Search results for: green logistics

Authors: Kriti Jain, Sucha Singh Gill

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Subsidies have been a major part of agricultural policies around the world, and more extensively since the green revolution in developing countries, for the sake of attaining higher agricultural productivity and achieving food security. But entrenched subsidies lead to distorted incentives and promote inefficiencies in the agricultural sector, threatening the viability of these very subsidies and sustainability of the agricultural production systems, posing a threat to the livelihood of farmers and laborers dependent on it. This paper analyzes the economic and ecological sustainability implications of prolonged input and output subsidies in agriculture by studying the case of Indian Punjab, an agriculturally developed state responsible for ensuring food security in the country when it was facing a major food crisis. The paper focuses specifically on the environmentally unsustainable cropping pattern changes as a result of Minimum Support Price (MSP) and assured procurement and on the resource use efficiency and cost implications of power subsidy for irrigation in Punjab. The study is based on an analysis of both secondary and primary data sources. Using secondary data, a time series analysis was done to capture the changes in Punjab’s cropping pattern, water table depth, fertilizer consumption, and electrification of agriculture. This has been done to examine the role of price and output support adopted to encourage the adoption of green revolution technology in changing the cropping structure of the state, resulting in increased input use intensities (especially groundwater and fertilizers), which harms the ecological balance and decreases factor productivity. Evaluation of electrification of Punjab agriculture helped evaluate the trend in electricity productivity of agriculture and how free power imposed further pressure on the extant agricultural ecosystem. Using data collected from a primary survey of 320 farmers in Punjab, the extent of wasteful application of groundwater irrigation, water productivity of output, electricity usage, and cost of irrigation driven electricity subsidy to the exchequer were estimated for the dominant cropping pattern amongst farmers. The main findings of the study revealed how because of a subsidy has driven agricultural framework, Punjab has lost area under agro climatically suitable and staple crops and moved towards a paddy-wheat cropping system, that is gnawing away the state’s natural resources like water table has been declining at a significant rate of 25 cms per year since 1975-76, and excessive and imbalanced fertilizer usage has led to declining soil fertility in the state. With electricity-driven tubewells as the major source of irrigation within a regime of free electricity and water-intensive crop cultivation, there is both wasteful application of irrigation water and electricity in the cultivation of paddy crops, burning an unproductive hole in the exchequer’s pocket. There is limited access to both agricultural extension services and water-conserving technology, along with policy imbalance, keeping farmers in an intensive and unsustainable production system. Punjab agriculture is witnessing diminishing returns to factor, which under the business-as-usual scenario, will soon enter the phase of negative returns to factor.

Keywords: cropping pattern, electrification, subsidy, sustainability

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Authors: Abdullah Al Mohiuddin

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Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries in the world, and ranks low on almost all measures of economic development, thus leaving the population extremely vulnerable to natural disasters and climate events. 20% of GDP come from agriculture but more than 60% of the population relies on agriculture as their main source of income making the entire economy vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters. High population density exacerbates the exposure to and effect of climate events, and increases the levels of vulnerability, as does the poor institutional development of the country. The most vulnerable sectors to climate change impacts in Bangladesh are agriculture, coastal zones, water resources, forestry, fishery, health, biomass, and energy. High temperatures, heavy rainfall, high humidity and fairly marked seasonal variations characterize the climate in Bangladesh: Mild winter, hot humid summer and humid, warm rainy monsoon. Much of the country is flooded during the summer monsoon. The Department of Environment (DOE) under the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF) is the focal point for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and coordinates climate related activities in the country. Recently, a Climate Change Cell (CCC) has been established to address several issues including adaptation to climate change. The climate change focus started with The National Environmental Management Action Plan (NEMAP) which was prepared in 1995 in order to initiate the process to address environmental and climate change issues as long-term environmental problems for Bangladesh. Bangladesh was one of the first countries to finalise a NAPA (Preparation of a National Adaptation Plan of Action) which addresses climate change issues. The NAPA was completed in 2005, and is the first official initiative for mainstreaming adaptation to national policies and actions to cope with climate change and vulnerability. The NAPA suggests a number of adaptation strategies, for example: - Providing drinking water to coastal communities to fight the enhanced salinity caused by sea level rise, - Integrating climate change in planning and design of infrastructure, - Including climate change issues in education, - Supporting adaptation of agricultural systems to new weather extremes, - Mainstreaming CCA into policies and programmes in different sectors, e.g. disaster management, water and health, - Dissemination of CCA information and awareness raising on enhanced climate disasters, especially in vulnerable communities. Bangladesh has geared up its environment conservation steps to save the world’s poorest countries from the adverse effects of global warming. Now it is turning towards green economy policies to save the degrading ecosystem. Bangladesh is a developing country and always fights against Natural Disaster. At the same time we also fight for establishing ecological environment through promoting Green Economy/Energy by Youth Networking. ANTAR is coordinating a big Youth Network in the southern part of Bangladesh where 30 Youth group involved. It can be explained as the economic development based on sustainable development which generates growth and improvement in human’s lives while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. Green economy in Bangladesh promotes three bottom lines – sustaining economic, environment and social well-being.

Keywords: resilience, networking, mobilizing, resource

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Authors: Chayakarn Bamrungbutr, James Sillitoe

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The term ‘shadow port’ is used to describe a port whose markets are dominated by an adjacent port that has a more competitive capability. Recently, researchers have put effort into studying the mechanisms of how a regional port, in the shadow of a nearby predominant port which is a capital city port, can compete and grow. However, such mechanism is still unclear. This study thus focuses on understanding the growth of shadow port and the type of shadow port by using the two capital city ports of Thailand; Bangkok port (the former main port) and Laem Chabang port (the current main port), as the case study. By developing an understanding of the mechanisms of shadow, port could ultimately lead to an increase in the competitiveness. In this study, a framework of opportunity capture (introduced by Magala, 2004) will be used to create a framework for the study of the growth of the selected shadow port. In the process of building this framework, five groups of port development experts, consisting of government, council, academia, logistics provider and industry, will be interviewed. To facilitate this work, the Noticing, Collecting and Thinking model which was developed by Seidel (1998) will be used in an analysis of the dataset. The resulting analysis will be used to classify the type of shadow port. The type of these ports will be a significant factor for developing a feasible strategic guideline for the future management planning of ports, particularly, shadow ports, and then to increase the competitiveness of a nation’s maritime transport industry, and eventually lead to a boost in the national economy.

Keywords: shadow port, Bangkok Port, Laem Chabang Port, port growth

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Authors: K. Debkowska

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The aim of this article is presenting the possibilities of using Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) in researches concerning business models of enterprises. FsQCA is a bridge between quantitative and qualitative researches. It's potential can be used in analysis and evaluation of business models. The article presents the results of a study conducted on the basis of enterprises belonging to different sectors: transport and logistics, industry, building construction, and trade. The enterprises have been researched taking into account the components of business models and the financial condition of companies. Business models are areas of complex and heterogeneous nature. The use of fsQCA has enabled to answer the following question: which components of a business model and in which configuration influence better financial condition of enterprises. The analysis has been performed separately for particular sectors. This enabled to compare the combinations of business models' components which actively influence the financial condition of enterprises in analyzed sectors. The following components of business models were analyzed for the purposes of the study: Key Partners, Key Activities, Key Resources, Value Proposition, Channels, Cost Structure, Revenue Streams, Customer Segment and Customer Relationships. These components of the study constituted the variables shaping the financial results of enterprises. The results of the study lead us to believe that fsQCA can help in analyzing and evaluating a business model, which is important in terms of making a business decision about the business model used or its change. In addition, results obtained by fsQCA can be applied by all stakeholders connected with the company.

Keywords: business models, components of business models, data analysis, fsQCA

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Authors: Andreia Garrido, Artur Conde, Ana Cunha, Ric De Vos

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Climate changes predictions point to increases in abiotic stress for crop plants in Portugal, like pronounced temperature variation and decreased precipitation, which will have negative impact on grapevine physiology and consequently, on grape berry and wine quality. Short-term mitigation strategies have, therefore, been implemented to alleviate the impacts caused by adverse climatic periods. These strategies include foliar application of kaolin, an inert mineral, which has radiation reflection proprieties that decreases stress from excessive heat/radiation absorbed by its leaves, as well as smart irrigation strategies to avoid water stress. However, little is known about the influence of these mitigation measures on grape berries, neither on the photosynthetic activity nor on the photosynthesis-related metabolic profiles of its various tissues. Moreover, the role of fruit photosynthesis on berry quality is poorly understood. The main objective of our work was to assess the effects of kaolin and irrigation treatments on the photosynthetic activity of grape berry tissues (exocarp and seeds) and on their global metabolic profile, also investigating their possible relationship. We therefore collected berries of field-grown plants of the white grape variety Alvarinho from two distinct microclimates, i.e. from clusters exposed to high light (HL, 150 µmol photons m⁻² s⁻¹) and low light (LL, 50 µmol photons m⁻² s⁻¹), from both kaolin and non-kaolin (control) treated plants at three fruit developmental stages (green, véraison and mature). Plant irrigation was applied after harvesting the green berries, which also enabled comparison of véraison and mature berries from irrigated and non-irrigated growth conditions. Photosynthesis was assessed by pulse amplitude modulated chlorophyll fluorescence imaging analysis, and the metabolite profile of both tissues was assessed by complementary metabolomics approaches. Foliar kaolin application resulted in, for instance, an increased photosynthetic activity of the exocarp of LL-grown berries at green developmental stage, as compared to the control non-kaolin treatment, with a concomitant increase in the levels of several lipid-soluble isoprenoids (chlorophylls, carotenoids, and tocopherols). The exocarp of mature berries grown at HL microclimate on kaolin-sprayed non-irrigated plants had higher total sugar levels content than all other treatments, suggesting that foliar application of this mineral results in an increased accumulation of photoassimilates in mature berries. Unbiased liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based profiling of semi-polar compounds followed by ASCA (ANOVA simultaneous component analysis) and ANOVA statistical analysis indicated that kaolin had no or inconsistent effect on the flavonoid and phenylpropanoid composition in both seed and exocarp at any developmental stage; in contrast, both microclimate and irrigation influenced the level of several of these compounds depending on berry ripening stage. Overall, our study provides more insight into the effects of mitigation strategies on berry tissue photosynthesis and phytochemistry, under contrasting conditions of cluster light microclimate. We hope that this may contribute to develop sustainable management in vineyards and to maintain grape berries and wines with high quality even at increasing abiotic stress challenges.

Keywords: climate change, grape berry tissues, metabolomics, mitigation strategies

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Authors: Rose Vanessa Bandeira Reidel, Bernardo Melai, Pier Luigi Cioni, Luisa Pistelli

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Ziziphus jujuba Miller is a common species of the Ziziphus genus (Rhamnaceae family) native to the tropics and subtropics known for its edible fruits, fresh consumed or used in healthy food, as flavoring and sweetener. Many phytochemicals and biological activities are described for this species. In this work, the aroma profiles emitted in vivo by whole fresh organs (leaf, bud flower, flower, green and red fruits) were analyzed separately by mean of solid phase micro-extraction (SPME) coupled with gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The emitted volatiles from different plant parts were analysed using Supelco SPME device coated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS, 100µm). Fresh plant material was introduced separately into a glass conical flask and allowed to equilibrate for 20 min. After the equilibration time, the fibre was exposed to the headspace for 15 min at room temperature, the fibre was re-inserted into the needle and transferred to the injector of the CG and CG-MS system, where the fibre was desorbed. All the data were submitted to multivariate statistical analysis, evidencing many differences amongst the selected plant parts and their developmental stages. A total of 144 compounds were identified corresponding to 94.6-99.4% of the whole aroma profile of jujube samples. Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons were the main chemical class of compounds in leaves also present in similar percentage in flowers and bud flowers where (E, E)-α-farnesene was the main constituent in all cited plant parts. This behavior can be due to a protection mechanism against pathogens and herbivores as well as resistance to abiotic factors. The aroma of green fruits was characterized by high amount of perillene while the red fruits release a volatile blend mainly constituted by different monoterpenes. The terpenoid emission of flesh fruits has important function in the interaction with animals including attraction of seed dispersers and it is related to a good quality of fruits. This study provides for the first time the chemical composition of the volatile emission from different Ziziphus jujuba organs. The SPME analyses of the collected samples showed different patterns of emission and can contribute to understand their ecological interactions and fruit production management.

Keywords: Rhamnaceae, aroma profile, jujube organs, HS-SPME, GC-MS

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Authors: Nwachukwu Ihiejeto Celestine

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Rural poverty in Nigeria has been the bake of the society. It has been a canker worm which has eaten deep into the fabric of Nigerian society. Different models and principles have been applied to eradicate it, such as operation feed the nation, green revolution, NAPEP etc. Little or nothing has been done in the area of entrepreneurship education to tame this monster. It is based on this that the author wants to x-ray the role entrepreneurship education which studies “the process of identifying, bringing a vision to life” could play in the eradication of rural poverty in Nigeria. This will go along in providing appropriate principles for poverty alleviation and eradication in Nigeria. Some selected states in the eastern Geo-political region could be x-rayed in this circumstance. It is hoped that policy makers etc will find the work cogent in formulating and implementing policy decisions.

Keywords: poverty, entrepreneurship, education, Nigeria

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Authors: O. E. Akinyemi, P. O. Alege, O. O. Ajayi, L. A. Amaghionyediwe, A. A. Ogundipe

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Nigeria as an oil-producing developing country in Africa is one of the many countries that had been subsidizing consumption of fossil fuel. Despite the numerous advantage of this policy ranging from increased energy access, fostering economic and industrial development, protecting the poor households from oil price shocks, political considerations, among others; they have been found to impose economic cost, wasteful, inefficient, create price distortions discourage investment in the energy sector and contribute to environmental pollution. These negative consequences coupled with the fact that the policy had not been very successful at achieving some of its stated objectives, led to a number of organisations and countries such as the Group of 7 (G7), World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Energy Agency (IEA), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), among others call for global effort towards reforming fossil fuel subsidies. This call became necessary in view of seeking ways to harmonise certain existing policies which may by design hamper current effort at tackling environmental concerns such as climate change. This is in addition to driving a green growth strategy and low carbon development in achieving sustainable development. The energy sector is identified to play a vital role. This study thus investigates the prospects of using fuel subsidy reform as a viable tool in driving an economy that de-emphasizes carbon growth in Nigeria. The method used is the Johansen and Engle-Granger two-step Co-integration procedure in order to investigate the existence or otherwise of a long-run equilibrium relationship for the period 1971 to 2011. Its theoretical framework is rooted in the Environmental Kuznet Curve (EKC) hypothesis. In developing three case scenarios (case of subsidy payment, no subsidy payment and effective subsidy), findings from the study supported evidence of a long run sustainable equilibrium model. Also, estimation results reflected that the first and the second scenario do not significantly influence the indicator of environmental quality. The implication of this is that in reforming fuel subsidy to drive environmental quality for an economy like Nigeria, strong and effective regulatory framework (measure that was interacted with fuel subsidy to yield effective subsidy) is essential.

Keywords: environmental quality, fuel subsidy, green growth, low carbon growth strategy

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Authors: Sai Rajeev Reddy, Ishita Roy, M. Anji Reddy

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The paper describes the importance of preventive measures and immediate Emergency logistics during accidents and unfortunate Disasters for the Hyderabad Metro Rails in their various stages of construction. This is the need of the modern generation where accidents, explosions, attacks and sudden crisis are frequent casualties which take huge tolls of life in the present world. The paper utilizes the workflow and application of Geographical information System (GIS) to provide information about problems and crisis structures for efficient Metro Transportation in the city. The study analyzes the difficulties and problems which cause accidents during operation and maintenance stages of the Metro Rail. The paper focuses upon the intermediate and firsthand information of Crisis with the help of GIS technology to share Disaster data for effective measures by the Cyber Police stations, Emergency Responders, Hospitals and First Aid Centre to act immediately and save lives. The results and conclusions have nevertheless proved very informative and useful for the safety board authorities of the Hyderabad Metro Rail. The operation and Maintenance are integral stages in the development of any Multipurpose transportation Projects and are usually prone to various Disasters and tragedies. Hence, the GIS technologies help in distribution of information among the masses with the web Technologies and advanced software developed to prevent and manage crisis widely and in a cost-benefits manner.

Keywords: Geographical Information System, emergency assessment, accident zones, surveillance

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Authors: Reza Alikhani

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This research focuses on the establishment of horizontal cooperation among companies to enhance their operational efficiency and competitiveness. The study proposes an approach to horizontal collaboration, called coalition configuration, which involves partnering companies sharing distribution centers in a network design problem. The paper investigates which coalition should be formed in each distribution center to minimize the total cost of the network. Moreover, potential uncertainties, such as operational and disruption risks, are considered during the collaborative design phase. To address this problem, a two-stage robust optimization model for collaborative distribution network design under surging demand and facility disruptions is presented, along with a column-and-constraint generation algorithm to obtain exact solutions tailored to the proposed formulation. Extensive numerical experiments are conducted to analyze solutions obtained by the model in various scenarios, including decisions ranging from fully centralized to fully decentralized settings, collaborative versus non-collaborative approaches, and different amounts of uncertainty budgets. The results show that the coalition formation mechanism proposes some solutions that are competitive with the savings of the grand coalition. The research also highlights that collaboration increases network flexibility and resilience while reducing costs associated with demand and capacity uncertainties.

Keywords: logistics, warehouse sharing, robust facility location, collaboration for resilience

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Authors: Rebecca Angeles

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This qualitative case study seeks to understand and explain the deployment of radio frequency identification (RFID) systems in two countries (i.e. in Taiwan for the adoption of electric scooters and in Finland for supporting glass bottle recycling) using the 'Technology-Organization-Environment' theoretical framework. This study also seeks to highlight the relevance and importance of pursuing environmental sustainability in firms and in society in general due to the social urgency of the issues involved.

Keywords: environmental sustainability, radio frequency identification, technology-organization-environment framework, RFID system implementation, case study, content analysis

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Authors: Firdaous Zair, Zoubir Elfelsoufi, Mohammed Fourka

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The allocation of resources is an issue that is needed on the tactical and operational strategic plan. This work considers the allocation of resources in the case of pure players, manufacturers and Click & Mortars that have launched online sales. The aim is to improve the level of customer satisfaction and maintaining the benefits of e-retailer and of its cooperators and reducing costs and risks. Our contribution is a decision support system and tool for improving the allocation of resources in logistics chains e-commerce B2C context. We first modeled the B2C chain with all operations that integrates and possible scenarios since online retailers offer a wide selection of personalized service. The personalized services that online shopping companies offer to the clients can be embodied in many aspects, such as the customizations of payment, the distribution methods, and after-sales service choices. In addition, every aspect of customized service has several modes. At that time, we analyzed the optimization problems of supply chain resource allocation in customized online shopping service mode, which is different from the supply chain resource allocation under traditional manufacturing or service circumstances. Then we realized an optimization model and algorithm for the development based on the analysis of the allocation of the B2C supply chain resources. It is a multi-objective optimization that considers the collaboration of resources in operations, time and costs but also the risks and the quality of services as well as dynamic and uncertain characters related to the request.

Keywords: e-commerce, supply chain, B2C, optimisation, resource allocation

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Authors: Laura Norfolk, Georgina Zimbitas, Jan Sefcik, Sarah Staniland

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Magnetite nanoparticles (MNP) have been an area of increasing research interest due to their extensive applications in industry, such as in carbon capture, water purification, and crucially, the biomedical industry. The use of MNP in the biomedical industry is rising, with studies on their effect as Magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents, drug delivery systems, and as hyperthermic cancer treatments becoming prevalent in the nanomaterial research community. Particles used for biomedical purposes must meet stringent criteria; the particles must have consistent shape and size between particles. Variation between particle morphology can drastically alter the effective surface area of the material, making it difficult to correctly dose particles that are not homogeneous. Particles of defined shape such as octahedral and cubic have been shown to outperform irregular shaped particles in some applications, leading to the need to synthesize particles of defined shape. In nature, highly homogeneous MNP are found within magnetotactic bacteria, a unique bacteria capable of producing magnetite nanoparticles internally under ambient conditions. Biomineralisation proteins control the properties of the MNPs, enhancing their homogeneity. One of these proteins, Mms6, has been successfully isolated and used in vitro as an additive in room-temperature co-precipitation reactions (RTCP) to produce particles of defined mono-dispersed size & morphology. When considering future industrial scale-up it is crucial to consider the costs and feasibility of an additive, as an additive that is not readily available or easily synthesized at a competitive price will not be sustainable. As such, additives selected for this research are inspired by the functional groups of biomineralisation proteins, but cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and compatible with scale-up. Diethylenetriamine (DETA), triethylenetetramine (TETA), tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA), and pentaethylenehexamine (PEHA) have been successfully used in RTCP to modulate the properties of particles synthesized, leading to the formation of octahedral nanoparticles with no use of organic solvents, heating, or toxic precursors. By extending this principle to a fluidic system, ongoing research will reveal whether the amine additives can also exert morphological control in an environment which is suited toward higher particle yield. Two fluidic systems have been employed; a peristaltic turbulent flow mixing system suitable for the rapid production of MNP, and a macrofluidic system for the synthesis of tailored nanomaterials under a laminar flow regime. The presence of the amine additives in the turbulent flow system in initial results appears to offer similar morphological control as observed under RTCP conditions, with higher proportions of octahedral particles formed. This is a proof of concept which may pave the way to green synthesis of tailored MNP on an industrial scale. Mms6 and amine additives have been used in the macrofluidic system, with Mms6 allowing magnetite to be synthesized at unfavourable ferric ratios, but no longer influencing particle size. This suggests this synthetic technique while still benefiting from the addition of additives, may not allow additives to fully influence the particles formed due to the faster timescale of reaction. The amine additives have been tested at various concentrations, the results of which will be discussed in this paper.

Keywords: bioinspired, green synthesis, fluidic, magnetite, morphological control, scale-up

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Authors: A. Bayat, R. Bello-Mendoza, D. G. Wareham

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Two major categories of green waste are fruit and vegetable (FV) waste and garden and yard (GY) waste. Although, anaerobic digestions (AD) is able to manage FV waste; there is less confidence in the conditions for AD to handle GY wastes (grass, leaves, trees and bush trimmings); mainly because GY contains lignin and other recalcitrant organics. GY in the dry state (TS ≥ 15 %) can be digested at mesophilic temperatures; however, little methane data has been reported under thermophilic conditions, where conceivably better methane yields could be achieved. In addition, it is suspected that at lower solids concentrations, the methane yield could be increased. As such, the aim of this research is to find the temperature and solids concentration conditions that produce the most methane; under two different temperature regimes (mesophilic, thermophilic) and three solids states (i.e. 'dry', 'semi-dry' and 'wet'). Twenty liters of GY waste was collected from a public park located in the northern district in Tehran. The clippings consisted of freshly cut grass as well as dry branches and leaves. The GY waste was chopped before being fed into a mechanical blender that reduced it to a paste-like consistency. An initial TS concentration of approximately 38 % was achieved. Four hundred mL of anaerobic inoculum (average total solids (TS) concentration of 2.03 ± 0.131 % of which 73.4% were volatile solid (VS), soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCOD) of 4.59 ± 0.3 g/L) was mixed with the GY waste substrate paste (along with distilled water) to achieve a TS content of approximately 20 %. For comparative purposes, approximately 20 liters of FV waste was ground in the same manner as the GY waste. Since FV waste has a much higher natural water content than GY, it was dewatered to obtain a starting TS concentration in the dry solid-state range (TS ≥ 15 %). Three samples were dewatered to an average starting TS concentration of 32.71 %. The inoculum was added (along with distilled water) to dilute the initial FV TS concentrations down to semi-dry conditions (10-15 %) and wet conditions (below 10 %). Twelve 1-L batch bioreactors were loaded simultaneously with either GY or FV waste at TS solid concentrations ranging from 3.85 ± 1.22 % to 20.11 ± 1.23 %. The reactors were sealed and were operated for 30 days while being immersed in water baths to maintain a constant temperature of 37 ± 0.5 °C (mesophilic) or 55 ± 0.5 °C (thermophilic). A maximum methane yield of 115.42 (L methane/ kg VS added) was obtained for the GY thermophilic-wet AD combination. Methane yield was enhanced by 240 % compared to the GY waste mesophilic-dry condition. The results confirm that high temperature regimes and small solids concentrations are conditions that enhance methane yield from GY waste. A similar trend was observed for the anaerobic digestion of FV waste. Furthermore, a maximum value of VS (53 %) and sCOD (84 %) reduction was achieved during the AD of GY waste under the thermophilic-wet condition.

Keywords: anaerobic digestion, thermophilic, mesophilic, total solids concentration

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Authors: Fateme Aysin Anka, Farzad Kiani

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Forced migration is a situation in which people are forced to leave their homes against their will due to political conflicts, wars and conflicts, natural disasters, climate change, economic crises, or other emergencies. This type of migration takes place under conditions where people cannot lead a sustainable life due to reasons such as security, shelter and meeting their basic needs. This type of migration may occur in connection with different factors that affect people's living conditions. In addition to these general and widespread reasons, water security and resources will be one that is starting now and will be encountered more and more in the future. Forced migration may occur due to insufficient or depleted water resources in the areas where people live. In this case, people's living conditions become unsustainable, and they may have to go elsewhere, as they cannot obtain their basic needs, such as drinking water, water used for agriculture and industry. To cope with these situations, it is important to minimize the causes, as international organizations and societies must provide assistance (for example, humanitarian aid, shelter, medical support and education) and protection to address (or mitigate) this problem. From the international perspective, plans such as the Green New Deal (GND) and the European Green Deal (EGD) draw attention to the need for people to live equally in a cleaner and greener world. Especially recently, with the advancement of technology, science and methods have become more efficient. In this regard, in this article, a multidisciplinary case model is presented by reinforcing the water problem with an engineering approach within the framework of the social dimension. It is worth emphasizing that this problem is largely linked to climate change and the lack of a sustainable water management perspective. As a matter of fact, the United Nations Development Agency (UNDA) draws attention to this problem in its universally accepted sustainable development goals. Therefore, an artificial intelligence-based approach has been applied to solve this problem by focusing on the water management problem. The most general but also important aspect in the management of water resources is its correct consumption. In this context, the artificial intelligence-based system undertakes tasks such as water demand forecasting and distribution management, emergency and crisis management, water pollution detection and prevention, and maintenance and repair control and forecasting.

Keywords: water resource management, forced migration, multidisciplinary studies, artificial intelligence

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Authors: Zhikai Chena, Renzhong Fu, Wen Chaib, Rongxin Yuanb

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Two eco-benign and highly efficient routes for the synthesis of amides have been developed by treating amines with corresponding carboxylic acids or carboxamides in the presence of heteropolyanion-based ionic liquids (HPAILs) as catalysts. These practical reactions can tolerate a wide range of substrates. Thus, various amides were obtained in good to excellent yields under solvent-free conditions at heating. Moreover, recycling studies revealed that HPAILs are easily reusable for this two procedures. These methods provide green and much improved protocols over the existing methods.

Keywords: synthesis, amide, ıonic liquid, catalyst

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Authors: Celso L. Fernando, Toshio Yoshii, Takahiro Tsubota

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Understanding the causes of a road accident and predicting their occurrence is key to preventing deaths and serious injuries from road accident events. Traditional statistical methods such as the Poisson and the Logistics regressions have been used to find the association of the traffic environmental factors with the accident occurred; recently, an artificial neural network, ANN, a computational technique that learns from historical data to make a more accurate prediction, has emerged. Although the ability to make accurate predictions, the ANN has difficulty dealing with highly unbalanced attribute patterns distribution in the training dataset; in such circumstances, the ANN treats the minority group as noise. However, in the real world data, the minority group is often the group of interest; e.g., in the road traffic accident data, the events of the accident are the group of interest. This study proposes a combination of the k-means with the ANN to improve the predictive ability of the neural network model by alleviating the effect of the unbalanced distribution of the attribute patterns in the training dataset. The results show that the proposed method improves the ability of the neural network to make a prediction on a highly unbalanced distributed attribute patterns dataset; however, on an even distributed attribute patterns dataset, the proposed method performs almost like a standard neural network.

Keywords: accident risks estimation, artificial neural network, deep learning, k-mean, road safety

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Authors: Rebecca Hafner, Daniel Read, David Elmes

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The persuasive potential of normative and feedback (financial vs. environmental) information in ‘nudging’ people towards making environmentally sound decisions was explored in a hypothetical choice experiment. The research was specifically focused on determining how subtle variations in the decision frame could be used to increase the selection of energy efficient vs. standard technologies, using the context of home heating choice. Participants were given a choice of a standard heating system (a gas boiler) and a relatively more-energy efficient option (a heat pump). The experiment had a 2 (normative vs. no normative information) by 3 feedback type (financial, environmental, none) design. The last group constituted the control. Half of the participants were given normative information about what the majority of others in their neighbourhood had opted to do when faced with the same choice set, prior to making their decision. The other half received no such information. Varying feedback frames were incorporated by providing participants with information on either financial or environmental savings that could be achieved by choosing the heat pump. No such information was provided in the control group. A significant interaction was found between normative information and feedback frame type. Specifically, the impact of feedback frames was found to be reduced when normative information was provided; illustrating the overriding influence of normative information on option preference. Participants were significantly more likely to select the heat pump if they were vs. were not given normative information. Yet when no normative information was provided, the persuasive influence of the financial frame was increased – highlighting this as an effective means of encouraging uptake of new technologies in this instance. Conversely, the environmental frame was not found to differ significantly from the control. Marginal carryover effects were also found for stated future real-life decision-making behaviour, with participants who were versus were not given normative information being marginally more likely to state they would consider installing a heat pump when they next need to replace their heating system in real life. We conclude that normative and financial feedback framing techniques are highly effective in increasing uptake of new, energy efficient heating technologies involving significant upfront financial outlay. The implications for researchers looking to promote ‘green’ choice in the context of new technology adoption are discussed.

Keywords: energy-efficient technology adoption, environmental decision making, financial vs. environmental feedback framing techniques, social norms

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Authors: Neha Dimri, Varsha Gupta

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Purpose: Fast Fashion trend promotes consumption of low cost high fashion garments at a rapid rate. Frequent change in fashion trend results in higher disposability of Fast Fashion products. To cater for the Fast Fashion appetite of the present day consumer, fashion giants have ramped up production of garments, thus imposing a massive strain on the planet’s natural resources. Also, ethical issues related to cheaper methods of production are of concern. India being a large consumer base has a major role to play in proliferation of the Fast Fashion trend. This paper is an attempt to study the effect of fast fashion trends on the Indian consumer’s behaviour. It also attempts to ascertain the awareness of the consumer about the detrimental effect that the fast fashion trends manifest on the environment. Design /methodology/approach: The survey was conducted using a questionnaire targeted at a set of urban Indian consumers of varied age, profession and socio economic backgrounds. Trends regarding frequency of purchase, expenditure on clothing, disposal methods and awareness about environmental issues were analyzed using the obtained data. Findings: The result of the study indicates that urban Indian consumer has a strong affinity towards fast fashion trends, but is largely unaware of its detrimental effect on the environment and strain on natural resources. Research Limitation/implications: The sample size for survey was only of a hundred consumers, and the same could be expanded for a better estimate of trends. Also, the sample consumers were mostly urban. A big chunk of Indian fashion consumers reside in small towns and the same could be included in the survey. Practical implications: As the true cost of Fast Fashion in terms of environmental and ethical aspects is getting realized worldwide, a big market like India cannot remain isolated from this phenomenon. Globally there has been an increase in demand of ethically produced clothing. It is imperative that the Indian consumer be made aware about the unsustainable nature of Fast Fashion so that he can contribute towards conservation of natural resources and ethical production of garments. Originality/value The research attempts to ascertain consumption pattern of the Indian fashion consumer and also his awareness about the true cost and consequences of Fast Fashion. The inferences may be used by fashion giants to use ‘Green Marketing’ and ‘Social Marketing’ techniques to make the Indian consumer more aware about sustainable fashion and to market their own products as ‘Sustainable, Green and Ethical’.

Keywords: consumption, disposable, fast fashion, Indian consumer

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Authors: Ridwan Dewayanto Rusli

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We show how prisoner's dilemma-type competition problems can be mitigated through rapid platform diversification and ecosystem expansion. We analyze a ride-hailing company in Southeast Asia, Gojek, whose network grew to more than 170 million users comprising consumers, partner drivers, merchants, and complementors within a few years and has already achieved higher contribution margins than ride-hailing peers Uber and Lyft. Its ecosystem integrates ride-hailing, food delivery and logistics, merchant solutions, e-commerce, marketplace and advertising, payments, and fintech offerings. The company continues growing its network of complementors and App developers, expanding content and gaining critical mass in consumer data analytics and advertising. We compare the company's growth and diversification trajectory with those of its main international rivals and peers. The company's rapid growth and future potential are analyzed using Cusumano's (2012) Staying Power and Six Principles, Hax and Wilde's (2003) and Hax's (2010) The Delta Model as well as Santos' (2016) home-market advantages frameworks. The recently announced multi-billion-dollar merger with one of Southeast Asia's largest e-commerce majors lends additional support to the above arguments.

Keywords: ride-hailing, prisoner's dilemma, platform and ecosystem strategy, digital applications, diversification, home market advantages, e-commerce

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Authors: Karolina Porada

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Over the last 40 years, there has been a trend in landscape architecture which supporters do not perceive the role of pro-ecological or postmodern solutions in the design of public green spaces as an essential goal, shifting their attention to the 'sculptural' shaping of areas with the use of slopes, hills, embankments, and other forms of terrain. This group of designers can be considered avant-garde, which in its activities refers to land art. Initial research shows that such applications are particularly frequent in places of former post-industrial sites and landfills, utilizing materials such as debris and post-mining waste in their construction. Due to the high degradation of the environment surrounding modern man, the brownfields are a challenge and a field of interest for the representatives of landscape architecture avant-garde, who through their projects try to recover lost lands by means of transformations supported by engineering and ecological knowledge to create places where nature can develop again. The analysis of a dozen or so facilities made it possible to come up with an important conclusion: apart from the cultural aspects (including artistic activities), the green areas formally referring to the land are important in the process of remediation of post-industrial sites and waste recycling (e. g. from construction sites). In these processes, there is also a potential for applying the concept of Natural Based Solutions, i.e. solutions allowing for the natural development of the site in such a way as to use it to cope with environmental problems, such as e.g.  air pollution, soil phytoremediation and climate change. The paper presents examples of modern parks, whose compositions are based on shaping the surface of the terrain in a way referring to the land art, at the same time providing an example of brownfields reuse and application of waste recycling.  For the purposes of object analysis, research methods such as historical-interpretation studies, case studies, qualitative research or the method of logical argumentation were used. The obtained results provide information about the role that landscape architecture can have in the process of remediation of degraded areas, at the same time guaranteeing the benefits, such as the shaping of landscapes attractive in terms of visual appearance, low costs of implementation, and improvement of the natural environment quality.

Keywords: brownfields, contemporary parks, landscape architecture, remediation

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Authors: Askar Sabet, Abdolrasoul Fakhraee, Motahahre Ramezanpour, Noorallah Alipour

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An efficient and green method for oxidation of thiols to the corresponding disulfides is reported using ionic liquid [HSO3N(C2H4OSO3H)3] in the presence of free nano-Fe2O3 at 60°C. Ionic liquid is selective oxidant for S-S Coupling variety aliphatic and aromatic of thiols to corresponding disulfide in the presence of free nano-Fe2O3 as recoverable catalyst. Reaction has been performed in methanol as an inexpensive solvent. This reaction is clean and easy work-up with no side reaction.

Keywords: thiol, disulfide, ionic liquid, free nano-Fe2O3, oxidation, coupling

Procedia PDF Downloads 283

Authors: Mohamed Ahmed M. Azab

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The shortage of fresh water is a major problem in several areas of the world such as arid regions and coastal zones in several countries of Arabian Gulf. Fortunately, arid regions are exposed to high levels of solar irradiation most the year, which makes the utilization of solar energy a promising solution to such problem with zero harmful emission (Green System). The main objective of this work is to conduct a feasibility study of utilizing small autonomous water desalination units powered by photovoltaic modules as a green renewable energy resource to be employed in different isolated zones as a source of drinking water for some scattered societies where the installation of huge desalination stations are discarded owing to the unavailability of electric grid. Yanbu City is chosen as a case study where the Renewable Energy Center exists and equipped with all sensors to assess the availability of solar energy all over the year. The study included two types of available water: the first type is brackish well water and the second type is seawater of coastal regions. In the case of well water, two versions of desalination units are involved in the study: the first version is based on day operation only. While the second version takes into consideration night operation also, which requires energy storage system as batteries to provide the necessary electric power at night. According to the feasibility study results, it is found that utilization of small autonomous desalinations unit is applicable and economically accepted in the case of brackish well water. While in the case of seawater the capital costs are extremely high and the cost of desalinated water will not be economically feasible unless governmental subsidies are provided. In addition, the study indicated that, for the same water production, the utilization of energy storage version (day-night) adds additional capital cost for batteries, and extra running cost for their replacement, which makes the unit price not only incompetent with day-only unit but also with conventional units powered by diesel generator (fossil fuel) owing to the low prices of fuel in the kingdom. However, the cost analysis shows that the price of the produced water per cubic meter of day-night unit is similar to that produced from the day-only unit provided that the day-night unit operates theoretically for a longer period of 50%.

Keywords: solar energy, water desalination, reverse osmosis, arid regions

Procedia PDF Downloads 444

Authors: S. Balubaid, M. Z. Abd Majid, R. Zakaria

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Energy efficiency is one of the most important issues for green buildings and their sustainability. This is not only due to the environmental impacts, but also because of significantly high energy cost. The aim of this study is to identify the potential actions required for toll plaza that lead to energy reduction. The data were obtained through set of questionnaire and interviewing targeted respondents, including the employees at toll plaza, and architects and engineers who are directly involved in design of highway projects. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics analysis method. The findings of this study are the critical elements that influence the energy usage and factors that lead to energy wastage. Finally, potential actions are recommended to reduce energy consumption in toll plazas.

Keywords: energy efficiency, toll plaza, energy consumption

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Authors: Marinko Skare, Malgorzata Porada Rochon

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This paper study the link between energy justice and economic growth. The link between energy justice and growth has not been extensively studied. Here we study the impact and importance of energy justice, as a part of the energy transition process, on economic growth. Our study shows energy justice growth is an important determinant of economic growth and development that should be addressed at the industry and economic levels. We use panel data modeling and causality testing to research the empirical link between energy justice and economic growth. Industry and economy-level policies designed to support energy justice initiatives are beneficial to economic growth. Energy justice is a necessary condition for green growth and sustainability targets.

Keywords: energy justice, economic growth, panel data, energy transition

Procedia PDF Downloads 109

Authors: Mohammad R. Jalali

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Movement of liquid with a free surface in a container is known as slosh. For instance, slosh occurs when water in a closed tank is set in motion by a free surface displacement, or when liquid natural gas in a container is vibrated by an external driving force, such as an earthquake or movement induced by transport. Slosh is also derived from resonant switching of a natural basin. During sloshing, different types of motion are produced by energy exchange between the liquid and its container. In present study, a numerical model is developed to simulate the nonlinear even harmonic oscillations of free surface sloshing of an initial disturbance to the free surface of a liquid in a closed square basin. The response of the liquid free surface is affected by amplitude and motion frequencies of its container; therefore, sloshing involves complex fluid-structure interactions. In the present study, nonlinear interaction of free surface sloshing of an initial Gaussian hump with its uneven container is predicted numerically. For this purpose, Green-Naghdi (GN) equations are applied as governing equation of fluid field to produce nonlinear second-order and higher-order wave interactions. These equations reduce the dimensions from three to two, yielding equations that can be solved efficiently. The GN approach assumes a particular flow kinematic structure in the vertical direction for shallow and deep-water problems. The fluid velocity profile is finite sum of coefficients depending on space and time multiplied by a weighting function. It should be noted that in GN theory, the flow is rotational. In this study, GN numerical simulations of initial Gaussian hump are compared with Fourier series semi-analytical solutions of the linearized shallow water equations. The comparison reveals that satisfactory agreement exists between the numerical simulation and the analytical solution of the overall free surface sloshing patterns. The resonant free surface motions driven by an initial Gaussian disturbance are obtained by Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) of the free surface elevation time history components. Numerically predicted velocity vectors and magnitude contours for the free surface patterns indicate that interaction of Gaussian hump with its container has localized effect. The result of this sloshing is applicable to the design of stable liquefied oil containers in tankers and offshore platforms.

Keywords: fluid-structure interactions, free surface sloshing, Gaussian hump, Green-Naghdi equations, numerical predictions

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Authors: Hisham Mortada

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For thousands of years mud houses have represented the practical wisdom and spirituality of people, particularly those of desert regions, who learned how to use local materials to build homes that fitted the environmental and cultural conditions which they lived in. As a case study, the central region of Saudi Arabia exhibits a tradition of earth architecture that is unique in style, culture and sustainability. Aiming to contribute towards the local debate of the suitability of the traditional mud architecture for today’s lifestyle of Saudis, this paper explores the sustainable nature of the traditional adobe architecture of this hot arid region from environmental, social and technical points of view.

Keywords: desert architecture, alternative materials, Saudi Arabia, arid climate, green architecture

Procedia PDF Downloads 371

Authors: Ala’a H. Al-Muhtaseb, Farrukh Jamil, Sandeep K. Saxena

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The fast growth rate of energy consumption along with world population expected to demand 50% more energy by 2030 than nowadays. At present, the energy demand is mostly provided by limited fossil fuel sources such as oil, natural gas, and coal that are resulting in dramatic increase in CO2 emissions from combustion of fossil fuels. The growth of the biodiesel industry over the last decade has resulted in a price drop because glycerol is obtained as a by-product during transesterification of vegetable oil or animal fats, which accounts for one tenth of every gallon of biodiesel produced. The production of oxygenates from glycerol gains much importance due to the excellent diesel-blending property of the oxygenates that not only improve the quality of the fuel but also increases the overall yield of the biodiesel in helping to meet the target for energy production from renewable sources for transport in the energy utilization directives. The reaction of bio-glycerol with bio-acetone was carried out in a magnetically stirred two necked round bottom flaskS. Condensation of bio-glycerol with acetone in the presence of various modified forms of beta zeolite has been done for synthesizing solketal (AB-2 modified with nitric acid, AB-3 modified with oxalic acid). Among all modified forms of beta zeolite, AB-2 showed the best performance for maximum glycerol conversion 94.26 % with 94.21 % solketal selectivity and minimum acetal formation 0.05 %. The physiochemical properties of parent beta zeolite and all its modified forms were analyzed by XRD, SEM, TEM, BET, FTIR and TPD. It has been revealed that AB-2 catalysts with high pore volume and surface area gave high glycerol conversion with maximum solketal selectivity. Despite this, the crystallinity of AB-3 was lower than AB-2 which helps to provide the shorter path length for reactants and product but due high pore volume AB-2 was preferred which gave maximum bio-glycerol conversion. Temperature does matter the glycerol conversion and selectivity of solketal, as it increases from 40 ºC to 60 ºC the conversion of glycerol rises from 80.04 % to 94.26 % and selectivity of solketal from 80.0 % to 94.21 % but further increase in temperature to 100 ºC glycerol conversion reduced to 93.06 % and solketal selectivity to 92.08 %. AB-2 was found to be highly stable as up to 4 repeated experimental runs there was less than 10% decrease in its activity. This process offers an attractive route for converting bio-glycerol, the main by-product of biodiesel to solketal with bio-acetone; a value-added green product with potential industrial applications as a valuable green fuel additive or combustion promoter for gasoline/diesel engines.

Keywords: beta-zeolite, bio-glycerol, catalyst, solketal

Procedia PDF Downloads 210

Authors: Aminu Musa Audu

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This paper examines the human resources management issues of the Nigeria Police and how it is impacting the community policing policy transfer. Nigeria Police Force is the organisation in the country with the constitutional responsibility of maintaining law and order. The high level of crime and other forms of insecurity called for the introduction of ‘police-community partnership’ strategy in 2003. The trend of events has suggested that the effort is not yielding result, partly because the police in Nigeria are facing human resources management challenges. For instance, the prospective candidates for the police jobs are usually not vetted a situation which provides the possibility of recruiting persons of low academic background and questionable character, or even criminal records. Moreover, the existing training, development infrastructure and other logistics for the job of policing are not in good condition. Consequently, the implementation of the ‘community policing’ policy for crime prevention and control in Nigeria stands to suffer setbacks. Adopting qualitative methods and with focus groups discussions and individual in-depth interviews for data collections, the findings from the views and perspectives of the participants were suggestive of poor handlings of human resources management of the Nigeria police organisation and with negative effect on the implementation of community policing policy. The paper therefore recommends that a total overhaul of the human resources component of the police organisation is necessary in the community policing policy transfer process for crime prevention and control in Nigeria.

Keywords: Nigeria Police Force, community policing policy transfer, human resources management, police-community partnership

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Authors: W. Y. Zhu, X. L. Yan, Y. Zhou

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Sulfonamides (SAs) are extensively used antibiotics; photocatalysis is an effective, way to remove the SAs from water driven by solar energy. Here we used WO3 nanoplates and their Ag heterogeneous as photocatalysts to investigate their photodegradation efficiency against sulfanilamide (SAM) which is the precursor of SAs. Results showed that WO3/Ag composites performed much better than pure WO3 where the highest removal rate was 96.2% can be achieved under visible light irradiation. Ag as excellent antibacterial agent also endows certain antibacterial efficiency to WO3, and 100% removal efficiency could be achieved in 2 h under visible light irradiation for all WO3/Ag composites. Generally, WO3/Ag composites are very effective photocatalysts with potentials in practical applications which mainly use cheap, clean and green solar energy as energy source.

Keywords: antibacterial, photocatalysis, semiconductor, sulfanilamide

Procedia PDF Downloads 354