Search results for: Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC)

Authors: Imran Ali

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General chemotherapy for cancer treatment has many side and toxic effects. A new approach of targeting nano anti-cancer drug is under development stage and only few drugs are available in the market today. The unique features of these drugs are targeted action on cancer cells only without any side effect. Sometimes, these are called magic drugs. The important molecules used for nano anti-cancer drugs are cisplatin, carboplatin, bleomycin, 5-fluorouracil, doxorubicin, dactinomycin, 6-mercaptopurine, paclitaxel, topotecan, vinblastin and etoposide etc. The most commonly used materials for preparing nano particles carriers are dendrimers, polymeric, liposomal, micelles inorganic, organic etc. The proposed lecture will comprise the-of-art of nano drugs in cancer chemo-therapy including preparation, types of drugs, mechanism, future perspectives etc.

Keywords: cancer, nano-anti-cancer drugs, chemo-therapy, mechanism of action, future perspectives

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Authors: Hui-Chieh Li

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Circular economy promotes greater resource productivity and avoids pollution through greater recycling and re-use which bring benefits for both the environment and the economy. The concept is contrast to a linear economy which is ‘take, make, dispose’ model of production. A well-design reverse logistics service strategy could enhance the willingness of recycling of the users and reduce the related logistics cost as well as carbon emissions. Moreover, the recycle brings the manufacturers most advantages as it targets components for closed-loop reuse, essentially converting materials and components from worn-out product into inputs for new ones at right time and right place. This study considers demand-supply interaction, time-dependent recycle demand, time-dependent surplus value of recycled product and constructs models on recycle service strategy for the recyclable waste collector. A crucial factor in optimizing a recycle service strategy is consumer demand. The study considers the relationships between consumer demand towards recycle and product characteristics, surplus value and user behavior. The study proposes a recycle service strategy which differs significantly from the conventional and typical uniform service strategy. Periods with considerable demand and large surplus product value suggest frequent and short service cycle. The study explores how to determine a recycle service strategy for recyclable waste collector in terms of service cycle frequency and duration and vehicle type for all service cycles by considering surplus value of recycled product, time-dependent demand, transportation economies and demand-supply interaction. The recyclable waste collector is responsible for the collection of waste product for the manufacturer. The study also examines the impacts of utilization rate on the cost and profit in the context of different sizes of vehicles. The model applies mathematical programming methods and attempts to maximize the total profit of the distributor during the study period. This study applies the binary logit model, analytical model and mathematical programming methods to the problem. The model specifically explores how to determine a recycle service strategy for the recycler by considering product surplus value, time-dependent recycle demand, transportation economies and demand-supply interaction. The model applies mathematical programming methods and attempts to minimize the total logistics cost of the recycler and maximize the recycle benefits of the manufacturer during the study period. The study relaxes the constant demand assumption and examines how service strategy affects consumer demand towards waste recycling. Results of the study not only help understanding how the user demand for recycle service and product surplus value affects the logistics cost and manufacturer’s benefits, but also provide guidance such as award bonus and carbon emission regulations for the government.

Keywords: circular economy, consumer demand, product surplus value, recycle service strategy

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Authors: Ewelina Nowak, Anna Wisla-Swider

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Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a biomolecule which exhibits an electro-optic properties. These features are related with structure of double-stranded helix. Modification of DNA with ionic liquids allows intensify these properties. The aim of our study was synthesis of ionic liquids that are used the formation of DNA-surfactant complexes in order to obtain new materials with potential application for nonlinear optics. Complexes were achieved through the ion exchange reactions of carbazole-based and imidazole-based ionic liquids with H+ ions from salmon DNA. To examination the properties of obtained complexes DNA-ionic liquids there were investigated using circular dichroism (CD), UV-Vis spectra and infrared spectroscopy (IR). Additionally, the resulting DNA-surfactant complexes were characterized in terms of solubility in common organic solvents and water.

Keywords: deoxyribonucleic acid, biomolecule, carbazole, imidazole, ionic liquids, ion exchange reactions

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Authors: Yogesh S. Patel

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Novel polyimides were synthesized by Diels–Alder polymerization. Bisfuran was reacted with a couple of bismaleimides containing diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A and F (epoxy) segment to obtain Diels–Alder polyadducts. Polyadducts were then aromatized and imidized (i.e. cyclized) through carboxylic and amide groups to afford polyimides. Synthesized polyadducts and polyimides were characterized by elemental analysis, spectral features, the number of average molecular weight (Mn) and thermal analysis. The ‘in situ’ glass fiber reinforced composites were prepared and characterized by mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. These properties were compared with the other reported polyimides. All the composites showed good mechanical and electrical properties and good resistance to organic solvents and mineral acids.

Keywords: Diels-Alder reaction, bisfuran, bismaleimides, polyimide

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Authors: A. Boveiri Monji, H. Yousefnia, S. Zolghadri, B. Salimi

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The main goal of this paper was to make use of green reagents as a substitute of perilous synthetic reagents and organic solvents for spectrophotometric determination of hafnium(IV). The extracts taken from six different kinds of tree leaves including Acer negundo, Ficus carica, Cerasus avium, Chimonanthus, Salix babylonica and Pinus brutia, were applied as green reagents for the experiments. In 6-M hydrochloric acid, hafnium reacted with the reagent to form a yellow product and showed maximum absorbance at 421 nm. Among tree leaves, Chimonanthus showed satisfactory results with a molar absorptivity value of 0.61 × 10⁴ l mol^-1 cm^-1 and the method was linear in the 0.3-9 µg mL ^-1 concentration range. The detection limit value was 0.064 µg mL^-1. The proposed method was simple, low cost, clean, and selective.

Keywords: hafnium, spectrophotometric determination, synthetic reagents, tree leaves

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Authors: Dost Muhammad Halepoto, Laila AL-Ayadhi

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Neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism can cause lifelong disability. Genetic and environmental factors are believed to contribute to the development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but relatively few studies have considered potential environmental risks. Several industrial chemicals and other environmental exposures are recognized causes of neurodevelopmental disorders and subclinical brain dysfunction. The toxic effects of such chemicals in the developing human brain are not known. This review highlights the role of environmental risk factors including drugs, toxic chemicals, heavy metals, pesticides, vaccines, and other suspected neurotoxicants including persistent organic pollutants for ASD. It also provides information about the environmental toxins to yield new insights into factors that affect autism risk as well as an opportunity to investigate the relation between autism and environmental exposure.

Keywords: Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD, environmental factors, neurodevelopmental disorder

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Authors: Changho Han, Jaemin Lee, Li Hua, Seokkwon Jeong

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Design of membership function ranges in fuzzy logic control (FLC) is presented for robust control of a variable speed refrigeration system (VSRS). The criterion values of the membership function ranges can be carried out from the static experimental data, and two different values are offered to compare control performance. Some simulations and real experiments for the VSRS were conducted to verify the validity of the designed membership functions. The experimental results showed good agreement with the simulation results, and the error change rate and its sampling time strongly affected the control performance at transient state of the VSRS.

Keywords: variable speed refrigeration system, fuzzy logic control, membership function range, control performance

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Authors: Mohamed Hefnawy, Abdulrahman Al-Majed, Aymen Al-Suwailem

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Enantioseparation of drugs with multiple stereogenic centers is challenging. This study objectives to evaluate the efficiency of different mobilized and/or immobilized polysaccharide-based chiral stationary phases to separate enantiomers of some drugs containing multiple stereogenic centers namely indenolol, nadolol, labetalol. The critical mobile phase variables (composition of organic solvents, acid/base ratios) were carefully studied to compare the retention time and elution order of all isomers. Different chromatographic parameters such as capacity factor (k), selectivity (α) and resolution (Rs) were calculated. Experimental conditions and the possible chiral recognition mechanisms have been discussed.

Keywords: HPLC, polysaccharide columns, enantio-resolution, indenolol, nadolol, labetalol

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Authors: Teresa McGrath, Ryan Johnson, Rebecca Stamm, Cassidy Clarity, Wei Yung Lui

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Building and construction is the second largest plastic user behind packaging, accounting for 16% of plastic production. Building and construction is also by far the largest user of one of the most impactful plastics, polyvinyl chloride (aka vinyl or PVC), accounting for 69% of PVC production. Building materials also have an outsized contribution to plastic pollution, including microplastic pollution. Yet building materials are often overlooked in plastic waste and pollution reduction efforts. Habitable will present a plastics and petrochemical analysis of over 250 common building material types and demonstrate how changes to building material selection towards safer, renewable, and lower carbon materials can reduce global consumption of plastics and associated pollution.

Keywords: building materials, fenceline communities, microplastics, safer alternatives, embodied carbon, life cycle analysis, petrochemicals, green chemistry

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Authors: H. Aguedal, H. Hentit, A. Aziz, D. R. Merouani, A. Iddou

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The major environmental risk of soil pollution is the contamination of groundwater by infiltration of organic and inorganic pollutants that can cause a serious pollution. To protect the groundwater, in this study, we proceeded to test the reliability of a bio solid as barrier to prevent the migration of a very dangerous pollutant ‘Cadmium’ through the different soil layers. The follow-up the influence of several parameters, such as: turbidity, pluviometry, initial concentration of cadmium and the nature of soil, allow us to find the most effective manner to integrate this barrier in the soil. From the results obtained, we noted the effective intervention of the barrier. Indeed, the recorded passing quantities are lowest for the highest rainfall; we noted that the barrier has a better affinity towards higher concentrations; the most retained amounts of cadmium has been in the top layer of the two types of soil, while the lowest amounts of cadmium are recorded in the inner layers of soils.

Keywords: adsorption of cadmium, barrier, groundwater pollution, protection

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Authors: A. Hassiba Zemmouri, B. Nabil Mameri, C. Hakim Lounici

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In this study, the effect of Fenton technology pretreatment on the anaerobic digestion of excess waste activated sludge (WAS) was investigated. The variation of physicochemical characteristics (TOC, DS, VSS, VS) and biogas volume (as form of value added products) were also evaluated. The preselected operator conditions of Fenton pretreatment were 0.01ml H2O2/g SS, 150 [H2O2]/[Fe2+], 25g/l TS, at 25 °C and 30, 60 and120 min as treatment duration. The main results show a Maximum solubilization and biodegradability (70%) obtained at 120 min of Fenton pretreatment duration. An increasing of TOC in soluble phase related obviously by releasing organic substances of sludge flocs was contested. Improving in biogas volume was also, increased. Fenton oxidation pretreatment may be a promising chemical pre-treatment for a benefic digestion, stabilization and volume reduction.

Keywords: waste activated sludge, fenton pre-treatment, biodegradability, biogas

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Authors: Ingrid Snustad, Asmund Ervik, Anders Austegard, Amy Brunsvold, Jianying He, Zhiliang Zhang

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CO₂ capture, transport and storage (CCS) is essential to mitigate global anthropogenic CO₂ emissions. To make CCS a widely implemented technology in, e.g. the power sector, the reduction of costs is crucial. For a large cost reduction, every part of the CCS chain must contribute. By increasing the heat transfer efficiency during liquefaction of CO₂, which is a necessary step, e.g. ship transportation, the costs associated with the process are reduced. Heat transfer rates during dropwise condensation are up to one order of magnitude higher than during filmwise condensation. Dropwise condensation usually occurs on a non-wetting surface (Superlyophobic surface). The vapour condenses in discrete droplets, and the non-wetting nature of the surface reduces the adhesion forces and results in shedding of condensed droplets. This, again, results in fresh nucleation sites for further droplet condensation, effectively increasing the liquefaction efficiency. In addition, the droplets in themselves have a smaller heat transfer resistance than a liquid film, resulting in increased heat transfer rates from vapour to solid. Surface tension is a crucial parameter for dropwise condensation, due to its impact on the solid-liquid contact angle. A low surface tension usually results in a low contact angle, and again to spreading of the condensed liquid on the surface. CO₂ has very low surface tension compared to water. However, at relevant temperatures and pressures for CO₂ condensation, the surface tension is comparable to organic compounds such as pentane, a dropwise condensation of CO₂ is a completely new field of research. Therefore, knowledge of several important parameters such as contact angle and drop size distribution must be gained in order to understand the nature of the condensation. A new setup has been built to measure these relevant parameters. The main parts of the experimental setup is a pressure chamber in which the condensation occurs, and a high- speed camera. The process of CO₂ condensation is visually monitored, and one can determine the contact angle, contact angle hysteresis and hence, the surface adhesion of the liquid. CO₂ condensation on different surfaces can be analysed, e.g. copper, aluminium and stainless steel. The experimental setup is built for accurate measurements of the temperature difference between the surface and the condensing vapour and accurate pressure measurements in the vapour. The temperature will be measured directly underneath the condensing surface. The next step of the project will be to fabricate nanostructured surfaces for inducing superlyophobicity. Roughness is a key feature to achieve contact angles above 150° (limit for superlyophobicity) and controlled, and periodical roughness on the nanoscale is beneficial. Surfaces that are non- wetting towards organic non-polar liquids are candidates surface structures for dropwise condensation of CO₂.

Keywords: CCS, dropwise condensation, low surface tension liquid, superlyophobic surfaces

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Authors: Bouchra Wassate, Younes Karhat, Khadija El Falaki

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Leachate is a source of surface water and groundwater contamination if it has not been pretreated. Indeed, due to its complex structure and its pollution load make its treatment extremely difficult to achieve the standard limits required. The objective of this work is to show the interest of advanced oxidation processes on leachate treatment of urban waste containing high concentrations of organic pollutants. The efficiency of Fenton (Fe2+ +H2O2 + H+) reagent for young leachate recovered from collection trucks household waste in the city of Casablanca, Morocco, was evaluated with the objectives of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and discoloration reductions. The optimization of certain physicochemical parameters (initial pH value, reaction time, and [Fe2+], [H2O2]/ [Fe2+] ratio) has yielded good results in terms of reduction of COD and discoloration of the leachate.

Keywords: COD removal, color removal, Fenton process, oxidation process, leachate

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Authors: Bastian Waduge Naveen Harindu Hemasiri, Jae-Kwan Kim, Ji-Myon Lee

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Indium tin oxide (ITO) remains the industrial standard transparent conducting oxides with better performances. Recently, graphene becomes as a strong material with unique properties to replace the ITO. However, graphene/ITO hybrid composite material is a newly born field in the electronic world. In this study, the graphene/ITO composite bi-film was synthesized by a two steps process. 10 wt.% tin-doped, ITO thin films were produced by an environmentally friendly aqueous sol-gel spin coating technique with economical salts of In(NO3)3.H2O and SnCl4 without using organic additives. The wettability and surface free energy (97.6986 mJ/m2) enhanced oxygen plasma treated glass substrates were used to form voids free continuous ITO film. The spin-coated samples were annealed at 600 0C for 1 hour under low vacuum conditions to obtained crystallized, ITO film. The crystal structure and crystalline phases of ITO thin films were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. The Scherrer equation was used to determine the crystallite size. Detailed information about chemical composition and elemental composition of the ITO film were determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) coupled with FE-SEM respectively. Graphene synthesis was done under chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method by using Cu foil at 1000 0C for 1 min. The quality of the synthesized graphene was characterized by Raman spectroscopy (532nm excitation laser beam) and data was collected at room temperature and normal atmosphere. The surface and cross-sectional observation were done by using FE-SEM. The optical transmission and sheet resistance were measured by UV-Vis spectroscopy and four point probe head at room temperature respectively. Electrical properties were also measured by using V-I characteristics. XRD patterns reveal that the films contain the In2O3 phase only and exhibit the polycrystalline nature of the cubic structure with the main peak of (222) plane. The peak positions of In3d5/2 (444.28 eV) and Sn3d5/2 (486.7 eV) in XPS results indicated that indium and tin are in the oxide form only. The UV-visible transmittance shows 91.35 % at 550 nm with 5.88 x 10-3 Ωcm specific resistance. The G and 2D band in Raman spectroscopy of graphene appear at 1582.52 cm-1 and 2690.54 cm-1 respectively when the synthesized CVD graphene on SiO2/Si. The determined intensity ratios of 2D to G (I2D/IG) and D to G (ID/IG) were 1.531 and 0.108 respectively. However, the above-mentioned G and 2D peaks appear at 1573.57 cm-1 and 2668.14 cm-1 respectively when the CVD graphene on the ITO coated glass, the positions of G and 2D peaks were red shifted by 8.948 cm-1 and 22.396 cm-1 respectively. This graphene/ITO bi-film shows modified electrical properties when compares with sol-gel derived ITO film. The reduction of sheet resistance in the bi-film was 12.03 % from the ITO film. Further, the fabricated graphene/ITO bi-film shows 88.66 % transmittance at 550 nm wavelength.

Keywords: chemical vapor deposition, graphene, ITO, Raman Spectroscopy, sol-gel

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Authors: Shahab Shafayyan, Tara Naderi

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Biogas is the product of decomposition of organic materials. A variety of sources, including animal wastes, municipal solid wastes, sewage and agricultural wastes may be used to produce biogas in an anaerobic process. The main forming material of biogas is methane gas, which can be used directly in a variety of ways, such as heating and as fuel, which is very common in a number of countries, such as China and India. In this article, the cost of biogas production from animal fertilizers, and its refined form, bio methane gas has been studied and it is shown that it can be an alternative for natural gas in terms of costs, in the near future. The cost of biogas purification to biomethane is more than three times the cost of biogas production for an average unit. Biomethane production costs, calculated for a small unit, is about $9/MMBTU and for an average unit is about $5.9/MMBTU.

Keywords: biogas, biomethane, anaerobic digestion, economic evaluation

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Authors: Anaelle Gabet, Helene Metivier, Christine De Brauer, Gilles Mailhot, Marcello Brigante

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The presence of micropollutants in surface waters has been widely reported around the world, particularly downstream from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Rural WWTPs constitute more than 90 % of the total WWTPs in France. Like conventional ones, they are not able to fully remove micropollutants. Estrogens are excreted by human beings every day and several studies have highlighted their endocrine disruption properties on river wildlife. They are mainly estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2). Rural WWTPs require cheap and robust tertiary processes. UVC activation of H₂O₂ for HO· generation, a very reactive molecule, has demonstrated its effectiveness. However, UVC rays are dangerous to manipulate and energy-consuming. This is why the ability of UVA rays was investigated in this study. Moreover, the use of S₂O₈²⁻ for SO₄·- generation as an alternative to HO· has emerged in the last few years. Such processes have been widely studied on a lab scale. However, pilot-scale works constitute fewer studies. This study was carried out on a 20-L pilot composed of a 1.12-L UV reactor equipped with a polychromatic UVA lamp or a monochromatic (254 nm) UVC lamp fed in recirculation. Degradation rates of a mixture of spiked E1, E2 and EE2 (5 µM each) were followed by HPLC-UV. Results are expressed in UV dose (mJ.cm-2) received by the compounds of interest to compare UVC and UVA. In every system, estrogen degradation rates followed pseudo-first-order rates. First, experiments were carried out in tap water. All estrogens underwent photolysis under UVC rays, although E1 photolysis is higher. However, only very weak photolysis was observed under UVA rays. Preliminary studies on both oxidants have shown that S₂O₈²⁻ photolysis constants are higher than H₂O₂ under both UVA and UVC rays. Therefore, estrogen degradation rates are about ten times higher in the presence of 1 mM of S₂O₈²⁻ than with one mM of H₂O₂ under both radiations. In the same conditions, the mixture of interest required about 40 times higher UV dose when using UVA rays compared to UVC. However, the UVA/S₂O₈²⁻ system only requires four times more UV dose than the conventional UVC/H₂O₂ system. Further studies were carried out in WWTP effluent with the UVC lamp. When comparing these results to the tap water ones, estrogen degradation rates were more inhibited in the S₂O₈²⁻ system than with H₂O₂. It seems that SO₄·- undergo higher quenching by a real effluent than HO·. Preliminary experiments have shown that natural organic matter is mainly responsible for the radical quenching and that HO and SO₄ both had similar second-order reaction rate constants with dissolved organic matter. However, E1, E2 and EE2 second-order reaction rate constants are about ten times lower with SO₄ than with HO. In conclusion, the UVA/S₂O₈²⁻ system showed encouraging results for the use of UVA rays but further studies in WWTP effluent have to be carried out to confirm this interest. The efficiency of other pollutants in the real matrix also needs to be investigated.

Keywords: AOPs, decontamination, estrogens, radicals, wastewater

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Authors: Xu Fei (Philip) WU

Abstract:

As waste recycling concept been accepted more and more in modern societies, the organic portion of the municipal waste become a sires issue in today’s life. Depend on location and season, the organic waste can bee anywhere between 40-65% of total municipal solid waste. Also composting and anaerobic digestion technologies been applied in this field for years, however both process have difficulties been selected by economical and environmental factors. Beside environmental pollution and risk of virus spread, the compost is not a product been welcomed by people even the waste management has to give up them at no cost. The anaerobic digester has to have 70% of water and keep at 35 degree C or above; base on above conditions, the retention time only can be up to two weeks and remain solid has to be dewater and composting again. The enhancive waste water treatment has to be added after. Because these reasons, the voice of suggesting cancelling recycling program and turning all waste to mass burn incinerations have been raised-A process has already been proved has least energy efficiency and most air pollution problem associated process. A newly developed WXF Bio-energy process employs recently developed and patented pre-designed separation, multi-layer and multi-cavity successive bioreactor landfill technology. It features an improved leachate recycling technology, technologies to maximize the biogas generation rate and a reduced overall turnaround period on the land. A single properly designed and operated site can be used indefinitely. In this process, all collected biogas will be processed to eliminate H2S and other hazardous gases. The methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen will be utilized in a proprietary process to manufacture methanol which can be sold to mitigate operating costs of the landfill. This integration of new processes offers a more advanced alternative to current sanitary landfill, incineration and compost technology. Xu Fei (Philip) Wu Xu Fei Wu is founder and Chief Scientist of W&Y Environmental International Inc. (W & Y), a Canadian environmental and sustainable energy technology company with patented landfill processes and proprietary waste to energy technologies. He has worked in environmental and sustainable energy fields over the last 25 years. Before W&Y, he worked for Conestoga-Rovers & Associates Limited, Microbe Environmental Science and Technology Inc. of Canada and The Ministry of Nuclear Industry and Ministry of Space Flight Industry of China. Xu Fei Wu holds a Master of Engineering Science degree from The University of Western Ontario. I wish present this paper as an oral presentation only Selected Conference Presentations: • “Removal of Phenolic Compounds with Algae” Presented at 25th Canadian Symposium on Water Pollution Research (CAWPRC Conference), Burlington, Ontario Canada. February, 1990 • “Removal of Phenolic Compounds with Algae” Presented at Annual Conference of Pollution Control Association of Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. April, 1990 • “Removal of Organochlorine Compounds in a Flocculated Algae Photo-Bioreactor” Presented at International Symposium on Low Cost and Energy Saving Wastewater Treatment Technologies (IAWPRC Conference), Kiyoto, Japan, August, 1990 • “Maximizing Production and Utilization of Landfill Gas” 2009 Wuhan International Conference on Environment(CAWPRC Conference, sponsored by US EPA) Wuhan, China. October, 2009. • “WXF Bio-Energy-A Green, Sustainable Waste to Energy Process” Presented at 9Th International Conference Cooperation for Waste Issues, Kharkiv, Ukraine March, 2012 • “A Lannfill Site Can Be Recycled Indefinitely” Presented at 28th International Conference on solid Waste Technology and Management, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. March, 2013. Hosted by The Journal of Solid Waste Technology and Management.

Keywords: green fuel, waste management, bio-energy, sustainable development, methanol

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Authors: Yaseen Elhebshi, Abdulkareem Hamid, Nureddin Bin Issa, Xiaonong Chen

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A convenient method of preparing ultrafine polystyrene latex nano-particles with amino groups on the surface is developed. Polystyrene latexes in the size range 50–400 nm were prepared via emulsion polymerization, using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as surfactant. Polystyrene with amino groups on the surface will be fine to use as organic filler to modify rubber. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to observe the morphology of silicon dioxide and functionalized polystyrene nano-particles. The nature of bonding between the polymer and the reactive groups on the filler surfaces was analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was employed to examine the filler surface.

Keywords: reactive filler, emulsion polymerization, particle size, polystyrene nanoparticles

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Authors: Uftah Ali M. Shushni, Viola Stuppec, Ulrike Lindequist

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Because of the evolving resistance of microorganisms to existing antibiotics, there is an increasing need for new antibiotics not only in human but also in veterinary medicine. As part of our ongoing work on the secondary metabolites produced by marine fungi, the organic extract of the culture filtrate of an Ascomycetous fungus, which was found on driftwood collected from the coast of the Greifswalder Bodden, Baltic Sea, Germany displayed antimicrobial activity against some fish and human pathogenic bacteria. Bioactivity-guided column chromatographic separation led to the isolation of 6-Deoxybostrycoidin. The structure was determined from the interpretation of spectroscopic data (UV, MS, and NMR). 6-Deoxybostrycoidin exhibited in vitro activity against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus and Flexibacter maritimus with minimal inhibitory concentrations of 25, 12.5 and 12.5 μg/ml respectively.

Keywords: marine fungi, fish pathogenic bacteria, microorganism, medicine

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Authors: Tianyu Gao

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Digital architectures use computer-aided design, programming, simulation, and imaging to create virtual forms and physical structures. Today's customers want to know more about their buildings. They want an automatic thermostat to learn their behavior and contact them, such as the doors and windows they want to open with a mobile app. Therefore, the architectural display form is more closely related to the customer's experience. Based on the purpose of building informationization, this paper studies the steel structure design based on BIM. Taking the Zigan office building in Hangzhou as an example, it is divided into four parts, namely, the digital design modulus of the steel structure, the node analysis of the steel structure, the digital production and construction of the steel structure. Through the application of BIM software, the architectural design can be synergized, and the building components can be informationized. Not only can the architectural design be feedback in the early stage, but also the stability of the construction can be guaranteed. In this way, the monitoring of the entire life cycle of the building and the meeting of customer needs can be realized.

Keywords: digital architectures, BIM, steel structure, architectural design

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Authors: Babitha Elizabeth Philip

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This paper aims to study in general about bridges without expansion joints. Integral Abutment Bridges (IAB) fall into this category of bridges. They are having a continuous deck and also the girders are integrated into the abutments. They are most cost effective system in terms of construction, maintenance, and longevity. The main advantage of IAB is that it is corrosion resistant since water is not allowed to pass through the structure. The other attractions of integral bridges are its simple and rapid construction, smooth and uninterrupted deck which provides a safe ride. Also damages to the abutments can be avoided to a great extent due to better load distribution at the bridge ends. Damages due to improper drainage are not seen in IAB because of its properly drained approach slabs thus eliminating the possibility of erosion of the abutment backfill and freeze and thaw damage resulting from saturated backfill.

Keywords: continuous bridge, integral abutment bridge, joint bridge, life cycle cost, soil interaction

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Authors: Boudjema Nouara, Mameri Nabil

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Bacteria have played an important role in water contamination as a consequence of organic pollution. In this study, an electrocoagulation process was adopted to remove fecal contamination and pathogenic bacteria from waste water. The effect of anode/cathodes materials as well as operating conditions for bacteria removal from water, such as current intensity and initial pH and temperature. The results indicated that the complete removal was achevied when using aluminium anode as anode at current intensity of 3A, initial pH of 7-8 and electrolysis time of 30 minutes. This process showed a bactericidal effect of 95 to 99% for the total and fecal coliforms and 99% to 100% for Eschercichia coli and fecal Streptococci. A decrease of 72% was recorded for sulphite-reducing Clostridia. Thus, this process has the potential to be one the options for treatment where high amount of bacteria in wastewater river.

Keywords: bacteria, el Harrach river, electrocoagulation, wastewater, treatment

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Authors: Abimbola A. Adebayo, Kikelomo I. Adebayo

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Green buildings provide serious challenges for governments all over the world with regard to achieving energy efficiency in buildings. Energy efficient buildings are needed to keep up with minimal impacts on the environment throughout their cycle and to enhance sustainable development. The lack of awareness and benefits of energy efficient buildings have given rise to NGO’s playing important role in filling data gaps, publicizing information, and undertaking awareness raising and policy engagement activities. However, these roles are countered by concerns about subsidies for evaluations, incentives to facilitate data-sharing, and incentives to finance independent research. On the basis of literature review on experiences with NGO’s involvement in energy efficient buildings, this article identifies governance strategies that stimulate the harmonization of NGO’s roles in green buildings with the objective to increase energy efficiency in buildings.

Keywords: energy efficiency, green buildings, NGOs, sustainable development

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Authors: Charles Mothobiso

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This study attempts to identify the client’s main priority when delivering green projects. The aim is to compare whether clients’ interests are similar when delivering conventional buildings as compared to green buildings. Private clients invest more in green buildings as compared to government and parastatal entities. Private clients prioritize on maximizing a return on investment and they mainly invest in energy-saving buildings that have low life cycle costs. Private clients are perceived to be more knowledgeable about the benefits of green building projects as compared to government and parastatal clients. A shortage of expertise and managerial skill leads to the low adaptation of green buildings in government and parastatal projects. Other factors that seem to prevent the adoption of green buildings are the preparedness of the supply chain within the industry and inappropriate procurement strategies adopted by clients.

Keywords: construction clients, design team, green buildings, procurement

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Authors: V. H. Nguyen, A. Castalone, C. Jamieson, M. Gummert

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Rice straw is an abundant biomass resource in Asian countries that can be used for bioenergy. In continuously flooded rice fields, it can be removed without reducing the levels of soil organic matter. One suitable bioenergy technology is anaerobic digestion (AD), but it needs to be further verified using rice straw as a feedstock. For this study, a batch AD system was developed using rice straw and cow dung. It is low cost, farm scale, with the batch capacity ranging from 5 kg to 200 kg of straw mixed with 10% of cow dung. The net energy balance obtained was from 3000 to 4000 MJ per ton of straw input at 15-18% moisture content. Net output energy obtained from biogas and digestate ranged from 4000 to 5000 MJ per ton of straw. This indicates AD as a potential solution for converting rice straw from a waste to a clean fuel, reducing the environmental footprint caused by current disposal practices.

Keywords: rice straw, anaerobic digestion, biogas, bioenergy

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Authors: Prateek Goyal, Archini Paruthi, Superb K. Misra

Abstract:

Contamination of water resources has been a major concern, which has drawn attention to the need to develop new material models for treatment of effluents. Existing conventional waste water treatment methods remain ineffective sometimes and uneconomical in terms of remediating contaminants like heavy metal ions (mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium and chromium); organic matter (dyes, chlorinated solvents) and high salt concentration, which makes water unfit for consumption. We believe that nanotechnology based strategy, where we use nanoparticles as a tool to remediate a class of pollutants would prove to be effective due to its property of high surface area to volume ratio, higher selectivity, sensitivity and affinity. In recent years, scientific advancement has been made to study the application of photocatalytic (ZnO, TiO2 etc.) nanomaterials and magnetic nanomaterials in remediating contaminants (like heavy metals and organic dyes) from water/wastewater. Our study focuses on the synthesis and monitoring remediation efficiency of ZnO, Fe3O4 and Fe3O4 coated ZnO nanoparticulate system for the removal of heavy metals and dyes simultaneously. Multitude of ZnO nanostructures (spheres, rods and flowers) using multiple routes (microwave & hydrothermal approach) offers a wide range of light active photo catalytic property. The phase purity, morphology, size distribution, zeta potential, surface area and porosity in addition to the magnetic susceptibility of the particles were characterized by XRD, TEM, CPS, DLS, BET and VSM measurements respectively. Further on, the introduction of crystalline defects into ZnO nanostructures can also assist in light activation for improved dye degradation. Band gap of a material and its absorbance is a concrete indicator for photocatalytic activity of the material. Due to high surface area, high porosity and affinity towards metal ions and availability of active surface sites, iron oxide nanoparticles show promising application in adsorption of heavy metal ions. An additional advantage of having magnetic based nanocomposite is, it offers magnetic field responsive separation and recovery of the catalyst. Therefore, we believe that ZnO linked Fe3O4 nanosystem would be efficient and reusable. Improved photocatalytic efficiency in addition to adsorption for environmental remediation has been a long standing challenge, and the nano-composite system offers the best of features which the two individual metal oxides provide for nanoremediation.

Keywords: adsorption, nanocomposite, nanoremediation, photocatalysis

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Authors: Mohammad Reza Oftadeh

Abstract:

The purpose of the article is to describe project objective structure (POS) concept that was developed on research activities and experiences about project management, Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and European Foundation Quality Management Excellence Model (EFQM Excellence Model). Furthermore, this paper tries to define a balanced, systematic, and integrated measurement approach to meet project objectives and project strategic goals based on a process-oriented model. In this paper, POS is suggested in order to measure project performance in the project life cycle. After using the POS model, the project manager can ensure in order to achieve the project objectives on the project charter. This concept can help project managers to implement integrated and balanced monitoring and control project work.

Keywords: project objectives, project performance management, PMBOK, key performance indicators, integration management

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Authors: Hantian Wu, Bo Huang, Yuan Zeng

Abstract:

Divisions between wealthy and poor, private and public landscapes are propagated by the increasing economic inequality of cities. While these are the spatial reflections of larger social issues and problems, urban design can at least employ spatial techniques that promote more inclusive rather than exclusive, overlapping rather than segregated, interlinked rather than disconnected landscapes. Indeed, the type of edge or border between urban landscapes plays a critical role in the way the environment is perceived. China experiences rapid urbanization, which poses unpredictable environmental challenges. The urban green cover and water body are under changes, which highly relevant to resident wealth and happiness. However, very limited knowledge and data on their rapid changes are available. In this regard, enhancing the monitoring of urban landscape with high-frequency method, evaluating and estimating the impacts of the urban landscape changes, and understating the driving forces of urban landscape changes can be a significant contribution for urban planning and studying. High-resolution remote sensing data has been widely applied to urban management in China. The map of urban land use map for the entire China of 2018 with 10 meters resolution has been published. However, this research focuses on the large-scale and high-resolution remote sensing land use but does not precisely focus on the seasonal change of urban covers. High-resolution remote sensing data has a long-operation cycle (e.g., Landsat 8 required 16 days for the same location), which is unable to satisfy the requirement of monitoring urban-landscape changes. On the other hand, aerial-remote or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sensing are limited by the aviation-regulation and cost was hardly widely applied in the mega-cities. Moreover, those data are limited by the climate and weather conditions (e.g., cloud, fog), and those problems make capturing spatial and temporal dynamics is always a challenge for the remote sensing community. Particularly, during the rainy season, no data are available even for Sentinel Satellite data with 5 days interval. Many natural events and/or human activities drive the changes of urban covers. In this case, enhancing the monitoring of urban landscape with high-frequency method, evaluating and estimating the impacts of the urban landscape changes, and understanding the mechanism of urban landscape changes can be a significant contribution for urban planning and studying. This project aims to use the high spatiotemporal fusion of remote sensing data to create short-cycle, high-resolution remote sensing data sets for exploring the high-frequently urban cover changes. This research will enhance the long-term monitoring applicability of high spatiotemporal fusion of remote sensing data for the urban landscape for optimizing the urban management of landscape border to promoting the inclusive of the urban landscape to all communities.

Keywords: urban land cover changes, remote sensing, high spatiotemporal fusion, urban management

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Authors: Subhash Nerella, Ziyuan Guan, Azra Bihorac, Parisa Rashidi

Abstract:

Intensive care units (ICUs) provide care to critically ill patients in severe and life-threatening conditions. However, patient monitoring in the ICU is limited by the time and resource constraints imposed on healthcare providers. Many critical care indices such as mobility are still manually assessed, which can be subjective, prone to human errors, and lack granularity. Other important aspects, such as environmental factors, are not monitored at all. For example, critically ill patients often experience circadian disruptions due to the absence of effective environmental “timekeepers” such as the light/dark cycle and the systemic effect of acute illness on chronobiologic markers. Although the occurrence of delirium is associated with circadian disruption risk factors, these factors are not routinely monitored in the ICU. Hence, there is a critical unmet need to develop systems for precise and real-time assessment through novel enabling technologies. We have developed the mobility and circadian disruption quantification system (Mobi-DiQ) by augmenting biomarker and clinical data with pervasive sensing data to generate mobility and circadian cues related to mobility, nightly disruptions, and light and noise exposure. We hypothesize that Mobi-DiQ can provide accurate mobility and circadian cues that correlate with bedside clinical mobility assessments and circadian biomarkers, ultimately important for delirium risk assessment and prevention. The collected multimodal dataset consists of depth images, Electromyography (EMG) data, patient extremity movement captured by accelerometers, ambient light levels, Sound Pressure Level (SPL), and indoor air quality measured by volatile organic compounds, and the equivalent CO₂ concentration. For delirium risk assessment, the system recognizes mobility cues (axial body movement features and body key points) and circadian cues, including nightly disruptions, ambient SPL, and light intensity, as well as other environmental factors such as indoor air quality. The Mobi-DiQ system consists of three major components: the pervasive sensing system, a data storage and analysis server, and a data annotation system. For data collection, six local pervasive sensing systems were deployed, including a local computer and sensors. A video recording tool with graphical user interface (GUI) developed in python was used to capture depth image frames for analyzing patient mobility. All sensor data is encrypted, then automatically uploaded to the Mobi-DiQ server through a secured VPN connection. Several data pipelines are developed to automate the data transfer, curation, and data preparation for annotation and model training. The data curation and post-processing are performed on the server. A custom secure annotation tool with GUI was developed to annotate depth activity data. The annotation tool is linked to the MongoDB database to record the data annotation and to provide summarization. Docker containers are also utilized to manage services and pipelines running on the server in an isolated manner. The processed clinical data and annotations are used to train and develop real-time pervasive sensing systems to augment clinical decision-making and promote targeted interventions. In the future, we intend to evaluate our system as a clinical implementation trial, as well as to refine and validate it by using other data sources, including neurological data obtained through continuous electroencephalography (EEG).

Keywords: deep learning, delirium, healthcare, pervasive sensing

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Authors: Shawn G. Gallaher, Lilli E. Hirth

Abstract:

As permafrost thaws with the continued warming of the Alaskan North Slope, a progressively thicker active thaw layer is evidently releasing previously sequestered nutrients, metals, and particulate matter exposed to fluvial transport. In this study, we estimate material fluxes on the North Slope of Alaska during the 2019-2022 melt seasons. The watershed of the Alaskan North Slope can be categorized into three regions: mountains, tundra, and coastal plain. Precipitation and discharge data were collected from repeat visits to 14 sample sites for biogeochemical surface water samples, 7 point discharge measurements, 3 project deployed meteorology stations, and 2 U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) continuous discharge observation sites. The timing, intensity, and spatial distribution of precipitation determine the material flux composition in the Sagavanirktok and surrounding bodies of water, with geogenic constituents (e.g., dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC)) expected from mountain flushed events and biogenic constituents (e.g., dissolved organic compound (DOC)) expected from transitional tundra precipitation events. Project goals include connecting late summer precipitation events to peak discharge to determine the responses of the watershed to localized atmospheric forcing. Field study measurements showed widespread precipitation in August 2019, generating an increase in total suspended solids, dissolved organic carbon, and iron fluxes from the tundra, shifting the main-stem mountain river biogeochemistry toward tundra source characteristics typically only observed during the spring floods. Intuitively, a large-scale precipitation event (as defined by this study as exceeding 12.5 mm of precipitation on a single observation day) would dilute a body of water; however, in this study, concentrations increased with higher discharge responses on several occasions. These large-scale precipitation events continue to produce peak constituent fluxes as the thaw layer increases in depth and late summer precipitation increases, evidenced by 6 large-scale events in July 2022 alone. This increase in late summer events is in sharp contrast to the 3 or fewer large events in July in each of the last 10 years. Changes in precipitation intensity, timing, and location have introduced late summer peak constituent flux events previously confined to the spring freshet.

Keywords: Alaska North Slope, arctic rivers, material flux, precipitation

Procedia PDF Downloads 70