Search results for: household emission

Authors: Abduselam Faris, Rijalu Negash, Zera Kedir

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This study was initiated to identify constraints and opportunities of the wood production value chain in Southwest Ethiopia. About 385 wood trees growing farmers were randomly interviewed. Similarly, about 30 small-scale wood processors, 30 retailers, 15 local collectors and 5 wholesalers were purposively included in the study. The results of the study indicated that 98.96 % of the smallholder farmers that engaged in the production of wood trees which is used for wood were male-headed, with an average age of 46.88 years. The main activity that the household engaged was agriculture (crop and livestock) which accounts for about 61.56% of the sample respondents. Through value chain mapping of actors, the major value chain participant and supporting actors were identified. On average, the tree-growing farmers generated gross income of 9385.926 Ethiopian birr during the survey year. Among the critical constraints identified along the wood production value chain was limited supply of credit, poor market information dissemination, high interference of brokers, and shortage of machines, inadequate working area and electricity. The availability of forest resources is the leading opportunity in the wood production value chain. Reinforcing the linkage among wood production value chain actors, providing skill training for small-scale processors, and developing suitable policy for wood tree wise use is key recommendations forward.

Keywords: value chain analysis, wood production, southwest Ethiopia, constraints and opportunities

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Authors: Su-Hyun Cho, Chang-U Chae

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Environmental impact assessment techniques have been developed as a result of the worldwide efforts to reduce the environmental impact of global warming. By using the quantification method in the construction industry, it is now possible to manage the greenhouse gas is to systematically evaluate the impact on the environment over the entire construction process. In particular, the proportion of greenhouse gas emissions at the production stage of construction material occupied is high, and efforts are needed in particular in the construction field. In this study, intended for concrete products for the construction materials, by using the LCA evaluation method, we compared the results of environmental impact assessment and carbon emissions of developing products that have been applied low-carbon technologies compared to existing products. As a results, by introducing a raw material of industrial waste, showed carbon reduction. Through a comparison of the carbon emission reduction effect of low-carbon technologies, it is intended to provide academic data for the evaluation of greenhouse gases in the construction sector and the development of low-carbon technologies of the future.

Keywords: CO₂ emissions, CO₂ reduction, ready-mixed concrete, environmental impact assessment

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Authors: Moustafa Osman

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Modeling of air pollutants from the accidental release is performed for quantifying the impact of industrial facilities into the ambient air. The mathematical methods are requiring for the prediction of the accidental scenario in probability of failure-safe mode and analysis consequences to quantify the environmental damage upon human health. The initial statement of mitigation plan is supporting implementation during production and maintenance periods. In a number of mathematical methods, the flow rate at which gaseous and liquid pollutants might be accidentally released is determined from various types in term of point, line and area sources. These emissions are integrated meteorological conditions in simplified stability parameters to compare dispersion coefficients from non-continuous air pollution plumes. The differences are reflected in concentrations levels and greenhouse effect to transport the parcel load in both urban and rural areas. This research reveals that the elevation effect nearby buildings with other structure is higher 5 times more than open terrains. These results are agreed with Sutton suggestion for dispersion coefficients in different stability classes.

Keywords: air pollutants, dispersion modeling, GIS, health effect, urban planning

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Authors: Abdul-Monim Batiha

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Aim: The aim of this study were to correlate Jordanian cancer patients’ quality of life and fatigue with selected variables (age, sex, religion, marital status, level of education, type of cancer, number of people living in the same household, type of radiotherapy, dose of radiotherapy, and hemoglobin level). Background: Radiotherapy and chemotherapy remain devastating agents that altered patients’ normal lives. Methods: A correlational design was used in this study to 80 cancer patients and required radiotherapy treatment using a convenience sampling procedure. Results: No significant differences were found in the relationship between quality of life scores and selected variables. A significant negative relationship was found between quality of life scores and the side effects of radiotherapy treatment. Significant positive relationships were found between fatigue scores measured by Piper Fatigue Scale and cancer complications, and radiotherapy side effects. Conclusion: Cancer patients’ quality of life and fatigue are affected by radiotherapy’s side effects and cancer complications. Implications for Nursing: Nurses should try to prevent and manage the negative side effects of radiotherapy and complications of cancer. Such an initiative would serve to design specific nursing interventions that have the potential to help patients enjoy their lives and perform their activities.

Keywords: cancer patients, piper fatigue scale, fatigue, quality of life, radiotherapy

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Authors: Seongcheol Kwon, Jeongmin Kim, Kwang Ryel Ryu

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We assume an IoT-based smart-home environment where the on-off status of each of the electrical appliances including the room lights can be recognized in a real time by monitoring and analyzing the smart meter data. At any moment in such an environment, we can recognize what the household or the user is doing by referring to the status data of the appliances. In this paper, we focus on a smart-home service that is to activate a robot vacuum cleaner at right time by recognizing the user situation, which requires a situation-aware model that can distinguish the situations that allow vacuum cleaning (Yes) from those that do not (No). We learn as our candidate models a few classifiers such as naïve Bayes, decision tree, and logistic regression that can map the appliance-status data into Yes and No situations. Our training and test data are obtained from simulations of user behaviors, in which a sequence of user situations such as cooking, eating, dish washing, and so on is generated with the status of the relevant appliances changed in accordance with the situation changes. During the simulation, both the situation transition and the resulting appliance status are determined stochastically. To compare the performances of the aforementioned classifiers we obtain their learning curves for different types of users through simulations. The result of our empirical study reveals that naïve Bayes achieves a slightly better classification accuracy than the other compared classifiers.

Keywords: situation-awareness, smart home, IoT, machine learning, classifier

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Authors: Randy D. Colon

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Through a freedom of information request, data pertaining to Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) households has been obtained from the Chicago Housing Authority, including rent price and number of bedrooms per HCV household, community area, and zip code from 2013 to the first quarter of 2018. Similar data pertaining to the private rental market will be obtained through public records found through the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. The datasets will be analyzed through statistical and mapping software to investigate the potential link between HCV households and distorted rent prices. Quantitative data will be supplemented by qualitative data to investigate the lived experience of Chicago residents. Qualitative data will be collected at community meetings in the Chicago Englewood neighborhood through participation in neighborhood meetings and informal interviews with residents and community leaders. The qualitative data will be used to gain insight on the lived experience of community leaders and residents of the Englewood neighborhood in relation to housing, the rental market, and HCV. While there is an abundance of quantitative data on this subject, this qualitative data is necessary to capture the lived experience of local residents effected by a changing rental market. This topic reflects concerns voiced by members of the Englewood community, and this study aims to keep the community relevant in its findings.

Keywords: Chicago, housing, housing choice voucher program, housing subsidies, rental market

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Authors: Enwin Anthony Dornubari, Visigah Kpobari Peter

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This research has developed a framework for the provision of sustainable and affordable housing to accommodate the low-income population of Greater Port Harcourt City. The objectives of this study among others, were to: examine UN-Habitat guidelines for acceptable and sustainable social housing provision, describe past efforts of the Rivers State Government and the Federal Government of Nigeria to provide housing for the poor in the Greater Port Harcourt City area; obtain a profile of prospective beneficiaries of the social housing proposed by this research as well as perceptions of their present living conditions, and living in the proposed self-sustaining social housing development, based on the initial simulation of the proposal; describe the nature of the framework, guideline and management of the proposed social housing development and explain the modalities for its implementation. The study utilized the mixed methods research approach, aimed at triangulating findings from the quantitative and qualitative paradigms. Opinions of professional of the built environment; Director, Development Control, Greater Port Harcourt City Development Authority; Directors of Ministry of Urban Development and Physical Planning; Housing and Property Development Authority and managers of selected Primary Mortgage Institutions were sought and analyzed. There were four target populations for the study, namely: members of occupational sub-groups for FGDs (Focused Group Discussions); development professionals for KIIs (Key Informant Interviews), household heads in selected communities of GPHC; and relevant public officials for IDI (Individual Depth Interview). Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were held with members of occupational sub-groups in each of the eight selected communities (Fisherfolk). The table shows that there were forty (40) members across all occupational sub-groups in each selected community, yielding a total of 320 in the eight (8) communities of Mgbundukwu (Mile 2 Diobu), Rumuodomaya, Abara (Etche), Igwuruta-Ali(Ikwerre), Wakama(Ogu-Bolo), Okujagu (Okrika), Akpajo (Eleme), and Okoloma (Oyigbo). For key informant interviews, two (2) members were judgmentally selected from each of the following development professions: urban and regional planners; architects; estate surveyors; land surveyors; quantity surveyors; and engineers. Concerning Population 3-Household Heads in Selected Communities of GPHC, a stratified multi-stage sampling procedure was adopted: Stage 1-Obtaining a 10% (a priori decision) sample of the component communities of GPHC in each stratum. The number in each stratum was rounded to one whole number to ensure representation of each stratum. Stage 2-Obtaining the number of households to be studied after applying the Taro Yamane formula, which aided in determining the appropriate number of cases to be studied at the precision level of 5%. Findings revealed, amongst others, that poor implementation of the UN-Habitat global shelter strategy, lack of stakeholder engagement, inappropriate locations, undue bureaucracy, lack of housing fairness and equity and high cost of land and building materials were the reasons for the failure of past efforts towards social housing provision in the Greater Port Harcourt City area. The study recommended a public-private partnership approach for the implementation and management of the framework. It also recommended a robust and sustained relationship between the management of the framework and the UN-Habitat office and other relevant government agencies responsible for housing development and all investment partners to create trust and efficiency.

Keywords: development, framework, low-income, sustainable, social housing

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Authors: O. Guellati, A. Harat, F. Djefaflia, N. Habib, A. Nait-Merzoug, J. El Haskouri, D. Momodu, N. Manyala, D. Bégin, M. Guerioune

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We report a facile and low-cost free-template synthesis method was used to synthesize mesoporous smart multifunctional nanohybrids based on Graphene/PANI nanofibers micro/nanostructures with very interesting physic-chemical properties and faradic electrochemical behavior of these products was investigated. These nanohybrid products have been characterized quantitatively and qualitatively using different techniques, such as XRD / FTIR, Raman, XPS spectroscopy, Field Emission SEM and High-Resolution TEM microscopy, BET textural analysis, electrochemical measurements (CV, CD, EIS). Moreover, the electrochemical measurements performed in a 6 M KOH aqueous electrolyte depicted excellent electrochemical performance ascribed to the optimized composition of hydroxides et PANI nanofibers. An exceptionally notable specific capacitance between 800  and 2000 F. g-1 was obtained at 5  mV. s-1 scan rate for these synthesized products depends on the optimized growth conditions. We found much better nanohybrids by reinforcing hydroxides or conduction polymer nanofibers with carbonaceous nanomaterials depicting their potential as suitable materials for energy storage devices.

Keywords: nanohybrid materials, conducting polymers, carbonaceous nanomaterials, supercapacitors, energy storage

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Authors: Ki Hyun Park, Hye Min Park, Jeong Ho Kim, Chan Jong Park, Koan Sik Joo

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In the modern days, the use of radioactive substances is on the rise in the areas like chemical weaponry, industrial usage, and power plants. Although there are various technologies available to detect and monitor radioactive substances in the air, the technologies to detect underwater radioactive substances are scarce. In this study, computer simulation of the underwater detection system measuring beta-ray, a radioactive substance, has been done through MCNP. CaF₂, YAP(Ce) and YAG(Ce) have been used in the computer simulation to detect beta-ray as scintillator. Also, the source used in the computer simulation is Sr-90 and Y-90, both of them emitting only pure beta-ray. The distance between the source and the detector was shifted from 1mm to 10mm by 1 mm in the computer simulation. The result indicated that Sr-90 was impossible to measure below 1 mm since its emission energy is low while Y-90 was able to be measured up to 10mm underwater. In addition, the detector designed with CaF₂ had the highest efficiency among 3 scintillators used in the computer simulation. Since it was possible to verify the detectable range and the detection efficiency according to modeling through MCNP simulation, it is expected that such result will reduce the time and cost in building the actual beta-ray detector and evaluating its performances, thereby contributing the research and development.

Keywords: Beta-ray, CaF₂, detector, MCNP simulation, scintillator

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Authors: Motwkel M. Alhaj, Bashir M. Elhassan

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The East Nile area is located in Khartoum state. The main source of drinking water in the East Nile Area (Sudan) is groundwater. However, fluoride concentration in the water is more than the maximum allowable dose, which is 1.5 mg/l. This study aims to demonstrate and innovative, affordable, and efficient filter to remove fluoride from drinking water. Many researchers have found that aluminum oxide-coated adsorbent is the most affordable technology for fluoride removal. However, adsorption is pH-dependent, and the water pH in the East Nile area is relatively high (around 8), which is hindering the adsorption process. Locally available charcoal was crushed, sieved, and coated with aluminum oxide. Then, different coating configurations were tested in order to produce an adsorbent with a high pH point of zero charge pH PZC in order to overcome the effect of high pH of water. Moreover, different methods were used to characterize the adsorbent, including: Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDX), Brunauer - Emmett - Teller (BET) method, and pH point of zero charge pH PZC. The produced adsorbent has pH PZC of 8.5, which is essential in enhancing the fluoride adsorption process. A pilot household fluoride filter was also designed and installed in a house that has water with 4.34 mg/l F- and pH of 8.4. The filter was operated at a flow rate 250 cm³/min. The total cost of treating one cubic meter was about 0.63$, while the cost for the same water before adsorbent coating modification was 2.33$⁄cm³.

Keywords: water treatment, fluoride, adsorption, charcoal, Sudan

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Authors: Suresh Sharma, Neeti Goutam

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In India abortions are legal and with the exceedingly liberal and broadened law that was passed in 1971, “Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act” had opened a new window to Women’s’ freedom and choice over their fertility. This paper would like to focus on the factors responsible for or leading to unsafe abortion as well as such high incidence of abortion in India which can help in understanding the ways in which we can prevent this apathy. To study the intricacies involved in delivering safety to womanhood in terms of safe abortion practice which includes more trained personnel, detailed explanation and consequences of conducting an abortion, fine reporting, awareness regarding family planning measures and not only pressurizing them to sterilize immediately after an abortion but also prior to that informing them and lastly easy accessibility of Contraceptives with a educated and brief information on that. Data has been drawn from various sources such as National Family Household Survey (1, 2, 3), Health Management Information System and Annual Health Survey. To safeguard the interest of women when it comes to complications resulting from unsafe abortions, Reproductive Health laid its strict adherence to it in its guidelines. The Government could induce more measures in terms of family planning measures and increase in the number of skilled medical health force, chiefly in rural areas to prevent the illegality of abortions. But before that fine reporting on the number of abortions performed will give an insight to this very issue only then policies and programs will work much better in favor of women.

Keywords: abortion, MTP act, India, women

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Authors: Adewale Oladapo, Carolyn A. Afolami

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Agricultural production should be the major financial contributor to the Nigerian economy; however, the petroleum sector had taken the importance attached to this sector. The situation tends to be more worsening unless necessary attention is given to adequate credit supply among food crop farmers. This research analyses the effect of credit use on the technical efficiency of cassava farmers in Ondo State, Nigeria. Primary data were collected from two hundred randomly selected cassava farmers through a multistage sampling procedure in the study area. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and stochastic frontier analysis (SFA). Findings revealed that 95.0% of the farmers were male while 56.0% had no formal education and were married. The SFA showed that cassava farmer’s efficiency increased with farm size, herbicide and planting material at 5%,10% and 1% respectively but decreased with fertilizer application at 1% level while farmers’ age, education, household size, experience and access to credit increased technical inefficiency at 10%. The study concluded that cassava farmers are technically inefficient in the use of farm resources and recommended that adequate and workable agricultural policy measures that will ensure availability and efficient fertilizer distribution should be put in place to increase efficiency. Furthermore, the government should encourage youth participation in cassava production and ensure improvement in farmer’s access to credit to increase farmer’s technical efficiency.

Keywords: agriculture, access to credit, cassava farmers, technical efficiency

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Authors: A. Ojha, Y. K. Gupta

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Organophosphate (OP) pesticides are among the most widely used synthetic chemicals for controlling a wide variety of pests throughout the world. Chlorpyrifos (CPF), methyl parathion (MPT), and malathion (MLT) are among the most extensively used OP pesticides in India. DNA strand breaks and DNA-protein crosslinks (DPC) are toxic lesions associated with the mechanisms of toxicity of genotoxic compounds. In the present study, we have examined the potential of CPF, MPT, and MLT individually and in combination, to cause DNA strand breakage and DPC formation. Peripheral blood lymphocytes of rat were exposed to 1/4 and 1/10 LC50 dose of CPF, MPT, and MLT for 2, 4, 8, and 12h. The DNA strand break was measured by the comet assay and expressed as DNA damage index while DPC estimation was done by fluorescence emission. There was significantly marked increase in DNA damage and DNA-protein crosslink formation in time and dose dependent manner. It was also observed that MPT caused the highest level of DNA damage as compared to other studied OP compounds. Thus, from present study, we can conclude that studied pesticides have genotoxic potential. The pesticides mixture does not potentiate the toxicity of each other. Nonetheless, additional in vivo data are required before a definitive conclusion can be drawn regarding hazard prediction to humans.

Keywords: organophosphate, pesticides, DNA damage, DNA protein crosslink, genotoxic

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Authors: Nirav J. Patel, Kalpesh K. Dudani

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Partial discharge (PD) is the dissipation of energy caused by localized breakdown of insulation. Power transformers are one of the most important components in the electrical energy network. Insulation degradation of transformer is frequently linked to PD. This is why PD detection is used in power system to monitor the health of high voltage transformer. If such problem are not detected and repaired, the strength and frequency of PD may increase and eventually lead to the catastrophic failure of the transformer. This can further cause external equipment damage, fires and loss of revenue due to an unscheduled outage. Hence, reliable online PD detection is a critical need for power companies to improve personnel safety and decrease the probability of loss of service. The PD phenomenon is manifested in a variety of physically observable signals including Ultra High Frequency (UHF) radiation and Acoustic Disturbances, Electrical pulses. Acoustic method is based on sensing the radiated acoustic emission from discharge sites in the insulation. Propagated wave from the PD fault site are captured sensor are consequently pre-amplified, filtered, recorded and analyze.

Keywords: acoustic, partial discharge, perfectly matched layer, sensor

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Authors: R. Z. R. R. Rosdin, N. M. Ali, S. W. Harun, H. Arof

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We have experimentally demonstrated bright-dark pulses in a nonlinear polarization rotation (NPR) based mode-locked Erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) with a long cavity configuration. Bright–dark pulses could be achieved when the laser works in the passively mode-locking regime and the net group velocity dispersion is quite anomalous. The EDFL starts to generate a bright pulse train with degenerated dark pulse at the mode-locking threshold pump power of 35.09 mW by manipulating the polarization states of the laser oscillation modes using a polarization controller (PC). A split bright–dark pulse is generated when further increasing the pump power up to 37.95 mW. Stable bright pulses with no obvious evidence of a dark pulse can also be generated when further adjusting PC and increasing the pump power up to 52.19 mW. At higher pump power of 54.96 mW, a new form of bright-dark pulse emission was successfully identified with the repetition rate of 29 kHz. The bright and dark pulses have a duration of 795.5 ns and 640 ns, respectively.

Keywords: Erbium-doped fiber laser, nonlinear polarization rotation, bright-dark pulse, photonic

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Authors: Minaj Ranjita Singh, Meghna Mukherjee, Abhijeet Jadhav

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This is an exploratory qualitative study with an objective to understand the bathing practices followed by rural women and its consequences. Access to safe bathing spaces in rural India is a neglected issue due to which women are affected in various ways. Today, government policies are largely focused towards the building of toilets, but no importance has been given to the construction of bathrooms. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected using in-depth interviews and focused group discussions with rural women in six villages of Odisha, India. The study was approved by an Institutional Research and Ethics Committee, and informed consent was taken from participants. For most of the participants, the access to water, bathing space and toilet was compromised posing various challenges in their daily lives. Women's daily schedule, hygiene practices, dignity, and health are greatly affected due to this lack. Since bathing in the open has been an ancient practice, the community's perception is benign towards the hardship of women. Lack of exposure to concealed bathing, necessary funds, and competing priorities are some of the household level factors which never let them think about having bathrooms and the lack of water supply, proper drainage system, subsidy or financial support are the governance and policy related factors which prevent their access to secured bathing spaces.

Keywords: bathrooms, dignity, exploratory, rural, qualitative, women's health, women

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Authors: Ahmed K. Youssef, Shawkat M. B. Aly

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The interaction between ciprofloxacin and bovine serum albumin (BSA) was investigated by UV-Visible absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. The influence of Cu²⁺ Ca²⁺, Co²⁺, and Fe³⁺ on the Cip-BSA interaction was investigated. The quenching of the BSA fluorescence emission in presence of ciprofloxacin as well as the influence of metal ions on the interaction was analyzed using the Stern-Volmer equation. The Stern-Volmer quenching constant, Kₛᵥ was calculated in presence and absence of the metal ions at the physiological pH of 7.4 using phosphate buffer. The experimental results showed that interaction mainly static in nature and quenching rate constant is decreased in presence of the studied metal ions with exception of Cu²⁺ ions. The decrease observed in the Kₛᵥ values in presence of Co²⁺, Ca²⁺, and Fe³⁺ can be understood on basis of competition between these metal and Cip when both of them existed in the BSA solution. Cu²⁺ induces interaction between Cip and BSA at faster quenching rates as inferred from the observed increase in the Kₛᵥ value. This allowed us to propose that copper (II) ions are directly involved in the process of Cip binding to BSA. The binding constant for Cip on BSA was determined and the metal ions effect on it was examined as well and their values were in line with the Kₛᵥ values.

Keywords: bovine serum albumin, ciprofloxacin, fluorescence, metal ions effect

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Authors: Xuemei Jiang, Kunfu Zhu, Shouyang Wang

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In this paper, we selected China as a case and employ a time-series of unique input-output tables distinguishing firm ownership and processing exports, to evaluate the role of foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) in China’s rapid carbon dioxide emission growth. The results suggested that FIEs contributed to 11.55% of the economic outputs’ growth in China between 1992-2010, but accounted for only 9.65% of the growth of carbon dioxide emissions. In relative term, until 2010 FIEs still emitted much less than Chinese-owned enterprises (COEs) when producing the same amount of outputs, although COEs experienced much faster technology upgrades. In an ideal scenario where we assume the final demands remain unchanged and COEs completely mirror the advanced technologies of FIEs, more than 2000 Mt of carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced for China in 2010. From a policy perspective, the widespread FIEs are very effective and efficient channel to encourage technology transfer from developed to developing countries.

Keywords: carbon dioxide emissions, foreign-invested enterprises, technology transfer, input–output analysis, China

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Authors: Olivier Mesly

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This research presents a conceptual framework termed “Consumer Financial Spinning” (CFS) to analyze consumer behavior in the financial/economic markets. This phenomenon occurs when consumers of high-stakes financial products accumulate unsustainable debt, leading them to detach from their initial financial hierarchy of needs, wealth-related goals, and preferences regarding their household portfolio of assets. The daring actions of these consumers, forming a dark financial triangle, are characterized by three behaviors: overconfidence, the use of rationed rationality, and deceitfulness. We show that we can incorporate CFS into the traditional CAPM and Markovitz’ portfolio optimization models to create a framework that explains such market phenomena as the global financial crisis, highlighting the antecedents and consequences of ill-conceived speculation. Because this is a conceptual paper, there is no methodology with respect to ground studies. However, we apply modeling principles derived from the data percolation methodology, which contains tenets explicating how to structure concepts. A simulation test of the proposed framework is conducted; it demonstrates the conditions under which the relationship between expected returns and risk may deviate from linearity. The analysis and conceptual findings are particularly relevant both theoretically and pragmatically as they shed light on the psychological conditions that drive intense speculation, which can lead to market turmoil. Armed with such understanding, regulators are better equipped to propose solutions before the economic problems become out of control.

Keywords: consumer financial spinning, rationality, deceitfulness, overconfidence, CAPM

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Authors: T. Taşköprü, M. Zor, E. Turan

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The advantages of nickel oxide as an electrochromic material are its good contrast of transmittance and its suitable use as a secondary electrochromic film with WO3 for electrochromic devices. Electrochromic nickel oxide film was prepared by using a simple and inexpensive chemical deposition bath (CBD) technique onto fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass substrates from nickel nitrate solution. The films were ace centered cubic NiO with preferred orientation in the (2 0 0) direction. The electrochromic (EC) properties of the films were studied as a function of pH (8, 9, 10 and 11) in an aqueous alkaline electrolyte (0.3 M KOH) using cyclic voltammetry (CV). The EC cell was formed with the following configuration; FTO/nickel oxide film/0.3 M KOH/Pt The potential was cycled from 0.1 to 0.6V at diffferent potential sweep rates in the range 10- 50 mV/s. The films exhibit anodic electrochromism, changing colour from transparent to black.CV results of a nickel oxide film showed well-resolved anodic current peak at potential; 45 mV and cathodic peak at potential 28 mV. The structural, morphological, and optical changes in NiO film following the CV were investigated by means of X-ray diffractometer (XRD), field emission electron microscopy (FESEM) and UV-Vis- NIR spectrophotometry. No change was observed in XRD, besides surface morphology undergoes change due to the electrical discharge. The change in tansmittance between the bleached and colored state is 68% for the film deposited with pH=11 precursor.

Keywords: nickel oxide, XRD, SEM, cyclic voltammetry

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Authors: Jasmine Adela Mutang, Rosnah Ismail, Chua Bee Seok, Ferlis Bahari, Lailawati Madlan, Walton Wider, Rickless Das

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Waste projection is increasing and most landfills in Malaysia are running out of space. Due to that, waste management is now becoming a major challenge. The most sustainable solution is by practicing sustainable practices such as recycling. Since 1993 the government has launched several recycling campaigns and implemented the National Recycling Policy. However, public participation is still very low. Only 10.5% of solid waste was recycled up to now which is far below than of in developed countries. Nevertheless the government is optimistic that the target of 22% recycling by 2020 will be achieved if there is a positive flow pattern in sustainable practices in particular recycling behavior among Malaysian. Understanding public motivations towards recycling domestic waste are important to improve current recycling rate. Thus this study attempts to identify what are the possible motivations and hindrances for the public to recycle. Open-ended questions format were administered to 484 people in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. Two specific questions we asked to explore their general determinants and barriers in practicing recycling: “What motivates you to recycle?” and “What are the barriers you encountered in doing recycling activities?” Thematic analysis was conducted on the open-ended questions in which themes were created with the raw comments. It was found that the underlying recycling motivations are awareness’ towards the environment, benefits to the society and individual, and social influence. Non participations are influence by attitudes, commitment, facilities, knowledge, inconvenience, and enforcement.

Keywords: recycling motivation, recycling barrier, sustainable, household waste

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Authors: Rashad Al-Gaashani, Muataz A. Atieh

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In this study, the effect of preparation temperature, namely room temperature (RT), 40, 60, and 85°C, on producing of high-quality graphene oxide (GO) has been investigated. GO samples have been prepared by chemical oxidation of graphite via a safe improved chemical technique using a blend of two deferent acids: sulphuric acid (H₂SO₄) and phosphoric acid (H₃PO₄) with volume ratio 4:1, respectively. potassium permanganate (KMnO₄) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) were applied as oxidizing agents. In this work, sodium nitrate (NaNO₃) was excluded, so the emission of hazardous explosive gases such as NO₂ and N₂O₂ was shunned. Ice and oil baths were used to carefully control the temperature. Several characterization instruments including X-Ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, electron dispersive spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and UV-vis spectroscopy were used to study and compare the synthesized samples. The results indicated that GO can be prepared at RT with graphite oxide, and the purity of GO increased with rising of the solvent temperature. Optical properties of GO samples were studied using UV-vis absorption spectra.

Keywords: chemical method, graphite, graphene oxide, optical properties

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Authors: András Horkai, Attila Talamon, Viktória Sugár

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There is an urgent need nowadays to reduce energy demand and the current level of greenhouse gas emission and use renewable energy sources increase in energy efficiency. On the other hand, the European Union (EU) countries are largely dependent on energy imports and are vulnerable to disruption in energy supply, which may, in turn, threaten the functioning of their current economic structure. Residential buildings represent a significant part of the energy consumption of the building stock. Only a small part of the building stock is exchanged every year, thus it is essential to increase the energy efficiency of the existing buildings. Present paper focuses on the buildings built with industrialized technology only, and their opportunities in the boundaries of nearly zero-energy regulation. Current paper shows the emergence of panel construction method, and past and present of the ‘panel’ problem in Hungary with a short outlook to Europe. The study shows as well as the possibilities for meeting the nearly zero and cost optimized requirements for residential buildings by analyzing the renovation scenarios of an existing residential typology.

Keywords: Budapest, energy consumption, industrialized technology, nearly zero-energy buildings

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Authors: K. C. Sony

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This paper investigates the coping strategies of households confronting disease in large cardamom (Amomum Subulatum Roxb.) in eastern Nepal. Cardamom farmers draw on various coping strategies to reduce the impact of crop disease in their livelihoods. Yet farmers face tremendous decline in production with a constant effort for revival. Past evidences provides dearth of information about coping strategies employed by farmers and institutional intervention to combat disease. Using factual data from Ilam district, and conducting a political economic analysis, this research addresses the gap by 1) understanding the impact of crop disease in farmers’ livelihoods, 2) identifying the coping strategies adopted by farmers and, 3) examining the existing institutional arrangements to address the disease. Coping strategies vary by household’s status defined by size of land, alternative income, and access to supporting institutions. Measures adopted are burning the cardamom field, changing land use pattern, diversifying crops, and visiting institutions for support. The local government’s support is limited to providing trainings and producing new varieties of cardamom. During crisis, farmers expect institutions to help revive the cardamom production, despite customary practice to combat disease. To retain and improve the livelihoods of farmers, there needs to be institutional innovation at the community level and policies that endorse immediate and sustainable support during hazards.

Keywords: cardamom, coping strategy, disease, institutions, Nepal

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Authors: Hakimeh Masoudigavgani

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Since manufacturing firms deplete non-renewable resources and pollute air, soil, and water in greatly unsustainable manner, industrial activities or production of products are considered to be a key contributor to adverse environmental impacts. Hence, management strategies and approaches that involve an effective supply chain decision process in a manufacturing sector could be extremely significant to the application of environmental initiatives. Green manufacturing (GM) is one of these strategies which minimises negative effects on the environment through reducing greenhouse gas emissions, waste, and the consumption of energy and natural resources. This paper aims to explore what greening methods and mechanisms could be applied in the manufacturing supply chain and what are the outcomes of adopting these methods in terms of abating environmental burdens? The study is an interpretive research with an exploratory approach, using thematic analysis by coding text, breaking down and grouping the content of collected literature into various themes and categories. It is found that green supply chain could be attained through execution of some pre-production strategies including green building, eco-design, and green procurement as well as a number of in-production and post-production strategies involving green manufacturing and green logistics. To achieve an effective GM, the pre-production strategies are suggested to be employed. This paper defines GM as (1) the analysis of the ecological impacts generated by practices, products, production processes, and operational functions, and (2) the implementation of greening methods to reduce damaging influences of them on the natural environment. Analysis means assessing, monitoring, and auditing of practices in order to measure and pinpoint their harmful impacts. Moreover, greening methods involved within GM (arranged in order from the least to the most level of environmental compliance and techniques) consist of: •product stewardship (e.g. less use of toxic, non-renewable, and hazardous materials in the manufacture of the product; and stewardship of the environmental problems with regard to the product in all production, use, and end-of-life stages); •process stewardship (e.g. controlling carbon emission, energy and resources usage, transportation method, and disposal; reengineering polluting processes; recycling waste materials generated in production); •lean and clean production practices (e.g. elimination of waste, materials replacement, materials reduction, resource-efficient consumption, energy-efficient usage, emission reduction, managerial assessment, waste re-use); •use of eco-industrial parks (e.g. a shared warehouse, shared logistics management system, energy co-generation plant, effluent treatment). However, the focus of this paper is only on methods related to the in-production phase and needs further research on both pre-production and post-production environmental innovations. The outlined methods in this investigation may possibly be taken into account by policy/decision makers. Additionally, the proposed future research direction and identified gaps can be filled by scholars and researchers. The paper compares and contrasts a variety of viewpoints and enhances the body of knowledge by building a definition for GM through synthesising literature and categorising the strategic concept of greening methods, drivers, barriers, and successful implementing tactics.

Keywords: green manufacturing (GM), product stewardship, process stewardship, clean production, eco-industrial parks (EIPs)

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Authors: Olakunle Felix Adekunle

Abstract:

In the recent years several non-tariff provisions have been regarded as means holding back transboundary environmental damages. Affected countries have then increasingly come up with trade policies to compensate for or to In recent years, several non‐tariff trade provisions have been regarded as means of holding back transboundary environmental damages. Affected countries have then increasingly come up with trade policies to compensate for or to enforce the adoption of environmental policies elsewhere. These non‐tariff trade constraints are claimed to threaten the freedom of trading across nations, as well as the harmonization sought towards the distribution of income and policy measures. Therefore the ‘greening’ of world trade issues essentially ranges over whether there ought or ought not to be a trade‐off between trade and environmental policies. The impacts of free trade and environmental policies on major economic variables (such as trade flows, balances of trade, resource allocation, output, consumption and welfare) are thus studied here, and so is the EKC hypothesis, when such variables are played against the resulting emission levels. The policy response is seen as a political game, played here by two representative parties named North and South. Whether their policy choices, simulated by four scenarios, are right or wrong depends on their policy goals, split into economic and environmental ones.

Keywords: environmental, policies, strategies, constraint

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Authors: Illyas Md Isa, Mohamad Idris Saidin, Mustaffa Ahmad, Norhayati Hashim

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A highly selective and sensitive carbon paste electrode modified with multiwall carbon nanotubes and 2,6–diacetylpyridine-di-(1R)–(-)–fenchone diazine tetracarbonylmolybdenum(0) complex was used for determination of trace amounts of Cu(II) using square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV). The influences of experimental variables on the proposed electrode such as pH, supporting electrolyte, preconcentration potential and time, and square wave parameters were investigated. Under optimal conditions, the proposed electrode showed a linear relationship with concentration in the range of 1.0 × 10–10 to 1.0 × 10– 6 M Cu(II) with a limit of detection 8.0 × 10–11 M. The relative standard deviation (n = 5) for a solution containing 1.0 × 10– 6 M of Cu(II) was 0.036. The presence of various cations (in 10 and 100-folds concentration) did not interfere. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) showed that the charge transfer at the electrode-solution interface was favourable. The proposed electrode was applied for the determination of Cu(II) in several water samples. Results agreed very well with those obtained by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. The modified electrode was then proposed as an alternative for determination of Cu(II).

Keywords: chemically modified electrode, Cu(II), square wave anodic stripping voltammetry, tetracarbonylmolybdenum(0)

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Authors: Kaewpradap Amornrat, Endo Takahiro, Kadowaki Satoshi

Abstract:

The combustion of hydrogen-oxygen (H2-O2) mixtures was investigated to consider the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) as the greenhouse emission. Normally, the flame speed of combustion H2-O2 mixtures are very fast thus it is necessary to control the limit of mixtures with CO2 addition as H2-O2-CO2 combustion. The limit of hydrogen was set and replaced by CO2 with O2:CO2 ratio as 1:3.76, 1:4 and 1:5 for this study. In this study, the combustion of H2-O2 -CO2 on flat burner at equivalence ratio =0.5 was investigated for 10, 15 and 20 L/min of flow rate mixtures. When the ratio of CO2 increases, the power spectral density is lower, the size of attractor and cellular flame become larger because the decrease of hydrogen replaced by CO2 affects the diffusive-thermal instability. Moreover, the flow rate mixtures increases, the power spectral density increases, the size of reconstructed attractor and cell size become smaller due to decreasing of instability. The results show that the variation of CO2 and mixture flow rate affects the instability of cellular premixed flames on flat burner.

Keywords: instability, H2-O2-CO2 combustion, flat burner, diffusive-thermal instability

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Authors: Rodrigo I. Ullauri, Santiago E. Tinajero, Omar O. Ramos, Paola R. Quintana

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The increase of CO₂ emissions in the atmosphere and its impact on climate change is a global concern. The transportation sector is a significant consumer of fossil fuels and contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. The current challenge is to find ways to reduce the use of fossil fuels in transportation. In Ecuador, where 92% of electricity is generated from clean sources, the concept of e-mobility is considered an attractive alternative to address the challenge of sustainable mobility. The proposal is to migrate from combustion-powered vehicles to electric vehicles in the electric companies of Ecuador, using a methodology to standardize criteria, determine specific requirements, contrast technical characteristics, and estimate emission reductions. The results showed that there are three categories of vehicles that have electric counterparts suitable for performing activities under certain operation parameters inherent to current technology limitations but with a significant contribution to the reduction of annual CO₂ emissions.

Keywords: climate change, electro mobility, energy, sustainable transportation

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Authors: L. E. Mphahama, A. Mushunje, A. Taruvinga

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Although broiler production does not generate any large incomes among the smallholder community, it represents the main source of livelihood and part of nutritional requirement. As a result, market for broiler meat is growing faster than that of any other meat products and is projected to continue growing in the coming decades. However, the implication is that a multitude of factors manipulates transformation of smallholder broiler farmers participating in the mainstream markets. From 217 smallholder broiler farmers, socio-economic and institutional factors in broiler farming were incorporated into Binary model to estimate the probability of broiler farmers’ participation in the mainstream markets within the Maseru district in Lesotho. Of the thirteen (13) predictor variables fitted into the model, six (6) variables (household size, number of years in broiler business, stock size, access to transport, access to extension services and access to market information) had significant coefficients while seven (7) variables (level of education, marital status, price of broilers, poultry association, access to contract, access to credit and access to storage) did not have a significant impact. It is recommended that smallholder broiler farmers organize themselves into cooperatives which will act as a vehicle through which they can access contracts and formal markets. These cooperatives will also enable easy training and workshops for broiler rearing and marketing/markets through extension visits.

Keywords: broiler chicken, mainstream market, Maseru district, participation, smallholder farmers

Procedia PDF Downloads 124