Search results for: Organic Rankine Cycle with Ejector (EORC)

Authors: Menuka Maharjan

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In the name of food security, agriculture intensification through conventional farming is being implemented in Nepal. Government focus on increasing agriculture production completely ignores soil as well human health. This leads to create serious soil degradation, i.e., reduction of soil fertility and microbial activity and health hazard in the country. On this note, organic farming is sustainable agriculture approach which can address challenge of sustaining food security while protecting the environment. This creates a win-win situation both for people and the environment. However, people have limited knowledge on significance of organic farming for environment conservation and food security especially developing countries like Nepal. Thus, the objective of the study was to assess the impacts of organic farming on soil fertility and microbial activity compared to conventional farming and forest in Chitwan, Nepal. Total soil organic carbon (C) was highest in organic farming (24 mg C g⁻¹ soil) followed by conventional farming (15 mg C g⁻¹ soil) and forest (9 mg C g⁻¹ soil) in the topsoil layer (0-10 cm depth). A similar trend was found for total nitrogen (N) content in all three land uses with organic farming soil possessing the highest total N content in both 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm depth. Microbial biomass C and N were also highest under organic farming, especially in the topsoil layer (350 and 46 mg g⁻¹ soil, respectively). Similarly, microbial biomass phosphorus (P) was higher (3.6 and 1.0 mg P kg⁻¹ at 0-10 and 10-20 cm depth, respectively) in organic farming compared to conventional farming and forest at both depths. However, conventional farming and forest soils had similar microbial biomass (C, N, and P) content. After conversion of forest, the P stock significantly increased by 373% and 170% in soil under organic farming at 0-10 and 10-20 cm depth, respectively. In conventional farming, the P stock increased by 64% and 36% at 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm depth, respectively, compared to forest. Overall, organic farming practices, i.e., crop rotation, residue input and farmyard manure application, significantly alters soil fertility and microbial activity. Organic farming system is emerging as a sustainable land use system which can address the issues of food security and environment conservation by increasing sustainable agriculture production and carbon sequestration, respectively, supporting to achieve goals of sustainable development.

Keywords: organic farming, soil fertility, micobial biomas, food security

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Authors: Hendrik Bernard Van Der Walt, Frik Van Niekerk

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Fuel models render a reduction in BOL when thorium is added to a reactor core. Thorium emulates the role of a fertile poison, and is beneficial for reducing beginning of cycle (BOC) excess reactivity. In spite of the build-up of 233U over the duration of a fuel cycle, the effects of fuel reloading have a significant impact on fuel viability, especially in the case of heterogeneous thorium-based fuels. The most common practice of compensating for the reduction of BOC reactivity is the addition of fissile isotopes (uranium fuel with increased enrichment or plutonium). This study introduces a heterogeneous thorium-based fuel with minimal fissile isotope additions. A pseudo reloading scheme was developed for numerical simulations of an infinite reactor based on the North-Anna 1 reactor operating in Virginia, USA. Use of this reloading pattern allows new thorium-based fuel to be loaded into the reactor model as part of a phasing in strategy at the end of any conventional reactor cycle. Results demonstrate the effects of thorium-based fuel on fuel cycle characteristics such as fuel cycle length, neutron economy and material matrix. Application of the above mentioned approach delivered promising results and presents a heterogeneous thorium-based fuel which could replace conventional fuel of typical, currently operating (or future) reactors without the need for expensive reactor redesign or fuel recycling strategies.

Keywords: nuclear fuel, nuclear characteristics, nuclear fuel cycle, thorium-based fuel, heterogeneous design, fuel reloading

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Authors: A. M. Attalla, A. F. lbrahim, Laila Y. Mostaffa

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This study was conducted during three seasons 2010, 2011 and 2012 on Zahhloul date palm cultivar grown in calcareous soil, Alexandria governorate, Egypt. The palms received recommended dose of mineral N only or plus different rates of organic N with or without bio fertilizer to study the effect of such treatments on date palm yield and fruit nitrate and nitrite content due to its negative influence on human, animal and environment. The obtained results clarified that all used treatments of organic and bio fertilizers were effective in improving date palm yield and decreased fruit content of NO2 and NO3 in comparison with 100 % mineral N. It was also noticed that combined treatments of 50 % mineral N + 50 % organic manure with bio fertilizer is the superior treatments for increasing the values of yield and decreasing its content of NO2 and NO3. Hence, it could be concluded that, minimizing the use of chemical nitrogen fertilizer to half of recommended dose through addition of 50 % mineral N + 50 % organic manure with bio fertilizer and also, the utilization of organic and bio fertilizers is considered as a promising alternative for chemical fertilizers to avoid pollution and reduce the costs of mineral fertilizers.

Keywords: organic and bio fertilizers, mineral fertilizer, nitrate, nitrite, zaghloul date palm cv

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Authors: F. R. Sultanov Ch. Daulbayev, B. Bakbolat, Z. A. Mansurov, A. A. Zhurintaeva, R. I. Gadilshina, A. B. Dugali

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Both hydrophilic-oleophobic and hydrophobic-oleophilic membranes were obtained by coating of the substrate of membranes, presented by stainless steel meshes with various dimensions of their openings, with a composition that forms the special type of their surface wettability via spray-coating method. The surface morphology of resulting membranes was studied using SEM, the type of their wettability was identified by measuring the contact angle between the surface of membrane and a drop of studied liquid (water or organic liquid) and efficiency of continuous separation of water and organic liquid was studied on self-assembled setup.

Keywords: membrane, stainless steel mesh, oleophobicity, hydrophobicity, separation, water, organic liquids

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Authors: Sidramappa Gaddnakeri, Lokanath Malligawad

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Any kind of research on production technology of individual crop / commodity /breed has not brought sustainability or stability in crop production. The sustainability of the system over years depends on the maintenance of the soil health. Organic production system includes use of organic manures, biofertilizers, green manuring for nutrient supply and biopesticides for plant protection helps to sustain the productivity even under adverse climatic condition. The study was initiated to evaluate the performance of different cropping systems under organic, inorganic and integrated production systems at The Institute of Organic Farming, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad (Karnataka-India) under ICAR Network Project on Organic Farming. The trial was conducted for four years (2013-14 to 2016-17) on fixed site. Five cropping systems viz., sequence cropping of cowpea – safflower, greengram– rabi sorghum, maize-bengalgram, sole cropping of pigeonpea and intercropping of groundnut + cotton were evaluated under six nutrient management practices. The nutrient management practices are NM1 (100% Organic farming (Organic manures equivalent to 100% N (Cereals/cotton) or 100% P2O5 (Legumes), NM2 (75% Organic farming (Organic manures equivalent to 75% N (Cereals/cotton) or 100% P2O5 (Legumes) + Cow urine and Vermi-wash application), NM3 (Integrated farming (50% Organic + 50% Inorganic nutrients, NM4 (Integrated farming (75% Organic + 25% Inorganic nutrients, NM5 (100% Inorganic farming (Recommended dose of inorganic fertilizers)) and NM6 (Recommended dose of inorganic fertilizers + Recommended rate of farm yard manure (FYM). Among the cropping systems evaluated for different production systems indicated that the Groundnut + Hybrid cotton (2:1) intercropping system found more remunerative as compared to Sole pigeonpea cropping system, Greengram-Sorghum sequence cropping system, Maize-Chickpea sequence cropping system and Cowpea-Safflower sequence cropping system irrespective of the production systems. Production practices involving application of recommended rates of fertilizers + recommended rates of organic manures (Farmyard manure) produced higher net monetary returns and higher B:C ratio as compared to integrated production system involving application of 50 % organics + 50 % inorganic and application of 75 % organics + 25 % inorganic and organic production system only Both the two organic production systems viz., 100 % Organic production system (Organic manures equivalent to 100 % N (Cereals/cotton) or 100 % P2O5 (Legumes) and 75 % Organic production system (Organic manures equivalent to 75 % N (Cereals) or 100 % P2O5 (Legumes) + Cow urine and Vermi-wash application) are found to be on par. Further, integrated production system involving application of organic manures and inorganic fertilizers found more beneficial over organic production systems.

Keywords: cropping systems, production systems, cowpea, safflower, greengram, pigeonpea, groundnut, cotton

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Authors: S. P. Singh, Priya, Komal Sajwan

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With the increasing spread of organic farming in India, costs, returns, efficiency, and social and environmental sustainability of organic vis-a-vis conventional farming systems have become topics of interest among agriculture scientists, economists, and policy analysts. A study on technical efficiency estimation under these farming systems, particularly in the Ganga River Basin, where the promotion of organic farming is incentivized, can help to understand whether the inputs are utilized to their maximum possible level and what measures can be taken to improve the efficiency. This paper, therefore, analyses the technical efficiency of wheat farms operating under organic and conventional farming systems. The study is based on a primary survey of 600 farms (300 organic ad 300 conventional) conducted in 2021 in two districts located in the Middle Ganga River Basin, India. Technical, managerial, and scale efficiencies of individual farms are estimated by applying the data envelopment analysis (DEA) methodology. The per hectare value of wheat production is taken as an output variable, and values of seeds, human labour, machine cost, plant nutrients, farm yard manure (FYM), plant protection, and irrigation charges are considered input variables for estimating the farm-level efficiencies. The post-DEA analysis is conducted using the Tobit regression model to know the efficiency determining factors. The results show that technical efficiency is significantly higher in conventional than organic farming systems due to a higher gap in scale efficiency than managerial efficiency. Further, 9.8% conventional and only 1.0% organic farms are found operating at the most productive scale size (MPSS), and 99% organic and 81% conventional farms at IRS. Organic farms perform well in managerial efficiency, but their technical efficiency is lower than conventional farms, mainly due to their relatively lower scale size. The paper suggests that technical efficiency in organic wheat can be increased by upscaling the farm size by incentivizing group/collective farming in clusters.

Keywords: organic, conventional, technical efficiency, determinants, DEA, Tobit regression

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Authors: M. Ba-Shammakh

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Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising materials for CO₂ capture and they have high adsorption capacity towards CO₂. In this study, two different metal organic frameworks (i.e. MIL-101 and ZIF-301) were tested for different flue gases that have different CO₂ fractions. In addition, the effect of temperature was investigated for MIL-101 and ZIF-301. The results show that MIL-101 performs well for pure CO₂ stream while its intake decreases dramatically for other flue gases that have variable CO₂ fraction ranging from 5 to 15 %. The second material (ZIF-301) showed a better result in all flue gases and higher CO₂ intake compared to MIL-101 even at high temperature.

Keywords: CO₂ capture, Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs), MIL-101, ZIF-301

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Authors: Maricarmen Herrera, Pierre Chymkowitch, Joe Robertson, Jens Eriksson, Jorrit Enserink

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tRNA genes are transcribed by RNA polymerase III. During recent years, it has become clear that tDNA transcription fluctuates during the cell cycle. However, the mechanism by which the cell cycle controls the amplitude of tDNA transcription remains unknown. We found that the cyclin Clb5 recruits the cyclin dependent kinase Cdk1 to tRNA genes to sharply increase tRNA synthesis during a brief interval in the cell cycle. We show that Cdk1 promotes the interaction of TFIIIB with TFIIIC, that it stimulates the recruitment of TFIIIC to tRNA genes, that it prevents the formation of an overly stable TFIIIB-tDNA complex and that it augments the dynamics of RNA polymerase III. Furthermore, we identify Bdp1 as a novel Cdk1 substrate, and phosphorylation of Bdp1 is required for the cell cycle-dependent increase in tDNA transcription. In addition, we show that phosphorylation of the Cdk1 substrate Nup60 mediates formation of a Nup60-Nup2 complex at tRNA genes, which is also required for cell cycle-dependent tDNA transcription. Together, our findings indicate that Cdk1 activity gates tRNA synthesis by regulating the dynamics of the TFIIIB-TFIIIC-RNAPIII complex, and that it may promote the formation of a nuclear pore microenvironment conducive to efficient tDNA transcription.

Keywords: Cdk1, cell cycle, RNAPIII machinery, tRNA

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Authors: Mahmoud Nadir, Adel Ghenaiet

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The main purpose of this study is the thermodynamic modeling, the parametric analysis, and the optimization of three pressure level reheat HRSG (Heat Recovery Steam Generator) using PSO method (Particle Swarm Optimization). In this paper, a parametric analysis followed by a thermodynamic optimization is presented. The chosen objective function is the specific work of the steam cycle that may be, in the case of combined cycle (CC), a good criterion of thermodynamic performance analysis, contrary to the conventional steam turbines in which the thermal efficiency could be also an important criterion. The technologic constraints such as maximal steam cycle temperature, minimal steam fraction at steam turbine outlet, maximal steam pressure, minimal stack temperature, minimal pinch point, and maximal superheater effectiveness are also considered. The parametric analyses permitted to understand the effect of design parameters and the constraints on steam cycle specific work variation. PSO algorithm was used successfully in HRSG optimization, knowing that the achieved results are in accordance with those of the previous studies in which genetic algorithms were used. Moreover, this method is easy to implement comparing with the other methods.

Keywords: combined cycle, HRSG thermodynamic modeling, optimization, PSO, steam cycle specific work

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Authors: Petr Mohyla, Ivo Hlavatý, Jiří Hrubý, Lucie Krejčí

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This work is focused on mechanical properties and microstructure of heat affected zone (HAZ) of steel P92. The thermal cycle simulator was used for modeling a fine grained zone of HAZ. Hardness and impact toughness were measured on simulated samples. Microstructural analysis using optical microscopy was performed on selected samples. Achieved results were compared with the values of a real welded joint. The thermal cycle simulator allows transferring the properties of very small HAZ to the sufficiently large sample where the tests of the mechanical properties can be performed. A satisfactory accordance was found when comparing the microstructure and mechanical properties of real welds and simulated samples.

Keywords: heat affected zone, impact test, thermal cycle simulator, time of tempering

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Authors: Arun Kumar Singh, Rupesh M. Das, Shailendra Saini

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The effect of solar cycle and seasons on the total electron content has been investigated over high latitude region during 24th solar cycle (2010-2014). The total electron content data has been observed with the help of Global Ionospheric Scintillation and TEC monitoring (GISTM) system installed at Indian permanent scientific 'Maitri station' [70˚46’00”S 11˚43’56” E]. The dependence of TEC over a solar cycle has been examined by the performing linear regression analysis between the vertical total electron content (VTEC) and daily total sunspot numbers (SSN). It has been found that the season and level of geomagnetic activity has a considerable effect on the VTEC. It is observed that the VTEC and SSN follow better agreement during summer seasons as compared to winter and equinox seasons and extraordinary agreement during minimum phase (during the year 2010) of the solar cycle. There is a significant correlation between VTEC and SSN during quiet days of the years as compared to overall days of the years (2010-2014). Further, saturation effect has been observed during maximum phase (during the year 2014) of the 24th solar cycle. It is also found that Ap index and SSN has a linear correlation (R=0.37) and the most of the geomagnetic activity occurs during the declining phase of the solar cycle.

Keywords: high latitude ionosphere, sunspot number, correlation, vertical total electron content

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Authors: Muhammad Abdullah, Muhammad Atiq Ur Rehman Tariq, Faraz Ul Haq

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In developed countries, sustainability measures are widely accepted and acknowledged as crucial for addressing environmental concerns. Hydroponics, a soilless cultivation technique, has emerged as a potentially sustainable solution as it can reduce water consumption, land use, and environmental impacts. However, hydroponics may not be economically viable, especially when using reclaimed water, which may entail additional costs and risks. This study aims to address the critical question of whether hydroponics using reclaimed water can achieve a balance between sustainability and financial viability. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Cost (LCC) will be integrated to assess the potential of hydroponics whether it is environmentally sustainable and economically viable. Life cycle assessment, or LCA, is a methodology for assessing environmental impacts associated with all the stages of the life cycle of a commercial product, process, or service. While Life Cycle Cost (LCC) is an approach that assesses the total cost of an asset over its life cycle, including initial capital costs and maintenance costs. The expected benefits of this study include supporting evidence-based decision-making for policymakers, farmers, and stakeholders involved in agriculture. By quantifying environmental impacts and economic costs, this research will facilitate informed choices regarding the adoption of hydroponics with reclaimed water. It is believed that the outcomes of this research work will help to achieve a sustainable approach to agricultural production, aligning with sustainability goals while considering economic factors by adopting hydroponic technique.

Keywords: hydroponic, life cycle assessment, life cycle cost, sustainability

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Authors: Ghulam Mustafa Kamal, Xiaohua Wang, Bin Yuan, Abdullah Ijaz Hussain, Jie Wang, Shahzad Ali Shahid Chatha, Xu Zhang, Maili Liu

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Organic food products are becoming increasingly popular in recent years, as consumers have turned more health conscious and environmentally aware. A lot of consumers have understood that the organic foods are healthier than conventionally produced food stuffs. Price difference between conventional and organic foods is very high. So, it is very common to cheat the consumers by mislabeling and adulteration. Our study describes the 1H NMR based approach to characterize and differentiate soy sauce prepared from organically and conventionally grown raw materials (wheat and soybean). Commercial soy sauce samples fermented from organic and conventional raw materials were purchased from local markets. Principal component analysis showed clear separation among organic and conventional soy sauce samples. Orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis showed a significant (p < 0.01) separation among two types of soy sauce yielding leucine, isoleucine, ethanol, glutamate, lactate, acetate, β-glucose, sucrose, choline, valine, phenylalanine and tyrosine as important metabolites contributing towards this separation. Abundance ratio of 13C to 12C was also evaluated by 1H NMR spectroscopy which showed an increased ratio of 13C isotope in organic soy sauce samples indicating the organically grown wheat and soybean used for the preparation of organic soy sauce. Results of the study can be helpful to the end users to select the soy sauce of their choice. This information could also pave the way to further trace and authenticate the raw materials used in production of soy sauce.

Keywords: 1H NMR, multivariate analysis, organic, conventional, 13C isotopic ratio, soy sauce

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Authors: Radia Kamel

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Considerable progress has been made in the development of bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells (OSCs) based on a blend of p-type and n-type organic semiconductors. To optimize the interfacial properties between the active layer and the electrode, a cathode buffer layer (CBL) is introduced. This layer can reduce the leakage current, increasing the open-circuit voltage and the fill factor while improving the OSC stability. In this work, the performance of PM6:Y6 OSC with 1-Chloronaphthalene as an additive is examined. To accomplish this, three CBLs PNDIT-F3N-Br, ZrAcac, and PDINO, are compared using the conventional configuration. The device with PNDIT-F3N-Br as CBL exhibits the highest power conversion efficiency of 16.04%. The results demonstrate that modifying the cathode buffer layer is crucial for achieving high-performance OSCs.

Keywords: bulk heterojunction, cathode buffer layer, efficiency, organic solar cells

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Authors: Masimuddin Mohd Khaled

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This paper subsidizes to the discussion of Six Sigma in the Aerospace Industry. The main aim of this report is to study the literature review of Six Sigma emphasizing on the aerospace industry. The implementation of Six Sigma stages are studied and how the improvement cycle ‘Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control cycle’ (DMAIC) and the design process is ‘Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, and Verify Cycle’ (DMADV) is used. The focus is also done by studying how the implementation of Six Sigma on an aerospace company has brought a positive effect to the company.

Keywords: six sigma, DMAIC, DMADV, aerospace

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Authors: Amer Ali, Jessica Cecchinelli, Antonis Charalambous

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Cycling is one of the most environmentally friendly, economic and healthy modes of transport but it needs more efficient cycle infrastructure and more effective safety measures. This paper represents an investigation into the performance and operation of the London Cycle Hire Scheme which started to operate in July 2010 using 5,000 cycles and 315 docking stations and currently has more than 10,000 cycles and over 700 docking stations across London which are available 24/7, 365 days a year. The study, which was conducted during the second half of 2014, consists of two parts; namely, the longitudinal review of the hire scheme between its introduction in 2010 and November 2014, and a field survey in November 2014 in the form of face-face interviews of the users of the cycle scheme to ascertain the existing limitations and difficulties experienced by those users and how it could be improved in terms of capability and safety. The study also includes a correlation between the usage of the cycle scheme and the corresponding weather conditions. The main findings are that on average the number of users (hiring frequency) had increased from just over two millions hires in 2010 to just less than ten millions in 2014. The field survey showed that 80% of the users are satisfied with the performance of the scheme whilst 50% of the users raised concern about the safety level of using the available cycle routes and infrastructure. The study also revealed that a high percentage of the cycle trips were relatively short (less than 30 minutes). Although the weather condition had some effect on cycling, the cost of using the cycle scheme and the main events in London had more effect on the number of cycle hires. The key conclusions are that despite the safety concern and the lack of infrastructure for continuous routes there was an encouraging number of people who opted for cycling as a clean, affordable, and healthy mode of transport. There is a need to expand the scheme by providing more cycles and docking stations and to support that by more well-designed and maintained cycle routes. More details about the development of London Cycle Hire Scheme during the last five years, its performance and the key issues revealed by the surveyed users will be reported in the full version of the paper.

Keywords: cycling mode of transport, london cycle hire scheme, safety, environmental and health benefits, user satisfaction

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Authors: Faezeh Mosallat, Eric L. Bibeau, Tarek El Mekkawy

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Availability of a wide variety of renewable resources, such as large reserves of hydro, biomass, solar and wind in Canada provides significant potential to improve the sustainability of energy uses. As buildings represent a considerable portion of energy use in Canada, application of distributed solar energy systems for heating and cooling may increase the amount of renewable energy use. Parabolic solar trough systems have seen limited deployments in cold northern climates as they are more suitable for electricity production in southern latitudes. Heat production by concentrating solar rays using parabolic troughs can overcome the poor efficiencies of flat panels and evacuated tubes in cold climates. A numerical dynamic model is developed to simulate an installed parabolic solar trough facility in Winnipeg. The results of the numerical model are validated using the experimental data obtained from this system. The model is developed in Simulink and will be utilized to simulate a tri-generation system for heating, cooling and electricity generation in remote northern communities. The main objective of this simulation is to obtain operational data of solar troughs in cold climates as this is lacking in the literature. In this paper, the validated Simulink model is applied to simulate a solar assisted absorption cooling system along with electricity generation using organic Rankine cycle (ORC) and thermal storage. A control strategy is employed to distribute the heated oil from solar collectors among the above three systems considering the temperature requirements. This modeling provides dynamic performance results using real time minutely meteorological data which are collected at the same location the solar system is installed. This is a big step ahead of the current models by accurately calculating the available solar energy at each time step considering the solar radiation fluctuations due to passing clouds. The solar absorption cooling is modeled to use the generated heat from the solar trough system and provide cooling in summer for a greenhouse which is located next to the solar field. A natural gas water heater provides the required excess heat for the absorption cooling at low or no solar radiation periods. The results of the simulation are presented for a summer month in Winnipeg which includes the amount of generated electric power from ORC and contribution of solar energy in the cooling load provision

Keywords: absorption cooling, parabolic solar trough, remote community, validated model

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Authors: Ersin Karakaya, Halit Tutar

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Reliable foods must be consumed in terms of healthy nutrition. The production and dissemination of diatom products in Turkey is rapidly evolving on the basis of preserving ecological balance, ensuring sustainability in agriculture and offering quality, reliable products to consumers. In this study, year in Turkey as (2002- 2015) to determine values of such as cultivated land of organic vegetable production, production levels, production quantity, number of products, number of farmers. It is intended to make the econometric analysis of the factors affecting the production of organic vegetable production (Number of products, Number of farmers and cultivated land). The main material of the study has created secondary data in relation to the 2002-2015 period as organic vegetable production in Turkey and regression analysis of the factors affecting the value of production of organic vegetable is determined by the Least Squares Method with EViews statistical software package.

Keywords: number of farmers, cultivated land, Eviews, Turkey

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Authors: Marah Joy A. Nanglegan

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A survey was conducted to describe knowledge, attitude, practices, information needs, and information seeking behavior of small-scale farmers on Organic Agriculture Production (OAP) in a rural community in Ifugao, Philippines. Respondents’ age ranged from 23-67 years old. Most of them are male, married, and have reached high school level. The major source of income is farming with an average monthly income of less than Php 5,000 for a household size of seven. More than fifty percent of the respondents are members of a farmer’s organization. Farm size is less than one hectare. Majority of them own their farms and have been farming for more than twenty years. Very few attended training on Organic Agriculture Production (OAP). Most of them are not aware of any OAP program in their community. Hence, their farming practices are mostly conventional. The overall level of knowledge on OAP among all respondents was below the average. On attitude, most of the respondents agreed that organic farming would decrease production costs by reducing input purchases. They believe it benefits both the consumer and the producer. In fact, they are aware of the many benefits of organic farming, especially on health. Likewise, many of them agreed on the benefits of organic farming to soil fertility, to the environment, and to increase the income of farmers. Many of them, however, see organic farming as troublesome and difficult in terms of time and effort, obtaining organic inputs, limited production, and marketing aspects. They also have heavy reliance on pesticides and herbicides to control pests and diseases. On practices, majority of the respondents stated that they practiced crop rotation, manual weeding, and the use of animal manure. Most of them desired to do organic farming but needed information such as production techniques, costs, and marketing opportunities. Their most preferred communication channel is through extension agents and contact farmers. Their most preferred communication method is through trainings and seminars as well as through farm demonstrations. Results of this study will serve as a basis for developing appropriate communication strategies to improve knowledge, attitude, and practices of respondents on organic agriculture as well as enhance the promotion of organic agriculture production in the community.

Keywords: Ifugao, knowledge attitude practices, organic agriculture, Philippines

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Authors: Mifta Ul Jannat, Raju Ahmed, Al Mamun, Jannatul Ferdaus, Ritu Costa, Milon Biswas

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Blockchain is an internet-based invention that is coveted in the permanent, scumbled record for its capacity to openly accept, record, and distribute transactions. In a traditional supply chain, there are no trustworthy participants for an organic product. Yet blockchain engineering may provide confidence, transparency, and traceability. Blockchain varies in how companies get real, checked, and lasting information from their supply chain and lock in customers. In an arrangement of cryptographic squares, Blockchain digitizes each connection by sparing it. No one person may alter the documents, and any alteration within the agreement is clear to all. The coming to the record is tamper proof and unchanging, offering a complete history of the object’s life cycle and minimizing opening for extorting. The primary aim of this analysis is to identify the underlying problem that the customer faces. In this post, we will minimize the allocation of fraud data through the ’Smart Contract’ and include a certificate of quality assurance.

Keywords: blockchain technology, food supply chain, Ethereum, smart contract, quality assurance, trustability, security, transparency

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Authors: S. Mahmoudi, A. Belhaj Mohamed, M. Saidi, F. Rezgui

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Depositional environment and source potential of the different organic rich levels of Devonian age (up to 990m thick) from the onshore EC-1 well (Southern Tunisia) were investigated using different geochemical techniques (Rock-Eval pyrolysis, GC-MS) of over than 130 cutting samples. The obtained results including Rock Eval Pyrolysis data and biomarker distribution (terpanes, steranes and aromatics) have been used to describe the depositional environment and to assess the thermal maturity of the Devonian organic matter. These results show that the Emsian deposits exhibit poor to fair TOC contents. The associated organic matter is composed of mixed kerogen (type II/III), as indicated by the predominance of C29 steranes over C27 and C28 homologous, that was deposited in a slightly reduced environment favoring organic matter preservation. Thermal maturity assessed from Tmax, TNR and MPI-1 values shows a mature stage of organic matter. The Middle Devonian (Eifelian) shales are rich in type II organic matter that was deposited in an open marine depositional environment. The TOC values are high and vary between 2 and 7 % indicating good to excellent source rock. The relatively high IH values (reaching 547 mg HC/g TOC) and the low values of t19/t23 ratio (down to 0.2) confirm the marine origin of the organic matter (type II). During the Upper Devonian, the organic matter was deposited under variable redox conditions, oxic to suboxic which is clearly indicated by the low C35/C34 hopanes ratio, immature to marginally mature with the vitrinite reflectance ranging from 0.5 to 0.7 Ro and Tmax value of 426°C-436 °C and the TOC values range between 0.8% to 4%.

Keywords: biomarker, depositional environment, devonian, source rock

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Authors: Mousa Meratizaman, Sina Monadizadeh, Majid Amidpour

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One of the most favorable thermal desalination methods used widely today is Multi Effect Desalination. High energy consumption in this method causes coupling it with high temperature power cycle like gas turbine. This combination leads to higher energy efficiency. One of the high temperature power systems which have cogeneration opportunities is Solid Oxide Fuel Cell / Gas Turbine. Integration of Multi Effect Desalination with Solid Oxide Fuel Cell /Gas Turbine power cycle in a range of 300-1000 kW is considered in this article. The exhausted heat of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell /Gas Turbine power cycle is used in Heat Recovery Steam Generator to produce needed motive steam for Desalination unit. Thermodynamic simulation and parametric studies of proposed system are carried out to investigate the system performance.

Keywords: solid oxide fuel cell, thermodynamic simulation, multi effect desalination, gas turbine hybrid cycle

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Authors: Fan Yang

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With the development of social economy and the popularization of quality education, the Chinese government invests more and more funding in education. Campus constructions are experiencing a great development phase. Under the trend of sustainable development, modern green campus design needs to meet new requirements of contemporary, informational and diversified education means and adapt to future education development. Educators, designers and other participants of campus design are facing new challenges. By studying and analyzing the universal unsatisfied current situations and sustainable development requirements of Chinese campuses, this paper summarizes the strategies and intentions of the whole-life-cycle campus design. In addition, a Chinese high school in Zhejiang province is added to illustrate the design cycle in an actual case. It is aimed to make all participants of campus design, especially the designers, to realize the importance of whole-life-cycle campus design and cooperate better. Sustainable campus design is expected to come true in deed instead of becoming a slogan in this way.

Keywords: campus design, green school, sustainable development, whole-life-cycle design

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Authors: Petri Kouvo, Aino Kainulainen, Kimmo Koivunen

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Separate collection system for recyclable wastes in the Helsinki region was ranked second best of European capitals. The collection system includes paper, cardboard, glass, metals and biowaste. Residual waste is collected and used in energy production. The collection system excluding paper is managed by the Helsinki Region Environmental Services HSY, a public organization owned by four municipalities (Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa). Paper collection is handled by the producer responsibility scheme. The efficiency of the collection system in the Helsinki region relies on a good coverage of door-to-door-collection. All properties with 10 or more dwelling units are required to source separate biowaste and cardboard. This covers about 75% of the population of the area. The obligation is extended to glass and metal in properties with 20 or more dwelling units. Other success factors include public awareness campaigns and a fee system that encourages recycling. As a result of waste management regulations for source separation of recyclables and biowaste, nearly 50 percent of recycling rate of household waste has been reached. For households and small and medium size enterprises, there is a sorting station fleet of five stations available. More than 50 percent of wastes received at sorting stations is utilized as material. The separate collection of plastic packaging in Finland will begin in 2016 within the producer responsibility scheme. HSY started supplementing the national bring point system with door-to-door-collection and pilot operations will begin in spring 2016. The result of plastic packages pilot project has been encouraging. Until the end of 2016, over 3500 apartment buildings have been joined the piloting, and more than 1800 tons of plastic packages have been collected separately. In the summer 2015 a novel partial flow digestion process combining digestion and tunnel composting was adopted for source separated household and commercial biowaste management. The product gas form digestion process is converted in to heat and electricity in piston engine and organic Rankine cycle process with very high overall efficiency. This paper describes the efficient collection system and discusses key success factors as well as main obstacles and lessons learned as well as the partial flow process for biowaste management.

Keywords: biowaste, HSY, MSW, plastic packages, recycling, separate collection

Procedia PDF Downloads 189

Authors: Boonsiri Dandumrongsin, Halis Simsek, Chaiwat Rongsayamanont

Abstract:

Dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) is known as one of the persistence nitrogenous pollutant being originated from secondary treated effluent of municipal sewage treatment plant. However, effect of key system operating condition on the fate and behavior of residual DON in the treated effluent is still not known. This study aims to investigate effect of organic loading rate (OLR) on the residual level of DON in the biofilm reactor effluent. Synthetic municipal wastewater was fed into moving bed biofilm reactors at OLR of 1.6x10-3 and 3.2x10-3 kg SCOD/m3-d. The results showed higher organic removal efficiency was found in the reactor operating at higher OLR. However, DON was observed at higher value in the effluent of the higher OLR reactor than that of the lower OLR reactor evidencing a clear influence of OLR on the residual DON level in the treated effluent of the biofilm reactors. It is possible that the lower DON being observed in the reactor at lower OLR is likely to be a result of providing the microbe with the additional period for utilizing the refractory DON molecules during operation at lower organic loading. All the experiments were repeated using raw wastewaters and similar trend was obtained.

Keywords: dissolved organic nitrogen, hydraulic retention time, moving bed biofilm reactor, soluble microbial products

Procedia PDF Downloads 253

Authors: M. Sajjadnejad, H. Omidvar, M. Javanbakht, A. Mozafari

Abstract:

Pure nickel coatings have been successfully electrodeposited on copper substrates by the pulse plating technique. The influence of current density, duty cycle and pulse frequency on the surface morphology, crystal orientation, and microhardness was determined. It was found that the crystallite size of the deposit increases with increasing current density and duty cycle. The crystal orientation progressively changed from a random texture at 1 A/dm2 to (200) texture at 10 A/dm2. Increasing pulse frequency resulted in increased texture coefficient and peak intensity of (111) reflection. An increase in duty cycle resulted in considerable increase in texture coefficient and peak intensity of (311) reflection. Coatings obtained at high current densities and duty cycles present a mixed morphology of small and large grains. Maximum microhardness of 193 Hv was achieved at 4 A/dm2, 10 Hz and duty cycle of 50%. Nickel coatings with (200) texture are ductile while (111) texture improves the microhardness of the coatings.

Keywords: current density, duty cycle, microstructure, nickel, pulse frequency

Procedia PDF Downloads 343

Authors: Sara Jelodarian

Abstract:

Organic agriculture is a kind of living and dynamic agriculture that was introduced in the early 20^th century. The fundamental basis for organic agriculture is in harmony with nature. This version of farming emphasizes removing growth hormones, chemical fertilizers, toxins, radiation, genetic manipulation and instead, integration of modern scientific techniques (such as biologic and microbial control) that leads to the production of healthy food and the preservation of the environment and use of agricultural products such as forage and manure. Supports from governments for the markets producing organic products and taking advantage of the experiences from other successful societies in this field can help progress the positive and effective aspects of this technology, especially in developing countries. This research proves that till 2030, 25% of the global agricultural lands would be covered by organic farming. Consequently Iran, due to its rich genetic resources and various climates, can be a pioneer in promoting organic products. In addition, for sustainable farming, blend of organic and other innovative systems is needed. Important limitations exist to accept these systems, also a diversity of policy instruments will be required to comfort their development and implementation. The paper was conducted to results of compilation of reports, issues, books, articles related to the subject with library studies and research. Likewise we combined experimental and survey to get data.

Keywords: develop, production markets, progress, strategic role, technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 85

Authors: Sui Yan Wong, Keat Ping Yeoh, Chi Wai Hui

Abstract:

In this study, supercritical steam is introduced to Combined Cycle Power Plant (CCPP) in an attempt to further optimize energy recovery. Subcritical steam is commonly used in the CCPP, operating at maximum pressures around 150-160 bar. Supercritical steam is an alternative to increase heat recovery during vaporization period of water. The idea of improvement using supercritical steam is further examined with the use of exergy, pinch analysis and Aspen Plus simulation.

Keywords: exergy, pinch, combined cycle power plant, supercritical steam

Procedia PDF Downloads 111

Authors: L. Heidari, M. Jalili Ghazizade

Abstract:

This paper aims to determine the best environmental and economic scenario for Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management of the Maku city by using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. The functional elements of this study are collection, transportation, and disposal of MSW in Maku city. Waste composition and density, as two key parameters of MSW, have been determined by field sampling, and then, the other important specifications of MSW like chemical formula, thermal energy and water content were calculated. These data beside other information related to collection and disposal facilities are used as a reliable source of data to assess the environmental impacts of different waste management options, including landfills, composting, recycling and energy recovery. The environmental impact of MSW management options has been investigated in 15 different scenarios by Integrated Waste Management (IWM) software. The photochemical smog, greenhouse gases, acid gases, toxic emissions, and energy consumption of each scenario are measured. Then, the environmental indices of each scenario are specified by weighting these parameters. Economic costs of scenarios have been also compared with each other based on literature. As final result, since the organic materials make more than 80% of the waste, compost can be a suitable method. Although the major part of the remaining 20% of waste can be recycled, due to the high cost of necessary equipment, the landfill option has been suggested. Therefore, the scenario with 80% composting and 20% landfilling is selected as superior environmental and economic scenario. This study shows that, to select a scenario with practical applications, simultaneously environmental and economic aspects of different scenarios must be considered.

Keywords: IWM software, life cycle assessment, Maku, municipal solid waste management

Procedia PDF Downloads 215

Authors: Yanan Zhu

Abstract:

Based on the previous work about the influence mechanism of the mobility difference of phenyl and thienyl substituent semiconductors, we have made further exploration towards to design high-performance organic thin-film transistors. The substituent groups effect plays a significant role in materials properties and device performance as well. For the theoretical study, simulation of materials property and crystal packing can supply scientific guidance for materials synthesis in experiments. This time, we have taken the computational methods to design a new material substituent with furan groups, which are the potential to be used in organic thin-film transistors and organic single-crystal transistors. The reorganization energy has been calculated and much lower than 2,6-diphenyl anthracene (DPAnt), which performs large mobility as more than 30 cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹. Moreover, the other important parameter, charge transfer integral is larger than DPAnt, which suggested the furan substituent material may get a much better charge transport data. On the whole, the mechanism investigation based on phenyl and thienyl assisted in designing novel materials with furan substituent, which is predicted to be an outperformed organic field-effect transistors.

Keywords: theoretical calculation, mechanism, mobility, organic transistors

Procedia PDF Downloads 112