Search results for: solid waste.
157 Rating the Importance of Customer Requirements for Green Product Using Analytic Hierarchy Process Methodology
Authors: Lara F. Horani, Shurong Tong
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Identification of customer requirements and their preferences are the starting points in the process of product design. Most of design methodologies focus on traditional requirements. But in the previous decade, the green products and the environment requirements have increasingly attracted the attention with the constant increase in the level of consumer awareness towards environmental problems (such as green-house effect, global warming, pollution and energy crisis, and waste management). Determining the importance weights for the customer requirements is an essential and crucial process. This paper used the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach to evaluate and rate the customer requirements for green products. With respect to the ultimate goal of customer satisfaction, surveys are conducted using a five-point scale analysis. With the help of this scale, one can derive the weight vectors. This approach can improve the imprecise ranking of customer requirements inherited from studies based on the conventional AHP. Furthermore, the AHP with extent analysis is simple and easy to implement to prioritize customer requirements. The research is based on collected data through a questionnaire survey conducted over a sample of 160 people belonging to different age, marital status, education and income groups in order to identify the customer preferences for green product requirements.
Keywords: Analytic hierarchy process, green product, customer requirements for green design, importance weights for the customer requirements.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 876156 Assessment of Tourist and Community Perception with Regard to Tourism Sustainability Indicators: A Case Study of Sinharaja World Heritage Rainforest, Sri Lanka
Authors: L. P. K. Liyanage, N. R. P. Withana, A. L. Sandika
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The purpose of this study was to determine tourist and community perception-based sustainable tourism indicators as well as Human Pressure Index (HPI) and Tourist Activity Index (TAI). Study was carried out in Sinharaja forest which is considered as one of the major eco-tourism destination in Sri Lanka. Data were gathered using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire as well as records from Forest department. Convenient sampling technique was applied. For the majority of issues, the responses were obtained on multi-point Likert-type scales. Visual portrayal was used for display analyzed data. The study revealed that the host community of the Kudawa gets many benefits from tourism. Also, tourism has caused negative impacts upon the environment and community. The study further revealed the need of proper waste management and involvement of local cultural events for the tourism business in the Kudawa conservation center. The TAI, which accounted to be 1.27 and monthly evolution of HPI revealed that congestion can be occurred in the Sinharaja rainforest during peak season. The results provide useful information to any party involved with tourism planning anywhere, since such attempts would be more effective once the people’s perceptions on these aspects are taken into account.
Keywords: Kudawa conservation center, Sinharaja world heritage rainforest, sustainability indicators.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1138155 Suitability of Newsprint and Kraft Papers as Materials for Cement Bonded Ceiling Board
Authors: J. M. Owoyemi, O. S. Ogunrinde
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The suitability of Newsprint and Kraft papers for the production of cement bonded ceiling board was investigated. Sample boards were produced from newsprint paper (100%), mixture of newsprint and Kraft paper (50:50) and Kraft paper (100%) at 1:1, 2:1 and 3:1 cement/paper mixing ratio respectively with 3% additive concentration of calcium chloride (CaCl2). Density, flexural and thickness swelling properties of the boards were investigated. The effects of paper type and mixing ratio on the physical and mechanical properties were also examined. The bending properties of the board which include Modulus of Elasticity (MOE) and Modulus of Rupture (MOR) increased linearly with increase in density. Modulus of rupture of boards increased as the density and mixing ratio increased. The thickness swelling property for the two paper types decreased as the board density and mixing ratio increased. Boards made from Kraft paper recorded higher strength values than the ones made from recycled newsprint paper while the mixture of kraft and newsprint papers had the best surface finish. The result of the study will help in managing the large quality of waste from paper converting/carton industry and that the ceiling boards produced could be installed with clout nails or used with suspended ceiling fittings.
Keywords: Cement, Kraft paper, Mixing ratio, Newsprint.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3744154 Experimental Characterization of the Thermal Behavior of a Sawdust Mortar
Authors: F. Taouche-Kheloui, O. Fedaoui-Akmoussi, K. Ait tahar, Li. Alex
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Currently, the reduction of energy consumption, through the use of abundant and recyclable natural materials, for better thermal insulation represents an important area of research. To this end, the use of bio-sourced materials has been identified as one of the green sectors with a very high economic development potential for the future. Because of its role in reducing the consumption of fossil-based raw materials, it contributes significantly to the storage of atmospheric carbon, limits greenhouse gas emissions and creates new economic opportunities. This study constitutes a contribution to the elaboration and the experimental characterization of the thermal behavior of a sawdust-reduced mortar matrix. We have taken into account the influence of the size of the grain fibers of sawdust, hence the use of three different ranges and also different percentage in the different confections. The intended practical application consists of producing a light weight compound at a lower cost to ensure a better thermal and acoustic behavior compared to that existing in the field, in addition to the desired resistances. Improving energy performance, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector, is amongst the objectives to be achieved. The results are very encouraging and highlight the value of the proposed design of organic-source mortar panels which have specific mechanical properties acceptable for their use, low densities, lower cost of manufacture and labor, and above all a positive impact on the environment.
Keywords: Mortar, sawdust waste, thermal, experimental, analysis.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 580153 Influence of Yeast Strains on Microbiological Stability of Wheat Bread
Authors: E. Soboleva, E. Sergachyova, S. G. Davydenko, T. V. Meledina
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Problem of food preservation is extremely important for mankind. Viscous damage ("illness") of bread results from development of Bacillus spp. bacteria. High temperature resistant spores of this microorganism are steady against 120°C) and remain in bread during pastries, potentially causing spoilage of the final product. Scientists are interested in further characterization of bread spoiling Bacillus spp. species. Our aim was to find weather yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains that are able to produce natural antimicrobial killer factor can preserve bread illness. By diffusion method, we showed yeast antagonistic activity against spore-forming bacteria. Experimental technological parameters were the same as for bakers' yeasts production on the industrial scale. Risograph test during dough fermentation demonstrated gas production. The major finding of the study was a clear indication of the presence of killer yeast strain antagonistic activity against rope in bread causing bacteria. After demonstrating antagonistic effect of S. cerevisiae on bacteria using solid nutrient medium, we tested baked bread under provocative conditions. We also measured formation of carbon dioxide in the dough, dough-making duration and quality of the final products, when using different strains of S. cerevisiae. It is determined that the use of yeast S. cerevisiae RCAM 01730 killer strain inhibits appearance of rope in bread. Thus, natural yeast antimicrobial killer toxin, produced by some S. cerevisiae strains is an anti-rope in bread protector.Keywords: Bakers' yeasts, rope in bread, Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1871152 Numerical Simulation of the Flowing of Ice Slurry in Seawater Pipe of Polar Ships
Authors: Li Xu, Huanbao Jiang, Zhenfei Huang, Lailai Zhang
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In recent years, as global warming, the sea-ice extent of North Arctic undergoes an evident decrease and Arctic channel has attracted the attention of shipping industry. Ice crystals existing in the seawater of Arctic channel which enter the seawater system of the ship with the seawater were found blocking the seawater pipe. The appearance of cooler paralysis, auxiliary machine error and even ship power system paralysis may be happened if seriously. In order to reduce the effect of high temperature in auxiliary equipment, seawater system will use external ice-water to participate in the cooling cycle and achieve the state of its flow. The distribution of ice crystals in seawater pipe can be achieved. As the ice slurry system is solid liquid two-phase system, the flow process of ice-water mixture is very complex and diverse. In this paper, the flow process in seawater pipe of ice slurry is simulated with fluid dynamics simulation software based on k-ε turbulence model. As the ice packing fraction is a key factor effecting the distribution of ice crystals, the influence of ice packing fraction on the flowing process of ice slurry is analyzed. In this work, the simulation results show that as the ice packing fraction is relatively large, the distribution of ice crystals is uneven in the flowing process of the seawater which has such disadvantage as increase the possibility of blocking, that will provide scientific forecasting methods for the forming of ice block in seawater piping system. It has important significance for the reliability of the operating of polar ships in the future.Keywords: Ice slurry, seawater pipe, ice packing fraction, numerical simulation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1364151 A Comparative Analysis of Heuristics Applied to Collecting Used Lubricant Oils Generated in the City of Pereira, Colombia
Authors: Diana Fajardo, Sebastián Ortiz, Oscar Herrera, Angélica Santis
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Currently, in Colombia is arising a problem related to collecting used lubricant oils which are generated by the increment of the vehicle fleet. This situation does not allow a proper disposal of this type of waste, which in turn results in a negative impact on the environment. Therefore, through the comparative analysis of various heuristics, the best solution to the VRP (Vehicle Routing Problem) was selected by comparing costs and times for the collection of used lubricant oils in the city of Pereira, Colombia; since there is no presence of management companies engaged in the direct administration of the collection of this pollutant. To achieve this aim, six proposals of through methods of solution of two phases were discussed. First, the assignment of the group of generator points of the residue was made (previously identified). Proposals one and four of through methods are based on the closeness of points. The proposals two and five are using the scanning method and the proposals three and six are considering the restriction of the capacity of collection vehicle. Subsequently, the routes were developed - in the first three proposals by the Clarke and Wright's savings algorithm and in the following proposals by the Traveling Salesman optimization mathematical model. After applying techniques, a comparative analysis of the results was performed and it was determined which of the proposals presented the most optimal values in terms of the distance, cost and travel time.
Keywords: Heuristics, optimization model, savings algorithm used vehicular oil, VRP.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1301150 An In-depth Experimental Study of Wax Deposition in Pipelines
Authors: M. L. Arias, J. D’Adamo, M. N. Novosad, P. A. Raffo, H. P. Burbridge, G. O. Artana
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Shale oils are highly paraffinic and, consequently, can create wax deposits that foul pipelines during transportation. Several factors must be considered when designing pipelines or treatment programs that prevent wax deposition: including chemical species in crude oils, flowrates, pipes diameters and temperature. This paper describes the wax deposition study carried out within the framework of YPF Tecnolgía S.A. (Y-TEC) flow assurance projects, as part of the process to achieve a better understanding on wax deposition issues. Laboratory experiments were performed on a medium size, 1 inch diameter, wax deposition loop of 15 meters long equipped with a solid detector system, online microscope to visualize crystals, temperature, and pressure sensors along the loop pipe. A baseline test was performed with diesel with no added paraffin or additive content. Tests were undertaken with different temperatures of circulating and cooling fluid at different flow conditions. Then, a solution formed with a paraffin incorporated to the diesel was considered. Tests varying flowrate and cooling rate were again run. Viscosity, density, WAT (Wax Appearance Temperature) with DSC (Differential Scanning Calorimetry), pour point and cold finger measurements were carried out to determine physical properties of the working fluids. The results obtained in the loop were analyzed through momentum balance and heat transfer models. To determine possible paraffin deposition scenarios temperature and pressure loop output signals were studied. They were compared with WAT static laboratory methods.
Keywords: Paraffin deposition, wax, oil pipelines, experimental pipe loop.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 125149 Research for Hollow Reinforced Concrete Bridge Piers in Korea
Authors: Ho-Young Kim, Jae-Hoon Lee, Do-Kyu Hwang, Im-Jong Kwahk, Tae-Hoon Kim, Seung-Hoon Lee
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Hollow section for bridge columns has some advantages. However, current seismic design codes do not provide design regulations for hollow bridge piers. There have been many experimental studied for hollow reinforced concrete piers in the world. But, Study for hollow section for bridge piers in Korea has been begun with approximately 2000s. There has been conducted experimental study for hollow piers of flexural controlled sections by Yeungnam University, Sung kyunkwan University, Korea Expressway Corporation in 2009. This study concluded that flexural controlled sections for hollow piers showed the similar behavior to solid sections. And there have been conducted experimental study for hollow piers of compression controlled sections by Yeungnam University, Korea Institute of Construction Technology in 2012. This study concluded that compression controlled sections for hollow piers showed compression fracture of concrete in inside wall face. Samsung Construction & Trading Corporation has been conducted study with Yeungnam University for reduce the quantity of reinforcement details about hollow piers. Reduce the quantity of reinforcement details are triangular cross tie. This study concluded that triangular reinforcement details showed the similar behavior as compared with existing reinforcement details.Keywords: Hollow pier, flexural controlled section, compression controlled section, reduce the quantity of reinforcement details.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2893148 Physicochemistry of Pozzolanic Stabilization of a Class A-2-7 Lateritic Soil
Authors: Ahmed O. Apampa, Yinusa A. Jimoh
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The paper examines the mechanism of pozzolan-soil reactions, using a recent study on the chemical stabilization of a Class A-2-7 (3) lateritic soil, with corn cob ash (CCA) as case study. The objectives are to establish a nexus between cation exchange capacity of the soil, the alkaline forming compounds in CCA and percentage CCA addition to soil beyond which no more improvement in strength properties can be achieved; and to propose feasible chemical reactions to explain the chemical stabilization of the lateritic soil with CCA alone. The lateritic soil, as well as CCA of pozzolanic quality Class C were separately analysed for their metallic oxide composition using the X-Ray Fluorescence technique. The cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the soil and the CCA were computed theoretically using the percentage composition of the base cations Ca2+, Mg2+ K+ and Na2+ as 1.48 meq/100 g and 61.67 meq/100 g respectively, thus indicating a ratio of 0.024 or 2.4%. This figure, taken as the theoretical amount required to just fill up the exchangeable sites of the clay molecules, compares well with the laboratory observation of 1.5% for the optimum level of CCA addition to lateritic soil. The paper went on to present chemical reaction equations between the alkaline earth metals in the CCA and the silica in the lateritic soil to form silicates, thereby proposing an extension of the theory of mechanism of soil stabilization to cover chemical stabilization with pozzolanic ash only. The paper concluded by recommending further research on the molecular structure of soils stabilized with pozzolanic waste ash alone, with a view to confirming the chemical equations advanced in the study.Keywords: Cation exchange capacity, corn cob ash, lateritic soil, soil stabilization.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1327147 Utilization Juice Wastes as Corn Replacement in the Broiler Diet
Authors: Yose Rizal, Maria Endo Mahata, Mira Andriani, Guoyao Wu
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An experiment was conducted with 80 unsexed broilers of the Arbor Acress strain to determine the capability of a carrot and fruit juice wastes mixture (carrot, apple, manggo, avocado, orange, melon and Dutch egg plant) in the same proportion for replacing corn in broiler diet. This study involved a completely randomized design (CRD) with 5 treatments (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20% of juice wastes mixture in diets) and 4 replicates per treatment. Diets were isonitrogenous (22% crude protein) and isocaloric (3000 kcal/kg diet). Measured variables were feed consumption, average daily gain, feed conversion, as well as percentages of abdominal fat pad, carcass, digestive organs (liver, pancreas and gizzard), and heart. Data were analyzed by analysis of variance for CRD. Increasing juice wastes mixture levels in diets increased feed consumption (P<0.05) and average daily gain (P<0.01), while improving feed utilization efficiency (P<0.05). These treatments also affected (P<0.05) abdominal fat pad percentage but had no effect (P>0.05) on carcass, liver, pancreas, gizzard or heart percentages. In conclusion, up to 20% of juice wastes mixture could be included for the broiler diet to effectively replace up to 40% corn in the diet.Keywords: average daily gain, feed consumption, feedconversion, juice waste mixture
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1791146 Optimization of Ethanol Fermentation from Pineapple Peel Extract Using Response Surface Methodology (RSM)
Authors: Nadya Hajar, Zainal, S., Atikah, O., Tengku Elida, T. Z. M.
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Ethanol has been known for a long time, being perhaps the oldest product obtained through traditional biotechnology fermentation. Agriculture waste as substrate in fermentation is vastly discussed as alternative to replace edible food and utilization of organic material. Pineapple peel, highly potential source as substrate is a by-product of the pineapple processing industry. Bio-ethanol from pineapple (Ananas comosus) peel extract was carried out by controlling fermentation without any treatment. Saccharomyces ellipsoides was used as inoculum in this fermentation process as it is naturally found at the pineapple skin. In this study, the capability of Response Surface Methodology (RSM) for optimization of ethanol production from pineapple peel extract using Saccharomyces ellipsoideus in batch fermentation process was investigated. Effect of five test variables in a defined range of inoculum concentration 6- 14% (v/v), pH (4.0-6.0), sugar concentration (14-22°Brix), temperature (24-32°C) and time of incubation (30-54 hrs) on the ethanol production were evaluated. Data obtained from experiment were analyzed with RSM of MINITAB Software (Version 15) whereby optimum ethanol concentration of 8.637% (v/v) was determined. The optimum condition of 14% (v/v) inoculum concentration, pH 6, 22°Brix, 26°C and 30hours of incubation. The significant regression equation or model at the 5% level with correlation value of 99.96% was also obtained.Keywords: Bio-ethanol, pineapple peel extract, Response Surface Methodology (RSM), Saccharomyces ellipsoideus.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6064145 Studying the Temperature Field of Hypersonic Vehicle Structure with Aero-Thermo-Elasticity Deformation
Authors: Geng Xiangren, Liu Lei, Gui Ye-Wei, Tang Wei, Wang An-ling
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The malfunction of thermal protection system (TPS) caused by aerodynamic heating is a latent trouble to aircraft structure safety. Accurately predicting the structure temperature field is quite important for the TPS design of hypersonic vehicle. Since Thornton’s work in 1988, the coupled method of aerodynamic heating and heat transfer has developed rapidly. However, little attention has been paid to the influence of structural deformation on aerodynamic heating and structural temperature field. In the flight, especially the long-endurance flight, the structural deformation, caused by the aerodynamic heating and temperature rise, has a direct impact on the aerodynamic heating and structural temperature field. Thus, the coupled interaction cannot be neglected. In this paper, based on the method of static aero-thermo-elasticity, considering the influence of aero-thermo-elasticity deformation, the aerodynamic heating and heat transfer coupled results of hypersonic vehicle wing model were calculated. The results show that, for the low-curvature region, such as fuselage or center-section wing, structure deformation has little effect on temperature field. However, for the stagnation region with high curvature, the coupled effect is not negligible. Thus, it is quite important for the structure temperature prediction to take into account the effect of elastic deformation. This work has laid a solid foundation for improving the prediction accuracy of the temperature distribution of aircraft structures and the evaluation capacity of structural performance.
Keywords: Aero-thermo-elasticity, elastic deformation, structural temperature, multi-field coupling.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 884144 Application of Acinetobacter sp. KKU44 for Cellulase Production from Agricultural Waste
Authors: Surasak Siripornadulsil, Nutt Poomai, Wilailak Siripornadulsil
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Due to a high ethanol demand, the approach for effective ethanol production is important and has been developed rapidly worldwide. Several agricultural wastes are highly abundant in celluloses and the effective cellulase enzymes do exist widely among microorganisms. Accordingly, the cellulose degradation using microbial cellulase to produce a low-cost substrate for ethanol production has attracted more attention. In this study, the cellulase producing bacterial strain has been isolated from rich straw and identified by 16S rDNA sequence analysis as Acinetobacter sp. KKU44. This strain is able to grow and exhibit the cellulase activity. The optimal temperature for its growth and cellulase production is 37°C. The optimal temperature of bacterial cellulase activity is 60°C. The cellulase enzyme from Acinetobacter sp. KKU44 is heat-tolerant enzyme. The bacterial culture of 36h. showed highest cellulase activity at 120U/mL when grown in LB medium containing 2% (w/v). The capability of Acinetobacter sp. KKU44 to grow in cellulosic agricultural wastes as a sole carbon source and exhibiting the high cellulase activity at high temperature suggested that this strain could be potentially developed further as a cellulose degrading strain for a production of low-cost substrate used in ethanol production.
Keywords: Acinetobacter sp. KKU44, bagasse, cellulase enzyme, rice husk.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2664143 Co-Disposal of Coal Ash with Mine Tailings in Surface Paste Disposal Practices: A Gold Mining Case Study
Authors: M. L. Dinis, M. C. Vila, A. Fiúza, A. Futuro, C. Nunes
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The present paper describes the study of paste tailings prepared in laboratory using gold tailings, produced in a Finnish gold mine with the incorporation of coal ash. Natural leaching tests were conducted with the original materials (tailings, fly and bottom ashes) and also with paste mixtures that were prepared with different percentages of tailings and ashes. After leaching, the solid wastes were physically and chemically characterized and the results were compared to those selected as blank – the unleached samples. The tailings and the coal ash, as well as the prepared mixtures, were characterized, in addition to the textural parameters, by the following measurements: grain size distribution, chemical composition and pH. Mixtures were also tested in order to characterize their mechanical behavior by measuring the flexural strength, the compressive strength and the consistency. The original tailing samples presented an alkaline pH because during their processing they were previously submitted to pressure oxidation with destruction of the sulfides. Therefore, it was not possible to ascertain the effect of the coal ashes in the acid mine drainage. However, it was possible to verify that the paste reactivity was affected mostly by the bottom ash and that the tailings blended with bottom ash present lower mechanical strength than when blended with a combination of fly and bottom ash. Surface paste disposal offer an attractive alternative to traditional methods in addition to the environmental benefits of incorporating large-volume wastes (e.g. bottom ash). However, a comprehensive characterization of the paste mixtures is crucial to optimize paste design in order to enhance engineer and environmental properties.Keywords: Coal ash, gold tailings, paste, surface disposal.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1429142 Study of Pipes Scaling of Purified Wastewater Intended for the Irrigation of Agadir Golf Grass
Authors: A. Driouiche, S. Mohareb, A. Hadfi
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In Morocco’s Agadir region, the reuse of treated wastewater for irrigation of green spaces has faced the problem of scaling of the pipes of these waters. This research paper aims at studying the phenomenon of scaling caused by the treated wastewater from the Mzar sewage treatment plant. These waters are used in the irrigation of golf turf for the Ocean Golf Resort. Ocean Golf, located about 10 km from the center of the city of Agadir, is one of the most important recreation centers in Morocco. The course is a Belt Collins design with 27 holes, and is quite open with deep challenging bunkers. The formation of solid deposits in the irrigation systems has led to a decrease in their lifetime and, consequently, a loss of load and performance. Thus, the sprinklers used in golf turf irrigation are plugged in the first weeks of operation. To study this phenomenon, the wastewater used for the irrigation of the golf turf was taken and analyzed at various points, and also samples of scale formed in the circuits of the passage of these waters were characterized. This characterization of the scale was performed by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential thermal analysis (DTA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results of the physicochemical analysis of the waters show that they are full of bicarbonates (653 mg/L), chloride (478 mg/L), nitrate (412 mg/L), sodium (425 mg/L) and calcium (199mg/L). Their pH is slightly alkaline. The analysis of the scale reveals that it is rich in calcium and phosphorus. It is formed of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), silica (SiO₂), calcium silicate (Ca₂SiO₄), hydroxylapatite (Ca₁₀P₆O₂₆), calcium carbonate and phosphate (Ca₁₀(PO₄) 6CO₃) and silicate calcium and magnesium (Ca₅MgSi₃O₁₂).
Keywords: Agadir, irrigation, scaling water, wastewater.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 694141 Multi-Factor Optimization Method through Machine Learning in Building Envelope Design: Focusing on Perforated Metal Façade
Authors: Jinwooung Kim, Jae-Hwan Jung, Seong-Jun Kim, Sung-Ah Kim
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Because the building envelope has a significant impact on the operation and maintenance stage of the building, designing the facade considering the performance can improve the performance of the building and lower the maintenance cost of the building. In general, however, optimizing two or more performance factors confronts the limits of time and computational tools. The optimization phase typically repeats infinitely until a series of processes that generate alternatives and analyze the generated alternatives achieve the desired performance. In particular, as complex geometry or precision increases, computational resources and time are prohibitive to find the required performance, so an optimization methodology is needed to deal with this. Instead of directly analyzing all the alternatives in the optimization process, applying experimental techniques (heuristic method) learned through experimentation and experience can reduce resource waste. This study proposes and verifies a method to optimize the double envelope of a building composed of a perforated panel using machine learning to the design geometry and quantitative performance. The proposed method is to achieve the required performance with fewer resources by supplementing the existing method which cannot calculate the complex shape of the perforated panel.
Keywords: Building envelope, machine learning, perforated metal, multi-factor optimization, façade.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1203140 Energy Policy in Nigeria: Prospects and Challenges
Authors: N. Garba, A. Adamu, A. I. Augie
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Energy is the major force that drives any country`s socio-economic development. Without electricity, the country could be at risk of losing many potential investors. As such, good policy implementation could play a significant role in harnessing all the available energy resources. Nigeria has the prospects of meeting its energy demand and supply if there are good policies and proper implementation of them. The current energy supply needs to improve in order to meet the present and future demand. Sustainable energy development is the way forward. Renewable energy plays a significant role in socio-economic development of any country. Nigeria is a country blessed with abundant natural resources such as, solar radiation for solar power, water for hydropower, wind for wind power, and biomass from both plants and animal’s waste. Both conventional energy (fossil fuel) and unconventional energy (renewable) could be harmonized like in the case of energy mix or biofuels. Biofuels like biodiesel could be produced from biomass and combined with petro-diesel in different ratios. All these can be achieved if good policy is in place. The challenges could be well overcome with good policy, masses awareness, technological knowledge and other incentives that can attract investors in Nigerian energy sector.
Keywords: Nigeria, renewable energy, Renewable Energy and Efficiency Partnership, Rural Electrification Agency, International Renewable Energy Agency, ECOWAS, Energy Commission of Nigeria
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 617139 Automatic Detection of Defects in Ornamental Limestone Using Wavelets
Authors: Maria C. Proença, Marco Aniceto, Pedro N. Santos, José C. Freitas
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A methodology based on wavelets is proposed for the automatic location and delimitation of defects in limestone plates. Natural defects include dark colored spots, crystal zones trapped in the stone, areas of abnormal contrast colors, cracks or fracture lines, and fossil patterns. Although some of these may or may not be considered as defects according to the intended use of the plate, the goal is to pair each stone with a map of defects that can be overlaid on a computer display. These layers of defects constitute a database that will allow the preliminary selection of matching tiles of a particular variety, with specific dimensions, for a requirement of N square meters, to be done on a desktop computer rather than by a two-hour search in the storage park, with human operators manipulating stone plates as large as 3 m x 2 m, weighing about one ton. Accident risks and work times are reduced, with a consequent increase in productivity. The base for the algorithm is wavelet decomposition executed in two instances of the original image, to detect both hypotheses – dark and clear defects. The existence and/or size of these defects are the gauge to classify the quality grade of the stone products. The tuning of parameters that are possible in the framework of the wavelets corresponds to different levels of accuracy in the drawing of the contours and selection of the defects size, which allows for the use of the map of defects to cut a selected stone into tiles with minimum waste, according the dimension of defects allowed.
Keywords: Automatic detection, wavelets, defects, fracture lines.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1155138 Optimization of Molasses Desugarization Process Using Steffen Method in Sugar Beet Factories
Authors: Simin Asadollahi, Mohammad Hossein Haddad Khodaparast
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Molasses is one of the most important by-products in sugar industry, which contains a large amount of sucrose. The routine way to separate the sucrose from molasses is using steffen method. Whereas this method is very usual in sugar factories, the aim of this research is optimization of this method. Mentioned optimization depends to three factors of reactor alkality, reactor temperature and diluted molasses brix. Accordingly, three different stages must be done:
- Construction of a pilot plant similar to actual steffen system in sugar factories
- Experimenting using the pilot plant
- Laboratory analysis
These experiences included 27 treatments in three replications. In each replication, brix, polarization and purity characters in Saccharate syrup and hot and cold waste were measured. The results showed that diluted molasses brix, reactor alkality and reactor temperature had many significant effects on Saccharate purity and efficiency of molasses desugarization. This research was performed in "randomize complete design" form & was analyzed with "duncan multiple range test". The significant difference in the level of α = 5% is observed between the treatments. The results indicated that the optimal conditions for molasses desugarization by steffen method are: diluted molasses brix= 10, reactor alkality= 10 and reactor temperature=8˚C.
Keywords: Molasses desugarization, Saccharate purity, Steffen process.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2977137 Utilization of Agro-Industrial Byproducts for Bacteriocin Production Using Newly Isolated Enterococcus faecium BS13
Authors: Vandana Bali, Manab B. Bera, Parmjit S. Panesar
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Microbial production of antimicrobials as biopreservatives is the major area of focus nowadays due to increased interest of consumers towards natural and safe preservation of ready to eat food products. The agro-industrial byproduct based medium and optimized process conditions can contribute in economical production of bacteriocins. Keeping this in view, the present investigation was carried out on agro-industrial byproducts utilization for the production of bacteriocin using Enterococcus faecium BS13 isolated from local fermented food. Different agro-industrial byproduct based carbon sources (whey, potato starch liquor, kinnow peel, deoiledrice bran and molasses), nitrogen sources (soya okra, pea pod and corn steep liquor), metal ions and surfactants were tested for optimal bacteriocin production. The effect of various process parameters such as pH, temperature, inoculum level, agitation and time were also tested on bacteriocin production. The optimized medium containing whey, supplemented with 4%corn steep liquor and polysorbate-80 displayed maximum bacteriocin activity with 2% inoculum, at pH 6.5, temperature 40oC under shaking conditions (100 rpm).
Keywords: Bacteriocin, biopreservation, corn steep liquor, Enterococcus faecium, waste utilization, whey.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2750136 FEA for Transient Responses of an S-Shaped Force Transducer with a Viscoelastic Absorber Using a Nonlinear Complex Spring
Authors: T. Yamaguchi, Y. Fujii, A. Takita, T. Kanai
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To compute dynamic characteristics of nonlinear viscoelastic springs with elastic structures having huge degree-of-freedom, Yamaguchi proposed a new fast numerical method using finite element method [1]-[2]. In this method, restoring forces of the springs are expressed using power series of their elongation. In the expression, nonlinear hysteresis damping is introduced. In this expression, nonlinear complex spring constants are introduced. Finite element for the nonlinear spring having complex coefficients is expressed and is connected to the elastic structures modeled by linear solid finite element. Further, to save computational time, the discrete equations in physical coordinate are transformed into the nonlinear ordinary coupled equations using normal coordinate corresponding to linear natural modes. In this report, the proposed method is applied to simulation for impact responses of a viscoelastic shock absorber with an elastic structure (an S-shaped structure) by colliding with a concentrated mass. The concentrated mass has initial velocities and collides with the shock absorber. Accelerations of the elastic structure and the concentrated mass are measured using Levitation Mass Method proposed by Fujii [3]. The calculated accelerations from the proposed FEM, corresponds to the experimental ones. Moreover, using this method, we also investigate dynamic errors of the S-shaped force transducer due to elastic mode in the S-shaped structure.
Keywords: Transient response, Finite Element analysis, Numerical analysis, Viscoelastic shock absorber, Force transducer.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1742135 Variations in Water Supply and Quality in Selected Groundwater Sources in a Part of Southwest Nigeria
Authors: Samuel Olajide Babawale, O. O. Ogunkoya
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The study mapped selected wells in Inisa town, Osun state, in the guinea savanna region of southwest Nigeria, and determined the water quality considering certain elements. It also assessed the variation in the elevation of the water table surface to depth of the wells in the months of August and November. This is with a view to determine the level of contamination of the water with respect to land use and anthropogenic activities, and also to determine the variation that occurs in the quantity of well water in the rainy season and the start of the dry season. Results show a random pattern of the distribution of the mapped wells and shows that there is a shallow water table in the study area. The temporal changes in the elevation show that there are no significant variations in the depth of the water table surface over the period of study implying that there is a sufficient amount of water available to the town all year round. It also shows a high concentration of sodium in the water sample analyzed compared to other elements that were considered, which include iron, copper, calcium, and lead. This is attributed majorly to anthropogenic activities through the disposal of waste in landfill sites. There is a low concentration of lead which is a good indication of a reduced level of pollution.
Keywords: Water quality, temporal changes, elevation, water table surface, land use, anthropogenic activities.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 644134 A β-mannanase from Fusarium oxysporum SS-25 via Solid State Fermentation on Brewer’s Spent Grain: Medium Optimization by Statistical Tools, Kinetic Characterization and Its Applications
Authors: S. S. Rana, C. Janveja, S. K. Soni
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This study is concerned with the optimization of fermentation parameters for the hyper production of mannanase from Fusarium oxysporum SS-25 employing two step statistical strategy and kinetic characterization of crude enzyme preparation. The Plackett-Burman design used to screen out the important factors in the culture medium revealed 20% (w/w) wheat bran, 2% (w/w) each of potato peels, soyabean meal and malt extract, 1% tryptone, 0.14% NH4SO4, 0.2% KH2PO4, 0.0002% ZnSO4, 0.0005% FeSO4, 0.01% MnSO4, 0.012% SDS, 0.03% NH4Cl, 0.1% NaNO3 in brewer’s spent grain based medium with 50% moisture content, inoculated with 2.8×107 spores and incubated at 30oC for 6 days to be the main parameters influencing the enzyme production. Of these factors, four variables including soyabean meal, FeSO4, MnSO4 and NaNO3 were chosen to study the interactive effects and their optimum levels in central composite design of response surface methodology with the final mannanase yield of 193 IU/gds. The kinetic characterization revealed the crude enzyme to be active over broader temperature and pH range. This could result in 26.6% reduction in kappa number with 4.93% higher tear index and 1% increase in brightness when used to treat the wheat straw based kraft pulp. The hydrolytic potential of enzyme was also demonstrated on both locust bean gum and guar gum.
Keywords: Brewer’s Spent Grain, Fusarium oxysporum, Mannanase, Response Surface Methodology.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5162133 Studying the Environmental Effects of using Biogas Energy in Iran
Authors: Kambiz Tahvildari, Shakila ila Motamedi
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Presently and in line with the United Nations (EPA), human thinking system has shifted towards clean fuels so as to maintain a cleaner environment and to save our planet earth. One of the most successful studies in order to achieve new energies includes the use of animal wastes and their organic residues, and the result of these researches has been represented in the form of very simple and cheap methods called biogas technology. Biogas technology has developed a lot in the recent decades; its reason is the high cost of fossil fuels and the greater attention of countries to the environmental pollutions due to the consumption of this kind of fuels. IRAN is ready for the optimized application of renewable energies, having much enriched resources of this kind of energies; so a special place could be considered for it when making programs. The purpose of biogas technology is the recovery of energy and finally the protection of the environment, which is much appropriate for the third world farmers with respect to their technical abilities and economic potentials. Studies show that the production and consumption of biogas is appropriate and economic in IRAN, because of the high amount of waste in the agriculture sector, the significant amount of animal and human excrement production, the great volume of garbage produced and the most important the specific social, climatic and agricultural conditions in IRAN, in order to proceed towards the reduction of pollution due to the use of fossil fuels.Keywords: Agriculture, Biogas, Energy, Environment.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1771132 Numerical Investigation of Nozzle Shape Effect on Shock Wave in Natural Gas Processing
Authors: Esam I. Jassim, Mohamed M. Awad
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Natural gas flow contains undesirable solid particles, liquid condensation, and/or oil droplets and requires reliable removing equipment to perform filtration. Recent natural gas processing applications are demanded compactness and reliability of process equipment. Since conventional means are sophisticated in design, poor in efficiency, and continue lacking robust, a supersonic nozzle has been introduced as an alternative means to meet such demands. A 3-D Convergent-Divergent Nozzle is simulated using commercial Code for pressure ratio (NPR) varies from 1.2 to 2. Six different shapes of nozzle are numerically examined to illustrate the position of shock-wave as such spot could be considered as a benchmark of particle separation. Rectangle, triangle, circular, elliptical, pentagon, and hexagon nozzles are simulated using Fluent Code with all have same cross-sectional area. The simple one-dimensional inviscid theory does not describe the actual features of fluid flow precisely as it ignores the impact of nozzle configuration on the flow properties. CFD Simulation results, however, show that nozzle geometry influences the flow structures including location of shock wave. The CFD analysis predicts shock appearance when p01/pa>1.2 for almost all geometry and locates at the lower area ratio (Ae/At). Simulation results showed that shock wave in Elliptical nozzle has the farthest distance from the throat among the others at relatively small NPR. As NPR increases, hexagon would be the farthest. The numerical result is compared with available experimental data and has shown good agreement in terms of shock location and flow structure.Keywords: CFD, Particle Separation, Shock wave, Supersonic Nozzle.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3234131 Enhancing Performance of Bluetooth Piconets Using Priority Scheduling and Exponential Back-Off Mechanism
Authors: Dharmendra Chourishi “Maitraya”, Sridevi Seshadri
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Bluetooth is a personal wireless communication technology and is being applied in many scenarios. It is an emerging standard for short range, low cost, low power wireless access technology. Current existing MAC (Medium Access Control) scheduling schemes only provide best-effort service for all masterslave connections. It is very challenging to provide QoS (Quality of Service) support for different connections due to the feature of Master Driven TDD (Time Division Duplex). However, there is no solution available to support both delay and bandwidth guarantees required by real time applications. This paper addresses the issue of how to enhance QoS support in a Bluetooth piconet. The Bluetooth specification proposes a Round Robin scheduler as possible solution for scheduling the transmissions in a Bluetooth Piconet. We propose an algorithm which will reduce the bandwidth waste and enhance the efficiency of network. We define token counters to estimate traffic of real-time slaves. To increase bandwidth utilization, a back-off mechanism is then presented for best-effort slaves to decrease the frequency of polling idle slaves. Simulation results demonstrate that our scheme achieves better performance over the Round Robin scheduling.Keywords: Piconet, Medium Access Control, Polling algorithm, Scheduling, QoS, Time Division Duplex (TDD).
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1690130 Sustainable Development of Medium Strength Concrete Using Polypropylene as Aggregate Replacement
Authors: Reza Keihani, Ali Bahadori-Jahromi, Timothy James Clacy
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Plastic as an environmental burden is a well-rehearsed topic in the research area. This is due to its global demand and destructive impacts on the environment, which has been a significant concern to the governments. Typically, the use of plastic in the construction industry is seen across low-density, non-structural applications due to its diverse range of benefits including high strength-to-weight ratios, manipulability and durability. It can be said that with the level of plastic consumption experienced in the construction industry, an ongoing responsibility is shown for this sector to continually innovate alternatives for application of recycled plastic waste such as using plastic made replacement from polyethylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl and polypropylene in the concrete mix design. In this study, the impact of partially replaced fine aggregate with polypropylene in the concrete mix design was investigated to evaluate the concrete’s compressive strength by conducting an experimental work which comprises of six concrete mix batches with polypropylene replacements ranging from 0.5 to 3.0%. The results demonstrated a typical decline in the compressive strength with the addition of plastic aggregate, despite this reduction generally mitigated as the level of plastic in the concrete mix increased. Furthermore, two of the six plastic-containing concrete mixes tested in the current study exceeded the ST5 standardised prescribed concrete mix compressive strength requirement at 28-days containing 1.50% and 2.50% plastic aggregates, which demonstrated the potential for use of recycled polypropylene in structural applications, as a partial by mass, fine aggregate replacement in the concrete mix.
Keywords: Compressive strength, concrete, polypropylene, sustainability.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 921129 Japan’s Challenges in Managing Resources and Implementing Strategies toward Sustainability
Authors: Dana Aljadaa, Hasim Altan
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Japan’s strategy is based on improving the current resources and productivity by identifying the environmental challenges to progress further in many areas. For example, it will help in understanding the competitive challenges in the industry, emerging innovation, and other progresses. The present study seeks to examine the characteristics of sustainable practices using materials that will last longer and following environmental policies. There has been a major emphasis since 1990s and onwards about recycling and preserving the environment. Furthermore, the present paper analyses and argues how national interest in policy increases resource productivity. It is a universal law, but these actions may be different based on the unique situation of the country. In addition, the present study explains some of the strategies developed by the Environmental Agency of Japan in the last few years. There are a few resources reviewed involving ‘Strategy for an Environmental Nation in the 21st Century’ from 2001, ‘Clean Asia Initiative’ from 2008, and ‘New Growth Strategy’ from 2010. The present paper also highlights the emphasis on increasing efficiency, as it is an important part of sustainability. We finally conclude by providing reasoning on the impact and positivity of reducing production and consumption on the environment, resulting in a productive and progressive Japan for the near and long term future.Keywords: Green innovation, sustainable development, resource productivity, sound material-cycle society, waste management.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 914128 Assessment of Nickel Concentration in Surface and Ground Water of the Kowsar Dam Basin
Authors: Fardin Boustani, M Hojati , S Ebrahimzadeh
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The Kowsar dam supply water for different usages such as drinking, industrial, agricultural and aquaculture farms usages and located next to the city of Dehdashat in Kohgiluye and Boyerahmad province in southern Iran. There are some towns and villages on the Kowsar dam watersheds, which Dehdasht and Choram are the most important and populated cities in this area. The study was undertaken to assess the status of water quality in the urban areas of the Kowsar dam. A total of 28 water samples were collected from 6 stations on surface water and 1 station from groundwater on the watershed of the Kowsar dam. All the samples were analyzed for Ni concentration using standard procedures. The results were compared with other national and international standards. Among the analyzed samples, as the maximum value of Nickel (0.01 mg/L) was observed on the station 2 at the autumn 2010, all the samples analyzed were within the maximum admissible limits by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, EU, WHO and the Iranian. In general results of the present study have shown that a Ni mean value of station No. 2 with 0.006 mg/L is higher than the other stations. Ni level of all samples and stations have had normal values and this is an indication of pollution potential and hazards because of human activity and waste water of towns in the areas, which can effect on human health implications in future. This research, therefore, recommends the government and other responsible authorities to take suitable improving measures in the Kowsar dam watersheds.Keywords: Kowsar dam, Drinking water quality, Nickel, Maximum admissible limit, World health organization
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1970