Search results for: production and transport scheduling problem

Authors: Mariam Azam, Sajjad Ur Rahman, Mukarram Bashir, Muhammad Tahir, Seemal Javaid, Jawad, Aoun Muhammad, Muhammad Zohaib, Hannan Khan

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Products of microbial origin are of great importance as they have proved their value in healthcare and nutrition, use of these microbial metabolites acquired from partially fermented soya hulls and wheat bran along with Saccharomyces cerevisiae (DL-22 S/N) substantiates to be a great source for an increase in the total milk production and quality yield.1×109 CFU/ml cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (DL-22 S/N) were further grown under in-vivo conditions for the assessment of quality milk production. Two groups with twelve cows, each having the same physical characteristics (Group A and Group B), were under study, Group A was daily fed with 12gm of biological metabolites and 22% protein-pelleted feed. On the other hand, the animals of Group B were provided with no metabolites in their feed. In thirty days of trial, improvement in the overall health, body score, milk protein, milk fat, yield, incidence rate of mastitis, ash, and solid not fat (SNF) was observed. The collected data showed that the average quality milk production was elevated up to 0.45 liter/h/d. However, a reduction in the milk fats up to 0.45% and uplift in the SNF value up to 0.53% of cow milk was also observed. At the same time, the incidence rate of mastitis recorded for the animals under trial was reduced to half, and improved non specific immunity was reported.

Keywords: microbial metabolites, post-biotics, animal supplements, animal nutrition, proteins, animal production, fermentation

Procedia PDF Downloads 95

Authors: Danilo G. De Quadros

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Biofuels are a priority in the renewable energy agenda. The utilization of tropical grasses to ethanol production is a real opportunity to Brazil reaches the world’s leadership in biofuels production because there are 100 million hectares of sown pastures, which represent 20% of all land and 80% of agricultural areas. Basically, nowadays tropical grasses are used to raise livestock. The results obtained in this research could bring tremendous advance not only to national technology and economy but also to improve social and environmental aspects. Thus, the objective of this work was to estimate, through well-established international models, the potential of biofuels production using sown tropical pastures as feedstocks and to compare the results with sugarcane ethanol, considering state-of-art of conversion technology, advantages and limitations factors. There were used data from national and international literature about forage yield and biochemical conversion yield. Some scenarios were studied to evaluate potential advantages and limitations for cellulosic ethanol production, since non-food feedstock appeal to conversion strategies, passing through harvest, densification, logistics, environmental impacts (carbon and water cycles, nutrient recycling and biodiversity), and social aspects. If Brazil used only 1% of sown pastures to ethanol production by biochemical pathway, with average dry matter yield of 15 metric tons per hectare per year (there are results of 40 tons), resulted annually in 721 billion liters, that represents 10 times more than sugarcane ethanol projected by the Government in 2030. However, more research is necessary to take the results to commercial scale with competitive costs, considering many strategies and methods applied in ethanol production using cellulosic feedstock.

Keywords: biofuels, biochemical pathway, cellulosic ethanol, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 257

Authors: Larisa Akhmylovskaia, Andriana Barysh

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The present paper is introducing the translation score developing methodology and methods in the cross-cultural communication. The ideas and examples presented by the authors illustrate the universal character of translation score developing methods under analysis. Personal experience in the international theatre-making projects, opera laboratories, cross-cultural master-classes give more opportunities to single out the conditions, forms, means and principles of translation score developing as well as the translator/interpreter’s functions as cultural liaison for multiethnic collaboration.

Keywords: methodology of translation score developing, pre-production, analysis, production, post-production, ethnic scene theory, theatre anthropology, laboratory, master-class, educational project, academic project, participant observation, super-objective

Procedia PDF Downloads 511

Authors: Salma El Hajjami, Jamal Malki, Alain Bouju, Mohammed Berrada

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With the expansion of machine learning and data mining in the context of Big Data analytics, the common problem that affects data is class imbalance. It refers to an imbalanced distribution of instances belonging to each class. This problem is present in many real world applications such as fraud detection, network intrusion detection, medical diagnostics, etc. In these cases, data instances labeled negatively are significantly more numerous than the instances labeled positively. When this difference is too large, the learning system may face difficulty when tackling this problem, since it is initially designed to work in relatively balanced class distribution scenarios. Another important problem, which usually accompanies these imbalanced data, is the overlapping instances between the two classes. It is commonly referred to as noise or overlapping data. In this article, we propose an approach called: One Side Behavioral Noise Reduction (OSBNR). This approach presents a way to deal with the problem of class imbalance in the presence of a high noise level. OSBNR is based on two steps. Firstly, a cluster analysis is applied to groups similar instances from the minority class into several behavior clusters. Secondly, we select and eliminate the instances of the majority class, considered as behavioral noise, which overlap with behavior clusters of the minority class. The results of experiments carried out on a representative public dataset confirm that the proposed approach is efficient for the treatment of class imbalances in the presence of noise.

Keywords: machine learning, imbalanced data, data mining, big data

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Sofia Ait Bouazza

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We consider the problem of finding a minimum identifying code in a graph. This problem was initially introduced in 1998 and has been since fundamentally connected to a wide range of applications (fault diagnosis, location detection …). Suppose we have a building into which we need to place fire alarms. Suppose each alarm is designed so that it can detect any fire that starts either in the room in which it is located or in any room that shares a doorway with the room. We want to detect any fire that may occur or use the alarms which are sounding to not only to not only detect any fire but be able to tell exactly where the fire is located in the building. For reasons of cost, we want to use as few alarms as necessary. The first problem involves finding a minimum domination set of a graph. If the alarms are three state alarms capable of distinguishing between a fire in the same room as the alarm and a fire in an adjacent room, we are trying to find a minimum locating domination set. If the alarms are two state alarms that can only sound if there is a fire somewhere nearby, we are looking for a differentiating domination set of a graph. These three areas are the subject of much active research; we primarily focus on the third problem. An identifying code of a graph G is a dominating set C such that every vertex x of G is distinguished from other vertices by the set of vertices in C that are at distance at most r≥1 from x. When only vertices out of the code are asked to be identified, we get the related concept of a locating dominating set. The problem of finding an identifying code (resp a locating dominating code) of minimum size is a NP-hard problem, even when the input graph belongs to a number of specific graph classes. Therefore, we study this problem in some restricted classes of undirected graphs like split graph, line graph and path in a directed graph. Then we present some results on the identifying code by giving an exact value of upper total locating domination and a total 2-identifying code in directed and undirected graph. Moreover we determine exact values of locating dominating code and edge identifying code of thin headless spider and locating dominating code of complete suns.

Keywords: identiying codes, locating dominating set, split graphs, thin headless spider

Procedia PDF Downloads 475

Authors: Bhuyain Mobarok Hossain

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Image classification and localization research is currently an important strategy in the field of computer vision. The evolution and advancement of deep learning and convolutional neural networks (CNN) have greatly improved the capabilities of object detection and image-based classification. Target detection is important to research in the field of computer vision, especially in video surveillance systems. To solve this problem, we will be applying a convolutional neural network of multiple scales at multiple locations in the image in one sliding window. Most translation networks move away from the bounding box around the area of interest. In contrast to this architecture, we consider the problem to be a classification problem where each pixel of the image is a separate section. Image classification is the method of predicting an individual category or specifying by a shoal of data points. Image classification is a part of the classification problem, including any labels throughout the image. The image can be classified as a day or night shot. Or, likewise, images of cars and motorbikes will be automatically placed in their collection. The deep learning of image classification generally includes convolutional layers; the invention of it is referred to as a convolutional neural network (CNN).

Keywords: image classification, object detection, localization, particle filter

Procedia PDF Downloads 298

Authors: Raed Alnajjar, Mohd Zakree, Ahmad Nazri

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In this study, we apply Discrete Group Search Optimizer (DGSO) for solving Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP). The DGSO is a nature inspired optimization algorithm that imitates the animal behavior, especially animal searching behavior. The proposed DGSO uses a vector representation and some discrete operators, such as destruction, construction, differential evolution, swap and insert. The TSP is a well-known hard combinatorial optimization problem, which seeks to find the shortest path among numbers of cities. The performance of the proposed DGSO is evaluated and tested on benchmark instances which listed in LIBTSP dataset. The experimental results show that the performance of the proposed DGSO is comparable with the other methods in the state of the art for some instances. The results show that DGSO outperform Ant Colony System (ACS) in some instances whilst outperform other metaheuristic in most instances. In addition to that, the new results obtained a number of optimal solutions and some best known results. DGSO was able to obtain feasible and good quality solution across all dataset.

Keywords: discrete group search optimizer (DGSO); Travelling salesman problem (TSP); Variable neighborhood search(VNS)

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Authors: Felix O. Akinboyewa

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To say that Nigeria is faced with the problem of domestic terrorism is to say the obvious. The spate of political assassination during the fourth republic (1999-2010) is representative of what has become a growing trend. In this research, an attempt was made to examine the problems of political assassination within the context of significant categories of domestic-related terrorism in Nigeria Democracy. The central questions are: What exactly are the nature of political violence and terrorist act in the Nigeria nascent democracy? Was there any factor responsible for the politics of violence and terrorist act in the Nigeria democracy? What implications can the political violence and terrorist act have on democratic consolidation, national peace, and security? What solutions can be proffered to eradicate terrorist act and political violence in the Nigeria democracy? The study adopted a descriptive survey design which falls within the empirical research methodology. The sample size of the study consisted of 220 subjects randomly selected. The main instruments used were questionnaire and interview schedule. Data generated from the study were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as percentage and tables. The research findings showed that unemployed youths and the members of Nigeria Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) were the major actors in political violence in Nigeria. They have access to weapons and ammunitions which they use to terrorize the populace. The research showed that factors responsible for the political violence and terrorism in Nigeria are: poor electoral administration; election rigging; poor security system; religious and ethnic sentiment; problems of poverty and unemployment; over-exuberance and low level of education. The study also showed that electoral violence affects smooth running democracy in Nigeria. On the measures to be taken to eradicate political violence and terrorism in Nigeria, the research showed that provision of employment opportunities would go a long way to solving the problem. Civil society as an important institution can help to reduce incidence of political violence in Nigeria. Also, government has greater role to play. The study concludes that adherence to the proffered suggestions would reduce the level of political violence and terrorist act in Nigeria.

Keywords: consolidation, democracy, peace, security, terrorism, violence

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Authors: Hela Ayeb Mrabtini, Ghazi Bellakhal, Jamel Chahed

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The presence of the dispersed phase in gas-liquid bubbly flow considerably alters the liquid turbulence. The bubbles induce turbulent fluctuations that enhance the global liquid turbulence level and alter the mechanisms of turbulence. RANS modeling of uniformly sheared flows on an isolated sphere centered in a control volume is performed using first and second order turbulence closures. The sphere is placed in the production-dissipation equilibrium zone where the liquid velocity is set equal to the relative velocity of the bubbles. The void fraction is determined by the ratio between the sphere volume and the control volume. The analysis of the turbulence statistics on the control volume provides numerical results that are interpreted with regard to the effect of the bubbles wakes on the turbulence structure in uniformly sheared bubbly flow. We assumed for this purpose that at low void fraction where there is no hydrodynamic interaction between the bubbles, the single-phase flow simulation on an isolated sphere is representative on statistical average of a sphere network. The numerical simulations were firstly validated against the experimental data of bubbly homogeneous turbulence with constant shear and then extended to produce numerical results for a wide range of shear rates from 0 to 10 s^-1. These results are compared with our turbulence closure proposed for gas-liquid bubbly flows. In this closure, the turbulent stress tensor in the liquid is split into a turbulent dissipative part produced by the gradient of the mean velocity which also contains the turbulence generated in the bubble wakes and a pseudo-turbulent non-dissipative part induced by the bubbles displacements. Each part is determined by a specific transport equation. The simulations of uniformly sheared flows on an isolated sphere reproduce the mechanisms related to the turbulent part, and the numerical results are in perfect accordance with the modeling of the transport equation of the turbulent part. The reduction of second order turbulence closure provides a description of the modification of turbulence structure by the bubbles presence using a dimensionless number expressed in terms of two-time scales characterizing the turbulence induced by the shear and that induced by bubbles displacements. The numerical simulations carried out in the framework of a comprehensive analysis reproduce particularly the attenuation of the turbulent friction showed in the experimental results of bubbly homogeneous turbulence subjected to a constant shear.

Keywords: gas-liquid bubbly flows, homogeneous turbulence, turbulence closure, uniform shear

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Authors: Loghman Ansarian, Teoh Mei Lin

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In an attempt to increase oral proficiency of Iranian EFL learners, the researchers compared the effect of problem-based mobile-assisted language learning with the conventional language learning approach (Communicative Language Teaching) in Iran. The experimental group (n=37) went through PBL instruction and the control group (n=33) went through conventional instruction. The results of quantitative data analysis after 26 sessions of treatment revealed that PBL could positively affect participants' knowledge of grammar, vocabulary, spoken fluency, and pronunciation; however, in terms of task achievement, no significant effect was found. This study can have pedagogical implications for language teachers, and material developers.

Keywords: problem-based learning, spoken intelligibility, Iranian EFL context, cognitive learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 173

Authors: Linyao Qiu, Zhiqiang Du

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As the rapid development of urbanization, economic developments, and steady population growth in China, the widespread devastation, economic damages, and loss of human lives caused by numerous forms of natural disasters are becoming increasingly serious every year. Disaster management requires available and effective cooperation of different roles and organizations in whole process including mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. Due to the imbalance of regional development in China, the disaster management capabilities of national and provincial disaster reduction centers are uneven. When an undeveloped area suffers from disaster, neither local reduction department could get first-hand information like high-resolution remote sensing images from satellites and aircrafts independently, nor sharing mechanism is provided for the department to access to data resources deployed in other place directly. Most existing disaster management systems operate in a typical passive data-centric mode and work for single department, where resources cannot be fully shared. The impediment blocks local department and group from quick emergency response and decision-making. In this paper, we introduce a collaborative platform for distributed disaster reduction. To address the issues of imbalance of sharing data sources and technology in the process of disaster reduction, we propose a multi-role oriented collaboration business mechanism, which is capable of scheduling and allocating for optimum utilization of multiple resources, to link various roles for collaborative reduction business in different place. The platform fully considers the difference of equipment conditions in different provinces and provide several service modes to satisfy technology need in disaster reduction. An integrated collaboration system based on focusing services mechanism is designed and implemented for resource scheduling, functional integration, data processing, task management, collaborative mapping, and visualization. Actual applications illustrate that the platform can well support data sharing and business collaboration between national and provincial department. It could significantly improve the capability of disaster reduction in China.

Keywords: business collaboration, data sharing, distributed disaster reduction, focusing service

Procedia PDF Downloads 293

Authors: Emed Krekshi, Walid Ben Husein

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The Bahr Essalam gas-condensate field is located off the Libyan coast and is currently being produced by Mellitah Oil and Gas (MOG). Gas and condensate are produced from the Bahr Essalam reservoir through a mixture of platform and subsea wells, with the subsea wells being gathered at the western manifolds and delivered to the Sabratha platform via a 22-inch pipeline. Gas is gathered and dehydrated on the Sabratha platform and then delivered to the Mellitah gas plant via an existing 36-inch gas export pipeline. The condensate separated on the Sabratha platform will be delivered to the Mellitah gas plant via an existing 10-inch export pipeline. The Bahr Essalam Phase II project includes 2 production wells (CC16 & CC17) at C-Central A connected to the Sabratha platform via a new 10.9 km long 10”/14” production pipeline. Production rates from CC16 and CC17 have exceeded the maximum planned rate of 40 MMSCFD per well. A hydrothermal analysis was conducted to review and Verify input data, focusing on the variation of flowing well head as a function of flowrate.as well as Review available input data against the previous design input data to determine the extent of change. The steady-state and transient simulations performed with Olga yielded coherent results and confirmed the possibility of achieving flow rates of up to 60MMSCFD per well without exceeding the design temperatures, pressures, and velocities.

Keywords: Bahr Essalam, Mellitah Oil and Gas, production flow rates, steady and transient

Procedia PDF Downloads 49

Authors: Victor Emery David Jr., Jiang Wenchao, Yasinta John, Md. Sahadat Hossain

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Sludge originates from the process of treatment of wastewater. It is the byproduct of wastewater treatment containing concentrated heavy metals and poorly biodegradable trace organic compounds, as well as potentially pathogenic organisms (viruses, bacteria, etc.) which are usually difficult to treat or dispose of. China, like other countries, is no stranger to the challenges posed by an increase of wastewater. Treatment and disposal of sludge have been a problem for most cities in China. However, this problem has been exacerbated by other issues such as lack of technology, funding, and other factors. Suitable methods for such climatic conditions are still unavailable for modern cities in China. Against this background, this paper seeks to describe the methods used for treatment and disposal of sludge from industries and suggest a suitable method for treatment and disposal in Chongqing/China. From the research conducted, it was discovered that the highest treatment rate of sludge in Chongqing was 10.08%. The industrial waste piping system is not separated from the domestic system. Considering the proliferation of industry and urbanization, there is a likelihood that the production of sludge in Chongqing will increase. If the sludge produced is not properly managed, this may lead to adverse health and environmental effects. Disposal costs and methods for Chongqing were also included in this paper’s analysis. Research showed that incineration is the most expensive method of sludge disposal in China/Chongqing. Subsequent research, therefore, considered optional alternatives such as composting. Composting represents a relatively cheap waste disposal method considering the vast population, current technology and economic conditions of Chongqing, as well as China at large.

Keywords: Chongqing/China, disposal, industrial, sludge, treatment

Procedia PDF Downloads 317

Authors: Harsha Thaira, Ritu Raval, Keyur Raval

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Melanin has immense applications in the field of agriculture, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries due to its photo-protective, UV protective and anti- oxidant activities. However, its production is limited to costly chemical methods or harsh extractive methods from hair which ultimately gives poor yields. This makes the cost of melanin very high, to the extent of US Dollar 300 per gram. Some microorganisms are reported to produce melanin under stress conditions. Out of all melanin producing organisms, Pseudomonas stutzeri can grow in sea water and produce melanin under saline stress. The objective of this study was to develop a sea water based bioprocess. Effects of different growth media and process parameters on melanin production using sea water were investigated. The marine bacterial strain Pseudomonas stutzeri HMGM-7(MTCC 11712) was selected and the effect of different media such as Nutrient Broth (NB), Luria Bertini (LB) broth, Bushnell- Haas broth (BHB) and Trypticase Soy broth (TSB) and various medium components were investigated with one factor at a time approach. Parameters like shaking frequency, inoculum age, inoculum size, pH and temperature were also investigated in order to obtain the optimum conditions for maximum melanin production. The highest yield of melanin concentration, 0.306 g/L, was obtained in Trypticase Soy broth at 36 hours. The yield was 1.88 times higher than the melanin obtained before optimization, 0.163 g/L at 36 hours. Studies are underway to optimize medium constituents to further enhance melanin production.

Keywords: melanin, marine, bioprocess, pseudomonas

Procedia PDF Downloads 271

Authors: Rebecca Owusu Coffie, Atakelty Hailu

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Variants of production frontier models have emerged, however, only a limited number of them are applied in empirical research. Hence the effects of these alternative frontier models are not well understood, particularly within sub-Saharan Africa. In this paper, we apply recent advances in the production frontier to examine levels of technical efficiency and efficiency drivers. Specifically, we compare the heteroscedastic parametric and the semiparametric stochastic smooth coefficient (SPSC) models. Using rice production data from Ghana, our empirical estimates reveal that alternative specification of efficiency estimators results in either downward or upward bias in the technical efficiency estimates. Methodologically, we find that the SPSC model is more suitable and generates high-efficiency estimates. Within the parametric framework, we find that parameterization of both the mean and variance of the pre-truncated function is the best model. For the drivers of technical efficiency, we observed that longer farm distances increase inefficiency through a reduction in labor productivity. High soil quality, however, increases productivity through increased land productivity.

Keywords: pre-truncated, rice production, smooth coefficient, technical efficiency

Procedia PDF Downloads 439

Authors: Yakubu Suleiman, S. A. Musa

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Nigeria is the largest cowpea producer in the world, accounting for about 45%, followed by Brazil with about 17%. Cowpea is grown in Kano, Bauchi, Katsina, Borno in the north, Oyo in the west, and to the lesser extent in Enugu in the east. This study was conducted to determine the input–output relationship of Cowpea production in Kano, Katsina, and Jigawa states of Nigeria. The data were collected with the aid of 1000 structured questionnaires that were randomly distributed to Cowpea farmers in the three states mentioned above of the study area. The data collected were analyzed using regression analysis (Cobb–Douglass production function model). The result of the regression analysis revealed the coefficient of multiple determinations, R2, to be 72.5% and the F ration to be 106.20 and was found to be significant (P < 0.01). The regression coefficient of constant is 0.5382 and is significant (P < 0.01). The regression coefficient with respect to labor and seeds were 0.65554 and 0.4336, respectively, and they are highly significant (P < 0.01). The regression coefficient with respect to fertilizer is 0.26341 which is significant (P < 0.05). This implies that a unit increase of any one of the variable inputs used while holding all other variables inputs constants, will significantly increase the total Cowpea output by their corresponding coefficient. This indicated that farmers in the study area are operating in stage II of the production function. The result revealed that Cowpea farmer in Kano, Jigawa and Katsina States realized a profit of N15,997, N34,016 and N19,788 per hectare respectively. It is hereby recommended that more attention should be given to Cowpea production by government and research institutions.

Keywords: coefficient, constant, inputs, regression

Procedia PDF Downloads 405

Authors: Enea Danut Nicolae, Osman (Defta) Aurelia, Vidu Livia, Marginean Gheorghe, Defta Nicoleta, Moise Andrada

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Today, as a result of population growth, there is an increase in demand for animal products; milk and dairy products are an important part of this category. Maintaining production at maximum levels for as long as possible is one of the main objectives of dairy farmers. Over the course of lactation, a cow's milk production is not uniform. During the initial stage of lactation, the cow's milk production follows an upward slope, a plateau, and then a downward slope, which is a reflection of the lactation curve. The evolution of the lactation curve is influenced by numerous factors, which are genetic, exploitation, physiological, environmental and technological. The aim of this study was to observe the lactation curve of Holstein cows in Romania and determine the extent to which they conform to the expected pattern. In addition, there has been an analysis of the factors which have an influence on this curve and the extent of this influence. In order to be able to carry out the present study, data were collected from three farms located in three different geographical areas. To highlight the findings, the data collected was then statistically processed and graphically interpreted. All the farms have only Holstein cows, which are kept in free stalls.

Keywords: lactation curve, Holstein, milk production, influencing factors

Procedia PDF Downloads 55

Authors: M. A. Ojo, O. A. Ojo, A. I. Odine, A. Ogaji

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The study examined marginal productivity analysis of small scale yam and cassava farmers in Kogi State, Nigeria. Data used for the study were obtained from primary source using a multi-stage sampling technique with structured questionnaires administered to 150 randomly selected yam and cassava farmers from three Local Government Areas of the State. Description statistics, data envelopment analysis and Cobb-Douglas production function were used to analyze the data. The DEA result on the overall technical efficiency of the farmers showed that 40% of the sampled yam and cassava farmers in the study area were operating at frontier and optimum level of production with mean technical efficiency of 1.00. This implies that 60% of the yam and cassava farmers in the study area can still improve their level of efficiency through better utilization of available resources, given the current state of technology. The results of the Cobb-Douglas analysis of factors affecting the output of yam and cassava farmers showed that labour, planting materials, fertilizer and capital inputs positively and significantly affected the output of the yam and cassava farmers in the study area. The study further revealed that yam and cassava farms in the study area operated under increasing returns to scale. This result of marginal productivity analysis further showed that relatively efficient farms were more marginally productive in resource utilization This study also shows that estimating production functions without separating the farms to efficient and inefficient farms bias the parameter values obtained from such production function. It is therefore recommended that yam and cassava farmers in the study area should form cooperative societies so as to enable them have access to productive inputs that will enable them expand. Also, since using a single equation model for production function produces a bias parameter estimates as confirmed above, farms should, therefore, be decomposed into efficient and inefficient ones before production function estimation is done.

Keywords: marginal productivity, DEA, production function, Kogi state

Procedia PDF Downloads 477

Authors: Ilze Dimanta, Zane Rutkovska, Vizma Nikolajeva, Janis Kleperis, Indrikis Muiznieks

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Majority of word’s steadily increasing energy consumption is provided by non-renewable fossil resources. Need to find an alternative energy resource is essential for further socio-economic development. Hydrogen is renewable, clean energy carrier with high energy density (142 MJ/kg, accordingly – oil has 42 MJ/kg). Biological hydrogen production is an alternative way to produce hydrogen from renewable resources, e.g. using organic waste material resource fermentation that facilitate recycling of sewage and are environmentally benign. Hydrogen gas is produced during the fermentation process of bacteria in anaerobic conditions. Bacteria are producing hydrogen in the liquid phase and when thermodynamic equilibrium is reached, hydrogen is diffusing from liquid to gaseous phase. Because of large quantities of available crude glycerol and the highly reduced nature of carbon in glycerol per se, microbial conversion of it seems to be economically and environmentally viable possibility. Such industrial organic waste product as crude glycerol is perspective for usage in feedstock for hydrogen producing bacteria. The process of biodiesel production results in 41% (w/w) of crude glycerol. The developed lab-scale test system (experimental bioreactor) with hydrogen micro-electrode (Unisense, Denmark) was used to determine hydrogen production yield and rate in the liquid phase. For hydrogen analysis in the gas phase the RGAPro-100 mass-spectrometer connected to the experimental test-system was used. Fermentative bacteria strains were tested for hydrogen gas production rates. The presence of hydrogen in gaseous phase was measured using mass spectrometer but registered concentrations were comparatively small. To decrease the hydrogen partial pressure in liquid phase reactor with a system for continuous bubbling with inert gas was developed. H2 production rate for the best producer in liquid phase reached 0,40 mmol H2/l, in gaseous phase - 1,32 mmol H2/l. Hydrogen production rate is time dependent – higher rate of hydrogen production is at the fermentation process beginning when concentration increases, but after three hours of fermentation, it decreases.

Keywords: bio-hydrogen, fermentation, experimental bioreactor, crude glycerol

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Authors: Lyamine Guezouli, Kamel Barka, Zineb Seghir

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Wireless sensor and actor networks (WSANs) present a research challenge for different practice areas. Researchers are trying to optimize the use of such networks through their research work. This optimization is done on certain criteria, such as improving energy efficiency, exploiting node heterogeneity, self-adaptability and self-configuration. In this article, we present our proposal for BIFSA (Biologically-Inspired Framework for Wireless Sensor and Actor networks). Indeed, BIFSA is a middleware that addresses the key issues of wireless sensor and actor networks. BIFSA consists of two types of agents: sensor agents (SA) that operate at the sensor level to collect and transport data to actors and actor agents (AA) that operate at the actor level to transport data to base stations. Once the sensor agent arrives at the actor, it becomes an actor agent, which can exploit the resources of the actors and vice versa. BIFSA allows agents to evolve their genetic structures and adapt to the current network conditions. The simulation results show that BIFSA allows the agents to make better use of all the resources available in each type of node, which improves the performance of the network.

Keywords: wireless sensor and actor networks, self-management, genetic algorithm, agent.

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Authors: Ashkan Golgoon, Souhayl Sadik, Arash Yavari

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Eigenstrains in nonlinear solids are created due to anelastic effects such as non-uniform temperature distributions, growth, remodeling, and defects. Eigenstrains understanding is indispensable, as they can generate residual stresses and strongly affect the overall response of solids. Here, we study the residual stress and deformation fields of an incompressible isotropic infinite wedge with a circumferentially-symmetric distribution of finite eigenstrains. We construct a material manifold, whose Riemannian metric explicitly depends on the eigenstrain distribution, thereby we turn the problem into a classical nonlinear elasticity problem, where we find an embedding of the Riemannian material manifold into the ambient Euclidean space. In particular, we find exact solutions for the residual stress and deformation fields of a neo-Hookean wedge having a symmetric inclusion with finite radial and circumferential eigenstrains. Moreover, we numerically solve a similar problem when a symmetric Mooney-Rivlin inhomogeneity with finite eigenstrains is placed in a neo-Hookean wedge. Generalization of the eigenstrain problem to other geometries are also discussed.

Keywords: finite eigenstrains, geometric mechanics, inclusion, inhomogeneity, nonlinear elasticity

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Authors: Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Phillip C. Y. Sheu, Ryo Fujita, Shigeo Tsujii

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In this paper, the secure BioSemantic Scheme is presented to bridge biological/biomedical research problems and computational solutions via semantic computing. Due to the diversity of problems in various research fields, the semantic capability description language (SCDL) plays and important role as a common language and generic form for problem formalization. SCDL is expected the essential for future semantic and logical computing in Biosemantic field. We show several example to Biomedical problems in this paper. Moreover, in the coming age of cloud computing, the security problem is considered to be crucial issue and we presented a practical scheme to cope with this problem.

Keywords: biomedical applications, private information retrieval (PIR), semantic capability description language (SCDL), semantic computing

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Authors: Ennus Tajuddin Tamboli, Madhukar Garg, Mohd. Mujeeb, Sayeed Ahmad

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An efficient protocol for simultaneous production of forskolin and rosmarinic acid in in vitro callus derived from the leaves of Coleus forskohlii Briq. has been developed. MS media was used for the establishment of cultures and NAA + 6-BA (1.0 ppm) was found best for callus growth. The callus was further subjected to treatment with various elicitor/precursors viz. chitosan, thidiazuron and methyl jasmonate to observe their effect on production of biomass and accumulation of secondary metabolites. The content of forskolin and rosmarinic acid were estimated by HPTLC, in comparison to natural explant which showed 2 fold and 10 fold rise in forskolin and rosmarinic acid content, respectively. Methy1 jasmonate 50 µM was found best for production of forskolin, whereas thidiazuron showed best results in the yield of rosmarinic acid, separately in static culture. However, combined treatment in suspension culture showed moderated effect for increase in secondary metabolites but the biomass increased significantly as compared to static culture.

Keywords: plant tissue culture, secondary metabolites, coleus, forskolin, rosmarinic acid, HPTLC

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Authors: Akhtar Nawaz, Sahar Noor, Iftikhar Hussain

Abstract:

This paper considers advanced hybrid manufacturing planning both push and pull system in which each customer order has a due date by demand forecast and customer orders. We present a tool for model for tool development that requires an absolute due dates and customer orders in a manufacturing supply chain. It is vital for the manufacturing companies to face the problem of variations in demands, increase in varieties by maintaining safety stock and to minimize components obsolescence and uselessness. High inventory cost and low delivery lead time is expected in push type of system and on contrary high delivery lead time and low inventory cost is predicted in the pull type. For this tool for model we need an MRP system for the push and pull environment and control of inventories in push parts and lead time in the pull part. To retain process data quickly, completely and to improve responsiveness and minimize inventory cost, a tool is required to deal with the high product variance and short cycle parts. In practice, planning and scheduling are interrelated and should be solved simultaneously with supply chain to ensure that the due dates of customer orders are met. The proposed tool for model considers alternative process plans for job types, with precedence constraints for job operations. Such a tool for model has not been treated in the literature. To solve the model, tool was developed, so a new technique was required to deal with the issue of high product variance and short life cycles in assemble to order.

Keywords: hybrid manufacturing system, supply chain system, make to order, make to stock, assemble to order

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Authors: Prawal Sinha, Peeyush Singh, Pravir Dutt

Abstract:

Problems in elastohydrodynamic lubrication have attracted a lot of attention in the last few decades. Solving a two-dimensional problem has always been a big challenge. In this paper, a new discontinuous finite volume method (DVM) for two-dimensional point contact Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication (EHL) problem has been developed and analyzed. A complete algorithm has been presented for solving such a problem. The method presented is robust and easily parallelized in MPI architecture. GMRES technique is implemented to solve the matrix obtained after the formulation. A new approach is followed in which discontinuous piecewise polynomials are used for the trail functions. It is natural to assume that the advantages of using discontinuous functions in finite element methods should also apply to finite volume methods. The nature of the discontinuity of the trail function is such that the elements in the corresponding dual partition have the smallest support as compared with the Classical finite volume methods. Film thickness calculation is done using singular quadrature approach. Results obtained have been presented graphically and discussed. This method is well suited for solving EHL point contact problem and can probably be used as commercial software.

Keywords: elastohydrodynamic, lubrication, discontinuous finite volume method, GMRES technique

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Authors: Gabriel Malgaresi, Sara Borazjani, Hadi Madani, Pavel Bedrikovetsky

Abstract:

Suspension-Colloidal flow in porous media occurs in numerous engineering fields, such as industrial water treatment, the disposal of industrial wastes into aquifers with the propagation of contaminants and low salinity water injection into petroleum reservoirs. The main effects are particle mobilization and captured by the porous rock, which can cause pore plugging and permeability reduction which is known as formation damage. Various factors such as fluid salinity, pH, temperature, and rock properties affect particle detachment. Formation damage is unfavorable specifically near injection and production wells. One way to control formation damage is pre-treatment of the rock with nanoparticles. Adsorption of nanoparticles on fines and rock surfaces alters zeta-potential of the surfaces and enhances the attachment force between the rock and fine particles. The main objective of this study is to develop a two-stage mathematical model for (1) flow and adsorption of nanoparticles on the rock in the pre-treatment stage and (2) fines migration and permeability reduction during the water production after the pre-treatment. The model accounts for adsorption and desorption of nanoparticles, fines migration, and kinetics of particle capture. The system of equations allows for the exact solution. The non-self-similar wave-interaction problem was solved by the Method of Characteristics. The analytical model is new in two ways: First, it accounts for the specific boundary and initial condition describing the injection of nanoparticle and production from the pre-treated porous media; second, it contains the effect of nanoparticle sorption hysteresis. The derived analytical model contains explicit formulae for the concentration fronts along with pressure drop. The solution is used to determine the optimal injection concentration of nanoparticle to avoid formation damage. The mathematical model was validated via an innovative laboratory program. The laboratory study includes two sets of core-flood experiments: (1) production of water without nanoparticle pre-treatment; (2) pre-treatment of a similar core with nanoparticles followed by water production. Positively-charged Alumina nanoparticles with the average particle size of 100 nm were used for the rock pre-treatment. The core was saturated with the nanoparticles and then flushed with low salinity water; pressure drop across the core and the outlet fine concentration was monitored and used for model validation. The results of the analytical modeling showed a significant reduction in the fine outlet concentration and formation damage. This observation was in great agreement with the results of core-flood data. The exact solution accurately describes fines particle breakthroughs and evaluates the positive effect of nanoparticles in formation damage. We show that the adsorbed concentration of nanoparticle highly affects the permeability of the porous media. For the laboratory case presented, the reduction of permeability after 1 PVI production in the pre-treated scenario is 50% lower than the reference case. The main outcome of this study is to provide a validated mathematical model to evaluate the effect of nanoparticles on formation damage.

Keywords: nano-particles, formation damage, permeability, fines migration

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Authors: Yang Li, Mingkai Liu, Qiong Rao, Zhongrui Gai, Ying Pan, Hongguang Jin

Abstract:

Hydrogen is an ideal and potential energy carrier due to its high energy efficiency and low pollution. An alternative and promising approach to hydrogen generation is the chemical looping steam reforming of methane (CL-SRM) over iron-based oxygen carriers. However, the process faces challenges such as high reaction temperature (>850 ℃) and low methane conversion. We demonstrate that Ni-mixed Fe-based oxygen carrier particles have significantly improved the methane conversion and hydrogen production rate in the range of 450-600 ℃ under atmospheric pressure. The effect on the reaction reactivity of oxygen carrier particles mixed with different Ni-based particle mass ratios has been determined in the continuous unit. More than 85% of methane conversion has been achieved at 600 ℃, and hydrogen can be produced in both reduction and oxidation steps. Moreover, the iron-based oxygen carrier particles exhibited good cyclic performance during 150 consecutive redox cycles at 600 ℃. The mid-temperature iron-based oxygen carrier particles, integrated with a moving-bed chemical looping system, might provide a powerful approach toward more efficient and scalable hydrogen production.

Keywords: chemical looping, hydrogen production, mid-temperature, oxygen carrier particles

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Authors: Awadh O. Al-Anazi

Abstract:

As part of the organizational needs toward successful maintaining activities, a proper management system need to be put in place, ensuring the effectiveness of maintenance activities. The management system shall clearly describes the process of identifying, prioritizing, planning, scheduling, execution, and providing valuable feedback for all maintenance activities. Completion and accuracy of the system with proper implementation shall provide the organization with a strong platform for effective maintenance activities that are resulted in efficient outcomes toward business success. The purpose of this research was to introduce a practical tool for measuring the maintenance efficiency level within Saudi organizations. A comprehensive study was launched across many maintenance professionals throughout Saudi leading organizations. The study covered five main categories: work process, identification, planning and scheduling, execution, and performance monitoring. Each category was evaluated across many dimensions to determine its current effectiveness through a five-level scale from 'process is not there' to 'mature implementation'. Wide participation was received, responses were analyzed, and the study was concluded by highlighting major gaps and improvement opportunities within Saudi organizations. One effective implementation of the efficiency enhancement efforts was deployed in Saudi Kayan (one of Sabic affiliates). Below details describes the project outcomes: SK overall maintenance wrench time was measured at 20% (on average) from the total daily working time. The assessment indicates the appearance of several organizational gaps, such as a high amount of reactive work, poor coordination and teamwork, Unclear roles and responsibilities, as well as underutilization of resources. Multidiscipline team was assigned to design and implement an appropriate work process that is capable to govern the execution process, improve the maintenance workforce efficiency, and maximize wrench time (targeting > 50%). The enhanced work process was introduced through brainstorming and wide benchmarking, incorporated with a proper change management plan and leadership sponsorship. The project was completed in 2018. Achieved Results: SK WT was improved to 50%, which resulted in 1) reducing the Average Notification completion time. 2) reducing maintenance expenses on OT and manpower support (3.6 MSAR Actual Saving from Budget within 6 months).

Keywords: efficiency, enhancement, maintenance, work force, wrench time

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: M. M. Rahman, A. Liu, A. Frostegard, J. Frostegard

Abstract:

The human immune system plays an essential role in cardiovascular disease (CVD) and atherosclerosis. Our earlier studies showed that major immunocompetent cells including T cells are activated by phosphorylcholine epitope. Further, we have determined for the first time in a clinical cohort that antibodies against phosphorylcholine (anti-PC) are negatively and independently associated with the development of atherosclerosis and thus a low risk of cardiovascular diseases. It is still unknown whether activated T cells play a role in anti-PC production. Here we aim to clarify the role of T cells in anti-PC production. B cell alone, or with CD3 T, CD4 T or with CD8 T cells were cultured in polystyrene plates to examine anti-PC IgM production. In addition to mixed B cell with CD3 T cell culture, B cells with CD3 T cells were also cultured in transwell co-culture plates. Further, B cells alone and mixed B cell with CD3 T cell cultures with or without anti-HLA 2 antibody were cultured for 6 days. Anti-PC IgM was detected by ELISA in independent experiments. More than 8 fold higher levels of anti-PC IgM were detected by ELISA in mixed B cell with CD3 T cell cultures in comparison to B cells alone. After the co-culture of B and CD3 T cells in transwell plates, there were no increased antibody levels indicating that B and T cells need to interact to augment anti-PC IgM production. Furthermore, anti-PC IgM was abolished by anti-HLA 2 blocking antibody in mixed B and CD3 T cells culture. In addition, the lack of increased anti-PC IgM in mixed B with CD8 T cells culture and the increased levels of anti-PC in mixed B with CD4 T cells culture support the role of helper T cell for the anti-PC IgM production. Atherosclerosis is a major cause of cardiovascular diseases, but anti-PC IgM is a protection marker for atherosclerosis development. Understanding the mechanism involved in the anti-PC IgM regulation could play an important role in strategies to raise anti-PC IgM. Studies suggest that anti-PC is T-cell independent antibody, but our study shows the major role of T cell in anti-PC IgM production. Activation of helper T cells by immunization could be a possible mechanism for raising anti-PC levels.

Keywords: anti-PC, atherosclerosis, aardiovascular diseases, phosphorylcholine

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Authors: George N. Prodromidis, Frank A. Coutelieris

Abstract:

Biogas can be currently considered as an alternative option for electricity production, mainly due to its high energy content (hydrocarbon-rich source), its renewable status and its relatively low utilization cost. Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) stacks convert fuel’s chemical energy to electricity with high efficiencies and reveal significant advantages on fuel flexibility combined with lower emissions rate, especially when utilize biogas. Electricity production by biogas constitutes a composite problem which incorporates an extensive parametric analysis on numerous dynamic variables. The main scope of the presented study is to propose a detailed thermodynamic model on the optimization of SOFC-based power plants’ operation based on fundamental thermodynamics, energy and exergy balances. This model named THERMAS (THERmodynamic MAthematical Simulation model) incorporates each individual process, during electricity production, mathematically simulated for different case studies that represent real life operational conditions. Also, THERMAS offers the opportunity to choose a great variety of different values for each operational parameter individually, thus allowing for studies within unexplored and experimentally impossible operational ranges. Finally, THERMAS innovatively incorporates a specific criterion concluded by the extensive energy analysis to identify the most optimal scenario per simulated system in exergy terms. Therefore, several dynamical parameters as well as several biogas mixture compositions have been taken into account, to cover all the possible incidents. Towards the optimization process in terms of an innovative OPF (OPtimization Factor), presented here, this research study reveals that systems supplied by low methane fuels can be comparable to these supplied by pure methane. To conclude, such an innovative simulation model indicates a perspective on the optimal design of a SOFC stack based system, in the direction of the commercialization of systems utilizing biogas.

Keywords: biogas, exergy, efficiency, optimization

Procedia PDF Downloads 363