Search results for: Victorian brown coal

Authors: Abejide Dorcas Ropo, Falusi Olamide Ahmed, Daudu Oladipupo Abdulazeez Yusuf, Muhammad Liman Muhammad, Gado Aishatu Adamu

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Bambara groundnut is an indigenous African legume with great potential to tackle the problem of food insecurity in Nigeria. A germplasm collection mission was carried out in collaboration with the Agricultural Developments Project (ADP) Extension officers of Nigeria between October and December 2014. Bambara groundnut seeds were collected from farmers in different States in Nigeria, such as Kaduna, Niger, Kogi, Benue, Plateau, Adamawa, Nasarawa, Jigawa, Enugu, and Federal Capital Territoy (FCT) Abuja. Some seeds were also collected from National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB). The seeds were phenotyped using the descriptor list of Vigna subterranea produced by the International Plant Genetic Resource Institute. A total of 45 original seed lots were collected, which comprised of mixed seeds having different seed coat colours (15) and pure seeded accessions having the same seed coat and eye colour (30). After sorting, a total of 83 accessions were derived from the 45 original seed lots collected, and a total of 24 distinct seed morphotypes with varying seed coat colours and eye colours were identified from the collections. They include cream ( cream ash eye, cream plain eye, and cream black eye), cream purplish spots, cream brown spots/stripe, cream black stripe, cream dark brown patches, cream light grey spots, cream black patches, black, red, light red, dark red, brownish red, brown speckled with black, red speckled with black, brown, brown with brown pattern below hilum, brown with black pattern below hilum, cream black, grey brown, grey black and variegated red. The highest number of accessions were collected from NACGRAB (11), followed by Niger State (10), and the lowest from Benue, Jigawa, and Adamawa States (2). Niger State also had the highest number of mixed seeds. The different seed phenotypes observed in the study are important for the field production of true-to-type lines and can be exploited for the genetic improvement of the Bambara groundnut.

Keywords: Bambara groundnut, characterization, collection, germplasm, phenotypic

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Authors: Rajkumar Ghosh

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The industrialization of coal mining and related activities has a significant impact on groundwater in the surrounding areas of the Damodar River. The Damodar River basin, located in eastern India, is known as the "Ruhr of India" due to its abundant coal reserves and extensive coal mining and industrial operations. One of the major consequences of collieries on groundwater is the contamination of water sources. Coal mining activities often involve the excavation and extraction of coal through underground or open-pit mining methods. These processes can release various pollutants and chemicals into the groundwater, including heavy metals, acid mine drainage, and other toxic substances. As a result, the quality of groundwater in the Damodar River region has deteriorated, making it unsuitable for drinking, irrigation, and other purposes. The high concentration of heavy metals, such as arsenic, lead, and mercury, in the groundwater has posed severe health risks to the local population. Prolonged exposure to contaminated water can lead to various health problems, including skin diseases, respiratory issues, and even long-term ailments like cancer. The contamination has also affected the aquatic ecosystem, harming fish populations and other organisms dependent on the river's water. Moreover, the excessive extraction of groundwater for industrial processes, including coal washing and cooling systems, has resulted in a decline in the water table and depletion of aquifers. This has led to water scarcity and reduced availability of water for agricultural activities, impacting the livelihoods of farmers in the region. Efforts have been made to mitigate these issues through the implementation of regulations and improved industrial practices. However, the historical legacy of coal industrialization continues to impact the groundwater in the Damodar River area. Remediation measures, such as the installation of water treatment plants and the promotion of sustainable mining practices, are essential to restore the quality of groundwater and ensure the well-being of the affected communities. In conclusion, the coal industrialization in the Damodar River surrounding has had a detrimental impact on groundwater. This research focuses on soil subsidence induced by the over-exploitation of ground water for dewatering open pit coal mines. Soil degradation happens in arid and semi-arid regions as a result of land subsidence in coal mining region, which reduces soil fertility. Depletion of aquifers, contamination, and water scarcity are some of the key challenges resulting from these activities. It is crucial to prioritize sustainable mining practices, environmental conservation, and the provision of clean drinking water to mitigate the long-lasting effects of collieries on the groundwater resources in the region.

Keywords: coal mining, groundwater, soil subsidence, water table, damodar river

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Authors: Tibor Ajtai, Noémi Utry, Máté Pintér, Tomi Smausz, Zoltán Kónya, Béla Hopp, Gábor Szabó, Zoltán Bozóki

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Characterization of spectral responses of light absorbing carbonaceous particulate matter (LAC) is of great importance in both modelling its climate effect and interpreting remote sensing measurement data. The residential or domestic combustion of coal is one of the dominant LAC constituent. According to some related assessments the residential coal burning account for roughly half of anthropogenic BC emitted from fossil fuel burning. Despite of its significance in climate the comprehensive investigation of optical properties of residential coal aerosol is really limited in the literature. There are many reason of that starting from the difficulties associated with the controlled burning conditions of the fuel, through the lack of detailed supplementary proximate and ultimate chemical analysis enforced, the interpretation of the measured optical data, ending with many analytical and methodological difficulties regarding the in-situ measurement of coal aerosol spectral responses. Since the gas matrix of ambient can significantly mask the physicochemical characteristics of the generated coal aerosol the accurate and controlled generation of residential coal particulates is one of the most actual issues in this research area. Most of the laboratory imitation of residential coal combustion is simply based on coal burning in stove with ambient air support allowing one to measure only the apparent spectral feature of the particulates. However, the recently introduced methodology based on a laser ablation of solid coal target opens up novel possibilities to model the real combustion procedure under well controlled laboratory conditions and makes the investigation of the inherent optical properties also possible. Most of the methodology for spectral characterization of LAC is based on transmission measurement made of filter accumulated aerosol or deduced indirectly from parallel measurements of scattering and extinction coefficient using free floating sampling. In the former one the accuracy while in the latter one the sensitivity are liming the applicability of this approaches. Although the scientific community are at the common platform that aerosol-phase PhotoAcoustic Spectroscopy (PAS) is the only method for precise and accurate determination of light absorption by LAC, the PAS based instrumentation for spectral characterization of absorption has only been recently introduced. In this study, the investigation of the inherent, spectral features of laser generated and chemically characterized residential coal aerosols are demonstrated. The experimental set-up and its characteristic for residential coal aerosol generation are introduced here. The optical absorption and the scattering coefficients as well as their wavelength dependency are determined by our state-of-the-art multi wavelength PAS instrument (4λ-PAS) and multi wavelength cosinus sensor (Aurora 3000). The quantified wavelength dependency (AAE and SAE) are deduced from the measured data. Finally, some correlation between the proximate and ultimate chemical as well as the measured or deduced optical parameters are also revealed.

Keywords: absorption, scattering, residential coal, aerosol generation by laser ablation

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Authors: Sri Suryaningsum

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The achievement ‘Best Practice Model’ holds by the government on behalf of the success implementation corporate social responsibility program that held on PT. Kaltim Prima Coal which had operation located in the isolated district in Sanggata, it could be the reference for the other companies to improve the social welfare in surrounding area, especially for the companies that have operated in the isolated area in Indonesia. The rule of Kaltim Prima Coal as the catalyst in the development progress to push up the independence of district especially for the district which has located in surrounding mining operation from village level to the regency level, those programs had written in the 7 field program in Corporate Social Responsibility, it was doing by stakeholders. The stakeholders are village government, sub-district government, Regency and citizen. One of the best programs that implement at PT. Kaltim Prima Coal is Regarding Resettlement that was completed based on Asian Development Bank Resettlement Best Practice and International Financial Corporation Resettlement Action Plan. This program contributed on the resettlement residences to develop the isolated and the neglected district.

Keywords: CSR, isolated, neglected, poverty, mining industry

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Authors: Arun Joshi

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The present study deals with the report of Gangamopteriscyclopteroides from the Barakar Formation of Simlong Open Cast Mine, Rajmahal Area, Rajmahal Basin, Jharkhand, India. The genus Gangamopteriscomprises leaves which are simple, entire, symmetrical or asymmetrical, linear, lanceolate, elliptical, obovate in shape, apex broadly rounded, obtuse, acute, acuminate or mucronate, base petiolate or contracted, midrib absent. Median region occupied by subparallel veins with anastomoses of elongate or hexagonal outline. Secondary veins arise from median veins by repeated dichotomy, arched, bifurcating and anasotomosing network. The present work is significant as it represents the presence of Glossopteris flora (250- 290 ma) which is mainly responsible for the formation of coal. Coal is one of the major fuels for power production through thermal power plants. The Glossopteris flora is one of the major floras that occupied the southern continent during Carboniferous- Permian time. This southern continent is also known as Gondwana comprising Australia, South Africa, Antarctica, Madagascar and India. There is a vast geological reserve of coal with favorable stripping ratio available at the Simlong Block but the area comes under the most naxalite prone area and thus the mine has been running in an unplanned manner. It has got the potential of becoming a big project with higher capacity and is well suited for enhancing production which can be helpful in the economic growth of the country. Though, the present record is scanty, it shows the presence of Glossopteris flora responsible for the formation of coal in the Coalmine. However, there are fears of fossils disappearing from this area as the state government of Jharkhand has given out a mining lease in the area to private companies. Therefore, it is very necessary to study such coal forming vegetation and their systematic study from the area to generate a new palaeobotanical database, palaeoenvironmental interpretation, basinal correlation and for the understanding of evolutionary perspectives.

Keywords: Barakar formation, coal, Glossopteris flora, Gondwana, India, Naxalite, Rajmahal Basin

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Authors: Jianjun Wu, Fanhui Guo, Yixin Zhang

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In this study, gasification-coke were produced by blending the middlings (MC), and coking coal (CC) and a large proportion of long flame coal (Shenfu coal, SC), the effects of blending ratio were investigated. Mineral evolution and crystalline order obtained by XRD methods were reproduced within reasonable accuracy. Structure characteristics of partially gasification-coke such as surface area and porosity were determined using the N₂ adsorption and mercury porosimetry. Experimental data of gasification-coke was dominated by the TGA results provided trend, reactivity differences between gasification-cokes are discussed in terms of structure characteristic, crystallinity, and alkali index (AI). The first-order reaction equation was suitable for the gasification reaction kinetics of CO₂ atmosphere which was represented by the volumetric reaction model with linear correlation coefficient above 0.985. The differences in the microporous structure of gasification-coke and catalysis caused by the minerals in parent coals were supposed to be the main factors which affect its reactivity. The addition of MC made the samples enriched with a large amount of ash causing a higher surface area and a lower crystalline order to gasification-coke which was beneficial to gasification reaction. The higher SiO₂ and Al₂O₃ contents, causing a decreasing AI value and increasing activation energy, which reduced the gasification reaction activity. It was found that the increasing amount of MC got a better performance on the coke gasification reactivity by blending > 30% SC with this coking process.

Keywords: low-rank coal, middlings, structure characteristic, mineral evolution, alkali index, gasification-coke, gasification kinetics

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Authors: Juliana A. Galhardi, Daniel M. Bonotto

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Coal is an important non-renewable energy source of and can be associated with radioactive elements. In Figueira city, Paraná state, Brazil, it was recorded high uranium activity near the coal mine that supplies a local thermoelectric power plant. In this context, the radon activity (Rn-222, produced by the Ra-226 decay in the U-238 natural series) was evaluated in groundwater, river water and effluents produced from the acid mine drainage in the coal reject dumps. The samples were collected in August 2013 and in February 2014 and analyzed at LABIDRO (Laboratory of Isotope and Hydrochemistry), UNESP, Rio Claro city, Brazil, using an alpha spectrometer (AlphaGuard) adjusted to evaluate the mean radon activity concentration in five cycles of 10 minutes. No radon activity concentration above 100 Bq.L-1, which was a previous critic value established by the World Health Organization. The average radon activity concentration in groundwater was higher than in surface water and in effluent samples, possibly due to the accumulation of uranium and radium in the aquifer layers that favors the radon trapping. The lower value in the river waters can indicate dilution and the intermediate value in the effluents may indicate radon absorption in the coal particles of the reject dumps. The results also indicate that the radon activities in the effluents increase with the sample acidification, possibly due to the higher radium leaching and the subsequent radon transport to the drainage flow. The water samples of Laranjinha River and Ribeirão das Pedras stream, which, respectively, supply Figueira city and receive the mining effluent, exhibited higher pH values upstream the mine, reflecting the acid mine drainage discharge. The radionuclides transport indicates the importance of monitoring their activity concentration in natural waters due to the risks that the radioactivity can represent to human health.

Keywords: radon, radium, acid mine drainage, coal

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Authors: Vladimir Messerle, Alexandr Ustimenko, Oleg Lavrichshev

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To enhance the efficiency of solid fuels’ use, to decrease the fuel oil rate in the thermal power plants fuel balance and to minimize harmful emissions, a plasma technology of coal ignition, gasification and incineration is successfully applied. This technology is plasma thermochemical preparation of fuel for burning (PTCPF). In the framework of this concept, some portion of pulverized solid fuel (PF) is separated from the main PF flow and undergone the activation by arc plasma in a specific chamber with plasma torch – PFS. The air plasma flame is a source of heat and additional oxidation, it provides a high-temperature medium enriched with radicals, where the fuel mixture is heated, volatile components of coal are extracted, and carbon is partially gasified. This active blended fuel can ignite the main PF flow supplied into the furnace. This technology provides the boiler start-up and stabilization of PF flame and eliminates the necessity for addition of highly reactive fuel. In the report, a model of PTCPF, implemented as a program PlasmaKinTherm for the PFS calculation is described. The model combines thermodynamic and kinetic methods for describing the process of PTCPF in PFS. The numerical investigation of operational parameters of PFS depending on the electric power of the plasma generator and steam coal ash content revealed the temperature and velocity of gas and coal particles, and concentrations of PTCPF products dependences on the PFS length. Main mechanisms of PTCPF were disclosed. It was found that in the range of electric power of plasma generator from 40 to 100 kW high ash bituminous coal, having consumption 1667 kg/h is ignited stably. High level of temperature (1740 K) and concentration of combustible components (44%) at the PFS exit is a confirmation of it. Augmentation in power of plasma generator results displacement maxima temperatures and speeds of PTCPF products upstream (in the direction of the plasma source). The maximum temperature and velocity vary in a narrow range of values and practically do not depend on the power of the plasma torch. The numerical study of indicators of the process of PTCPF depending on the ash content in the range of its values 20-70% demonstrated that at the exit of PFS concentration of combustible components decreases with an increase in coal ash, the temperature of the gaseous products is increasing, and coal carbon conversion rate is increased to a maximum value when the ash content of 60%, dramatically decreasing with further increase in the ash content.

Keywords: coal, efficiency, ignition, numerical modeling, plasma generator, plasma-fuel system

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Authors: Alma Khasenovna Zhakina, Arnt Oxana Vasilievna, Vasilets Evgeny Petrovich

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The aim of this project is to develop methods for obtaining new molecularly imprinted polymers from coal waste to study their structure, structural and morphological features and properties. Recently, the development of molecularly imprinted polymers has become one of the hot topics for researchers. Modern research indicates the broad prospects of rapidly developing molecular imprinting technologies for creating a new generation of sorption materials. The attractiveness of this area of research lies in the fact that the use of imprinted polymers is not limited to scientific research; they are already being introduced in the chemical, pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries, primarily at the stages of purification of the final product. For the use of molecularly imprinted polymers in the development of sorption material, their ability to selectively remove pollutants, including trace concentrations, is of fundamental importance, and the exceptional stability of polymeric materials under harsh conditions makes it possible to simplify the process of water purification as a whole. The scientific and technical effect is associated with the development of technologies for the production of new molecularly imprinted polymers, the establishment of optimal conditions for their production and the creation of effective imprinted sorbents on their basis for wastewater treatment from heavy metals. The social effect is due to the fact that the use of coal waste as a feedstock for the production of imprinted sorbents will make it possible in the future to create new industries with additional jobs and obtain competitive multi-purpose products. The economic and multiplier effect is associated with the low cost of the final product due to the involvement of local coal waste in the production, reduction of transport, customs and other costs.

Keywords: imprinted polymers, coal waste, polymerization, template, customized sorbents

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Authors: Khairul Bariah Sulaiman, Tajul Aris Yang

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Fermentation is well known as an essential process in cocoa beans. Besides to develop the precursor of cocoa flavour, it also induce the colour changes in the beans.The fermentation process is reported to be influenced by duration of pod storage and fermentation. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate colour of Malaysian cocoa beans and how the pods storage and fermentation duration using shallow box technique will effect on it characteristics. There are two factors being studied ie duration of cocoa pod storage (0, 2, 4, and 6 days) and duration of cocoa fermentation (0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 days). The experiment is arranged in 4 x 6 factorial design with 24 treatments and arrangement is in a Completely Randomised Design (CRD). The produced beans is inspected for colour changes under artificial light during cut test and divided into four groups of colour namely fully brown, purple brown, fully purple and slaty. Cut tests indicated that cocoa beans which are directly dried without undergone fermentation has the highest slaty percentage. However, application of pods storage before fermentation process is found to decrease the slaty percentage. In contrast, the percentages of fully brown beans start to dominate after two days of fermentation, especially from four and six days of pods storage batch. Whereas, almost all batch have percentage of fully purple less than 20%. Interestingly, the percentage of purple brown beans are scattered in the entire beans batch regardless any specific trend. Meanwhile, statistical analysis using General Linear Model showed that the pods storage has a significant effect on the colour characteristic of the Malaysian dried beans compared to fermentation duration.

Keywords: cocoa beans, colour, fermentation, shallow box

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Authors: Ramin Barati, Atefeh Salemi

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In Victorian era, the society had been surrounded by extreme class ranking in order to identify the people of the classes and to intensify power relationships due to the growth of industry in Charles Dickens's (1812-1870) Great Expectations (2003) in which he illustrates the clash and dichotomy in the 19th century London. The classes in Victorian period have socially divided the population into two parts, the lower and the upper class of the community. In such a panopticon society, the major character Pip was the best example of the working class who was under the domination of violence, malice, and abuse of Miss Havisham as a member of the ruling class in order to take revenge on her failures. The conflict and disunity represented in vindictiveness and the sense of revenge applied by Miss Havisham against his victim Pip, made him experience alienation and eventually suffer from identity crisis. This paper considers New Historicism based on the theories of the French critic Michel Foucault (1926-1984). The social concept, panopticism, was called after the panopticon society, basically elaborated by Foucault in his book Discipline and Punish (1975) and he considers the panopticon as a sign of punitive community of surveillance. This paper evaluates the problems of a dual society to show that the people of the lower class are under the domination of capitalist society.

Keywords: class, identity crisis, violence, panoptic society, domination

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Authors: Jessica Gladden

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Yoga has been accepted in the majority of communities in the United States as a method of assisting individuals with improving their physical health. Both community yoga classes and yoga-based therapy have been shown to be highly useful for individual’s mental health. Yoga-based therapy has been supported by research to be an evidence-based practice for individuals experiencing anxiety, depression, and disordered eating and for those experiencing post traumatic stress disorder in the wake of trauma. Many individuals who have experienced trauma, as well as other mental health diagnoses, are either very disconnected from their physical bodies or feel unsafe in their bodies. Yoga can be a method of creating safety and control in the body. This is recommended by some of the leading researchers in trauma therapy as a beginning step towards finding safety in the body in order to begin to work on the additional mental health challenges before addressing other long-term challenges. Unfortunately, yoga for physical and mental health is underutilized in black and brown communities despite the research regarding the benefits. Very few studies have examined the barriers to access to yoga for black, brown, and indigenous individuals. This study interviewed 15 yoga practitioners who identified as black or brown and explored the barriers they see in their communities related to accessing yoga and yoga-based services. Several of the themes reported include not feeling welcome, cost of services, time, and cultural/ religious components. Methods for reducing barriers will also be discussed.

Keywords: yoga, sport, barrier, black

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Authors: Mary Kay Bacallao

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New research on the human genome has revealed secrets to the variation in skin pigmentation found in all human populations. Application of this research to multicultural education has a profound effect on students from all backgrounds. This paper identifies the four locations in the human genome that code for variation in skin pigmentation worldwide. The research makes this new knowledge accessible to students of all ages as they participate in an art project that brings these scientific multicultural concepts to life. Students participate in the application of breakthrough scientific principles through hands-on art activities where they simulate the work of the DNA coding to create their own skin tone using the colors expressed to varying degrees in every people group. As students create their own artwork handprint from the pallet of colors, they realize that each color on the pallet is essential to creating every tone of skin. This research project serves to bring people together and appreciate the variety and diversity in skin tones. As students explore the variations, they create pigmentation with the use of the eumelanins, which are the black-brown sources of pigmentation, and the pheomelanins, which are the yellow-reddish-brown sources of pigmentation. The research project dispels myths about skin tones that have divided people in the past. As a group project, this research leads to greater appreciation and understanding of the diverse family groups.

Keywords: diversity, multicultural, skin pigmentation, eumelanins, pheomelanins, handprint, artwork, science, genome, human

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Authors: Rania E. Ramadan

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Dental esthetics is subjective, can be reported by the dentist and not noticed by the patient. However, if there is any imperfection seen by both the dentist and the patient, it is considered as an unesthetic like white and/or brown spot lesions. Many patients nowadays have been concerned about dental esthetics. Esthetic rehabilitation of anterior teeth and even maxillary premolars aid a lot in patients’ satisfaction of their smile consequently, gaining positive psychological impact for the patients. Many cases need esthetic rehabilitation such as diastema closure, spaced teeth and masking discolored teeth. Dental fluorosis and enamel hypo calcification can be presented as white and/or brown spot lesions. There are many treatment options for the management of these spotted teeth. Treatment options range from bleaching, microabrasion, direct composite restorations, porcelain veneers, and complete coverage crowns. The selection of certain options depends on many factors: the patient’s age, socioeconomic status and the severity of the lesion. In this clinical report, a 22-year-old male patient has been presented to the Department of Prosthodontics in Alexandria University, Egypt. His chief complaint was, “I was unpleased by white and brown spots in my teeth and I want to close the space between the two maxillary central.” Upon medical history, clinical examination, diagnostic photographs, and digital smile design by Exocad software, lithium disilicate veneers were chosen as the treatment of choice in maxillary anterior and first premolars.

Keywords: flourosis, ceramic veneers, case report, diastema closure

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Authors: Muhammad Shahid, Kafait Ullah, Kashif Imran, Arshad Mahmood, Maarten Arentsen

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Poor planning and governance in the power sector of Pakistan have generated several issues ranging from gradual reliance on thermal-based expensive energy mix, supply shortages, unrestricted demand, subsidization, inefficiencies at different levels of the value chain and resultantly, the circular debt. This situation in the power sector has also hampered the growth of allied economic sectors. This study uses the Long-range Energy Alternative Planning (LEAP) system for electricity modelling of Pakistan from the period of 2016 to 2040. The study has first time in Pakistan forecasted the electricity demand at the provincial level. At the supply side, five scenarios Business as Usual Scenario (BAUS), Coal Scenario (CS), Gas Scenario (GS), Nuclear Scenario (NS) and Renewable Scenario (RS) have been analyzed based on the techno-economic and environmental parameters. The study has also included environmental externality costs for evaluating the actual costs and benefits of different scenarios. Contrary to the expectations, RS has a lower output than even BAUS. The study has concluded that the generation from RS has five times lesser costs than BAUS, CS, and GS. NS can also be an alternative for the sustainable future of Pakistan. Generation from imported coal is not a good option, however, indigenous coal with clean coal technologies should be promoted. This paper proposes energy planners of the country to devise incentives for the utilization of indigenous energy resources including renewables on priority and then clean coal to reduce the energy crises of Pakistan.

Keywords: economic evaluation, externality cost, penetration of renewable energy, regional electricity supply-demand planning

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Authors: Lindani Ncube, Baojin Zhao, Ken Liu, Helen Johanna Van Niekerk

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Acid Base Accounting (ABA) is a tool used to assess the total amount of acidity or alkalinity contained in a specific rock sample, and is based on the total S concentration and the carbonate content of a sample. A preliminary ABA test was conducted on 14 sandstone and 5 coal samples taken from coalfields representing the Main Karoo Basin (Highveld, Vryheid and Molteno/Indwe Coalfields) and the Sub-basins (Witbank and Waterberg Coalfields). The results indicate that sandstone and coal from the Main Karoo Basin have the potential of generating Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) as they contain sufficient pyrite to generate acid, with the final pH of samples relatively low upon complete oxidation of pyrite. Sandstone from collieries representing the Main Karoo Basin are characterised by elevated contents of reactive S%. All the studied samples were characterised by an Acid Potential (AP) that is less than the Neutralizing Potential (NP) except for two samples. The results further indicate that the sandstone from the Main Karoo Basin is prone to acid generation as compared to the sandstone from the Sub-basins. However, the coal has a relatively low potential of generating any acid. The application of ABA in this study contributes to an understanding of the complexities governing water-rock interactions. In general, the coalfields from the Main Karoo Basin have much higher potential to produce AMD during mining processes than the coalfields in the Sub-basins.

Keywords: Main Karoo Basin, sub-basin, coal, sandstone, acid base accounting (ABA)

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Authors: Alireza Vakili, Shahab Ehtesham, Mohsen Danesh Mesgaran, Mahdi Paktinat

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The goal of this study is to determine the chemical compounds of brown Iranian propolis(BIP) extracts and to show flavonoids and phenol effects on nitrogen ammonia (NH3-N) in in vitro. Experimental samples were including two diets with different concentrate: forage ratio (80:20 and 60:40) with eight treatments (1:Control diet 60:40 without BIP,2: 60:40 diet with 25% BIP, 3:60:40 diet with 50% BIP, 4: 60:40 diet with 75% BIP,5: Control diet 80:20 without BIP,6: 80:20 diet with 25% BIP,7: 80:20 diet with 50% BIP and 8: 80:20 diet with 75% BIP) and eight repeats. The trial was analyzed considering a completely randomized design by the GLM procedure of SAS 9.1. Means among treatment were compared by Tukey test. The results of this study showed that in food with 80:20 (concentrate: forage), adding BIP 25% did not statistically change NH3-N (p > 0.05) compared to the control treatment but there was a significant difference (p < 0.05) between the effect of BIP 50% on NH3-N compared to the BIP 25% and the control. In diet with 60:40 (concentrate: forage), there was no significant difference between the effect of BIP 25% on NH3-N and the control, nor was there a significant difference between the effect of BIP 50% and 75%, while a significant difference (p < 0.05) between BIP 50% and 75% and the rest was observed. The propolis extract makes nitrogen ammonia decrease. This may help the nitrogen retain longer in ruminants.

Keywords: brown Iranian propolis, in vitro, nitrogen ammonia, ruminant

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Authors: Reza Mohammadzadeh

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The major challenges in geotechnical engineering in underground spaces arise from uncertainties and different probabilities. The collection, collation, and collaboration of existing data to incorporate them in analysis and design for given prospect evaluation would be a reliable, practical problem solving method under uncertainty. Machine learning (ML) is a subfield of artificial intelligence in statistical science which applies different techniques (e.g., Regression, neural networks, support vector machines, decision trees, random forests, genetic programming, etc.) on data to automatically learn and improve from them without being explicitly programmed and make decisions and predictions. In this paper, a conceptual database schema of geotechnical risks in underground coal mining based on a cloud system architecture has been designed. A new approach of risk assessment using a three-dimensional risk matrix supported by the level of knowledge (LoK) has been proposed in this model. Subsequently, the model workflow methodology stages have been described. In order to train data and LoK models deployment, an ML platform has been implemented. IBM Watson Studio, as a leading data science tool and data-driven cloud integration ML platform, is employed in this study. As a Use case, a data set of geotechnical hazards and risk assessment in underground coal mining were prepared to demonstrate the performance of the model, and accordingly, the results have been outlined.

Keywords: data model, geotechnical risks, machine learning, underground coal mining

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Authors: Chanchal Biswas, Anrin Bhattacharyya, Gopes Chandra Das, Mahua Ghosh Chaudhuri, Rajib Dey

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Boiler coals with low fixed carbon and higher ash content have always challenged the metallurgists to develop a suitable method for their utilization. In the present study, an attempt is made to establish an energy effective method for the reduction of iron ore fines in the form of nuggets by using ‘Syngas’. By devolatisation (expulsion of volatile matter by applying heat) of boiler coal, gaseous product (enriched with reducing agents like CO, CO2, H2, and CH4 gases) is generated. Iron ore nuggets are reduced by this syngas. For that reason, there is no direct contact between iron ore nuggets and coal ash. It helps to control the minimization of the sulphur intake of the reduced nuggets. A laboratory scale devolatisation furnace designed with reduction facility is evaluated after in-depth studies and exhaustive experimentations including thermo-gravimetric (TG-DTA) analysis to find out the volatile fraction present in boiler grade coal, gas chromatography (GC) to find out syngas composition in different temperature and furnace temperature gradient measurements to minimize the furnace cost by applying one heating coil. The nuggets are reduced in the devolatisation furnace at three different temperatures and three different times. The pre-reduced nuggets are subjected to analytical weight loss calculations to evaluate the extent of reduction. The phase and surface morphology analysis of pre-reduced samples are characterized using X-ray diffractometry (XRD), energy dispersive x-ray spectrometry (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), carbon sulphur analyzer and chemical analysis method. Degree of metallization of the reduced nuggets is 78.9% by using boiler grade coal. The pre-reduced nuggets with lesser sulphur content could be used in the blast furnace as raw materials or coolant which would reduce the high quality of coke rate of the furnace due to its pre-reduced character. These can be used in Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) as coolant also.

Keywords: alternative ironmaking, coal gasification, extent of reduction, nugget making, syngas based DRI, solid state reduction

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Authors: Joseph J. Okoh, Samuel T. Mbap, Tahir Ibrahim, Yusuf P. Mancha

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The influence of plumage colour on measurable attributes of 6176 adult indigenous chickens of mixed-sex from four states of the North Central Zone of Nigeria namely; Nasarawa, Niger, Benue, Kogi and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja were assessed. The overall average body weight of the chickens was 1.95 ± 0.03kg. The body weights of black, white, black/white, brown, black/brown, grey and mottled chicken however were 1.87 ± 0.04, 1.94 ± 0.04, 1.95 ± 0.03, 1.93 ± 0.03, 2.01 ± 0.04, 1.96 ± 0.04 and 1.94±0.14kg respectively. Only body length did not vary by plumage colour. The others; body weight and width, shank, comb and breast length, breast height (p < 0.001), beak and wing lengths (p < 0.001) varied significantly. Generally, no colour was outrightly superior to others in all body measurements. However, body weight and breast height were both highest in black/brown chickens which also had the second highest breast length. Body width, shank, beak, comb and wing lengths were highest in grey chickens but lowest in those with white colour and combinations. Egg quality was on the other hand mostly lowest in grey chickens. In selection for genetic improvement in body measurements, black/brown and grey chickens should be favoured. However, in view of the known negative relationship between body weight and egg attributes, selection in favour of grey plumage may result in chickens of poor egg attributes. Therefore, grey chickens should be selected against egg quality.

Keywords: body weight, indigenous chicken, measurements, plumage colour

Procedia PDF Downloads 95

Authors: Zenaida M. De Guzman, Davison T. Baldos, Gilberto T. Diano, Jeff Darren G. Valdez, Levelyn Mitos Tolentino, Gina B. Abrera, Ma. Lucia Cobar, Cristina Gragasin

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One of the factors affecting the quality of brown rice is the free fatty acid produced from surface lipids. It is the purpose of the study to determine the effect of gamma radiation, packaging materials and age and variety of paddy on the surface free fatty acid content using two different brown rice variety, namely, RC-160 and SL-7, packed in two different packaging materials, namely, regular polyethylene bag and Super bag irradiated at 0.5 and 1.0 kGy. Brown rice was produced from 2-week old (Lot 1) and two months old paddy (Lot 2) and irradiated at the Co-60 Multipurpose Irradiation Facility, PNRI. The surface Free Fatty Acid (FFA) content was obtained following the AOCS Official Method (1982) with some modifications. The experiment was laid out using Split-Plot Randomized Control Block Design. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that the effects of variety, age of paddy and interactions of both were both significant. The surface FFA of SL-7 variety was found to be significantly higher than the RC-160 variety for all radiation doses. Likewise, Lot 2 was observed to have higher surface FFA than Lot 1 regardless of packaging material and radiation dose. It was observed that the surface FFA of both varieties packed in both packaging materials increased significantly up to the 2nd or 3rd month of storage and remains the same until the 5th month. On the other hand, radiation dose did not significantly affect the surface free fatty acid content for all storage/sampling time while the packaging material significantly interacts with the type of variety and radiation dose. Gamma radiation was proven to have no significant effect on the surface free fatty acid at 0.5 and 1.0 kGy and further analyses are needed to determine the action of gamma radiation to the activity of enzyme (lipase-induced and microbial) responsible for the production of other lipolytic products and the effect of gamma radiation on the integrity of the packaging materials.

Keywords: brown rice, free fatty acid, gamma radiation, polyethylene bag

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Authors: Ploysai Ohama, Nuttawadee Hanchengchai, Thiva Saksri

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Natural dye extracted from Pterocarpus indicus was applied to a cotton fabric and silk yarn by dyeing processing different eco-friendly mordants. Analytical studies such as UV–VIS spectrophotometry and gravimetric analysis were performed on the extracts. The color of each dyed material was investigated in terms of the CIELAB (L*, a* and b*) and K/S values. Cotton fabric dyed without mordants had a shade of greenish-brown, while those post-mordanted with selected eco-friendly mordants such as alum, lemon juice and limewater result in a variety of brown and darker color shade of fabric.

Keywords: natural dyes, plant materials, dyeing, mordant

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Authors: Debanjan Dey, Tamal Banerjee, Kaustubha Mohanty

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Global scalar properties are calculated based on higher occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lower unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy to study the interaction between ionic liquids with Bituminous and Anthracite coal using density function theory (DFT) method. B3LYP/6-31G* calculation predicts HOMO-LUMO energy gap, electronegativity, global hardness, global softness, chemical potential and global softness for individual compounds with their clusters. HOMO-LUMO interaction, electron delocalization, electron donating and accepting is the main source of attraction between individual compounds with their complexes. Cation used in this study: 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium [BMPYR], 1-methyl -3-propylimmidazolium [MPIM], Tributylmethylammonium [TMA] and Tributylmethylphosphonium [MTBP] with the combination of anion: bis(trifluromethylsulfonyl)imide [Tf2N], methyl carbonate [CH3CO3], dicyanamide [N(CN)2] and methylsulfate [MESO4]. Basically three-tier approach comprising HOMO/LUMO energy, Scalar quantity and infinite dilution activity coefficient (IDAC) by sigma profile generation with COSMO-RS (Conductor like screening model for real solvent) model was chosen for simultaneous interaction. [BMPYR]CH3CO3] (1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium methyl carbonate) and [MPIM][CH3CO3] (1-methyl -3-propylimmidazolium methyl carbonate ) are the best effective ILs on the basis of HOMO-LUMO band gap for Anthracite and Bituminous coal respectively and the corresponding band gap is 0.10137 hartree for Anthracite coal and 0.12485 hartree for Bituminous coal. Further ionic liquids are screened quantitatively with all the scalar parameters and got the same result based on CH-π interaction which is found for HOMO-LUMO gap. To check our findings IDAC were predicted using quantum chemical based COSMO-RS methodology which gave the same trend as observed our scalar quantity calculation. Thereafter a qualitative measurement is doing by sigma profile analysis which gives complementary behavior between IL and coal that means highly miscible with each other.

Keywords: coal-ionic liquids cluster, COSMO-RS, DFT method, HOMO-LUMO interaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 266

Authors: Ning Zhang, Kateřina Grabicová, Pavel Horký, Zuzana Linhartová, Jan Turek, Martin Pšenička, Linan Gao, Roman Grabic, Tomáš Randák

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Sewage treatment plant (STP) effluent is a significant source of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the aquatic environment. Exposure laboratory studies have a limited reporting capacity to capture the complex effect of actual pollution on exposed organisms in the aquatic environment. This study aimed to study the impact of contamination originating from the STP's effluent on early life stages development and sex determination of brown trout (Salmo trutta m. fario) – a native coldwater species with a long period of embryo-larval development – by using special floating egg incubators usually used to support native fish species within fisheries management. Brown trout eggs were placed upstream (the control group) and downstream (the exposure group) of the STP Prachatice situated on the Zivny stream. Up to 72 PPCPs were detected in at least one water sample with higher concentration downstream than upstream. Compared with the control group, the mortality of brown trout in the exposure group was significantly higher; after statistical correction of temperature, the size, growth rate, and metabolic rate of brown trout in the exposure group were significantly lower than those in the control group. After several months of natural growth in the stream, the male-to-female ratio of randomly caught brown trout in the exposure group was 1: 1.9, showing the imbalance of sex ratio. These results suggest that STP effluents can negatively affect the early growth and development of fish in watersheds, and these negative effects may further affect the population density of aquatic organisms and the balance of the whole aquatic ecosystem. The use of floating egg incubators proved to be a promising approach for studying the effect of pollution on the early developmental stages of fish in natural conditions.

Keywords: fish egg incubator, PPCPs, real exposure scenario, STP

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Authors: Ahmad Afif, Teuku Yuri M. Zagloel

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Sustainable supply chain management is a new pattern that has emerged recently in industry and companies. The procurement process is one of the key factors for efficiency in supply chain management practices. Partnership is one of the procurement strategies for strategic items. The success factors of the partnership must be determined to avoid things that endanger the financial and operational status of the company. The current supplier partnership research focuses on the selection of general criteria and sustainable supplier selection. Currently, there is still limited research on the success factors of supplier partnerships that focus on strategic items in the coal mining industry. Meanwhile, the procurement of coal mining has its own characteristics, and there are regulations related to the procurement of goods. Therefore, this research was conducted to determine the categories of goods that are included in the strategic items and to design the success factors of supplier partnerships. The main factors studied are general, financial, production, reputation, synergies, and sustainable. The research was conducted using the Kraljic method to determine the categories of goods that are included in the strategic items. To design a supplier partnership success factor using the Hybrid Multi Criteria Decision Making method. Integrated Fuzzy AHP-Fuzzy TOPSIS is used to determine the weight of the success factors of supplier partnerships and to rank suppliers on the factors used.

Keywords: supplier, partnership, strategic item, success factors, and coal mining industry

Procedia PDF Downloads 107

Authors: Vijay Kumar Bajpai, Sudhir Kumar Singh

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In this study, the performance analyses of the twenty five coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) used for electricity generation are carried out through various data envelopment analysis (DEA) models. Three efficiency indices are defined and pursued. During the calculation of the operational performance, energy and non-energy variables are used as input, and net electricity produced is used as desired output. CO2 emitted to the environment is used as the undesired output in the computation of the pure environmental performance while in Model-3 CO2 emissions is considered as detrimental input in the calculation of operational and environmental performance. Empirical results show that most of the plants are operating in increasing returns to scale region and Mettur plant is efficient one with regards to energy use and environment. The result also indicates that the undesirable output effect is insignificant in the research sample. The present study will provide clues to plant operators towards raising the operational and environmental performance of CFPPs.

Keywords: coal fired power plants, environmental performance, data envelopment analysis, operational performance

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Authors: Li Feng, Cheng Zhang, Chuanzhou Yuang

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Understanding the macromolecular structure of low-rank coal is very important for its gasification and liquefaction. The pyrolysis is one of the methods of analyzing the macromolecular structure of coal. The gaseous products decomposed directly by the raw lignite at 500 °C and indirectly by tar products from raw lignite pyrolysis at 500 °C were investigated and compared by thermogravimetry, gas chromatography and mass spectrum coupled instrument system (TG/GC/MS) in this paper. The results show that 52 kinds of products were found from the raw lignite and 70 kinds of products from the tar. The pyrolysis products directly from the lignite appear more monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and less substituent groups or branch chain, compared with the products from the tar. There is less linear chain and double bonds structure in the tar, which can be speculated that linear chain and double bonds structure took part in the generation of condensed rings and other reactions. There are more kinds of phenol and furan in the tar, which indicate that these products may be generated from the secondary reaction. The formation process of phenol, phenol naphthalene, naphthene and furan are discussed.

Keywords: composition and structure, lignite, pyrolysis of coal, tar, TG/GC/MS

Procedia PDF Downloads 117

Authors: Narayan Bhattarai, Arjun Bhattarai, Kabi Raj Paudyal, Lalu Paudel

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Palung granite is leucocratic, alkali feldspar granite, which is one of the six major granite bodies of the Lesser Himalaya of Nepal. The Cambro-Ordovician granite body has intruded on the Palaeozoic metasedimentary rock of the Kathmandu Complex in Central Nepal. The granite crystallized from magma that was mainly generated by anatexis of the Precambrian continental crust. The magma is heterogeneous with respect to the primary ages and/or metamorphic histories of the magma source rocks. This indicates either a derivation from (meta-) sediments or an intense mixing of different crustally derived magmas. The genesis of the Palung granite is possibly related to an orogeny which affected the Indian shield in lower Paleozoic times. The granite body has been mapped into different zones with visual inspection and petrographical study: i. Quartz rich granite: Quartz is smokey to grayish, euhedral to subherdal, 0.2 to 0.7 cm, and constitutes 30 to 40%. Feldspar is white to brownish, subhedral to euhedral, more than 3 cm, and constitutes 20–30%. Tourmaline is black, 0.1 to 0.2 cm in size, and consists of 10 to 20%. Biotite is black flakes up to o.2 cm, representing 5-8%. ii. Feldspar rich granite: white to grayish, medium to coarse-grained, containing feldspar, quartz, biotite, muscovite and tourmaline. Feldspar porphyritic crystals up to 2.5 cm subherdral represent 50–60%, quartz is smokey transparent and represents 30–40%, biotite is dark brown to black, crystals are irregular, 0.5 cm and represent 8–20%, tourmaline is black fractured, small needles represent 5–10%, and muscovite is white to brown and represents 1-4%. iii. Biotite granite: grey to white, medium to coarse-grained, containing quartz, feldspar, biotite and tourmaline. Feldspar crystals up to 2.5 cm represent 40–50%, quartz is smokey, representing 30–40%, biotite is dark brown to black, crystal size 0.5cm, representing 10–20%, tourmaline is black, small needle, 5–10%, and muscovite is white to brown, representing 3-5%. and iv. Muscovite granite: medium-coarse-grained, brown and gray, containing quartz, feldspar, muscovite and tourmaline. Feldspar is white to brown; crystal sizes 0.2–0.4 cm represents 40–50%; quartz is brown and white, transparent, crystals up to 1 cm represent 35–50%; tourmaline is black, opaque, needle shaped; size up to 7–20%; and muscovite is brownish to white, with flakes up to 0.3 cm representing 5–10%. The xenoliths are very common and are not genetically related. Xenoliths are composed mostly of fine-grained, grayish quartz biotite (muscovite) schist and garnetiferous quartz mica schist.

Keywords: leucocratic granite, cambro-ordovician granite, lesser himalayan granite, pegmatite

Procedia PDF Downloads 39

Authors: Chularat Leewuttanakul, Khanitta Ruttarattanamongkol, Sasivimon Chittrakorn

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Rice during grain development stage is a rich source of many bioactive compounds. Dough stage rice contains high amounts of photochemical and can be used for rice milling industries. However, rice grain at dough stage had low milling quality due to high moisture content. Thermal processing can be applied to rice grain for improving milled rice yield. This experiment was conducted to study the chemical and physic properties of dough stage rice grain after roasting treatment. Rice were roasted with two different methods including traditional pan roasting at 140 °C for 60 minutes and using the electrical roasting machine at 140 °C for 30, 40, and 50 minutes. The chemical, physical properties, and bioactive compounds of brown rice and milled rice were evaluated. The result of this experiment showed that moisture content of brown and milled rice was less than 10 % and amylose contents were in the range of 26-28 %. Rice grains roasting for 30 min using electrical roasting machine had high head rice yield and length and breadth of grain after milling were close to traditional pan roasting (p > 0.05). The lightness (L*) of rice did not affect by roasting treatment (p > 0.05) and the a* indicated the yellowness of milled rice was lower than brown rice. The bioactive compounds of brown and milled rice significantly decreased with increasing of drying time. Brown rice roasted for 30 minutes had the highest of total phenolic content, antioxidant activity, α-tocopherol, and ɤ-oryzanol content. Volume expansion and elongation of cooked rice decreased as roasting time increased and quality of cooked rice roasted for 30 min was comparable to traditional pan roasting. Hardness of cooked rice as measured by texture analyzer increased with increasing roasting time. The results indicated that rice grains at dough stage, containing a high amount of bioactive compounds, have a great potential for rice milling industries and the electrical roasting machine can be used as an alternative to pan roasting which decreases processing time and labor costs.

Keywords: bioactive compounds, cooked rice, dough stage rice grain, grain development, roasting

Procedia PDF Downloads 132

Authors: Mahsa Tavakoli, Seyed Mohammad Hojjati, Yahya Kooch

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Considering that coal mining is one of the important industrial activities, it may cause damages to environment. According to the author’s best knowledge, the effect of traditional coal mining activities on plant biodiversity has not been investigated in the Hyrcanian forests. Therefore, in this study, the effect of coal mining activities on vegetation and tree diversity was investigated in Hyrcanian forest, North Iran. After filed visiting and determining the mine, 16 plots (20×20 m²) were established by systematic-randomly (60×60 m²) in an area of 4 ha (200×200 m²-mine entrance placed at center). An area adjacent to the mine was not affected by the mining activity, and it is considered as the control area. In each plot, the data about trees such as number and type of species were recorded. The biodiversity of vegetation cover was considered 5 square sub-plots (1 m²) in each plot. PAST software and Ecological Methodology were used to calculate Biodiversity indices. The value of Shannon Wiener and Simpson diversity indices for tree cover in control area (1.04±0.34 and 0.62±0.20) was significantly higher than mining area (0.78±0.27 and 0.45±0.14). The value of evenness indices for tree cover in the mining area was significantly lower than that of the control area. The value of Shannon Wiener and Simpson diversity indices for vegetation cover in the control area (1.37±0.06 and 0.69±0.02) was significantly higher than the mining area (1.02±0.13 and 0.50±0.07). The value of evenness index in the control area was significantly higher than the mining area. Plant communities are a good indicator of the changes in the site. Study about changes in vegetation biodiversity and plant dynamics in the degraded land can provide necessary information for forest management and reforestation of these areas.

Keywords: vegetation biodiversity, species composition, traditional coal mining, Caspian forest

Procedia PDF Downloads 153