Search results for: waste utilization

Authors: Innocent Atuhe, Babra Nalwadda, Grace Mulyowa Kitunzi, Annabella Haninka Ejiri

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Background: Atopic Dermatitis (AD) is one of the most prevalent and growing chronic inflammatory skin diseases in African prisons. AD care is limited in African due to lack of information about the disease amongst primary care workers, limited access to dermatologists, lack of proper training of healthcare workers, and shortage of appropriate treatments. We designed and implemented the Prisons Telederma project based on the recommendations of the International Society of Atopic Dermatitis. Our overall goal was to increase access to dermatologist-led care for prisoners with AD through teledermatology in Uganda. We aimed to; i) to increase awareness and understanding of teledermatology among prison health workers; and ii) to improve treatment outcomes of prisoners with atopic dermatitis through increased access to and utilization of consultant dermatologists through teledermatology in Uganda prisons: Approach: We used Store-and-forward Teledermatology (SAF-TD) to increase access to dermatologist-led care for prisoners and prisons staff with AD. We conducted a five days training for prison health workers using an adapted WHO training guide on recognizing neglected tropical diseases through changes on the skin together with an adapted American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Childhood AD Basic Dermatology Curriculum designed to help trainees develop a clinical approach to the evaluation and initial management of patients with AD. This training was followed by blended e-learning, webinars facilitated by consultant Dermatologists with local knowledge of medication and local practices, apps adjusted for pigmented skin, WhatsApp group discussions, and sharing pigmented skin AD pictures and treatment via zoom meetings. We hired a team of Ugandan Senior Consultant dermatologists to draft an iconographic atlas of the main dermatoses in pigmented African skin and shared this atlas with prison health staff for use as a job aid. We had planned to use MySkinSelfie mobile phone application to take and share skin pictures of prisoners with AD with Consultant Dermatologists, who would review the pictures and prescribe appropriate treatment. Unfortunately, the National Health Service withdrew the app from the market due to technical issues. We monitored and evaluated treatment outcomes using the Patient Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM) tool. We held four advocacy meetings to persuade relevant stakeholders to increase supplies and availability of first-line AD treatments such as emollients in prison health facilities. Results: Draft iconographic atlas of the main dermatoses in pigmented African skin Increased proportion of prison health staff with adequate knowledge of AD and teledermatology from 20% to 80% Increased proportion of prisoners with AD reporting improvement in disease severity (POEM scores) from 25% to 35% in one year. Increased proportion of prisoners with AD seen by consultant dermatologist through teledermatology from 0% to 20% in one year. Increased the availability of AD recommended treatments in prisons health facilities from 5% to 10% in one year

Keywords: teledermatology, prisoners, reaching, un-reachable

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Authors: Aliya K. Salahova

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Scientific thinking, characterized by purposeful knowledge-seeking and the harmonization of theory and facts, holds a crucial role in preparing young minds for an increasingly complex and technologically advanced world. This abstract presents a research study aimed at fostering scientific thinking in early childhood, focusing on children aged 5 to 9 years, through experiential learning in Kids Science Labs (STEM). The study utilized a longitudinal exploration design, spanning 240 weeks from September 2018 to April 2023, to evaluate the effectiveness of the Kids Science Labs program in developing scientific thinking skills. Participants in the research comprised 72 children drawn from local schools and community organizations. Through a formative psychology-pedagogical experiment, the experimental group engaged in weekly STEM activities carefully designed to stimulate scientific thinking, while the control group participated in daily art classes for comparison. To assess the scientific thinking abilities of the participants, a registration table with evaluation criteria was developed. This table included indicators such as depth of questioning, resource utilization in research, logical reasoning in hypotheses, procedural accuracy in experiments, and reflection on research processes. The data analysis revealed dynamic fluctuations in the number of children at different levels of scientific thinking proficiency. While the development was not uniform across all participants, a main leading factor emerged, indicating that the Kids Science Labs program and formative experiment exerted a positive impact on enhancing scientific thinking skills in children within this age range. The study's findings support the hypothesis that systematic implementation of STEM activities effectively promotes and nurtures scientific thinking in children aged 5-9 years. Enriching education with a specially planned STEM program, tailoring scientific activities to children's psychological development, and implementing well-planned diagnostic and corrective measures emerged as essential pedagogical conditions for enhancing scientific thinking abilities in this age group. The results highlight the significant and positive impact of the systematic-activity approach in developing scientific thinking, leading to notable progress and growth in children's scientific thinking abilities over time. These findings have promising implications for educators and researchers, emphasizing the importance of incorporating STEM activities into educational curricula to foster scientific thinking from an early age. This study contributes valuable insights to the field of science education and underscores the potential of STEM-based interventions in shaping the future scientific minds of young children.

Keywords: Scientific thinking, education, STEM, intervention, Psychology, Pedagogy, collaborative learning, longitudinal study

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Authors: Elena Chernyak, Ryan Ceresola

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Intimate partner violence is a serious social problem that affects a million women worldwide and impacts their health and wellbeing. Some risk factors for intimate partner violence against women (e.g., disobeying or arguing with a partner, women’s age, education, and employment) are similar in many countries, both developed and developing. However, one of the principal and most significant contributors to women’s vulnerability to violence perpetrated by their intimate partners is the witnessing of interparental aggression in the family of origin. Witnessing interparental violence may lead to acceptance of intimate partner violence as a normal way to resolve conflicts. Thus, utilization of violence becomes the behavioral model: men who witnessed the parental violence are more likely to employ physical violence against their female partners whereas women who observed their fathers beating their mothers learn to tolerate aggressive behavior and become victims of domestic violence themselves. Taking into consideration the importance of this subject matter, the association between witnessing intimate partner violence in family-of-origin and experience of intimate partner violence in adulthood requires further attention. The objective of this research is to analyze and compare the prevalence of intimate partner violence in ten developing countries in different regions, namely: Mali, Haiti, Jordan, Peru, the Philippines, Pakistan, Cambodia, Egypt, the Dominican Republic and Nigeria. Specifically, this research asks whether witnessing interparental violence in a family of origin is associated with the woman’s experience of intimate partner violence during adulthood and to what extent this factor varies among the countries under investigation. This study contributes to the literature on domestic violence against women, prevalence and experience of intimate partner violence against women in developing countries, and the risk factors, using recently collected, nationally representative population-based data from above-mentioned countries. The data used in this research are derived from the demographic and health surveys conducted in the ten mentioned above countries from 2013-2016. These surveys are cross-sectional, nationally representative surveys of ever-married or cohabitating women of reproductive age and the good source of high quality and comprehensive information about women, their children, partners, and households. To complete this analysis, multivariate logistic regression was run for each of the countries, and the results are presented with odds ratios, in order to highlight the effect of witnessing intimate partner violence controlling for other factors. The results of this study indicated that having witnessed partner violence in a family of origin significantly (by 50-500%) increases the likelihood of experiencing later abuse for respondents in all countries. This finding provides robust support for the intergenerational transmission of violence theory that explains the link between interparental aggression and intimate partner violence in subsequent relationships in adulthood as a result of a learned model of behavior observed in childhood. Furthermore, it was found that some of the control variables (e.g., education, number of children, and wealth) are associated with intimate partner violence in some countries under investigation while are not associated with male partner’s abusive behavior in some other, which may be explained by specific cultural and economic factors.

Keywords: intimate partner violence, domestic violence against women, developing countries, demographic and health surveys, risk factors

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Authors: Lucas Caldas, Pablo Paulse, Karla Hora

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Shipping containers are present in different Brazilian cities, firstly used for transportation purposes, but which become waste materials and an environmental burden in their end-of-life cycle. In the last decade, in Brazil, some buildings made partly or totally from shipping containers started to appear, most of them for commercial and office uses. Although the use of a reused container for buildings seems a sustainable solution, it is very important to measure the thermal and energy aspects when they are used as such. In this context, this study aims to evaluate the thermal and energy performance of an office building totally made from a 12-meter-long, High Cube 40’ shipping container in different Brazilian Bioclimatic Zones. Four different constructive solutions, mostly used in Brazil were chosen: (1) container without any covering; (2) with internally insulated drywall; (3) with external fiber cement boards; (4) with both drywall and fiber cement boards. For this, the DesignBuilder with EnergyPlus was used for the computational simulation in 8760 hours. The EnergyPlus Weather File (EPW) data of six Brazilian capital cities were considered: Curitiba, Sao Paulo, Brasilia, Campo Grande, Teresina and Rio de Janeiro. Air conditioning appliance (split) was adopted for the conditioned area and the cooling setpoint was fixed at 25°C. The coefficient of performance (CoP) of air conditioning equipment was set as 3.3. Three kinds of solar absorptances were verified: 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 of exterior layer. The building in Teresina presented the highest level of energy consumption, while the one in Curitiba presented the lowest, with a wide range of differences in results. The constructive option of external fiber cement and drywall presented the best results, although the differences were not significant compared to the solution using just drywall. The choice of absorptance showed a great impact in energy consumption, mainly compared to the case of containers without any covering and for use in the hottest cities: Teresina, Rio de Janeiro, and Campo Grande. This study brings as the main contribution the discussion of constructive aspects for design guidelines for more energy-efficient container buildings, considering local climate differences, and helps the dissemination of this cleaner constructive practice in the Brazilian building sector.

Keywords: bioclimatic zones, Brazil, shipping containers, thermal and energy performance

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Authors: Chandan Kundu, Sankar Bhattacharya

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A significant disadvantage of fossil fuel energy production is the considerable amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) released, which is one of the contributors to climate change. Apart from environmental concerns, changing fossil fuel prices have pushed society gradually towards renewable energy sources in recent years. Biomass is a plentiful and renewable resource and a source of carbon. Recent years have seen increased research interest in generating fuels and chemicals from biomass. Unlike fossil-based resources, biomass is composed of lignocellulosic material, which does not contribute to the increase in atmospheric CO₂ over a longer term. These considerations contribute to the current move of the chemical industry from non-renewable feedstock to renewable biomass. This presentation focuses on generating bio-oil and two major platform chemicals that can potentially improve the environment. Thermochemical processes such as pyrolysis are considered viable methods for producing bio-oil and biomass-based platform chemicals. Fluidized bed reactors, on the other hand, are known to boost bio-oil yields during pyrolysis due to their superior mixing and heat transfer features, as well as their scalability. This review and the associated experimental work are focused on the thermochemical conversion of biomass to bio-oil and two high-value platform chemicals, Levoglucosenone (LGO) and 5-Chloromethyl furfural (5-CMF), in a fluidized bed reactor. These two active molecules with distinct features can potentially be useful monomers in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries since they are well adapted to the manufacture of biologically active products. This process took several meticulous steps. To begin, the biomass was delignified using a peracetic acid pretreatment to remove lignin. Because of its complicated structure, biomass must be pretreated to remove the lignin, increasing access to the carbohydrate components and converting them to platform chemicals. The biomass was then characterized by Thermogravimetric analysis, Synchrotron-based THz spectroscopy, and in-situ DRIFTS in the laboratory. Based on the results, a continuous-feeding fluidized bed reactor system was constructed to generate platform chemicals from pretreated biomass using hydrogen chloride acid-gas as a catalyst. The procedure also yields biochar, which has a number of potential applications, including soil remediation, wastewater treatment, electrode production, and energy resource utilization. Consequently, this research also includes a preliminary experimental evaluation of the biochar's prospective applications. The biochar obtained was evaluated for its CO₂ and steam reactivity. The outline of the presentation will comprise the following: Biomass pretreatment for effective delignification Mechanistic study of the thermal and thermochemical conversion of biomass Thermochemical conversion of untreated and pretreated biomass in the presence of an acid catalyst to produce LGO and CMF A thermo-catalytic process for the production of LGO and 5-CMF in a continuously-fed fluidized bed reactor and efficient separation of chemicals Use of biochar generated from the platform chemicals production through gasification

Keywords: biomass, pretreatment, pyrolysis, levoglucosenone

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Authors: Ariadna Manresa, Ines Ferrer

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Introduction: Ultrasonic moulding process (USM) is a recent injection technology used to manufacture micro components. It is able to melt small amounts of material so the waste of material is certainly reduced comparing to microinjection molding. This is an important advantage when the materials are expensive like medical biopolymers. Micro-scaled components are involved in a variety of uses, such as biomedical applications. It is required replication fidelity so it is important to stabilize the process and minimize the variability of the responses. The aim of this research is to investigate the influence of the main process parameters on the filling behaviour, the dimensional accuracy and the cavity pressure when a micro-plate is manufactured by biomaterials such as PLA and PCL. Methodology or Experimental Procedure: The specimens are manufactured using a Sonorus 1G Ultrasound Micro Molding Machine. The used geometry is a rectangular micro-plate of 15x5mm and 1mm of thickness. The materials used for the investigation are PLA and PCL due to biocompatible and degradation properties. The experimentation is divided into two phases. Firstly, the influence of process parameters (vibration amplitude, sonotrodo velocity, ultrasound time and compaction force) on filling behavior is analysed, in Phase 1. Next, when filling cavity is assured, the influence of both cooling time and force compaction on the cavity pressure, part temperature and dimensional accuracy is instigated, which is done in Phase. Results and Discussion: Filling behavior depends on sonotrodo velocity and vibration amplitude. When the ultrasonic time is higher, more ultrasonic energy is applied and the polymer temperature increases. Depending on the cooling time, it is possible that when mold is opened, the micro-plate temperature is too warm. Consequently, the polymer relieve its stored internal energy (ultrasonic and thermal) expanding through the easier direction. This fact is reflected on dimensional accuracy, causing micro-plates thicker than the mold. It has also been observed the most important fact that affects cavity pressure is the compaction configuration during the manufacturing cycle. Conclusions: This research demonstrated the influence of process parameters on the final micro-plated manufactured. Future works will be focused in manufacturing other geometries and analysing the mechanical properties of the specimens.

Keywords: biomaterial, biopolymer, micro injection molding, ultrasound

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Authors: Carlos Herrera Sierralta, Husain M. Muslim, Meshal T. Alsaiari, Daniel Fischer

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Preventing piping fatigue flow induced vibration in the Oil & Gas sector demands not only the constant development of engineering design methodologies based on available software packages, but also special piping support technologies for designing safe and reliable piping systems. The vast majority of piping vibration problems in the Oil & Gas industry are provoked by the process flow characteristics which are basically intrinsically related to the fluid properties, the type of service and its different operational scenarios. In general, the corrective actions recommended for flow induced vibration in piping systems can be grouped in two major areas: those which affect the excitation mechanisms typically associated to process variables, and those which affect the response mechanism of the pipework per se, and the pipework associated steel support structure. Where possible the first option is to try to solve the flow induced problem from the excitation mechanism perspective. However, in producing facilities the approach of changing process parameters might not always be convenient as it could lead to reduction of production rates or it may require the shutdown of the system in order to perform the required piping modification. That impediment might lead to a second option, which is to modify the response of the piping system to excitation generated by the type of process flow. In principle, the action of shifting the natural frequency of the system well above the frequency inherent to the process always favours the elimination, or considerably reduces, the level of vibration experienced by the piping system. Tightening up the clearances at the supports (ideally zero gap), and adding new static supports at the system, are typical ways of increasing the natural frequency of the piping system. However, only stiffening the piping system may not be sufficient to resolve the vibration problem, and in some cases, it might not be feasible to implement it at all, as the available piping layout could create limitations on adding supports due to thermal expansion/contraction requirements. In these cases, utilization of viscous damper supports could be recommended as these devices can allow relatively large quasi-static movement of piping while providing sufficient capabilities of dissipating the vibration. Therefore, when correctly selected and installed, viscous damper supports can provide a significant effect on the response of the piping system over a wide range of frequencies. Viscous dampers cannot be used to support sustained, static loads. This paper shows over a real case example, a methodology which allows to determine the selection of the viscous damper supports via a dynamic analysis model. By implementing this methodology, it was possible to resolve the piping vibration problem throughout redesigning adequately the existing static piping supports and by adding new viscous dampers supports. This was conducted on-stream at the oil crude pipeline in question without the necessity of reducing the production of the plant. Concluding that the application of the methodology of this paper can be applied to solve similar cases in a straightforward manner.

Keywords: dynamic analysis, flow induced vibration, piping supports, turbulent flow, slug flow, viscous damper

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Authors: Kaushalendra Kumar, Abhishek Kumar, Chandra Moni, Sanjay Kumar, P. K. Singh, Ajeet Kumar

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Present study investigated the dietary inclusion of Moringa oleifera leaf meal (MOLM) on production efficiency, hemato-biochemical profile and economy of Vanaraja birds under tropical condition. Experiment was conducted for a period of 56 days on 300 Vanaraja birds randomly divided in to five different experimental groups including control of 60 birds each group replicated with 20 chicks in each replicate. T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5 were offered with 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20% Moringa oleifera leaf meal along with basal ration. All the standard managemental practices were followed during experimental period including vaccination schedule. Locally available Moringa oleifera leaves were harvested at mature stage and allowed to dry under shady and aerated conditions. Thereafter, dried leaves were milled to make a leaf meal and stored in the airtight nylon bags to avoid any possible contamination from foreign material and use for experiment. Production parameters were calculated based on the amount of feed consumed and weight gain every weeks. The body weight gain of T2 group was significantly (P < 0.05) higher side whereas T3 group was comparable with control. The feed conversion ratio for T2 group was found to be significantly (P < 0.05) lower than all other treatment groups, while none of the group was comparable with each other. At the end of the experiment blood samples were collected from birds for haematology study while serum biochemistry performed using spectrophotometer following statndard protocols. The haematological attributes were significantly (P > 0.05) not differed among the groups. However, serum biochemistry showed significant reduction (P < 0.05) of blood urea nitrogen, uric acid and creatinine level with higher level of MOLM diet, indicates better utilization of protein supplemented through MOLM. The total cholesterol and triglyceride level was declined significantly (P < 0.05) as compare to control group with increased level of MOLM in basal diet, decreasing trend of serum cholesterol noted. However, value of HDL for T3 group was highest and for T1 group was lowest but no significant difference (P < 0.05) found among the groups. It might be due to presence of β-sitosterol a bioactive compound present in MOLM which causes lowering of plasma concentration of LDL. During experiment total, LDL and VLDL level was found to be decreased significantly (P < 0.05) as compare to control group. It was observed that the production efficiency of birds significantly improved with 5% followed by 10% Moringa oleifera leaf meal among the treatment groups. However, the maximum profit per kg live weight was noted in 10 % level and least profit observed in 20% MOLM fed group. It was concluded that the dietary inclusion of MOLM improved overall performances without affecting metabolic status and effective in reducing cholesterol level reflects healthy chicken production for human consumption.

Keywords: hemato biochemistry, Moringa oleifera leaf meal, performance, Vanaraja birds

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Authors: Hsin-Yueh Chang, Pin-Chen Liao, Jo-Shu Chang, Chun-Yen Chen

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Biofuel has drawn much attention as a potential substitute to fossil fuels. However, biodiesel from waste oil, oil crops or other oil sources can only satisfy partial existing demands for transportation. Due to the feature of being clean, green and viable for mass production, using microalgae as a feedstock for biodiesel is regarded as a possible solution for a low-carbon and sustainable society. In particular, Thraustochytrium sp. BM2, an indigenous heterotrophic microalga, possesses the potential for metabolizing glycerol to produce lipids. Hence, it is being considered as a promising microalgae-based oil source for biodiesel production and other applications. This study was to optimize the culture pH, scale up, assess the feasibility of producing microalgal lipid from crude glycerol and apply operation strategies following optimal results from shake flask system in a 5L stirred-tank fermenter for further enhancing lipid productivities. Cultivation of Thraustochytrium sp. BM2 without pH control resulted in the highest lipid production of 3944 mg/L and biomass production of 4.85 g/L. Next, when initial glycerol and corn steep liquor (CSL) concentration increased five times (50 g and 62.5 g, respectively), the overall lipid productivity could reach 124 mg/L/h. However, when using crude glycerol as a sole carbon source, direct addition of crude glycerol could inhibit culture growth. Therefore, acid and metal salt pretreatment methods were utilized to purify the crude glycerol. Crude glycerol pretreated with acid and CaCl₂ had the greatest overall lipid productivity 131 mg/L/h when used as a carbon source and proved to be a better substitute for pure glycerol as carbon source in Thraustochytrium sp. BM2 cultivation medium. Engineering operation strategies such as fed-batch and semi-batch operation were applied in the cultivation of Thraustochytrium sp. BM2 for the improvement of lipid production. In cultivation of fed-batch operation strategy, harvested biomass 132.60 g and lipid 69.15 g were obtained. Also, lipid yield 0.20 g/g glycerol was same as in batch cultivation, although with poor overall lipid productivity 107 mg/L/h. In cultivation of semi-batch operation strategy, overall lipid productivity could reach 158 mg/L/h due to the shorter cultivation time. Harvested biomass and lipid achieved 232.62 g and 126.61 g respectively. Lipid yield was improved from 0.20 to 0.24 g/g glycerol. Besides, product costs of three kinds of operation strategies were also calculated. The lowest product cost 12.42 $NTD/g lipid was obtained while employing semi-batch operation strategy and reduced 33% in comparison with batch operation strategy.

Keywords: heterotrophic microalga Thrasutochytrium sp. BM2, microalgal lipid, crude glycerol, fermentation strategy, biodiesel

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Authors: Tejinder Singh Sidhu

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Hot corrosion has been recognized as a severe problem in steam-powered electricity generation plants and industrial waste incinerators as it consumes the material at an unpredictably rapid rate. Consequently, the load-carrying ability of the components reduces quickly, eventually leading to catastrophic failure. The inability to either totally prevent hot corrosion or at least detect it at an early stage has resulted in several accidents, leading to loss of life and/or destruction of infrastructures. A number of countermeasures are currently in use or under investigation to combat hot corrosion, such as using inhibitors, controlling the process parameters, designing a suitable industrial alloy, and depositing protective coatings. However, the protection system to be selected for a particular application must be practical, reliable, and economically viable. Due to the continuously rising cost of the materials as well as increased material requirements, the coating techniques have been given much more importance in recent times. Coatings can add value to products up to 10 times the cost of the coating. Among the different coating techniques, thermal spraying has grown into a well-accepted industrial technology for applying overlay coatings onto the surfaces of engineering components to allow them to function under extreme conditions of wear, erosion-corrosion, high-temperature oxidation, and hot corrosion. In this study, the hot corrosion performances of Ni-20Cr and Cr₃C₂-NiCr coatings developed by High Velocity Oxy-Fuel (HVOF) process have been studied. The coatings were developed on a Fe-based superalloy, and experiments were performed in an actual industrial environment of a coal-fired boiler. The cyclic study was carried out around the platen superheater zone where the temperature was around 1000°C. The study was conducted for 10 cycles, and one cycle was consisting of 100 hours of heating followed by 1 hour of cooling at ambient temperature. Both the coatings deposited on Fe-based superalloy imparted better hot corrosion resistance than the uncoated one. The Ni-20Cr coated superalloy performed better than the Cr₃C₂-NiCr coated in the actual working conditions of the coal fired boiler. It is found that the formation of chromium oxide at the boundaries of Ni-rich splats of the coating blocks the inward permeation of oxygen and other corrosive species to the substrate.

Keywords: hot corrosion, coating, HVOF, oxidation

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Authors: Bagnoud-Velásquez Mariluz, Damergi Eya, Grandjean Dominique, Frédéric Vogel, Ludwig Christian

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The sustainability of algae to biofuel processes is seriously affected by the energy intensive production of fertilizers. Large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus are required for a large-scale production resulting in many cases in a negative impact of the limited mineral resources. In order to meet the algal bioenergy opportunity it appears crucial the promotion of processes applying a nutrient recovery and/or making use of renewable sources including waste. Hydrothermal (HT) conversion is a promising and suitable technology for microalgae to generate biofuels. Besides the fact that water is used as a “green” reactant and solvent and that no biomass drying is required, the technology offers a great potential for nutrient recycling. This study evaluated the possibility to treat the water HT effluent by the growth of microalgae while producing renewable algal biomass. As already demonstrated in previous works by the authors, the HT aqueous product besides having N, P and other important nutrients, presents a small fraction of organic compounds rarely studied. Therefore, extracted heteroaromatic compounds in the HT effluent were the target of the present research; they were profiled using GC-MS and LC-MS-MS. The results indicate the presence of cyclic amides, piperazinediones, amines and their derivatives. The most prominent nitrogenous organic compounds (NOC’s) in the extracts were carefully examined by their effect on microalgae, namely 2-pyrrolidinone and β-phenylethylamine (β-PEA). These two substances were prepared at three different concentrations (10, 50 and 150 ppm). This toxicity bioassay used three different microalgae strains: Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Chlorella sorokiniana and Scenedesmus vacuolatus. The confirmed IC50 was for all cases ca. 75ppm. Experimental conditions were set up for the growth of microalgae in the aqueous phase by adjusting the nitrogen concentration (the key nutrient for algae) to fit that one established for a known commercial medium. The values of specific NOC’s were lowered at concentrations of 8.5 mg/L 2-pyrrolidinone; 1mg/L δ-valerolactam and 0.5 mg/L β-PEA. The growth with the diluted HT solution was kept constant with no inhibition evidence. An additional ongoing test is addressing the possibility to apply an integrated water cleanup step making use of the existent hydrothermal catalytic facility.

Keywords: hydrothermal process, microalgae, nitrogenous organic compounds, nutrient recovery, renewable biomass

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Authors: Aspasia Koutsokosta, Stefanos Katsavounis

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This paper reviews the model-based qualitative and quantitative Operations Management research in the context of Construction Supply Chain Management (CSCM). Construction industry has been traditionally blamed for low productivity, cost and time overruns, waste, high fragmentation and adversarial relationships. The construction industry has been slower than other industries to employ the Supply Chain Management (SCM) concept and develop models that support the decision-making and planning. However the last decade there is a distinct shift from a project-based to a supply-based approach of construction management. CSCM comes up as a new promising management tool of construction operations and improves the performance of construction projects in terms of cost, time and quality. Modeling the Construction Supply Chain (CSC) offers the means to reap the benefits of SCM, make informed decisions and gain competitive advantage. Different modeling approaches and methodologies have been applied in the multi-disciplinary and heterogeneous research field of CSCM. The literature review reveals that a considerable percentage of CSC modeling accommodates conceptual or process models which discuss general management frameworks and do not relate to acknowledged soft OR methods. We particularly focus on the model-based quantitative research and categorize the CSCM models depending on their scope, mathematical formulation, structure, objectives, solution approach, software used and decision level. Although over the last few years there has been clearly an increase of research papers on quantitative CSC models, we identify that the relevant literature is very fragmented with limited applications of simulation, mathematical programming and simulation-based optimization. Most applications are project-specific or study only parts of the supply system. Thus, some complex interdependencies within construction are neglected and the implementation of the integrated supply chain management is hindered. We conclude this paper by giving future research directions and emphasizing the need to develop robust mathematical optimization models for the CSC. We stress that CSC modeling needs a multi-dimensional, system-wide and long-term perspective. Finally, prior applications of SCM to other industries have to be taken into account in order to model CSCs, but not without the consequential reform of generic concepts to match the unique characteristics of the construction industry.

Keywords: construction supply chain management, modeling, operations research, optimization, simulation

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Authors: Sonia Butalia, Huong Luu, Alexis Guigue, Karen J. B. Martins, Khanh Vu, Scott W. Klarenbach

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Obesity-related health conditions impose a substantial economic burden on payers due to increased healthcare use. Estimates of healthcare resource use and costs associated with obesity-related comorbidities are needed to inform policies and interventions targeting these conditions. Methods: Adults living with obesity were identified (a procedure-related body mass index code for class 2/3 obesity between 2012 and 2019 in Alberta, Canada; excluding those with bariatric surgery), and outcomes were compared over 1-year (2019/2020) between those who had and did not have specific obesity-related comorbidities. The probability of using a healthcare service (based on the odds ratio of a zero [OR-zero] cost) was compared; 95% confidence intervals (CI) were reported. Logistic regression and a generalized linear model with log link and gamma distribution were used for total healthcare cost comparisons ($CDN); cost ratios and estimated cost differences (95% CI) were reported. Potential socio-demographic and clinical confounders were adjusted for, and incremental cost differences were representative of a referent case. Results: A total of 220,190 adults living with obesity were included; 44% had hypertension, 25% had osteoarthritis, 24% had type-2 diabetes, 17% had cardiovascular disease, 12% had insulin resistance, 9% had chronic back pain, and 4% of females had polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). The probability of hospitalization, ED visit, and ambulatory care was higher in those with a following obesity-related comorbidity versus those without: chronic back pain (hospitalization: 1.8-times [OR-zero: 0.57 [0.55/0.59]] / ED visit: 1.9-times [OR-zero: 0.54 [0.53/0.56]] / ambulatory care visit: 2.4-times [OR-zero: 0.41 [0.40/0.43]]), cardiovascular disease (2.7-times [OR-zero: 0.37 [0.36/0.38]] / 1.9-times [OR-zero: 0.52 [0.51/0.53]] / 2.8-times [OR-zero: 0.36 [0.35/0.36]]), osteoarthritis (2.0-times [OR-zero: 0.51 [0.50/0.53]] / 1.4-times [OR-zero: 0.74 [0.73/0.76]] / 2.5-times [OR-zero: 0.40 [0.40/0.41]]), type-2 diabetes (1.9-times [OR-zero: 0.54 [0.52/0.55]] / 1.4-times [OR-zero: 0.72 [0.70/0.73]] / 2.1-times [OR-zero: 0.47 [0.46/0.47]]), hypertension (1.8-times [OR-zero: 0.56 [0.54/0.57]] / 1.3-times [OR-zero: 0.79 [0.77/0.80]] / 2.2-times [OR-zero: 0.46 [0.45/0.47]]), PCOS (not significant / 1.2-times [OR-zero: 0.83 [0.79/0.88]] / not significant), and insulin resistance (1.1-times [OR-zero: 0.88 [0.84/0.91]] / 1.1-times [OR-zero: 0.92 [0.89/0.94]] / 1.8-times [OR-zero: 0.56 [0.54/0.57]]). After fully adjusting for potential confounders, the total healthcare cost ratio was higher in those with a following obesity-related comorbidity versus those without: chronic back pain (1.54-times [1.51/1.56]), cardiovascular disease (1.45-times [1.43/1.47]), osteoarthritis (1.36-times [1.35/1.38]), type-2 diabetes (1.30-times [1.28/1.31]), hypertension (1.27-times [1.26/1.28]), PCOS (1.08-times [1.05/1.11]), and insulin resistance (1.03-times [1.01/1.04]). Conclusions: Adults with obesity who have specific disease-related health conditions have a higher probability of healthcare use and incur greater costs than those without specific comorbidities; incremental costs are larger when other obesity-related health conditions are not adjusted for. In a specific referent case, hypertension was costliest (44% had this condition with an additional annual cost of $715 [$678/$753]). If these findings hold for the Canadian population, hypertension in persons with obesity represents an estimated additional annual healthcare cost of $2.5 billion among adults living with obesity (based on an adult obesity rate of 26%). Results of this study can inform decision making on investment in interventions that are effective in treating obesity and its complications.

Keywords: administrative data, healthcare cost, obesity-related comorbidities, real world evidence

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Authors: Md. Rashel Sheikh

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The shipbuilding industry in Bangladesh had become a fast-growing industry in recent years when it began to export newly built ships. The various activities of shipbuilding industries in their limited, confined spaces added occupational worker exposures to chemicals, dusts, and metal fumes. The aim of this literature search is to identify the potential sources of occupational health hazards in shipyards and to promote the regulation of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) for the workers. In shipyards, occupational workers are involved in various activities, such as the manufacture, repair, maintenance, dismantling of boats and ships, building small ocean-going vessels and ferries. The occupational workers in the shipbuilding industry suffer from a number of hazardous issues, such as asthma, dermatitis, hearing deficits, and musculoskeletal disorders. The use of modern technologies, such as underwater plasma welding, electron beam welding, and friction stir welding and laser cutting and welding, and appropriate PPE (i.e., long-sleeved shirt and long pants, shoes plus socks, safety masks, chemical resistant gloves, eyewear, face shield, and respirators) can help reduce the occupational exposure to environmental hazards created by different activities in the shipyards. However, most shipyards in Bangladesh use traditional methods, e.g., flame cutting and arc, that add hazardous waste and pollutants to the environment in and around the shipyard. The safety and security of occupational workers in the shipyard workplace are very important. It is the primary responsibility of employers to ensure the safety and security of occupational workers in the shipyards. Employers must use advanced technologies and supply adequate and appropriate PPE for the workers. There are a number of accidents and illnesses that happen daily in the shipyard industries in Bangladesh due to the negligence and lack of adequate technologies and appropriate PPE. In addition, there are no specific regulations and implementations available to use the PPE. It is essential to have PPE regulations and strict enforcement for the adoption of PPE in the shipbuilding industries in Bangladesh. Along with the adoption of PPE with regular health examinations, health education to the workers regarding occupational hazards and lifestyle diseases are also important and require reinforcement. Monitoring health and safety hazards in shipyards are essential to enhance worker protection, and ensure worker safety, and mitigate workplace injuries and illnesses.

Keywords: shipbuilding Industries, health education, occupational health hazards, personal protective equipment, shipyard workers, occupational workers, shipyards

Procedia PDF Downloads 138

Authors: Anil Saini, Jatinder Kumar Ratan

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Now a day, the key issue for the scientific community is to devise the innovative technologies for sustainable control of urban pollution. In urban cities, a large surface area of the masonry structures, buildings, and pavements is exposed to the open environment, which may be utilized for the control of air pollution, if it is built from the photocatalytically active cement-based constructional materials such as concrete, mortars, paints, and blocks, etc. The photocatalytically active cement is formulated by incorporating a photocatalyst in the cement matrix, and such cement is generally known as self-cleaning cement In the literature, self-cleaning cement has been synthesized by incorporating nanosized-TiO₂ (n-TiO₂) as a photocatalyst in the formulation of the cement. However, the utilization of n-TiO₂ for the formulation of self-cleaning cement has the drawbacks of nano-toxicity, higher cost, and agglomeration as far as the commercial production and applications are concerned. The use of microsized-TiO₂ (m-TiO₂) in place of n-TiO₂ for the commercial manufacture of self-cleaning cement could avoid the above-mentioned problems. However, m-TiO₂ is less photocatalytically active as compared to n- TiO₂ due to smaller surface area, higher band gap, and increased recombination rate. As such, the use of m-TiO₂ in the formulation of self-cleaning cement may lead to a reduction in photocatalytic activity, thus, reducing the self-cleaning, depolluting, and antimicrobial abilities of the resultant cement material. So improvement in the photoactivity of m-TiO₂ based self-cleaning cement is the key issue for its practical applications in the present scenario. The current work proposes the use of surface-fluorinated m-TiO₂ for the formulation of self-cleaning cement to enhance its photocatalytic activity. The calcined dolomite, a constructional material, has also been utilized as co-adsorbent along with the surface-fluorinated m-TiO₂ in the formulation of self-cleaning cement to enhance the photocatalytic performance. The surface-fluorinated m-TiO₂, calcined dolomite, and the formulated self-cleaning cement were characterized using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), BET (Brunauer–Emmett–Teller) surface area, and energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF). The self-cleaning property of the as-prepared self-cleaning cement was evaluated using the methylene blue (MB) test. The depolluting ability of the formulated self-cleaning cement was assessed through a continuous NOX removal test. The antimicrobial activity of the self-cleaning cement was appraised using the method of the zone of inhibition. The as-prepared self-cleaning cement obtained by uniform mixing of 87% clinker, 10% calcined dolomite, and 3% surface-fluorinated m-TiO₂ showed a remarkable self-cleaning property by providing 53.9% degradation of the coated MB dye. The self-cleaning cement also depicted a noteworthy depolluting ability by removing 5.5% of NOx from the air. The inactivation of B. subtiltis bacteria in the presence of light confirmed the significant antimicrobial property of the formulated self-cleaning cement. The self-cleaning, depolluting, and antimicrobial results are attributed to the synergetic effect of surface-fluorinated m-TiO₂ and calcined dolomite in the cement matrix. The present study opens an idea and route for further research for acile and economical formulation of self-cleaning cement.

Keywords: microsized-titanium dioxide (m-TiO₂), self-cleaning cement, photocatalysis, surface-fluorination

Procedia PDF Downloads 136

Authors: E. A. Krasikov

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As the service life of an operating nuclear power plant (NPP) increases, the potential misunderstanding of the degradation of aging components must receive more attention. Integrity assurance analysis contributes to the effective maintenance of adequate plant safety margins. In essence, the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) is the key structural component determining the NPP lifetime. Environmentally induced cracking in the stainless steel corrosion-preventing cladding of RPV’s has been recognized to be one of the technical problems in the maintenance and development of light-water reactors. Extensive cracking leading to failure of the cladding was found after 13000 net hours of operation in JPDR (Japan Power Demonstration Reactor). Some of the cracks have reached the base metal and further penetrated into the RPV in the form of localized corrosion. Failures of reactor internal components in both boiling water reactors and pressurized water reactors have increased after the accumulation of relatively high neutron fluences (5´1020 cm–2, E>0,5MeV). Therefore, in the case of cladding failure, the problem arises of hydrogen (as a corrosion product) embrittlement of irradiated RPV steel because of exposure to the coolant. At present when notable progress in plasma physics has been obtained practical energy utilization from fusion reactors (FR) is determined by the state of material science problems. The last includes not only the routine problems of nuclear engineering but also a number of entirely new problems connected with extreme conditions of materials operation – irradiation environment, hydrogenation, thermocycling, etc. Limiting data suggest that the combined effect of these factors is more severe than any one of them alone. To clarify the possible influence of the in-service synergistic phenomena on the FR structural materials properties we have studied hydrogen-irradiated steel interaction including alternating hydrogenation and heat treatment (annealing). Available information indicates that the life of the first wall could be expanded by means of periodic in-place annealing. The effects of neutron fluence and irradiation temperature on steel/hydrogen interactions (adsorption, desorption, diffusion, mechanical properties at different loading velocities, post-irradiation annealing) were studied. Experiments clearly reveal that the higher the neutron fluence and the lower the irradiation temperature, the more hydrogen-radiation defects occur, with corresponding effects on the steel mechanical properties. Hydrogen accumulation analyses and thermal desorption investigations were performed to prove the evidence of hydrogen trapping at irradiation defects. Extremely high susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement was observed with specimens which had been irradiated at relatively low temperature. However, the susceptibility decreases with increasing irradiation temperature. To evaluate methods for the RPV’s residual lifetime evaluation and prediction, more work should be done on the irradiated metal–hydrogen interaction in order to monitor more reliably the status of irradiated materials.

Keywords: hydrogen, radiation, stability, structural steel

Procedia PDF Downloads 229

Authors: Ferhati Ahmed, Fillali Ahmed, Oulhadj Younsi

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delimitation of the perimeters of protection in the catchment area of the city of Adrar, which are established around the sites for the collection of water intended for human consumption of drinking water, with the objective of ensuring the preservation and reducing the risks of point and accidental pollution of the resource (Continental Intercalar groundwater of the Northern Sahara of Algeria). This wellfield is located in the northeast of the city of Adrar, it covers an area of 132.56 km2 with 21 Drinking Water Supply wells (DWS), pumping a total flow of approximately 13 Hm3/year. The choice of this wellfield is based on the favorable hydrodynamic characteristics and their location in relation to the agglomeration. The vulnerability to pollution of this slick is very high because the slick is free and suffers from the absence of a protective layer. In recent years, several factors have been introduced around the field that can affect the quality of this precious resource, including the presence of a strong centre for domestic waste and agricultural and industrial activities. Thus, its sustainability requires the implementation of protection perimeters. The objective of this study is to set up three protection perimeters: immediate, close and remote. The application of the Wyssling method makes it possible to calculate the transfer time (t) of a drop of groundwater located at any point in the aquifer up to the abstraction and thus to define isochrones which in turn delimit each type of perimeter, 40 days for the nearer and 100 days for the farther away. Special restrictions are imposed for all activities depending on the distance of the catchment. The application of this method to the Adrar city catchment field showed that the close and remote protection perimeters successively occupy areas of 51.14 km2 and 92.9 km2. Perimeters are delimited by geolocated markers, 40 and 46 markers successively. These results show that the areas defined as "near protection perimeter" are free from activities likely to present a risk to the quality of the water used. On the other hand, on the areas defined as "remote protection perimeter," there is some agricultural and industrial activities that may present an imminent risk. A rigorous control of these activities and the restriction of the type of products applied in industrial and agricultural is imperative.

Keywords: continental intercalaire, drinking water supply, groundwater, perimeter of protection, wyssling method

Procedia PDF Downloads 73

Authors: Jithin S. Kumar, Ramesh Kannan Kandasami

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Geomaterials are generally porous in nature due to the presence of discrete particles and interconnected voids. The porosity present in these geomaterials play a critical role in many engineering applications such as CO2 sequestration, well bore strengthening, enhanced oil and hydrocarbon recovery, hydraulic fracturing, and subsurface waste storage. These applications involves solid-fluid interactions, which govern the changes in the porosity which in turn affect the permeability and stiffness of the medium. Injecting fluid into the geomaterials results in permeation which exhibits small or negligible deformation of the soil skeleton followed by cavity expansion/ fingering/ fracturing (different forms of instabilities) due to the large deformation especially when the flow rate is greater than the ability of the medium to permeate the fluid. The complexity of this problem increases as the geomaterial behaves like a solid and fluid under certain conditions. Thus it is important to understand this multiphysics problem where in addition to the permeation, the elastic-plastic deformation of the soil skeleton plays a vital role during fluid injection. The phenomenon of permeation and cavity expansion in porous medium has been studied independently through extensive experimental and analytical/ numerical models. The analytical models generally use Darcy's/ diffusion equations to capture the fluid flow during permeation while elastic-plastic (Mohr-Coulomb and Modified Cam-Clay) models were used to predict the solid deformations. Hitherto, the research generally focused on modelling cavity expansion without considering the effect of injected fluid coming into the medium. Very few studies have considered the effect of injected fluid on the deformation of soil skeleton. However, the porosity changes during the fluid injection and coupled elastic-plastic deformation are not clearly understood. In this study, the phenomenon of permeation and instabilities such as cavity and finger/ fracture formation will be quantified extensively by performing experiments using a novel experimental setup in addition to utilizing image processing techniques. This experimental study will describe the fluid flow and soil deformation characteristics under different boundary conditions. Further, a well refined coupled semi-analytical model will be developed to capture the physics involved in quantifying the deformation behaviour of geomaterial during fluid injection.

Keywords: solid-fluid interaction, permeation, poroelasticity, plasticity, continuum model

Procedia PDF Downloads 42

Authors: N. C. Shahi, Anupama Singh, E. Kate

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Drying is practiced to enhance the storage life, to minimize losses during storage, and to reduce transportation costs of agricultural products. Drying processes range from open sun drying to industrial drying. In most of the developing countries, use of fossil fuels for drying of agricultural products has not been practically feasible due to unaffordable costs to majority of the farmers. On the other hand, traditional open sun drying practiced on a large scale in the rural areas of the developing countries suffers from high product losses due to inadequate drying, fungal growth, encroachment of insects, birds and rodents, etc. To overcome these problems a middle technology dryer having low cost need to be developed for farmers. In case of mechanical dryers, the heated air is the main driving force for removal of moisture. The air is heated either electrically or by burning wood, coal, natural gas etc. using heaters. But, all these common sources have finite supplies. The lifetime is estimated to range from 15 years for a natural gas to nearly 250 years for coal. So, mankind must turn towards its safe and reliable utilization and may have undesirable side effects. The mechanical drying involves higher cost of drying and open sun drying deteriorates the quality. The solar tunnel dryer is one of promising option for drying various agricultural and agro-industrial products on large scale. The advantage of Solar tunnel dryer is its relatively cheaper cost of construction and operation. Although many solar dryers have been developed, still there is a scope of modification in them. Therefore, an attempt was made to develop Solar tunnel dryer and test its performance using highly perishable commodity i.e. leafy vegetables (spinach). The effect of air velocity, loading density and shade net on performance parameters namely, collector efficiency, drying efficiency, overall efficiency of dryer and specific heat energy consumption were also studied. Thus, the need for an intermediate level technology was realized and an effort was made to develop a small scale Solar Tunnel Dryer . A dryer consisted of base frame, semi cylindrical drying chamber, solar collector and absorber, air distribution system with chimney and auxiliary heating system, and wheels for its mobility were the main functional components. Drying of fenugreek was carried out to analyze the performance of the dryer. The Solar Tunnel Dryer temperature was maintained using the auxiliary heating system. The ambient temperature was in the range of 12-33oC. The relative humidity was found inside and outside the Solar Tunnel Dryer in the range of 21-75% and 35-79%, respectively. The solar radiation was recorded in the range of 350-780W/m2 during the experimental period. Studies revealed that total drying time was in range of 230 to 420 min. The drying time in Solar Tunnel Dryer was considerably reduced by 67% as compared to sun drying. The collector efficiency, drying efficiency, overall efficiency and specific heat consumption were determined and were found to be in the range of 50.06- 38.71%, 15.53-24.72%, 4.25 to 13.34% and 1897.54-3241.36 kJ/kg, respectively.

Keywords: overall efficiency, solar tunnel dryer, specific heat consumption, sun drying

Procedia PDF Downloads 290

Authors: D. Olszewska, J. Niewiedzial

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In some types of Li-ion batteries carbon in the form of graphite is used. Unfortunately, carbon materials, in particular graphite, have very good electrochemical properties, but increase their volume during charge/discharge cycles, which may even lead to an explosion of the cell. The cell element may be replaced by a composite material consisting of lithium-titanium oxide Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) modified with copper and nickel ions and carbon derived from sucrose. This way you can improve the conductivity of the material. LTO is appropriate only for applications which do not require high energy density because of its high operating voltage (ca. 1.5 V vs. Li/Li+). Specific capacity of Li4Ti5O12 is high enough for utilization in Li-ion batteries (theoretical capacity 175 mAh·g-1) but it is lower than capacity of graphite anodes. Materials based on Li4Ti5O12 do not change their volume during charging/discharging cycles, however, LTO has low conductivity. Another positive aspect of the use of sucrose in the carbon composite material is to eliminate the addition of carbon black from the anode of the battery. Therefore, the proposed materials contribute significantly to environmental protection and safety of selected lithium cells. New anode materials in order to obtain Li3.8Cu0.1Ni0.1Ti5O12 have been prepared by solid state synthesis using three-way: i) stoichiometric composition of Li2CO3, TiO2, CuO, NiO (A- Li3.8Cu0.1Ni0.1Ti5O12); ii) stoichiometric composition of Li2CO3, TiO2, Cu(NO3)2, Ni(NO3)2 (B-Li3.8Cu0.1Ni0.1Ti5O12); and iii) stoichiometric composition of Li2CO3, TiO2, CuO, NiO calcined with 10% of saccharose (Li3.8Cu0.1Ni0.1Ti5O12-C). Structure of materials was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The electrochemical properties were performed using appropriately prepared cell Li|Li+|Li3.8Cu0.1Ni0.1Ti5O12 for cyclic voltammetry and discharge/charge measurements. The cells were periodically charged and discharged in the voltage range from 1.3 to 2.0 V applying constant charge/discharge current in order to determine the specific capacity of each electrode. Measurements at various values of the charge/discharge current (from C/10 to 5C) were carried out. Cyclic voltammetry investigation was carried out by applying to the cells a voltage linearly changing over time at a rate of 0.1 mV·s-1 (in the range from 2.0 to 1.3 V and from 1.3 to 2.0 V). The XRD method analyzes show that composite powders were obtained containing, in addition to the main phase, 4.78% and 4% TiO2 in A-Li3.8Cu0.1Ni0.1O12 and B-Li3.8Cu0.1Ni0.1O12, respectively. However, Li3.8Cu0.1Ni0.1O12-C material is three-phase: 63.84% of the main phase, 17.49 TiO2 and 18.67 Li2TiO3. Voltammograms of electrodes containing materials A-Li3.8Cu0.1Ni0.1O12 and B-Li3.8Cu0.1Ni0.1O12 are correct and repeatable. Peak cathode occurs for both samples at a potential approx. 1.52±0.01 V relative to a lithium electrode, while the anodic peak at potential approx. 1.65±0.05 V relative to a lithium electrode. Voltammogram of Li3.8Cu0.1Ni0.1Ti5O12-C (especially for the first measurement cycle) is not correct. There are large variations in values of specific current, which are not characteristic for materials LTO. From the point of view of safety and environmentally friendly production of Li-ion cells eliminating soot and applying Li3.8Cu0.1Ni0.1Ti5O12-C as an active material of an anode in lithium-ion batteries seems to be a good alternative to currently used materials.

Keywords: anode, Li-ion batteries, Li₄O₅O₁₂, spinel

Procedia PDF Downloads 129

Authors: Nabiyeva Jamala

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We divide water into drinking, mineral, industrial, technical and thermal-energetic types according to its use and purpose. Drinking water must comply with sanitary requirements and norms according to organoleptic devices and physical and chemical properties. Mineral water - must comply with the norms due to some components having therapeutic properties. Industrial water must fulfill its normative requirements by being used in the industrial field. Technical water should be suitable for use in the field of agriculture, household, and irrigation, and the normative requirements should be met. Heat-energy water is used in the national economy, and it consists of thermal and energy water. Water is a filter-accumulator of all types of pollutants entering the environment. This is explained by the fact that it has the property of dissolving compounds of mineral and gaseous water and regular water circulation. Environmentally clean, pure, non-toxic water is vital for the normal life activity of humans, animals and other living beings. Chemical pollutants enter water basins mainly with wastewater from non-ferrous and ferrous metallurgy, oil, gas, chemical, stone, coal, pulp and paper and forest materials processing industries and make them unusable. Wastewater from the chemical, electric power, woodworking and machine-building industries plays a huge role in the pollution of water sources. Chlorine compounds, phenols, and chloride-containing substances have a strong lethal-toxic effect on organisms when mixed with water. Heavy metals - lead, cadmium, mercury, nickel, copper, selenium, chromium, tin, etc. water mixed with ingredients cause poisoning in humans, animals and other living beings. Thus, the mixing of selenium with water causes liver diseases in people, the mixing of mercury with the nervous system, and the mixing of cadmium with kidney diseases. Pollution of the World's ocean waters and other water basins with oil and oil products is one of the most dangerous environmental problems facing humanity today. So, mixing even the smallest amount of oil and its products in drinking water gives it a bad, unpleasant smell. Mixing one ton of oil with water creates a special layer that covers the water surface in an area of 2.6 km2. As a result, the flood of light, photosynthesis and oxygen supply of water is getting weak and there is a great danger to the lives of living beings.

Keywords: chemical pollutants, wastewater, SSAM, polyacrylamide

Procedia PDF Downloads 41

Authors: Zuzana Sedrlova, Eva Slaninova, Ines Fritz, Christina Daffert, Stanislav Obruca

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Cyanobacteria are ecologically extremely important phototrophic gram-negative bacteria capable of oxygenic photosynthesis. They synthesize many interesting metabolites such as glycogen, carotenoids, but the most interesting metabolites are polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA). The main advantage of cyanobacteria is the fact they do not require costly organic substrate and, oppositely, cyanobacteria can fix CO₂. PHA serves primarily as a carbon and energy source and occurs in the form of intracellular granules in bacterial cells. It is possible, PHA helps cyanobacteria to survive stress conditions since increased PHA synthesis was observed during cultivation in stress conditions. PHA is microbial biopolymers that are biodegradable with similar properties as petrochemical synthetic plastics. Production of PHA by heterotrophic bacteria is expensive; for price reduction waste materials as input, materials are used. Positively, cyanobacteria principally do not require organic carbon substrate since they are capable of CO₂ fixation. In this work, we demonstrated that stress conditions lead to the highest obtained yields of PHA in cyanobacterial cultures. Two cyanobacterial cultures from genera Synechocystis were used in this work. Cultivations were performed either in Erlenmayer flask or in tube multicultivator. Multiple stressors were applied on cyanobacterial cultures, and stressors include PHA precursors. PHA precursors are chemical substances and some of them do not occur naturally in the environment. Cultivation with the same PHA precursors in the same concentration led to a 1,6x higher amount of PHA when a multicultivator was used. The highest amount of PHA reached 25 % of PHA in dry cyanobacterial biomass. Both strains are capable of co-polymer synthesis in the presence of their structural precursor. The composition of co-polymer differs in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and Synechocystis salina CCALA 192. Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 cultivated with γ-butyrolakton accumulated co-polymer of 3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB) and 4-hydroxybutyrate (4HB) the composition of the copolymer was 56 % of 4HB and 44 % of 3HB. The total amount of PHA, as well as yield of biomass, was lower than in control due to the toxic properties of γ-butyrolakton. Funding: This study was partly funded by the project GA19- 19-29651L of the Czech Science Foundation (GACR) and partly funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), a project I 4082-B25. This work was supported by Brno, Ph.D. Talent – Funded by the Brno City Municipality.

Keywords: co-polymer, cyanobacteria, PHA, synechocystis

Procedia PDF Downloads 170

Authors: Gu Sihao

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The coordinated development of "ecology-production-life" in cities has been highly concerned by the country, and the transformation development and sustainable development of resource-based cities have become a hot research topic at present. As an important part of China's resource-based cities, coal resource-based cities have the characteristics of large number and wide distribution. However, due to the adjustment of national energy structure and the gradual exhaustion of urban coal resources, the development vitality of coal resource-based cities is gradually reduced. In many studies, the deterioration of ecological environment in coal resource-based cities has become the main problem restricting their urban transformation and sustainable development due to the "emphasis on economy and neglect of ecology". Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Central Government has been deepening territorial space planning and development. On the premise of optimizing territorial space development pattern, it has completed the demarcation of ecological protection red lines, carried out ecological zoning and ecosystem evaluation, which have become an important basis and scientific guarantee for ecological modernization and ecological civilization construction. Grasp the regional multiple ecosystem services is the precondition of the ecosystem management, and the relationship between the multiple ecosystem services study, ecosystem services cluster can identify the interactions between multiple ecosystem services, and on the basis of the characteristics of the clusters on regional ecological function zoning, to better Social-Ecological system management. Based on this cognition, this study optimizes the spatial function zoning of Gujiao, a coal resource-based city, in order to provide a new theoretical basis for its sustainable development. This study is based on the detailed analysis of characteristics and utilization of Gujiao city land space, using SOFM neural networks to identify local ecosystem service clusters, according to the cluster scope and function of ecological function zoning of space partition balance and coordination between different ecosystem services strength, establish a relationship between clusters and land use, and adjust the functions of territorial space within each zone. Then, according to the characteristics of coal resources city and national spatial function zoning characteristics, as the driving factors of land change, by cellular automata simulation program, such as simulation under different restoration strategy situation of urban future development trend, and provides relevant theories and technical methods for the "third-line" demarcations of Gujiao's territorial space planning, optimizes territorial space functions, and puts forward targeted strategies for the promotion of regional ecosystem services, providing theoretical support for the improvement of human well-being and sustainable development of resource-based cities.

Keywords: coal resource-based city, territorial spatial planning, ecosystem service cluster, gmop model, geosos-FLUS model, functional zoning optimization and upgrading

Procedia PDF Downloads 34

Authors: Abrehet Kahsay Mehari

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Aquatic plants provide the physical structure of wetlands and increase their habitat complexity and heterogeneity, and as such, have a profound influence on other biotas. In this study, we investigated how human disturbance activities influenced the species richness and community composition of aquatic plants in the wetlands of Lake Tana, Ethiopia. Twelve wetlands were selected: four lacustrine, four river mouths, and four riverine papyrus swamps. Data on aquatic plants, environmental variables, and human activities were collected during the dry and wet seasons of 2018. A linear mixed effect model and a distance-based Redundancy Analysis (db-RDA) were used to relate aquatic plant species richness and community composition, respectively, to human activities and environmental variables. A total of 113 aquatic plant species, belonging to 38 families, were identified across all wetlands during the dry and wet seasons. Emergent species had the maximum area covered at 73.45 % and attained the highest relative abundance, followed by amphibious and other forms. The mean taxonomic richness of aquatic plants was significantly lower in wetlands with high overall human disturbance scores compared to wetlands with low overall human disturbance scores. Moreover, taxonomic richness showed a negative correlation with livestock grazing, tree plantation, and sand mining. The community composition also varied across wetlands with varying levels of human disturbance and was primarily driven by turnover (i.e., replacement of species) rather than nestedness resultant(i.e., loss of species). Distance-based redundancy analysis revealed that livestock grazing, tree plantation, sand mining, waste dumping, and crop cultivation were significant predictors of variation in aquatic plant communities’ composition in the wetlands. Linear mixed effect models and distance-based redundancy analysis also revealed that water depth, turbidity, conductivity, pH, sediment depth, and temperature were important drivers of variations in aquatic plant species richness and community composition. Papyrus swamps had the highest species richness and supported different plant communities. Conservation efforts should therefore focus on these habitats and measures should be taken to restore the highly disturbed and species poor wetlands near the river mouths.

Keywords: species richness, community composition, aquatic plants, wetlands, Lake Tana, human disturbance activities

Procedia PDF Downloads 77

Authors: Pradip Kumar Das

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As the entire world continues its rapid move towards industrialization, it has seriously threatened mankind’s ability to maintain an ecological balance. Geographical and natural forces have a significant influence on the location of industries. Industrialization is the foundation stone of the development of any country, while the unplanned industrialization and discharge of waste by industries is the cause of environmental pollution. There is growing degree of awareness and concern globally among nations about environmental degradation or pollution. Environmental resources endowed by the gift of nature and not manmade are invaluable natural resources of a country like India. Any developmental activity is directly related to natural and environmental resources. Economic development without environmental considerations brings about environmental crises and damages the quality of life of present, as well as future generation. As corporate sectors in the global market, especially in India, are becoming anxious about environmental degradation, naturally more and more emphasis will be ascribed to how environment-friendly the outcomes are. Maintaining accounts of such environmental and natural resources in the country has become more urgent. Moreover, international awareness and acceptance of the importance of environmental issues has motivated the development of a branch of accounting called “Environmental Accounting”. Environmental accounting attempts to detect and focus the resources consumed and the costs rendered by an industrial unit to the environment. For the sustainable development of mankind, a healthy environment is indispensable. Gradually, therefore, in many countries including India, environment matters are being given top most priority. Accounting and disclosure of environmental matters have been increasingly manifesting as an important dimension of corporate accounting and reporting practices. But, as conventional accounting deals with mainly non-living things, the formulation of valuation, and measurement and accounting techniques for incorporating environment-related matters in the corporate financial statement sometimes creates problems for the accountant. In the light of this situation, the conceptual analysis of the study is concerned with the rationale of environmental accounting on the economy and society as a whole, and focuses the failures of the traditional accounting system. A modest attempt has been made to throw light on the environmental awareness in developing nations like India and discuss the problems associated with the implementation of environmental accounting. The conceptual study also reflects that despite different anomalies, environmental accounting is becoming an increasing important aspect of the accounting agenda within the corporate sector in India. Lastly, a conclusion, along with recommendations, has been given to overcome the situation.

Keywords: environmental accounting, environmental degradation, environmental management, environmental resources

Procedia PDF Downloads 314

Authors: Erickson Bernardo, Caridad Pineda

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The project Adolescent Reproductive Health Information and Services (ARHIS) is a nine-month pilot project which intends to bridge the existing gap between reproductive health information and services, particularly with regard to family planning and HIV, among adolescent boys and girls aged 10-19 years in the 2nd Congressional District of Quezon City, in the Philippines. It aims to increase adolescents' and young people's awareness about their reproductive health concerns and at the same time make a wide range of reproductive health (RH) services accessible and available to them. A number of methodologies were utilized in the implementation of the project. At the onset, a baseline survey was conducted by community mobilizers to gather a situational analysis of adolescents' and young people's issues and concerns. The results of this survey were then presented in a multi-stakeholders' meeting to gather community support and foster their involvement. Further, interactive learning sessions (ILS) on a variety of reproductive health topics, among young people, parents and community leaders based on the results of the baseline survey was conducted. With regard to reproductive health service provision, both facility-based delivery and conduct of outreach activities were employed. In the span of nine months, the project was able to yield the following results: • A total of 521 adolescents and youth (AY) were reached by ILS on puberty, responsible relationships, teenage pregnancy, family planning, as well as HIV & AIDS. • A total of 218 parents and community leaders were informed of AY RH-related issues and concerns. • More than 350 AYs availed of a wide range of FP services including pills – both combined oral and progestin-only, and progestin-only injectables and implants. • More than 380 AYs availed of condoms as means of STI and HIV prevention. A noble initiative of the project is the utilization of a "condom distributor", a youth leader who has been educated about STI and HIV prevention as well as correct condom use, as the focal point for condom access in the community. • A total of 25 young people, parents, and community leaders were identified as ARHIS champions who have been instrumental in the achievement of project deliverables through their dedication and commitment to support the project. The concept of adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) remains to be a major challenge in the Philippine context. This is due to the fact that majority of Filipinos are still not keen on discussing issues and concerns related to ASRH, albeit the alarming number of teenage pregnancies and the rapid increase of HIV cases among 15- 24 year olds. In addition, Republic Act 10354 or the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012, requires minor adolescents to present a written parental consent prior to accessing RH services. However, with the involvement and support of parents and key community stakeholders, these barriers may be addressed. The project has demonstrated how adolescents and young people yearn for reproductive health information and services.

Keywords: adolescent sexual reproductive health, barriers to access, reproductive health information and services, teenage pregnancies

Procedia PDF Downloads 150

Authors: Kali Prasad Sarma

Abstract:

Indiscriminate disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) in open dumping site is a common scenario in developing countries like India which poses a risk to the environment as well as human health. The objective of the present investigation was to find out the concentration of heavy metals (Pb, Cr, Ni, Mn, Zn, Cu, and Cd) and other physicochemical parameters of leachate and soil collected from an open dumping site of Tezpur town, Assam, India and its associated potential ecological risk. Tezpur is an urban agglomeration coming under the category of Class I UAs/Towns with a population of 105,377 as per data released by Government of India for Census 2011. Impact of the leachate on the groundwater was also addressed in our study. The concentrations of heavy metals were determined using ICP-OES. Energy dispersive X-Ray (SEM-EDS) microanalysis was also conducted to see the presence of the studied metals in the soil. X-Ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were also used to identify dominant minerals present in the soil samples. The trend of measured heavy metals in the soil samples was found in the following order: Mn > Pb > Cu > Zn > Cr > Ni > Cd. The assessment of heavy metal contamination in the soil was carried out by calculating enrichment factor (EF), geo-accumulation index (Igeo), contamination factor (Cfi), degree of contamination (Cd), pollution load index (PLI) and ecological risk factor (Eri). The study showed that the concentrations of Pb, Cu, and Cd were much higher than their respective average shale value and the EF of the soil samples depicted very severe enrichment for Pb, Cu, and Cd; moderate enrichment for Cr and Zn. Calculated Igeo values indicated that the soil is moderate to strongly contaminated with Pb and uncontaminated to moderately contaminated with Cd and Cu. The Cfi value for Pb indicates a very strong contamination level of the metal in the soil. The Cfi values for Cu and Cd were 2.37 and 1.65 respectively indicating moderate contamination level. To apportion the possible sources of heavy metal contamination in soil, principal components analysis (PCA) has been adopted. From the leachate, heavy metals are accumulated at the dumping site soil which could easily percolate through the soil and reach the groundwater. The possible relation of groundwater contamination due to leachate percolation was examined by analyzing the heavy metal concentrations in groundwater with respect to distance from the dumping site. The concentrations of Cd and Pb in groundwater (at a distance of 20m from dumping site) exceeded the permissible limit for drinking water as set by WHO. Occurrence of elevated concentration of potentially toxic heavy metals such as Pb and Cd in groundwater and soil are much environmental concern as it is detrimental to human health and ecosystem.

Keywords: groundwater, heavy metal contamination, leachate, open dumping site

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Authors: Mustaffa Kamal Bashar Mohd Fauzi, Puteri Shireen Jahn Kassim, Nurul Syala Abdul Latip

Abstract:

It is increasingly realized that sustainability includes both a response to the climatic and cultural context of a place. To assess the cultural context, a morphological analysis of urban patterns from heritage legacies is necessary. While the climatic form is derived from an analysis of meteorological data, cultural patterns and forms must be abstracted from a typological and morphological study. This current study aims to analyzes morphological and formal elements of water-based architectural and urban design of past Islamic vernacular complexes in the hot arid regions and how a vast utilization of water was shaped and sited to act as cooling devices for an entire complex. Apart from its pleasant coolness, water can be used in an aesthetically way such as emphasizing visual axes, vividly enhancing the visual of the surrounding environment and symbolically portraying the act of purity in the design. By comparing 2 case studies based on the analysis of interactions of water features into the form, planning and morphology of 2 Islamic heritage complexes, Fatehpur Sikri (India) and Lahore Fort (Pakistan) with a focus on Shish Mahal of Lahore Fort in terms of their mass, architecture and urban planning, it is agreeable that water plays an integral role in their climatic amelioration via different methods of water conveyance system. Both sites are known for their substantial historical values and prominent for their sustainable vernacular buildings for example; the courtyard of Shish Mahal in Lahore fort are designed to provide continuous coolness by constructing various miniatures water channels that run underneath the paved courtyard. One of the most remarkable features of this system that all water is made dregs-free before it was inducted into these underneath channels. In Fatehpur Sikri, the method of conveyance seems differed from Lahore Fort as the need to supply water to the ridge where Fatehpur Sikri situated is become the major challenges. Thus, the achievement of supplying water to the palatial complexes is solved by placing inhabitable water buildings within the two supply system for raising water. The process of raising the water can be either mechanical or laborious inside the enclosed well and water rising houses. The studies analyzes and abstract the water supply forms, patterns and flows in 3-dimensional shapes through the actions of evaporative cooling and wind-induced ventilation under arid climates. Through the abstraction analytical and descriptive relational morphology of the spatial configurations, the studies can suggest the idealized spatial system that can be used in urban design and complexes which later became a methodological and abstraction tool of sustainability to suit the modern contemporary world.

Keywords: heritage site, Islamic vernacular architecture, water features, morphology, urban design

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Authors: Imran Hanif, Amanda Persdotter, Sedigheh Bigdeli, Jesper Liske, Torbjorn Jonsson

Abstract:

Renewable fuels such as biomass/waste for power production is an attractive alternative to fossil fuels in order to achieve a CO₂ -neutral power generation. However, the combustion results in the release of corrosive species. This puts high demands on the corrosion resistance of the alloys used in the boiler. Stainless steels containing nickel and/or nickel containing coatings are regarded as suitable corrosion resistance material especially in the superheater regions. However, the corrosive environment in the boiler caused by the presence of water vapour and reactive alkali very rapidly breaks down the primary protection, i.e., the Cr-rich oxide scale formed on stainless steels. The lifetime of the components, therefore, relies on the properties of the oxide scale formed after breakaway, i.e., the secondary protection. The aim of the current study is to investigate the role of varying nickel content (0–82%) on the high-temperature corrosion of model alloys with 18% Cr (Fe in balance) in the laboratory mimicking industrial conditions at 600°C. The influence of nickel is investigated on both the primary protection and especially the secondary protection, i.e., the scale formed after breakaway, during the oxidation/corrosion process in the dry O₂ (primary protection) and more aggressive environment such as H₂O, K₂CO₃ and KCl (secondary protection). All investigated alloys experience a very rapid loss of the primary protection, i.e., the Cr-rich (Cr, Fe)₂O₃, and the formation of secondary protection in the aggressive environments. The microstructural investigation showed that secondary protection of all alloys has a very similar microstructure in all more aggressive environments consisting of an outward growing iron oxide and inward growing spinel-oxide (Fe, Cr, Ni)₃O₄. The oxidation kinetics revealed that it is possible to influence the protectiveness of the scale formed after breakaway (secondary protection) through the amount of nickel in the alloy. The difference in oxidation kinetics of the secondary protection is linked to the microstructure and chemical composition of the complex spinel-oxide. The detailed microstructural investigations were carried out using the extensive analytical techniques such as electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD), energy dispersive X-rays spectroscopy (EDS) via the scanning and transmission electron microscopy techniques and results are compared with the thermodynamic calculations using the Thermo-Calc software.

Keywords: breakaway corrosion, EBSD, high-temperature oxidation, SEM, TEM

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Authors: Raj Chavan

Abstract:

The City of Jal serves a population of approximately 3,500 people, including 2,100 permanent inhabitants and 1,400 oil and gas sector workers and RV park occupants. Over the past three years, Jal's population has increased by about 70 percent, mostly due to the oil and gas industry. The City anticipates that the population will exceed 4,200 by 2020, necessitating the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) because the old plant (aerated lagoon system) cannot accommodate such rapid population expansion without major renovations or replacement. Adhering to discharge permit restrictions has been challenging due to aging infrastructure and equipment replacement needs, as well as increasing nutrient loading to the wastewater collecting system from the additional oil and gas residents' recreational vehicles. The WWTP has not been able to maintain permit discharge standards for total nitrogen of less than 20 mg N/L and other characteristics in recent years. Based on discussions with the state's environmental department, it is likely that the future permit renewal would impose stricter conditions. Given its location in the dry, western part of the country, the City must rely on its meager groundwater supplies and scant annual precipitation. The city's groundwater supplies will be depleted sooner than predicted due to rising demand from the growing population for drinking, leisure, and other industrial uses (fracking). The sole type of reuse the city was engaging in (recreational reuse for a golf course) had to be put on hold because of an effluent water compliance issue. As of right now, all treated effluent is evaporated. The city's long-term goal is to become a zero-waste community that sends all of its treated wastewater effluent either to the golf course, Jal Lake, or the oil and gas industry for reuse. Hydraulic fracturing uses a lot of water, but if the oil and gas industry can use recycled water, it can reduce its impact on freshwater supplies. The City's goal of 100% reuse has been delayed by the difficulties of meeting the constraints of the regular discharge permit due to the large rise in influent loads and the aging infrastructure. The City of Jal plans to build a new WWTP that can keep up with the city's rapid population increase due to the oil and gas industry. Several treatment methods were considered in light of the City's needs and its long-term goals, but MBR was ultimately chosen recommended since it meets all of the permit's requirements while also providing 100 percent beneficial reuse. This talk will lay out the plan for the city to reach its goal of 100 percent reuse, as well as the various avenues for funding the small community that have been considered.

Keywords: membrane bioreactor, nitrogent, reuse, small community

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