Search results for: biomass bottom ash

Authors: Kausar Alam, Mohammad Yazdi, Peiman Zogh, Ramin Motamed

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An earthquake is an unpredictable natural disaster. It induces liquefaction, which causes considerable damage to the structure, life support, and piping systems because of ground settlement. As a result, people are incredibly concerned about how to resolve the situation. Previous researchers adopted different ground improvement techniques to reduce the settlement of the structure during earthquakes. This study evaluates the effectiveness of lowering the water table as a technique to mitigate foundation settlement in liquefiable soil. The performance will be evaluated based on foundation settlement and the reduction of excessive pore water pressure. In this study, a scaled model was prepared based on a full-scale shale table experiment conducted at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). The model ground consists of three soil layers having a relative density of 55%, 45%, and 90%, respectively. A shallow foundation is seated over an unsaturated crust layer. After preparation of the model ground, the water table was measured to be at 45, 40, and 35 cm (from the bottom). Then, the input motions were applied for 10 seconds, with a peak acceleration of 0.25g and a constant frequency of 2.73 Hz. Based on the experimental results, the effectiveness of the lowering water table in reducing the foundation settlement and excess pore water pressure was evident. The foundation settlement was reduced from 50 mm to 5 mm. In addition, lowering the water table as a mitigation measure is a cost-effective way to decrease liquefaction-induced building settlement.

Keywords: foundation settlement, ground water table, liquefaction, hake table test

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Authors: Girts Zageris, Vadims Geza, Andris Jakovics

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Gasification processes are of great interest due to their generation of renewable energy in the form of syngas from biodegradable waste. It is, therefore, important to study the factors that play a role in the efficiency of gasification and the longevity of the machines in which gasification takes place. This study focuses on the latter, aiming to optimize an entrained-flow gasifier by reducing slag formation on its walls to reduce maintenance costs. A CFD mathematical model for an entrained-flow gasifier is constructed – the model of an actual gasifier is rendered in 3D and appropriately meshed. Then, the turbulent gas flow in the gasifier is modeled with the realizable k-ε approach, taking devolatilization, combustion and coal gasification into account. Various such simulations are conducted, obtaining results for different air inlet positions and by tracking particles of varying sizes undergoing devolatilization and gasification. The model identifies potential problematic zones where most particles collide with the gasifier walls, indicating risk regions where ash deposits could most likely form. In conclusion, the effects on the formation of an ash layer of air inlet positioning and particle size allowed in the main gasifier tank are discussed, and possible solutions for decreasing a number of undesirable deposits are proposed. Additionally, an estimate of the impact of different factors such as temperature, gas properties and gas content, and different forces acting on the particles undergoing gasification is given.

Keywords: biomass particles, gasification, slag formation, turbulence k-ε modelling

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Authors: Hammad Khan, Wookeun Bae

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Major concerns regarding nitritation of low-strength ammonium wastewaters include low ammonium loading rates (usually below 0.2 kg/m3-d) and uncertainty about long-term stability of the process. The purpose of this study was to test a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) filled with cell-immobilized polyethylene glycol (PEG) pellets to see if it could achieve efficient and stable nitritation under various environmental conditions. SBR was fed with synthetic ammonium wastewater of 30±2 mg-N/L and pH: 8±0.05, maintaining the dissolved oxygen concentration of 1.7±0.2 mg/L and the temperature at 30±1oC. The reaction was easily converted to partial nitrification mode within a month by feeding relatively high ammonium substrate (~100 mg-N/L) in the beginning. We observed stable nitritation over 300 days with high ammonium loading rates (as high as ~1.1 kg-N/m3-d), nitrite accumulation rates (mostly over 97%) and ammonium removal rate (mostly over 95%). DO was a major limiting substrate when the DO concentration was below ~4 mg/L and the NH4+-N concentration was above 5 mg/L, giving almost linear increase in the ammonium oxidation rate with the bulk DO increase. Low temperatures mainly affected the reaction rate, which could be compensated for by increasing the pellet volume (i.e. biomass). Our results demonstrated that an SBR filled with small cell-immobilized PEG pellets could achieve very efficient and stable nitritation of a low-strength ammonium wastewater.

Keywords: ammonium loading rate (ALR), cell-immobilization, long-term nitritation, sequencing batch reactor (SBR), sewage treatment

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Authors: Odi Fawwaz Alrebei, Rim Ismail

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Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) has emerged as a critical solution for reducing the aviation sector's carbon footprint. Biological feedstocks, such as lignocellulosic biomass, microalgae, used cooking oil, and municipal solid waste, offer significant potential to replace fossil-based jet fuels with renewable alternatives. This review paper aims to critically examine the current landscape of biological feedstocks for SAF production, focusing on feedstock availability, conversion technologies, and environmental impacts. The paper evaluates the biochemical pathways employed in transforming these feedstocks into SAF, such as hydrothermal liquefaction, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, and microbial fermentation, highlighting the advancements and challenges in each method. Additionally, the sustainability of biological feedstocks is analyzed with respect to lifecycle emissions, land use, and water consumption, emphasizing the need for region-specific strategies to maximize benefits. Special attention is given to the role of microbial consortia in optimizing feedstock degradation and conversion processes. The review concludes by discussing the scalability and economic viability of biological feedstock-based SAF, with a focus on policy frameworks and technological innovations that can facilitate widespread adoption. This comprehensive review underscores the pivotal role of biological feedstocks in achieving a decarbonized aviation sector and identifies future research directions for improving SAF production efficiency and sustainability.

Keywords: fuel diversity, biological feedstocks, SAF, aviation

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Authors: Mohamed Amine Ben Henni, Taher Hassaine Daouadji, Boussad Abbes, Yu Ming Li, Fazilay Abbes

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The reinforcement and repair of concrete structures by bonding composite materials have become relatively common operations. Different types of composite materials can be used: carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP), glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) as well as functionally graded material (FGM). The development of analytical and numerical models describing the mechanical behavior of structures in civil engineering reinforced by composite materials is necessary. These models will enable engineers to select, design, and size adequate reinforcements for the various types of damaged structures. This study focuses on the free vibration behavior of orthotropic laminated composite plates using a refined shear deformation theory. In these models, the distribution of transverse shear stresses is considered as parabolic satisfying the zero-shear stress condition on the top and bottom surfaces of the plates without using shear correction factors. In this analysis, the equation of motion for simply supported thick laminated rectangular plates is obtained by using the Hamilton’s principle. The accuracy of the developed model is demonstrated by comparing our results with solutions derived from other higher order models and with data found in the literature. Besides, a finite-element analysis is used to calculate the natural frequencies of laminated composite plates and is compared with those obtained by the analytical approach.

Keywords: composites materials, laminated composite plate, finite-element analysis, free vibration

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Authors: Mingxi Zhou, Jiří Kubásek, Iva Mozgová

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In Arabidopsis thaliana, histone 3 lysine 27 tri-methylation catalysed byPRC2 is playing essential functions in the regulation of plant development, growth, and reproduction[1-2]. Despite numerous studies related to the role of PRC2 in developmental control, how PRC2 works in the operational control in plants is unknown. In the present, the evidence that PRC2 probably participates in the regulation of retrograde singalling pathway in Arabidopsisis found. Firstly, we observed that the rosette size and biomass in PRC2-depletion mutants (clf-29 and swn-3) is significantly higher than WTunder medium light condition (ML: 125 µmol m⁻² s⁻²), while under medium high light condition (MHL: 300 µmol m⁻² s-2), the increase was reverse. Under ML condition, the photosynthesis related parameters determined by fluorCam did not show significant differences between WT and mutants, while the pigments concentration increased in the leaf of PRC2-depletion mutants, especially in swn. The dynamic of light-responsive genes and circadian clock genes expression by RT-qPCRwithin 24 hours in the mutants were comparable to WT. However, we observed upregulation of photosynthesis-associated nuclear genes in the PRC2-depletion mutants under chloroplast damaging condition (treated by lincomycin), corresponding to the so-called genome uncoupled (gun) phenotype. Here, we will present our results describing these phenotypes and our suggestion and outlook for studying the involvement of PRC2 in chloroplast-to-nucleus retrograde signalling.

Keywords: PRC2, retrograde signalling, light acclimation, photosyntheis

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Authors: Nour Wehbe

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The Lebanese electricity sector is at the heart of a deep crisis. Electricity in Lebanon is supplied by Électricité du Liban (EdL) which has to suffer from technical and financial deficiencies for decades and proved to be insufficient and deficient as the demand still exceeds the supply. As a result, backup generation is widespread throughout Lebanon. The sector costs massive government resources and, on top of it, consumers pay massive additional amounts for satisfying their electrical needs. While the developed countries have been investing in renewable energy for the past two decades, the Lebanese government realizes the importance of adopting such energy sourcing strategies for the upgrade of the electricity sector in the country. The diversification of the national electricity generation mix has increased considerably in Lebanon's energy planning agenda, especially that a detailed review of the energy potential in Lebanon has revealed a great potential of solar and wind energy resources, a considerable potential of biomass resource, and an important hydraulic potential in Lebanon. This paper presents a review of the energy status of Lebanon, and illustrates a detailed review of the EDL structure with the existing problems and recommended solutions. In addition, scenarios reflecting implementation of policy projects are presented, and conclusions are drawn on the usefulness of a proposed evaluation methodology and the effectiveness of the adopted new energy policy for the electrical sector in Lebanon.

Keywords: EdL Electricite du Liban, portfolio optimization, electricity generation mix, mean-variance approach

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Authors: B. Sudhakara Reddy

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The transition to a clean and green energy system is an economic and social transformation that is exciting as well as challenging. The world today faces a formidable challenge in transforming its economy from being driven primarily by fossil fuels, which are non-renewable and a major source of global pollution, to becoming an economy that can function effectively using renewable energy sources and by achieving high energy efficiency levels. In the present study, a green economy scenario is developed for India using a bottom-up approach. The results show that the penetration rate of renewable energy resources will reduce the total primary energy demand by 23% under GE. Improvements in energy efficiency (e.g. households, industrial and commercial sectors) will result in reduced demand to the tune of 318 MTOE. The volume of energy-related CO2 emissions decline to 2,218 Mt in 2030 from 3,440 under the BAU scenario and the per capita emissions will reduce by about 35% (from 2.22 to 1.45) under the GE scenario. The reduction in fossil fuel demand and focus on clean energy will reduce the energy intensity to 0.21 (TOE/US$ of GDP) and carbon intensity to 0.42 (ton/US$ of GDP) under the GE scenario. total import bill (coal and oil) will amount to US$ 334 billion by 2030 (at 2010/11 prices), but as per the GE scenario, it would be US$ 194.2 billion, a saving of about US$ 140 billion. The building of a green energy economy can also serve another purpose: to develop new ‘pathways out of poverty’ by creating more than 10 million jobs and thus raise the standard of living of low-income people. The differences between the baseline and green energy scenarios are not so much the consequence of the diffusion of various technologies. It is the result of the active roles of different actors and the drivers that become dominant.

Keywords: emissions, green energy, fossil fuels, green jobs, renewables, scenario

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Authors: Ayuko Itsuki, Sachiyo Aburatani

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The seasonal (January, April, July and October) and monthly soil respiration rate and the monthly litter fall amounts were examined in the laurel-leaved (B_B-1) and Cryptomeria japonica (B_B-2 and PW) forests in the Kasugayama Hill Primeval Forest (Nara, Japan). The change of the seasonal soil respiration rate corresponded to that of the soil temperature. The soil respiration rate was higher in October when fresh organic matter was supplied in the forest floor than in April in spite of the same temperature. The seasonal soil respiration rate of B_B-1 was higher than that of B_B-2, which corresponded to more numbers of bacteria and fungi counted by the dilution plate method and by the direct count method by microscopy in B_B-1 than that of B_B-2. The seasonal soil respiration rate of B_B-2 was higher than that of PW, which corresponded to more microbial biomass by the direct count method by microscopy in B_B-2 than that of PW. The correlation coefficient with the seasonal soil respiration and the soil temperature was higher than that of the monthly soil respiration. The soil respiration carbon was more than the litter fall carbon. It was suggested that the soil respiration included in the carbon dioxide which was emitted by the plant root and soil animal, or that the litter fall supplied to the forest floor included in animal and plant litter.

Keywords: field soil respiration rate, forest soil, litter fall, mineralization rate

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Authors: Fouzieh Rouzmehr, Mehdi Mousavi

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Hot mix asphalt concrete (HMAC) is a mixture of aggregates and bitumen. The primary ingredient that determines the mechanical properties of HMAC is the bitumen in it, which displays viscoelastic behavior under normal service conditions. For simplicity, asphalt concrete is considered an elastic material, but this is far from reality at high service temperatures and longer loading times. Viscoelasticity means that the material's stress-strain relationship depends on the strain rate and loading duration. The goal of this paper is to simulate the mechanical response of flexible pavements using linear elastic and viscoelastic modeling of asphalt concrete and predict pavement performance. Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) load will be simulated and the results for elastic and viscoelastic modeling will be evaluated. The viscoelastic simulation is performed by the Prony series, which will be modeled by using ANSYS software. Inflexible pavement design, tensile strain at the bottom of the surface layer and compressive strain at the top of the last layer plays an important role in the structural response of the pavement and they will imply the number of loads for fatigue (Nf) and rutting (Nd) respectively. The differences of these two modelings are investigated on fatigue cracking and rutting problem, which are the two main design parameters in flexible pavement design. Although the differences in rutting problem between the two models were negligible, in fatigue cracking, the viscoelastic model results were more accurate. Results indicate that modeling the flexible pavement with elastic material is efficient enough and gives acceptable results.

Keywords: flexible pavement, asphalt, FEM, viscoelastic, elastic, ANSYS, modeling

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Authors: K. Saravanan, K. A.Rameshkumar, P. Maadeswaran

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The depletion of fossil resources and the rise in global temperatures are two of the most important concerns we confront today. There are numerous renewable energy sources like solar power, tidal power, wind energy, radiant energy, hydroelectricity, geothermal energy, and biomass available to generate the needed energy demand. Engineers and scientists around the world are facing a massive barrier in the development of storage technologies for the energy developed from renewable energy sources. The development of electrochemical capacitors as a future energy storage technology is at the forefront of current research and development. This is due to the fact that the electrochemical capacitors have a significantly higher energy density, a faster charging-discharging rate, and a longer life span than capacitors, and they also have a higher power density than batteries, making them superior to both. In this research, electrochemical capacitors using the Nd2O3/Mn3O4/ N-rGO electrode material is chosen since the of hexagonal and tetragonal crystal structures of Nd2O3 and Mn3O4 and also has cycling stability of 68% over a long time at 50mVs-1 and a high coulombic efficiency of 99.64% at 5 Ag-1. This approach may also be used to create novel electrode materials with improved electrochemical and cyclic stability for high-performance supercapacitors.

Keywords: Nd2O3/Mn3O4/N-rGO, nanocomposites, hydrothermal method, electrode material, specific capacitance, use of supercapacitors

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Authors: Ethan Nikookar, Yalda Boroushaki, Larissa Statsenko, Jorge Ochoa Paniagua

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Given the serious impact that supply chain disruptions can have on a firm's bottom-line performance, both industry and academia are interested in supply chain resilience, a capability of the supply chain that enables it to cope with disruptions. To date, much of the research has focused on the antecedents of supply chain resilience. This line of research has suggested various firm-level capabilities that are associated with greater supply chain resilience. A consensus has emerged among researchers that supply chain flexibility holds the greatest potential to create resilience. Supply chain flexibility achieves resilience by creating readiness to respond to disruptions with little cost and time by means of reconfiguring supply chain resources to mitigate the impacts of the disruption. Decisions related to supply chain disruptions are made by supply chain managers; however, the role played by supply chain managers' reference networks has been overlooked in the supply chain resilience literature. This study aims to understand the impact of supply chain managers on their firms' supply chain resilience. Drawing on social capital theory and social network theory, this paper proposes a conceptual model to explore the role of supply chain managers in developing the resilience of supply chains. Our model posits that higher level of supply chain managers' embeddedness in their reference network is associated with increased resilience of their firms' supply chain. A reference network includes individuals from whom supply chain managers seek advice on supply chain related matters. The relationships between supply chain managers' embeddedness in reference network and supply chain resilience are mediated by supply chain flexibility.

Keywords: supply chain resilience, embeddedness, reference networks, social capitals

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Authors: Yi Xiong, Tao Kong

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Traditional safety, risk and reliability analysis approaches are problem-oriented, which make it great workload when analyzing complicated and huge system, besides, too much repetitive work would to do if the analyzed system composed by many similar components. It is pressing need an object and function oriented approach to maintain high consistency with problem domain. A new approach is proposed to overcome these shortcomings of traditional approaches, the concepts: class, abstract, inheritance, polymorphism and encapsulation are introduced into FTA and establish the professional class library that the abstractions of physical objects in real word, four areas relevant information also be proposed as the establish help guide. The interaction between classes is completed by the inside or external methods that mapping the attributes to base events through fully search the knowledge base, which forms good encapsulation. The object oriented fault tree analysis system that analyze and evaluate the system safety and reliability according to the original appearance of the problem is set up, where could mapped directly from the class and object to the problem domain of the fault tree analysis. All the system failure situations can be analyzed through this bottom-up fault tree construction approach. Under this approach architecture, FTA approach is developed, which avoids the human influence of the analyst on analysis results. It reveals the inherent safety problems of analyzed system itself and provides a new way of thinking and development for safety analysis. So that object oriented technology in the field of safety applications and development, safety theory is conducive to innovation.

Keywords: FTA, knowledge base, object-oriented technology, reliability analysis

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Authors: Wen-Juinn Chen, Yi-Phei Chou, Jou-Han Wang

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Tainan coast is suffering from beach erosion, wave overtopping, and lowland flooding; though most of the shoreline has been protected by seawalls, they still threatened by sea level rise. For coastal resources developing, coastal land utilization, and to draft an appropriate mitigate strategy. Firstly; we must assess the impact of beach erosion under a different scenario of climate change. Here, we have used the meteorological data since 1898 to 2012 to prove that the Tainan area did suffer the impact of climate change. The result shows the temperature has been raised to about 1.7 degrees since 1989. Also, we analyzed the tidal data near the Tainan coast (Anpin site and Junjunn site), it shows sea level rising with a rate about 4.1~4.8 mm/year, this phenomenon will have serious impacts on Tainan coastal area, especially it will worsen coastal erosion. So we have used Bruun rule to calculate the shoreline retreated rate at every two decade period since 2012. Wave data and bottom sand diameter D50 were used to calculate the closure depth that will be used in Bruun formula and the active length of the profile is computed by the beach slope and Dean's equilibrium concept. After analysis, we found that in 2020, the shoreline will be retreated about 3.0 to 12 meters. The maximum retreat is happening at Chigu coast. In 2060, average shoreline retreated distance is 22m, but at Chigu and Tsenwen, shoreline may be backward retreat about 70m and will be reached about 130m at 2100, this will cause a lot of coastal land loss to the sea, protect and mitigate project must be quickly performed.

Keywords: sea level rise, shoreline, coastal erosion, climate change

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Authors: Livinus A. Obasi, Augustine N. Ajah

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Biotechnology in recent times has tried to develop a mechanism whereby sustainable electricity can be generated by the activity of microorganisms on waste and renewable biomass (often regarded as “negative value”) in a device called microbial fuel cell, MFC. In this paper, we established how the biocatalytic activities of bacteria on organic matter (substrates) produced some electrons with the associated removal of some water pollution parameters; Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD) to the tune of 77.2% and 88.3% respectively from a petrochemical sanitary wastewater. The electricity generation was possible by conditioning the bacteria to operate anaerobically in one chamber referred to as the anode while the electrons are transferred to the fully aerated counter chamber containing the cathode. Power densities ranging from 12.83 mW/m² to 966.66 mW/m² were achieved using a dual-chamber starch membrane MFC experimental set-up. The maximum power density obtained in this research shows an improvement in the use of low cost MFC set up to achieve power production. Also, the level of organic matter removal from the sanitary waste water by the operation of this device clearly demonstrates its potential benefit in achieving an improved benign environment. The beauty of the MFCs is their potential utility in areas lacking electrical infrastructures like in most developing countries.

Keywords: bioelectricity, COD, microbial fuel cell, sanitary wastewater, wheat starch

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Authors: Robert Smith, Omar Espinoza, Anna Pitta

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In the United States, trees felled in urban areas and wood generated through construction and demolition are primarily disposed of as low-value resources, such as biomass for energy, landscaping mulch, composting, or landfilled. An emerging industry makes use of these underutilized resources to produce high value-added products, with associated benefits for the environment, the local economy, and consumers. For the circular economy to be successful, markets must be created for sustainable, reusable natural materials. Research was carried out to increase the understanding of the marketing practices of urban and reclaimed wood industries. This paper presents the results of a nationwide survey of these companies. The results indicate that a majority of companies in this industry are small firms, operating for less than 10 years, which produce mostly to order and sell their products at comparatively higher prices than competing products made from virgin natural resources. Promotional messages included quality, aesthetics, and customization, conveyed through company webpages, word of mouth, and social media. Distribution channels used include direct sales, online sales, and retail sales. Partnerships are critical for effective raw material procurement. Respondents indicated optimistic growth expectations, despite barriers associated with urban and reclaimed wood materials and production.

Keywords: urban and reclaimed wood, circular economy, marketing, wood products

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Authors: Ahmed Azizeldein Abubaker Abdelhafez

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This review explores the application of biochar as a strategy for enhancing soil fertility in arid regions, with a focus on Arab countries. Biochar, derived from the carbonization of biomass under low-oxygen conditions, has shown promise in improving the physical and chemical properties of soil, such as increasing water retention and nutrient availability. Despite the challenging conditions of arid and semi-arid regions, characterized by poor soil fertility and severe land degradation, biochar application has emerged as a viable method to enhance agricultural productivity and mitigate environmental issues. This paper examines various aspects of biochar, including production methods, such as pyrolysis and gasification, and the effects of biochar on soil fertility. It discusses different application techniques and presents case studies from Arab countries like Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait, highlighting the successes and challenges faced in implementing biochar technology. The review also addresses the limitations of biochar use in arid regions and suggests future research directions to optimize its effectiveness. Overall, this study underscores the potential of biochar to contribute significantly to sustainable agriculture and ecological restoration in arid environments, advocating for integrated strategies that combine biochar application with other innovative agricultural practices.

Keywords: biochar, soil fertility, arid region, Arab countries, challenges and limitations

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Authors: Hannan Al-Qanai, Haitham Mustafa, Rajeswaran Sivasankar

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Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC, Company), established in 2016 as a subsidiary to Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), is responsible for operating and managing the largest grassroots integrated complex for refining, petrochemicals manufacture businesses, and liquefied natural gas import facilities at Al-Zour, Kuwait. KIPIC and its Contractors/sub-contractors employ over 69,000 staff in its current projects at Al-Zour during peak construction activity. KIPIC holds a unique responsibility to the society, which includes all stakeholders, and demonstrates its social commitment in developing an integrated environment & social management system (ESMS) and ensuring sustainability. This paper mainly demonstrates the knowledge on corporate branding from a corporate social responsibility (CSR) perspective and presents the achievements and best practices of KIPIC in the field of CSR and the challenges faced in handling social issues. Moreover, the study is based on qualitative data abstracted from KIPIC Health, Safety, Security & Environment Management System (HSSE MS) procedures, audit reports, the outcome of counseling sessions, national and international laws and regulations, and International Guidelines on Environment and Social Management System (ESMS). KIPIC has committed to caring for the environmental concerns and acting on social as they do on profits and economic growth. The main findings of this paper are that the successful implementation and operationalization of CSR within an organization depends on a simple but stringent process with both top-down and bottom-up commitment.

Keywords: welfare, corporate social responsibility, social management, sustainability

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Authors: J. Singh, Swati Dubey, R. P. Singh

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Microalgal strains can accumulate greatly enhanced levels of lipids under nitrogen-deficient condition, making these as one of the most promising sustainable sources for biofuel production. High-grade biofuel production from microalgal biomass could be facilitated by analysing the lipid content of the microalgae and enumerating its dynamics under varying nutrient conditions. In the present study, a detailed investigation of changes in lipid composition in Chlorella species and Scenedesmus abundans in response to nitrogen limited condition was performed to provide novel mechanistic insights into the lipidome during stress conditions. The mass spectroscopic approaches mainly LC-MS and GC-MS were employed for lipidomic profiling in both the microalgal strains. The analyses of lipid profiling using LC-MS revealed distinct forms of lipids mainly phospho- and glycolipids, including betaine lipids, and various other forms of lipids in both the microalgal strains. As detected, an overall decrease in polar lipids was observed. However, GC-MS analyses had revealed that the synthesis of the storage lipid i.e. triacylglycerol (TAG) was substantially stimulated in both the strains under nitrogen limited conditions. The changes observed in the overall fatty acid profile were primarily due to the decrease in proportion of polar lipids to TAGs. This study had enabled in analysing a detailed and orchestrated form of lipidomes in two different microalgal strains having potential for biodiesel production.

Keywords: biofuel, GC-MS, LC-MS, lipid, microalgae

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Authors: Asamaporn Puetpaiboon, Sunisa Chatmongkolchart, Nalinee Kovitwanawong, Osaree Akaraborworn

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Traumatic patients with massive bleeding require intensive resuscitation. The actual cost of anesthesia per case has never been clarified, so our study aimed to quantify the direct cost, and cost-to-charge ratio of anesthetic care in traumatic patients with intraoperative massive bleeding. This study was a prospective, observational, cost analysis study, conducted in Prince of Songkla University hospital, Thailand, with traumatic patients, of any mechanisms being recruited. Massive bleeding was defined as estimated blood loss of at least one blood volume in 24 hours, or a half of blood volume in 3 hours. The cost components were identified by the micro-costing method, and valued by the bottom-up approach. The direct cost was divided into 4 categories: the labor cost, the capital cost, the material cost and the cost of drugs. From September 2017 to August 2018, 10 patients with multiple injuries were included. Seven patients had motorcycle accidents, two patients fell from a height and another one was in a minibus accident. Two patients died on the operating table, and another two died within 48 hours. The median Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score was 8. The median intraoperative blood loss was 3,500 ml. The median direct cost, per case, was 250 United States Dollars (2017 exchange rate), and the cost-to-charge ratio was 0.53. In summary, the direct cost was nearly half of the hospital charge, for these traumatic patients with massive bleeding. However, our study did not analyze the indirect cost.

Keywords: cost, cost-to-charge ratio, micro-costing, trauma

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Authors: Mahmood Al Ramahi, G. Keszthelyi-Szabo, S. Beszedes

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Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is a thermochemical reaction that utilizes saturated water and vapor pressure to convert waste biomass to C-rich products This work evaluated the effect of HTC as a pre- and post-treatment technique to anaerobic digestion (AD) of dairy sludge, as information in this field is still in its infancy, with many research and methodological gaps. HTC effect was evaluated based on energy recovery, nutrients transformation, and sludge biodegradability. The first treatment approach was executed by applying hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) under a range of temperatures, prior to mesophilic anaerobic digestion (AD) of dairy sludge. Results suggested an optimal pretreatment temperature at 210 °C for 30 min. HTC pretreatment increased methane yield and chemical oxygen demand removal. The theoretical model based on Boyle’s equation had a very close match with the experimental results. On the other hand, applying HTC subsequent to AD increased total energy production, as additional energy yield was obtained by the solid fuel (hydrochar) beside the produced biogas. Furthermore, hydrothermal carbonization of AD digestate generated liquid products (HTC digestate) with improved chemical characteristics suggesting their use as liquid fertilizers.

Keywords: hydrothermal carbonization, anaerobic digestion, energy balance, sludge biodegradability, biogas

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Authors: Mekdes Lulu

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This study assessed the effect of the interactions of biochar (BC), farmyard manure (FYM) and lime on soil chemical properties and on different wheat attributes in Southern Ethiopia. The experimental design was a randomized complete block in three replications. The site significantly (p ≤ 0.05) influenced soil and wheat attributes. Biochar showed a large significant effect (p ≤ 0.05) on soil organic carbon, cation exchange capacity, and exchangeable potassium (K), while lime showed a substantially significant (p ≤ 0.05) effect on exchangeable Calcium (Ca) and acidity. Farmyard manure (10 tonnes ha−1 ) had a significant effect on soil total nitrogen (TN). Biochar and lime showed a large significant effect on soil pH and available phosphorus (P) depending on the site. All amendments showed a significant (p ≤ 0.001) effect on most wheat attributes, but the highest effect was from BC. Biochar produced highly significant (p ≤ 0.001) effects on plant height, total number of tillers and productive tillers, number of seeds per spike, aboveground biomass, grain yield, and P and K content in wheat grain and straw. We accredited the greater effect of BC on wheat attributes to its influence on soil chemical properties. We recommend long-term studies on the impact of BC alone or in combination with FYM on acid soil types.

Keywords: grain yield, soil amendments, soil nutrients, soil organic carbon, Triticum aestivum

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Authors: Daniel José de Oliveira Ferreira, Juan Harold Sosa-Arnao, Bruno Cássio Moreira, Leonardo Paes Rangel, Song Won Park

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The comprehensive CFD models have been used to represent and study the heterogeneous combustion of biomass. In the present work, the operation of a global flue gas circuit in the sugar-cane bagasse combustion, from wind boxes below primary air grate supply, passing by bagasse insertion in swirl burners and boiler furnace, to boiler bank outlet is simulated. It uses five different meshes representing each part of this system located in sequence: wind boxes and grate, boiler furnace, swirl burners, super heaters and boiler bank. The model considers turbulence using standard k-ε, combustion using EDM, radiation heat transfer using DTM with 16 ray directions and bagasse particle tracking represented by Schiller-Naumann model. The results showed good agreement with expected behavior found in literature and equipment design. The more detailed results view in separated parts of flue gas system allows to observe some flow behaviors that cannot be represented by usual simplifications like bagasse supply under homogeneous axial and rotational vectors and others that can be represented using new considerations like the representation of 26 thousand grate orifices by 144 rectangular inlets.

Keywords: comprehensive CFD model, sugar-cane bagasse combustion, sugar-cane bagasse grate boiler, axial

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Authors: Eleftheria Barouni, Theano Petsi, Argyro Bekatorou, Dionysos Kolliopoulos, Dimitrios Vasileiou, Panayiotis Panas, Maria Kanellaki, Athanasios A. Koutinas

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The aim of the present work was the production and use of a composite filter (TC/starch), containing rennin enzyme, in continuous system and in successive fermentation batches (SFB) for milk coagulation in order to compare the operational stability of both systems and cheese production cost. Tubular cellulose (TC) was produced after removal of lignin from lignocellulosic biomass using several procedures, e.g. alkaline treatment [1] and starch gel was added for the reduction of TC tubes dimensions to micro- and nano- range[2]. Four immobilized biocatalysts were prepared using different ways of the enzyme entrapment. 1) TC/ rennin (rennin entrapped in the tubes of TC), 2) TC/SG-rennin (rennin entrapped in the tubes of the composite), 3) TC-SG/rennin (rennin entrapped into the layer of starch gel) and 4) TC/rennin- SG/rennin (rennin is entrapped both in the tubes of the TC and into the layer of starch gel). Firstly these immobilized biocatalysts were examined in ten SFB regarding the coagulation time and their activity All the above immobilized biocatalysts remained active and the coagulation time was ranged from 90 to 480, 120-480, 330-510, and 270-540 min for (1), (2), (3), and (4) respectively. The quality of the cheese was examined through the determination of volatile compounds by SPME GC/MS analysis. These results encouraged us to study a continuous coagulation system of milk. Even though the (1) immobilized biocatalyst gave lower coagulation time, we used the (2) immobilized biocatalyst in the continuous system. The results were promising.

Keywords: tubular cellulose, starch gel, composite biocatalyst, Rennin, milk coagulation

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Authors: Muhammad Umair, Yuri Nikolaev, Denis Artemov, Ighor Uzhinsky

Abstract:

A flexible manufacturing system is an integral part of a smart factory of industry 4.0 in which every machine is interconnected and works autonomously. Robots are in the process of replacing humans in every industrial sector. As the cyber-physical-system (CPS) and artificial intelligence (AI) are advancing, the manufacturing industry is getting more dependent on computers than human brains. This modernization has boosted the production with high quality and accuracy and shifted from classic production to smart manufacturing systems. However, material handling for such automated productions is a challenge and needs to be addressed with the best possible solution. Conventional clamping systems are designed for manual work and not suitable for highly automated production systems. Researchers and engineers are trying to find the most economical solution for loading/unloading and transportation workpieces from a warehouse to a machine shop for machining operations and back to the warehouse without human involvement. This work aims to propose an advanced multi-shape tooling solution for highly automated manufacturing systems. The currently obtained result shows that it could function well with automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and modern conveyor belts. The proposed solution is following requirements to be automation-friendly, universal for different part geometry and production operations. We used a bottom-up approach in this work, starting with studying different case scenarios and their limitations and finishing with the general solution.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, cyber physics system, Industry 4.0, material handling, smart factory, flexible manufacturing system

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Authors: Ghada S. Ellithy, John. W. Murphy, Maureen K. Corcoran

Abstract:

Erosion rate of soils during a levee or dam overtopping event is a major component in risk assessment evaluation of breach time and downstream consequences. The mechanism and evolution of dam or levee breach caused by overtopping erosion is a complicated process and difficult to measure during overflow due to accessibility and quickly changing conditions. In this paper, the results of a flume erosion tests are presented and discussed. The tests are conducted on a coarse-grained material with a median grain size D50 of 5 mm in a 1-m (3-ft) wide flume under varying flow rates. Each test is performed by compacting the soil mix r to its near optimum moisture and dry density as determined from standard Proctor test in a box embedded in the flume floor. The box measures 0.45 m wide x 1.2 m long x 0.25 m deep. The material is tested several times at varying hydraulic loading to determine the erosion rate after equal time intervals. The water depth, velocity are measured at each hydraulic loading, and the acting bed shear is calculated. A shallow water lidar (SWL) system was utilized to record the progress of soil erodibility and water depth along the scanned profiles of the tested box. SWL is a non-contact system that transmits laser pulses from above the water and records the time-delay between top and bottom reflections. Results from the SWL scans are compared with before and after manual measurements to determine the erosion rate of the soil mix and other erosion parameters.

Keywords: coarse-grained materials, erosion rate, LIDAR system, soil erosion

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Authors: Andra Blumberga, Armands Gravelsins, Haralds Vigants, Dagnija Blumberga

Abstract:

The paper discovers biotechonomy development analysis by use of system dynamics modelling. The research is connected with investigations of biomass application for production of bioproducts with higher added value. The most popular bioresource is wood, and therefore, the main question today is about future development and eco-design of products. The paper emphasizes and evaluates energy sector which is open for use of wood logs, wood chips, wood pellets and so on. The main aim for this research study was to build a framework to analyse development perspectives for wood pellet production. To reach the goal, a system dynamics model of energy wood supplies, processing, and consumption is built. Production capacity, energy consumption, changes in energy and technology efficiency, required labour source, prices of wood, energy and labour are taken into account. Validation and verification tests with available data and information have been carried out and indicate that the model constitutes the dynamic hypothesis. It is found that the more is invested into pellets production, the higher the specific profit per production unit compared to wood logs and wood chips. As a result, wood chips production is decreasing dramatically and is replaced by wood pellets. The limiting factor for pellet industry growth is availability of wood sources. This is governed by felling limit set by the government based on sustainable forestry principles.

Keywords: bioenergy, biotechonomy, system dynamics modelling, wood pellets

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Authors: C. Annapurna, Rao M. Srinivasa, Bhanu C. H. Vijaya, M. Sivalakshmi, Rao P. V. Surya

Abstract:

A study on the community structure of meiobenthic fauna was undertaken during three cruises (June 2008, October 2008 and March 2009). Ten stations at depth between 10 and 40 m off Pudimadaka in Visakhapatnam (Lat.17º29′12″N and Long. 83º00′09″), East coast of India were investigated. Ninety species representing 3 major (meiofaunal) taxa namely foraminifera (2), copepoda (9), nematoda (58) and polychaeta (21) were encountered. Overall, meiofaunal (mean) abundance ranged from 2 individuals to 63 ind. 10cm-² with an average of 24.3 ind.10cm-2. The meiobenthic biomass varied between 0.135 to 0.48 mg.10cm-2 with an average 0.27 ± 0.12. On the whole, nematodes constituted 73.62% of the meiofauna in terms of numerical abundance. Shannon –Wiener index values were 2.053 ± 0.64 (June, 2008), 2.477 ± 0.177 (October 2008) and 2.2815±0.24 (March 2009). Multivariate analyses were used to define the most important taxon in nematode assemblages. Three nematode associations could be recognized off Pudimadaka coast, namely Laimella longicaudata, Euchromodora vulgaris and Sabatieria elongata assemblage (June, 2008); Catanema sp. and Leptosomatum sp. assemblage (October 2008) assemblage; Sabatieria sp. and Setosabatieria sp. assemblage (March 2009). Canonical correspondence analysis showed that temperature, organic matter, silt and mean particle diameter were important in controlling nematode community structure.

Keywords: meiofauna, marine nematode, biodiversity, community structure, India

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Authors: Abdalla Abdelnabi, Yousf Abushalah

Abstract:

The G Formation is a major gas producing reservoir in the SM Field, eastern, Libya. It is called G limestone because it consists of shallow marine limestone. Well data and 3D-Seismic in conjunction with the results of a previous study were used to delineate the hydrocarbon reservoir of Middle Eocene G-Formation of SM Field area. The data include three-dimensional seismic data acquired in 2009. It covers approximately an area of 75 mi² and with more than 9 wells penetrating the reservoir. Seismic data are used to identify any stratigraphic and structural and features such as channels and faults and which may play a significant role in hydrocarbon traps. The well data are used to calculation petrophysical analysis of S field. The average porosity of the Middle Eocene G Formation is very good with porosity reaching 24% especially around well W 6. Average water saturation was calculated for each well from porosity and resistivity logs using Archie’s formula. The average water saturation for the whole well is 25%. Structural mapping of top and bottom of Middle Eocene G formation revealed the highest area in the SM field is at 4800 ft subsea around wells W4, W5, W6, and W7 and the deepest point is at 4950 ft subsea. Correlation between wells using well data and structural maps created from seismic data revealed that net thickness of G Formation range from 0 ft in the north part of the field to 235 ft in southwest and south part of the field. The gas water contact is found at 4860 ft using the resistivity log. The net isopach map using both the trapezoidal and pyramid rules are used to calculate the total bulk volume. The original gas in place and the recoverable gas were calculated volumetrically to be 890 Billion Standard Cubic Feet (BSCF) and 630 (BSCF) respectively.

Keywords: 3D seismic data, well logging, petrel, kingdom suite

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Authors: Afshin Keshvadi, Johari Endan, Haniff Harun, Desa Ahmad, Farah Saleena

Abstract:

Experiments were conducted to develop a model for analyzing the ripening process of oil palm fresh fruits in relation to oil yield and oil quality of palm oil produced. This research was carried out on 8-year-old Tenera (Dura × Pisifera) palms planted in 2003 at the Malaysian Palm Oil Board Research Station. Fresh fruit bunches were harvested from designated palms during January till May of 2010. The bunches were divided into three regions (top, middle and bottom), and fruits from the outer and inner layers were randomly sampled for analysis at 8, 12, 16 and 20 weeks after anthesis to establish relationships between maturity and oil development in the mesocarp and kernel. Computations on data related to ripening time, oil content and oil quality were performed using several computer software programs (MSTAT-C, SAS and Microsoft Excel). Nine nonlinear mathematical models were utilized using MATLAB software to fit the data collected. The results showed mean mesocarp oil percent increased from 1.24 % at 8 weeks after anthesis to 29.6 % at 20 weeks after anthesis. Fruits from the top part of the bunch had the highest mesocarp oil content of 10.09 %. The lowest kernel oil percent of 0.03 % was recorded at 12 weeks after anthesis. Palmitic acid and oleic acid comprised of more than 73 % of total mesocarp fatty acids at 8 weeks after anthesis, and increased to more than 80 % at fruit maturity at 20 weeks. The Logistic model with the highest R2 and the lowest root mean square error was found to be the best fit model.

Keywords: oil palm, oil yield, ripening process, anthesis, fatty acids, modeling

Procedia PDF Downloads 312