Search results for: Polymer waste.

Authors: Mohit Tyagi, Pradeep Kumar

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The objective of this research work is to identify and analyze the significant corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices with an aim to improve the supply chain performance of automobile industry located at National Capital Region (NCR) of India. To achieve the objective, 6 CSR practices have been considered and analyzed using expert’s preference rating (EPR) approach. The considered CSR practices are namely, Top management and employee awareness about CSR (P₁), Employee involvement in social and environmental problems (P₂), Protection of human rights (P₃), Waste reduction, energy saving and water conservation (P₄), Proper visibility of CSR guidelines (P₅) and Broad perception towards CSR initiatives (P₆). The outcomes of this research may help mangers in decision making processes and framing polices for SCP implementation under CSR context.

Keywords: Supply chain performance, corporate social responsibility, CSR practices, expert’s preference rating approach.

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Authors: Esra E. Aleisa, Li Lin

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Complex engineering design problems consist of numerous factors of varying criticalities. Considering fundamental features of design and inferior details alike will result in an extensive waste of time and effort. Design parameters should be introduced gradually as appropriate based on their significance relevant to the problem context. This motivates the representation of design parameters at multiple levels of an abstraction hierarchy. However, developing abstraction hierarchies is an area that is not well understood. Our research proposes a novel hierarchical abstraction methodology to plan effective engineering designs and processes. It provides a theoretically sound foundation to represent, abstract and stratify engineering design parameters and tasks according to causality and criticality. The methodology creates abstraction hierarchies in a recursive and bottom-up approach that guarantees no backtracking across any of the abstraction levels. The methodology consists of three main phases, representation, abstraction, and layering to multiple hierarchical levels. The effectiveness of the developed methodology is demonstrated by a design problem.

Keywords: Hierarchies, Abstraction, Loop-free, Engineering Design

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Authors: Moustafa Osman Mohamed

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This paper will explore the influence of energy sector in Arab Republic of Egypt which has shared its responsibilities of many environmental challenges as the second largest economy in the Middle East (after Iran). Air and water pollution, desertification, inadequate disposal of solid waste and damage to coral reefs are serious problems that influence environmental management in Egypt. The intensive reliance of high population density and strong industrial growth are wearing Egypt's resources, and the rapidly-growing population has forced Egypt to breakdown agricultural land to residential and relevant use of commercial ingestion. The depletion effects of natural resources impose the government to apply innovation techniques in emission control and focus on sustainability. The cogeneration will be presented to control thermal losses and increase efficiency of energy power system.

Keywords: Cogeneration, energy indicators, power plant, electricity, environmental loads, environmental impact assessment.

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Authors: A. Shyamala Devi, K. Chitra Devi, R. Rajendiran

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A total of 6 isolates of Bacillus subtilis were isolated from oil mill waste collected in Namakkal district, Tamilnadu, India. The isolated bacteria were screened using lipase screening medium containing Tween 80. BS-3 isolate exhibited a greater clear zone than the others, indicating higher lipase activity. Therefore, this isolate was selected for media optimization studies. Ten process variables were screened using Plackett–Burman design and were further optimized by central composite design of response surface methodology for lipase production in submerged fermentation. Maximum lipase production of 16.627 U/min/ml were predicted in medium containing yeast extract (9.3636g), CaCl2 (0.8986g) and incubation periods (1.813 days). A mean value of 16.98 ± 0.2286 U/min/ml of lipase was acquired from real experiments.

Keywords: Bacillus subtilis, extracellular lipase, Plackett–Burman design, response surface methodology.

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Authors: K. Ighilahriz, M. Taleb Ahmed, R. Maachi

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Oil industries are responsible for most cases of contamination of our ecosystem by oil and heavy metals. They are toxic and considered carcinogenic and dangerous even when they exist in trace amounts. At Algiers refinery, production, transportation, and refining of crude oil generate considerable waste in storage tanks; these residues result from the gravitational settling. The composition of these residues is essentially a mixture of hydrocarbon and lead. We propose in this work the application of electrooxidation treatment for the leachate of the leaden sludge. The effect of pH, current density and the electrolysis time were studied, the effectiveness of the processes is evaluated by measuring the chemical oxygen demand (COD). The dissolution is the best way to mobilize pollutants from leaden mud, so we conducted leaching before starting the electrochemical treatment. The process was carried out in batch mode using graphite anode and a stainless steel cathode. The results clearly demonstrate the compatibility of the technique used with the type of pollution studied. In fact, it allowed COD removal about 80%.

Keywords: Electrooxidation, leaching, leaden sludge, the oil industry.

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Authors: A. Q. Sobia, A. Shyzleen, M. S. Hamidah, I. Azmi, S. F. A. Rafeeqi, S. Ahmad

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Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures strengthened with fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) lack in thermal resistance under elevated temperatures in the event of fire. This phenomenon led to the lining of strengthened concrete with thin high performance cementitious composites (THPCC) to protect the substrate against elevated temperature. Elevated temperature effects on THPCC, based on different cementitious materials have been studied in the past but high-alumina cement (HAC)-based THPCC have not been well characterized. This research study will focus on the THPCC based on HAC replaced by 60%, 70%, 80% and 85% of ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS). Samples were evaluated by the measurement of their mechanical strength (28 & 56 days of curing) after exposed to 400°C, 600°C and 28°C of room temperature for comparison and corroborated by their microstructure study. Results showed that among all mixtures, the mix containing only HAC showed the highest compressive strength after exposed to 600°C as compared to other mixtures. However, the tensile strength of THPCC made of HAC and 60% GGBS content was comparable to the THPCC with HAC only after exposed to 600°C. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) images of THPCC accompanying Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) microanalysis revealed that the microstructure deteriorated considerably after exposure to elevated temperatures which led to the decrease in mechanical strength.

Keywords: Ground granulated blast furnace slag, high aluminacement, microstructure at elevated temperature and residual strength.

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Authors: Marius Gheju, Laura Cocheci

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In this study, the reduction of Cr(VI) by use of scrap iron, a cheap and locally available industrial waste, was investigated in continuous system. The greater scrap iron efficiency observed for the first two sections of the column filling indicate that most of the reduction process was carried out in the bottom half of the column filling. This was ascribed to a constant decrease of Cr(VI) concentration inside the filling, as the water front passes from the bottom to the top end of the column. While the bottom section of the column filling was heavily passivated with secondary mineral phases, the top section was less affected by the passivation process; therefore the column filling would likely ensure the reduction of Cr(VI) for time periods longer than 216 hours. The experimental results indicate that fixed beds columns packed with scrap iron could be successfully used for the first step of Cr(VI) polluted wastewater treatment. However, the mass of scrap iron filling should be carefully estimated since it significantly affects the Cr(VI) reduction efficiency.

Keywords: hexavalent chromium, heavy metals, scrap iron, reduction capacity, wastewater treatment

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Authors: H. Rahman, T. Donchev, D. Petkova

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Earthquakes claim thousands of lives around the world annually due to inadequate design of lateral load resisting systems particularly shear walls. Additionally, corrosion of the steel reinforcement in concrete structures is one of the main challenges in construction industry. Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) reinforcement can be used as an alternative to traditional steel reinforcement. FRP has several excellent mechanical properties than steel such as high resistance to corrosion, high tensile strength and light self-weight; additionally, it has electromagnetic neutrality advantageous to the structures where it is important such as hospitals, some laboratories and telecommunications. This paper is about results of experimental research and it is incorporating experimental testing of two medium-scale concrete shear wall samples; one reinforced with Basalt FRP (BFRP) bar and one reinforced with steel bars as a control sample. The samples are tested under quasi-static-cyclic loading following modified ATC-24 protocol standard seismic loading. The results of both samples are compared to allow a judgement about performance of BFRP reinforced against steel reinforced concrete shear walls. The results of the conducted researches show a promising momentum toward utilisation of the BFRP as an alternative to traditional steel reinforcement with the aim of improving durability with suitable energy dissipation in the reinforced concrete shear walls.  

Keywords: Shear walls, internal FRP reinforcement, cyclic loading, energy dissipation and seismic behaviour.

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Authors: Pakorn Traiprasertpong, Apichit Svang-Ariyaskul

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The production of ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE) was simulated through Aspen Plus. The objective of this work was to use the simulation results to be an alternative platform for ETBE production from naphtha cracking wastes for the industry to develop. ETBE is produced from isobutylene which is one of the wastes in naphtha cracking process. The content of isobutylene in the waste is less than 30% weight. The main part of this work was to propose a process to save the environment and to increase the product value by converting a great majority of the wastes into ETBE. Various processes were considered to determine the optimal production of ETBE. The proposed process increased ETBE production yield by 100% from conventional process with the purity of 96% weight. The results showed a great promise for developing this proposed process in an industrial scale.

Keywords: ETBE, process simulation, naphtha cracking, Aspen Plus

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Authors: E. T. L. Cöuras Ford, V. A. C.Vale, J. U. L Mendes

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The sun is an inexhaustible source and harness its potential both for heating and power generation is one of the most promising and necessary alternatives, mainly due to environmental issues. However, it should be noted that this has always been present in the generation of energy on earth, only indirectly, since it is responsible for virtually all other energy sources, such as generating source of evaporation of the water cycle, allowing the impoundment and the consequent generation of electricity (hydroelectric power); winds are caused by atmospheric induction caused by large scale solar radiation; petroleum, coal and natural gas were generated from waste plants and animals that originally derived energy required for their development of solar radiation. This paper presents a study on the feasibility of using solar energy for water heating in homes. A simplified methodology developed for formulation of solar heating operation model of water in alternative systems of solar energy in Brazil, and compared it to that in the international market. Across this research, it was possible to create new paradigms for alternative applications to the use of solar energy.

Keywords: Solar energy, solar heating, solar project.

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Authors: T. Moremedi, L. Katata-Seru, S. Sardar, A. Bandyopadhyay, E. Makhado, M. Joseph Hato

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The rapid industrialisation and population growth have led to a steady fall in freshwater supplies worldwide. As a result, water systems are affected by modern methods upon use due to secondary contamination. The application of novel adsorbents derived from natural polymer holds a great promise in addressing challenges in water treatment. In this study, the UV irradiation technique was used to prepare acrylamide (AAm) monomer, and acrylic acid (AA) monomer grafted xanthan gum (XG) copolymer. Furthermore, the factors affecting rhodamine B (RhB) adsorption from aqueous media, such as pH, dosage, concentration, and time were also investigated. The FTIR results confirmed the formation of graft copolymer by the strong vibrational bands at 1709 cm^-1 and 1612 cm^-1 for AA and AAm, respectively. Additionally, more irregular, porous and wrinkled surface observed from SEM of XG-g-AAm/AA indicated copolymerization interaction of monomers. The optimum conditions for removing RhB dye with a maximum adsorption capacity of 313 mg/g at 25 ⁰C from aqueous solution were pH approximately 5, initial dye concentration = 200 ppm, adsorbent dose = 30 mg. Also, the detailed investigation of the isothermal and adsorption kinetics of RhB from aqueous solution showed that the adsorption of the dye followed a Freundlich model (R² = 0.96333) and pseudo-second-order kinetics. The results further indicated that this absorbent based on XG had the universality to remove dye through the mechanism of chemical adsorption. The outstanding adsorption potential of the grafted copolymer could be used to remove cationic dyes from aqueous solution as a low-cost product.

Keywords: Xanthan gum, adsorbents, rhodamine B, Freundlich model.

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Authors: Djamal Atlaoui, Youcef Bouafia

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This work deals with the experimental study of the mechanical behavior, by shear tests (fracture shear), elements of concrete beams reinforced with fibers in chips. These fibers come from the machining waste of the steel parts. The shear tests are carried out on prismatic specimens of dimensions 10 x 20 x 120 cm³. The fibers are characterized by mechanical resistance and tearing. The optimal composition of the concrete was determined by the workability test. Two fiber contents are selected for this study (W = 0.6% and W = 0.8%) and a BT control concrete (W = 0%) of the same composition as the matrix is developed to serve as a reference with a sand-to-gravel ratio (S/G) of concrete matrix equal to 1. The comparison of the different results obtained shows that the chips fibers confer a significant ductility to the material after cracking of the concrete. Also, the fibers used limit diagonal cracks in shear and improve strength and rigidity.

Keywords: Characterization, chips fibers, cracking mode, ductility, undulation, shear.

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Authors: Vladimira Vytlacilova

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The article presents findings from the study and analysis of the results of an experimental programme focused on the production of concrete and fibre reinforced concrete in which natural aggregate has been substituted with brick or concrete recyclate. The research results are analyzed to monitor the effect of mechanicalphysical characteristics on the durability properties of tested cementitious composites. The key parts of the fibre reinforced concrete mix are the basic components: aggregates – recyclate, cement, fly ash, water and fibres. Their specific ratios and the properties of individual components principally affect the resulting behaviour of fresh fibre reinforced concrete and the characteristics of the final product. The article builds on the sources dealing with the use of recycled aggregates from construction and demolition waste in the production of fibre reinforced concrete. The implemented procedure of testing the composite contributes to the building sustainability in environmental engineering.

Keywords: Recycled aggregate, Polypropylene fibres, Fibre Reinforced Concrete, Fly ash.

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Authors: Shahrad Ebrahimzadeh

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Nowadays, the main efforts of the researchers aim to constantly evolve new, optimized, and efficient construction materials and methods related to reinforced concrete beams. Due to the fewer applied materials and higher structural efficiency than solid concrete beams with the same concrete area, hollow reinforced concrete beams (HRCBs) internally reinforced with steel rebars have been employed extensively for bridge structural members and high-rise buildings. Many experimental studies have been conducted to investigate the behavior of hollow beams subjected to bending loading and found that the structural performance of HRCBs is critically affected by many design parameters. While the proper design of the HRCBs demonstrated comparable behavior to solid sections, inappropriate design leads beams to be extremely prone to brittle failure. Another potential issue that needs further investigation is replacing steel bars with suitable materials due to their susceptibility to corrosion. Hence, to develop a reliable construction system, the application of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) bars as a non-corroding material has been utilized. Furthermore, this study aims to critically review the different design parameters that affect the flexural performance of the HRCBs and recognize the gaps of knowledge in the better design and more effective use of this construction system.

Keywords: Design parameters, experimental investigations, hollow reinforced concrete beams, steel, GFRP, flexural strength.

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Authors: Fazeera Ujin, Kamran Shavarebi Ali, Zarina Yasmin Hanur Harith

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This research paper reports on the feasibility and viability of eggshells ash and its effects on the water content and setting time of cement. An experiment was carried out to determine the quantity of water required in order to follow standard cement paste of normal consistency in accordance with MS EN 196-3:2007. The eggshells ash passing the 90µm sieve was used in the investigation. Eggshells ash with percentage of 0%, 0.1%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.0% were constituted to replace the cement. Chemical properties of both eggshells ash and cement are compared. From the results obtained, both eggshells ash and cement have the same chemical composition and primary composition which is the calcium compounds. Results from the setting time show that by adding the eggshells ash to the cement, the setting time of the cement decreases. In short, the higher amount of eggshells ash, the faster the rate of setting and apply to all percentage of eggshells ash that were used in this investigation. Both initial and final setting times fulfill the setting time requirements by Malaysian Standard. Hence, it is suggested that eggshells ash can be used as an admixture in concrete mix.

Keywords: Construction Materials, Eggshells Ash, Solid Waste, Setting Time.

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Authors: M. Z. Othman, S. Uludag-Demirer, G. N. Demirer

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One of the main challenges for one phase anaerobic digestion processes is the high concentration of NH4+ and PO4 3- ions  in the digested sludge supernatant. This project focuses on enhancing the removal of nutrients during the anaerobic digestion process through fixing both NH4+ and PO4 3- ions in the form of struvite (magnesium ammonium phosphate, MAP, MgNH4PO4.6H2O) within the anaerobic sludge. Batch anaerobic digestion tests showed that Mg2+ concentration in the range 279 – 812 mg/L had insignificant effect on CGP but incurred a slight increase in COD removal. The reactor that had soluble Mg2+:NH4+:PO43- at a molar ratio of 1.28:1:00:1:00 achieved the best performance enhancement of 8% increase in COD removal and 32% reduction in NH4+ in the reactor supernatant. Overall, the results show that there is a potential to optimise conventional anaerobic digestion such that supernatant lean in P and N, and sludge rich in nutrients are obtained. 

Keywords: Anaerobic Digestion, Nutrients, Struvite, Waste Activated Sludge (WAS)

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Authors: Papon Thamvasupong, Kwanchanok Viravaidya-Pasuwat

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Osteoarthritis affects a lot of people worldwide. Local injection of glucosamine is one of the alternative treatment methods to replenish the natural lubrication of cartilage. However, multiple injections can potentially lead to possible bacterial infection. Therefore, a drug delivery system is desired to reduce the frequencies of injections. A hydrogel is one of the delivery systems that can control the release of drugs. Thermo-reversible hydrogels can be beneficial to the drug delivery system especially in the local injection route because this formulation can change from liquid to gel after getting into human body. Once the gel is in the body, it will slowly release the drug in a controlled manner. In this study, various formulations of Pluronic-based hydrogels were synthesized for the controlled release of glucosamine. One of the challenges of the Pluronic controlled release system is its fast dissolution rate. To overcome this problem, alginate and calcium sulfate (CaSO₄) were added to the polymer solution. The characteristics of the hydrogels were investigated including the gelation temperature, gelation time, hydrogel dissolution and glucosamine release mechanism. Finally, a mathematical model of glucosamine release from Pluronic-alginate-hyaluronic acid hydrogel was developed. Our results have shown that crosslinking Pluronic gel with alginate did not significantly extend the dissolution rate of the gel. Moreover, the gel dissolution profiles and the glucosamine release mechanisms were best described using the zeroth-order kinetic model, indicating that the release of glucosamine was primarily governed by the gel dissolution.

Keywords: Controlled release, drug delivery system, glucosamine, Pluronic® F-127, thermoreversible hydrogel.

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Authors: Viriyavudh Sim, SeungHyun Kim, JungKyu Choi, WooYoung Jung

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Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) is a major evolution for energy dissipation when used as infill material for seismic retrofitting of steel frame, a basic PMC infill wall system consists of two GFRP laminates surrounding an infill of foam core. This paper presents numerical analysis in terms of buckling resistance of GFRP sandwich infill panels system under the influence of environment temperature and stacking sequence of laminate skin. Mode of failure under in-plane compression is studied by means of numerical analysis with ABAQUS platform. Parameters considered in this study are contact length between infill and frame, laminate stacking sequence of GFRP skin and variation of mechanical properties due to increment of temperature. The analysis is done with four cases of simple stacking sequence over a range of temperature. The result showed that both the effect of temperature and stacking sequence alter the performance of entire panel system. The rises of temperature resulted in the decrements of the panel’s strength. This is due to the polymeric nature of this material. Additionally, the contact length also displays the effect on the performance of infill panel. Furthermore, the laminate stiffness can be modified by orientation of laminate, which can increase the infill panel strength. Hence, optimal performance of the entire panel system can be obtained by comparing different cases of stacking sequence.

Keywords: Buckling resistance, GFRP infill panel, stacking sequence, temperature dependent.

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Authors: N. O. Omaka, I. F. Offor, R.C. Ehiri

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The health and environmental risk of eating mushrooms grown in Abakaliki were evaluated in terms of heavy metals accumulation. Mushroom samples were collected from four different farms located at Izzi, Amajim, Amana and Amudo and analyzed for (iron, lead, manganese and cadmium) using Bulk Scientific Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer 205. Results indicates mean range of concentrations of the trace metals in the mushrooms were Fe (0.22-152. 03), Mn (0.74-9.76), Pb (0.01.0.80), Cd (0.61-0.82) mg/L respectively. Accumulation of Cd on the four locations under investigation was higher than the UK Government Food Science Surveillance and World Health Organization maximum recommended levels in mushroom for human consumption. The Fe and Mn contaminants of Amudo were significant and show the impact of anthropogenic/atmospheric pollution. The potential sources of the heavy metals in the mushrooms were from urban waste, dust from mining and quarrying activities, natural geochemistry of the area, and use of inorganic fertilizers

Keywords: Agaricus campestris, edible, health implication heavy metal, mushroom.

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Authors: Willi Zschiebsch, Alrik Dargel, Sebastian Spitzer, Philipp Johst, Robert Böhm, Niels Modler

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In this article, we investigate an approach that digitally links individual development process steps by using the drive shaft of an aircraft engine as representative example of a fiber polymer composite. Such high-performance lightweight composite structures have many adjustable parameters that influence the mechanical properties. Only a combination of optimal parameter values can lead to energy efficient lightweight structures. The development tools required for the Engineering Design Process (EDP) are often isolated solutions and their compatibility with each other is limited. A digital framework is presented in this study, which allows individual specialised tools to be linked via the generated data in such a way that automated optimization across programs becomes possible. This is demonstrated using the example of linking geometry generation with numerical structural analysis. The proposed digital framework for automated design optimization demonstrates the feasibility of developing a complete digital approach to design optimization. The methodology shows promising potential for achieving optimal solutions in terms of mass, material utilization, eigenfrequency and deformation under lateral load with less development effort. The development of such a framework is an important step towards promoting a more efficient design approach that can lead to stable and balanced results.

Keywords: Digital Linked Process, composite, CFRP, multi-objective, EDP, NSGA-2, NSGA-3, TPE.

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Authors: Y.-H Tshela Ntumba, A. Przepiórkowska, M. Prochoń

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Polymeric materials have become an integral part of every aspect of today's industry. They have wide applications, inter alia, in areas such as medicine, food industry and agriculture. In agriculture, for example, they are used for the production of pots, irrigation systems and for soil mulching. The aim of this study was the attempt to produce a biodecomposable agricultural mat, by coating cotton fabric with a blend of carboxylated styrene-butadiene latex (LBSK) containing the enzymatic hydrolyzate of keratin from cattle hair, which would serve as a material for mulching.

The production of such material allows the beneficial management of burdensome tannery waste constituted by keratin from cattle hair and at the same time, the production of agricultural mats that much faster undergo decomposition than commonly used polyethylene mats.

Keywords: Agricultural mat, biodecomposition, biodegradation, carboxylated styrene-butadiene latex, cellulosic-elastomeric material, keratin hydrolyzate, mulching, protein hydrolyzate.

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Authors: Dubbale Daniel A., Tsutsumi J., Michael J. Bendewald

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Addis Ababa is a seat of African Union (AU), United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UN-ECA) and hundreds of embassies and consular representatives. Addis Ababa is one of the highest capitals in the world with an average 2400 meters above sea level. It is dichotomous city with a blend of modern high-rise and deteriorating slum quarters. Water supply and sanitation, waste management and housing are continuing to be serious problems. Forest wood based domestic energy use as well as uncontrolled emissions from mobile and fixed sources has endangered the state of the urban environment. Analysis based on satellite imagery has revealed the deteriorating urban environment within the last three decades. The recently restructured city administration has brought improvements in the condition of the urban environment. However, the overwhelming size of the challenges faced by the city dwarfed their fairly good results.

Keywords: Addis Ababa, Urban environment, Slum, Housing, Relocation

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Authors: Young-Jin Baik, Minsung Kim, Young-Soo Lee, Ki-Chang Chang, Seong-Ryong Park

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The compression-absorption heat pump (C-A HP), one of the promising heat recovery equipments that make process hot water using low temperature heat of wastewater, was evaluated by computer simulation. A simulation program was developed based on the continuity and the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Both the absorber and desorber were modeled using UA-LMTD method. In order to prevent an unfeasible temperature profile and to reduce calculation errors from the curved temperature profile of a mixture, heat loads were divided into lots of segments. A single-stage compressor was considered. A compressor cooling load was also taken into account. An isentropic efficiency was computed from the map data. Simulation conditions were given based on the system consisting of ordinarily designed components. The simulation results show that most of the total entropy generation occurs during the compression and cooling process, thus suggesting the possibility that system performance can be enhanced if a rectifier is introduced.

Keywords: Waste heat recovery, Heat Pump.

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Authors: Eraricar Salleh, Ida Idayu Muhamad, Nozieanna Khairuddin

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Antimicrobial (AM) starch-based films were developed by incorporating chitosan and lauric acid as antimicrobial agent into starch-based film. Chitosan has wide range of applications as a biomaterial, but barriers still exist to its broader use due to its physical and chemical limitations. In this work, a series of starch/chitosan (SC) blend films containing 8% of lauric acid was prepared by casting method. The structure of the film was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Xray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results indicated that there were strong interactions were present between the hydroxyl groups of starch and the amino groups of chitosan resulting in a good miscibility between starch and chitosan in the blend films. Physical properties and optical properties of the AM starch-based film were evaluated. The AM starch-based films incorporated with chitosan and lauric acid showed an improvement in water vapour transmission rate (WVTR) and addition of starch content provided more transparent films while the yellowness of the film attributed to the higher chitosan content. The improvement in water barrier properties was mainly attributed to the hydrophobicity of lauric acid and optimum chitosan or starch content. AM starch based film also showed excellent oxygen barrier. Obtaining films with good oxygen permeability would be an indication of the potential use of these antimicrobial packaging as a natural packaging and an alternative packaging to the synthetic polymer to protect food from oxidation reactions

Keywords: Antimicrobial starch-based films, chitosan, lauric acid, starch.

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Authors: S. Kittipongvises, T. Mino, C. Polprasert

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Global climate change has become the preeminent threat to human security in the 21st century. From mitigation perspective, this study aims to evaluate the performance of biogas renewable project under clean development mechanism activities (namely Korat-Waste-to-Energy) in Thailand and to assess local perceptions towards the significance of climate change mitigation and sustainability of such project in their community. Questionnaire was developed based on the national sustainable development criteria and was distributed among systematically selected households within project boundaries (n=260). Majority of the respondents strongly agreed with the reduction of odor problems (81%) and air pollution (76%). However, they were unsure about greenhouse gas reduction from such project and ignorant about the key issues of climate change. A lesson learned suggested that there is a need to further investigate the possible socio-psychological barriers may significantly shape public perception and understandings of climate change in the local context.

Keywords: Climate Change Mitigation, Local Perspective, Sustainability, Thailand

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Authors: Shun-Kai Yang, Kuo-Feng Ssu

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Target tracking and localization are important applications in wireless sensor networks. In these applications, sensor nodes collectively monitor and track the movement of a target. They have limited energy supplied by batteries, so energy efficiency is essential for sensor networks. Most existing target tracking protocols need to wake up sensors periodically to perform tracking. Some unnecessary energy waste is thus introduced. In this paper, an energy efficient protocol for target localization is proposed. In order to preserve energy, the protocol fixes the number of sensors for target tracking, but it retains the quality of target localization in an acceptable level. By selecting a set of sensors for target localization, the other sensors can sleep rather than periodically wake up to track the target. Simulation results show that the proposed protocol saves a significant amount of energy and also prolongs the network lifetime.

Keywords: Coverage, energy efficiency, target localization, wireless sensor network.

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Authors: Eshagh Rasouli Sarabi, Mir Saeed Moosavi

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In Iran, due to abundance of energy resources, energy consumption is extraordinarily higher than international standards and transportation sector is considered to be one of the major consumers of energy. Moreover, air pollution in urban areas as a result of high dependence on private vehicle and lower standards of vehicles, high subsidies spent on fuel and time waste due to traffic congestion in urban areas all have led to speculations on new strategies and policies in order to control energy consumption in transportation sector. These strategies and policies will be introduced in this paper and their consequences will be analyzed with consideration to socio-economic factors affecting the urban society of Iran. Besides, the intention is to suggest and analyze new approaches such as broader application of public transportation system, demand management in transport sector, replacement of deteriorated vehicles, quality improvement in car manufacture and introduction of substitute fuels.

Keywords: Consumption, energy, fuel, transportation.

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Authors: Enas M. F. El Houby, Marwa S. Hassan

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Combined therapy using Interferon and Ribavirin is the standard treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis C. However, the number of responders to this treatment is low, whereas its cost and side effects are high. Therefore, there is a clear need to predict patient’s response to the treatment based on clinical information to protect the patients from the bad drawbacks, Intolerable side effects and waste of money. Different machine learning techniques have been developed to fulfill this purpose. From these techniques are Associative Classification (AC) and Decision Tree (DT). The aim of this research is to compare the performance of these two techniques in the prediction of virological response to the standard treatment of HCV from clinical information. 200 patients treated with Interferon and Ribavirin; were analyzed using AC and DT. 150 cases had been used to train the classifiers and 50 cases had been used to test the classifiers. The experiment results showed that the two techniques had given acceptable results however the best accuracy for the AC reached 92% whereas for DT reached 80%.

Keywords: Associative Classification, Data mining, Decision tree, HCV, interferon.

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Authors: Aree Thongpukdee, Chockpisit Thepsithar, Sujitra Timchookul

Abstract:

The study aimed to investigate characteristics of vegetative tissue for taxonomic purpose and possibly trend of waste application in industry. Stems and branches of 15 species in Solanum found in Thailand were prepared for fiber and examined by light microscopy. Microstructural characteristic data of fiber i.e. fiber length and width, fiber lumen diameter and fiber cell wall thickness were recorded. The longest average fiber cell length (>3.9 mm.) were obtained in S. lycopersicum L. and S. tuberosum L. Fiber cells from S. lycopersicum also revealed the widest average diameter of whole cell and its lumen at >45.5 μm and >29 μm respectively. However fiber cells with thickest wall of > 9.6 μm were belonged to the ornamental tree species, S. wrightii Benth. The results showed that the slenderness ratio, Runkel ratio, and flexibility coefficient, with potentially suitable for feedstock in paper industry fell in 4 exotic species, i.e. Solanumamericanum L., S. lycopersicum, S. seaforthianum Andr., and S. tuberosum L

Keywords: Fiber, microstructure, Solanaceae, Solanum.

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Authors: K. Nirmalkumar

Abstract:

There is a acute water problem especially in the dry season in and around Perundurai (Erode district, Tamil Nadu, India) where there are more number of tannery units. Hence an attempt was made to use the waste water from tannery industry for construction purpose. The mechanical properties such as compressive strength, tensile strength, flexural strength etc were studied by casting various concrete specimens in form of cube, cylinders and beams etc and were found to be satisfactory. Hence some special properties such as chloride attack, sulphate attack and chemical attack are considered and comparatively studied with the conventional potable water. In this experimental study the results of specimens prepared by using treated and untreated tannery effluent were compared with the concrete specimens prepared by using potable water. It was observed that the concrete had some reduction in strength while subjected to chloride attack, sulphate attack and chemical attack. So admixtures were selected and optimized in suitable proportion to counter act the adverse effects and the results were found to be satisfactory.

Keywords: Calcium nitrite, concrete, fly ash.

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