Search results for: smart water management
16421 Optimal Pressure Control and Burst Detection for Sustainable Water Management
Authors: G. K. Viswanadh, B. Rajasekhar, G. Venkata Ramana
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Water distribution networks play a vital role in ensuring a reliable supply of clean water to urban areas. However, they face several challenges, including pressure control, pump speed optimization, and burst event detection. This paper combines insights from two studies to address these critical issues in Water distribution networks, focusing on the specific context of Kapra Municipality, India. The first part of this research concentrates on optimizing pressure control and pump speed in complex Water distribution networks. It utilizes the EPANET- MATLAB Toolkit to integrate EPANET functionalities into the MATLAB environment, offering a comprehensive approach to network analysis. By optimizing Pressure Reduce Valves (PRVs) and variable speed pumps (VSPs), this study achieves remarkable results. In the Benchmark Water Distribution System (WDS), the proposed PRV optimization algorithm reduces average leakage by 20.64%, surpassing the previous achievement of 16.07%. When applied to the South-Central and East zone WDS of Kapra Municipality, it identifies PRV locations that were previously missed by existing algorithms, resulting in average leakage reductions of 22.04% and 10.47%. These reductions translate to significant daily Water savings, enhancing Water supply reliability and reducing energy consumption. The second part of this research addresses the pressing issue of burst event detection and localization within the Water Distribution System. Burst events are a major contributor to Water losses and repair expenses. The study employs wireless sensor technology to monitor pressure and flow rate in real time, enabling the detection of pipeline abnormalities, particularly burst events. The methodology relies on transient analysis of pressure signals, utilizing Cumulative Sum and Wavelet analysis techniques to robustly identify burst occurrences. To enhance precision, burst event localization is achieved through meticulous analysis of time differentials in the arrival of negative pressure waveforms across distinct pressure sensing points, aided by nodal matrix analysis. To evaluate the effectiveness of this methodology, a PVC Water pipeline test bed is employed, demonstrating the algorithm's success in detecting pipeline burst events at flow rates of 2-3 l/s. Remarkably, the algorithm achieves a localization error of merely 3 meters, outperforming previously established algorithms. This research presents a significant advancement in efficient burst event detection and localization within Water pipelines, holding the potential to markedly curtail Water losses and the concomitant financial implications. In conclusion, this combined research addresses critical challenges in Water distribution networks, offering solutions for optimizing pressure control, pump speed, burst event detection, and localization. These findings contribute to the enhancement of Water Distribution System, resulting in improved Water supply reliability, reduced Water losses, and substantial cost savings. The integrated approach presented in this paper holds promise for municipalities and utilities seeking to improve the efficiency and sustainability of their Water distribution networks.Keywords: pressure reduce valve, complex networks, variable speed pump, wavelet transform, burst detection, CUSUM (Cumulative Sum), water pipeline monitoring
Procedia PDF Downloads 8816420 Artificial Intelligence Models for Detecting Spatiotemporal Crop Water Stress in Automating Irrigation Scheduling: A Review
Authors: Elham Koohi, Silvio Jose Gumiere, Hossein Bonakdari, Saeid Homayouni
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Water used in agricultural crops can be managed by irrigation scheduling based on soil moisture levels and plant water stress thresholds. Automated irrigation scheduling limits crop physiological damage and yield reduction. Knowledge of crop water stress monitoring approaches can be effective in optimizing the use of agricultural water. Understanding the physiological mechanisms of crop responding and adapting to water deficit ensures sustainable agricultural management and food supply. This aim could be achieved by analyzing and diagnosing crop characteristics and their interlinkage with the surrounding environment. Assessments of plant functional types (e.g., leaf area and structure, tree height, rate of evapotranspiration, rate of photosynthesis), controlling changes, and irrigated areas mapping. Calculating thresholds of soil water content parameters, crop water use efficiency, and Nitrogen status make irrigation scheduling decisions more accurate by preventing water limitations between irrigations. Combining Remote Sensing (RS), the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning Algorithms (MLAs) can improve measurement accuracies and automate irrigation scheduling. This paper is a review structured by surveying about 100 recent research studies to analyze varied approaches in terms of providing high spatial and temporal resolution mapping, sensor-based Variable Rate Application (VRA) mapping, the relation between spectral and thermal reflectance and different features of crop and soil. The other objective is to assess RS indices formed by choosing specific reflectance bands and identifying the correct spectral band to optimize classification techniques and analyze Proximal Optical Sensors (POSs) to control changes. The innovation of this paper can be defined as categorizing evaluation methodologies of precision irrigation (applying the right practice, at the right place, at the right time, with the right quantity) controlled by soil moisture levels and sensitiveness of crops to water stress, into pre-processing, processing (retrieval algorithms), and post-processing parts. Then, the main idea of this research is to analyze the error reasons and/or values in employing different approaches in three proposed parts reported by recent studies. Additionally, as an overview conclusion tried to decompose different approaches to optimizing indices, calibration methods for the sensors, thresholding and prediction models prone to errors, and improvements in classification accuracy for mapping changes.Keywords: agricultural crops, crop water stress detection, irrigation scheduling, precision agriculture, remote sensing
Procedia PDF Downloads 7216419 Vaporization of a Single N-Pentane Liquid Drop in a Flowing Immiscible Liquid Media
Authors: Hameed B. Mahood, Ali Sh. Baqir
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Vaporization of a single n-pentane drop in a direct contact with another flowing immiscible liquid (warm water) has been experimentally investigated. The experiments were carried out utilising a cylindrical Perspex tube of diameter 10 cm and height and 150 cm. Saturated liquid n-pentane and warm water at 45oC were used as the dispersed and continuous phases, respectively. Photron FASTCAM SA 1.1high speed camera (75,000f/s) with software V. 321 was implemented during the experiments. Five different continuous phase flow rates (warm water) (10, 20, 30, 40, and 46 L⁄h) were used in the study. The results indicated that the increase of the continuous phase (warm water) flow rate results in increasing of the drop/bubble diameter.Keywords: drop evaporation, direct contact heat transfer, drop/bubble growth, experimental technique
Procedia PDF Downloads 35516418 Design and Implementation of an Efficient Solar-Powered Pumping System
Authors: Mennatallah M. Fouad, Omar Hussein, Lamia A. Shihata
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The main problem in many rural areas is the absence of electricity and limited access to water. The novelty of this work lies in implementing a small-scale experimental setup for a solar-powered water pumping system with a battery back-up system. Cooling and cleaning of the PV panel are implemented to enhance its overall efficiency and output. Moreover, a simulation for a large scale solar-powered pumping system is performed using PVSyst software. Results of the experimental setup show that the PV system with a battery backup proved to be a feasible and viable system to operate the water pumping system. Excess water from the pumping system is used to cool and clean the PV panel and achieved an average percentage increase in the PV output by 21.8%. Simulation results have shown that the system provides adequate output to power the solar-powered system and saves 0.3 tons of CO₂ compared to conventional fossil fuels. It is recommended for hot countries to adopt this system, which would help in decreasing the dependence on the depleting fossil fuels, provide access to electricity to areas where there is no electricity supply and also provide a source of water for crop growth as well as decrease the carbon emissions.Keywords: efficient solar pumping, PV cleaning, PV cooling, PV-operated water pump
Procedia PDF Downloads 13716417 Gendered Water Insecurity: a Structural Equation Approach for Female-Headed Households in South Africa
Authors: Saul Ngarava, Leocadia Zhou, Nomakhaya Monde
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Water crises have the fourth most significant societal impact after weapons of mass destruction, climate change, and extreme weather conditions, ahead of natural disasters. Intricacies between women and water are central to achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The majority of the 1.2 billion poor people worldwide, with two-thirds being women, and mostly located in Sub Sahara Africa (SSA) and South Asia, do not have access to safe and reliable sources of water. There exist gendered differences in water security based on the division of labour associating women with water. Globally, women and girls are responsible for water collection in 80% of the households which have no water on their premises. Women spend 16 million hours a day collecting water, while men and children spend 6 million and 4 million per day, respectively, which is time foregone in the pursuit of other livelihood activities. Due to their proximity and activities concerning water, women are vulnerable to water insecurity through exposures to water-borne diseases, fatigue from physically carrying water, and exposure to sexual and physical harassment, amongst others. Proximity to treated water and their wellbeing also has an effect on their sensitivity and adaptive capacity to water insecurity. The great distances, difficult terrain and heavy lifting expose women to vulnerabilities of water insecurity. However, few studies have quantified the vulnerabilities and burdens on women, with a few taking a phenomenological qualitative approach. Vulnerability studies have also been scanty in the water security realm, with most studies taking linear forms of either quantifying exposures, sensitivities or adaptive capacities in climate change studies. The current study argues for the need for a water insecurity vulnerability assessment, especially for women into research agendas as well as policy interventions, monitoring, and evaluation. The study sought to identify and provide pathways through which female-headed households were water insecure in South Africa, the 30th driest country in the world. This was through linking the drinking water decision as well as the vulnerability frameworks. Secondary data collected during the 2016 General Household Survey (GHS) was utilised, with a sample of 5928 female-headed households. Principal Component Analysis and Structural Equation Modelling were used to analyse the data. The results show dynamic relationships between water characteristics and water treatment. There were also associations between water access and wealth status of the female-headed households. Association was also found between water access and water treatment as well as between wealth status and water treatment. The study concludes that there are dynamic relationships in water insecurity (exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity) for female-headed households in South Africa. The study recommends that a multi-prong approach is required in tackling exposures, sensitivities, and adaptive capacities to water insecurity. This should include capacitating and empowering women for wealth generation, improve access to water treatment equipment as well as prioritising the improvement of infrastructure that brings piped and safe water to female-headed households.Keywords: gender, principal component analysis, structural equation modelling, vulnerability, water insecurity
Procedia PDF Downloads 12316416 The Influence of Temperature on Apigenin Extraction from Chamomile (Matricaria recutita) by Superheated Water
Authors: J. Švarc-Gajić, A. Cvetanović
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Apigenin is a flavone synthetized by many plants and quite abundant in chamomile (Matricaria recutita) in its free form and in the form of its glucoside and different acylated forms. Many beneficial health effects have been attributed to apigenin, such as chemo-preventive, anxiolytic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antispasmodic. It is reported that free apigenin is much more bioactive in comparison to its bound forms. Subcritical water offers numerous advantages in comparison to conventional extraction techniques, such as good selectivity, low price and safety. Superheated water exhibits high hydrolytical potential which must be carefully balanced when using this solvent for the extraction of bioactive molecules. Moderate hydrolytical potential can be exploited to liberate apigenin from its bound forms, thus increasing biological potential of obtained extracts. The polarity of pressurized water and its hydrolytical potential are highly dependent on the temperature. In this research chamomile ligulate flowers were extracted by pressurized hot water in home-made subcritical water extractor in conditions of convective mass transfer. The influence of the extraction temperature was investigated at 30 bars. Extraction yields of total phenols, total flavonoids and apigenin depending on the operational temperature were calculated based on spectrometric assays. Optimal extraction temperature for maximum yields of total phenols and flavonoids showed to be 160°C, whereas apigenin yield was the highest at 120°C.Keywords: superheated water, temperature, chamomile, apigenin
Procedia PDF Downloads 48316415 Interactive Garments: Flexible Technologies for Textile Integration
Authors: Anupam Bhatia
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Upon reviewing the literature and the pragmatic work done in the field of E- textiles, it is observed that the applications of wearable technologies have found a steady growth in the field of military, medical, industrial, sports; whereas fashion is at a loss to know how to treat this technology and bring it to market. The purpose of this paper is to understand the practical issues of integration of electronics in garments; cutting patterns for mass production, maintaining the basic properties of textiles and daily maintenance of garments that hinder the wide adoption of interactive fabric technology within Fashion and leisure wear. To understand the practical hindrances an experimental and laboratory approach is taken. “Techno Meets Fashion” has been an interactive fashion project where sensor technologies have been embedded with textiles that result in set of ensembles that are light emitting garments, sound sensing garments, proximity garments, shape memory garments etc. Smart textiles, especially in the form of textile interfaces, are drastically underused in fashion and other lifestyle product design. Clothing and some other textile products must be washable, which subjects to the interactive elements to water and chemical immersion, physical stress, and extreme temperature. The current state of the art tends to be too fragile for this treatment. The process for mass producing traditional textiles becomes difficult in interactive textiles. As cutting patterns from larger rolls of cloth and sewing them together to make garments breaks and reforms electronic connections in an uncontrolled manner. Because of this, interactive fabric elements are integrated by hand into textiles produced by standard methods. The Arduino has surely made embedding electronics into textiles much easier than before; even then electronics are not integral to the daily wear garments. Soft and flexible interfaces of MEMS (micro sensors and Micro actuators) can be an option to make this possible by blending electronics within E-textiles in a way that’s seamless and still retains functions of the circuits as well as the garment. Smart clothes, which offer simultaneously a challenging design and utility value, can be only mass produced if the demands of the body are taken care of i.e. protection, anthropometry, ergonomics of human movement, thermo- physiological regulation.Keywords: ambient intelligence, proximity sensors, shape memory materials, sound sensing garments, wearable technology
Procedia PDF Downloads 39416414 Innovative Waste Management Practices in Remote Areas
Authors: Dolores Hidalgo, Jesús M. Martín-Marroquín, Francisco Corona
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Municipal waste consist of a variety of items that are everyday discarded by the population. They are usually collected by municipalities and include waste generated by households, commercial activities (local shops) and public buildings. The composition of municipal waste varies greatly from place to place, being mostly related to levels and patterns of consumption, rates of urbanization, lifestyles, and local or national waste management practices. Each year, a huge amount of resources is consumed in the EU, and according to that, also a huge amount of waste is produced. The environmental problems derived from the management and processing of these waste streams are well known, and include impacts on land, water and air. The situation in remote areas is even worst. Difficult access when climatic conditions are adverse, remoteness of centralized municipal treatment systems or dispersion of the population, are all factors that make remote areas a real municipal waste treatment challenge. Furthermore, the scope of the problem increases significantly because the total lack of awareness of the existing risks in this area together with the poor implementation of advanced culture on waste minimization and recycling responsibly. The aim of this work is to analyze the existing situation in remote areas in reference to the production of municipal waste and evaluate the efficiency of different management alternatives. Ideas for improving waste management in remote areas include, for example: the implementation of self-management systems for the organic fraction; establish door-to-door collection models; promote small-scale treatment facilities or adjust the rates of waste generation thereof.Keywords: door to door collection, islands, isolated areas, municipal waste, remote areas, rural communities
Procedia PDF Downloads 26116413 Recreation and Environmental Quality of Tropical Wetlands: A Social Media Based Spatial Analysis
Authors: Michael Sinclair, Andrea Ghermandi, Sheela A. Moses, Joseph Sabu
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Passively crowdsourced data, such as geotagged photographs from social media, represent an opportunistic source of location-based and time-specific behavioral data for ecosystem services analysis. Such data have innovative applications for environmental management and protection, which are replicable at wide spatial scales and in the context of both developed and developing countries. Here we test one such innovation, based on the analysis of the metadata of online geotagged photographs, to investigate the provision of recreational services by the entire network of wetland ecosystems in the state of Kerala, India. We estimate visitation to individual wetlands state-wide and extend, for the first time to a developing region, the emerging application of cultural ecosystem services modelling using data from social media. The impacts of restoration of wetland areal extension and water quality improvement are explored as a means to inform more sustainable management strategies. Findings show that improving water quality to a level suitable for the preservation of wildlife and fisheries could increase annual visits by 350,000, an increase of 13% in wetland visits state-wide, while restoring previously encroached wetland area could result in a 7% increase in annual visits, corresponding to 49,000 visitors, in the Ashtamudi and Vembanad lakes alone, two large coastal Ramsar wetlands in Kerala. We discuss how passive crowdsourcing of social media data has the potential to improve current ecosystem service analyses and environmental management practices also in the context of developing countries.Keywords: coastal wetlands, cultural ecosystem services, India, passive crowdsourcing, social media, wetland restoration
Procedia PDF Downloads 15816412 Assessment of Spatial and Temporal Variations of Some Biological Water Quality Parameters in Mat River, Albania
Authors: Etleva Hamzaraj, Eva Kica, Anila Paparisto, Pranvera Lazo
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Worldwide demographic developments of recent decades have been associated with negative environmental consequences. For this reason, there is a growing interest in assessing the state of natural ecosystems or assessing human impact on them. In this respect, this study aims to evaluate the change in water quality of the Mat River for a period of about ten years to highlight human impact. In one year, period of study, several biological and environmental parameters are determined to evaluate river water quality, and the data collected are compared with those of a similar study in 2007. Samples are collected every month in five stations evenly distributed along the river. Total coliform bacteria, the number of heterotrophic bacteria in water, and benthic macroinvertebrates are used as biological parameters of water quality. The most probable number index is used for evaluation of total coliform bacteria in water, while the number of heterotrophic bacteria is determined by counting colonies on plates with Plate Count Agar, cultivated with 0.1 ml sample after series dilutions. Benthic macroinvertebrates are analyzed by the number of individuals per taxa, the value of biotic index, EPT Richness Index value and tolerance value. Environmental parameters like pH, temperature, and electrical conductivity are measured onsite. As expected, the bacterial load was higher near urban areas, and the pollution increased with the course of the river. The maximum concentration of fecal coliforms was 1100 MPN/100 ml in summer and near the most urbanized area of the river. The data collected during this study show that after about ten years, there is a change in water quality of Mat River. According to a similar study carried out in 2007, the water of Mat River was of ‘excellent’ quality. But, according to this study, the water was classified as of ‘excellent’ quality only in one sampling site, near river source, while in all other stations was of ‘good’ quality. This result is based on biological and environmental parameters measured. The human impact on the quality of water of Mat River is more than evident.Keywords: water quality, coliform bacteria, MPN index, benthic macroinvertebrates, biotic index
Procedia PDF Downloads 12116411 Upgrades for Hydric Supply in Water System Distribution: Use of the Bayesian Network and Technical Expedients
Authors: Elena Carcano, James Ball
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This work details the strategies adopted by the Italian Water Utilities during the distribution of water in emergency conditions which glide from earthquakes and droughts to floods and fires. Several water bureaus located over the national territory have been interviewed, and the collected information has been used in a database of potential interventions to be taken. The work discusses the actions adopted by water utilities. These are generally prioritized in order to minimize the social, temporal, and economic burden that the damaged and nearby areas need to support. Actions are defined relying on the Bayesian Network Approach, which constitutes the hard core of any decision support system. The Bayesian Networks give answers to interventions to real and most likely risky cases. The added value of this research consists in supplying the National Bureau, namely Protezione Civile, in charge of managing havoc and catastrophic situations with a univocal plot outline so as to be able to handle actions uniformly at the expense of different local laws or contradictory customs which squander any recovery conditions, proper technical service, and economic aids. The paper is organized as follows: in section 1, the introduction is stated; section 2 provides a brief discussion of BNNs (Bayesian Networks), section 3 introduces the adopted methodology; and in the last sections, results are presented, and conclusions are drawn.Keywords: hierarchical process, strategic plan, water emergency conditions, water supply
Procedia PDF Downloads 16216410 A Real Time Ultra-Wideband Location System for Smart Healthcare
Authors: Mingyang Sun, Guozheng Yan, Dasheng Liu, Lei Yang
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Driven by the demand of intelligent monitoring in rehabilitation centers or hospitals, a high accuracy real-time location system based on UWB (ultra-wideband) technology was proposed. The system measures precise location of a specific person, traces his movement and visualizes his trajectory on the screen for doctors or administrators. Therefore, doctors could view the position of the patient at any time and find them immediately and exactly when something emergent happens. In our design process, different algorithms were discussed, and their errors were analyzed. In addition, we discussed about a , simple but effective way of correcting the antenna delay error, which turned out to be effective. By choosing the best algorithm and correcting errors with corresponding methods, the system attained a good accuracy. Experiments indicated that the ranging error of the system is lower than 7 cm, the locating error is lower than 20 cm, and the refresh rate exceeds 5 times per second. In future works, by embedding the system in wearable IoT (Internet of Things) devices, it could provide not only physical parameters, but also the activity status of the patient, which would help doctors a lot in performing healthcare.Keywords: intelligent monitoring, ultra-wideband technology, real-time location, IoT devices, smart healthcare
Procedia PDF Downloads 14216409 Dynamic Process of Single Water Droplet Impacting on a Hot Heptane Surface
Authors: Mingjun Xu, Shouxiang Lu
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Understanding the interaction mechanism between the water droplet and pool fire has an important significance in engineering application of water sprinkle/spray/mist fire suppression. The micro impact process is unclear when the droplet impacts on the burning liquid surface at present. To deepen the understanding of the mechanisms of pool fire suppression with water spray/mist, dynamic processes of single water droplet impinging onto a hot heptane surface are visualized with the aid of a high-speed digital camera at 2000 fps. Each test is repeated 20 times. The water droplet diameter is around 1.98 mm, and the impact Weber number ranges from 30 to 695. The heptane is heated by a hot plate to mimic the burning condition, and the temperature varies from 30 to 90°C. The results show that three typical phenomena, including penetration, crater-jet and surface bubble, are observed, and the pool temperature has a significant influence on the critical condition for the appearance of each phenomenon. A global picture of different phenomena is built according to impact Weber number and pool temperature. In addition, the pool temperature and Weber number have important influences on the characteristic parameters including maximum crater depth, crown height and liquid column height. For a fixed Weber number, the liquid column height increases with pool temperature.Keywords: droplet impact, fire suppression, hot surface, water spray
Procedia PDF Downloads 24416408 Advantages of Neural Network Based Air Data Estimation for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Authors: Angelo Lerro, Manuela Battipede, Piero Gili, Alberto Brandl
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Redundancy requirements for UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) are hardly faced due to the generally restricted amount of available space and allowable weight for the aircraft systems, limiting their exploitation. Essential equipment as the Air Data, Attitude and Heading Reference Systems (ADAHRS) require several external probes to measure significant data as the Angle of Attack or the Sideslip Angle. Previous research focused on the analysis of a patented technology named Smart-ADAHRS (Smart Air Data, Attitude and Heading Reference System) as an alternative method to obtain reliable and accurate estimates of the aerodynamic angles. This solution is based on an innovative sensor fusion algorithm implementing soft computing techniques and it allows to obtain a simplified inertial and air data system reducing external devices. In fact, only one external source of dynamic and static pressures is needed. This paper focuses on the benefits which would be gained by the implementation of this system in UAV applications. A simplification of the entire ADAHRS architecture will bring to reduce the overall cost together with improved safety performance. Smart-ADAHRS has currently reached Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6. Real flight tests took place on ultralight aircraft equipped with a suitable Flight Test Instrumentation (FTI). The output of the algorithm using the flight test measurements demonstrates the capability for this fusion algorithm to embed in a single device multiple physical and virtual sensors. Any source of dynamic and static pressure can be integrated with this system gaining a significant improvement in terms of versatility.Keywords: aerodynamic angles, air data system, flight test, neural network, unmanned aerial vehicle, virtual sensor
Procedia PDF Downloads 22416407 How Grasslands Respond in Terms of Functional Strategies to Stimulated Climate Change in Submediterranean Region
Authors: Andrea Catorci, Federico Maria Tardella, Alessandro Brica, Muhammad Umair
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Climate change models predict for the Mediterranean region a strong increase of intensity and frequency of drought events, with an expected effect on grassland biodiversity and functioning. The research aim was to understand how the grassland species modulate their resource acquisition and conservation strategies to short-term variation of the pattern of summer water supply. The study area is mountain meadows located in the ‘‘Montagna di Torricchio’’ (1130 m a.s.l.) a Nature Reserve in central Italy. In 2017 we started a manipulative experiment for 2 year (2017-2018), and we defined two treatments, one with increasing water (watering condition) and the other with less water (drought condition). Then, we investigated how species change their resource strategies at different amount of water availability by measuring the specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf area (LA). We used ANOVAs to test the effect of treatment over time on leaf area and specific leaf area, considering all the species together and also separately according to their growth form (forb, grass, legume). Our results showed that species may respond differently depending on their growth form and that using all the species together may cover more detailed variation. Overall, resource retaining strategies (lower SLA, LA) are resulted by increase of drought condition, while increase in water amount and number of watering events fosters acquisitive strategies (higher SLA, LA). However, this pattern is not constant for all growth form. Grass species are able to maintain their strategies to variation of the pattern of water availability. Forb and legume species on the other side have shown decreasing trend of SLA, LA values with increasing drought condition, a pattern more marked for the latter growth form. These variations suggest not only an increase of slow-growing strategies for both growth form, but also a decrease of their nutrient pastoral values since their leaves are supposed to become harder. Local farmers should consider the effect of climate change on grassland and adapt their management practices to guarantee the cattle welfare.Keywords: function strategies, grasslands, climate change, sub Mediterranean region
Procedia PDF Downloads 13316406 Monitoring of Water Quality Using Wireless Sensor Network: Case Study of Benue State of Nigeria
Authors: Desmond Okorie, Emmanuel Prince
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Availability of portable water has been a global challenge especially to the developing continents/nations such as Africa/Nigeria. The World Health Organization WHO has produced the guideline for drinking water quality GDWQ which aims at ensuring water safety from source to consumer. Portable water parameters test include physical (colour, odour, temperature, turbidity), chemical (PH, dissolved solids) biological (algae, plytoplankton). This paper discusses the use of wireless sensor networks to monitor water quality using efficient and effective sensors that have the ability to sense, process and transmit sensed data. The integration of wireless sensor network to a portable sensing device offers the feasibility of sensing distribution capability, on site data measurements and remote sensing abilities. The current water quality tests that are performed in government water quality institutions in Benue State Nigeria are carried out in problematic locations that require taking manual water samples to the institution laboratory for examination, to automate the entire process based on wireless sensor network, a system was designed. The system consists of sensor node containing one PH sensor, one temperature sensor, a microcontroller, a zigbee radio and a base station composed by a zigbee radio and a PC. Due to the advancement of wireless sensor network technology, unexpected contamination events in water environments can be observed continuously. local area network (LAN) wireless local area network (WLAN) and internet web-based also commonly used as a gateway unit for data communication via local base computer using standard global system for mobile communication (GSM). The improvement made on this development show a water quality monitoring system and prospect for more robust and reliable system in the future.Keywords: local area network, Ph measurement, wireless sensor network, zigbee
Procedia PDF Downloads 17416405 Evaluation of Groundwater Quality in North-West Region of Punjab, India
Authors: Jeevan Jyoti Mohindroo, Umesh Kumar Garg
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The district of Tarntaran is located25 km south of Amritsar city in Punjab State of Northwestern India. It is 5059 Sq. Km in area. It is surrounded by Amritsar in the North, Kapurthala in the East, and Ferozepur in the South and Pakistan in the West. Patti Town is a municipal council of the Tarntaran district of the Indian state of Punjab, located 45 km from Amritsar its geographical coordinates are 310 16' 51" north to 740 51' 25" East Longitude. The town spreads over an area of 50sq. Km. Moisture content is very less in the air, falling within the semiarid region and frequently facing water scarcity as well as water quality problems. The major sources of employment are agriculture, horticulture and animal husbandry engaging almost 80% of the workforce. Water samples are collected from 400 locations in 20 villages on the Patti –Khem Karan highway with 20 samples from each village, and were subjected to analysis of chemical characteristics. The type of water that predominates in the study area is Ca-Mg-HCO3 type, based on hydro-chemical analysis. Besides, suitability of water for irrigation is evaluated based on the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), residual sodium carbonate, sodium percent and salinity hazard. Other Physico-chemical parameters such as pH, TDS, conductance, etc. were also determined using a water analysis kit. Analysis of water samples for heavy metal analysis was also carried out in the present study.Keywords: groundwater, chemical classification, SAR, RSC, USSL diagram
Procedia PDF Downloads 20216404 Sustainable Integrated Waste Management System
Authors: Lidia Lombardi
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Waste management in Europe and North America is evolving towards sustainable materials management, intended as a systemic approach to using and reusing materials more productively over their entire life cycles. Various waste management strategies are prioritized and ranked from the most to the least environmentally preferred, placing emphasis on reducing, reusing, and recycling as key to sustainable materials management. However, non-recyclable materials must also be appropriately addressed, and waste-to-energy (WtE) offers a solution to manage them, especially when a WtE plant is integrated within a complex system of waste and wastewater treatment plants and potential users of the output flows. To evaluate the environmental effects of such system integration, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a helpful and powerful tool. LCA has been largely applied to the waste management sector, dating back to the late 1990s, producing a large number of theoretical studies and applications to the real world as support to waste management planning. However, LCA still has a fundamental role in helping the development of waste management systems supporting decisions. Thus, LCA was applied to evaluate the environmental performances of a Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management system, with improved separate material collection and recycling and an integrated network of treatment plants including WtE, anaerobic digestion (AD) and also wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), for a reference study case area. The proposed system was compared to the actual situation, characterized by poor recycling, large landfilling and absence of WtE. The LCA results showed that the increased recycling significantly increases the environmental performances, but there is still room for improvement through the introduction of energy recovery (especially by WtE) and through its use within the system, for instance, by feeding the heat to the AD, to sludge recovery processes and supporting the water reuse practice. WtE offers a solution to manage non-recyclable MSW and allows saving important resources (such as landfill volumes and non-renewable energy), reducing the contribution to global warming, and providing an essential contribution to fulfill the goals of really sustainable waste management.Keywords: anaerobic digestion, life cycle assessment, waste-to-energy, municipal solid waste
Procedia PDF Downloads 6216403 Triticum Aestivum Yield Enhanced with Irrigation Scheduling Strategy under Salinity
Authors: Taramani Yadav, Gajender Kumar, R. K. Yadav, H. S. Jat
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Soil Salinity and irrigation water salinity is critical threat to enhance agricultural food production to full fill the demand of billion plus people worldwide. Salt affected soils covers 6.73 Mha in India and ~1000 Mha area around the world. Irrigation scheduling of saline water is the way to ensure food security in salt affected areas. Research experiment was conducted at ICAR-Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Experimental Farm, Nain, Haryana, India with 36 treatment combinations in double split plot design. Three sets of treatments consisted of (i) three regimes of irrigation viz., 60, 80 and 100% (I1, I2 and I3, respectively) of crop ETc (crop evapotranspiration at identified respective stages) in main plot; (ii) four levels of irrigation water salinity (sub plot treatments) viz., 2, 4, 8 and 12 dS m-1 (iii) applications of two PBRs along with control (without PBRs) i.e. salicylic acid (G1; 1 mM) and thiourea (G2; 500 ppm) as sub-sub plot treatments. Grain yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum) was increased with less amount of high salt loaded irrigation water at the same level of salinity (2 dS m-1), the trend was I3>I2>I1 at 2 dS m-1 with 8.10 and 17.07% increase at 80 and 100% ETc, respectively compared to 60% ETc. But contrary results were obtained by increasing amount of irrigation water at same level of highest salinity (12 dS m-1) showing following trend; I1>I2>I3 at 12 dS m-1 with 9.35 and 12.26% increase at 80 and 60% ETc compared to 100% ETc. Enhancement in grain yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum) is not need to increase amount of irrigation water under saline condition, with salty irrigation water less amount of irrigation water gave the maximum wheat (Triticum aestivum) grain yield.Keywords: Irrigation Scheduling, Saline Environment, Triticum aestivum, Yield
Procedia PDF Downloads 14516402 An Interdisciplinary Maturity Model for Accompanying Sustainable Digital Transformation Processes in a Smart Residential Quarter
Authors: Wesley Preßler, Lucie Schmidt
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Digital transformation is playing an increasingly important role in the development of smart residential quarters. In order to accompany and steer this process and ultimately make the success of the transformation efforts measurable, it is helpful to use an appropriate maturity model. However, conventional maturity models for digital transformation focus primarily on the evaluation of processes and neglect the information and power imbalances between the stakeholders, which affects the validity of the results. The Multi-Generation Smart Community (mGeSCo) research project is developing an interdisciplinary maturity model that integrates the dimensions of digital literacy, interpretive patterns, and technology acceptance to address this gap. As part of the mGeSCo project, the technological development of selected dimensions in the Smart Quarter Jena-Lobeda (Germany) is being investigated. A specific maturity model, based on Cohen's Smart Cities Wheel, evaluates the central dimensions Working, Living, Housing and Caring. To improve the reliability and relevance of the maturity assessment, the factors Digital Literacy, Interpretive Patterns and Technology Acceptance are integrated into the developed model. The digital literacy dimension examines stakeholders' skills in using digital technologies, which influence their perception and assessment of technological maturity. Digital literacy is measured by means of surveys, interviews, and participant observation, using the European Commission's Digital Literacy Framework (DigComp) as a basis. Interpretations of digital technologies provide information about how individuals perceive technologies and ascribe meaning to them. However, these are not mere assessments, prejudices, or stereotyped perceptions but collective patterns, rules, attributions of meaning and the cultural repertoire that leads to these opinions and attitudes. Understanding these interpretations helps in assessing the overarching readiness of stakeholders to digitally transform a/their neighborhood. This involves examining people's attitudes, beliefs, and values about technology adoption, as well as their perceptions of the benefits and risks associated with digital tools. These insights provide important data for a holistic view and inform the steps needed to prepare individuals in the neighborhood for a digital transformation. Technology acceptance is another crucial factor for successful digital transformation to examine the willingness of individuals to adopt and use new technologies. Surveys or questionnaires based on Davis' Technology Acceptance Model can be used to complement interpretive patterns to measure neighborhood acceptance of digital technologies. Integrating the dimensions of digital literacy, interpretive patterns and technology acceptance enables the development of a roadmap with clear prerequisites for initiating a digital transformation process in the neighborhood. During the process, maturity is measured at different points in time and compared with changes in the aforementioned dimensions to ensure sustainable transformation. Participation, co-creation, and co-production are essential concepts for a successful and inclusive digital transformation in the neighborhood context. This interdisciplinary maturity model helps to improve the assessment and monitoring of sustainable digital transformation processes in smart residential quarters. It enables a more comprehensive recording of the factors that influence the success of such processes and supports the development of targeted measures to promote digital transformation in the neighborhood context.Keywords: digital transformation, interdisciplinary, maturity model, neighborhood
Procedia PDF Downloads 7916401 Biological Treatment of Bacterial Biofilms from Drinking Water Distribution System in Lebanon
Authors: A. Hamieh, Z. Olama, H. Holail
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Drinking Water Distribution Systems provide opportunities for microorganisms that enter the drinking water to develop into biofilms. Antimicrobial agents, mainly chlorine, are used to disinfect drinking water, however, there are not yet standardized disinfection strategies with reliable efficacy and development of novel anti-biofilm strategies is still of major concern. In the present study the ability of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Streptomyces sp. cell free supernatants to inhibit the bacterial biofilm formation in Drinking Water Distribution System in Lebanon was investigated. Treatment with cell free supernatants of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Streptomyces sp. at 20% concentration resulted in average biofilm inhibition (52.89 and 39.66% respectively). A preliminary investigation about the mode of action of biofilm inhibition revealed that cell free supernatants showed no bacteriostatic or bactericidal activity against all the tested isolates. Pre-coating wells with supernatants revealed that Lactobacillus acidophilus cell free supernatant inhibited average biofilm formation (62.53%) by altering the adhesion of bacterial isolates to the surface, preventing the initial attachment step, which is important for biofilm production.Keywords: biofilm, cell free supernatant, distribution system, drinking water, lactobacillus acidophilus, streptomyces sp, adhesion
Procedia PDF Downloads 43516400 Urban Roof Farming: A Smart City Solution Leading to Sustainability
Authors: Phibankhamti Ryngnga
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It is a common phenomenon worldwide that farmland has been gradually converted for urban development particularly in the 21st century keeping in mind the population increase on the other hand. Since food demand and supply are not in equilibrium in urban set up, therefore, there is a need for alternative to feed the hungry urban settlers worldwide. In this regard, urban rooftop farming is the only way out to meet the growing demand for food production with the extra benefits of making our urban areas and cities greener and when the populace is exposed to nature and vegetation, it in turn provides an array of psychological benefits, from decreased anxiety to increased productivity. Bare roofs in cities absorb and then radiate heat — a phenomenon known as the “heat island effect. This increases energy usage and contributes to the poor air quality that often plagues big cities. But Urban rooftop farming do provide many solutions to help cool buildings, ultimately reducing carbon emissions, and by growing food in the communities they serve, rooftop farmers lessen the environmental impact of food transportation. This paper will emphasise the significance of Urban roof farming in the present century which in itself a multi-solution to various city problems.Keywords: urban, roof farming, smart solution, sustainability
Procedia PDF Downloads 14116399 Smart Irrigation Systems and Website: Based Platform for Farmer Welfare
Authors: Anusha Jain, Santosh Vishwanathan, Praveen K. Gupta, Shwetha S., Kavitha S. N.
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Agriculture has a major impact on the Indian economy, with the highest employment ratio than any sector of the country. Currently, most of the traditional agricultural practices and farming methods are manual, which results in farmers not realizing their maximum productivity often due to increasing in labour cost, inefficient use of water sources leading to wastage of water, inadequate soil moisture content, subsequently leading to food insecurity of the country. This research paper aims to solve this problem by developing a full-fledged web application-based platform that has the capacity to associate itself with a Microcontroller-based Automated Irrigation System which schedules the irrigation of crops based on real-time soil moisture content employing soil moisture sensors centric to the crop’s requirements using WSN (Wireless Sensor Networks) and M2M (Machine To Machine Communication) concepts, thus optimizing the use of the available limited water resource, thereby maximizing the crop yield. This robust automated irrigation system provides end-to-end automation of Irrigation of crops at any circumstances such as droughts, irregular rainfall patterns, extreme weather conditions, etc. This platform will also be capable of achieving a nationwide united farming community and ensuring the welfare of farmers. This platform is designed to equip farmers with prerequisite knowledge on tech and the latest farming practices in general. In order to achieve this, the MailChimp mailing service is used through which interested farmers/individuals' email id will be recorded and curated articles on innovations in the world of agriculture will be provided to the farmers via e-mail. In this proposed system, service is enabled on the platform where nearby crop vendors will be able to enter their pickup locations, accepted prices and other relevant information. This will enable farmers to choose their vendors wisely. Along with this, we have created a blogging service that will enable farmers and agricultural enthusiasts to share experiences, helpful knowledge, hardships, etc., with the entire farming community. These are some of the many features that the platform has to offer.Keywords: WSN (wireless sensor networks), M2M (M/C to M/C communication), automation, irrigation system, sustainability, SAAS (software as a service), soil moisture sensor
Procedia PDF Downloads 13116398 The Flood Disaster Management of Communities in Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand
Authors: Eakarat Boonreang, Anothai Harasarn
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The objectives of this study are to investigate the flood disaster management capacity of communities in Ubon Ratchathani province, Thailand, and to recommend the sustainable flood management approaches of communities in Ubon Ratchathani province, Thailand. The selected population consisted of the community leaders and committees, the executives of local administrative organizations, and the head of Ubon Ratchathani provincial office of disaster prevention and mitigation. The data was collected by in-depth interview, focus group, and observation. The data was analyzed and classified in order to determine the communities’ capacity in flood disaster management. The results revealed that communities’ capacity were as follows, before flood disaster, the community leaders held a meeting with the community committees in order to plan disaster response and determined evacuation routes, and the villagers moved their belongings to higher places and prepared vehicles for evacuation. During flood disaster, the communities arranged motorboats for transportation and villagers evacuated to a temporary evacuation center. Moreover, the communities asked for survival bags, motorboats, emergency toilets, and drinking water from the local administrative organizations and the 22nd Military Circle. After flood disaster, the villagers cleaned and fixed their houses and also collaborated in cleaning the temple, school, and other places in the community. The recommendation approaches for sustainable flood disaster management consisted of structural measures, such as the establishment of reservoirs and building higher houses, and non-structural measures such as raising awareness and fostering self-reliance, establishing disaster management plans, rehearsal of disaster response procedures every year, and transferring disaster knowledge among younger generations. Moreover, local administrative organizations should formulate strategic plans that focus on disaster management capacity building at the community level, particularly regarding non-structural measures. Ubon Ratchathani provincial offices of disaster prevention and mitigation should continually monitor and evaluate the outcomes of community based disaster risk management program, including allocating more flood disaster management-related resources among local administrative organizations and communities.Keywords: capacity building, community based disaster risk management, flood disaster management, Thailand
Procedia PDF Downloads 16916397 Inactivation of Root-Knot Nematode Eggs Meloidogyne enterolobii in Irrigation Water Treated with Ozone
Authors: I. A. Landa-Fernandez, I. Monje-Ramirez, M. T. Orta-Ledesma
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Every year plant-parasitic nematodes diminish the yield of high-value crops worldwide causing important economic losses. Currently, Meloidogyne enterolobii has increased its importance due to its high aggressiveness, increasing geographical distribution and host range. Root-knot nematodes inhabit the rhizosphere soil around plant roots. However, they can come into contact with irrigation water. Thus, plant-parasitic nematodes can be transported by water, as eggs or juveniles. Due to their high resistance, common water disinfection methods are not effective for inactivating these parasites. Ozone is the most effective disinfectant for microbial inactivation. The objective of this study is to demonstrate that ozone treatment is an alternative method control in irrigation water of the root-knot nematode M. enterolobii. It has been shown that ozonation is an effective treatment for the inactivation of protozoan cysts and oocysts (Giardia and Cryptosporidium) and for other species of the genus Meloidogyne (M. incognita), but not for the enterolobii specie. In this study, the strain of M. enterolobii was isolated from tomatoes roots. For the tests, eggs were used and were inoculated in water with similar characteristics of irrigation water. Subsequently, the disinfection process was carried out in an ozonation unit. The performance of the treatments was evaluated through the egg's viability by assessing its structure by optical microscopy. As a result of exposure to ozone, the viability of the nematode eggs was reduced practically in its entirety; with dissolved ozone levels in water close to the standard concentration (equal to 0.4 mgO₃/L), but with high contact times (greater than 4 min): 0.2 mgO₃/L for 15 minutes or 0.55 mgO₃/L for 10 minutes. Additionally, the effect of temperature, alkalinity and organic matter of the water was evaluated. Ozonation is effective and a promising alternative for the inactivation of nematodes in irrigation water, which could contribute to diminish the agricultural losses caused by these organisms.Keywords: inactivation process, irrigation water treatment, ozonation, plant-parasite nematodes
Procedia PDF Downloads 16916396 Water Footprint for the Palm Oil Industry in Malaysia
Authors: Vijaya Subramaniam, Loh Soh Kheang, Astimar Abdul Aziz
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Water footprint (WFP) has gained importance due to the increase in water scarcity in the world. This study analyses the WFP for an agriculture sector, i.e., the oil palm supply chain, which produces oil palm fresh fruit bunch (FFB), crude palm oil, palm kernel, and crude palm kernel oil. The water accounting and vulnerability evaluation (WAVE) method was used. This method analyses the water depletion index (WDI) based on the local blue water scarcity. The main contribution towards the WFP at the plantation was the production of FFB from the crop itself at 0.23m³/tonne FFB. At the mill, the burden shifts to the water added during the process, which consists of the boiler and process water, which accounted for 6.91m³/tonne crude palm oil. There was a 33% reduction in the WFP when there was no dilution or water addition after the screw press at the mill. When allocation was performed, the WFP reduced by 42% as the burden was shared with the palm kernel and palm kernel shell. At the kernel crushing plant (KCP), the main contributor towards the WFP 4.96 m³/tonne crude palm kernel oil which came from the palm kernel which carried the burden from upstream followed by electricity, 0.33 m³/tonne crude palm kernel oil used for the process and 0.08 m³/tonne crude palm kernel oil for transportation of the palm kernel. A comparison was carried out for mills with biogas capture versus no biogas capture, and the WFP had no difference for both scenarios. The comparison when the KCPs operate in the proximity of mills as compared to those operating in the proximity of ports only gave a reduction of 6% for the WFP. Both these scenarios showed no difference and insignificant difference, which differed from previous life cycle assessment studies on the carbon footprint, which showed significant differences. This shows that findings change when only certain impact categories are focused on. It can be concluded that the impact from the water used by the oil palm tree is low due to the practice of no irrigation at the plantations and the high availability of water from rainfall in Malaysia. This reiterates the importance of planting oil palm trees in regions with high rainfall all year long, like the tropics. The milling stage had the most significant impact on the WFP. Mills should avoid dilution to reduce this impact.Keywords: life cycle assessment, water footprint, crude palm oil, crude palm kernel oil, WAVE method
Procedia PDF Downloads 17916395 Kinetics of Sugar Losses in Hot Water Blanching of Water Yam (Dioscorea alata)
Authors: Ayobami Solomon Popoola
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Yam is majorly a carbohydrate food grown in most parts of the world. It could be boiled, fried or roasted for consumption in a variety of ways. Blanching is an established heat pre-treatment given to fruits and vegetables prior to further processing such as dehydration, canning, freezing etc. Losses of soluble solids during blanching has been a great problem because a reasonable quantity of the water-soluble nutrients are inevitably leached into the blanching water. Without blanching, the high residual levels of reducing sugars after extended storage produce a dark, bitter-tasting product because of the Maillard reactions of reducing sugars at frying temperature. Measurement and prediction of such losses are necessary for economic efficiency in production and to establish the level of effluent treatment of the blanching water. This paper aims at resolving this problem by investigating the effects of cube size and temperature on the rate of diffusional losses of reducing sugars and total sugars during hot water blanching of water-yam. The study was carried out using four temperature levels (65, 70, 80 and 90 °C) and two cubes sizes (0.02 m³ and 0.03 m³) at 4 times intervals (5, 10, 15 and 20 mins) respectively. Obtained data were fitted into Fick’s non-steady equation from which diffusion coefficients (Da) were obtained. The Da values were subsequently fitted into Arrhenius plot to obtain activation energies (Ea-values) for diffusional losses. The diffusion co-efficient were independent of cube size and time but highly temperature dependent. The diffusion coefficients were ≥ 1.0 ×10⁻⁹ m²s⁻¹ for reducing sugars and ≥ 5.0 × 10⁻⁹ m²s⁻¹ for total sugars. The Ea values ranged between 68.2 to 73.9 KJmol⁻¹ and 7.2 to 14.30 KJmol⁻¹ for reducing sugars and total sugars losses respectively. Predictive equations for estimating amount of reducing sugars and total sugars with blanching time of water-yam at various temperatures were also presented. The equation could be valuable in process design and optimization. However, amount of other soluble solids that might have leached into the water along with reducing and total sugars during blanching was not investigated in the study.Keywords: blanching, kinetics, sugar losses, water yam
Procedia PDF Downloads 16816394 Swelling Hydrogels on the Base Nitron Fiber Wastes for Water Keeping in Sandy Soils
Authors: Alim Asamatdinov
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Superabsorbent polymer hydrogels can swell to absorb huge volumes of water or aqueous solutions. This property has led to many practical applications of these new materials, particularly in agriculture for improving the water retention of soils and the water supply of plants. This article reviews the methods of polymeric hydrogels, measurements and treatments of their properties, as well as their effects on soil and on plant growth. The thermodynamic approach used to describe the swelling behaviour of polymer networks proves to be quite helpful in modelling the hydrogel efficiency of water-absorbing additives. The paper presents the results of a study of the physical and chemical properties of hydrogels based on of the production of "Nitron" (Polyacrylonitrile) wastes fibre and salts of the 3-rd transition metals and formalin. The developed hydrogels HG-Al, HG-Cr and HG-formalin have been tested for water holding the capacity of sand. Such a conclusion was also confirmed by data from the method of determining the wilting point by vegetative thumbnails. In the entering process using a dose of 0.1% of the swelling polymeric hydrogel in sand with a culture of barley the difference between the wilting point in comparison with the control was negligible. This indicates that the moisture which was contained in the hydrogel is involved in moisture availability for plant growth, to the same extent as that in the capillaries.Keywords: hydrogel, chemical, polymer, sandy, colloid
Procedia PDF Downloads 14416393 Assessing Water Bottle Consumption on College Campus in Abu Dhabi: Towards a Sustainable Future
Authors: Ludmilla Wikkeling-Scott, Amira Karim
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Background: In a rapidly developing environment, concerns for pollution and depletion of natural resources are challenges facing global communities. A major source of waste on university campuses is the use of plastic bottles, while cost of production and processing is high. Consumer demand stimulates popularity of plastic bottle production, but researchers agree this is not a sustainable solution. This pilot study assesses plastic water bottle used and attitude towards alternatives among Emirati college students. Methods: This study was conducted in December 2016, using an anonymous self-administered survey of 17 questions. The survey included personal characteristics, plastic water bottle used, attitude towards alternative replacement and sustainability. For statistical analysis, STATA 14C was used to determine significance of association. Results: A total of 500 Emirati students (94.6% female) completed the survey. Of the students, 82.6% preferred bottled water over tap water, and 44.6% reported disposable bottled water use in their household, 42.6% purchased disposable bottled water more than twice a week, and 44.2% purchased bottled water at least once, while on campus. Students were willing to consider switching to alternative water bottle use if it was more convenient (22.54%), cost less (55.13%) or improved the taste (22.54%), while only 7.85% students would not consider any alternatives. There was a significant difference in attitude towards alternatives to water bottle use by area of study (p < 0.005). Conclusion: The UAE strives to be at the forefront of sustainable development and protecting biodiversity. However, a major challenge is the increasing amount of waste, exacerbated by the increasing consumer demand for convenience as seen in this billion-dollar industry. Plastic bottles, for all purposes, pose a serious threat to the environment and sustainable campus initiatives can help reduce the ecological footprint, improve awareness of safe alternatives and benefits to the environment.Keywords: ecological foot print, emirati students, plastic bottle consumption, sustainable campus
Procedia PDF Downloads 16016392 Monitoring of 53 Contaminants of Emerging Concern: Occurrence in Effluents, Sludges, and Surface Waters Upstream and Downstream of 7 Wastewater Treatment Plants
Authors: Azziz Assoumani, Francois Lestremau, Celine Ferret, Benedicte Lepot, Morgane Salomon, Helene Budzinski, Marie-Helene Devier, Pierre Labadie, Karyn Le Menach, Patrick Pardon, Laure Wiest, Emmanuelle Vulliet, Pierre-Francois Staub
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Seven French wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) were monitored for 53 contaminants of emerging concern within a nation-wide monitoring campaign in surface waters, which took place in 2018. The overall objective of the 2018 campaign was to provide the exercise of prioritization of emerging substances, which is being carried out in 2021, with monitoring data. This exercise should make it possible to update the list of relevant substances to be monitored (SPAS) as part of future water framework directive monitoring programmes, which will be implemented in the next water body management cycle (2022). One sampling campaign was performed in October 2018 in the seven WWTP, where affluent and sludge samples were collected. Surface water samples were collected in September 2018 at three to five sites upstream and downstream the point of effluent discharge of each WWTP. The contaminants (36 biocides and 17 surfactants, selected by the Prioritization Experts Committee) were determined in the seven WWTP effluent and sludge samples and in surface water samples by liquid or gas chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry, depending on the contaminant. Nine surfactants and three biocides were quantified at least in one WWTP effluent sample. Linear alkylbenzene sulfonic acids (LAS) and fipronil were quantified in all samples; the LAS were quantified at the highest median concentrations. Twelve surfactants and 13 biocides were quantified in at least one sludge sample. The LAS and didecyldimethylammonium were quantified in all samples and at the highest median concentrations. Higher concentration levels of the substances quantified in WWTP effluent samples were observed in the surface water samples collected downstream the effluents discharge points, compared with the samples collected upstream, suggesting a contribution of the WWTP effluents in the contamination of surface waters.Keywords: contaminants of emerging concern, effluent, monitoring, river water, sludge
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