Search results for: carbon trading volume

Authors: A. Belhaj Mohamed, M. Saidi, N. Boucherb, N. Ourtani, A. Soltani, I. Bouazizi, M. Ben Jrad

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Natural hydrocarbon seepage has helped petroleum exploration as a direct indicator of gas and/or oil subsurface accumulations. Surface macro-seeps are generally an indication of a fault in an active Petroleum Seepage System belonging to a Total Petroleum System. This paper describes a case study in which multiple analytical techniques were used to identify and characterize trace petroleum-related hydrocarbons and other volatile organic compounds in groundwater samples collected from Sousse aquifer (Central Tunisia). The analytical techniques used for analyses of water samples included gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS), capillary GC with flame-ionization detection, Compound Specific Isotope Analysis, Rock Eval Pyrolysis. The objective of the study was to confirm the presence of gasoline and other petroleum products or other volatile organic pollutants in those samples in order to assess the respective implication of each of the potentially responsible parties to the contamination of the aquifer. In addition, the degree of contamination at different depths in the aquifer was also of interest. The oil and gas seeps have been investigated using biomarker and stable carbon isotope analyses to perform oil-oil and oil-source rock correlations. The seepage gases are characterized by high CH4 content, very low δ13CCH4 values (-71,9 ‰) and high C1/C1–5 ratios (0.95–1.0), light deuterium–hydrogen isotope ratios (- 198 ‰) and light δ13CC2 and δ13CCO2 values (-23,8‰ and-23,8‰ respectively) indicating a thermogenic origin with the contribution of the biogenic gas. An organic geochemistry study was carried out on the more ten oil seep samples. This study includes light hydrocarbon and biomarkers analyses (hopanes, steranes, n-alkanes, acyclic isoprenoids, and aromatic steroids) using GC and GC-MS. The studied samples show at least two distinct families, suggesting two different types of crude oil origins: the first oil seeps appears to be highly mature, showing evidence of chemical and/or biological degradation and was derived from a clay-rich source rock deposited in suboxic conditions. It has been sourced mainly by the lower Fahdene (Albian) source rocks. The second oil seeps was derived from a carbonate-rich source rock deposited in anoxic conditions, well correlated with the Bahloul (Cenomanian-Turonian) source rock.

Keywords: Biomarkers, oil and gas seeps, organic geochemistry, source rock.

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Authors: M. A. Amer, J. A. Chávez, M. J. García-Hernández, J. Salazar, A. Turó

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In this paper, the design of a QCM sensor for liquid media measurements in vertical position is described. A rugged and low-cost proof holder has been designed, the cost of which is significantly lower than those of traditional commercial holders. The crystal is not replaceable but it can be easily cleaned. Its small volume permits to be used by dipping it in the liquid with the desired location and orientation. The developed design has been experimentally validated by measuring changes in the resonance frequency and resistance of the QCM sensor immersed vertically in different calibrated aqueous glycerol solutions. The obtained results show a great agreement with the Kanazawa theoretical expression. Consequently, the designed QCM sensor would be appropriate for sensing applications in liquids, and might take part of a future on-line multichannel low-cost QCM-based measurement system.

Keywords: Holder design, liquid-media measurements, multi-channel measurements, QCM.

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Authors: Sun K. Yoo, Ki-Chang Nam, Hyun-Young Shin, Ho-Seong Moon, Hee Cheol Kang

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Automated intelligent, clinical decision support systems generally promote to help or to assist physicians and patients regarding to prevention of diseases or treatment of illnesses using computer represented knowledge and information. In this paper, assessment factors affecting the proper design of clinical decision support system were investigated. The required procedure steps for gathering the data from clinical trial and extracting the information from large volume of healthcare repositories were listed, which are necessary for validation and verification of evidence-based implementation of clinical decision support system. The goal of this paper is to extract useful evaluation factors affecting the quality of the clinical decision support system in the design, development, and implementation of a computer-based decision support system.

Keywords: Evaluation, Clinical Decision Support System.

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Authors: Dylan M. Copeland

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We present new finite element methods for Helmholtz and Maxwell equations on general three-dimensional polyhedral meshes, based on domain decomposition with boundary elements on the surfaces of the polyhedral volume elements. The methods use the lowest-order polynomial spaces and produce sparse, symmetric linear systems despite the use of boundary elements. Moreover, piecewise constant coefficients are admissible. The resulting approximation on the element surfaces can be extended throughout the domain via representation formulas. Numerical experiments confirm that the convergence behavior on tetrahedral meshes is comparable to that of standard finite element methods, and equally good performance is attained on more general meshes.

Keywords: Boundary elements, finite elements, Helmholtz equation, Maxwell equations.

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Authors: Liang-Ta Cheng, Ching-Yu Yang

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Based on fast discrete cosine transform (FDCT), the authors present a high capacity and high perceived quality method for electrocardiogram (ECG) signal. By using a simple adjusting policy to the 1-dimentional (1-D) DCT coefficients, a large volume of secret message can be effectively embedded in an ECG host signal and be successfully extracted at the intended receiver. Simulations confirmed that the resulting perceived quality is good, while the hiding capability of the proposed method significantly outperforms that of existing techniques. In addition, our proposed method has a certain degree of robustness. Since the computational complexity is low, it is feasible for our method being employed in real-time applications.

Keywords: Data hiding, ECG steganography, fast discrete cosine transform, 1-D DCT bundle, real-time applications.

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Authors: Dogan Ciloglu, Abdurrahim Bolukbasi, Kemal Comakli

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In this study, the effect of nanofluids on the pool film boiling was experimentally investigated at saturated condition under atmospheric pressure. For this purpose, four different water-based nanofluids (Al2O3, SiO2, TiO2 and CuO) with 0.1% particle volume fraction were prepared. To investigate the boiling heat transfer, a cylindrical rod with high temperature was used. The rod heated up to high temperatures was immersed into nanofluids. The center temperature of rod during the cooling process was recorded by using a K-type thermocouple. The quenching curves showed that the pool boiling heat transfer was strongly dependent on the nanoparticle materials. During the repetitive quenching tests, the cooling time decreased and thus, the film boiling vanished. Consequently, the primary reason of this was the change of the surface characteristics due to the nanoparticles deposition on the rod-s surface.

Keywords: Heat transfer, nanofluid, nanoparticles, pool film boiling

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Authors: Janjira Triped, Wipada Sanongraj, Wipawee Khamwichit

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The research work covered in this study includes the morphological structure and optical properties of TiO₂-coated silk fibroin (SF) filters at 2.5% wt. TiO₂/vol. PVA solution. SEM micrographs revealed the fibrous morphology of the TiO₂-coated SF filters. An average diameter of the SF fiber was estimated to be approximately 10µm. Also, it was confirmed that TiO₂ can be adhered more on SF filter surface at higher TiO₂ dosages. The activity of semiconductor materials was studied by UV-VIS spectrophotometer method. The spectral data recorded shows the strong cut off at 390 nm. The calculated band-gap energy was about 3.19 eV. The photocatalytic activity of the filter was tested for gaseous formaldehyde removal in a modeling room with the total volume of 2.66 m³. The highest removal efficiency (54.72 ± 1.75%) was obtained at the initial formaldehyde concentration of about 5.00 ± 0.50ppm.

Keywords: Photocatalytic oxidation process, Formaldehyde (HCHO), Silk fibroin (SF), Titanium dioxide (TiO2).

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Authors: Mateus N. Esperança, Marcel O. Cerri, Alberto C. Badino

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The performance of airlift bioreactors are closely related with their geometry, especially the gas-liquid separator design. In this study, the influence of the gas-liquid separator geometry on oxygen transfer and gas hold-up was evaluated in 10-L concentric-tube airlift bioreactor operating with distilled water and xanthan gum solution. The specific airflow rate (ɸ_AIR) exhibited the higher effect on the oxygen transfer coefficient (k_La) for both fluids. While the gas-liquid separator openness angle (α) and liquid volume fraction on the gas-liquid separator (V_GLS) have presented opposite effects on oxygen mass transfer, they affected negatively the global gas hold-up of distilled water system. The best degassing zone geometry corresponded to a 90° openness angle with 10% of the liquid on it.

Keywords: Airlift bioreactor, gas holdup, gas-liquid separator, oxygen transfer.

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Authors: M. Wasy Akhtar

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Multi-modal film boiling simulations are carried out on adaptive octree grids. The liquid-vapor interface is captured using the volume-of-fluid framework adjusted to account for exchanges of mass, momentum, and energy across the interface. Surface tension effects are included using a volumetric source term in the momentum equations. The phase change calculations are conducted based on the exact location and orientation of the interface; however, the source terms are calculated using the mixture variables to be consistent with the one field formulation used to represent the entire fluid domain. The numerical model on octree representation of the computational grid is first verified using test cases including advection tests in severely deforming velocity fields, gravity-based instabilities and bubble growth in uniformly superheated liquid under zero gravity. The model is then used to simulate both single and multi-modal film boiling simulations. The octree grid is dynamically adapted in order to maintain the highest grid resolution on the instability fronts using markers of interface location, volume fraction, and thermal gradients. The method thus provides an efficient platform to simulate fluid instabilities with or without phase change in the presence of body forces like gravity or shear layer instabilities.

Keywords: Boiling flows, dynamic octree grids, heat transfer, interface capturing, phase change.

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Authors: C. N. Okafor, M. Maaza, T. A. E. Mokrani

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A proton exchange membrane has been developed for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). The nanofiber network composite membranes were prepared by interconnected network of Nafion (perfuorosulfonic acid) nanofibers that have been embedded in an uncharged and inert polymer matrix, by electro-spinning. The spinning solution of Nafion with a low concentration (1 wt% compared to Nafion) of high molecular weight poly(ethylene oxide), as a carrier polymer. The interconnected network of Nafion nanofibers with average fiber diameter in the range of 160-700nm, were used to make the membranes, with the nanofiber occupying up to 85% of the membrane volume. The matrix polymer was crosslinked with Norland Optical Adhesive 63 under UV. The resulting membranes showed proton conductivity of 0.10 S/cm at 25°C and 80% RH; and methanol permeability of 3.6 x 10-6 cm2/s.

Keywords: Composite membrane, electrospinning, fuel cell, nanofibers.

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Authors: Isti Surjandari, Riara Novita

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Maintenance is one of the most important activities in the shipyard industry. However, sometimes it is not supported by adequate services from the shipyard, where inaccuracy in estimating the duration of the ship maintenance is still common. This makes estimation of ship maintenance duration is crucial. This study uses Data Mining approach, i.e., CART (Classification and Regression Tree) to estimate the duration of ship maintenance that is limited to dock works or which is known as dry docking. By using the volume of dock works as an input to estimate the maintenance duration, 4 classes of dry docking duration were obtained with different linear model and job criteria for each class. These linear models can then be used to estimate the duration of dry docking based on job criteria.

Keywords: Classification and regression tree (CART), data mining, dry docking, maintenance duration.

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Authors: Md. Aftabuzzaman, Md. Kamruzzaman

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Road-related expenditure and building construction activity are two significant drivers of the Victorian economy. This paper investigates the relationship between building construction activity and road-related expenditure. Data for construction activities were collected from Victorian Building Authority, and road-related expenditure data were explored by the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics. The trend between these two sectors was compared. The analysis found a strong relationship between road-related expenditure and the volume of construction activity, i.e., the more construction activities, the greater the requirement of road-related expenditure, or vice-versa. The road-related expenditure has a two-year lag period, suggesting that the road sector requires two years to respond to the growth in the building sector.

Keywords: Building construction activity, infrastructure, road expenditure, Victorian building authority.

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Authors: A. Szabó Nagy, J. Szabó, Zs. Csanádi, J. Erdős

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An assessment of the air quality of Győr (Hungary) was performed by determining the ambient concentrations of PM10-bound carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (cPAHs) in different seasons. A high volume sampler was used for the collection of ambient aerosol particles, and the associated cPAH compounds (benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), benzo[a]anthracene, benzofluoranthene isomers, indeno[123-cd]pyrene and dibenzo[ah]anthracene) were analyzed by a gas chromatographic method. Higher mean concentrations of total cPAHs were detected in samples collected in winter (9.62 ng/m³) and autumn (2.69 ng/m³) compared to spring (1.05 ng/m³) and summer (0.21 ng/m³). The calculated BaP toxic equivalent concentrations have also reflected that the local population appears to be exposed to significantly higher cancer risk in the heating seasons. Moreover, the concentration levels of cPAHs determined in this study were compared to other Hungarian urban sites.

Keywords: Air, carcinogenic, PAH, PM10.

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Authors: Hary Sulistyo, Suprihastuti S. Rahayu, Gatot Winoto, I M. Suardjaja

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Transesterification of candlenut (aleurites moluccana) oil with methanol using potassium hydroxide as catalyst was studied. The objective of the present investigation was to produce the methyl ester for use as biodiesel. The operation variables employed were methanol to oil molar ratio (3:1 – 9:1), catalyst concentration (0.50 – 1.5 %) and temperature (303 – 343K). Oil volume of 150 mL, reaction time of 75 min were fixed as common parameters in all the experiments. The concentration of methyl ester was evaluated by mass balance of free glycerol formed which was analyzed by using periodic acid. The optimal triglyceride conversion was attained by using methanol to oil ratio of 6:1, potassium hydroxide as catalyst was of 1%, at room temperature. Methyl ester formed was characterized by its density, viscosity, cloud and pour points. The biodiesel properties had properties similar to those of diesel oil, except for the viscosity that was higher.

Keywords: biodiesel, candlenut, methyl ester, transestrification

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Authors: M. N. N. Hisyamudin, S. Yokoyama, M. Umemoto

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In this study, an experimental investigation was carried out to fix CO2 into the electronic arc furnace (EAF) reducing slag from stainless steelmaking process under wet grinding. The slag was ground by the vibrating ball mill with the CO2 and pure water. The reaction behavior was monitored with constant pressure method, and the change of CO2 volume in the experimental system with grinding time was measured. It was found that the CO2 absorption occurred as soon as the grinding started. The CO2 absorption under wet grinding was significantly larger than that under dry grinding. Generally, the amount of CO2 absorption increased as the amount of water, the amount of slag, the diameter of alumina ball and the initial pressure of CO2 increased. However, the initial absorption rate was scarcely influenced by the experimental conditions except for the initial CO2 pressure. According to this research, the CO2 reacted with the CaO inside the slag to form CaCO3.

Keywords: CO2 absorption, EAF reducing slag, vibration ball mill, wet grinding.

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Authors: Gyu-Jin Shim, Seung-Moon Baek, Choon-Geun Moon, Ho-Saeng Lee, Jung-In Yoon

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The experimental thermal performance of two heat exchangers in closed-wet cooling tower (CWCT) was investigated in this study. The test sections are heat exchangers which have multi path that is used as the entrance of cooling water and are consisting of bare-type copper tubes between 15.88mm and 19.05mm. The process fluids are the cooling water that flows from top part of heat exchanger to bottom side in the inner side of tube, and spray water that flows gravitational direction in the outer side of it. Air contacts its outer side of that as it counterflows. Heat and mass transfer coefficients and cooling capacity were calculated with variations of process fluids, multi path and different diameter tubes to figure out the performance of characteristics of CWCT. The main results were summarized as follows: The results show this experiment is reliable with values of heat and mass transfer coefficients comparing to values of correlations. Heat and mass transfer coefficients and cooling capacity of two paths are higher than these with one path using 15.88 and 19.05mm tubes. Cooling capacity per unit volume with 15.88mm tube using one and two paths are higher than 19.05mm tube due to increase of surface area per unit volume.

Keywords: Closed–Wet Cooling Tower, Cooling Capacity, Heatand Mass Transfer Coefficients.

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Authors: Daomao Yang, Qizhi Wang

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Monoterpenoids are mainly found in plant essential oils and they are ideal substrates for biotransformation into oxygen-containing derivatives with important commercial value due to their low price and simple structure. In this paper, eleven strains of endophytic fungi from Praxelis clematidea were used as test strains to conduct the whole cell biotransformation of the monoterpenoids: (+)-limonene, (-)-limonene and myrcene. The fungi were inoculated in 50 ml Sabouraud medium and incubated at 30 ℃ with the agitation of 150 r/min for 6 d, and then 0.5% (v/v) substrates were added into the medium and biotransformed for further 3 d. Afterwards the cultures were filtered, and extracted using equal volume of ethyl acetate. The metabolites were analyzed by GC-MS technique with NIST database. The Total Ion Chromatogram of the extractions from the eleven strains showed that the main product of (+)- and (-)-limonene biotransformation was limonene-1,2-diol, while it is limonene and linalool oxide for biotransformation of myrcene. This work will help screen the microorganisms to biotransform the monoterpenes.

Keywords: Endophytic fungi, (+)–limonene, (-)–limonene, myrcene.

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Authors: M. Palizvan, M. T. Abadi, M. H. Sadr

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Due to variations in damage mechanisms in the microscale, the behavior of fiber-reinforced composites is nonlinear and difficult to model. To make use of computational advantages, homogenization method is applied to the micro-scale model in order to minimize the cost at the expense of detail of local microscale phenomena. In this paper, the effective stiffness is calculated using the homogenization of nonlinear behavior of a composite representative volume element (RVE) containing fiber-matrix debonding. The damage modes for the RVE are considered by using cohesive elements and contacts for the cohesive behavior of the interface between fiber and matrix. To predict more realistic responses of composite materials, different random distributions of fibers are proposed besides square and hexagonal arrays. It was shown that in some cases, there is quite different damage behavior in different fiber distributions. A comprehensive comparison has been made between different graphs.

Keywords: Homogenization, cohesive zone model, fiber-matrix debonding, RVE.

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Authors: Thomas Rowan, Mohammed Seaid

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A fast finite volume solver for multi-layered shallow water flows with mass exchange and an erodible bed is developed. This enables the user to solve a number of complex sediment-based problems including (but not limited to), dam-break over an erodible bed, recirculation currents and bed evolution as well as levy and dyke failure. This research develops methodologies crucial to the under-standing of multi-sediment fluvial mechanics and waterway design. In this model mass exchange between the layers is allowed and, in contrast to previous models, sediment and fluid are able to transfer between layers. In the current study we use a two-step finite volume method to avoid the solution of the Riemann problem. Entrainment and deposition rates are calculated for the first time in a model of this nature. In the first step the governing equations are rewritten in a non-conservative form and the intermediate solutions are calculated using the method of characteristics. In the second stage, the numerical fluxes are reconstructed in conservative form and are used to calculate a solution that satisfies the conservation property. This method is found to be considerably faster than other comparative finite volume methods, it also exhibits good shock capturing. For most entrainment and deposition equations a bed level concentration factor is used. This leads to inaccuracies in both near bed level concentration and total scour. To account for diffusion, as no vertical velocities are calculated, a capacity limited diffusion coefficient is used. The additional advantage of this multilayer approach is that there is a variation (from single layer models) in bottom layer fluid velocity: this dramatically reduces erosion, which is often overestimated in simulations of this nature using single layer flows. The model is used to simulate a standard dam break. In the dam break simulation, as expected, the number of fluid layers utilised creates variation in the resultant bed profile, with more layers offering a higher deviation in fluid velocity . These results showed a marked variation in erosion profiles from standard models. The overall the model provides new insight into the problems presented at minimal computational cost.

Keywords: Erosion, finite volume method, sediment transport, shallow water equations.

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Authors: Son Tung Pham, William Prince

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The objective of this work was to examine the changes in the microstructure and macro physical properties caused by the carbonation of normalised CEM II mortar. Samples were prepared and subjected to accelerated carbonation at 20°C, 65% relative humidity and 20% CO2 concentration. On the microstructure scale, the evolutions of the cumulative pore volume, pore size distribution, and specific surface area during carbonation were calculated from the adsorption desorption isotherms of nitrogen. We also examined the evolution of macro physical properties such as the porosity accessible to water, the gas permeability, and thermal conductivity. The conflict between the results of nitrogen porosity and water porosity indicated that the porous domains explored using these two techniques are different and help to complementarily evaluate the effects of carbonation. This is a multi-scale study where results on microstructural changes can help to explain the evolution of macro physical properties.

Keywords: Carbonation, cement mortar, microstructure, physical properties.

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Authors: Hiroyuki Ohsaki, Makoto Imase

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In Grid computing, a data transfer protocol called GridFTP has been widely used for efficiently transferring a large volume of data. Currently, two versions of GridFTP protocols, GridFTP version 1 (GridFTP v1) and GridFTP version 2 (GridFTP v2), have been proposed in the GGF. GridFTP v2 supports several advanced features such as data streaming, dynamic resource allocation, and checksum transfer, by defining a transfer mode called X-block mode. However, in the literature, effectiveness of GridFTP v2 has not been fully investigated. In this paper, we therefore quantitatively evaluate performance of GridFTP v1 and GridFTP v2 using mathematical analysis and simulation experiments. We reveal the performance limitation of GridFTP v1, and quantitatively show effectiveness of GridFTP v2. Through several numerical examples, we show that by utilizing the data streaming feature, the average file transfer time of GridFTP v2 is significantly smaller than that of GridFTP v1.

Keywords: Grid Computing, GridFTP, Performance Evaluation, Queuing Theory.

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Authors: Esraa A. Khalil, Mohamed N. AbouZeid

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Building materials selection is critical for the sustainability of any project. The choice of building materials has a huge impact on the built environment and cost of projects. Building materials emit huge amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) due to the use of cement as a basic component in the manufacturing process and as a binder, which harms our environment. Energy consumption from buildings has increased in the last few years; a huge amount of energy is being wasted from using unsustainable building and finishing materials, as well as from the process of heating and cooling of buildings. In addition, the construction sector in Egypt is taking a good portion of the economy; however, there is a lack of awareness of buildings environmental impacts on the built environment. Using advanced building materials and different wall systems can help in reducing heat consumption, the project’s initial and long-term costs, and minimizing the environmental impacts. Red Bricks is one of the materials that are being used widely in Egypt. There are many other types of bricks such as Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC); however, the use of Red Bricks is dominating the construction industry due to its affordability and availability. This research focuses on the New Egyptian Administrative Capital as a case study to investigate the potential of the influence of using different wall systems such as AAC on the project’s cost and the environment. The aim of this research is to conduct a comparative analysis between the traditional and most commonly used bricks in Egypt, which is Red Bricks, and AAC wall systems. Through an economic and environmental study, the difference between the two wall systems will be justified to encourage the utilization of uncommon techniques in the construction industry to build more affordable, energy efficient and sustainable buildings. The significance of this research is to show the potential of using AAC in the construction industry and its positive influences. The study analyzes the factors associated with choosing suitable building materials for different projects according to the need and criteria of each project and its nature without harming the environment and wasting materials that could be saved or recycled. The New Egyptian Administrative Capital is considered as the country’s new heart, where ideas regarding energy savings and environmental benefits are taken into consideration. Meaning that, Egypt is taking good steps to move towards more sustainable construction. According to the analysis and site visits, there is a potential in reducing the initial costs of buildings by 12.1% and saving energy by using different techniques up to 25%. Interviews with the mega structures project engineers and managers reveal that they are more open to introducing sustainable building materials that will help in saving the environment and moving towards green construction as well as to studying more effective techniques for energy conservation.

Keywords: AAC blocks, building material, environmental impact, modern construction, New Egyptian Administrative Capital.

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Authors: Gholam Reza Koochaki

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This work presents the highly accurate numerical calculation of the natural frequencies for functionally graded beams with simply supported boundary conditions. The Timoshenko first order shear deformation beam theory and the higher order shear deformation beam theory of Reddy have been applied to the functionally graded beams analysis. The material property gradient is assumed to be in the thickness direction. The Hamilton-s principle is utilized to obtain the dynamic equations of functionally graded beams. The influences of the volume fraction index and thickness-to-length ratio on the fundamental frequencies are discussed. Comparison of the numerical results for the homogeneous beam with Euler-Bernoulli beam theory results show that the derived model is satisfactory.

Keywords: Functionally graded beam, Free vibration, Hamilton's principle.

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Authors: Swati Tomar, Sunil Kumar Gupta

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Anammox is a novel and promising technology that has changed the traditional concept of biological nitrogen removal. The process facilitates direct oxidation of ammonical nitrogen under anaerobic conditions with nitrite as an electron acceptor without addition of external carbon sources. The present study investigated the feasibility of Anammox Hybrid Reactor (AHR) combining the dual advantages of suspended and attached growth media for biodegradation of ammonical nitrogen in wastewater. Experimental unit consisted of 4 nos. of 5L capacity AHR inoculated with mixed seed culture containing anoxic and activated sludge (1:1). The process was established by feeding the reactors with synthetic wastewater containing NH4-H and NO2-N in the ratio 1:1 at HRT (hydraulic retention time) of 1 day. The reactors were gradually acclimated to higher ammonium concentration till it attained pseudo steady state removal at a total nitrogen concentration of 1200 mg/l. During this period, the performance of the AHR was monitored at twelve different HRTs varying from 0.25-3.0 d with increasing NLR from 0.4 to 4.8 kg N/m3d. AHR demonstrated significantly higher nitrogen removal (95.1%) at optimal HRT of 1 day. Filter media in AHR contributed an additional 27.2% ammonium removal in addition to 72% reduction in the sludge washout rate. This may be attributed to the functional mechanism of filter media which acts as a mechanical sieve and reduces the sludge washout rate many folds. This enhances the biomass retention capacity of the reactor by 25%, which is the key parameter for successful operation of high rate bioreactors. The effluent nitrate concentration, which is one of the bottlenecks of anammox process was also minimised significantly (42.3-52.3 mg/L). Process kinetics was evaluated using first order and Grau-second order models. The first-order substrate removal rate constant was found as 13.0 d-1. Model validation revealed that Grau second order model was more precise and predicted effluent nitrogen concentration with least error (1.84±10%). A new mathematical model based on mass balance was developed to predict N2 gas in AHR. The mass balance model derived from total nitrogen dictated significantly higher correlation (R2=0.986) and predicted N2 gas with least error of precision (0.12±8.49%). SEM study of biomass indicated the presence of heterogeneous population of cocci and rod shaped bacteria of average diameter varying from 1.2-1.5 mm. Owing to enhanced NRE coupled with meagre production of effluent nitrate and its ability to retain high biomass, AHR proved to be the most competitive reactor configuration for dealing with nitrogen laden wastewater.

Keywords: Anammox, filter media, kinetics, nitrogen removal.

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Authors: D. Zare, H. Safiyari, F. Salmanizade

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In this study, some physical and mechanical properties of jujube fruits, were measured and compared at constant moisture content of 15.5% w.b. The results showed that the mean length, width and thickness of jujube fruits were 18.88, 16.79 and 15.9 mm, respectively. The mean projected areas of jujube perpendicular to length, width, and thickness were 147.01, 224.08 and 274.60 mm2, respectively. The mean mass and volume were 1.51 g and 2672.80 mm3, respectively. The arithmetic mean diameter, geometric mean diameter and equivalent diameter varied from 14.53 to 20 mm, 14.5 to 19.94 mm, and 14.52 to 19.97 mm, respectively. The sphericity, aspect ratio and surface area of jujube fruits were 0.91, 0.89 and 926.28 mm2, respectively. Whole fruit density, bulk density and porosity of jujube fruits were measured and found to be 1.52 g/cm3, 0.3 g/cm3 and 79.3%, respectively. The angle of repose of jujube fruit was 14.66° (±0.58°). The static coefficient of friction on galvanized iron steel was higher than that on plywood and lower than that on glass surface. The values of rupture force, deformation, hardness and energy absorbed were found to be between 11.13-19.91N, 2.53- 4.82mm, 3.06-5.81N mm and 20.13-39.08 N/mm, respectively.

Keywords: Mechanical and Physical properties, Jujube fruits, friction coefficient

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Authors: Maksudur Rahman Khan, Kar Min Chan, Huei Ruey Ong, Chin Kui Cheng, Wasikur Rahman

Abstract:

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) represent a promising technology for simultaneous bioelectricity generation and wastewater treatment. Catalysts are significant portions of the cost of microbial fuel cell cathodes. Many materials have been tested as aqueous cathodes, but air-cathodes are needed to avoid energy demands for water aeration. The sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) rate at air cathode necessitates efficient electrocatalyst such as carbon supported platinum catalyst (Pt/C) which is very costly. Manganese oxide (MnO2) was a representative metal oxide which has been studied as a promising alternative electrocatalyst for ORR and has been tested in air-cathode MFCs. However the single MnO2 has poor electric conductivity and low stability. In the present work, the MnO2 catalyst has been modified by doping Pt nanoparticle. The goal of the work was to improve the performance of the MFC with minimum Pt loading. MnO2 and Pt nanoparticles were prepared by hydrothermal and sol gel methods, respectively. Wet impregnation method was used to synthesize Pt/MnO2 catalyst. The catalysts were further used as cathode catalysts in air-cathode cubic MFCs, in which anaerobic sludge was inoculated as biocatalysts and palm oil mill effluent (POME) was used as the substrate in the anode chamber. The asprepared Pt/MnO2 was characterized comprehensively through field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and cyclic voltammetry (CV) where its surface morphology, crystallinity, oxidation state and electrochemical activity were examined, respectively. XPS revealed Mn (IV) oxidation state and Pt (0) nanoparticle metal, indicating the presence of MnO2 and Pt. Morphology of Pt/MnO2 observed from FESEM shows that the doping of Pt did not cause change in needle-like shape of MnO2 which provides large contacting surface area. The electrochemical active area of the Pt/MnO2 catalysts has been increased from 276 to 617 m2/g with the increase in Pt loading from 0.2 to 0.8 wt%. The CV results in O2 saturated neutral Na2SO4 solution showed that MnO2 and Pt/MnO2 catalysts could catalyze ORR with different catalytic activities. MFC with Pt/MnO2 (0.4 wt% Pt) as air cathode catalyst generates a maximum power density of 165 mW/m3, which is higher than that of MFC with MnO2 catalyst (95 mW/m3). The open circuit voltage (OCV) of the MFC operated with MnO2 cathode gradually decreased during 14 days of operation, whereas the MFC with Pt/MnO2 cathode remained almost constant throughout the operation suggesting the higher stability of the Pt/MnO2 catalyst. Therefore, Pt/MnO2 with 0.4 wt% Pt successfully demonstrated as an efficient and low cost electrocatalyst for ORR in air cathode MFC with higher electrochemical activity, stability and hence enhanced performance.

Keywords: Microbial fuel cell, oxygen reduction reaction, Pt/MnO2, palm oil mill effluent, polarization curve.

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Authors: Ahadollah Azami, Alireza Sadeghi, Zargham OstadiAsl, Hamed Pirjani, Milad Babaei

Abstract:

Stairway Ushtobin Village is one of the five villages with original and sustainable architecture in Northwest of Iran along the border of Armenia, which has been able to maintain its environment and sustainable ecosystem. Studying circulation, function and scale (grand, medium and minor) of space, ratio of full and empty spaces, number and height of stairs, ratio of compound volume to luxury spaces, openings, type of local masonry (stone, mud, wood) and form of covering elements have been carried out in four houses of this village comparatively as some samples in this article, and furthermore, this article analyzes that the architectural shapes and organic texture of the village meet the needs of cold and dry climate. Finally, some efficient plans are offered suiting the present needs of the village to have a sustainable architecture.

Keywords: Sustainable Architecture, Local Materials, Village Texture, Form, Skeleton

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Authors: Dara Singh, Keikhosrow Firouzbakhsh, Mohammad Taghi Ahmadian

Abstract:

In this paper, conventional laser Keratoplasty surgeries in the human eye are studied. For this purpose, a validated 3D finite volume model of the human eye is introduced. In this model the fluid flow has also been considered. The discretized domain of the human eye incorporates a bio-heat transfer equation coupled with a Boussinesq equation. Both continuous and pulsed lasers have been modeled and the results are compared. Moreover, two different conventional surgical positions that are upright and recumbent are compared for these laser therapies. The simulation results show that in these conventional surgeries, the temperature rises above the critical values at the laser insertion areas. However, due to the short duration and the localized nature, the potential damages are restricted to very small regions and can be ignored. The conclusion is that the present day lasers are acceptably safe to the human eye.

Keywords: Eye, heat-transfer, keratoplasty laser, surgery.

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Authors: Afshin Ahmadi Nadooshan, Ebrahim Shirani

Abstract:

Different numerical methods are employed and developed for simulating interfacial flows. A large range of applications belong to this group, e.g. two-phase flows of air bubbles in water or water drops in air. In such problems surface tension effects often play a dominant role. In this paper, various models of surface tension force for interfacial flows, the CSF, CSS, PCIL and SGIP models have been applied to simulate the motion of small air bubbles in water and the results were compared and reviewed. It has been pointed out that by using SGIP or PCIL models, we are able to simulate bubble rise and obtain results in close agreement with the experimental data.

Keywords: Volume-of-Fluid, Bubble Rising, SGIP model, CSS model, CSF model, PCIL model, interface, surface tension force.

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Authors: A. Engin Özçelik, Hasan Aydoğan, Mustafa Acaroğlu

Abstract:

In the present study, the effects of bioethanol-unleaded gasoline blends on engine performance were investigated in a spark ignition engine. Fuel containing 100% ethanol (E100), fuel blend containing 40% bioethanol by volume (E40) and 100% unleaded gasoline (E0) were tested and the test results were compared. As the result of the study, it was found that the use of unleaded gasoline and bioethanol-unleaded gasoline blends as fuel did not cause a significant change in engine performance. The results of the engine tests showed that the use of unleaded gasoline-bioethanol blends as fuel caused a decrease in engine torque and engine power depending on the increase in the ratio of bioethanol in the fuel blend. As the result of these decreases, increases of up to 30% were observed in the specific fuel consumption of the engine.

Keywords: Bioetanol, engine performance, unleaded gasoline.

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