Search results for: Multi walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)

Authors: Sudip Ghosh, Probir Kumar Ghosh, Paramita Bhattacharjee

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Supercritical carbon dioxide extracts of Cinnamomum tamala (bay) leaves obtained at 55°C, 512 bar was found to have appreciable nutraceutical properties and was successfully employed as value-added ingredients in preparation of tofu. The bay leaf formulated tofu sample was evaluated for physicochemical properties (pH, texture analysis and lipid peroxidation), proximate analysis, phytochemical properties (total phenol content, antioxidant properties and total reducing sugar), microbial load and sensory profile analysis for a storage period of ten days, vis-à-vis an experimental control sample. These assays established the superiority of the tofu sample formulated with supercritical carbon dioxide extract of bay leaf over the control sample. Bay leaf extract formulated tofu is a new green functional food with promising nutraceutical benefits. 

Keywords: Cinnamomum tamala, Physicochemical properties Phytochemical properties, Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction, Tofu.

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Authors: W. Handoko, F. Pahlevani, V. Sahajwalla

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Dual-phase high carbon steels (DHCS) are commonly known for their improved strength, hardness, and abrasive resistance properties due to co-presence of retained austenite and martensite at the same time. Retained austenite is a meta-stable phase at room temperature, and stability of this phase governs the response of DHCS at different conditions. This research paper studies the effect of RA stability on corrosion behaviour of high carbon steels after they have been immersed into 1.0 M NaCl solution for various times. For this purpose, two different steels with different RA stabilities have been investigated. The surface morphology of the samples before and after corrosion attack was observed by secondary electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), along with the weight loss and Vickers hardness analysis. Microstructural investigations proved the preferential attack to retained austenite phase during corrosion. Hence, increase in the stability of retained austenite in dual-phase steels led to decreasing the weight loss rate.

Keywords: High carbon steel, austenite stability, atomic force microscopy, corrosion.

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Authors: Adilah Shariff, Radin Hakim, Nurhayati Abdullah

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Utilisation of biomass feedstock for biochar has received increasing attention because of their potential for carbon sequestration and soil amendment. The aim of this study is to investigate the characteristics of rubber wood as a biomass feedstock for biochar via slow pyrolysis process. This was achieved by using proximate, ultimate, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) as well as heating value, pH and lignocellulosic determination. Rubber wood contains 4.13 mf wt.% moisture, 86.30 mf wt.% volatile matter, 0.60 mf wt.% ash content, and 13.10 mf wt.% fixed carbon. The ultimate analysis shows that rubber wood consists of 44.33 mf wt.% carbon, 6.26 mf wt.% hydrogen, 19.31 mf wt.% nitrogen, 0.31 mf wt.% sulphur, and 29.79 mf wt.% oxygen. The higher heating value of rubber wood is 22.5 MJ/kg, and its lower heating value is 21.2 MJ/kg. At 27 °C, the pH value of rubber wood is 6.83 which is acidic. The lignocellulosic analysis revealed that rubber wood composition consists of 2.63 mf wt.% lignin, 20.13 mf wt.% cellulose, and 65.04 mf wt.% hemicellulose. The volatile matter to fixed carbon ratio is 6.58. This led to a biochar yield of 25.14 wt.% at 500 °C. Rubber wood is an environmental friendly feedstock due to its low sulphur content. Rubber wood therefore is a suitable and a potential feedstock for biochar production via slow pyrolysis.

Keywords: Biochar, biomass, rubber wood, slow pyrolysis.

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Authors: Rodolfo Lorbieski, Silvia Modesto Nassar

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Many supervised machine learning tasks require decision making across numerous different classes. Multi-class classification has several applications, such as face recognition, text recognition and medical diagnostics. The objective of this article is to analyze an adapted method of Stacking in multi-class problems, which combines ensembles within the ensemble itself. For this purpose, a training similar to Stacking was used, but with three levels, where the final decision-maker (level 2) performs its training by combining outputs from the tree-based pair of meta-classifiers (level 1) from Bayesian families. These are in turn trained by pairs of base classifiers (level 0) of the same family. This strategy seeks to promote diversity among the ensembles forming the meta-classifier level 2. Three performance measures were used: (1) accuracy, (2) area under the ROC curve, and (3) time for three factors: (a) datasets, (b) experiments and (c) levels. To compare the factors, ANOVA three-way test was executed for each performance measure, considering 5 datasets by 25 experiments by 3 levels. A triple interaction between factors was observed only in time. The accuracy and area under the ROC curve presented similar results, showing a double interaction between level and experiment, as well as for the dataset factor. It was concluded that level 2 had an average performance above the other levels and that the proposed method is especially efficient for multi-class problems when compared to binary problems.

Keywords: Stacking, multi-layers, ensemble, multi-class.

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Authors: Ziad Abdallah, Mohamad Oueidat, Ali El-Zaart

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Image Multi-label Classification (IMC) assigns a label or a set of labels to an image. The big demand for image annotation and archiving in the web attracts the researchers to develop many algorithms for this application domain. The existing techniques for IMC have two drawbacks: The description of the elementary characteristics from the image and the correlation between labels are not taken into account. In this paper, we present an algorithm (MIML-HOGLPP), which simultaneously handles these limitations. The algorithm uses the histogram of gradients as feature descriptor. It applies the Label Priority Power-set as multi-label transformation to solve the problem of label correlation. The experiment shows that the results of MIML-HOGLPP are better in terms of some of the evaluation metrics comparing with the two existing techniques.

Keywords: Data mining, information retrieval system, multi-label, problem transformation, histogram of gradients.

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Authors: Andrus Pedai, Igor Astrov

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In modern telecommunications industry, demand & supply chain management (DSCM) needs reliable design and versatile tools to control the material flow. The objective for efficient DSCM is reducing inventory, lead times and related costs in order to assure reliable and on-time deliveries from manufacturing units towards customers. In this paper the multi-rate expert system based methodology for developing simulation tools that would enable optimal DSCM for multi region, high volume and high complexity manufacturing environment was proposed.

Keywords: Demand & supply chain management, expert systems, inventory control, multi-rate control, performance metrics.

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Authors: Arash Esmaeili, Zhibang Liu, Yang Xiang, Jimmy Yun, Lei Shao

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A high pressure carbon dioxide (CO₂) absorption from a specific gas in a conventional column has been evaluated by the Aspen HYSYS simulator using a wide range of single absorbents and blended solutions to estimate the outlet CO₂ concentration, absorption efficiency and CO₂ loading to choose the most proper solution in terms of CO₂ capture for environmental concerns. The property package (Acid Gas-Chemical Solvent) which is compatible with all applied solutions for the simulation in this study, estimates the properties based on an electrolyte non-random two-liquid (E-NRTL) model for electrolyte thermodynamics and Peng-Robinson equation of state for the vapor and liquid hydrocarbon phases. Among all the investigated single amines as well as blended solutions, piperazine (PZ) and the mixture of piperazine and monoethanolamine (MEA) have been found as the most effective absorbents respectively for CO₂ absorption with high reactivity based on the simulated operational conditions.

Keywords: Absorption, amine solutions, Aspen HYSYS, carbon dioxide, simulation.

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Authors: Hee Jae Shin, In Pyo Cha, Min Sang Lee, Hyun Kyung Yoon, Tae Ho Kim, Yoon Sun Lee, Lee Ku Kwac, Hong Gun Kim

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Non-destructive testing and evaluation techniques for assessing the integrity of composite structures are essential to both reduce manufacturing costs and out of service time of transport means due to maintenance. In this study, Analyze into non-destructive test characterization of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) internal and external defects using thermo-graphic camera and transient thermography method. non-destructive testing were characterized by defect size (Ø8, Ø10, Ø12, Ø14) and depth (1.2mm, 2.4mm).

Keywords: Non Destructive test (NDT), Thermal characteristic, Thermo graphic Camera, Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP).

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Authors: Truong Nguyen Luan Vu, Moonyong Lee

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The interactions between input/output variables are a very common phenomenon encountered in the design of multi-loop controllers for interacting multivariable processes, which can be a serious obstacle for achieving a good overall performance of multiloop control system. To overcome this impediment, the decomposed dynamic interaction analysis is proposed by decomposing the multiloop control system into a set of n independent SISO systems with the corresponding effective open-loop transfer function (EOTF) within the dynamic interactions embedded explicitly. For each EOTF, the reduced model is independently formulated by using the proposed reduction design strategy, and then the paired multi-loop proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller is derived quite simply and straightforwardly by using internal model control (IMC) theory. This design method can easily be implemented for various industrial processes because of its effectiveness. Several case studies are considered to demonstrate the superior of the proposed method.

Keywords: Multi-loop PID controller, internal model control(IMC), effective open-loop transfer function (EOTF)

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Authors: Siti Norul Huda Sheikh Abdullah, Farshid Pirahan Siah, Nor Hanisah Haji Zainal Abidin, Shahnorbanun Sahran

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The objective of this paper is to propose an adaptive multi threshold for image segmentation precisely in object detection. Due to the different types of license plates being used, the requirement of an automatic LPR is rather different for each country. The proposed technique is applied on Malaysian LPR application. It is based on Multi Layer Perceptron trained by back propagation. The proposed adaptive threshold is introduced to find the optimum threshold values. The technique relies on the peak value from the graph of the number object versus specific range of threshold values. The proposed approach has improved the overall performance compared to current optimal threshold techniques. Further improvement on this method is in progress to accommodate real time system specification.

Keywords: Multi-threshold approach, license plate recognition system.

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Authors: Reza Faghih Mirzaee, Mohammad Hossein Moaiyeri, Keivan Navi

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In this paper we present two novel 1-bit full adder cells in dynamic logic style. NP-CMOS (Zipper) and Multi-Output structures are used to design the adder blocks. Characteristic of dynamic logic leads to higher speeds than the other standard static full adder cells. Using HSpice and 0.18┬Ám CMOS technology exhibits a significant decrease in the cell delay which can result in a considerable reduction in the power-delay product (PDP). The PDP of Multi-Output design at 1.8v power supply is around 0.15 femto joule that is 5% lower than conventional dynamic full adder cell and at least 21% lower than other static full adders.

Keywords: Bridge Style, Dynamic Logic, Full Adder, HighSpeed, Multi Output, NP-CMOS, Zipper.

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Authors: Hsin-Hui Lin

Abstract:

With the proliferation of multi-channel retailing, developing a better understanding of the factors that affect customers- purchase behaviors within a multi-channel retail context has become an important topic for practitioners and academics. While many studies have investigated the various customer behaviors associated with brick-and-mortar retailing, online retailing, and brick-and-click retailing, little research has explored how customer shopping value perceptions influence online purchase behaviors within the TV-and-online retail environment. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of TV and online shopping values on online patronage intention. Data collected from 116 respondents in Taiwan are tested against the research model using the partial least squares (PLS) approach. The results indicate that utilitarian and hedonic TV shopping values have indirect, positive influences on online patronage intention through their online counterparts in the TV-and-online retail context. The findings of this study provide several important theoretical and practical implications for multi-channel retailing.

Keywords: Multi-channel retailing, utilitarian shopping value, hedonic shopping value, online purchase

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Authors: S. H. Lee, M. J. Park, O. M. Kwon

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In this paper, reliable consensus of multi-agent systems with sampled-data is investigated. By using a suitable Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional and some techniques such as Wirtinger Inequality, Schur Complement and Kronecker Product, the results of such system are obtained by solving a set of Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs). One numerical example is included to show the effectiveness of the proposed criteria.

Keywords: Multi-agent, Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs), Kronecker Product, Sampled-Data, Lyapunov method.

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Authors: Azmi Mohd Shariff, Ghulam Murshid, K.K. Lau, Mohammad Azmi Bustam, Faizan Ahamd

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Carbon dioxide is one of the major green house gases. It is removed from different streams using amine absorption process. Sterically hindered amines are suggested as good CO2 absorbers. Solubility of carbon dioxide (CO2) was measured in aqueous solutions of 2-Amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP) at temperatures 30 oC, 40 oC and 60 oC. The effect of pressure and temperature was studied over various concentrations of AMP. It has been found that pressure has positive effect on CO2 solubility where as solubility decreased with increasing temperature. Absorption performance of AMP increased with increasing pressure. Solubility of aqueous AMP was compared with mo-ethanolamine (MEA) and the absorption capacity of aqueous solutions of AMP was found to be better.

Keywords: Global warming, Carbon dioxide, Amine, Solubility

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Authors: Taekyoon Park, Seok Goo Lee, Sung Ho Kim, Ung Lee, Jong Min Lee, Chonghun Han

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CO₂ capture and storage/sequestration (CCS) is a key technology for addressing the global warming issue. This paper proposes an integrated model for the whole chain of CCS, from a power plant to a reservoir. The integrated model is further utilized to determine optimal operating conditions and study responses to various changes in input variables.

Keywords: CCS, Caron Dioxide, Carbon Capture and Storage, Simulation, Optimization.

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Authors: Justie Su-Tzu Juan, Ming-Jheng Li, Ching-Fen Lee, Ruei-Yu Wu

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A secret image sharing scheme is a way to protect images. The main idea is dispersing the secret image into numerous shadow images. A secret image sharing scheme can withstand the impersonal attack and achieve the highly practical property of multiuse  is more practical. Therefore, this paper proposes a verifiable and detectable secret image-sharing scheme called VDGMSISS to solve the impersonal attack and to achieve some properties such as encrypting multi-secret images at one time and multi-use. Moreover, our scheme can also be used for any genera access structure.

Keywords: Multi-secret images sharing scheme, verifiable, detectable, general access structure.

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Authors: K. Mondal, S. Talapatra, M. Terrones, S. Pokhrel, C. Frizzel, B. Sumpter, V. Meunier, A. L. Elias

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Worldwide energy independence is reliant on the ability to leverage locally available resources for fuel production. Recently, syngas produced through gasification of carbonaceous materials provided a gateway to a host of processes for the production of various chemicals including transportation fuels. The basis of the production of gasoline and diesel-like fuels is the Fischer Tropsch Synthesis (FTS) process: A catalyzed chemical reaction that converts a mixture of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H₂) into long chain hydrocarbons. Until now, it has been argued that only transition metal catalysts (usually Co or Fe) are active toward the CO hydrogenation and subsequent chain growth in the presence of hydrogen. In this paper, we demonstrate that carbon nanotube (CNT) surfaces are also capable of hydro-deoxygenating CO and producing long chain hydrocarbons similar to that obtained through the FTS but with orders of magnitude higher conversion efficiencies than the present state-of-the-art FTS catalysts. We have used advanced experimental tools such as XPS and microscopy techniques to characterize CNTs and identify C-O functional groups as the active sites for the enhanced catalytic activity. Furthermore, we have conducted quantum Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations to confirm that C-O groups (inherent on CNT surfaces) could indeed be catalytically active towards reduction of CO with H₂, and capable of sustaining chain growth. The DFT calculations have shown that the kinetically and thermodynamically feasible route for CO insertion and hydro-deoxygenation are different from that on transition metal catalysts. Experiments on a continuous flow tubular reactor with various nearly metal-free CNTs have been carried out and the products have been analyzed. CNTs functionalized by various methods were evaluated under different conditions. Reactor tests revealed that the hydrogen pre-treatment reduced the activity of the catalysts to negligible levels. Without the pretreatment, the activity for CO conversion as found to be 7 µmol CO/g CNT/s. The O-functionalized samples showed very activities greater than 85 µmol CO/g CNT/s with nearly 100% conversion. Analyses show that CO hydro-deoxygenation occurred at the C-O/O-H functional groups. It was found that while the products were similar to FT products, differences in selectivities were observed which, in turn, was a result of a different catalytic mechanism. These findings now open a new paradigm for CNT-based hydrogenation catalysts and constitute a defining point for obtaining clean, earth abundant, alternative fuels through the use of efficient and renewable catalyst.

Keywords: CNT, CO hydro-deoxygenation, DFT, liquid fuels, XPS, XTL.

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Authors: Zhouhong Li

Abstract:

In this paper, by applying Mawhin-s continuation theorem of coincidence degree theory, we study the existence of almost periodic solutions for neural multi-delay logarithmic population model and obtain one sufficient condition for the existence of positive almost periodic solution for the above equation. An example is employed to illustrate our result.

Keywords: Almost periodic solution, Multi-delay, Logarithmic population model, Coincidence degree.

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Authors: Tung-Sheng Zhan, Chih-Cheng Kao, Chin-Der Yang, Jong-Ian Tsai

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Fossil fuel-firing power plants dominate electric power generation in Taiwan, which are also the major contributor to Green House gases (GHG). CO2 is the most important greenhouse gas that cause global warming. This paper penetrates the relationship between carbon trading for GHG reduction and power generation expansion planning (GEP) problem for the electrical utility. The Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) Algorithm is presented to deal with the generation expansion planning strategy of the utility with independent power providers (IPPs). The utility has to take both the IPPs- participation and environment impact into account when a new generation unit is considering expanded from view of supply side.

Keywords: Carbon Trading, CO2 Emission, GenerationExpansion Planning (GEP), Green House gases (GHG), ParticleSwarm Optimization (PSO).

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Authors: C. Adam, G. Henri, T. Levent, J-B Mauro, A-L Mayet

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Energy Efficiency Management is the heart of a worldwide problem. The capability of a multi-agent system as a technology to manage the micro-grid operation has already been proved. This paper deals with the implementation of a decisional pattern applied to a multi-agent system which provides intelligence to a distributed local energy network considered at local consumer level. Development of multi-agent application involves agent specifications, analysis, design, and realization. Furthermore, it can be implemented by following several decisional patterns. The purpose of present article is to suggest a new approach for a decisional pattern involving a multi-agent system to control a distributed local energy network in a decentralized competitive system. The proposed solution is the result of a dichotomous approach based on environment observation. It uses an iterative process to solve automatic learning problems and converges monotonically very fast to system attracting operation point.

Keywords: Energy Efficiency Management, Distributed Smart- Grid, Multi-Agent System, Decisional Decentralized Competitive System.

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Authors: B. F. Dada, B. S. Ewulo, M. A. Awodun, S. O. Ajayi

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Aggregate soil carbon distribution and stock in the soil in the form of a carbon pool is important for soil fertility and sequestration. The amount of carbon pool and other nutrients statues of the soil are to benefit plants, animal and the environment in the long run. This study was carried out at Akure North and South Local Government; the study area is one of the 18 Local Government Areas of Ondo State in the Southwest geo-political zone of Nigeria. The sites were divided into Map Grids and geo-referenced with Global Positioning System (GPS). Horizons were designated and morphological description carried out on the field. Pedons were characterized and classified according to USDA soil taxonomy. The local government area shares boundaries with; Ikere Local Government (LG) in the North, Ise Orun LG in the northwest, Ifedore LG in the northeast Akure South LG in the East, Ose LG in the South East, and Owo LG in the South. SOC-pool at Federal College of Agriculture topsoil horizon A2 is significantly higher than all horizons, 67.83 th⁻¹. The chemical properties of the pedons have shown that the soil is very strongly acidic to neutral reaction (4.68 – 6.73). The nutrients status of the soil topsoil A1 and A2 generally indicates that the soils have a low potential for retaining plant nutrients, and therefore call for adequate soil management.

Keywords: Soil organic carbon, horizon, pedon, Akure.

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Authors: Kanittha Kanokkanjana, Savitri Garivait

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This study focuses on emission of black carbon (BC) from field open burning of corn residues. Real-time BC concentration was measured by Micro Aethalometer from field burning and simulated open burning in a chamber (SOC) experiments. The average concentration of BC was 1.18±0.47 mg/m3 in the field and 0.89±0.63 mg/m3 in the SOC. The deduced emission factor from field experiments was 0.50±0.20 gBC/kgdm, and 0.56±0.33 gBC/kgdm from SOC experiment, which are in good agreement with other studies. In 2007, the total burned area of corn crop was 8,000 ha, resulting in an emission load of BC 20 ton corresponding to 44.5 million kg CO2 equivalent. Therefore, the control of open burning in corn field represents a significant global warming reduction option.

Keywords: Black carbon, corn field residues, global warming, mitigation option

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Authors: W. K. Wong, Z. X. Guo, P.Y. Mok

Abstract:

This paper presents a multi-objective order allocation planning problem with the consideration of various real-world production features. A novel hybrid intelligent optimization model, integrating a multi-objective memetic optimization process, a Monte Carlo simulation technique and a heuristic pruning technique, is proposed to handle this problem. Experiments based on industrial data are conducted to validate the proposed model. Results show that (1) the proposed model can effectively solve the investigated problem by providing effective production decision-making solutions, which outperformsan NSGA-II-based optimization process and an industrial method.

Keywords: Multi-objective order allocation planning, Pareto optimization, Memetic algorithm, Mento Carlo simulation

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Authors: Renzo Carta, Mario Cruccu, Francesco Desogus

Abstract:

This work presents the experimental results obtained at a pilot plant which works with a slow, wet and catalytic pyrolysis process of dry fowl manure. This kind of process mainly consists in the cracking of the organic matrix and in the following reaction of carbon with water, which is either already contained in the organic feed or added, to produce carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Reactions are conducted in a rotating reactor maintained at a temperature of 500°C; the required amount of water is about 30% of the dry organic feed. This operation yields a gas containing about 59% (on a volume basis) of hydrogen, 17% of carbon monoxide and other products such as light hydrocarbons (methane, ethane, propane) and carbon monoxide in lesser amounts. The gas coming from the reactor can be used to produce not only electricity, through internal combustion engines, but also heat, through direct combustion in industrial boilers. Furthermore, as the produced gas is devoid of both solid particles and pollutant species (such as dioxins and furans), the process (in this case applied to fowl manure) can be considered as an optimal way for the disposal and the contemporary energetic valorization of organic materials, in such a way that is not damaging to the environment.

Keywords: Brushwood, fowl manure, kenaf, pilot plant, pyrolysis, pyrolysis gas.

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Authors: F. Ahwide, Y. Aldali

Abstract:

This article presents a current and future energy situation in Libya. The electric power efficiency and operating hours in power plants are evaluated from 2005 to 2010. Carbon dioxide emissions in most of power plants are estimated. In 2005, the efficiency of steam power plants achieved a range of 20% to 28%. While, the gas turbine power plants efficiency ranged between 9% and 25%, this can be considered as low efficiency. However, the efficiency improvement has clearly observed in some power plants from 2008 to 2010, especially in the power plant of North Benghazi and west Tripoli. In fact, these power plants have modified to combine cycle. The efficiency of North Benghazi power plant has increased from 25% to 46.6%, while in Tripoli it is increased from 22% to 34%. On the other hand, the efficiency improvement is not observed in the gas turbine power plants. When compared to the quantity of fuel used, the carbon dioxide emissions resulting from electricity generation plants were very high. Finally, an estimation of the energy demand has been done to the maximum load and the annual load factor (i.e., the ratio between the output power and installed power).

Keywords: Power plant, Efficiency improvement, Carbon dioxide Emissions.

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Authors: Ahmed Madian, Muaz Aljarhi

Abstract:

Coordinate Rotation Digital Computer (CORDIC) is a unique digital computing unit intended for the computation of mathematical operations and functions. This paper presents A multi CORDIC processor that integrates different CORDIC architectures on a single FPGA chip and allows the user to select the CORDIC architecture to proceed with based on what he wants to calculate and his needs. Synthesis show that radix 2 CORDIC has the lowest clock delay, radix 8 CORDIC has the highest LUT usage and lowest register usage while Hybrid Radix 4 CORDIC had the highest clock delay.

Keywords: Multi, CORDIC, FPGA, Processor.

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Authors: Wenjun Zhang, Yunqing Du, Ming L. Wang

Abstract:

Noninvasive diagnostics of diseases via breath analysis has attracted considerable scientific and clinical interest for many years and become more and more promising with the rapid advancements in nanotechnology and biotechnology. The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath, which are mainly blood borne, particularly provide highly valuable information about individuals’ physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Additionally, breath analysis is noninvasive, real-time, painless, and agreeable to patients. We have developed a wireless sensor array based on single-stranded DNA (ssDNA)-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) for the detection of a number of physiological indicators in breath. Seven DNA sequences were used to functionalize SWNT sensors to detect trace amount of methanol, benzene, dimethyl sulfide, hydrogen sulfide, acetone, and ethanol, which are indicators of heavy smoking, excessive drinking, and diseases such as lung cancer, breast cancer, and diabetes. Our test results indicated that DNA functionalized SWNT sensors exhibit great selectivity, sensitivity, and repeatability; and different molecules can be distinguished through pattern recognition enabled by this sensor array. Furthermore, the experimental sensing results are consistent with the Molecular Dynamics simulated ssDNAmolecular target interaction rankings. Thus, the DNA-SWNT sensor array has great potential to be applied in chemical or biomolecular detection for the noninvasive diagnostics of diseases and personal health monitoring.

Keywords: Breath analysis, DNA-SWNT sensor array, diagnosis, noninvasive.

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Authors: M. Suresh Kumar, K. Ramani

Abstract:

This paper proposed the comparison made between Multi-Carrier Pulse Width Modulation, Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation and Selective Harmonic Elimination Pulse Width Modulation technique for minimization of Total Harmonic Distortion in Cascaded H-Bridge Multi-Level Inverter. In Multicarrier Pulse Width Modulation method by using Alternate Position of Disposition scheme for switching pulse generation to Multi-Level Inverter. Another carrier based approach; Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation method is also implemented to define the switching pulse generation system in the multi-level inverter. In Selective Harmonic Elimination method using Genetic Algorithm and Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm for define the required switching angles to eliminate low order harmonics from the inverter output voltage waveform and reduce the total harmonic distortion value. So, the results validate that the Selective Harmonic Elimination Pulse Width Modulation method does capably eliminate a great number of precise harmonics and minimize the Total Harmonic Distortion value in output voltage waveform in compared with Multi-Carrier Pulse Width Modulation method, Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation method. In this paper, comparison of simulation results shows that the Selective Harmonic Elimination method can attain optimal harmonic minimization solution better than Multi-Carrier Pulse Width Modulation method, Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation method.

Keywords: Multi-level inverter, Selective Harmonic Elimination Pulse Width Modulation, Multi-Carrier Pulse Width Modulation, Total Harmonic Distortion, Genetic Algorithm.

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Authors: Eugene Y. C. Wong, Henry Y. K. Lau, Mardjuki Raman

Abstract:

CO₂ emissions from maritime transport operations represent a substantial part of the total greenhouse gas emission. Vessels are designed with better energy efficiency. Minimizing CO₂ emission in maritime operations plays an important role in supply chain decarbonisation. This paper reviews the initiatives on slow steaming operations towards the reduction of carbon emission. It investigates the relationship and impact among slow steaming cost reduction, carbon emission reduction, and shipment delay. A scenario-based cost-driven decision support model is developed to facilitate the selection of the optimal slow steaming options, considering the cost on bunker fuel consumption, available speed, carbon emission, and shipment delay. The incorporation of the social cost of cargo is reviewed and suggested. Additional measures on the effect of vessels sizes, routing, and type of fuels towards decarbonisation are discussed.

Keywords: Slow steaming, carbon emission, maritime logistics, sustainability, green supply chain.

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Authors: Ayman M. Mansour

Abstract:

In this paper, we propose a multi-agent intelligent system that is used for monitoring the health conditions of elderly people. Monitoring the health condition of elderly people is a complex problem that involves different medical units and requires continuous monitoring. Such expert system is highly needed in rural areas because of inadequate number of available specialized physicians or nurses. Such monitoring must have autonomous interactions between these medical units in order to be effective. A multi-agent system is formed by a community of agents that exchange information and proactively help one another to achieve the goal of elderly monitoring. The agents in the developed system are equipped with intelligent decision maker that arms them with the rule-based reasoning capability that can assist the physicians in making decisions regarding the medical condition of elderly people.

Keywords: Fuzzy Logic, Inference system, Monitoring system, Multi-agent system.

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