Search results for: volatile emissions

Authors: Ahmed Auda, Manjree Agarwala, Giles Hardya, Yonglin Rena

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Botrytis cinerea is a major pest for many plants. It can attack a wide range of plant parts. It can attack buds, flowers, and leaves, stems, and fruit. However, B. cinerea can be mixed with other diseases that cause the same damage. There are many species of botrytis and more than one different strains of each. Botrytis might infect the foliage of nursery stock stored through winter in damp conditions. There are no known resistant plants. Botrytis must have nutrients or food source before it infests the plant. Nutrients leaking from wounded plant parts or dying tissue like old flower petals give the required nutrients. From this food, the fungus becomes more attackers and invades healthy tissue. Dark to light brown rot forms in the ill tissue. High humidity conditions support the growth of this fungus. However, we suppose that selection pressure can act on the morphological and neurophysiologic filter properties of the receiver and on both the biochemical and the physiological regulation of the signal. Communication is implied when signal and receiver evolves toward more and more specific matching, culminating. In other hand, receivers respond to portions of a body odor bouquet which is released to the environment not as an (intentional) signal but as an unavoidable consequence of metabolic activity or tissue damage. Each year Botrytis species can cause considerable economic losses to plant crops. Even with the application of strict quarantine and control measures, these fungi can still find their way into crops and cause the imposition of onerous restrictions on exports. Blueberry fruit mould caused by a fungal infection usually results in major losses during post-harvest storage. Therefore, the management of infection in early stages of disease development is necessary to minimize losses. The overall purpose of this study will develop sensitive, cheap, quick and robust diagnostic techniques for the detection of B. cinerea in blueberry. The specific aim was designed to investigate the performance of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the detection and discrimination of blueberry fruits infected by fungal pathogens with an emphasis on Botrytis in the early storage stage of post-harvest.

Keywords: botrytis cinerea, blueberry, GC/MS, VOCs

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Authors: Vuiswa Lucia Sethunya, Tonderayi Matambo, Diane Hildebrandt

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

Keywords: anaerobic digestion, biogas, kitchen waste, household

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Authors: Vu H. N. Khue, Marian Pavelka, Georg Jocher, Jiří Dušek, Le T. Son, Bui T. An, Ho Q. Bang, Pham Q. Huong

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Agriculture is an important economic sector of Vietnam, the most popular of which is wet rice cultivation. These activities are also known as the main contributor to the national greenhouse gas. In order to understand more about greenhouse gas exchange in these activities and to investigate the factors influencing carbon cycling and sequestration in these types of ecosystems, since 2019, the first eddy covariance station has been installed in a paddy field in Long An province, Mekong Delta. The station was equipped with state-of-the-art equipment for CO₂ and CH₄ gas exchange and micrometeorology measurements. In this study, data from the station was processed following the ICOS recommendations (Integrated Carbon Observation System) standards for CO₂, while CH₄ was manually processed and gap-filled using a random forest model from methane-gapfill-ml, a machine learning package, as there is no standard method for CH₄ flux gap-filling yet. Finally, the carbon equivalent (Ce) balance based on CO₂ and CH₄ fluxes was estimated. The results show that in 2020, even though a new water management practice - alternate wetting and drying - was applied to reduce methane emissions, the paddy field released 928 g Cₑ.m⁻².yr⁻¹, and in 2021, it was reduced to 707 g Cₑ.m⁻².yr⁻¹. On a provincial level, rice cultivation activities in Long An, with a total area of 498,293 ha, released 4.6 million tons of Cₑ in 2020 and 3.5 million tons of Cₑ in 2021.

Keywords: eddy covariance, greenhouse gas, methane, rice cultivation, Mekong Delta

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Authors: Hafiz Mehtab Gull Nasir

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Industrial development and urbanization have significant impacts on air emissions, and their relationship diverges at different stages of economic progress. The revolution further propelled these activities as principal paths to economic and social transformation; nevertheless, the paths also promoted environmental degradation. Resultantly, both developed and developing countries undergone through fast-paced development; in which developed countries implemented legislation towards environmental pollution control however developing countries took the advantage of technology without caring about the environment. In this study, meta-analysis is performed on production of particulate matter (i.e., PM10 and PM2.5) from urbanized cities of first, second and third world countries to assess the air quality. The cities were selected based on ranked set principles. In case of PM10, third world countries showed highest PM level (~95% confidence interval of 0.74-1.86) followed by second world countries but with managed situation. Besides, first, world countries indicated the lowest pollution (~95% confidence interval of 0.12-0.2). Similarly, highest level of PM2.5 was produced by third world countries followed by the second and first world countries. Hereby, level of PM2.5 was not significantly different for both second and third world countries; however, first world countries showed minimum PM load. Finally, the study revealed different that levels of pollution status exist among different countries; whereas developed countries also devised better strategies towards pollution control while developing countries are least caring about their environmental resources. It is suggested that although industrialization and urbanization are directly involved with interference in natural elements, however, production of nature appears to be more societal rather hermetical.

Keywords: meta-analysis, particulate matter, developing countries, urbanization

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Authors: Melissa Hachem, Lynda Bensefa-Colas, Isabelle Momas

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We evaluated the impact of the first lockdown restriction measures (March-May 2020) in the Paris area on (1) the variation of in-vehicle ultrafine particle (UFP) and black carbon (BC) concentrations between pre-and post-lockdown period and (2) the professional drivers working conditions and practices. The study was conducted on 33 Parisian taxi drivers. UFP and BC were measured inside their vehicles with DiSCmini® and microAeth®, respectively, on two typical working days before and after the first lockdown. The job-related characteristics were self-reported. Our results showed that after the first lockdown, the number of clients significantly decreased as well as the taxi driver's journey duration. Taxi drivers significantly opened their windows more and reduced the use of air recirculation. UFP decreased significantly by 32% and BC by 31% after the first lockdown, with a weaker positive correlation compared to before the lockdown. The reduction of in-vehicle UFP was explained mainly by the reduction of traffic flow and ventilation settings, though the latter probably varied according to the traffic condition. No predictor explained the variation of in-vehicle BC concentration between pre-and post-lockdown periods, suggesting different sources of UFP and BC. The road traffic was not anymore the dominant source of BC post-lockdown. We emphasize the role of traffic emissions on in-vehicle air pollution and that preventive measures such as ventilation settings will help to better manage air quality inside a vehicle in order to minimize exposure of professional drivers, as well as passengers, to air pollutants.

Keywords: black carbon, COVID-19, France, lockdown, taxis, ultrafine particles

Procedia PDF Downloads 192

Authors: Dang HuynhMinhTam, Kuang-Cong Lu, Yi-Hung Chen, Zhung-Yu Lin, Cheng-Siang Cheng

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Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology become a predominant technique to mitigate carbon dioxide and achieve net-zero emissions goals. This research targets to continuously capture the low concentration CO₂ from the tail gas of the regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) in the high technology industry. A rotating packed bed (RPB) reactor is investigated to capture the efficiency of CO₂ using a mixture of NaOH/Na₂CO₃ solutions to simulate the real absorbed solution. On a lab scale, semi-batch experiments of continuous gas flow and circulating absorbent solution are conducted to find the optimal parameters and are then examined in a continuous operation. In the semi-batch tests, the carbon capture efficiency and pH variation in the conditions of a low concentration CO₂ (about 1.13 vol%), the NaOH concentration of 1 wt% or 2 wt% mixed with 14 wt% Na₂CO₃, the rotating speed (600, 900, 1200 rpm), the gas-liquid ratio (100, 200, and 400), and the temperature of absorbent solution of 40 ºC are studied. The CO₂ capture efficiency significantly increases with higher rotating speed and smaller gas-liquid ratio, respectively, while the difference between the NaOH concentration of 1 wt% and 2 wt% is relatively small. The maximum capture efficiency is close to 80% in the conditions of the NaOH concentration of 1 wt%, the G/L ratio of 100, and the rotating speed of 1200 rpm within the first 5 minutes. Furthermore, the continuous operation based on similar conditions also demonstrates the steady efficiency of the carbon capture of around 80%.

Keywords: carbon dioxide capture, regenerative thermal oxidizer, rotating packed bed, sodium hydroxide

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Authors: Nyashadzashe Chiraga, Anthony Walker, Glen Bright

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The manufacturing industry is currently experiencing a paradigm shift into the Fourth Industrial Revolution in which customers are increasingly at the epicentre of production. The high degree of production customization and personalization requires a flexible manufacturing system that will rapidly respond to the dynamic and volatile changes driven by the market. They are a gap in technology that allows for the optimal flow of information and optimal manufacturing operations on the shop floor regardless of the rapid changes in the fixture and part demands. Information is the reduction of uncertainty; it gives meaning and context on the state of each cell. The amount of information needed to describe cellular manufacturing systems is investigated by two measures: the structural entropy and the operational entropy. Structural entropy is the expected amount of information needed to describe scheduled states of a manufacturing system. While operational entropy is the amount of information that describes the scheduled states of a manufacturing system, which occur during the actual manufacturing operation. Using Anylogic simulator a typical manufacturing job shop was set-up with a cellular manufacturing configuration. The cellular make-up of the configuration included; a Material handling cell, 3D Printer cell, Assembly cell, manufacturing cell and Quality control cell. The factory shop provides manufactured parts to a number of clients, and there are substantial variations in the part configurations, new part designs are continually being introduced to the system. Based on the normal expected production schedule, the schedule adherence was calculated from the structural entropy and operation entropy of varying the amounts of information communicated in simulated runs. The structural entropy denotes a system that is in control; the necessary real-time information is readily available to the decision maker at any point in time. For contractive analysis, different out of control scenarios were run, in which changes in the manufacturing environment were not effectively communicated resulting in deviations in the original predetermined schedule. The operational entropy was calculated from the actual operations. From the results obtained in the empirical study, it was seen that increasing, the efficiency of a factory communication system increases the degree of adherence of a job to the expected schedule. The performance of downstream production flow fed from the parallel upstream flow of information on the factory state was increased.

Keywords: information entropy, communication in manufacturing, mass customisation, scheduling

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Authors: Sudha Shukla, Bablu Kumar, Gyan Prakash Gupta, U. C. Kulshrestha

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Air pollutants emitted from solid biofuels during cooking are the major contributors to poor air quality, respiratory problems, and radiative forcing, etc. in rural areas of most of developing countries. The present study reports the chemical characteristics and sources of ambient aerosols and traces gases during cooking and non-cooking hours emitted during biofuel combustion in a village in North-Central India. Fine aerosol samples along with gaseous species (Sox, NOx, and NH₃) were collected during September 2010-March 2011 at Khairatpur village (KPV) which is located in the Uttar Pradesh state in North-Central India. Results indicated that most of the major ions in aerosols and Sox, NOx, and NH₃ gases were found to be higher during cooking hours as compared to non-cooking hours suggesting that solid biofuel combustion is an important source of air pollution. Results of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed that combustion of solid biofuel, vehicular emissions, and brick kilns were the major sources of fine aerosols and trace gases in the village. A health survey was conducted to find out the relation between users of biofuels and their health effects and the results revealed that most of the women in the village were suffering from diseases associated with biofuel combustion during cooking.

Keywords: ambient aerosols, biofuel combustion, cooking, health survey, rural area

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Authors: Justin Morton, Mohammad Khavari, Abhinav Priyadarshi, Nicole Grobert, Dmitry G. Eskin, Jiawei Mi, Kriakos Porfyrakis, Paul Prentice

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Ultrasonic cavitation is used for various processes and applications. Recently, ultrasonic assisted liquid phase exfoliation has been implemented to produce two dimensional nanomaterials. Depending on parameters such as input transducer power and the operational frequency used to induce the cavitation, bubble dynamics can be controlled and optimised. Using ultra-high-speed imagining and acoustic pressure measurements, a dual-frequency systemand its effect on bubble dynamics was investigated. A high frequency transducer (1.174 MHz) showed that bubble fragments and satellite bubbles induced from a low frequency transducer (24 kHz) were able to extend their lifecycle. In addition, this combination of ultrasonic frequencies generated higher acoustic emissions (∼24%) than the sum of the individual transducers. The dual-frequency system also produced an increase in cavitation zone size of∼3 times compared to the low frequency sonotrode. Furthermore, the high frequency induced cavitation bubbleswere shown to rapidly oscillate, although remained stable and did not transiently collapse, even in the presence of a low pressure field. Finally, the spatial distribution of satellite and fragment bubbles from the sonotrode were shown to increase, extending the active cavitation zone. These observations elucidated the benefits of using a dual-frequency system for generating nanomaterials with the aid of ultrasound, in deionised water.

Keywords: dual-frequency, cavitation, bubble dynamics, graphene

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Authors: Reina Kawase

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World GHG emissions should be reduced 50% by 2050 compared with 1990 level. CO2 emission reduction from steel sector, an energy-intensive sector, is essential. To estimate CO2 emission from steel sector in the world, estimation of steel production is required. The world steel production by process is estimated during the period of 2005-2050. The world is divided into aggregated 35 regions. For a steel making process, two kinds of processes are considered; basic oxygen furnace (BOF) and electric arc furnace (EAF). Steel production by process in each region is decided based on a current production capacity, supply-demand balance of steel and scrap, technology innovation of steel making, steel consumption projection, and goods trade. World steel production under moderate countermeasure scenario in 2050 increases by 1.3 times compared with that in 2012. When domestic scrap recycling is promoted, steel production in developed regions increases about 1.5 times. The share in developed regions changes from 34 %(2012) to about 40%(2050). This is because developed regions are main suppliers of scrap. 48-57% of world steel production is produced by EAF. Under the scenario which thinks much of supply-demand balance of steel, steel production in developing regions increases is 1.4 times and is larger than that in developed regions. The share in developing regions, however, is not so different from current level. The increase in steel production by EAF is the largest under the scenario in which supply-demand balance of steel is an important factor. The share reaches 65%.

Keywords: global steel production, production distribution scenario, steel making process, supply-demand balance

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Authors: Dario Basile, Manuela De Maddis, Raffaella Sesana, Pasquale Russo Spena, Roberto Maiorano

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Nowadays, the reduction of CO₂ emissions and the decrease in energy consumption are the main aims of several industries, especially in the automotive sector. To comply with the increasingly restrictive regulations, the automotive industry is constantly looking for innovative techniques to produce lighter, more efficient, and less polluting vehicles. One of the latest technologies, and still developing, is based on the fabrication of the body-in-white and car parts through the stamping of Aluminum Tailor Welded Blanks. Tailor Welded Blanks (TWBs) are generally the combination of two/three metal sheets with different thicknesses and/or mechanical strengths, which are commonly butt-welded together by laser sources. The use of aluminum TWBs has several advantages such as low density and corrosion resistance adequate. However, their use is still limited by the lower formability with respect to the parent materials and the more intrinsic difficulty of laser welding of aluminum sheets (i.e., internal porosity) that, although its use in automated industries is constantly growing, remains a process to be further developed and improved. This study has investigated the effect of the main laser welding process parameters (laser power, welding speed, and focal distance) on the mechanical properties of aluminum TWBs made of 6xxx series. The research results show that a narrow weldability window can be found to ensure welded joints with high strength and limited or no porosity.

Keywords: aluminum sheets, automotive industry, laser welding, mechanical properties, tailor welded blanks

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Authors: Ayad Salih Sabbar, Amin Chegenizadeh, Hamid Nikraz

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Utilizing waste materials in civil engineering applications has a positive influence on the environment by reducing carbon dioxide emissions and issues associated with waste disposal. Granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) is a by-product of the iron and steel industry, with millions of tons of slag being annually produced worldwide. Slag has been widely used in structural engineering and for stabilizing clay soils; however, studies on the effect of slag on sandy soils are scarce. This article investigates the effect of slag content on shear strength parameters through direct shear tests and unconsolidated undrained triaxial tests on mixtures of Perth sand and slag. For this purpose, sand-slag mixtures, with slag contents of 2%, 4%, and 6% by weight of samples, were tested with direct shear tests under three normal stress values, namely 100 kPa, 150 kPa, and 200 kPa. Unconsolidated undrained triaxial tests were performed under a single confining pressure of 100 kPa and relative density of 80%. The internal friction angles and shear stresses of the mixtures were determined via the direct shear tests, demonstrating that shear stresses increased with increasing normal stress and the internal friction angles and cohesion increased with increasing slag. There were no significant differences in shear stresses parameters when slag content rose from 4% to 6%. The unconsolidated undrained triaxial tests demonstrated that shear strength increased with increasing slag content.

Keywords: direct shear, shear strength, slag, UU test

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Authors: Mokhtari Karchegani Amir, Maboudi Samad, Azadi Reza, Dastanian Raoof

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Marun's petrochemical cracking furnaces have a very comprehensive operating control system for combustion and related equipment, utilizing advanced instrument circuits. However, after several years of operation, numerous problems arose in the pyrolysis furnaces. A team of experts conducted an audit, revealing that the furnaces were over-designed, leading to excessive consumption of air and fuel. This issue was related to the burners' shutter settings, which had not been configured properly. The operations department had responded by increasing the induced draft fan speed and forcing the instrument switches to counteract the wind effect in the combustion chamber. Using Fluent and Gambit software, the furnaces were analyzed. The findings indicated that this situation elevated the convection part's temperature, causing uneven heat distribution inside the furnace. Consequently, this led to overheating in the convection section and excessive cracking within the coils in the radiation section. The increased convection temperature damaged convection parts and resulted in equipment blockages downstream of the furnaces due to the production of more coke and tar in the process. To address these issues, corrective actions were implemented. The excess air for burners and combustion chambers was properly set, resulting in improved efficiency, reduced emissions of environmentally harmful gases, prevention of creep in coils, decreased fuel consumption, and lower maintenance costs.

Keywords: furnace, coke, CFD analysis, over cracking

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Authors: Vivek Kumar Gupta, Kripi Vohra, Monika Gupta

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Pulses have been a vital ingredient of the balanced human diet in India. Lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus or Lens esculenta Moench.) is a common legume known since biblical times. Lentil seeds, with or without hulls, are cooked as dhal and this has been the main dish for millennia in the South Asian region. Oxidative stress can damage lipids, proteins, enzymes, carbohydrates and DNA in cells and tissues, resulting in membrane damage, fragmentation or random cross linking of molecules like DNA, enzymes and structural proteins and even lead to cell death induced by DNA fragmentation and lipid peroxidation. These consequences of oxidative stress construct the molecular basis in the development of cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and autoimmune. The aim of the present work is to assess the antioxidant potential of the peteroleum ether, acetone, methanol and water extract of the Lens esculenta seeds. In vitro antioxidant assessment of the extracts was carried out using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, reducing power assay. The quantitative estimation of total phenolic content, total flavonoid content in extracts and in plant material, total saponin content, total alkaloid content, crude fibre content, total volatile content, fat content and mucilage content in drug material was also carried out. Though all the extracts exhibited dose dependent reducing power activity the acetone extract was found to possess significant hydrogen donating ability in DPPH (45.83%-93.13%) and hydroxyl radical scavenging system (28.7%-46.41%) than the peteroleum ether, methanol and water extracts. Total phenolic content in the acetone and methanol extract was found to be 608 and 188 mg gallic acid equivalent of phenol/g of sample respectively. Total flavonoid content of acetone and methanol extract was found to be 128 and 30.6 mg quercetin equivalent/g of sample respectively. It is evident that acetone extract of Lentil seeds possess high levels of polyphenolics and flavonoids that could be utilized as antioxidants and neutraceuticals.

Keywords: antioxidant, flavanoids, Lens esculenta, polyphenols

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Authors: Marzieh Amiri, Zahra Iranpour Mobarakeh, Fatemeh Mehrbakhsh, Mehran Amiri

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Introduction: Early diagnosis and intervention of congenital hearing loss is necessary to minimize the adverse effects of hearing loss. The aim of the present study was to report the results of newborn hearing screening in a centerin the south part of Iran, Fasa. Material and methods: In this study, the data related to 6,144 newbornsduring September 2018 up to September2021, was analyzed. Hearing screening was performed using transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) and automated auditory brainstem response (AABR) tests. Results: From all 6144 newborns,3752 and 2392referred to the center from urban and rural part of Fasa, respectively. There were 2958 female and 3186 male in this study. Of 6144 newborns, 6098 ones passed the screening tests, and 46 neonates were referred to a diagnostic audiology clinic. Finally, nine neonates were diagnosed with congenital hearing loss (seven with sensorineural hearing loss and two with conductive hearing loss). The severity of all the hearing impaired neonates was moderate and above. The most important risk factors were family history of hearing loss, low gestational age, NICU hospitalization, and hyperbilirubinemia. Conclusion: Our results showed that the prevalence of hearing loss was 1.46 per 1000 infants. Boosting public knowledge by providing families with proper education appears to be helpful in preventing the negative effects of delayed implementation of health screening programs.

Keywords: newborn hearing screening, hearing loss, risk factor, prevalence

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Authors: Ghulam Murshid, Samil Ullah

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Scientific studies suggested that the incremented greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere, particularly of carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the major factors in global warming. The concentration of CO2 in our climate has crossed the milestone level of 400 parts per million (ppm) hence breaking the record of human history. A report by 49 researchers from 10 countries said, 'Global CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels will rise to a record 36 billion metric tons (39.683 billion tons) this year.' Main contributors of CO2 in to the atmosphere are usage of fossil fuel, transportation sector and power generation plants. Among all available technologies, which include; absorption via chemicals, membrane separation, cryogenic and adsorption are in practice around the globe. Adsorption of CO2 using metal organic frameworks (MOF) is getting interest of researcher around the globe. In the current work, MOF-74 as well as modified MOF-74 with a sterically hindered amine (AMP) was synthesized and characterized. The modification was carried out using a sterically hindered amine in order to study the effect on its adsorption capacity. Resulting samples were characterized by using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM), Thermal Gravimetric Analyser (TGA) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). The FTIR results clearly confirmed the formation of MOF-74 structure and the presence of AMP. FESEM and TEM revealed the topography and morphology of the both MOF-74 and amine modified MOF. BET isotherm result shows that due to the addition of AMP in to the structure, significant enhancement of CO2 adsorption was observed.

Keywords: adsorbents, amine, CO2, global warming

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Authors: Cora Fernandez Dacosta, John A. Posada, Andrea Ramirez

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The biodegradable family of polymers polyhydroxyalkanoates are interesting substitutes for convectional fossil-based plastics. However, the manufacturing and environmental impacts associated with their production via intracellular bacterial fermentation are strongly dependent on the raw material used and on energy consumption during the extraction process, limiting their potential for commercialization. Industrial wastewater is studied in this paper as a promising alternative feedstock for waste valorization. Based on results from laboratory and pilot-scale experiments, a conceptual process design, techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment are developed for the large-scale production of the most common type of polyhydroxyalkanoate, polyhydroxbutyrate. Intracellular polyhydroxybutyrate is obtained via fermentation of microbial community present in industrial wastewater and the downstream processing is based on chemical digestion with surfactant and hypochlorite. The economic potential and environmental performance results help identifying bottlenecks and best opportunities to scale-up the process prior to industrial implementation. The outcome of this research indicates that the fermentation of wastewater towards PHB presents advantages compared to traditional PHAs production from sugars because the null environmental burdens and financial costs of the raw material in the bioplastic production process. Nevertheless, process optimization is still required to compete with the petrochemicals counterparts.

Keywords: circular economy, life cycle assessment, polyhydroxyalkanoates, waste valorization

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Authors: Mateusz Paszko, Mirosław Wendeker, Adam Majczak

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Every material body that temperature is higher than 0K (absolute zero) emits infrared radiation to the surroundings. Infrared radiation is highly meaningful in military aviation, especially in military applications of helicopters. Helicopters, in comparison to other aircraft, have much lower flight speeds and maneuverability, which makes them easy targets for actual combat assets like infrared-guided missiles. When designing new helicopter types, especially for combat applications, it is essential to pay enormous attention to infrared emissions of the solid parts composing the helicopter’s structure, as well as to exhaust gases egressing from the engine’s exhaust system. Due to their high temperature, exhaust gases, egressed to the surroundings are a major factor in infrared radiation emission and, in consequence, detectability of a helicopter performing air combat operations. Protection of the helicopter in flight from early detection, tracking and finally destruction can be realized in many ways. This paper presents the analysis of possibilities to decrease the infrared radiation level that is emitted to the environment by helicopter in flight, by cooling exhaust in special ejection-based coolers. The paper also presents the concept 3D model and results of numeric analysis of ejective-based cooler cooperation with PA-10W turbine engine. Numeric analysis presented promising results in decreasing the infrared emission level by PA W-3 helicopter in flight.

Keywords: exhaust cooler, helicopter propulsion, infrared radiation, stealth

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Authors: Passkorn Khanthongthip, John T. Novak

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Many studies have been reported that the nZVI and MgO NPs were often found in waste activated sludge (WAS). However, little is known about the impact of those NPs on WAS stabilization. The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of both NPs on WAS anaerobic digestion for methane production and to examine the change of metanogenic population under those different environments using qPCR. Four dosages (2, 50, 100, and 200 mg/g-TSS) of MgO NPs were added to four different bottles containing WAS to investigate the impact of MgO NPs on methane production during WAS anaerobic digestion. The effects of nZVI on methane production during WAS anaerobic digestion were also conducted in another four bottles using the same methods described above except that the MgO NPs were replaced by nZVI. A bottle of WAS anaerobic digestion without nanoparticles addition was also operated to serve as a control. It was found that the relative amounts, compared to the control system, of methane production in each WAS anaerobic digestion bottle adding 2, 50, 100, 200 mg/gTSS MgO NPs were 98, 62, 28, and 14 %, respectively. This suggests that higher MgO NPs resulted in lower methane production. The data of batch test for the effects of corresponding released Mg2+ indicated that 50 mg/gTSS MgO NPs or higher could inhibit methane production at least 25%. Moreover, the volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentration was 328, 384, 928, 3,684, and 7,848 mg/L for the control and four WAS anaerobic digestion bottles with 2, 50, 100, 200 mg/gTSS MgO NPs addition, respectively. Higher VFA concentration could reduce pH and subsequently decrease methanogen growth, resulting in lower methane production. The relative numbers of total gene copies of methanogens analyzed from samples taken from WAS anaerobic digestion bottles were approximately 99, 68, 38, and 24 % of control for the addition of 2, 50, 100, and 200 mg/gTSS, respectively. Obviously, the more MgO NPs appeared in sludge anaerobic digestion system, the less methanogens remained. In contrast, the relative amount of methane production found in another four WAS anaerobic digestion bottles adding 2, 50, 100, and 200 mg/gTSS nZVI were 102, 128, 112, and 104 % of the control, respectively. The measurement of methanogenic population indicated that the relative content of methanogen gene copies were 101, 132, 120, and 112 % of those found in control, respectively. Additionally, the cumulative VFA was 320, 234, 308, and 330 mg/L, respectively. This reveals that nZVI addition could assist to increase methanogenic population. Higher amount of methanogen accelerated VFA degradation for greater methane production, resulting in lower VFA accumulation in digesters. Moreover, the data for effects of corresponding released Fe2+ conducted by batch tests suggest that the addition of approximately 50 mg/gTSS nZVI increased methane production by 20%. In conclusion, the presence of MgO NPs appeared to diminish the methane production during WAS anaerobic digestion. Higher MgO NPs dosages resulted in more inhibition on methane production. In contrast, nZVI addition promoted the amount of methanogenic population which facilitated methane production.

Keywords: magnesium oxide nanoparticles, methane production, methanogenic population, nano zerovalent iron

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Authors: Wei Chen, Jinlong Pan

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3D concrete printing technology is a novel and highly efficient construction method that holds significant promise for advancing low-carbon initiatives within the construction industry. In contrast to traditional construction practices, 3D printing offers a manual and formwork-free approach, resulting in a transformative shift in labor requirements and fabrication techniques. This transition yields substantial reductions in carbon emissions during the construction phase, as well as decreased on-site waste generation. Furthermore, when compared to conventionally printed concrete, 3D concrete exhibits mechanical anisotropy due to its layer-by-layer construction methodology. Therefore, it becomes imperative to investigate the influence of the printing process on the mechanical properties of 3D printed strips and to optimize the mechanical characteristics of these coagulated strips. In this study, we conducted three-dimensional reconstructions of printed blocks using both circular and directional print heads, incorporating various overlap distances between strips, and employed CT scanning for comprehensive analysis. Our research focused on assessing mechanical properties and micro-pore characteristics under different loading orientations. Our findings reveal that increasing the overlap degree between strips leads to enhanced mechanical properties of the strips. However, it's noteworthy that once full overlap is achieved, further increases in the degree of coincidence do not lead to a decrease in porosity between strips. Additionally, due to its superior printing cross-sectional area, the square printing head exhibited the most favorable impact on mechanical properties.

Keywords: 3D printing concrete, mechanical anisotropy, micro-pore structure, printing technology

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Authors: Jhoga Parth, T. Nasar, K. V. Anand

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An idealized definition of shoreline is that it is the zone of coincidence of three spheres such as atmosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere. Despite its apparent simplicity, this definition in practice a challenge to apply. In reality, the shoreline location deviates continually through time, because of various dynamic factors such as wave characteristics, currents, coastal orientation and the bathymetry, which makes the shoreline volatile. This necessitates us to monitor the shoreline in a temporal basis. If shoreline’s nature is understood at particular coastal stretch, it need not be the same trend at the other location, though belonging to the same sea front. Shoreline change is hence a local phenomenon and has to be studied with great intensity considering as many factors involved as possible. Erosion and accretion of sediment are such natures of a shoreline, which needs to be quantified by comparing with its predeceasing variations and understood before implementing any coastal projects. In recent years, advent of Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) acts as an emerging tool to quantify the intra and inter annual sediment rate getting accreted or deposited compared to other conventional methods in regards with time was taken and man power. Remote sensing data, on the other hand, paves way to acquire historical sets of data where field data is unavailable with a higher resolution. Short term and long term period shoreline change can be accurately tracked and monitored using a software residing in GIS - Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) developed by United States Geological Survey (USGS). In the present study, using DSAS, End Point Rate (EPR) is calculated analyze the intra-annual changes, and Linear Rate Regression (LRR) is adopted to study inter annual changes of shoreline. The shoreline changes are quantified for the scenario during the construction of breakwater in Ponnani river inlet along Kerala coast, India. Ponnani is a major fishing and landing center located 10°47’12.81”N and 75°54’38.62”E in Malappuram district of Kerala, India. The rate of erosion and accretion is explored using satellite and field data. The full paper contains the rate of change of shoreline, and its analysis would provide us understanding the behavior of the inlet at the study area during the construction of the training walls.

Keywords: DSAS, end point rate, field measurements, geo-informatics, shoreline variation

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Authors: İlhami Karahanoglu, Oguz Ceylan

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As its well-known definitions; systemic risk refers to whole economic system down-turn movement even collapse together in very severe cases. In fact, it points out the contagion effects of the defaults. Such a risk is can be depicted with the famous Chinese game of falling domino stones. During and after the Bear & Sterns and Lehman Brothers cases, it was well understood that there is a very strong effect of systemic risk in financial services sector. In this study, we concentrate on the existence of systemic risk in Turkish Banking Sector based upon the Halkbank Case during the end month of 2013; there was a political turmoil in Turkey in which the close relatives of the upper politicians were involved in illegal trading activities. In that operation, the CEO of Halkbank was also arrested and in investigation, Halkbank was considered as part of such illegal actions. That operation had an impact on Halkbanks stock value. The Halkbank stock value during that time interval decreased remarkably, the distributional profile of stock return changed and became more volatile as well as more skewed. In this study, the daily returns of 5 leading banks in Turkish banking sector were used to obtain 48 return distributions (for each month, 90-days-back stock value returns are used) of 5 banks for the period 12/2011-12/2013 (pre operation period) and 12/2013-12/2015 (post operation period). When those distributions are compared with timely manner, interestingly; the distribution of the 5 other leading banks in Turkey, public or private, had also distribution profiles which was different from the past 2011-2013 period just like Halkbank. Those 5 big banks, whose stock values are monitored with sub index in Istanbul stock exchange (BIST) as BN10, had more skewed distribution just following the Halkbank stock return movement during the post operation period, with lover mean value and as well higher volatility. In addition, the correlation between the stock value return distributions of the leading banks after Halkbank case, where the returns are more skewed to the left, increased (which is measured in monthly base before and after the operation). The dependence between those banks was stronger under the case where the stock values were falling compared with the normal market condition. Such distributional effect of stock returns between the leading banks in Turkey, which is valid for down sub-market (financial/banking sector) condition, can be evaluated as an evidence for the existence of contagious effect and systemic risk.

Keywords: financial risk, systemic risk, banking sector, return distribution, dependency structure

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Authors: Priyansha Sharma, Sibani Mund, Sivakumar Vaidyanathan

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Solid-state synthesis methods were used for the synthesis of pure red emissive Li¬3BaSrxCa(1-x)Eu2.7Gd0.3(MoO4)8 (x = 0.0 to 1.0) phosphors, XRD, SEM, and FTIR spectra were used to characterize the materials, and their optical properties were thoroughly investigated. PL studies were examined at different excitations 230 nm, 275nm, 465nm, and 395 nm. All the spectra show similar emissions with the highest transition at 616 nm due to ED transition. The given phosphor Li¬3BaSr0.25Ca0.75Eu2.7Gd0.3(MoO4)8 shows the highest intensity and is thus chosen for the temperature-dependent and Quantum yield study. According to the PL investigation, the phosphor-containing Eu3+ emits red light due to the (5D0 7F2) transition. The excitation analysis shows that all of the Eu3+ activated phosphors exhibited broad absorption due to the charge transfer band, O2-Mo6+, O2-Eu3+ transition, as well as narrow absorption bands related to the Eu3+ ion's 4f-4f electronic transition. Excitation spectra show Charge transfer band at 275 nm shows the highest intensity. The primary band in the spectra refers to Eu3+ ions occupying the lattice's non-centrosymmetric location. All of the compositions are monoclinic crystal structures with space group C2/c and match with reference powder patterns. The thermal stability of the 3BaSr0.25Ca0.75Eu2.7Gd0.3(MoO4)8 phosphor was investigated at (300 k- 500 K) as well as at low temperature from (20 K to 275 K) to be utilized for red and white LED fabrication. The Decay Lifetime of all the phosphor was measured. The best phosphor was used for White and Red LED fabrication.

Keywords: PL, phosphor, quantum yield, white LED

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Authors: Tirthankar Chakraborty, Indranil Mukherjee

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The environmental aspect had a major effect on industrial decisions after the deteriorating condition of our surroundings dsince the industrial activities became apparent. Green buildings have been seen as a possible solution to reduce the carbon emissions from construction projects and the housing industry in general. Though this has been established in several areas, with many commercial buildings being designed green, the scope for expansion is still significant and further information on the importance and advantages of green buildings is necessary. Several commercial green building projects have come up and the green buildings are mainly implemented in the residential sector when the residential projects are constructed to furnish amenities to a large population. But, residential buildings, even those of medium sizes, can be designed to incorporate elements of sustainable design. In this context, this paper attempts to give a theoretical appraisal of the use of renewable energy systems in residential buildings of different sizes considering the weather conditions (solar insolation and wind speed) of the metropolis, Kolkata, India. Three cases are taken; one with solar power, one with wind power and one with a combination of the two. All the cases are considered in conjunction with conventional energy, and the efficiency of each in fulfilling the total energy demand is verified. The optimum combination for reducing the carbon footprint of the residential building is thus established. In addition, an assessment of the amount of money saved due to green buildings in metered water supply and price of coal is also mentioned.

Keywords: renewable energy, green buildings, solar power, wind power, energy hybridization, residential sector

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Authors: Ahmed Y. Kutbi, C. Russell. J. Baird, M. McNaughtan, Francis Wayman

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Wastewaters from antibiotic production facilities are characterized with high concentrations of dissolved organic substances. Subsequently, it challenges wastewater treatment plant operator to achieve successful biological treatment and to meet regulatory emission levels. Of the dissolved organic substances, this research is investigating the fate of organic nitrogenous compounds (i.e., Chitin) in an antibiotic production wastewater treatment plant located in Irvine, Scotland and its impact on the WWTP removal performance. Dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in WWTP effluents are of significance because 1) its potential to cause eutrophication in receiving waters, 2) the formation of nitrogenous disinfection by products in drinking waters and 3) limits WWTPs ability to achieve very low total nitrogen (TN) emissions limits (5 – 25 mg/l). The latter point is where the knowledge gap lays between the operator and the regulator in setting viable TN emission levels. The samples collected from Irvine site at the different stages of the treatment were analyzed for TN and DON. Results showed that the average TN in the WWTP influents and effluents are 798 and 261 mg/l respectively, in other words, the plant achieved 67 % removal of TN. DON Represented 51% of the influents TN, while the effluents accounted 26 % of the TN concentrations. Therefore, an ongoing investigation is carried out to identify DON constituents in WWTP effluent and evaluate its impact on the WWTP performance and its potential bioavailability for algae in receiving waters, which is, in this case, Irvine Bay.

Keywords: biological wastewater treatment plant, dissolved organic nitrogen, bio-availability, Irvine Bay

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Authors: Mohamed Rehan, Gamil E. Ibrahim, Mohamed S. Abdel-Aziz, Shaimaa R. Ibrahim, Tawfik A. Khattab

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The utilization of natural products in finishing textiles toward multifunctional applications without side effects is an extremely motivating goal. Hibiscus sabdariffa usually has been used for many traditional medicine applications. To develop an additional use for Hibiscus sabdariffa, an extraction of bioactive compounds from Hibiscus sabdariffa followed by finishing on cellulosic fibers was designed to cleaner production of the value-added textiles fibers with multifunctional applications. The objective of this study is to explore, identify, and evaluate the bioactive compound extracted from Hibiscus sabdariffa by different solvent via ultrasonic technique as a potential eco-friendly agent for multifunctional cellulosic fabrics via two approaches. In the first approach, Hibiscus sabdariffa extract was used as a source of sustainable eco-friendly for simultaneous coloration and multi-finishing of cotton fabrics via in situ incorporations of nanoparticles (silver and metal oxide). In the second approach, the micro-capsulation of Hibiscus sabdariffa extracts was followed by coating onto cotton gauze to introduce multifunctional healthcare applications. The effect of the solvent type was accelerated by ultrasonic on the phytochemical, antioxidant, and volatile compounds of Hibiscus sabdariffa. The surface morphology and elemental content of the treated fabrics were explored using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The multifunctional properties of treated fabrics, including coloration, sensor properties and protective properties against pathogenic microorganisms and UV radiation as well as wound healing property were evaluated. The results showed that the water, as well as ethanol/water, was selected as a solvent for the extraction of natural compounds from Hibiscus Sabdariffa with high in extract yield, total phenolic contents, flavonoid contents, and antioxidant activity. These natural compounds were utilized to enhance cellulosic fibers functionalization by imparting faint/dark red color, antimicrobial against different organisms, and antioxidants as well as UV protection properties. The encapsulation of Hibiscus Sabdariffa extracts, as well as wound healing, is under consideration and evaluation. As a result, the current study presents a sustainable and eco-friendly approach to design cellulosic fabrics for multifunctional medical and healthcare applications.

Keywords: cellulosic fibers, Hibiscus sabdariffa extract, multifunctional application, nanoparticles

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Authors: Hassan Athari, Alireza Ruhi Sales, Amin Pourafshar, Seyyed Mehdi Pestei, Marc. A. Rosen

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In order to achieve high efficiency and high specific work with lower emissions, the use of advanced gas turbine cycles for power generation is useful and advantageous. Here, evaporative inlet air cooling is analyzed thermodynamically in the form of air film blade cooling of gas turbines. As the ambient temperature increases during summer months, the performance of gas turbines particularly the output power and energy efficiency are significantly decreased. The utilization of evaporative inlet cooling in gas turbine cycles increases gas turbine performance, which can assist to solve the problem in meeting the increasing demands for electrical power and offsetting shortages during peak load times. In the present research, because of the importance of turbine blade cooling, the turbine is investigated with cold compressed air used for cooling the turbine blades. The investigation of the basic and modified cycles shows that, by adding an evaporative cooler to a simple gas turbine cycle, for a turbine inlet temperature of 1400 °C, an ambient temperature of 45 °C and a relative humidity of 15%, the specific work can reach 331 (kJ/kg air), while the maximum specific work of a simple cycle for the same conditions is 273.7 (kJ/kg air). The exergy results reveal that the highest exergy destruction occurs in the combustion chamber, where the large temperature differences and highly exothermic chemical reactions are the main sources of the irreversibility.

Keywords: energy, exergy, wet compression, air-film cooling blade, gas turbine

Procedia PDF Downloads 153

Authors: K. Sivasubramanin, S. Mahimairaja, S. Pavithrapriya

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Heavy metal pollution originating from industrial wastes is becoming a serious problem in many urban environments. These heavy metals, if not properly managed, could enter into the food chain and cause a serious health hazards in animals and humans. Industrial wastes, sewage sludge, and automobile emissions also contribute to heavy metal like Pb pollution in the urban environment. However, information is scarce on the heavy metal pollution in Coimbatore urban environment. Therefore, the current study was carried out to examine the extent of lead pollution in Coimbatore urban environment the maximum Pb concentration in Coimbatore urban environment was found in ukkadam, whose concentration in soils 352 mg kg-1. In many places, the Pb concentration was found exceeded the permissible limit of 100 mg kg-1. In laboratory, closed incubation experiment showed that the concentration of different species of Pb viz., water soluble Pb(H2O-Pb), exchangeable Pb(KNO3-Pb), organic-Pb(NaOH-Pb), and organic plus metal (Fe & Al) oxides bound-Pb(Na2 EDTA-Pb) was found significantly increased during the 15 days incubation, mainly due to biotransformation processes. Both the moisture content of soil and ambient temperature exerted a profound influence on the transformation of Pb. The results of a batch experiment has shown that the sorption data was adequately described by the Freundlich equation as indicated by the high correlation coefficients (R2= 0.64) than the Langmuir equation (R2 = 0.33). A maximum of 86 mg of Pb was found adsorbed per kilogram of soil. Consistently, a soil column experiment result had shown that only a small amount of Pb( < 1.0 µg g-1 soil) alone was found leached from the soil. This might be due to greater potential of the soil towards Pb adsorption.

Keywords: lead pollution, adsorption, transformation, heavy metal pollution

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Authors: Gul Nihal Gugul, Merih Aydinalp-Koksal

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In this study, hourly energy consumption model of a single detached house in Ankara, Turkey is developed using ESP-r building energy simulation software. Natural gas is used for space heating, cooking, and domestic water heating in this two story 4500 square feet four-bedroom home. Hourly electricity consumption of the home is monitored by an automated meter reading system, and daily natural gas consumption is recorded by the owners during 2013. Climate data of the region and building envelope data are used to develop the model. The heating energy consumption of the house that is estimated by the ESP-r model is then compared with the actual heating demand to determine the performance of the model. Scenarios are applied to the model to determine the amount of reduction in the total energy consumption of the house. The scenarios are using photovoltaic panels to generate electricity, ground source heat pumps for space heating and solar panels for domestic hot water generation. Alternative scenarios such as improving wall and roof insulations and window glazing are also applied. These scenarios are evaluated based on annual energy, associated CO2 emissions, and fuel expenditure savings. The pay-back periods for each scenario are also calculated to determine best alternative energy source or technology option for this home to reduce annual energy use and CO2 emission.

Keywords: ESP-r, building energy simulation, residential energy saving, CO2 reduction

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Authors: Dimitri Bigot, Bruno Malet-Damour, Jérôme Vigneron

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Many studies have been made about using bio-based materials in buildings. The goal is to reduce its environmental footprint by analyzing its life cycle. This can lead to minimize the carbon emissions or energy consumption. A previous work proposed to numerically study the feasibility of using wood chips to regulate relative humidity inside a building. This has shown the capability of a wood chips bed to regulate humidity inside the building, to improve thermal comfort, and so potentially reduce building energy consumption. However, it also shown that some physical parameters of the wood chips must be identified to validate the proposed model and the associated results. This paper presents an experimental setup able to study such a wood chips bed with different solicitations. It consists of a simple duct filled with wood chips and crossed by an air flow with variable temperature and relative humidity. Its main objective is to study the thermal behavior of the wood chips bed by controlling temperature and relative humidity of the air that enters into it and by observing the same parameters at the output. First, the experimental set up is described according to previous results. A focus is made on the particular properties that have to be characterized. Then some case studies are presented in relation to the previous results in order to identify the key physical properties. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed technology is discussed, and some model validation paths are given.

Keywords: wood chips bed, experimental set-up, bio-based material, desiccant, relative humidity, water content, thermal behaviour, air treatment

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