Search results for: Hydrogen separation
221 Optimization of Growth of Rhodobacter Sphaeroides Using Mixed Volatile Fatty Acidsby Response Surface Methodology
Authors: R.Sangeetha, T.Karunanithi
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A combination of photosynthetic bacteria along with anaerobic acidogenic bacteria is an ideal option for efficient hydrogen production. In the present study, the optimum concentration of substrates for the growth of Rhodobacter sphaeroides was found by response surface methodology. The optimum combination of three individual fatty acids was determined by Box Behnken design. Increase of volatile fatty acid concentration decreased the growth. Combination of sodium acetate and sodium propionate was most significant for the growth of the organism. The results showed that a maximum biomass concentration of 0.916 g/l was obtained when the concentrations of acetate, propionate and butyrate were 0.73g/l,0.99g/l and 0.799g/l, respectively. The growth was studied under an optimum concentration of volatile fatty acids and at a light intensity of 3000 lux, initial pH of 7 and a temperature of 35°C.The maximum biomass concentration of 0.92g/l was obtained which verified the practicability of this optimization.Keywords: Biohydrogen, Response Surface Methodology, Rhodobacter sphaeroides, Volatile fatty acid
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2143220 Development of a Brain Glutamate Microbiosensor
Authors: Kartika S. Hamdan, Zainiharyati M. Zain, Mohamed I. A. Halim, Jafri M. Abdullah, Robert D. O'Neill
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This work attempts to improve the permselectivity of poly-ortho-phenylenediamine (PPD) coating for glutamate biosensor applications on Pt microelectrode, using constant potential amperometry and cyclic voltammetry. Percentage permeability of the modified PPD microelectrode was carried out towards hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and ascorbic acid (AA) whereas permselectivity represents the percentage interference by AA in H2O2 detection. The 50-μm diameter Pt disk microelectrode showed a good permeability value toward H2O2 (95%) and selectivity against AA (0.01%) compared to other sizes of electrode studied here. The electrode was further modified with glutamate oxidase (GluOx) that was immobilized and cross linked with glutaraldehyde (GA, 0.125%), resulting in Pt/PPD/GluOx-GA electrode design. The maximum current density Jmax and apparent Michaelis constant, KM, obtained on Pt/PPD/GluOx-GA electrodes were 48 μA cm-2 and 50 μM, respectively. The linear region slope (LRS) was 0.96 μA cm-2 mM-1. The detection limit (LOD) for glutamate was 3.0 ± 0.6 μM. This study shows a promising glutamate microbiosensor for brain glutamate detection.
Keywords: Brain, Glutamate, Microbiosensor.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1857219 On-line Speech Enhancement by Time-Frequency Masking under Prior Knowledge of Source Location
Authors: Min Ah Kang, Sangbae Jeong, Minsoo Hahn
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This paper presents the source extraction system which can extract only target signals with constraints on source localization in on-line systems. The proposed system is a kind of methods for enhancing a target signal and suppressing other interference signals. But, the performance of proposed system is superior to any other methods and the extraction of target source is comparatively complete. The method has a beamforming concept and uses an improved time-frequency (TF) mask-based BSS algorithm to separate a target signal from multiple noise sources. The target sources are assumed to be in front and test data was recorded in a reverberant room. The experimental results of the proposed method was evaluated by the PESQ score of real-recording sentences and showed a noticeable speech enhancement.
Keywords: Beam forming, Non-stationary noise reduction, Source separation, TF mask.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2022218 Experimental Investigation on Activated Carbon Based Cryosorption Pump
Authors: K. B. Vinay, K. G. Vismay, S. Kasturirengan, G. A. Vivek
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Cryosorption pumps are considered safe, quiet, and ultra-high vacuum production pumps which have their application from Semiconductor industries to ITER [International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor] units. The principle of physisorption of gases over highly porous materials like activated charcoal at cryogenic temperatures (below -1500°C) is involved in determining the pumping speed of gases like Helium, Hydrogen, Argon, and Nitrogen. This paper aims at providing detailed overview of development of Cryosorption pump and characterization of different activated charcoal materials that optimizes the performance of the pump. Different grades of charcoal were tested in order to determine the pumping speed of the pump and were compared with commercially available Varian cryopanel. The results for bare panel, bare panel with adhesive, cryopanel with pellets, and cryopanel with granules were obtained and compared. The comparison showed that cryopanel adhered with small granules gave better pumping speeds than large sized pellets.Keywords: Adhesive, cryopanel, granules, pellets.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2021217 Color View Synthesis for Animated Depth Security X-ray Imaging
Authors: O. Abusaeeda, J. P. O Evans, D. Downes
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We demonstrate the synthesis of intermediary views within a sequence of color encoded, materials discriminating, X-ray images that exhibit animated depth in a visual display. During the image acquisition process, the requirement for a linear X-ray detector array is replaced by synthetic image. Scale Invariant Feature Transform, SIFT, in combination with material segmented morphing is employed to produce synthetic imagery. A quantitative analysis of the feature matching performance of the SIFT is presented along with a comparative study of the synthetic imagery. We show that the total number of matches produced by SIFT reduces as the angular separation between the generating views increases. This effect is accompanied by an increase in the total number of synthetic pixel errors. The trends observed are obtained from 15 different luggage items. This programme of research is in collaboration with the UK Home Office and the US Dept. of Homeland Security.Keywords: X-ray, kinetic depth, view synthesis, KDE
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1662216 Affective Approach to Selected Ingmar Bergman Films
Authors: Grzegorz Zinkiewicz
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The paper explores affective potential implicit in Bergman’s movies. This is done by the use of affect theory and the concept of affect in terms of paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations, from both diachronic and synchronic perspective. Since its inception in the early 2000s, affect theory has been applied to a number of academic fields. In Film Studies, it offers new avenues for discovering deeper, hidden layers of a given film. The aim is to show that the form and content of the films by Ingmar Bergman are determined by their inner affects that function independently of the viewer and, to an extent, are autonomous entities that can be analysed in separation from the auteur and actual characters. The paper discovers layers in Ingmar Bergman films and focuses on aspects that are often marginalised or studied from other viewpoints such as the connection between the content and visual side. As a result, a revaluation of Bergman films is possible that is more consistent with his original interpretations and comments included in his lectures, interviews and autobiography.Keywords: Affect theory, experimental cinema, Ingmar Bergman, film as autonomous entity.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 809215 Carbon Disulfide Production via Hydrogen Sulfide Methane Reformation
Authors: H. Hosseini, M. Javadi, M. Moghiman, M. H. Ghodsi Rad
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Carbon disulfide is widely used for the production of viscose rayon, rubber, and other organic materials and it is a feedstock for the synthesis of sulfuric acid. The objective of this paper is to analyze possibilities for efficient production of CS2 from sour natural gas reformation (H2SMR) (2H2S+CH4 =CS2 +4H2) . Also, the effect of H2S to CH4 feed ratio and reaction temperature on carbon disulfide production is investigated numerically in a reforming reactor. The chemical reaction model is based on an assumed Probability Density Function (PDF) parameterized by the mean and variance of mixture fraction and β-PDF shape. The results show that the major factors influencing CS2 production are reactor temperature. The yield of carbon disulfide increases with increasing H2S to CH4 feed gas ratio (H2S/CH4≤4). Also the yield of C(s) increases with increasing temperature until the temperature reaches to 1000°K, and then due to increase of CS2 production and consumption of C(s), yield of C(s) drops with further increase in the temperature. The predicted CH4 and H2S conversion and yield of carbon disulfide are in good agreement with result of Huang and TRaissi.Keywords: Carbon disulfide, sour natural gas, H2SMR, probability density function.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5257214 Effect of Chemical Additive on Fixed Abrasive Polishing of LBO Crystal with Non-water Based Slurry
Authors: Jun Li, Wenze Wang, Zhanggui Hu, Yongwei Zhu, Dunwen Zuo
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Non-water based fixed abrasive polishing was adopted to manufacture LBO crystal for nano precision surface quality because of its deliquescent. Ethyl alcohol was selected as the non-water based slurry solvent and ethanediamine, lactic acid, hydrogen peroxide was added in the slurry as a chemical additive, respectively. Effect of different additives with non-water based slurry on material removal rate, surface topography, microscopic appearances, and surface roughness were investigated in fixed abrasive polishing of LBO crystal. The results show the best surface quality of LBO crystal with surface roughness Sa 8.2 nm and small damages was obtained by non-water based slurry with lactic acid. Non-water based fixed abrasive polishing can achieve nano precision surface quality of LBO crystal with high material removal.
Keywords: Non-water based slurry, LBO crystal, Fixed abrasive polishing, Surface roughness.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2596213 Evaluating the Interactions of Co2-Ionic Liquid Systems through Molecular Modeling
Authors: S. Yamini Sudha, Ashok Khanna
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Owing to the stringent environmental legislations, CO2 capture and sequestration is one of the viable solutions to reduce the CO2 emissions from various sources. In this context, Ionic liquids (ILs) are being investigated as suitable absorption media for CO2 capture. Due to their non-evaporative, non-toxic, and non-corrosive nature, these ILs have the potential to replace the existing solvents like aqueous amine solutions for CO2 separation technologies. Thus, the present work aims at studying the important aspects such as the interactions of CO2 molecule with different anions (F-, Br-, Cl-, NO3 -, BF4 -, PF6 -, Tf2N-, and CF3SO3 -) that are commonly used in ILs through molecular modeling. In this, the minimum energy structures have been obtained using Ab initio based calculations at MP2 (Moller-Plesset perturbation) level. Results revealed various degrees of distortion of CO2 molecule (from its linearity) with the anions studied, most likely due to the Lewis acid-base interactions between CO2 and anion. Furthermore, binding energies for the anion-CO2 complexes were also calculated. The implication of anion-CO2 interactions to the solubility of CO2 in ionic liquids is also discussed.Keywords: CO2, Ionic liquids, capture, molecular modeling, sequestration.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2725212 Experimental Study of Performance of a Counter Flow Ranque-Hilsch Vortex Tube with Inner Threaded Body
Authors: Gürol Önal, Kevser Dincer
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In this experimental study, performance of a counter flow Ranque-Hilsch vortex tube (RHVT) with threads cut on its inner surface was investigated experimentally (pitch is 1 and 2 mm). The inner diameter of the vortex tube used was D=9 mm and the ratio of the tube’s length to diameter was L/D=12. The experimental system was a thermodynamic open system. Flow was controlled by a valve on the hot outlet side, where the valve was changed from a nearly closed position to its nearly open position. Fraction of cold flow (ξ) = 0.1-0.9, was determined under 300 and 350 kPa pressurized air. All experimental data were compared with each other, the maximum heating performance of the RHVT system was found to be 38.2 oC and the maximum cooling performance of the RHVT in this study was found to be -30.9 oC at pitch 1 mm.
Keywords: Ranque-Hilsch vortex tube, heating, cooling, temperature separation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2871211 Biography of the Earth in the Light of the Laws of Classical Physics
Authors: I. V. Kuzminov
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The proposed article is an analytical review of previously published articles in the series "Physics of Gravity", "The Picture of the World by Second Law of Thermodynamics" and others. The article shows the key role of the forces of gravity and the action of the second law of thermodynamics in shaping the picture of the world. In other words, the second law of thermodynamics can be called the law of matter cooling. The action in the compartment of the inverse temperature dependence of the forces of gravity and the second law of thermodynamics is carried out by the processes of separation, condensation, phase transitions, and transformation of matter. On the basis of the proposed concept, along the way, completely new versions of the development of events in the biography of the Earth are put forward. For example, new versions of the origin of planets, the origin of continents and others are being put forward. This article contains a list of articles and videos that are somehow related to the proposed topic. Articles and videos are presented in English and Russian.
Keywords: Gravity, the second law of thermodynamics, electron rotation, inverse temperature dependence, inertia forces, centrifugal forces.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 129210 Subcritical Water Extraction of Mannitol from Olive Leaves
Authors: S. M. Ghoreishi, R. Gholami Shahrestani, S. H. Ghaziaskar
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Subcritical water extraction was investigated as a novel and alternative technology in the food and pharmaceutical industry for the separation of Mannitol from olive leaves and its results was compared with those of Soxhlet extraction. The effects of temperature, pressure, and flow rate of water and also momentum and mass transfer dimensionless variables such as Reynolds and Peclet Numbers on extraction yield and equilibrium partition coefficient were investigated. The 30-110 bars, 60-150°C, and flow rates of 0.2-2 mL/min were the water operating conditions. The results revealed that the highest Mannitol yield was obtained at 100°C and 50 bars. However, extraction of Mannitol was not influenced by the variations of flow rate. The mathematical modeling of experimental measurements was also investigated and the model is capable of predicting the experimental measurements very well. In addition, the results indicated higher extraction yield for the subcritical water extraction in contrast to Soxhlet method.Keywords: Extraction, Mannitol, Modeling, Olive leaves, Soxhlet extraction, Subcritical water.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3066209 Enhancing Power Conversion Efficiency of P3HT/PCBM Polymer Solar Cells
Authors: Nidal H. Abu-Zahra, Mahmoud Algazzar
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In this research, n-dodecylthiol was added to P3HT/ PC70BM polymer solar cells to improve the crystallinity of P3HT and enhance the phase separation of P3HT/PC70BM. The improved crystallinity of P3HT:PC70BM doped with 0-5% by volume of n-dodecylthiol resulted in improving the power conversion efficiency of polymer solar cells by 33%. In addition, thermal annealing of the P3HT/PC70MB/n-dodecylthiolcompound showed further improvement in crystallinity with n-dodecylthiol concentration up to 2%. The highest power conversion efficiency of 3.21% was achieved with polymer crystallites size L of 11.2nm, after annealing at 150°C for 30 minutes under a vacuum atmosphere. The smaller crystallite size suggests a shorter path of the charge carriers between P3HT backbones, which could be beneficial to getting a higher short circuit current in the devices made with the additive.
Keywords: n-dodecylthiol, Congugated PSC, P3HT/PCBM, Polymer Solar Cells.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3557208 Group Contribution Parameters for Nonrandom Lattice Fluid Equation of State involving COSMO-RS
Authors: Alexander Breitholz, Wolfgang Arlt, Ki-Pung Yoo
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Group contribution based models are widely used in industrial applications for its convenience and flexibility. Although a number of group contribution models have been proposed, there were certain limitations inherent to those models. Models based on group contribution excess Gibbs free energy are limited to low pressures and models based on equation of state (EOS) cannot properly describe highly nonideal mixtures including acids without introducing additional modification such as chemical theory. In the present study new a new approach derived from quantum chemistry have been used to calculate necessary EOS group interaction parameters. The COSMO-RS method, based on quantum mechanics, provides a reliable tool for fluid phase thermodynamics. Benefits of the group contribution EOS are the consistent extension to hydrogen-bonded mixtures and the capability to predict polymer-solvent equilibria up to high pressures. The authors are confident that with a sufficient parameter matrix the performance of the lattice EOS can be improved significantly.Keywords: COSMO-RS, Equation of State, Group contribution, Lattice Fluid, Phase equilibria.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1920207 The Effect of Granule Size on the Digestibility of Wheat Starch Using an in vitro Model
Authors: Mee-Lin Lim Chai Teo, Darryl M. Small
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Wheat has a bimodal starch granule population and the dependency of the rate of enzymatic hydrolysis on particle size has been investigated. Ungelatinised wheaten starch granules were separated into two populations by sedimentation and decantation. Particle size was analysed by laser diffraction and morphological characteristics were viewed using SEM. The sedimentation technique though lengthy, gave satisfactory separation of the granules. Samples (<10μm, >10μm and original) were digested with a-amylase using a dialysis model. Granules of <10μm showed significantly higher rate of reducing sugar release than those >10μm (p<0.05). In contrast, the rate was not significantly different between the original sample and granules >10μm. Moreover, the digestion rate was dependent on particle size whereby smaller granules produced higher rate of release. The methodology and results reported here can be used as a basis for further evaluations designed to delay the release of glucose during the digestion of native starches.
Keywords: in vitro Digestion, a-amylase, wheat starch, granule size.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2842206 Modeling and Simulation of Utility Interfaced PV/Hydro Hybrid Electric Power System
Authors: P. V. V. Rama Rao, B. Kali Prasanna, Y. T. R. Palleswari
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Renewable energy is derived from natural processes that are replenished constantly. Included in the definition is electricity and heat generated from solar, wind, ocean, hydropower, biomass, geothermal resources, and bio-fuels and hydrogen derived from renewable resources. Each of these sources has unique characteristics which influence how and where they are used. This paper presents the modeling the simulation of solar and hydro hybrid energy sources in MATLAB/SIMULINK environment. It simulates all quantities of Hybrid Electrical Power system (HEPS) such as AC output current of the inverter that injected to the load/grid, load current, grid current. It also simulates power output from PV and Hydraulic Turbine Generator (HTG), power delivered to or from grid and finally power factor of the inverter for PV, HTG and grid. The proposed circuit uses instantaneous p-q (real-imaginary) power theory.
Keywords: Photovoltaic Array, Hydraulic Turbine Generator, Electrical Utility (EU), Hybrid Electrical Power Supply.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3488205 Heteromolecular Structure Formation in Aqueous Solutions of Ethanol, Tetrahydrofuran and Dimethylformamide
Authors: Sh. Gofurov, O. Ismailova, U. Makhmanov, A. Kokhkharov
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The refractometric method has been used to determine optical properties of concentration features of aqueous solutions of ethanol, tetrahydrofuran and dimethylformamide at the room temperature. Changes in dielectric permittivity of aqueous solutions of ethanol, tetrahydrofuran and dimethylformamide in a wide range of concentrations (0÷1.0 molar fraction) have been studied using molecular dynamics method. The curves depending on the concentration of experimental data on excess refractive indices and excess dielectric permittivity were compared. It has been shown that stable heteromolecular complexes in binary solutions are formed in the concentration range of 0.3÷0.4 mole fractions. The real and complex part of dielectric permittivity was obtained from dipole-dipole autocorrelation functions of molecules. At the concentrations of C = 0.3 / 0.4 m.f. the heteromolecular structures with hydrogen bonds are formed. This is confirmed by the extremum values of excessive dielectric permittivity and excessive refractive index of aqueous solutions.
Keywords: Refractometric method, dielectric constant, molecular dynamics, aqueous solution.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1002204 Produced Gas Conversion of Microwave Carbon Receptor Reforming
Authors: Young Nam Chun, Mun Sup Lim
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Carbon dioxide and methane, the major components of biomass pyrolysis/gasification gas and biogas, top the list of substances that cause climate change, but they are also among the most important renewable energy sources in modern society. The purpose of this study is to convert carbon dioxide and methane into high-quality energy using char and commercial activated carbon obtained from biomass pyrolysis as a microwave receptor. The methane reforming process produces hydrogen and carbon. This carbon is deposited in the pores of the microwave receptor and lowers catalytic activity, thereby reducing the methane conversion rate. The deposited carbon was removed by carbon gasification due to the supply of carbon dioxide, which solved the problem of microwave receptor inactivity. In particular, the conversion rate remained stable at over 90% when the ratio of carbon dioxide to methane was 1:1. When the reforming results of carbon dioxide and methane were compared after fabricating nickel and iron catalysts using commercial activated carbon as a carrier, the conversion rate was higher in the iron catalyst than in the nickel catalyst and when no catalyst was used.
Keywords: Microwave, gas reforming, greenhouse gas, microwave receptor, catalyst.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1050203 Environmental Performance of the United States Energy Sector: A DEA Model with Non-Discretionary Factors and Perfect Object
Authors: Alexander Y. Vaninsky
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It is suggested to evaluate environmental performance of energy sector using Data Envelopment Analysis with nondiscretionary factors (DEA-ND) with relative indicators as inputs and outputs. The latter allows for comparison of the objects essentially different in size. Inclusion of non-discretionary factors serves separation of the indicators that are beyond the control of the objects. A virtual perfect object comprised of maximal outputs and minimal inputs was added to the group of actual ones. In this setting, explicit solution of the DEA-ND problem was obtained. Energy sector of the United States was analyzed using suggested approach for the period of 1980 – 2006 with expected values of economic indicators for 2030 used for forming the perfect object. It was obtained that environmental performance has been increasing steadily for the period from 7.7% through 50.0% but still remains well below the prospected levelKeywords: DEA with Non Discretionary Factors, Environmental Performance, Energy Sector, Explicit Solution, Perfect Object.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1529202 A Framework for Product Development Process including HW and SW Components
Authors: Namchul Do, Gyeongseok Chae
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This paper proposes a framework for product development including hardware and software components. It provides separation of hardware dependent software, modifications of current product development process, and integration of software modules with existing product configuration models and assembly product structures. In order to decide the dependent software, the framework considers product configuration modules and engineering changes of associated software and hardware components. In order to support efficient integration of the two different hardware and software development, a modified product development process is proposed. The process integrates the dependent software development into product development through the interchanges of specific product information. By using existing product data models in Product Data Management (PDM), the framework represents software as modules for product configurations and software parts for product structure. The framework is applied to development of a robot system in order to show its effectiveness.Keywords: HW and SW Development Integration, ProductDevelopment with Software.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2601201 Photopolymerization of Dimethacrylamide with (Meth)acrylates
Authors: Yuling Xu, Haibo Wang, Dong Xie
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A photopolymerizable dimethacrylamide was synthesized and copolymerized with the selected (meth)acrylates. The polymerization rate, degree of conversion, gel time, and compressive strength of the formed neat resins were investigated. The results show that in situ photo-polymerization of the synthesized dimethacrylamide with comonomers having an electron-withdrawing and/or acrylate group dramatically increased the polymerization rate, degree of conversion, and compressive strength. On the other hand, an electron-donating group on either carbon-carbon double bond or the ester linkage slowed down the polymerization. In contrast, the triethylene glycol dimethacrylate-based system did not show a clear pattern. Both strong hydrogen-bonding between (meth)acrylamide and organic acid groups may be responsible for higher compressive strengths. Within the limitation of this study, the photo-polymerization of dimethacrylamide can be greatly accelerated by copolymerization with monomers having electron-withdrawing and/or acrylate groups. The monomers with methacrylate group can significantly reduce the polymerization rate and degree of conversion.Keywords: Photopolymerization, dimethacrylamide, degree of conversion, compressive strength.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 677200 Rubber Wood as a Potential Biomass Feedstock for Biochar via Slow Pyrolysis
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.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1855199 Effects of Catalyst Tubes Characteristics on a Steam Reforming Process in Ammonia
Authors: M.Boumaza
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The tubes in an Ammonia primary reformer furnace operate close to the limits of materials technology in terms of the stress induced as a result of very high temperatures, combined with large differential pressures across the tube wall. Operation at tube wall temperatures significantly above design can result in a rapid increase in the number of tube failures, since tube life is very sensitive to the absolute operating temperature of the tube. Clearly it is important to measure tube wall temperatures accurately in order to prevent premature tube failure by overheating.. In the present study, the catalyst tubes in an Ammonia primary reformer has been modeled taking into consideration heat, mass and momentum transfer as well as reformer characteristics.. The investigations concern the effects of tube characteristics and superficial tube wall temperatures on of the percentage of heat flux, unconverted methane and production of Hydrogen for various values of steam to carbon ratios. The results show the impact of catalyst tubes length and diameters on the performance of operating parameters in ammonia primary reformers.Keywords: Catalyst, tubes, reformer, performance
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3343198 Identification of Healthy and BSR-Infected Oil Palm Trees Using Color Indices
Authors: Siti Khairunniza-Bejo, Yusnida Yusoff, Nik Salwani Nik Yusoff, Idris Abu Seman, Mohamad Izzuddin Anuar
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Most of the oil palm plantations have been threatened by Basal Stem Rot (BSR) disease which causes serious economic impact. This study was conducted to identify the healthy and BSRinfected oil palm tree using thirteen color indices. Multispectral and thermal camera was used to capture 216 images of the leaves taken from frond number 1, 9 and 17. Indices of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), red (R), green (G), blue (B), near infrared (NIR), green – blue (GB), green/blue (G/B), green – red (GR), green/red (G/R), hue (H), saturation (S), intensity (I) and thermal index (T) were used. From this study, it can be concluded that G index taken from frond number 9 is the best index to differentiate between the healthy and BSR-infected oil palm trees. It not only gave high value of correlation coefficient (R=-0.962), but also high value of separation between healthy and BSR-infected oil palm tree. Furthermore, power and S model developed using G index gave the highest R2 value which is 0.985.Keywords: Oil palm, image processing, disease, leaves.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2960197 Utilization and Characterizations of Olive Oil Industry By-Products
Authors: Sawsan Dacrory, Hussein Abou-Yousef, Samir Kamel, Ragab E. Abou-Zeid, Mohamed S. Abdel-Aziz, Mohamed Elbadry
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A considerable amount of lignocellulosic by-product could be obtained from olive pulp during olive oil extraction industry. The major constituents of the olive pulp are husks and seeds. The separation of each portion of olive pulp (seeds and husks) was carried out by water flotation where seeds were sediment in the bottom. Both seeds and husks were dignified by 15% NaOH followed by complete lignin removal by using sodium chlorite in acidic medium. The isolated holocellulose, α-cellulose, hydrogel and CMC which prepared from cellulose of both seeds and husk fractions were characterized by FTIR and SEM. The present study focused on the investigation of the chemical components of the lignocellulosic fraction of olive pulp. Biofunctionlization of hydrogel was achieved through loading of silver nanoparticles AgNPs in to the prepared hydrogel. The antimicrobial activity of the loaded silver hydrogel against G-ve, and G+ve, and candida was demonstrated.Keywords: Antimicrobial hydrogel, carboxymethyl cellulose, cellulose, grafting, olive pulp.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2248196 Biosecurity Control Systems in Two Phases for Poultry Farms
Authors: M. Peña Aguilar Juan, E. Nava Galván Claudia, Pastrana Palma Alberto
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In this work was developed and implemented a thermal fogging disinfection system to counteract pathogens from poultry feces in agribusiness farms, to reduce mortality rates and increase biosafety in them. The control system consists of two phases for the conditioning of the farm during the sanitary break. In the first phase, viral and bacterial inactivation was performed by treating the stool dry cleaning, along with the development of a specialized product that foster the generation of temperatures above 55 °C in less than 24 hr, for virus inactivation. In the second phase, a process for disinfection by fogging was implemented, along with the development of a specialized disinfectant that guarantee no risk for the operators’ health or birds. As a result of this process, it was possible to minimize the level of mortality of chickens on farms from 12% to 5.49%, representing a reduction of 6.51% in the death rate, through the formula applied to the treatment of poultry litter based on oxidising agents used as antiseptics, hydrogen peroxide solutions, glacial acetic acid and EDTA in order to act on bacteria, viruses, micro bacteria and spores.
Keywords: Innovation, triple-helix, innovation, poultry farms.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1453195 Development and Characterization of a Polymer Composite Electrolyte to Be Used in Proton Exchange Membranes Fuel Cells
Authors: B. A. Berns, V. Romanovicz, M. M. de Camargo Forte, D. E. O. S. Carpenter
Abstract:
The Proton Exchange Membranes (PEM) are largely studied because they operate at low temperatures and they are suitable for mobile applications. However, there are some deficiencies in their operation, mainly those that use ethanol as a hydrogen source, that require a certain attention. Therefore, this research aimed to develop Nafion® composite membranes, mixing clay minerals, kaolin and halloysite to the polymer matrix in order to improve the ethanol molecule retentions and, at the same time, to keep the system’s protonic conductivity. The modified Nafion/Kaolin, Nafion/Halloysite composite membranes were prepared in weight proportion of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5. The membranes obtained were characterized as to their ethanol permeability, protonic conductivity and water absorption. The composite morphology and structure are characterized by SEM and EDX and the thermal behavior is determined by TGA and DSC. The analysis of the results shows ethanol permeability reduction from 48% to 63%. However, the protonic conductivity results are lower in relation to pure Nafion®. As to the thermal behavior, the Nafion® composite membranes were stable up to a temperature of 325ºC.
Keywords: Polymer-matrix composites (PMCs), Thermal properties, Nanoclay, Differential scanning calorimetry.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2552194 Processes Simulation Study of Coal to Methanol Based on Gasification Technology
Authors: Po-Chuang Chen, Hsiu-Mei Chiu, Yau-Pin Chyou, Chiou-Shia Yu
Abstract:
This study presents a simulation model for converting coal to methanol, based on gasification technology with the commercial chemical process simulator, Pro/II® V8.1.1. The methanol plant consists of air separation unit (ASU), gasification unit, gas clean-up unit, and methanol synthetic unit. The clean syngas is produced with the first three operating units, and the model has been verified with the reference data from United States Environment Protection Agency. The liquid phase methanol (LPMEOHTM) process is adopted in the methanol synthetic unit. Clean syngas goes through gas handing section to reach the reaction requirement, reactor loop/catalyst to generate methanol, and methanol distillation to get desired purity over 99.9 wt%. The ratio of the total energy combined with methanol and dimethyl ether to that of feed coal is 78.5% (gross efficiency). The net efficiency is 64.2% with the internal power consumption taken into account, based on the assumption that the efficiency of electricity generation is 40%.
Keywords: Gasification, Methanol, LPMEOH, System-levelsimulation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5359193 Environmental Management System for Tourist Accommodations in Amphawa, Samut Songkram,Thailand
Authors: T. Utarasakul
Abstract:
Amphawa is the most popular weekend destination for both domestic and international tourists in Thailand. More than 112 homestays and resorts have been developed along the water resources. This research aims to initiate appropriate environmental management system for riverside tourist accommodations in Amphawa by investigating current environmental characteristics. Eighty-eight riverside tourist accommodations were survey from specific questionnaire, GPS data were also gathered for spatial analysis. The results revealed that the accommodations are welled manage in regards to some environmental aspects. In order to reduce economic costs, energy efficiency equipment is utilized. A substantial number of tourist accommodations encouraged waste separation, followed by transfer to local administration organization. Grease traps also utilized in order to decrease chemical discharged, grease and oil from canteen and restaurants on natural environment. The most notable mitigation is to initiate environmental friendly cleansers for tourist accommodation along the riverside in tourism destinations.Keywords: Environmental Management System, Tourist Accommodations, Amphawa, Samut Songkram
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2421192 The Self-Energy of an Ellectron Bound in a Coulomb Field
Authors: J. Zamastil, V. Patkos
Abstract:
Recent progress in calculation of the one-loop selfenergy of the electron bound in the Coulomb field is summarized. The relativistic multipole expansion is introduced. This expansion is based on a single assumption: except for the part of the time component of the electron four-momentum corresponding to the electron rest mass, the exchange of four-momentum between the virtual electron and photon can be treated perturbatively. For non Sstates and normalized difference n3En −E1 of the S-states this itself yields very accurate results after taking the method to the third order. For the ground state the perturbation treatment of the electron virtual states with very high three-momentum is to be avoided. For these states one can always rearrange the pertinent expression in such a way that free-particle approximation is allowed. Combination of the relativistic multipole expansion and free-particle approximation yields very accurate result after taking the method to the ninth order. These results are in very good agreement with the previous results obtained by the partial wave expansion and definitely exclude the possibility that the uncertainity in determination of the proton radius comes from the uncertainity in the calculation of the one-loop selfenergy.
Keywords: Hydrogen-like atoms, self-energy.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1680