Search results for: high pressure and high temperature microfluidics

Authors: Slim Amami

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A model is developed to prevent the risks related to climate conditions in the agricultural sector. It will determine the yearly optimum premium to be paid by a farmer in order to reach his required turnover. The model is mainly based on both climatic stability and 'soft' responses of usually grown species to average climate variations at the same place and inside a safety ball which can be determined from past meteorological data. This allows the use of linear regression expression for dependence of production result in terms of driving meteorological parameters, main ones of which are daily average sunlight, rainfall and temperature. By a simple best parameter fit from the expert table drawn with professionals, optimal representation of yearly production is deduced from records of previous years, and yearly payback is evaluated from minimum yearly produced turnover. Optimal premium is then deduced, and gives the producer a useful bound for negotiating an offer by insurance companies to effectively protect their harvest. The application to wheat production in the French Oise department illustrates the reliability of the present model with as low as 6% difference between predicted and real data. The model can be adapted to almost every agricultural field by changing state parameters and calibrating their associated coefficients.

Keywords: agriculture, database, meteorological factors, production model, optimal price

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Authors: Mohammad Ansari, Ahmed Ismail, Satinder Mann

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Overcrowding in Emergency departments (ED) of United Kingdom has become a common problem. Urgent Care centres were developed nearly a decade ago to reduce pressure on EDs. Unfortunately, the development of Urgent Care centres has failed to produce the projected effects. It was thought that nearly 40% patients attending ED would go to Urgent Care centres and these would be staffed by Primary care Physicians. Data reveals that no more than 20% patients were seen by Primary Care Physicians even when the Urgent Care Centre was based in the ED. This study was carried out at the ED of George Eliot Hospital, Nuneaton, UK where the Urgent Care centre was based in the ED and employed Primary Care Physicians with special interest in trauma for nearly one year. This was then followed by a Primary Care Physician and Advanced Nurse Practitioner. We compared the number of patients seen during these periods and the cost-effectiveness of the service.We randomly selected a week of patients seen by Primary Care Physicians with special interest in Trauma and by Primary Care Physicians and the Advanced Nurse Practitioner. We compared the number and type of patients seen during these two periods. Nearly 38% patients were seen by Primary care Physician with special interest in Trauma, whilst only 14.3% patients were seen by the Primary care Physician and Advanced Nurse Practitioner. The Primary Care Physicians with special interest in trauma were paid less. Our study confirmed that unless Primary Care Physicians are able to treat minor trauma and interpret x-rays, the urgent care service is not going to be cost effective. Numerous previous studies have shown that 15 to 20% patients attending ED can be treated by Primary Care Physicians who do not require any investigations for their management. It is advantageous to have Urgent Care Centres within the ED because if the patient deteriorates they can be transferred to ED. We recommend that the Urgent care Centres should be a part of ED. Our study shows that Urgent care Centres in the ED can be helpful and cost effective if staffed by either senior Emergency Physicians or Primary Care Physicians with special interest and experience in the management of minor trauma.

Keywords: urgent care centres, primary care physician, advanced nurse practitioner, trauma

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Authors: Mohammad Jamil Abd AlGhani

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The natural native antioxidants N,N-P-methyl phenyl acetone and N,N-phenyl acetone were isolated from the Iraqi crude oil region of Kirkuk by ion exchange and their structure was characterized by spectral and chemical analysis methods. Tetraline was used as a liquid hydrocarbon to detect the efficiency of isolated molecules at elevated temperature (393 K) that it has physicochemical specifications and structure closed to hydrocarbons fractionated from crude oil. The synthesized universal antioxidant 2,6-ditertiaryisobutyl-p-methyl phenol (Unol) with known stochiometric coefficient of inhibition equal to (2) was used as a model for comparative evaluation at the same conditions. Modified chemiluminescence method was used to find the amount of absorbed oxygen and the induction periods in and without the existence of isolated antioxidants molecules. The results of induction periods and quantity of absorbed oxygen during the oxidation process were measured by manometric installation. It was seen that at specific equal concentrations of N,N-phenyl acetone and N, N-P-methyl phenyl acetone in comparison with Unol at 393 K were with (2) and (2.5) times efficient than do Unol. It means that they had the ability to inhibit the formation of new free radicals and prevent the chain reaction to pass from the propagation to the termination step rather than decomposition of formed hydroperoxides.

Keywords: antioxidants, chemiluminescence, inhibition, Unol

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Authors: Nada Mohamed, Abdel Aziz Mohamed

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Climate change in coastal areas is a global issue that can be felt on local scale and will be around for decades and centuries to come to an end; it also has critical risks on the city’s economy, communities, and the natural environment. One of these changes that cause a huge risk on coastal cities is the sea level rise (SLR). SLR is a result of scarcity and reduction in global environmental system. The main cause of climate change and global warming is the countries with high development index (HDI) as Japan and Germany while the medium and low HDI countries as Egypt does not have enough awareness and advanced tactics to adapt with this changes that destroy urban areas and cause loss in land and economy. This is why Climate Resilience is one of the UN sustainable development goals 2030, which is calling for actions to strengthen climate change resilience through mitigation and adaptation. For many reasons, adaptation has received less attention than mitigation and it is only recently that adaptation has become a focal global point of attention. This adaption can be achieved through some actions such as upgrading the use and the design of the land, adjusting business and activities of people, and increasing community understanding of climate risks. To reach the adaption goals, and we have to apply a strategic pathway to Climate Resilience, which is the Urban Bioregionalism Paradigm. Resiliency has been framed as persistence, adaptation, and transformation. Climate Resilience decision support system includes a visualization platform where ecological, social, and economic information can be viewed alongside with specific geographies that's why Urban Bioregionalism is a socio-ecological system which is defined as a paradigm that has potential to help move social attitudes toward environmental understanding and deepen human-environment connections within ecological development. The research aim is to achieve an adaptive integrated urban development model throughout the analyses of tactics and strategies that can be used to adapt urban areas and coastal communities to the challenges of climate changes especially SLR and also simulation model using advanced technological software for a coastal city corridor to elaborates the suitable strategy to apply.

Keywords: climate resilience, sea level rise, SLR, coastal resilience, adaptive development simulation

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Authors: Rubina Jahan, Mohammad Zayeed Bin Alam, Razia Sultana, Md Faroque Miah

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Mental health remains a significant global public health challenge, profoundly affecting millions worldwide. In Bangladesh, the situation is dire, with the National Mental Health Survey 2018-19 indicating that 19% of adults suffer from any kind of mental disorders, including severe mental disorder of around 2%. Despite these high prevalence rates, there is a substantial treatment gap in low- and middle-income countries, including Bangladesh, where up to 92% of individuals with mental illnesses do not receive adequate care. This gap is exacerbated by social barriers such as stigma, discrimination, social exclusion, poverty, homelessness, and human rights violations. To address these challenges, the SAJIDA Foundation launched the Proshanti in November 2022. Proshanti is a community based supportive housing intervention designed to provide cost-effective, sustainable, long-term care for individuals with chronic mental illnesses. It aims to rehabilitate participants by improving their mental health, quality of life, and equipping them with skills necessary for independent living and social mobility. Currently, Proshanti operates seven houses in Manikganj and Habiganj districts of Bangladesh, accommodating up to 40 individuals. Over a two-year period, individuals have received personalized support from trained personal assistants and care coordinators, regular health checkups, and opportunities for vocational training and community engagement. In this presentation, we will present the outcome of such intervention on individual’s functionality, quality of life and psychological health generated from 24 months of journey. Additionally, a qualitative approach will be employed to understand the facilitators and barriers of program implementation. The Proshanti program represents a promising model for addressing the significant mental health treatment gap in Bangladesh at the community level. Our findings will provide crucial insights into the program's feasibility, effectiveness, and the factors influencing its implementation, potentially guiding future mental health interventions in similar contexts.

Keywords: mental health, community based supportive housing, treatment gap, bangladesh

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Authors: Sayani Chatterjee, Kusum Lata Pangtey, Sarita Singh, Harvir Singh

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Biodegradation leads to a systematic alteration of the chemical and physical properties of crude oil showing sequential depletion of n-alkane, cycloalkanes, aromatic which increases its specific gravity, viscosity and the abundance of heteroatom-containing compounds. The biodegradation leads to a change in the molecular fingerprints and geochemical parameters of degraded oils, thus make source and maturity identification inconclusive or ambiguous. Asphaltene is equivalent to the most labile part of the respective kerogen and generally has high molecular weight. Its complex chemical structure with substantial microporous units makes it suitable to occlude the hydrocarbon expelled from the source. The occluded molecules are well preserved by the macromolecular structure and thus prevented from secondary alterations. They retain primary organic geochemical information over the geological time. The present study involves the extraction of this occluded hydrocarbon from the asphaltene cage through mild oxidative degradation using mild oxidative reagents like Hydrogen Peroxide (H₂O₂) and Acetic Acid (CH₃COOH) on purified asphaltene of the biodegraded oils of Mansa, Lanwa and Santhal fields in Cambay Basin. The study of these extracted occluded hydrocarbons was carried out for establishing oil to oil and oil to source correlation in the Mehsana block of Cambay Basin. The n-alkane and biomarker analysis through GC and GC-MS of these occluded hydrocarbons show similar biomarker imprint as the normal oil in the area and hence correlatable with them. The abundance of C29 steranes, presence of Oleanane, Gammacerane and 4-Methyl sterane depicts that the oils are derived from terrestrial organic matter deposited in the stratified saline water column in the marine environment with moderate maturity (VRc 0.6-0.8). The oil source correlation study suggests that the oils are derived from Jotana-Warosan Low area. The developed geochemical technique to extract the occluded hydrocarbon has effectively resolved the ambiguity that resulted from the inconclusive fingerprint of the biodegraded oil and the method can be also applied in other biodegraded oils as well.

Keywords: asphaltene, biomarkers, correlation, mild oxidation, occluded hydrocarbon

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Authors: Yan-Shen Yang, Bai-Chen Xie

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Background and significance of the study: Both green power trading schemes and interregional power transmission are effective ways to increase green power absorption and achieve renewable power development goals. China accelerates the construction of interregional power transmission lines and the green power market. A critical issue focusing on the close interaction between these two approaches arises, which can heavily affect the green power quota allocation and renewable power development. Existing studies have not discussed this issue adequately, so it is urgent to figure out their relationship to achieve a suitable power market design and a more reasonable power grid construction.Basic methodologies: We develop an equilibrium model of the power market in China to analyze the coupling effect of these two approaches as well as their influence on power generation and interregional transmission in China. Our model considers both the Tradable green certificate (TGC) and green power market, which consists of producers, consumers in the market, and an independent system operator (ISO) minimizing the total system cost. Our equilibrium model includes the decision optimization process of each participant. To reformulate the models presented as a single-level one, we replace the producer, consumer, ISO, and market equilibrium problems with their Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) conditions, which is further reformulated as a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) and solved in Gurobi solver. Major findings: The result shows that: (1) the green power market can significantly promote renewable power absorption while the TGC market provides a more flexible way for green power trading. (2) The phenomena of inefficient occupation and no available transmission lines appear simultaneously. The existing interregional transmission lines cannot fully meet the demand for wind and solar PV power trading in some areas while the situation is vice versa in other areas. (3) Synchronous implementation of green power and TGC trading mechanism can benefit the development of green power as well as interregional power transmission. (4) The green power transaction exacerbates the unfair distribution of carbon emissions. The Carbon Gini Coefficient is up to 0.323 under the green power market which shows a high Carbon inequality. The eastern coastal region will benefit the most due to its huge demand for external power.

Keywords: green power market, tradable green certificate, interregional power transmission, power market equilibrium model

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Authors: Elvira Lumi, Hans Jazxhi

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In the works of the writer Flutura Açka, the play with these questions is acute, and in almost each of them, the act of loneliness and isolation builds in a completely involuntary way unique and frequent conceptual spaces. Because the object of study is too broad to grasp all the works, this study lays out a rapid paradox of our access to three of the novels in the line of numerous authorial works. The novel "Woman Loneliness" (2001), also marked as the first work in prose by the author, declares in the title the paradigm of what she has decided to confess. The gender segregation proclaimed in the title will be revealed step by step in the work as conventional human segregation without gender. In this novel, the analysis of the state of "loneliness" will require a contemplation beyond man, when the role of the environment and the distance from the center of the narrative base will be extremely visible in the work. The novel "Cross of Oblivion" (2004) has another form of perception of loneliness, which, unlike the one built by the characters themselves in the novel "Woman Loneliness," is imposed and obligatory to live by the circumstances. Its characters are trapped in loneliness, as loneliness that comes from impossibility, from the past, from dependence on fate, from fear of change, and from the obligation to accept it. At the heart of the novel, the plot of the novel game is dictated by the Kanun and its rules and the loneliness of the basis of life in unbroken waves towards the periphery of the event, a periphery that has very large geography and is played in today's Europe. The novel "Where are you?" (2009) has a completely different form of constructing the concept of loneliness and isolation that comes under conditions of repression and political pressure. The loneliness in this novel takes the form of the protective element from the circumstances that actually require a social inclusion; it is personal loneliness that ensures relative mental health of the characters, up to a new trap created by the circumstances, thus building life fragmentary “healthy” in the order of a mentally ill and socially ill society.

Keywords: loneliness, existential, isolation, woman, prose

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Authors: Sawarni Hasibuan, Juliza Hidayati

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Competitiveness and sustainability issues not only put pressure on big companies, but also small and medium enterprises (SMEs). SMEs Batik Bogor is one of the local culture-based creative industries in Bogor city which is also dealing with the issue of sustainability. The purpose of this research is to develop framework of sustainability at SMEs Batik Indonesia case of SMEs Batik Bogor by integrating innovation of cleaner production in its supply chain. The approach used is desk study, field survey, in-depth interviews, and benchmarking best practices of SMEs sustainability. In-depth interviews involve stakeholders to identify the needs and standards of sustainability of SMEs Batik. Data analysis was done by benchmarking method, Multi Dimension Scaling (MDS) method, and Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat (SWOT) analysis. The results recommend the framework of sustainability for SMEs Batik in Indonesia. The sustainability status of SMEs Batik Bogor is classified as Moderate Sustainable. Factors that support the sustainability of SMEs Batik Bogor such is a strong commitment of top management in adopting cleaner production innovation and creativity approach. Successful cleaner production innovations are implemented primarily in the substitution of dye materials from toxic to non-toxic, reducing the intensity of non-renewable energy use, as well as the reuse and recycle of solid waste. “Mosaic Batik” is one of the innovations of solid waste utilization of batik waste produced by company R&D center that gives benefit to three pillars of sustainability, that is financial benefit, environmental benefit, and social benefit. The sustainability of SMEs Batik Bogor cannot be separated from the support of Bogor City Government which proactively facilitates the promotion of sustainable innovation produced by SMEs Batik Bogor.

Keywords: cleaner production innovation, creativity, SMEs Batik, sustainability supply chain

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Authors: Ramkumar R., Gaurav Shinde, Pratik Shroff, Sachin Kumar Jain, Nagesh Walke

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Advancements in electric vehicles have significantly reduced the powertrain noise and moving components of vehicles. As a result, in-cab noises have become more noticeable to passengers inside the car. To ensure a comfortable ride for drivers and other passengers, it has become crucial to eliminate undesirable component noises during the development phase. Standard practices are followed to identify the severity of noises based on subjective ratings, but it can be a tedious process to identify the severity of each development sample and make changes to reduce it. Additionally, the severity rating can vary from jury to jury, making it challenging to arrive at a definitive conclusion. To address this, an automotive component was identified to evaluate squeak and rattle noise issue. Physical tests were carried out for random and sine excitation profiles. Aim was to subjectively assess the noise using jury rating method and objectively evaluate the same by measuring the noise. Suitable jury evaluation method was selected for the said activity, and recorded sounds were replayed for jury rating. Objective data sound quality metrics viz., loudness, sharpness, roughness, fluctuation strength and overall Sound Pressure Level (SPL) were measured. Based on this, correlation co-efficients was established to identify the most relevant sound quality metrics that are contributing to particular identified noise issue. Regression analysis was then performed to establish the correlation between subjective and objective data. Mathematical model was prepared using artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithm. The developed model was able to predict the subjective rating with good accuracy.

Keywords: BSR, noise, correlation, regression

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Authors: Yu-Min Chang, Kuo-Sheng Tsai, Hung-Te Tsai, Chia-Hsin Li

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This paper presents the early-warning lights classification management system for industrial parks promoted by the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) since 2011, including the definition of each early-warning light, objectives, action program and accomplishments. All of the 151 industrial parks in Taiwan were classified into four early-warning lights, including red, orange, yellow and green, for carrying out respective pollution management according to the monitoring data of soil and groundwater quality, regulatory compliance, and regulatory listing of control site or remediation site. The Taiwan EPA set up a priority list for high potential polluted industrial parks and investigated their soil and groundwater qualities based on the results of the light classification and pollution potential assessment. In 2011-2013, there were 44 industrial parks selected and carried out different investigation, such as the early warning groundwater well networks establishment and pollution investigation/verification for the red and orange-light industrial parks and the environmental background survey for the yellow-light industrial parks. Among them, 22 industrial parks were newly or continuously confirmed that the concentrations of pollutants exceeded those in soil or groundwater pollution control standards. Thus, the further investigation, groundwater use restriction, listing of pollution control site or remediation site, and pollutant isolation measures were implemented by the local environmental protection and industry competent authorities; the early warning lights of those industrial parks were proposed to adjust up to orange or red-light. Up to the present, the preliminary positive effect of the soil and groundwater quality management system for industrial parks has been noticed in several aspects, such as environmental background information collection, early warning of pollution risk, pollution investigation and control, information integration and application, and inter-agency collaboration. Finally, the work and goal of self-initiated quality management of industrial parks will be carried out on the basis of the inter-agency collaboration by the classified lights system of early warning and management as well as the regular announcement of the status of each industrial park.

Keywords: industrial park, soil and groundwater quality management, early-warning lights classification, SOP for reporting and treatment of monitored abnormal events

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Authors: Mona Solvoll, Ragnhild Kr. Olsen

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Background and significance of the study: Newspapers are going through radical changes with increased competition, eroding readerships and declining advertising resulting in plummeting overall revenues. This has lead to a quest for new business models, focusing on monetizing content. This research paper investigates both how local online newspapers have introduced user payment and how the audience has received these changes. Given the role of local media in keeping their communities informed and those in power accountable, their potential impact on civic engagement and cultural integration in local communities, the business model innovations of local media deserves far more research interest. Empirically, the findings are interesting for local journalists, local media managers as well as local advertisers. Basic methodologies: The study is based on interviews with commercial leaders in 20 Norwegian local newspapers in addition to a national survey data from 1600 respondents among local media users. The interviews were conducted in the second half of 2015, while the survey was conducted in September 2016. Theoretically, the study draws on the business model framework. Findings: The analysis indicates that paywalls aim more at reducing digital cannibalisation of print revenue than about creating new digital income. The newspapers are mostly concerned with retaining “old” print subscribers and transform them into digital subscribers. However, this strategy may come at a high price for newspapers if their defensive print strategy drives away younger digital readership and hamper their recruitment potential for new audiences as some previous studies have indicated. Analysis of young reader news habits indicates that attracting the younger audience to traditional local news providers is particularly challenging and that they are more prone to seek alternative news sources than the older audience is. Conclusion: The paywall strategy applied by the local newspapers may be well fitted to stabilise print subscription figures and facilitate more tailored and better services for already existing customers, but far less suited for attracting new ones. The paywall is a short-sighted strategy, which drives away younger readers and paves the road for substitute offerings, particularly Facebook.

Keywords: business model, newspapers, paywall, user payment

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Authors: Abdulkarim Mohammed Iliyasu, Mahmud Abba Tahir

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Freezing and thawing are considered to be one of the major causes of concrete deterioration in the cold regions. This study aimed at assessing the freezing and thawing of concrete within the cover zone by monitoring the formation of ice and melting at different temperatures using electrical measurement technique. A multi-electrode array system was used to obtain the resistivity of ice formation and melting at discrete depths within the cover zone of the concrete. A total number of four concrete specimens (250 mm x 250 mm x 150 mm) made of ordinary Portland cement concrete and ordinary Portland cement replaced by 65% ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) is investigated. Water/binder ratios of 0.35 and 0.65 were produced and ponded with water to ensure full saturation and then subjected to freezing and thawing process in a refrigerator within a temperature range of -30 ⁰C and 20 ⁰C over a period of time 24 hours. The data were collected and analysed. The obtained results show that the addition of GGBS changed the pore structure of the concrete which resulted in the decrease in conductance. It was recommended among others that, the surface of the concrete structure should be protected as this will help to prevent the instantaneous propagation of ice trough the rebar and to avoid corrosion and subsequent damage.

Keywords: concrete, conductance, deterioration, freezing and thawing

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Authors: Sara Zelman, Courtney Meyer, Hiren Patel, Lisa Philpotts, Sue Lahey, Thomas Burke

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Background: As the global burden of disease shifts from infectious diseases to noncommunicable diseases, there is growing urgency to provide treatment for time-sensitive illnesses, such as ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarctions (STEMIs). The standard of care for STEMIs in developed countries is Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI). However, this is inaccessible in resource-limited settings. Before the discovery of PCI, Streptokinase (STK) and other thrombolytic drugs were first-line treatments for STEMIs. STK has been recognized as a cost-effective and safe treatment for STEMIs; however, in settings which lack access to PCI, it has not become the established second-line therapy. A systematic literature review was conducted to geographically map the use of STK for STEMIs in resource-limited settings. Methods: Our literature review group searched the databases Cinhal, Embase, Ovid, Pubmed, Web of Science, and WHO’s Index Medicus. The search terms included ‘thrombolytics’ AND ‘myocardial infarction’ AND ‘resource-limited’ and were restricted to human studies and papers written in English. A considerable number of studies came from Latin America; however, these studies were not written in English and were excluded. The initial search yielded 3,487 articles, which was reduced to 3,196 papers after titles were screened. Three medical professionals then screened abstracts, from which 291 articles were selected for full-text review and 94 papers were chosen for final inclusion. These articles were then analyzed and mapped geographically. Results: This systematic literature review revealed that STK has been used for the treatment of STEMIs in 33 resource-limited countries, with 18 of 94 studies taking place in India. Furthermore, 13 studies occurred in Pakistan, followed by Iran (6), Sri Lanka (5), Brazil (4), China (4), and South Africa (4). Conclusion: Our systematic review revealed that STK has been used for the treatment of STEMIs in 33 resource-limited countries, with the highest utilization occurring in India. This demonstrates that even though STK has high utility for STEMI treatment in resource-limited settings, it still has not become the standard of care. Future research should investigate the barriers preventing the establishment of STK use as second-line treatment after PCI.

Keywords: cardiovascular disease, global health, resource-limited setting, ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction, Streptokinase

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Authors: Meital Amzalag, Sharon Hardof-Jaffe

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In the last few decades, children and youth have been immersed in digital technologies. Indeed, recent studies explored the implication of technology use in their leisure and learning activities. Educators face an essential need to utilize technology and implement them into the curriculum. To do that, educators need to understand how young people use digital technology. This study aims to explore K12 students' digital lives from their point of view, to reveal their digital activities, age and gender differences with respect to digital activities, and to present the students' attitudes towards technologies in learning. The study approach is quantitative and includes354 students ages 6-16 from three schools in Israel. The online questionnaire was based on self-reports and consists of four parts: Digital activities: leisure time activities (such as social networks, gaming types), search activities (information types and platforms), and digital application use (e.g., calendar, notes); Digital skills (requisite digital platform skills such as evaluation and creativity); Social and emotional aspects of digital use (conducting digital activities alone and with friends, feelings, and emotions during digital use such as happiness, bullying); Digital attitudes towards digital integration in learning. An academic ethics board approved the study. The main findings reveal the most popular K12digital activities: Navigating social network sites, watching TV, playing mobile games, seeking information on the internet, and playing computer games. In addition, the findings reveal age differences in digital activities, such as significant differences in the use of social network sites. Moreover, the finding raises gender differences as girls use more social network sites and boys use more digital games, which are characterized by high complexity and challenges. Additionally, we found positive attitudes towards technology integration in school. Students perceive technology as enhancing creativity, promoting active learning, encouraging self-learning, and helping students with learning difficulties. The presentation will provide an up-to-date, accurate picture of the use of various digital technologies by k12 students. In addition, it will discuss the learning potentials of such use and how to implement digital technologies in the curriculum. Acknowledgments: This study is a part of a broader study about K-12 digital life in Israel and is supported by Mofet-the Israel Institute for Teachers'Development.

Keywords: technology and learning, K-12, digital life, gender differences

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Authors: Pyar S. Jassal, Sonal Gupta, Neema Chand, Rajni Johar

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In present study, Low molecular weight chitosan naoparticles (LMWCNP) were synthesized by using low molecular weight chitosan (LMWC) and sodium tripolyphosphate for the adsorption of anthraquinone dyes from waste water. The ionic-gel technique was used for this purpose. Size of nanoparticles was determined by “Scherrer equation”. The absorbance was carried out with UV-visible spectrophotometer for Acid Green 25 (AG25) and Reactive Blue 4 (RB4) dyes solutions at λmax 644 and λmax 598 nm respectively. The removal of dyes was dependent on the pH and the optimum adsorption was between pH 2 to 9. The extraction of dyes was linearly dependent on temperature. The equilibrium parameters, RL was calculated by using the Langmuir isotherm and shows that adsorption of dyes is favorable on the LMWCNP. The XRD images of LMWC show a crystalline nature whereas LMWCNP is amorphous one. The thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) shows that LMWCNP thermally more stable than LMWC. As the contact time increases, percentage removal of Acid Green 25 and Reactive Blue 4 dyes also increases. TEM images reveal the size of the LMWCNP were in the range of 45-50 nm. The capacity of AG25 dye on LMWC was 5.23 mg/g, it compared with LMWCNP capacity which was 6.83 mg/g respectively. The capacity of RB4 dye on LMWC was 2.30 mg/g and 2.34 mg/g was on LMWCNP.

Keywords: low molecular weight chitosan nanoparticles, anthraquinone dye, removal efficiency, adsorption isotherm

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Authors: B. B. Rana, M. Yokota, Y. Shimizu, Y. Koide, I. Takamure, T. Kawano, M. Murai

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Various genes which control or affect heading time have been found in rice. Out of them, Se1 and E1 loci play important roles in determining heading time by controlling photosensitivity. An isogenic-line pair of late and early lines were developed from progenies of the F₁ from Suweon 258 × 36U. A lateness gene tentatively designated as “Ex” was found to control the difference in heading time between the early and late lines mentioned above. The present study was conducted to examine the effect of Ex on yield and related traits. Indica-type variety Suweon 258 was crossed with 36U, which is an Ur1 (Undulate rachis-1) isogenic line of IR36. In the F₂ population, comparatively early-heading, late-heading and intermediate-heading plants were segregated. Segregation similar to that by the three types of heading was observed in the F₃ and later generations. A late-heading plant and an early-heading plant were selected in the F₈ population from an intermediate-heading F₇ plant, for developing L and E of the isogenic-line pair, respectively. Experiments for L and E were conducted by randomized block design with three replications. Transplanting was conducted on May 3 at a planting distance of 30 cm × 15 cm with two seedlings per hill to an experimental field of the Faculty of Agriculture, Kochi University. Chemical fertilizers containing N, P₂O₅ and K₂O were applied at the nitrogen levels of 4 g/m², 9 g/m² and 18 g/m² in total being denoted by "N4", "N9" and "N18", respectively. Yield, yield components and other traits were measured. Ex delayed 80%-heading by 17 or 18 days in L as compared with E. In total brown rice yield (g/m²), L was 635, 606 and 590, and E was 577, 548 and 501, respectively, at N18, N9 and N4, indicating that Ex increased this trait by 10% to 18%. Ex increased yield-1.5 mm sieve (g/m²) b 9% to 15% at the three fertilizer levels. Ex increased the spikelet number per panicle by 16% to 22%. As a result, the spikelet number per m² was increased by 11% to 18% at the three fertilizer levels. Ex decreased 1000-grain weight (g) by 2 to 4%. L was not significantly different from E in ripened-grain percentage, fertilized-spikelet percentage and percentage of ripened grains to fertilized spikelets. Hence, it is inferred that Ex increased yield by increasing spikelet number per panicle. Hence, Ex could be utilized to develop high yielding varieties for warmer districts.

Keywords: heading time, lateness gene, photosensitivity, yield, yield components

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Authors: Ann Ukachi Madukwe, Juliana Chinwendu Njoku

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Marital conflict, conceptualized in this study as the ongoing lack of peace and satisfaction in a marital union which threatens marital stability, has become quite prevalent in modern Igbo communities. The frequent incidences of spousal battery, spousal sexual abuse, domestic violence, long term separation and in some cases outright divorce are worrisome indicators of the endemic challenge marital conflict poses in most Igbo communities. This study examined marital expectations, marital infidelity (self and spouse), and neuroticism as predictors of marital conflict. Marital expectation was described as a married person’s appraisal of how well their pre-marital desires were being met by their spouses and within the marriage relationship. It assessed different aspects of personal and interpersonal positive outcomes in a marital union. Marital infidelity referred to the likelihood that married individuals or their spouses could have indulged in intimate activities like passionate kisses and romantic dates with someone other than their spouses. Participants reported on themselves as well as their spouses. The last predictor variable neuroticism was measured as a personality trait that addresses issues of emotional instability especially as it relates to a person’s interactions. Neurotic persons were considered to have high emotional reactivity; they would have strong emotional response to issues that emotionally stable persons might overlook. Participants comprised of Igbo male and female spouses selected from Imo state using randomized cluster sampling method. The study utilized the cross sectional survey design and Stepwise linear multiple regression for data analyses. Findings showed that though marital infidelity by spouse was generally below average and spouses marital expectations were being fulfilled; marital expectations followed by marital infidelity – spouse proved to be significant predictors of marital conflict. Marital conflict reduced as marital expectations got fulfilled and increased as the level of likelihood of marital infidelity by the spouse increased. Spouses in this study also reported an increased level of neuroticism, with males being more neurotic than females. Neuroticism was found to be the least significant predictor of marital conflict compared to marital expectations and marital infidelity – spouse. Finally, the article made recommendations to spouses and marital counsellors regarding especially the need to manage the neurotic tendencies of Igbo spouses.

Keywords: Igbo spouses, marital conflict, marital expectations, Nigeria

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Authors: Inna Vinokurova, N. Savvina

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The goal of research: to study the organization of multi-field hospital’s work environment in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Autonomous public health care institution of Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) - Republican Hospital No. 1 - National Center of Medicine. Results: Autonomous public health care institution of Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) - Republican Hospital No. 1 - National Center of Medicine is a multidisciplinary, specialized hospital complex that provides specialized and high-tech medical care to children and adults in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) of the Russian Federation. There are 5 diagnostic and treatment centers (advisory and diagnostic, clinical, pediatric, perinatal, Republican cardiologic dispensary) with 45 clinical specialized departments with 727 cots, 5 resuscitation departments, 20 operating rooms and out-patient department with 905 visits in alternation in the National Center of Medicine. Annually more than 20,000 patients receive treatment in the hospital of the Republican Hospital of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), more than 70,000 patients visit out-patient sections, more than 2 million researches are done, more than 12,000 surgeries are performed, more than 2 thousand babies are delivered. National Center of Medicine has a great influence with such population’s health indicators as total mortality, birth rate, maternal, infant and perinatal mortality, circulatory system incidence. The work environment of the Republican Hospital of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) is represented by the following structural departments: pharmacy, blood transfusion department, sterilization department, laundry, dietetic department, infant-feeding centre, material and technical supply. More than 200 employees work in this service. The main function of these services is to provide on-time and fail-safe supply with all necessary: wear parts, medical supplies, donated blood and its components, foodstuffs, hospital linen , sterile instruments, etc. Thus, the activity of medical organization depends on the work environment, including quality health care, so it is a main part of multi-field hospital activity.

Keywords: organization of multi-field hospital’s, work environment, quality health care, pharmacy, blood transfusion department, sterilization department

Procedia PDF Downloads 232

Authors: Yun-Chung Yu, Yan-Wen Wang, Min-Sheng Liao, Joe-Air Jiang, Yuen-Chung Lee

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This paper proposes to use a Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) for a smart pest monitoring system which aims at the oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis) to improve the communication efficiency of the system. The oriental fruit fly is one of the main pests in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Rim. Different smart pest monitoring systems based on the Internet of Things (IoT) architecture have been developed to solve problems of employing manual measurement. These systems often use Octopus II, a communication module following the 2.4GHz IEEE 802.15.4 ZigBee specification, as sensor nodes. The Octopus II is commonly used in low-power and short-distance communication. However, the energy consumption increase as the logical topology becomes more complicate to have enough coverage in the large area. By comparison, LoRaWAN follows the Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) specification, which targets the key requirements of the IoT technology, such as secure bi-directional communication, mobility, and localization services. The LoRaWAN network has advantages of long range communication, high stability, and low energy consumption. The 433MHz LoRaWAN model has two superiorities over the 2.4GHz ZigBee model: greater diffraction and less interference. In this paper, The Octopus II module is replaced by a LoRa model to increase the coverage of the monitoring system, improve the communication performance, and prolong the network lifetime. The performance of the LoRa-based system is compared with a ZigBee-based system using three indexes: the packet receiving rate, delay time, and energy consumption, and the experiments are done in different settings (e.g. distances and environmental conditions). In the distance experiment, a pest monitoring system using the two communication specifications is deployed in an area with various obstacles, such as buildings and living creatures, and the performance of employing the two communication specifications is examined. The experiment results show that the packet receiving the rate of the LoRa-based system is 96% , which is much higher than that of the ZigBee system when the distance between any two modules is about 500m. These results indicate the capability of a LoRaWAN-based monitoring system in long range transmission and ensure the stability of the system.

Keywords: LoRaWan, oriental fruit fly, IoT, Octopus II

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Authors: Sakir Tasdemir, Mustafa Altin, Gamze Fahriye Pehlivan, Sadiye Didem Boztepe Erkis, Ismail Saritas, Selma Tasdemir

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Artificial intelligence applications are commonly used in industry in many fields in parallel with the developments in the computer technology. In this study, a fire room was prepared for the resistance of wooden construction elements and with the mechanism here, the experiments of polished materials were carried out. By utilizing from the experimental data, an artificial neural network (ANN) was modeled in order to evaluate the final cross sections of the wooden samples remaining from the fire. In modelling, experimental data obtained from the fire room were used. In the system developed, the first weight of samples (ws-gr), preliminary cross-section (pcs-mm2), fire time (ft-minute), fire temperature (t-oC) as input parameters and final cross-section (fcs-mm2) as output parameter were taken. When the results obtained from ANN and experimental data are compared after making statistical analyses, the data of two groups are determined to be coherent and seen to have no meaning difference between them. As a result, it is seen that ANN can be safely used in determining cross sections of wooden materials after fire and it prevents many disadvantages.

Keywords: artificial neural network, final cross-section, fire retardant polishes, fire safety, wood resistance.

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Authors: Beatriz Martinez-Pastor, Maria Nogal, Alan O'Connor

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During the last years, the number of extreme weather events has increased. A variety of extreme weather events, including river floods, rain-induced landslides, droughts, winter storms, wildfire, and hurricanes, have threatened and damaged many different regions worldwide. These events have a devastating impact on critical infrastructure systems resulting in high social, economical and environmental costs. These events have a huge impact in transport systems. Since, transport networks are completely exposed to every kind of climatological perturbations, and its performance is closely related with these events. When a traffic network is affected by a climatological hazard, the quality of its service is threatened, and the level of the traffic conditions usually decreases. With the aim of understanding this process, the concept of resilience has become most popular in the area of transport. Transport resilience analyses the behavior of a traffic network when a perturbation takes place. This holistic concept studies the complete process, from the beginning of the perturbation until the total recovery of the system, when the perturbation has finished. Many concepts are included in the definition of resilience, such as vulnerability, redundancy, adaptability, and safety. Once the resilience of a transport network can be evaluated, in this case, the methodology used is a dynamic equilibrium-restricted assignment model that allows the quantification of the concept, the next step is its improvement. Through the improvement of this concept, it will be possible to create transport networks that are able to withstand and have a better performance under the presence of climatological hazards. Analyzing the impact of a perturbation in a traffic network, it is observed that the response of the different links, which are part of the network, can be completely different from one to another. Consequently and due to this effect, many questions arise, as what makes a link more critical before an extreme weather event? or how is it possible to identify these critical links? With this aim, and knowing that most of the times the owners or managers of the transport systems have limited resources, the identification of the critical links of a transport network before extreme weather events, becomes a crucial objective. For that reason, using the available resources in the areas that will generate a higher improvement of the resilience, will contribute to the global development of the network. Therefore, this paper wants to analyze what kind of characteristic makes a link a critical one when an extreme weather event damages a transport network and finally identify them.

Keywords: critical links, extreme weather events, hazard, resilience, transport network

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Authors: A. Zeynolabedin, M. A. Olyaei, B. Ghiasi

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Drought is an inevitable part of the earth’s climate. It occurs regularly with no clear warning and without recognizing borders. In addition, its impact is cumulative and not immediately discernible. Iran is located in a semi-arid region where droughts occur periodically as natural hazard. Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Surface Water Supply Index (SWSI), and Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) are three well-known indices which describe drought severity; each has its own advantages and disadvantages and can be used for specific types of drought. These indices take into account some factors such as precipitation, reservoir storage and discharge, temperature, and potential evapotranspiration in determining drought severity. In this paper, first all three indices are calculated in Aharchay river watershed located in northwestern part of Iran in East Azarbaijan province. Next, based on two other important parameters which are groundwater level and solar radiation, two new indices are defined. Finally, considering all five aforementioned indices, a combined drought index (CDI) is presented and calculated for the region. This combined index is based on all the meteorological, hydrological, and agricultural features of the region. The results show that the most severe drought condition in Aharchay watershed happened in Jun, 2004. The result of this study can be used for monitoring drought and prepare for the drought mitigation planning.

Keywords: drought, GIS, intensity index, regional assessment, variation maps

Procedia PDF Downloads 237

Authors: Cita Ayeni

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Amidst numerous arguments on reasons for low Human Development (low HDI) in Nigeria ranging from corruption, incompetence of the government and its agencies, mismanagement of funds, terrorism, violence, and crime in the country, just to mention a few. There have been several actions by agencies of the government that for years has threatened the security and development of the citizens, and the country in a broader sense. This paper analyses the activities of SARS (Special Anti-Robbery Squad) as a government agency with a mandate to tackling the high rate of crime in the country but instead have been marred with allegations of violence, killings, extortion, harsh treatment, and terror of the Nigerian citizenry, predominantly the youths. This paper establishes the effect of these actions of the agency on human development in Nigeria, hindering the capacity of the Nigerian youths to earn a decent living due to constant terrorism, extortion, and extrajudicial activities, which in numerous cases resulted in maiming and death, thus instigating fear in the vast majority. This research further analyses the executive order by the then Acting President of Nigeria (Vice-President) that overhauled the agency following many years of continuous public outcry, complaint, grievance, and protest. This work establishes that this order carried out in the absence of the President was to a large extent enough to stop these violations, thereby resulting in little or no recorded complaint or grievance by the public, as many of the officials involved in the gruesome activities were said to have been put away. This would pave way and give freedom to the youths to realize their potentials free from intimidation, violence, and fear from the agencies created to protect them, and on the other hand refocus the new agency FSARS (Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad) on its real mandate in collaboration with independent organizations acting as a check to its actions. This work thus depicts how direct executive orders on policies pertaining to individual insecurities, on youths in this case, in a country can be a potential drive to increased human development.

Keywords: special anti-robbery squad, Nigerian youths, overhaul, insecurities, human development

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Authors: Feleke Tsegaye

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The work in this thesis mainly focuses on trajectory tracking of fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicle (FWUAV) by using fuzzy based sliding mode controller(FSMC) for surveillance applications. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are general-purpose aircraft built to fly autonomously. This technology is applied in a variety of sectors, including the military, to improve defense, surveillance, and logistics. The model of FWUAV is complex due to its high non-linearity and coupling effect. In this thesis, input decoupling is done through extracting the dominant inputs during the design of the controller and considering the remaining inputs as uncertainty. The proper and steady flight maneuvering of UAVs under uncertain and unstable circumstances is the most critical problem for researchers studying UAVs. A FSMC technique was suggested to tackle the complexity of FWUAV systems. The trajectory tracking control algorithm primarily uses the sliding-mode (SM) variable structure control method to address the system’s control issue. In the SM control, a fuzzy logic control(FLC) algorithm is utilized in place of the discontinuous phase of the SM controller to reduce the chattering impact. In the reaching and sliding stages of SM control, Lyapunov theory is used to assure finite-time convergence. A comparison between the conventional SM controller and the suggested controller is done in relation to the chattering effect as well as tracking performance. It is evident that the chattering is effectively reduced, the suggested controller provides a quick response with a minimum steady-state error, and the controller is robust in the face of unknown disturbances. The designed control strategy is simulated with the nonlinear model of FWUAV using the MATLAB® / Simulink® environments. The simulation result shows the suggested controller operates effectively, maintains an aircraft’s stability, and will hold the aircraft’s targeted flight path despite the presence of uncertainty and disturbances.

Keywords: fixed-wing UAVs, sliding mode controller, fuzzy logic controller, chattering, coupling effect, surveillance, finite-time convergence, Lyapunov theory, flight path

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Authors: Sivakumar Kottapalli, Abdesselam Abdelouas, Christoph Hartnack

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Spent nuclear fuel generates a mixed field of ionizing radiation to the water. This radiation field is generally dominated by gamma rays and a limited flux of fast neutrons. The fuel cladding effectively attenuates beta and alpha particle radiation. Small fraction of the spent nuclear fuel exhibits some degree of fuel cladding penetration due to pitting corrosion and mechanical failure. Breaches in the fuel cladding allow the exposure of small volumes of water in the cask to alpha and beta ionizing radiation. The safety of the transport of radioactive material is assured by the package complying with the IAEA Requirements for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material SSR-6. It is of high interest to avoid generation of hydrogen inside the cavity which may to an explosive mixture. The risk of hydrogen production along with other radiation gases should be analyzed for a typical spent fuel for safety issues. This work aims to perform a realistic study of the production of hydrogen by radiolysis assuming most penalizing initial conditions. It consists in the calculation of the radionuclide inventory of a pellet taking into account the burn up and decays. Westinghouse 17X17 PWR fuel has been chosen and data has been analyzed for different sets of enrichment, burnup, cycles of irradiation and storage conditions. The inventory is calculated as the entry point for the simulation studies of hydrogen production by radiolysis kinetic models by MAKSIMA-CHEMIST. Dose rates decrease strongly within ~45 μm from the fuel surface towards the solution(water) in case of alpha radiation, while the dose rate decrease is lower in case of beta and even slower in case of gamma radiation. Calculations are carried out to obtain spectra as a function of time. Radiation dose rate profiles are taken as the input data for the iterative calculations. Hydrogen yield has been found to be around 0.02 mol/L. Calculations have been performed for a realistic scenario considering a capsule containing the spent fuel rod. Thus, hydrogen yield has been debated. Experiments are under progress to validate the hydrogen production rate using cyclotron at > 5MeV (at ARRONAX, Nantes).

Keywords: radiolysis, spent fuel, hydrogen, cyclotron

Procedia PDF Downloads 512

Authors: Mohammed Islam, Jungyong Wang, Dong Cheol Seo

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The Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method is a novel, meshless, and Lagrangian technique based numerical method that has shown promises to accurately predict the hydrodynamics of water and structure interactions in violent flow conditions. The main goal of this study is to build confidence on the versatility of the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) based tool, to use it as a complementary tool to the physical model testing capabilities and support research need for the performance evaluation of ships and offshore platforms exposed to an extreme and harsh environment. In the current endeavor, an open-sourced SPH-based tool was used and validated for modeling and predictions of the hydrodynamic interactions of a 6-DOF ship and bergy bits. The study involved the modeling of a modern generic drillship and simplified bergy bits in floating and towing scenarios and in regular and irregular wave conditions. The predictions were validated using the model-scale measurements on a moored ship towed at multiple oblique angles approaching a floating bergy bit in waves. Overall, this study results in a thorough comparison between the model scale measurements and the prediction outcomes from the SPH tool for performance and accuracy. The SPH predicted ship motions and forces were primarily within ±5% of the measurements. The velocity and pressure distribution and wave characteristics over the free surface depicts realistic interactions of the wave, ship, and the bergy bit. This work identifies and presents several challenges in preparing the input file, particularly while defining the mass properties of complex geometry, the computational requirements, and the post-processing of the outcomes.

Keywords: SPH, ship and bergy bit, hydrodynamic interactions, model validation, physical model testing

Procedia PDF Downloads 126

Authors: Raoudane Bouziyan, Kawser Mohammad Tawhid

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Microstrip antennas are low in profile, light in weight, conformable in structure and are now developed for many applications. The main difficulty of the microstrip antenna is its narrow bandwidth. Several modern applications like satellite communications, remote sensing, and multi-function radar systems will find it useful if there is dual-band antenna operating from a single aperture. Some applications require covering both transmitting and receiving frequency bands which are spaced apart. Providing multiple antennas to handle multiple frequencies and polarizations becomes especially difficult if the available space is limited as with airborne platforms and submarine periscopes. Dual band operation can be realized from a single feed using slot loaded or stacked microstrip antenna or two separately fed antennas sharing a common aperture. The former design, when used in arrays, has certain limitations like complicated beam forming or diplexing network and difficulty to realize good radiation patterns at both the bands. The second technique provides more flexibility with separate feed system as beams in each frequency band can be controlled independently. Another desirable feature of a dual band antenna is easy adjustability of upper and lower frequency bands. This thesis presents investigation of a new dual-band antenna, which is a hybrid of microstrip and waveguide radiating elements. The low band radiator is a Shorted Annular Ring (SAR) microstrip antenna and the high band radiator is an aperture antenna. The hybrid antenna is realized by forming a waveguide radiator in the shorted region of the SAR microstrip antenna. It is shown that the upper to lower frequency ratio can be controlled by the proper choice of various dimensions and dielectric material. Operation in both linear and circular polarization is possible in either band. Moreover, both broadside and conical beams can be generated in either band from this antenna element. Finite Element Method based software, HFSS and Method of Moments based software, FEKO were employed to perform parametric studies of the proposed dual-band antenna. The antenna was not tested physically. Therefore, in most cases, both HFSS and FEKO were employed to corroborate the simulation results.

Keywords: FEKO, HFSS, dual band, shorted annular ring patch

Procedia PDF Downloads 393

Authors: Victor Counted

Abstract:

Staying true to self is complicated. In most cases, we might not fully come to terms with this realities. Just like any journey, a self-discovery experience with the ‘self’, is like a rollercoaster ride. The researcher attempts to engage the reader in an empirical study on authenticity tendencies of African Christian Millennials. Hence, attempting the all-important question: What does it actually mean to be true to self for the African youth? A comprehensive, yet an unfinished business that applies the authenticity theory in its exploratory navigations to uncover the “lived world” of the participants who were part of this study. Using a mixed methods approach, the researcher will exhaustively give account to the authenticity tendencies and experiences of the respondents in the study by providing the reader with a unique narrative for understanding what it means to be true to oneself in Africa. At the quantitative study, the participants recorded higher scores on the Authenticity Scale (AS) authentic living, while showing a significant correlation within the subscales. Hypotheses were tested at the quantitative phase, which statistically supported gender and church affiliation as possible predictors for the authenticity orientations of the participants, while being a Christian native and race/ethnicity were not impact factors statistically. The results helped the researcher to develop the objectives behind the qualitative study, where only fifteen AS-authentic living participants were interviewed to understand why they scored high on authentic living, in order to understand what it means to be authentic. The hallmark of the qualitative case study exploration was the common coping mechanism of splitting adopted by the respondents to deal with their self-crisis as they tried to remain authentic to self, whilst self-regulating and self-investing the self to discover ‘self’. Specifically, the researcher observed the concurrent utilization of some kind of the religious-self by the respondents to regulate their self crisis, as they relate with self fragmenting through different splitting stages in hope for some kind of redemption. It was an explanation that led to the conclusion that being authentic is the new pieces. Authenticity is in fragments. This proposition led the researcher to introduce a hermeneutical support-system that will enable future researchers engage more critically and responsibly with their “living human documents” in order to inspire timely solutions that resolve the concerns of authenticity and wellbeing among Millennials in Africa.

Keywords: authenticity, self, identity, self-fragmentation, weak self integration, postmodern self, splitting

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Authors: M. S. Mrudula, M. R. Gopinathan Nair

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In order to utilize the natural rubber for developing new green polymeric materials for specialty applications, we have prepared natural rubber and polyethylene oxide based polymeric networks by two shot method. The polymeric networks thus formed have been used as chelating exchanger for metal ion binding. Chelating exchangers are, in general, coordinating copolymers containing one or more electron donor atoms such as N, S, O, and P that can form coordinate bonds with metals. Hydrogels are water- swollen network of hydrophilic homopolymer or copolymers. They acquire a great interest due to the facility of the incorporation of different chelating groups into the polymeric networks. Such polymeric hydrogels are promising materials in the field of hydrometallurgical applications and water purification due to their chemical stability. The current study discusses the swelling response of the polymeric networks as a function of time, temperature, pH and [NaCl] and sorption studies. Equilibrium swelling has been observed to depend on both structural aspects of the polymers and environmental factors. Metal ion sorption shows that these polymeric networks can be used for removal, separation, and enrichment of metal ions from aqueous solutions and can play an important role for environmental remediation of municipal and industrial wastewater.

Keywords: block copolymer, adsorption, chelating exchanger, swelling study, polymer, metal complexes

Procedia PDF Downloads 331