Search results for: saving

Authors: Dewi Liesnoor Setyowati, Puji Hardati, Tri Marhaeni Puji Astuti, Muhammad Amin

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Universitas Negeri Semarang (UNNES) is a university with a vision of conservation. The impact of the UNNES conservation is the existence of a positive response from the community for the effort of greening the campus and the planting of conservation value in the academic community. But in reality,  energy consumption in UNNES campus tends to increase. The objectives of the study were to analyze the energy consumption in the campus area, to analyze the absorption of emissions by trees and the awareness of UNNES citizens in reducing emissions. Research focuses on energy consumption, carbon emissions, and awareness of citizens in reducing emissions. Research subjects in this study are UNNES citizens (lecturers, students and employees). The research area covers 6 faculties and one administrative center building. Data collection is done by observation, interview and documentation. The research used a quantitative descriptive method to analyze the data. The number of trees in UNNES is 10,264. Total emission on campus UNNES is 7.862.281.56 kg/year, the tree absorption is 6,289,250.38 kg/year. In UNNES campus area there are still 1,575,031.18 kg/year of emissions, not yet absorbed by trees. There are only two areas of the faculty whose trees are capable of absorbing emissions. The awareness of UNNES citizens in reducing energy consumption is seen in change the habit of: using energy-saving equipment (65%); reduce energy consumption per unit (68%); do energy literacy for UNNES citizens (74%). UNNES leaders always provide motivation to the citizens of UNNES, to reduce and change patterns of energy consumption.

Keywords: energy consumption, carbon emission absorption, emission reduction, energy literation

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Authors: Maitri Dave

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Coronaviruses (CoV) is such infectious virus which has impacted globally in a more dangerous manner causing severe lung problems and leaving behind more serious diseases among the people. This pandemic has affected globally and created severe respiratory problems, and damaged the lungs. India has reported the first case of COVID-19 in January 2020. The first wave of COVID-19 took place from April to September of 2020. Soon after, a second peak is also noticed in the month of March 2021, which in turn becomes more dangerous due to a lack of supply of medical equipment. It created resource deficiency globally, specifically in India, where some necessary life-saving equipment like ventilators and oxygenators were not sufficient to cater to the demand-supply ratio effectively. Through carefully examining such a situation, India began to execute the process of vaccination in the month of January 2021 and successfully administered 25,46,71,259 doses of vaccines till now, which is only 15.5% of the total population while only 3.6% of the total population is fully vaccinated. India has authorized the British Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine (Covishield), the Indian BBV152 (Covaxin) vaccine, and the Russian Sputnik V vaccine for emergency use. In the present study, we have collected all the data state wisely of both first and second wave and analyzed them using MS Excel Version 2019 and SPSS Statistics Version 26. Following the trends, we have predicted the characteristics of the upcoming third wave of COVID-19 and recommended some strategies, early actions, and measures that can be taken by the public health system in India to combat the third wave more effectively.

Keywords: COVID-19, vaccination, Covishiled, Coronavirus

Procedia PDF Downloads 189

Authors: Pawitchaya Srijaiwong, Surin Khomfoi

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There are several solutions to supply electricity to an island in Thailand such as diesel generation, submarine power cable, and renewable energy power generation. However, each alternative has its own limitation like fuel and pollution of diesel generation, submarine power cable length resulting in loss of cable and cost of investment, and potential of renewable energy in the local area. This paper shows microgrid system which is a new alternative for power supply to an island. It integrates local power plant from renewable energy, energy storage system, and microgrid controller. The suitable renewable energy power generation on an island is selected from geographic location and potential evaluation. Thus, photovoltaic system and hydro power plant are taken into account. The capacity of energy storage system is also estimated by transient stability study in order to supply electricity demand sufficiently under normal condition. Microgrid controller plays an important role in conducting, communicating and operating for both sources and loads on an island so that its functions are discussed in this study. The conceptual design of microgrid operation is investigated in order to analyze the reliability and power quality. The result of this study shows that microgrid is able to operate in parallel with the main grid and in case of islanding. It is applicable for electricity supply to an island and a remote area. The advantages of operating microgrid on an island include the technical aspect like improving reliability and quality of power system and social aspects like outage cost saving and CO₂ reduction.

Keywords: energy storage, islanding, microgrid, renewable energy

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Authors: Anees Raza, Liu Chunyan

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Renewable energy technologies are need of the time and are already making the big impact in the climatic outlook of the world. Biogas technology is one of those, and it has a lot of benefits for its users. It is cost effective because it is produced from the raw material which is available free of cost to the livestock farmers. Bio-slurry, a by-product of biogas, is being used as fertilizer for the crops production and increasing soil fertility. There are many other household benefits of technology. Research paper discusses the benefits of biogas as perceived by the biogas users as well as non-users of Tehsil Jhang. Data were collected from 60 respondents (30 users and 30 non-users) selected purposively through validated and pre-tested interview schedule from the respondents. Collected data were analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Household benefits like ‘makes cooking easy,’ ‘Less breathing issues for working women in kitchens’ and ‘Use of bio-slurry as organic fertilizer’ had the highly significant relationship between them with t-values of 3.24, 4.39 and 2.80 respectively. Responses of the respondents about environmental benefits of biogas technology showed that ‘less air pollution’ had a significant relationship between them while ‘less temperature rise up than due to the burning of wood /dung’ had the non-significant relationship in the responses of interviewed respondents. It was clear from the research that biogas users were becoming influential in convincing non-users to adopt this technology due to its noticeable benefits. Research area where people were depending on wood to be used as fire fuel could be helped in reduction of cutting of trees which will help in controlling deforestation and saving the environment.People should be encouraged in using of biogas technology through providing them subsidies and low mark up loans.

Keywords: biogas technology, deforestation, environmental benefits, renewable energy

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Authors: Hashim Chunpir

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Support processes play an important role to facilitate researchers (users) to accomplish their research activities with the help of cyber-infrastructure(s). However, the current user-support process in cyber-infrastructure needs a feasible tool to support users. This tool must enable the users of a cyber-infrastructure to communicate efficiently with the staffs of a cyber-infrastructure in order to get technical and scientific assistance, whilst saving resources at the same time. This research paper narrates the real story of employing various forms of tools to support the user and staff communication. In addition, this paper projects the lessons learned from an exploration of the help-desk tools in the current state of user support process in Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) from support staffs’ perspective. ESGF is a climate cyber-infrastructure that facilitates Earth System Modeling (ESM) and is taken as a case study in this paper. Finally, this study proposes a need for a tool, a framework or a platform that not only improves the user support process to address support servicing needs of end-users of e-Science infrastructures but also eases the life of staffs in providing assistance to the users. With the help of such a tool; the collaboration between users and the staffs of cyber-infrastructures is made easier. Consequently, the research activities of the users of e-Science infrastructure will thrive as the scientific and technical support will be available to users. Finally, this results into painless and productive e-Research.

Keywords: e-Science User Services, e-Research in Earth Sciences, Information Technology Services Management (ITSM), user support process, service desk, management of support activities, help desk tools, application of social media

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Authors: Chanchai Wimon, Polin Muangngam, Thannapat Nimsumram, Chanin Prombutra, Prasert Aengchuan, Perawat Boonpuek

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Cleaning water containers is essential for drinking water production to prevent contamination and residual chemicals from washing liquid. Water distribution divisions in Thailand are facing a critical problem with residual contamination in 15-liter drinking water containers due to dust and residual chemicals (TDS value > 200) after normal washing. A thorough washing process is required before filling the purified water into each container. Unfortunately, the washing procedure and frequency do not align with the work instructions provided by the health department. The measured Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) value of the remaining water was found to range between 195–202, exceeding the standard TDS for excellent drinking water (50-190 ppm). This research uses the design of experiment technique in statistics to improve the washing process and reduce such contamination. Statistical data from our survey of the cleaning process is collected to identify affecting factors. Washing time and water volume are varied to test the efficiency of the washing process in reducing residual sediment in the water. The result indicates that cleaning the 15-liter container with 2 liters of tap water mixed with 15 milliliters of dishwashing liquid for 3.12 minutes per container is optimal, as the resulting TDS reduces to 189.75, falling within the standard value for good drinking water. This study result would benefit the drinking water industry in implementing a statistically evaluated cleaning procedure without conducting multiple trials, thus saving takt time and production costs.

Keywords: design of experiment, drinking water purification, quality management, production process reliability

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Authors: Sih-Li Chen, Chih-Hao Chen, Chi-Tong Chan

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Poor ventilation and high carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations lead to the formation of sick buildings. This problem cannot simply be resolved by introducing fresh air from outdoor environments because this creates extra loads on indoor air-conditioning systems. Desiccants are widely used in air conditioning systems in tropical and subtropical regions with high humidity to reduce the latent heat load from fresh air. Desiccants are usually used as a packed-bed type, which is low cost, to combine with air-conditioning systems. Nevertheless, the pressure drop of a packed bed is too high, and the heat of adsorption caused by the adsorption process lets the temperature of the outlet air increase, bringing about an extra heat load, so the high pressure drop and the increased temperature of the outlet air are energy consumption sources needing to be resolved. For this reason, the gas-solid fluidised beds that have high heat and mass transfer rates, uniform properties and low pressure drops are very suitable for use in air-conditioning systems.This study experimentally investigates the performance of silica gel fluidized bed device which applying to an air conditioning system. In the experiments, commercial silica gel particles were filled in the two beds and to form a fixed packed bed and a fluidized bed. The results indicated that compared to the fixed packed bed device, the total adsorption and desorption by amounts of fluidized bed for 40 minutes increased 20.6% and 19.9% respectively when the bed height was 10 cm and superficial velocity was set to 2 m/s. In addition, under this condition, the pressure drop and outlet air temperature raise were reduced by 36.0% and 30.0%. Given the above results, application of the silica gel fluidized bed to air conditioning systems has great energy-saving potential.

Keywords: fluidized bed, packed bed, silica gel, adsorption, desorption, pressure drop

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Authors: F. Z. Abir, M. Mesnaoui, Y. Abouliatim, L. Nibou, Y. El Hafiane, A. Smith

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The cement industry has been taking significant steps for years to reduce its carbon footprint by opting for an eco-friendly alternative such as Calcium Sulfoaluminate Cements (CSA). These binders, compared to Ordinary Portland Cements (OPC), have two advantages: reduction of the CO2 emissions and energy-saving because the sintering temperature of CSA cements is between 1250 and 1350 °C, which means 100 to 200 °C less than OPC. The aim of this work is to study the impurities effect, such as iron oxide, on the formation of the ye'elimite phase, which represents the main phase of Calcium Sulfoaluminate Cements and the consequence on its hydration. Several elaborations and characterization techniques were used to study the structure and microstructure of ye'elimite, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), thermal analysis, specific surface area measurement, and electrical conductivity of diluted solutions. This study details the protocol for the solid-state synthesis of ye'elimite containing increasing amounts of iron (general formula: Ca4Al(6-2x)Fe2xSO16 with x = 0.00 to 1.13). Ye'elimite is formed by solid-state reactions between Al2O3, CaO and CaSO4 and the maximum ye'elimite content is reached at a sintering temperature of 1300 °C. The presence of iron promotes the formation of cubic ye'elimite at the expense of the orthorhombic phase. The total incorporation of iron in ye'elimite structure is possible when x < 0.12. Beyond this content, the ferritic phase (CaO)2(Al2O3,Fe2O3) appears as a minor phase and develops two different morphologies during cooling: dendritic crystals and melt morphology. The formation of the ferrous liquid phase affects the evolution of grain size of the ye’elimite and calcium aluminates.

Keywords: calcium sulfoaluminate cement, ferritic phase, sintering, solid-state synthesis, ye’elimite

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Authors: Mona Afifi, Yara Al Qahtani, Afnan Al Dosari, Amnah Hamdi

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Background: First aid is the care provided outside the hospital. It is important in saving lives. Delay in helping the victims may result in serious complication or even death. Many people die in Saudi Arabia because they don’t get proper first aid interventions. According to Traffic Safety council in KSA (2012), in the year of 2011 there was 7153 deaths from car accident in KAS. Subjects and method: Quasi-experimental research design was utilized to assess the effect of a structured 45-minute educational session on 82 undergraduate nursing students’ knowledge about first aid. Two tools were developed for the purpose of the current study. First tool containing the sociodemographic data including age, gender, level, and previous participation in a first aid course, and 55 statements specific to different situations that requires first aid. Concept and Knowledge of First Aid has 9 questions, cardiopulmonary resuscitation has 12 questions, Bleeding and Shock have 7 questions, Road Traffic Accidents has 5 questions, Fracture and Trauma have 4 questions, wound has 5 questions, sunstroke has 4 questions, bits and stings has 4 questions and burn has 5 questions. The second tool was to evaluate the campaign session. Result: The overall knowledge score showed significant difference between the pre and post awareness session (59.58 and 93.00 respectively, p=.000). Mean score shows significant difference in pre-tests between third and fourth year nursing students indicating that knowledge of fourth year students is higher compared to third year students with the mean knowledge scores of 69.56 and 60.88 respectively (p=0.006). Conclusion: Results of the current study indicate that the level of the knowledge in the post test session was higher than in the pre session. Also results showed that the fourth year student`s knowledge in pre-test was better compared to previous year.

Keywords: first aid, awareness campaign, undergraduate nursing students, knowledge

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Authors: Marcela Ondova, Adriana Estokova

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Rapid industrialization results in increased use of natural resources bring along serious ecological and environmental imbalance due to the dumping of industrial wastes. Principles of sustainable construction have to be accepted with regard to the consumption of natural resources and the production of harmful emissions. Cement is a great importance raw material in the building industry and today is its large amount used in the construction of concrete pavements. Concerning raw materials cost and producing CO2 emission the replacing of cement in concrete mixtures with more sustainable materials is necessary. To reduce this environmental impact people all over the world are looking for a solution. Over a period of last ten years, the image of fly ash has completely been changed from a polluting waste to resource material and it can solve the major problems of cement use. Fly ash concretes are proposed as a potential approach for achieving substantial reductions in cement. It is known that it improves the workability of concrete, extends the life cycle of concrete roads, and reduces energy use and greenhouse gas as well as amount of coal combustion products that must be disposed in landfills. Life cycle assessment also proved that a concrete pavement with fly ash cement replacement is considerably more environmentally friendly compared to standard concrete roads. In addition, fly ash is cheap raw material, and the costs saving are guaranteed. The strength properties, resistance to a frost or de-icing salts, which are important characteristics in the construction of concrete pavements, have reached the required standards as well. In terms of human health it can´t be stated that a concrete cover with fly ash could be dangerous compared with a cover without fly ash. Final Multi-criteria analysis also pointed that a concrete with fly ash is a clearly proper solution.

Keywords: life cycle assessment, fly ash, waste, concrete pavements

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Authors: Michael Williams

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The ability to control a flowing well is of the utmost important. During the kill phase, heavy weight kill mud is circulated around the well. While increasing bottom hole pressure near wellbore formation, the damage is increased. The addition of high density spherical objects has the potential to minimise this near wellbore damage, increase bottom hole pressure and reduce operational time to kill the well. This operational time saving is seen in the rapid deployment of high density spherical objects instead of building high density drilling fluid. The research aims to model the well kill process using a Computational Fluid Dynamics software. A model has been created as a proof of concept to analyse the flow of micron sized spherical objects in the drilling fluid. Initial results show that this new methodology of spherical objects in drilling fluid agrees with traditional stream lines seen in non-particle flow. Additional models have been created to demonstrate that areas of higher flow rate around the bit can lead to increased probability of wash out of formations but do not affect the flow of micron sized spherical objects. Interestingly, areas that experience dimensional changes such as tool joints and various BHA components do not appear at this initial stage to experience increased velocity or create areas of turbulent flow, which could lead to further borehole stability. In conclusion, the initial models of this novel well control methodology have not demonstrated any adverse flow patterns, which would conclude that this model may be viable under field conditions.

Keywords: well control, fluid mechanics, safety, environment

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Authors: Mohammed A. Elhaj, Jamal S. Yassin

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In the present time, energy crises are considered a severe problem across the world. For the protection of global environment and maintain ecological balance, energy saving is considered one of the most vital issues from the view point of fuel consumption. As the industrial sectors everywhere continue efforts to improve their energy efficiency, recovering waste heat losses provides an attractive opportunity for an emission free and less costly energy resource. In the other hand the using of solar energy has become more insistent particularly after the high gross of prices and running off the conventional energy sources. Therefore, it is essential that we should endeavor for waste heat recovery as well as solar energy by making significant and concrete efforts. For these reasons this investigation is carried out to study and analyze the performance of a power plant working by a combined cycle in which Heat Recovery System Generator (HRSG) gets its energy from the waste heat of a gas turbine unit. Evaluation of the performance of the plant is based on different thermal efficiencies of the main components in addition to the second law analysis considering the exergy destructions for the whole components. The contribution factors including the solar as well as the wasted energy are considered in the calculations. The final results have shown that there is significant exergy destruction in solar concentrator and the combustion chamber of the gas turbine unit. Other components such as compressor, gas turbine, steam turbine and heat exchangers having insignificant exergy destruction. Also, solar energy can contribute by about 27% of the input energy to the plant while the energy lost with exhaust gases can contribute by about 64% at maximum cases.

Keywords: solar energy, environment, efficiency, waste heat, steam generator, performance, exergy destruction

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Authors: Bliss Singhal

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Machine learning (ML) is a branch of Artificial Intelligence (AI) where computers analyze data and find patterns in the data. The study focuses on the detection of metastatic cancer using ML. Metastatic cancer is the stage where cancer has spread to other parts of the body and is the cause of approximately 90% of cancer-related deaths. Normally, pathologists spend hours each day to manually classifying whether tumors are benign or malignant. This tedious task contributes to mislabeling metastasis being over 60% of the time and emphasizes the importance of being aware of human error and other inefficiencies. ML is a good candidate to improve the correct identification of metastatic cancer, saving thousands of lives and can also improve the speed and efficiency of the process, thereby taking fewer resources and time. So far, the deep learning methodology of AI has been used in research to detect cancer. This study is a novel approach to determining the potential of using preprocessing algorithms combined with classification algorithms in detecting metastatic cancer. The study used two preprocessing algorithms: principal component analysis (PCA) and the genetic algorithm, to reduce the dimensionality of the dataset and then used three classification algorithms: logistic regression, decision tree classifier, and k-nearest neighbors to detect metastatic cancer in the pathology scans. The highest accuracy of 71.14% was produced by the ML pipeline comprising of PCA, the genetic algorithm, and the k-nearest neighbor algorithm, suggesting that preprocessing and classification algorithms have great potential for detecting metastatic cancer.

Keywords: breast cancer, principal component analysis, genetic algorithm, k-nearest neighbors, decision tree classifier, logistic regression

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Authors: Anish Desai, Reshmi Pillai, Nilesh Mahajan, Hitesh Chopra, Vishal Mahajan, Ajay Grover, Ashish Kohli

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Surgical Site Infection (SSI) is hospital acquired infection of growing concern. This study presents the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of triclosan-coated suture, in reducing the burden of SSI in India. Methodology: A systematic literature search was conducted for economic burden (1998-2018) of SSI and efficacy of triclosan-coated sutures (TCS) vs. non-coated sutures (NCS) (2000-2018). PubMed Medline and EMBASE indexed articles were searched using Mesh terms or Emtree. Decision tree analysis was used to calculate, the cost difference between TCS and NCS at private and public hospitals, respectively for 7 surgical procedures. Results: The SSI range from low to high for Caesarean section (C-section), Laparoscopic hysterectomy (L-hysterectomy), Open Hernia (O-Hernia), Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy (L-Cholecystectomy), Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), Total knee replacement (TKR), and Mastectomy were (3.77 to 24.2%), (2.28 to 11.7%), (1.75 to 60%), (1.71 to 25.58%), (1.6 to 18.86%), (1.74 to 12.5%), and (5.56 to 25%), respectively. The incremental cost (%) of TCS ranged 0.1%-0.01% in private and from 0.9%-0.09% at public hospitals across all surgical procedures. Cost savings at median efficacy & SSI risk was 6.52%, 5.07 %, 11.39%, 9.63%, 3.62%, 2.71%, 9.41% for C-section, L-hysterectomy, O-Hernia, L-Cholecystectomy, CABG, TKR, and Mastectomy in private and 8.79%, 4.99%, 12.67%, 10.58%, 3.32%, 2.35%, 11.83% in public hospital, respectively. Efficacy of TCS and SSI incidence in a particular surgical procedure were important determinants of cost savings using one-way sensitivity analysis. Conclusion: TCS suture led to cost savings across all 7 surgeries in both private and public hospitals in India.

Keywords: cost Savings, non-coated sutures, surgical site infection, triclosan-coated sutures

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Authors: Ruvaitha Banu, Amaladhithyan Krishnamoorthy

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IoT networks today solve various consumer problems, from home automation systems to aiding in driving autonomous vehicles with the exploration of multiple devices. For example, in an autonomous vehicle environment, multiple sensors are available on roads to monitor weather and road conditions and interact with each other to aid the vehicle in reaching its destination safely and timely. IoT systems are predominantly dependent on the cloud environment for data storage, and computing needs that result in latency problems. With the advent of Fog networks, some of this storage and computing is pushed to the edge/fog nodes, saving the network bandwidth and reducing the latency proportionally. Managing the data stored in these fog nodes becomes crucial as it might also store sensitive information required for a certain application. Data management in fog nodes is strenuous because Fog networks are dynamic in terms of their availability and hardware capability. It becomes more challenging when the nodes in the network also live a short span, detaching and joining frequently. When an end-user or Fog Node wants to access, read, or write data stored in another Fog Node, then a new protocol becomes necessary to access/manage the data stored in the fog devices as a conventional static way of managing the data doesn’t work in Fog Networks. The proposed solution discusses a protocol that acts by defining sensitivity levels for the data being written and read. Additionally, a distinct data distribution and replication model among the Fog nodes is established to decentralize the access mechanism. In this paper, the proposed model implements stewardship towards the data stored in the Fog node using the application of Reinforcement Learning so that access to the data is determined dynamically based on the requests.

Keywords: IoT, fog networks, data stewardship, dynamic access policy

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Authors: Ekpeti Bukola Grace, Mahmoudi Sabar Esmail, Chaer Issa

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Global energy consumption has been increasing steadily over the last half - century, and this trend is projected to continue. As energy demand rises in many countries throughout the world due to population growth, natural ventilation in buildings has been identified as a viable option for lowering these demands, saving costs, and also lowering CO2 emissions. However, natural ventilation is driven by forces that are generally unpredictable in nature thus, it is important to manage the resulting airflow in order to maintain pleasant indoor conditions, making it a complex system that necessitates specific control approaches. The effective application of fuzzy logic technique amidst other intelligent systems is one of the best ways to bridge this gap, as its control dynamics relates more to human reasoning and linguistic descriptions. This article reviewed existing literature and presented practical solutions by applying fuzzy logic control with optimized techniques, selected input parameters, and expert rules to design a more effective control system. The control monitors used indoor temperature, outdoor temperature, carbon-dioxide levels, wind velocity, and rain as input variables to the system, while the output variable remains the control of window opening. This is achieved through the use of fuzzy logic control tool box in MATLAB and running simulations on SIMULINK to validate the effectiveness of the proposed system. Comparison analysis model via simulation is carried out, and with the data obtained, an improvement in control actions and energy savings was recorded.

Keywords: fuzzy logic, intelligent control systems, natural ventilation, optimization

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Authors: N. Arunraj, C. P. V. Paul, D. M. D. Jayawardena, W. N. D. Fernando

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Traffic congestion with increased numbers of vehicles is already a serious issue for many countries. The absence of sufficient parking spaces adds to the issue. Motorists are forced to wait in long queues to park their vehicles. This adds to the inconvenience faced by a motorist, kept waiting for a slot allocation, manually done along with the parking payment calculation. In Sri Lanka, nowadays, parking systems use barcode technology to identify the vehicles at both the entrance and the exit points. Customer management is handled by the use of man power. A parking space is, generally permanently sub divided according to the vehicle type. Here, again, is an issue. Parking spaces are not utilized to the maximum. The current arrangement leaves room for unutilized parking spaces. Accordingly, there is a need to manage the parking space dynamically. As a vehicle enters the parking area, available space has to be assigned for the vehicle according to the vehicle type. The system, Automated Parking System (APS), provides an automated solution using RFID Technology to identify the vehicles. Simultaneously, an algorithm manages the space allocation dynamically. With this system, there is no permanent parking slot allocation for a vehicle type. A desktop application manages the customer. A Web application is used to manage the external users with their reservations. The system also has an android application to view the nearest parking area from the current location. APS is built using java and php. It uses LED panels to guide the user inside the parking area to find the allocated parking slot accurately. The system ensures efficient performance, saving precious time for a customer. Compared with the current parking systems, APS interacts with users and increases customer satisfaction as well.

Keywords: RFID, android, web based system, barcode, algorithm, LED panels

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Authors: Nokubonga G. Zulu, Bongephiwe M. Thethwayo, Mapilane S. Madiba, Peter A. Olubambi

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In South Africa, PGMs’ metallurgy industry is now leaned on the Upper Group 2 (UG2) reef for the beneficiation of 4PGEs (Platinum, Palladium, Rhodium, and Ruthenium). The current effective beneficiation method is direct froth flotation which uses the hydrophobicity of liberated valuables minerals to carefully float them while hydrophilic gangue minerals report to the residue. PGMs are known to be associated with base metal sulphides which are hydrophobic; however, approximately 25% of PGMs from UG2 are associated with hydrophilic silicates, which results in high PGMs grade in the flotation residue. Further, the smallest size in which UG2 PGMs occur is approximately 9 microns which demands high grinding for liberation, imposing energy and cost implications. The use of Bacillus mucilaginosus to liberate PGMs using Bio-leaching of PGMs bearing Silicates is a promising cost-effective, energy-saving, and green solution to liberate PGMs locked in silicates. This is due to the ability of Bacillus mucilaginosus to generate extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) that are responsible for the leaching of silicate minerals. The bioleaching is done at a laboratory beaker using a cultivated Bacillus mucilaginosus as a lixiviant. The bioleaching residue is expected to have a reduced particle size due to silicate consumption, which reduces the need and cost associated with a secondary milling circuit. Moreover, the grade of the bioleaching product is increased since the silicates (gangue minerals) are consumed by Bacillus mucilaginosus; this serves as a pre-concentration step. This paper discusses an alternative liberation and pre-concentrating technique of PGMs that are associated with silicates using Bacillus mucilaginosus leaching to dissolve silicates.

Keywords: Bacillus mucilaginosus, bio-leaching of PGMs bearing silicates, liberation of PGMs, pre-concentration of PGMs

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Authors: Chia-Chi Chang, Chuan-Bi Lin, Chia-Min Chan

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Most ZigBee sensor networks to date make use of nodes with limited processing, communication, and energy capabilities. Energy consumption is of great importance in wireless sensor applications as their nodes are commonly battery-driven. Once ZigBee nodes are deployed outdoors, limited power may make a sensor network useless before its purpose is complete. At present, there are two strategies for long node and network lifetime. The first strategy is saving energy as much as possible. The energy consumption will be minimized through switching the node from active mode to sleep mode and routing protocol with ultra-low energy consumption. The second strategy is to evaluate the energy consumption of sensor applications as accurately as possible. Erroneous energy model may render a ZigBee sensor network useless before changing batteries. In this paper, we present a ZigBee wireless sensor node with four key modules: a processing and radio unit, an energy harvesting unit, an energy storage unit, and a sensor unit. The processing unit uses CC2530 for controlling the sensor, carrying out routing protocol, and performing wireless communication with other nodes. The harvesting unit uses a 2W solar panel to provide lasting energy for the node. The storage unit consists of a rechargeable 1200 mAh Li-ion battery and a battery charger using a constant-current/constant-voltage algorithm. Our solution to extend node lifetime is implemented. Finally, a long-term sensor network test is used to exhibit the functionality of the solar powered system.

Keywords: ZigBee, Li-ion battery, solar panel, CC2530

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Authors: Clara Shenderey, Helena Vitoshkin, Mordechai Barak, Avraham Arbel

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Greenhouse cultivation is an energy-intensive process due to the high demands on cooling or heating according to external climatic conditions, which could be extreme in the summer or winter seasons. The thermal radiation rate inside a greenhouse depends mainly on the type of covering material and greenhouse construction. Using additional thermal screens under a greenhouse covering combined with a dehumidification system improves the insulation and could be cost-effective. Greenhouse covering material usually contains protective ultraviolet (UV) radiation additives to prevent the film wear, insect harm, and crop diseases. This paper investigates the overall heat transfer coefficient, or U-value, for greenhouse polyethylene covering contains UV-additives and glass covering with or without a thermal screen supplement. The hot-box method was employed to evaluate overall heat transfer coefficients experimentally as a function of the type and number of the thermal screens. The results show that the overall heat transfer coefficient decreases with increasing the number of thermal screens as a hyperbolic function. The overall heat transfer coefficient highly depends on the ability of the material to reflect thermal radiation. Using a greenhouse covering, i.e., polyethylene films or glass, in combination with high reflective thermal screens, i.e., containing about 98% of aluminum stripes or aluminum foil, the U-value reduces by 61%-89% in the first case, whereas by 70%-92% in the second case, depending on the number of the thermal screen. Using thermal screens made from low reflective materials may reduce the U-value by 30%-57%. The heat transfer coefficient is an indicator of the thermal insulation properties of the materials, which allows farmers to make decisions on the use of appropriate thermal screens depending on the external and internal climate conditions in a greenhouse.

Keywords: energy-saving thermal screen, greenhouse cover material, heat transfer coefficient, hot box

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Authors: Hari Krishna Ayyappa, Reenu Singh

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Rising population and restricted land for development has led towards the growth of vertical buildings and small complexes. It provides many possibilities to change the shape and size of internal space in addition to the social impacts on the commercial spaces. With the increased volatility of necessities of people, the need for mental and physical comfort has continuously increased. . Living in a small space musts minimalist and space- saving cabinetwork results to sustain mortal good. This paper attempts to explore the Influence of Using Minimalist Furniture on the Efficiency of the commercial Space interiors by means of the variable resulting from preceding studies based on literature. A literature review was conducted on research articles to understand the contributing variables in a well designed small commercial spaces. A questionnaire survey was conducted to understand the layout of small commercial spaces with respect to Environmental impact, material, Design elements, Modern approach, Layered lightings, and colours. The problem of small spaces can be resolved by some ways; it's still needed for cabinetwork to develop to be more innovative to accommodate small living spaces. Since cabinetwork is a necessity and not luxury, everybody is in need of it. The spatial factors affecting overall satisfaction at a detailed position were bandied. The variable helped in proposing design ideation and mock ups to explore improved interiors. This paper concludes that most of the principles of the minimalist approach have been overlooked at, which had an impact on the space efficiency in commercial spaces like storage rooms, office area, retail stores, restaurants, and other spaces where business is conducted.

Keywords: materials, modern approach, space efficiency, tall commercial buildings

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Authors: A. Nurgiartiningsih, G. Ciptadi, S. B. Siswijono

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This research was done to identify the performance and breeding potency of Local Buffalo in Kangean Island, Sumenep, East Java, Indonesia. Materials used were buffalo and farmer in Kangean Island. Method used was survey with purposive sampling method. Qualitative trait and existing breeding system including the type of production system were directly observed. Quantitative trait consisted of chest girth, body weight and wither height were measured and recorded. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance applying software GENSTAT 14. Results showed the purposes of buffalo breeding in Kangean Island were for production of calves, saving, religion tradition, and buffalo racing. The combination between grazing and cut and carry system were applied in Kangean Island. Forage, grass and agricultural waste product were available abundantly especially, during the wet season. Buffalo in Kangean Island was categorized as swamp buffalo with 48 chromosomes. Observation on qualitative trait indicated that there were three skin color types: gray (81.25%), red (10.42%) and white/albino (8.33%). Analysis on quantitative trait showed that there was no significant difference between male and female buffalo. The performance of male buffalo was 132.56 cm, 119.33 cm and 174.11 cm, for the mean of body length, whither height and chest girth, respectively. The performance of female buffalo were 129.8 cm, 114.0 cm and 166.2 cm, for mean of body length, wither height and chest girth (CG), respectively. The performance of local buffalo in Kangean Island was categorized well. Kangean Island could be promoted as center of buffalo breeding and conservation. For optimal improvement of population number and its genetics value, government policy in buffalo breeding program should be implemented.

Keywords: chromosome, qualitative trait, quantitative trait, swamp buffalo

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Authors: Piotr Kunecki, Magdalena Wdowin

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The fly ash produced as waste in the process of conventional coal combustion was utilized in the hybrid synthesis of zeolites X and A from Faujasite (FAU) and Linde Type A (LTA) frameworks, respectively. The applied synthesis method included modification together with the crystallization stage. The sorbent modification was performed by introducing metals into the zeolite structure in order to create an ability to form stable bonds with elemental mercury (Hg0). The use of waste in the form of fly ash as a source of silicon and aluminum, as well as the proposed method of zeolite synthesis, fits the circular economy idea. The effect of zeolite modification on Hg0 removal from a simulated gas stream was studied empirically using prototype installation designed to test the effectiveness of sorption by solid-state sorbents. Both derived zeolites X and A modified with silver nitrate revealed significant mercury uptake during a 150-minute sorption experiment. The amount of elemental mercury removed in the experiment ranged from 5.69 to 6.01 µg Hg0/1g of sorbent for zeolites X and from 4.47 to 4.86 µg Hg0/1g of sorbent for zeolites A. In order to confirm the effectiveness of the sorbents towards mercury bonding, the possible re-emission effect was tested as well. Derived zeolites X and A did not show mercury re-emission after the sorption process, which confirms the stable bonding of Hg0 in the structure of synthesized zeolites. The proposed hybrid synthesis method possesses the potential to be implemented for both fly ash utilization as well as the time and energy-saving production of aluminosilicate, porous materials with high Hg0 removal efficiency. This research was supported by National Science Centre, Poland, grant no 2021/41/N/ST5/03214.

Keywords: fly ash, synthetic zeolites, elemental mercury removal, sorption, simulated gas stream

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Authors: Qingqing Feng, S. Thomas Ng, Frank Xu

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Energy consumption in domestic sector has been increasing rapidly in China all along these years. Confronted with environmental challenges, the international society has made a concerted effort by setting the Paris Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the New Urban Agenda. Thus it’s very important for China to put forward reasonable countermeasures to boost building energy conservation which necessitates looking into the actuality of residential energy end-use profile and its influence factors. In this study, questionnaire surveys have been conducted in Zhuhai city in China, a typical city in hot summer warm winter climate zone. The data solicited mainly include the occupancy schedule, building’s information, residents’ information, household energy uses, the type, quantity and use patterns of appliances and occupants’ satisfaction. Over 200 valid samples have been collected through face-to-face interviews. Descriptive analysis, clustering analysis, correlation analysis and sensitivity analysis were then conducted on the dataset to understand the energy end-use profile. The findings identify: 1) several typical clusters of occupancy patterns and appliances utilization patterns; 2) the top three sensitive factors influencing energy consumption; 3) the correlations between satisfaction and energy consumption. For China with many different climates zones, it’s difficult to find a silver bullet on energy conservation. The aim of this paper is to provide a theoretical basis for multi-stakeholders including policy makers, residents, and academic communities to formulate reasonable energy saving blueprints for hot and humid urban residential buildings in China.

Keywords: residential building, energy end-use profile, questionnaire survey, sustainability

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Authors: K. Nagaz, F. El Mokh, M. Masmoudi, N. Ben Mechlia, M. O. Baba Sy, G. Ghiglieri

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Field experiments on deficit irrigation (DI) were performed in Médenine, Tunisia on drip-irrigated olive, orange and grapevine orchards during 2013 and 2014. Four irrigation treatments were compared: full irrigation (FI), which was irrigated at 100% of ETc for the whole season; two deficit irrigation (DI) strategies -DI75 and DI50- which received, respectively, 25 and 50% less water than FI; and traditional farming management (FM) - with water input much less than actually needed. The traditional farming (FM) applied 11, 18, 30 and 33% less water than the FI treatment, respectively, in orange, grapevine and table and oil olive orchards, indicating that the farmers practices represent a form of unintended deficit irrigation. Yield was reduced when deficit irrigation was applied and there were significant differences between DI75, DI50 and FM treatments. Significant differences were not observed between DI50 and FM treatments even though numerically smaller yield was observed in the former (DI50) as compared to the latter (FM). The irrigation water productivity (IWP) was significantly affected by irrigation treatments. The smallest IWP was recorded under the FI treatment, while the largest IWP was obtained under the deficit irrigation treatment (DI50). The DI50 and FM treatments reduced the economic return compared to the full treatment (FI), while the DI75 treatment resulted in a better economic return in respect to DI50 and FM. Full irrigation (FI) could be recommended for olive, orange and grapevine irrigation under the arid climate of Tunisia. Nevertheless, the treatment DI75 can be applied as a strategy under water scarcity conditions in commercial olive, orange and grapevine orchards allowing water savings up to 25% but with some reduction in yield and net return. The results would be helpful in adopting deficit irrigation in ways that enhance net financial returns.

Keywords: water productivity, deficit irrigation, drip irrigation, orchards

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Authors: Ajibola Isola, Shattri Mansor, Ojogbane Sani, Olugbemi Tope

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The cadastral map is the rationale behind city management planning and development. For years, cadastral maps have been produced by ground and photogrammetry platforms. Recent evolution in photogrammetry and remote sensing sensors ignites the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle systems (UAVs) for cadastral mapping. Despite the time-saving and multi-dimensional cost-effectiveness of the UAV platform, issues related to cadastral map accuracy are a hindrance to the wide applicability of UAVs' cadastral mapping. This study aims to present an approach leading to the generation and assessing the credibility of UAV cadastral mapping. Different sets of Red, Green, and Blue (RGB) photos were obtained from the Tarot 680-hexacopter UAV platform flown over the Universiti Putra Malaysia campus sports complex at an altitude range of 70 m, 100 m, and 250. Before flying the UAV, twenty-eight ground control points were evenly established in the study area with a real-time kinematic differential global positioning system. The second phase of the study utilizes an image-matching algorithm for photos alignment wherein camera calibration parameters and ten of the established ground control points were used for estimating the inner, relative, and absolute orientations of the photos. The resulting orthoimages are exported to ArcGIS software for digitization. Visual, tabular, and graphical assessments of the resulting cadastral maps showed a different level of accuracy. The results of the study show a gradual approach for generating UAV cadastral mapping and that the cadastral map acquired at 70 m altitude produced better results.

Keywords: aerial mapping, orthomosaic, cadastral map, flying altitude, image processing

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Authors: Elena C. Tamaş, Grațiela M. Țârlea, Gianni Flamaropol, Dragoș Hera

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This article is referring to a comparative study regarding the electrical energy consumption for lighting on diverse types of big sizes commercial buildings built in Romania after 2007, having 3, 4, 5 versus 8, 9, 10 operational years. Some buildings have installed building management systems (BMS) to monitor also the lighting performances starting with the opening days till the present days but some have chosen only local meters to implement. Firstly, for each analyzed building, the total required energy power and the energy power consumption for lighting were calculated depending on the lamps number, the unit power and the average daily running hours. All objects and installations were chosen depending on the destination/location of the lighting (exterior parking or access, interior or covering parking, building interior and building perimeter). Secondly, to all lighting objects and installations, mechanical counters were installed, and to the ones linked to BMS there were installed the digital meters as well for a better monitoring. Some efficient solutions are proposed to improve the power consumption, for example the 1/3 lighting functioning for the covered and exterior parking lighting to those buildings if can be done. This type of lighting share can be performed on each level, especially on the night shifts. Another example is to use the dimmers to reduce the light level, depending on the executed work in the respective area, and a 30% power energy saving can be achieved. Using the right BMS to monitor, the energy consumption depending on the average operational daily hours and changing the non-performant unit lights with the ones having LED technology or economical ones might increase significantly the energy performances and reduce the energy consumption of the buildings.

Keywords: commercial buildings, energy performances, lightning consumption, maintenance

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Authors: Aubry Martin, Nehed Amara, Jeff Nyalosaso, Audrey Potdevin, FrançOis ReVeret, Michel Langlet, Genevieve Chadeyron

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Energy-saving lighting devices based on LightEmitting Diodes (LEDs) combine a semiconductor chip emitting in the ultraviolet or blue wavelength region to one or more phosphor(s) deposited in the form of coatings. The most common ones combine a blue LED with the yellow phosphor Y₃Al₅O₁₂:Ce³⁺ (YAG:Ce) and a red phosphor. Even if these devices are characterized by satisfying photometric parameters (Color Rendering Index, Color Temperature) and good luminous efficiencies, further improvements can be carried out to enhance light extraction efficiency (increase in phosphor forward emission). One of the possible strategies is to pattern the phosphor coatings. Here, we have worked on different ways to nanostructure the coating surface. On the one hand, we used the colloidal lithography combined with the Langmuir-Blodgett technique to directly pattern the surface of YAG:Tb³⁺ sol-gel derived coatings, YAG:Tb³⁺ being used as phosphor model. On the other hand, we achieved composite architectures combining YAG:Ce coatings and ZnO nanowires. Structural, morphological and optical properties of both systems have been studied and compared to flat YAG coatings. In both cases, nanostructuring brought a significative enhancement of photoluminescence properties under UV or blue radiations. In particular, angle-resolved photoluminescence measurements have shown that nanostructuring modifies photons path within the coatings, with a better extraction of the guided modes. These two strategies have the advantage of being versatile and applicable to any phosphor synthesizable by sol-gel technique. They then appear as promising ways to enhancement luminescence efficiencies of both phosphor coatings and the optical devices into which they are incorporated, such as LED-based lighting or safety devices.

Keywords: phosphor coatings, nanostructuring, light extraction, ZnO nanowires, colloidal lithography, LED devices

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Authors: U. V. Okpala

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Flood is an overflow of water that submerges or ‘drowns’ land. In developing countries it occurs as a result of blocking of natural and man-made drainages and poor maintenance of water dams/reservoirs which seldom give way after persistent heavy down pours. In coastal lowlands and swamp lands, flooding is aided mainly by blocked channels and indiscriminate sand fling of coastal swamp areas and natural drainage channel for urban development/constructions. In this paper, the causes of flood and possible scientific, technological, political, economic and social impacts of flood disaster on the environment a case study of Anambra State have been studied. Often times flooding is caused by climate change, especially in the developed economy where scientific mitigating options are highly employed. Researchers have identified Green Houses Gases (GHG) as the cause of global climate change. The recent flood disaster in Anambra State which caused physical damage to structures, social dislocation, contamination of clean drinking water, spread of water-borne diseases, shortage of crops and food supplies, death of non-tolerant tree species, disruption in transportation system, serious economic loss and psychological trauma is a function of climate change. There is need to encourage generation of renewable energy sources, use of less carbon intensive fuels and other energy efficient sources. Carbon capture/sequestration, proper management of our drainage systems and good maintenance of our dams are good option towards saving the environment.

Keywords: flooding, climate change, carbon capture, energy systems

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Authors: Martina I. Reinhold, Theresa Bacon-Baguley

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A core challenge of physician assistant education is preparing professionals for lifelong learning. While this conventionally has encompassed scientific advances, students must also embrace new care delivery models and technologies. Telemedicine, the provision of care via two-way audio and video, is an example of a technological advance reforming health care. During a three-semester sequence of Hospital Community Experiences, physician assistant students were assigned experiences with Answer Health on Demand, a telemedicine collaborative. Preceding the experiences, the agency lectured on the application of telemedicine. Students were then introduced to the technology and partnered with a provider. Prior to observing the patient-provider interaction, patient consent was obtained. Afterwards, students completed a reflection paper on lessons learned and the potential impact of telemedicine on their careers. Thematic analysis was completed on the students’ reflection papers (n=13). Preceding the lecture and experience, over 75% of students (10/13) were unaware of telemedicine. Several stated they were 'skeptical' about the effectiveness of 'impersonal' health care appointments. After the experience, all students remarked that telemedicine will play a large role in the future of healthcare and will provide benefits by improving access in rural areas, decreasing wait time, and saving cost. More importantly, 30% of students (4/13) commented that telemedicine is a technology they can see themselves using in their future practice. Initial results indicate that collaborative interaction between students and telemedicine providers enhanced student learning and exposed students to technological advances in the delivery of care. Further, results indicate that students perceived telemedicine more favorably as a viable delivery method after the experience.

Keywords: collaboration, physician assistant education, teaching innovative health care delivery method, telemedicine

Procedia PDF Downloads 173