Factorial analysis of diesel engine performance using different types of biofuels

In this study, several bio-source-fuels like fresh and waste vegetable oil and waste animal fat were tested at different injector pressures (120, 140, 190, 210 bar) in a direct-injection, naturally aspirated, single-cylinder diesel engine with a design injection pressure of 190 bar. Using 2k factorial analysis, the effect of injection pressure (Pi) and fuel type on three engine parameters, namely, combustion efficiency (etac), mass fuel consumption (mf), and engine speed (N) was examined. It was found that Pi and fuel type significantly affected both etac and mf while they had a slight effect on engine speed. Moreover, with diesel and biodiesels, the etac increased to a maximum at 190 bar but declined at the higher Pi value. In contrast, higher Pi had a favorable effect on etac over the whole Pi range with all the other more viscous fuels tested. In addition, the mass fuel consumption consistently decreased with an increase in Pi for all the fuels including the baseline diesel fuel, with which the engine consistently attained higher etac and higher rpm compared to all the other fuels tested.     

Changes in the quality of river water before, during and after a major flood event associated with a La Niña cycle and treatment for drinking purposes

The treatment of organics present in the lower reaches of a major river system（the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia） before（March–July 2010）, during（December 2010–May 2011） and after（April–December 2012） a major flood period was investigated. The flood period（over 6 months）occurred during an intense La Nia cycle, leading to rapid and high increases in river flows and organic loads in the river water. Dissolved organic carbon（DOC） increased（2–3 times） to high concentrations（up to 16 mg/L） and was found to correlate with river flow rates. The treatability of organics was studied using conventional jar tests with alum and an enhanced coagulation model（mEnCo）. Predicted mean alum dose rates（per mg DOC） were higher before（9.1 mg alum/mg DOC） and after（8.5 mg alum/mg DOC） than during the flood event（8.0 mg alum/mg DOC）,indicating differences in the character of the organics in raw waters. To assess the character of natural organic matter present in raw and treated waters, high performance size exclusion chromatography with UV and fluorescence detectors were used. During the flood period, high molecular weight UV absorbing compounds（〉2 kDa） were mostly detected in waters collected,but were not evident in waters collected before and afterwards. The relative abundances of humic-like and protein-like compounds during and following the flood period were also investigated and found to be of a higher molecular weight during the flood period. The treatability of the organics was found to vary over the three climate conditions investigated.     

Characterization of Active Polybutylene Succinate Films Filled Essential Oils for Food Packaging Application

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - The development of active packaging for food applications have been increasingly favorable in publicity, industry, and research field, by attributing to...     

A review of the water resources management for the Brantas River basin: challenges in the transition to an integrated water resources management

Environment, Development and Sustainability - This paper reviews an integrated approach involving the representative stakeholders in the development and management of water available in the Brantas...     

Development of the Indonesian and Malaysian Fire Danger Rating Systems

Forest and land fires in Southeast Asia have many social, economic, and environmental impacts. Tropical peatland fires affect global carbon dynamics, and haze from peat fires has serious negative impacts on the regional economy and human health. To mitigate these fire-related problems, forest and land management agencies require an early warning system to assist them in implementing fire prevention and management plans before fire problems begin. Fire Danger Rating Systems (FDRS) were developed for Indonesia and Malaysia to provide early warning of the potential for serious fire and haze events. In particular, they identify time periods when fires can readily start and spread to become uncontrolled fires and time periods when smoke from smouldering fires will cause an unacceptably high level of haze. The FDRS were developed by adapting components of the Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System, including the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index (FWI) System and the Canadian Forest Fire Behavior Prediction (FBP) System, to local vegetation, climate, and fire regime conditions. A smoke potential indicator was developed using the Drought Code (DC) of the FWI System. Historical air quality analysis showed that the occurrence of severe haze events increased substantially when DC was above 400. An ignition potential indicator was developed using the Fine Fuel Moisture Code (FFMC) of the FWI System. Historical hot spot analysis, grass moisture, and grass ignition studies showed that fire occurrence and the ability for grass fires to start and spread dramatically increased when FFMC > 82. The Initial Spread Index (ISI) of the FWI System was used to develop a difficulty of control indicator for grassland fires, a fuel type that can exhibit high rates of spread and fire intensity. This ISI-based indicator was developed using the grass fuel model of the FBP System, along with a standard grass fuel load and curing level estimated from previous Indonesian studies. Very high fire intensity is expected in grasslands when ISI ≥ 6. To provide early warning, the FDRS identifies classes of increasing fire danger as the FFMC, DC, and ISI approach these key threshold values. The Indonesian FDRS is now operated nationally at the Indonesian Meteorological and Geophysical Agency. The Malaysian Meteorological Service operates the Malaysian FDRS and displays regional outputs for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The FDRS are being used by forestry, agriculture, environment, and fire and rescue agencies to develop and implement fire prevention, detection, and suppression plans.     

Epidemiological and biomechanical evaluation of airline baggage handling

Objectives. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are prevalent among airline baggage handlers due to manual materials handling. In this study, the Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire (NMQ), the revised National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) lifting equation, and the University of Michigan 3D Static Strength Prediction Program? (3DSSPP) were used to analyze MSDs among baggage handlers. Methods. The NMQ was filled out by 209 baggage handlers and 46 arbitrarily selected baggage handlers were evaluated using the NIOSH method and 3DSSPP. Results. The obtained results showed that the most common MSDs occurred in the lower back region. The next risky regions included knees, neck, and upper back, respectively. The NIOSH results confirmed that the subjects lifted loads heavier than the permitted limit and their lifting postures were inappropriate. The results of the 3DSSPP also indicated that compression forces exceeded the NIOSH limit in these awkward postures. Conclusions. Relying on this study, holding compulsory ergonomic lifting training courses could be proposed for workers and regulations adjusting an upper limit for maximum baggage weight must be also enacted in order to improve occupational health and prevent the prevalence of increasing MSDs.     

Mixing dynamics of turbidity currents interacting with complex seafloor topography

Direct Numerical Simulations are employed to investigate the mixing dynamics of turbidity currents interacting with seamounts of various heights. The mixing properties are found to be governed by the competing effects of turbulence amplification and enhanced dissipation due to the three-dimensional topography. In addition, particle settling is seen to play an important role as well, as it affects the local density stratification, and hence the stability, of the current. The interplay of these different mechanisms results in the non-monotonic dependence of the mixing behavior on the height of the seamount. Regions of dilute lock fluid concentration generally mix more intensely as a result of the seafloor topography, while concentrated lock fluid remains relatively unaffected. For long times, the strongest mixing occurs for intermediate bump heights. Particle settling is seen to cause turbidity currents to mix more intensely with the ambient than gravity currents.     

Local community acceptance of the rare earth industry: the case of the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in Malaysia

This paper provides a detailed analysis of the local community response to a newly installed rare earth (RE) refinery facility and the factors underlying its acceptance. House-to-house interviews, using structured questionnaire, were conducted in 2013 (N = 370). Results show that the community was divided into deciding whether they agreed with the presence of the facility, 41.36 % (for) and 41.62 % (against). The remaining fraction of the community was undecided, which made up 17.03 % of the total respondents. This paper identifies six significant predictors of risk acceptance: gender, education status, place of residence, Factor 1 (variables—perception of safety, concern on effects, and trust in the operators), Factor 2 (variables—social and individual benefits), and Factor 3 (variables—no confidence in government). This study gives insights on how the public respond to potential hazardous facilities and highlights the need for policy makers to consider public sentiment which can interfere with further expansion of the RE industry.     

Extrication of biodiesel feedstock from early stage of food waste liquefaction

Biodiesel is commonly produced from vegetable oils, mostly edible and more expensive than petroleum diesel. By considering the cost of the conversion processes, cheap feedstock such as triglycerides and fatty acids (FA) extracted from early stage of food waste liquefaction has become a better choice than vegetable oils, as it could provide high yield of biodiesel without any compromise to food supply and other resources. In this study, FA from early stage of food waste liquefaction was extracted and tested for use as feedstock for biodiesel synthesis. The raw material was not pretreated but extraction was done by dry and wet methods. It was found that wet method could minimized the lost of short and medium-chained FA as well as reducing the number of steps required, thus, yielding higher amount of FA as feedstock. The effects of mixing, methanol ratio, reaction time and catalyst content were investigated for the acid-catalyzed esterification. The maximum biodiesel conversion obtained was 97.4 %.