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Discrete element modelling (DEM) is widely regarded as one of the most effective methods for simulating the soil-to-tool interaction. Discrete element simulations were carried out to evaluate the performance of mouldboard plough in paddy soil. The Hertz-Mindlin bonding contact model was applied to develop the bonding between soil particles. Maximum soil draught force (3.64 N) was obtained at 15 cm depth. The force decreased from 1.98 to 1.10 N as the depth decreased from 10 cm to 5 cm. From the results, the DEM have the potential to predict cutting forces of mouldboard plough in all direction draught, vertical and side (Fx, Fy and Fz. A linear relationship was observed throughout the simulation process between working depths. It is concluded that the EDEM model has the potential to serve as a reliable tool for determining the soil-tool interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advances in graphene research have enabled the utilization of its nanocomposites for numerous energy-based and environmental applications. Recently, the advancement in graphene-based polymer nanocomposites has received much attention with special emphasis on synthesis and application. Graphene-based nanocomposites show astonishing electrical, mechanical, chemical, and thermal characteristics. Graphene nanocomposites (GNCs) are synthesized using a variety of methods, including covalent and non-covalent methods, a chemical-based deposition approach, hydrothermal growth, electrophoresis deposition, and physical deposition. Chemical methods are the most viable route for producing graphene in small quantities at low temperatures. The technique can also produce graphene films on a variety of substrate materials. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) for the synthesis of AI-created nanoparticles has recently received a lot of attention. These nanocomposite materials have excellent applications in the environmental, energy, and agricultural sectors. Due to high carrier mobility, graphene-based materials enhance the photocatalytic performance of semiconductor materials. Similarly, these materials have high potential for pollutant removal, especially heavy metals, due to their high surface area. This article highlights the synthesis of graphenebased nanocomposites with special reference to harnessing the power of modern AI tools to better understand GNC material properties and the way this knowledge can be used for its better applications in the development of a sustainable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The response surface methodology was used to optimize the hydrothermal processing conditions based on the rice quality parameters of the Rong Youhua Zhan rice variety (Indica). The effect of soaking temperature (29.77, 40, 55, 70, and 80.23°C), soaking time (67.55, 90, 120, 150, and 170.45 min), and steaming time (1.59, 5, 10, 15, and 18.41 min), each tested at five levels, on percentage of head rice yield (HRY), hardness, cooking time, lightness, and color were determined, with R² values of 0.96, 0.94, 0.90, 0.88, and 0.94, respectively. HRY, hardness, cooking time, and color increased with process severity while lightness decreased, although HRY decreased after reaching a maximum. The predicted optimum soaking temperature, soaking time, and steaming time were 69.88°C, 150 min, and 6.73 min, respectively, and the predicted HRY, hardness, cooking time, lightness, and color under these conditions were 73.43%, 29.95N, 32.14 min, 83.03 min, and 12.24 min, respectively, with a composite desirability of 0.9658. The parboiling industry could use the findings of the current study to obtain the desired quality of parboiled rice. This manuscript will be helpful for researchers working on commercializing parboiled rice processes in China as well as in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of three total solid (TS) concentrations of 7.5, 10 and 12.5% on bio-hydrogen production potential of food waste (FW) in comparison with noodle waste (NW) and rice waste (RW) derived from FW were studied after co-digesting the wastes with heat shocked sludge under mesophilic (37°C) and thermophilic (55°C) conditions. The increase in TS concentration from 7.5% to 10% found an effective way to improve cumulative bio-hydrogen production from all tested wastes. As a whole, 7.5% TS concentration represented higher conversion efficiency of volatile solids into bio-hydrogen and the highest experimental yield of 95.8mL/VSfed was observed in 7.5%NW digester under thermophilic conditions. The increase in temperature within experimental range found an effective way to increase bio-hydrogen production potential of FW and NW only, whereas the same increase in temperature caused negative impact on bio-hydrogen production potential of RW. The optimum time period for active bio-hydrogen production found to be 24-72h of incubation. After 72h of incubation, the bio-hydrogen production reduced considerably in all reactors due to an abrupt increase in volatile fatty acid, and due to inhibition of bio-hydrogen production the drop in pH was also decreased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three common pretreatments (mechanical, steam explosion and chemical) used to enhance the biodegradability of rice straw were compared on the basis of bio-hydrogen production potential while co-digesting rice straw with sludge under mesophilic (37 °C) and thermophilic (55 °C) temperatures. The results showed that the solid state NaOH pretreatment returned the highest experimental reduction of LCH (lignin, cellulose and hemi-cellulose) content and bio-hydrogen production from rice straw. The increase in incubation temperature from 37 °C to 55 °C increased the bio-hydrogen yield, and the highest experimental yield of 60.6 mL/g VSremoved was obtained under chemical pretreatment at 55 °C. The time required for maximum bio-hydrogen production was found on the basis of kinetic parameters as 36 h-47 h of incubation, which can be used as a hydraulic retention time for continuous bio-hydrogen production from rice straw. The optimum pH range of bio-hydrogen production was observed to be 6.7 ± 0.1-5.8 ± 0.1 and 7.1 ± 0.1-5.8 ± 0.1 under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions, respectively. The increase in temperature was found useful for controlling the volatile fatty acids (VFA) under mechanical and steam explosion pretreatments. The comparison of pretreatment methods under the same set of experimental conditions in the present study provided a baseline for future research in order to select an appropriate pretreatment method [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

were tested for bio-hydrogen production by using sludge as a source of mix consortia of Clostridium under different physical conditions (pH 5, 6, and 7; temperature 37 °C and 55°C). The increase in pH increased the bio-hydrogen yield for all tested wastes, whereas an increase in temperature increased the bio-hydrogen yield just for food waste. The highest experimental yield of 115.76 ml/VSremoved was produced in the mesophilic noodle waste reactor at pH 7. The drop in pH from 7 to 4.860.2 was found optimum for bio-hydrogen production for all tested wastes under mesophilic as well as thermophilic conditions. Most of the hydrogen production was observed within 72 h of incubation, which can be used as the optimum biohydrogen production period for food waste. The bio-hydrogen yield, final volatile fatty acids (VFA), and glucose consumption at 72 h were analyzed with the help of the response surface methodology. The resultant plots represented an increase in glucose consumption with the increase in pH from 5 till pH 660.5, after which glucose consumption started to decrease up to pH 7. The final VFA represented a similar trend as that observed for glucose except that the change in VFA production was observed due to the temperature and transition was observed at 47.561.5 °C for food waste as well as for noodle waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biohydrogen productions from the organic fraction of municipal solid wastes (OFMSW) were studied under pH management intervals of 12 h (PM12) and 24 h (PM24) for temperature of 37±0.1°C and 55±0.1°C. The OFMSW or food waste (FW) along with its two components, noodle waste (NW) and rice waste (RW), was codigested with sludge to estimate the potential of biohydrogen production. The biohydrogen production was higher in all reactors under PM12 as compared to PM24. The drop in pH from 7 to 5.3 was observed to be appropriate for biohydrogen production via mesophilic codigestion of noodle waste with the highest biohydrogen yield of 145.93 mL/g CODremoved under PM12. When the temperature was increased from 37°C to 55°C and pH management interval was reduced from 24 h to 12 h, the biohydrogen yields were also changed from 39.21 mL/g CODremoved to 89.67 mL/g CODremoved, 91.77 mL/g CODremoved to 145.93 mL/g CODremoved, and 15.36 mL/g CODremoved to 117.62 mL/g CODremoved for FW, NW, and RW, respectively. The drop in pH and VFA production was better controlled under PM12 as compared to PM24. Overall, PM12 was found to be an effective mean for biohydrogen production through anaerobic digestion of food waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fuzzy algorithm was designed for the evaluation of wheat straw mechanical properties such as shear strength, bending strength and young's modulus under influence of moisture contents and loading rates. Wheat straw mechanical properties were measured under controlled moisture contents, i.e. 9.5%, 15.1% and 22.8%, on distinguished internode positions, i.e. IN1, IN2 and IN3 (first, second and third internode, respectively), and with three loading rates, i.e. 10, 20 and 30 mm/min, respectively during year 2013. The results showed that moisture content, loading rate at various internode regions significantly (P<0.05) influenced the shear strength, bending strength and young's modulus. Shear strength (yang mai 16, verity) increased with escalating moisture content and loading rate toward third internode. Whereas bending strength and young's modulus dropped off with the raise of moisture content and loading rate in the direction of the third internode. The proposed mamdani min- max 27 rule based fuzzy model was evaluated with a sub data set from experimental results. Coefficients of determination of relationships for shear strength, bending strength and young's modulus were 0.96, 0.92 and 0.75j, respectively, indicating that the fuzzy logic algorithm for mechanical properties prediction of wheat straw could be regarded as an substitute under the selected experimental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To protect against the environmental pollution, the present research was undertaken to enumerate the Bacterial Technologies (BTs) on the restoration of polluted urban rivers, that is, Fenghu-Song Yang River (FSR) and Xuxi River (XXR). Experimental research accounted for the physiochemical parameters (pH; temperature; dissolved oxygen (DO); chemical oxygen demand (COD); total phosphorus (TP); total nitrogen (TN); and ammonia nitrogen (NH3N)) before and after the BT operation. The results declared that the BT is efficient to restore the polluted rivers up to reliable condition. These results were analyzed by using multivariate statistical techniques (principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA)). These techniques interpreted the complex data sets and expressed the point source information about the water quality of these rivers at SA5, SA6, and SB3 under highly polluted regions. For better understanding, water quality index (WQI) was applied to compute the single numeric value. WQI results are evidence of the above results which prove the water quality of both rivers faced under outrageous condition (below 50 WQI scores) before the BT treatment, but, after the treatment, the rivers were restored from fair to good level (above 50 WQI scores) and overall output of these scores was quite similar to detect the point source of pollution. These results described an abrupt recovery of the urban rivers up to reliable condition for aquatic organism and clear effluents from the rivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Straw cover protects soil from erosion caused by wind and water. For this purpose, small amount of straw is needed be incorporation into soil. Tillage was done by disc in a soil-bin filled with paddy field soil with straw cover (100 g.m-2) at three speeds and depths to study forces acting on disc, burial straw rate of different lengths of straw (7,13, and 19 cm), soil disturbance and change in bulk density. Results showed draft, vertical and side forces of the disc increased from 533 to 1236, 243 to 632, and 418 to 1063 N. Disc tillage tool brought 47 to 86% of the straw buried in the 0-15 cm layer having smallest straw length (7cm) share of 39 % as maximum. Further soil bulk density was improved from 8.5 to 26.9 % as depth and speed was increased. Moreover, soil disturbance area was highest at 15 cm while lowest at 5 cm. Forces of disc, burial straw, soil disturbance area and bulk density were highly significantly (p<0.05) at higher speed and depth. Present research indicated that powered disc has provided constant and horizontal flow of furrow wedge to the side with more soil disturbed area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demand for space cooling is increasing with a rapidly growing population. Cooling is not only required for comfort life but also needed to store food and medicine. Cooling needs are fulfilled with conventional cooling systems that use huge electric power and also these systems are not environment friendly. Therefore, it is needed to use alternate energy sources for cooling systems with environmentally friendly technologies. In this research, a small scale solar-driven desiccant cooling system was developed with 3 feet length, 2 feet width and 2 feet height and tested for local environmental conditions of Pakistan. Pakistan has blessed with an abundance of solar energy in most parts of the country and desiccant cooling technology in an environment as well as user-friendly technology. The objective of this study was to test the developed system for local conditions of Pakistan so that this technology can be promoted to be used in agriculture for control sheds/greenhouses for cooling demands using solar energy. The system was developed using local materials and was installed to cool a small room. Parameters such as temperature and humidity were recorded for room and ambient environment. The results showed that prototype help to keep the room temperature up to 4 °C to 5 °C lower than the ambient temperature while using the only solar energy through PV panel. The use of solar energy with new technologies in Pakistan is not yet adopted on large scale. This research will promote the researcher and user to adopt such technologies as Pakistan has great potential to harvest solar energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]