Simão

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Frequently, the Sustainable Development paradigm is considered the contemporary societies flag and is has been assuming different nuances on local and global dialogues. This reveals the ambivalent character associated to its implementation due, namely, to the kind of synergies that political institutions, social organizations and citizenry can actually create. The Sustainable Development concept needs further discussion so that it can be useful in decision-making processes. In fact, the polysemic nature of this concept has consistently undermined its credibility leading, among other factors, to the talk and action gap, as well as to misappropriations of this notion. The present study focuses on the importance in questioning the sustainable development operationalization, "To walk the talk", and intends, in a broad sense, identify prospects and the elements of sustainability that are included in strategic plans (global, national and local) and, in the strict sense, confront discourse and practice in the context of local public policies for sustainable development, in particular with regard to the implementation of Local Agenda 21 in the municipality of Beja (Portugal) in order to analyze at what extent the strategies adopted and implemented are aligned with the paradigm of sustainable development. The method is based on critical analysis of literature and official documentation, using three complementary approaches: a) exploratory review of literature in order to identify publications on sustainability and sustainable development; b) this second approach complements the first, focused on the official documentation for the adoption and implementation of sustainable development, which is produced in the global plan, regional, national and local levels; c) and the approach which is focused on official documentation that expresses the policy options, the strategic lines and actions for sustainable development implementation Beja´s Municipality. The main results of this study highlight the type of alignment of the Beja´s Municipality sustainable policies, concerning the officially stipulated for the promotion of sustainable development on the international agenda, stressing the potentialities, constraints and challenges of Agenda 21 Local implementation.

Keywords: sustainable development, Local Agenda 21, sustainable local public policies, Beja

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Authors: Raghad Alhusari, Farag Omar, Moustafa Fadel

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A traditional greenhouse is a metal frame agricultural building used for cultivation plants in a controlled environment isolated from external climatic changes. Using greenhouses in agriculture is an efficient way to reduce the water consumption, where agriculture field is considered the biggest water consumer world widely. Controlling greenhouse environment yields better productivity of plants but demands an increase of electric power. Although various control approaches have been used towards greenhouse automation, most of them are applied to traditional greenhouses with ventilation fans and/or evaporation cooling system. Such approaches are still demanding high energy and water consumption. The aim of this research is to develop a fuzzy control system that minimizes water and energy consumption by utilizing outside weather conditions and underground heat exchanger to maintain the optimum climate of the greenhouse. The proposed control system is implemented on an experimental model of thermally isolated greenhouse structure with dimensions of 6x5x2.8 meters. It uses fans for extracting heat from the ground heat exchanger system, motors for automatic open/close of the greenhouse windows and LED as lighting system. The controller is integrated also with environmental condition sensors. It was found that using the air-to-air horizontal ground heat exchanger with 90 mm diameter and 2 mm thickness placed 2.5 m below the ground surface results in decreasing the greenhouse temperature of 3.28 ˚C which saves around 3 kW of consumed energy. It also eliminated the water consumption needed in evaporation cooling systems which are traditionally used for cooling the greenhouse environment.

Keywords: automation, earth-to-air heat exchangers, fuzzy control, greenhouse, sustainable buildings

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Authors: Feny Acelia Silaban

Abstract:

The development of Indonesia’s infrastructure in many islands is significantly increased through the years. Based on this condition, concrete materials which are extracted from natural resources are over exploited and slowly becoming rare, thus the demand for alternative materials becomes so urgently crucial. Oil Palm is one of the biggest commodities in Indonesia with the total amount of 31 million tons in the last 2014. The production of palm oil also generates lots of solid wastes in the form of Oil Palm Shell (OPS). Constructing more environmentally sustainable structures can be achieved by producing lightweight concrete using the Oil Palm Shell (OPS). This paper investigated the effects of OPS and combination of Superplasticizer and fly ash proportion of lightweight concrete mix design to the compressive strength, flexure strength, modulus of elasticity, shrinkage behavior, and water absorption. The Oil Palm Shell had undergone special treatment by washing it with hot water and soap to reduce the oil content. This experiment used four different proportions of Superplasticizer with fly ash and 30 % OPS proportion from the weight of total compositions mixture by the result of trial mix. The experiment result showed that using OPS coarse aggregates and Superplasticizer with fly ash, the average of 28-day compressive strength reached 30-35 MPa. The highest 28-day compressive strength comes from 1.2 % Superplasticizer with 5 % fly ash proportion samples with the strength by 33 MPa. The sample with proportion of 1 % Superplasticizer and 7.5 % fly ash has the highest shrinkage value compared to other proportions. The characteristic of OPS as coarse aggregates is in a standard range of natural coarse aggregates. In general, this lightweight concrete using OPS coarse aggregate and Superplasticizer has high potential to be green-structural lightweight concrete alternative in Indonesia.

Keywords: lightweight concrete, oil palm shell, waste materials, superplasticizer

Procedia PDF Downloads 259