Green energy generation through PEHF – a blueprint of alternate energy harvesting

In this work, an attempt has been made to harvest green energy from piezoelectric material using fluid flow in a conduit. Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting using Fluid Flow (PEHF) experimental model has been designed and the outputs obtained are compared with results obtained from simulations using ANSYS (computational fluid dynamics) and also with the mathematical modeling. The PEHF model has been utilized to analyze the effect of flow rate of water with reference to energy extracted. The full wave bridge rectifier and voltage doubler circuits have been used to obtain the direct current (DC) from the PEHF model. It is observed that the output obtained using experiments holds good in agreement with the results retrieved through simulations and mathematical results. The increase in flow rate of fluid leads to initially increase and then decrease in output of PEHF model as the maximum energy generated when flow rates (external force) matches with the frequency of excitation of the systems, i.e., at its resonance. The maximum energy output is generated at its resonance frequencies. It is observed that the full wave bridge rectifier circuit gives greater output as compared to a voltage doubler circuit.     

Triacetin additive in biodiesel to reduce air pollution: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Stricter environmental norms and fossil fuel pollution call for cleaner fuels such as biodiesel. However, depending on the biomass source, biodiesel combustion may...     

Intensified wheat husk conversion employing energy-efficient hybrid electromagnetic radiations for production of fermentable sugar: process optimization and life cycle assessment

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This article reports an energy-efficient green pathway for the sustainable conversion of an abundant agro-residue viz. wheat husk (WH) into...     

Life cycle assessment of waste printed wiring board–derived Ag photocatalyst for sustainable fermentable sugar production

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - An exploratory work involving waste printed wiring board (WPWB)–derived inexpensive silver oxide (Ag2O)–grafted silica-alumina composite...     

Comparison of alkaline industrial wastes for aqueous mineral carbon sequestration through a parallel reactivity study

Thirty-one alkaline industrial wastes from a wide range of industrial processes were acquired and screened for application in an aqueous carbon sequestration process. The wastes were evaluated for their potential to leach polyvalent cations and base species. Following mixing with a simple sodium bicarbonate solution, chemistries of the aqueous and solid phases were analyzed. Experimental results indicated that the most reactive materials were capable of sequestering between 77% and 93% of the available carbon under experimental conditions in four hours. These materials – cement kiln dust, spray dryer absorber ash, and circulating dry scrubber ash – are thus good candidates for detailed, process-oriented studies. Chemical equilibrium modeling indicated that amorphous calcium carbonate is likely responsible for the observed sequestration. High variability and low reactive fractions render many other materials less attractive for further pursuit without considering preprocessing or activation techniques.     

Life cycle sustainability assessment of optimized biodiesel production from used rice bran oil employing waste derived-hydroxyapatite supported vanadium catalyst

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The present work encompasses the production of biodiesel from an inexpensive waste, viz., used rice bran oil (URBO) through concurrent esterification...     

Assessment of Safety and Health in the Tea Industry of Barak Valley,Assam: A Fuzzy Logic Approach

Traditional safety and health system measurement procedures, practiced in various industries produce qualitative results with a degree of uncertainty. This paper presents a fuzzy-logic-based approach to developing a fuzzy model for assessing the safety and health status in the tea industry. For this, the overall safety and health status at a tea estate has been considered as a function of 4 inputs: occupational safety, occupational health, behavioral safety and competency. A set of fuzzy rules based on expert human judgment has been used to correlate different fuzzy inputs and output. Fuzzy set operations are used to calculate the safety and health status of the tea industry. Application of the developed model at a tea estate showed that the safety and health status belongs to the fuzzy class of good with a crisp value of 7.2.     

Assessment of mechanical,durability and microstructural properties of geopolymer concrete containing ceramic tile waste

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The amount of ceramic waste being generated is increasing day by day, and ceramic waste management is one of the most challenging issues for many...