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In 2012 the City of Flagstaff partnered with researchers at the Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northern Arizona University to successfully develop a mix design utilizing sludge derived from the manufacturing of recycled paper pulp sludge (PPS) and fly ash as a component of a landfill cap. This research has been extended to explore the addition of polymers to the mix of waste materials in order to optimize a design that would be suitable as a component for an EPA Subtitle D-approvable landfill liner. Cinder Lake Landfill (CLL) serves several communities in Northern Arizona and is managed by the City of Flagstaff. CLL does not have a reliable source of clay needed to construct a required landfill liner, which is necessary for the upcoming 108-acre landfill expansion. However, CLL receives approximately 80 tons of recycled PPS daily from the local tissue manufacturing plant. PPS is currently used as daily cover and was tested for use as part of a landfill cap, as noted above. Incorporating polymers in alternative materials such as PPS and fly ash has the potential to meet performance criteria and be approved by state and federal regulators, and has the potential to save the City millions of dollars over conventional composite liners of geomembrane and clay. Different mixtures of PPS, fly ash and three different polymers are currently being subjected to testing for the following: Water Content, Specific Gravity, Porosity, Organic Content, Atterberg Limits (plasticity), Proctor Compaction, Consolidation, California Bearing Ratio, Shear Strength, Gas Permeability, and Liquid Permeability. The optimal mixture of PPS and fly ash will be blended with a range of polymer concentrations. The goal is to find an optimal mix of PPS, fly ash, and polymer to achieve regulatory standards related to permeability, along with other desirable properties such as strength and flexibility. The optimum mixture(s) will then be subjected to field trials, scheduled to begin in 2016, in which test cells will be created at CLL. The liner will be constructed with the optimized mixture(s), and the cells will be operated as landfills for 1-2 years. Results from lab and field testing will be submitted to federal and state regulators for consideration as an alternative liner approach.

In this work, we investigate the influence of ZnO nanoparticles on the performance of paper-based humidity sensors. The sensors were developed on standard, commercial printing paper with laser-patterned gold interdigitated electrodes (IDE) and ZnO nanoparticles spin-coated by various sol-gels. Blank devices were used as reference sensors in an effort to elucidate the role of ZnO and the dependence of the device performance on the concentration of the sol-gels and the number of spin-coated layers. Resistive measurements were conducted at room temperature to evaluate the devices’ response on known relative humidity levels. Relatively fast rise and response times were observed even at room temperature, while all devices tested did not require refreshing procedures. The deposition of ZnO was found to affect the sensor response, resulting in reduced sensor signal, due to the blocking of water diffusion in the porous paper material.

In this work, the fabrication of Rochelle salt based piezoelectric structures is illustrated. Structures composed of paper and Rochelle salt are easily manufactured using simple processes. Both manufacturing and the material itself are environmental friendly. Additionally Rochelle salt is biocompatible. In the paradigm of a cleaner piezoelectric technology, the fabrication of active sensing or actuating devices is developed. Thus processing method, material and piezoelectric properties have been studied: (1) pure crystals are used as acoustic actuator, (2) properties of paper impregnated with Rochelle salt are detailed, (3) charge generation is demonstrated on the impregnated material. Actuating and sensing devices are reported in order to highlight the potential of this green piezoelectric material. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The fabrication of a mechanically flexible piezoresistive load sensor is reported. Inkjet printing offers an inexpensive non-contact fabrication method for microelectronics. Herein we report the first direct fabrication of inkjet-printed graphene arrays, and apply them to electromechanical detection of force. The graphene ink was printed on a cantilever shape paper substrate. The results illustrated a linear resistance change with the applied forces. The force range, force resolution, and sensitivity were found to be 25 mN, 10 μN, and 1.2 mV/mN, respectively. In addition, graphite ink was also used as the sensing component in order to make a comparison between the piezoresistive effect of graphene and graphite ink. The results show that using graphene ink instead of graphite increases the force range and gauge factor of the sensor, which are two important designing factors. This sensor is inexpensive, simple to fabricate, lightweight, and disposable.

This paper is focuses modeling of the last part of the paper machine – the drying section. Paper is dried by letting it pass through a series of steam heated group of cylinders and the evaporation is thus performed by the latent heat of vaporization of the steam. The moisture in the paper is controlled by adjusting the set point of the steam presure controllers to the cylinders. There exist several incentives to focus on the performance of the moisture control. The time to perform a grade change is often limited by the moisture and shorter grade change time is directly correlated to economic profit. The plant model is identified periodically and the changes in its dynamic characteristics are observed. Periodic identification gives a great advantage over the conventional controller tuning methods, which uses the plant model at the nominal operating conditions. A variety of model structures are available to assist in modelling a system. Model for the drying process of Paper industry is established based on gathering 1000 groups of 2500 real-time sample data. Based on the collection of data, that was adapted to both the conventional and intelligent modelling process. Finally the suitable model is tuned with the suitable controller for optimal control of the drying process.

The aim of the study is to model and to simulate the thermal and electrical efficiencies of the cogeneration plant of a paper mill. The final purpose is the benefits optimization by adjusting production to the amount of energy to be sold. It is necessary to know it because the sale price goes down when the actual production of electrical energy does not match the scheduled power.

Remaining Life of the oil-immersed transformer is decided due to deterioration of the winding insulation paper (WIP). The DGA method is conventionally used to estimate the WIP deterioration status condition. This paper presented the four status conditions assessment of paper deterioration for oil-immersed transformer using fuzzy-logic (FL). In this paper the correlation between accumulated values of carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) with insulation resistance in oil-filled power transformers is studied using FL. The authors have estimated the insulation paper deterioration condition using proposed method for 20 transformers or more. As a result, appropriate maintenance scenario can be planned.

Commercial inkjet-printers from manufacturers like Epson or Brother can be used for rapid prototype printing conductive traces onto paper or flexible PET substrates by using nanoparticle based dispersions. The surface coating of the substrate influences the attainable electrical conductivity and dielectric permittivity as well as the loss tangent, which are important parameters for developing inkjet-printed microwave circuits on paper substrates. For characterizing the permittivity conventional methods are using microstrip ring or microstrip transmission line resonators that require the printing of two electrically conductive layers. In the proposed paper, a novel method is introduced to determine the relative permittivity and loss tangent via a coplanar waveguide resonator realized on a single layer.

A piezoelectric based touch sensitive device has been successfully fabricated by screen printing silver (Ag) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) inks as conductive and piezoelectric materials, respectively, on paper substrate. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was performed to verify the formation of β-phase crystals in the PVDF layer during the curing process. Voltages, as high as 0.22 V, were observed for human finger touch tests and a sensitivity of 0.3 V/N was obtained when varying forces ranging from 0.2 N to 1.4 N, in steps of 0.2 N, were applied on the printed device. The piezoelectric-voltage analysis demonstrated that the printed device can be used for both touch and force sensing applications.

Ever increasing user demands and development of modern communication technologies have led to the evolution of communication networks from 1st Generation (1G) network to 4G heterogeneous networks. Further, 4G with heterogeneous network environment will provide features such as, “Always Best Connected”, “Anytime Anywhere” and seamless communication. Due to diverse characteristics of heterogeneous networks such as bandwidth, latency, cost, coverage and Quality of Service (QoS) etc., there are several open and unsolved issues namely mobility management, network administration, security etc. Hence, Designing proficient mobility management to seamlessly integrate heterogeneous wireless networks with all-IP is the most challenging issue in 4G networks. Mobile IPv6 (MIPv6) developed by Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has mobility management for the packet-switched devices of homogeneous wireless networks. Further, mobility management of homogeneous networks depends on network related parameter i.e., Received Signal Strength (RSS). However the mobility management of heterogeneous networks, not only depends on network related parameters, but also on terminal-velocity, battery power, location information, user-user profile & preferences and service-service capabilities & QoS etc. Designing mobility management with all-IP, while, considering issues such as context of networks, terminal, user and services is the main concern of industry and researchers in the current era.

Because of world-wide persistent demand for cellulose man-made fibers suitable in textile processing and application and the predicted stagnation of cotton production, there is a strong need for innovative approaches to safeguard the future availability of dissolving pulps for cellulose fiber production. The paper will present the results of a national network project, which was focused on the development of an integrated process chain for the manufacturing of novel fabrics produced of man-made Lyocell fibers derived from organically grown hemp (OG hemp). The whole process line was established within the process studies starting from hemp cultivation, machine-aided harvesting and automatic peeling to isolate hemp bast stripes (HBS) from stems, pulp manufacturing and transfer into fibers by solution spinning up to processing to yarns and dyed and finished fabrics. More representative, the paper will specifically describe the transfer of almost free of shives extracted, retted hemp fibers and dried HBS into dissolving pulp by means of a specific adjusted pulp cooking process. The main challenges in that step were identification as well as practical development of suitable process approaches for degumming, DP adjustment and purification from contained light and heavy metal traces. Furthermore, the pulp had to be assessed for its usability in direct dissolution process. For that purpose dopes were prepared and characterized regarding optimal DP adjustment, the insoluble parts in dopes and the thermal dope stability at elevated temperatures. After identification and application of most favored process parameters the dissolved pulps could be converted into Lyocell fibers by solution spinning applying the most suitable dry-wet shaping procedure conditions. Manufactured fibers exhibit comparable properties in fineness, tensile strength, elongation and loop tenacity like common Lyocell fibers made of conventional wooden pulp. In project R&D activities obtained fibers had been further processed into yarns, fabrics and apparel demonstrators applying conventional processing parameter. The manufactured Lyohemp TM clothes offer excellent product qualities as well as wearing properties.

For successful management of construction projects and organizations, it is crucial to adopt effective management systems that can handle the various information and documents of project activities. Document Management System (DMS) is the system used to store, control, coordinate, process and/or retrieve documents whether it is in electronic or paper based format. This research aims at investigating existing electronic and paper based DMSs in a sample of small size contracting companies in Jordan. Interviews and questionnaire survey with contractors, contractors’ representatives and practitioners of DMSs in a number of small contracting companies were carried out to investigate and evaluate the components, processes, motivations and challenges of the existing and intended DMSs. Electronic formats of documents and files used in small contracting companies will be also investigated. The results of this research can help contracting companies to enhance their DMSs, and improve efficiency and performance of the processes of construction projects management.

To effectively promote the capacity of fire brigade to handle the building fire and improve the effect of building fire simulation training, a set of design procedure of simulation training module of building fire simulation training facility is proposed in this paper based on the theoretical calculation and according to the field investigation. Such procedure is capable to provide the training environment with the high degree of simulation and complete functions for the fireman and effectively promote the training effect.

Occupant safety evacuation in fires is a critical issue in public safety field. The evacuation process is divided into several stages and each stage can be influenced by various uncertain factors. Some factors were studied in this paper based on the Monte Carlo approach. The safety level affected by different factors and the sensitivity of sampling size were analysed according to the failure probability model of occupant evacuation. The results show that safety level of occupant evacuation in buildings can be evaluated by the failure probability model. When the population density is more than 0.8 pers/m2, the failure probability goes up rapidly with the fire growth rate increasing. Whether the fire is large or not, the population density have a great impact on the evacuation. Then the influencing degree on failure probability of different parameters are changeable in various conditions. In addition, when the sample capacity is large enough, the Monte Carlo simulation can be deemed accurate.

The paper presents the state-of-the-art concerning the current achievements in the field of 3D printing of buildings and building components. The 3D printing technologies, comparing to traditional techniques of constructing the buildings, could be considered as environmental friendly derivative giving almost unlimited possibilities for geometric complexity realizations. Two kinds of technologies were described in this paper with pointing to Contour Crafting as a promising technique that may be able to revolutionize construction industry in near future. Numerous advantages of this technology, such as reduction of the costs and time, minimizing the pollution of environment and decrease of injuries and fatalities on construction sites could be cited. Despite many advantages and hopes, some concerns are summarized in the conclusions, as the technology still has many limitations. A brief description of few examples of pioneering usage of 3D printing in construction industry are presented (Canal House in Amsterdam, WinSun company and printing application for building carried out by Skanska company). Creating a model that will be appropriate for 3D printers is possible in many different modelling programs. One of the most popular formats for sharing such models is STL format. In the paper sample models crated in Autodesk Inventor are shown, but also other tools suitable for preparing models for 3D printing are briefly discussed.

The paper is focused on degradation caused by microorganisms, a process called biodegradation, and on risks for human health caused by them. Bacteria and algae are the primary microorganisms on external building surfaces. These pioneer microorganisms have an enriched space of organic carbon, which is necessary for the growth of any subsequent microorganism which is often mold. Biodegradation is a synergic process of chemical reactions (chemical biodegradation) and physical effects of microbial bodies on building materials (biophysical degradation). The paper is a summary of the current state of art and knowledge in the field of biodegradation.

In this paper, a novel method with addition of graphene in diamond slurry is proposed to conduct CMP lapping of sapphire wafer. Two kinds of graphenes are added including graphene oxide (GO), reduced graphene oxide (RGO). Effect of three important processing parameters on material removal rate (MRR) and surface roughness is investigated, including graphene type, graphene weight fraction, and ultrasonication time. Weight fractions of various graphenes versus diamond slurry are controlled in the range from 0.5 to 2.0 wt%. Results indicate that addition of graphene in diamond slurry can significantly increase MRR of sapphire wafer. MRR of sapphire wafer is proportional to graphene weight fraction. At higher weight fraction, GO/diamond slurry leads to higher MRR than RGO/diamond slurry does. MRR by the pure diamond is 285.80 nm/min, while MRR by the diamond/GO(2.0wt%) with 48-hour ultrasonication is 832.1 nm/min. Surface roughness is inversely proportional to graphene weight fraction and proportional to graphene particle size. Ultrasonication is able to efficiently reduce graphene particle size. RGO/diamond slurry can result in lower surface roughness than GO/diamond slurry.

Activated Carbon (AC) is amorphous carbon which was obtained through carbonaceous material. AC has a large specific surface area, so it has good adsorption capacity for inorganic substances, organic substances and colloidal particles in the gas or solution. Annual consumption is huge. Corn stalks are the remnants of agricultural production. China is one of the countries with the largest straw production in the world, but straw has not been fully utilized for a long time. A large number of straws were discarded or burned, which will waste resources and cause environmental pollution. Corn stalks were selected as raw material, pyrophosphoric acid was selected as activator, and microwave irradiation method was used to study the preparation technology of corn stalk based activated carbon in this paper. The optimum conditions for the preparation of AC from corn stalks were determined by the orthogonal experiment. The optimum parameters for the preparation of AC by microwave heat activation in the laboratory stage were obtained. The concentration of pyrophosphate was about 45% (wt), the impregnation ratio was 1: 2, the impregnation time was 8 hours, the radiant power was 400W, and the activation time was 8 minutes.

Since all most all foods are hygroscopic, tend to shorten their shelf life by absorbing water vapour from the natural environment. This phenomenon is very badly affecting for the food security as well as in building resilience against calamities. To investigate this relationship a hygroscopic food product “Noodles” were taken and packed in LLDPE, OPP, Double laminate and triple laminate pouches and stored at 85% RH and 25°C. Samples were drawn weekly up to 14 weeks and determined increment of moisture content. Results were analyzed to determine co-relationship between storage time and moisture ingress and also to develop an equation “how long the Noodles can be kept safe” under different packaging materials by performing regression analysis. Result revealed that there is a strong positive co-relationship between moisture ingress and period of storage of noodles packed in LLDE, OPP, DL and TL packaging materials as coefficient of correlation ship were 0.89, 0.99, 0.98 and 0.99 respectively. The developed equations for the same order of the packing materials for maximum period of storage were y = 6.31 + 0.606x, y = 6.92 + 0.307x, y = 7.07 + 0.243x and y = 7.27 + 0.166x (y = period of storage, x = moisture content %). According to these equations Noodles can be stored safely for 12, 19, 28 and 42 weeks respectively in LLDE, OPP, DL and TL packaging materials.

Carbon dioxide, a byproduct of fossil-fuel combustion, is a greenhouse gas, which traps solar radiation in the atmosphere. This cause climate change and global warming issues. Biodiesel has gained increasing attention as an alternative to fossil fuels for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector. Yellow oleander (Thevetia peruviana) grows extensively in gardens as a decorative tree throughout Sri Lanka. The plant is a potential source of feed stock for biodiesel production as it produces fruit with two seeds with higher oil content as 49.6% (db) and it is a non-utilized oil crop without any economic value. The objective of this study is to produce biodiesel by transesterifying using extracting oil and to determine its properties. Yellow oleander oil with proper free fatty acid limit was pretreated with NaOH as catalyst and anhydrous methanol amount as 20% of oil volume. The produced yellow oleander methyl ester was characterized. It was observed as gross calorific value as 37.74 MJ/kg (ASTM D 240), flash point of 118°C (ASTM D 93), Kinematic viscosity at 40°C of 5.96 mm2/s (ISO 3105:1976), specific gravity of 0.8874 (ASTM D 1298) and density at 15°C of 887 kg/m3. All the tested parameters are within the accepted limits of the biodiesel thus making it an alternate fuel as transportation fuel for diesel engines.

Recognizing the widespread of negative impact from the usage of fossil fuels, biodiesel has been explored to ensure the sustainability of the environment. Recently, microtube reactor has been widely studied for continuous synthesis of biodiesel production. Therefore, this paper is intended to investigate the transesterification of palm oil using micro- and milli-channel reactors. The research was conducted to study the effects of catalyst concentration (0.5-5.0 wt%) and residence time (60-180 s) for two different tube internal diameters of 1.6 and 0.58 mm. The results showed that the oil conversion and FAME yield are greatly influenced by the tube internal diameter, catalyst concentration and residence time. The effect of tube internal diameter may be attributed to mass transfer effect between oil and methanol phases. The microtube reactor achieved more than 95% at 4.5 wt% of catalyst concentration and 180 s of residence time. Besides, the ester content determined by GC-FID analysis is a good estimation to the FAME yield determined by HPLC analysis.

This paper presents the research results aimed at the assessment of the impact of the group composition of Kazakhstan and West Siberian heavy vacuum distillate on the yield and composition of the catalytic cracking products. The laboratory research was performed to determine the physical and chemical characteristics and group composition of two samples of the heavy vacuum distillate of Kazakhstan and West Siberian oil. The patterns of changing yield of wet gas, light and heavy gas oil, coke, and gasoline depending on the composition of the feedstock were established using mathematical model of catalytic cracking.

The directions of the ecological sustainability in printing reproduction are in the area of the application of the renewable and recycled raw materials, in the decrease of the energy consumption, the usage of the energy from the renewable sources and in the production without waste. This article presents the research results of voltage changes of the intermediate cylinder in indirect electrophotography with liquid toner on dirt count and area on handsheet made from fibers after prints pulping and flotation, brightness and effective residual ink concentration. Since on the indirect transfer of ElectroInk except the voltage of the intermediate cylinder also impacts temperature, its influence on the dirt count and area is showed. Uncoated and both side coated substrates were used for printing. The results show that changes in voltage of the intermediate cylinder in the printing affects the characteristics of pulped and floated fibers and dirt count and area on handsheets. Dominant factor of studied process is surface treatment of the printing substrate. Maximum efficiency of deinking flotation (87.7%) was observed on non coated paper print, at the voltage of the intermediate cylinder of 700V. The efficiency of deinking flotation on both sides coated paper prints in dependence on the voltage of the intermediate cylinder in most cases is below 10%. The results show that an increase in temperature of the intermediate cylinder increases dirt count and area on handsheetst after pulping prints under experimental conditions. Increased efficiency of flotation was found for print obtained at a lower temperature of the intermediate cylinder.

Most popular renewable energy source is biomass. The typical form of biomass is wood. Use of wood for fuel have long tradition in Slovakia. Between a normally trees in Slovakia belongs beech and spruce. This article deals with the energy properties of spruce (Picea Abies). On different parts of the tree have been performed experimental measurements. The measured results show that the parts of the tree have potential for to the next application and processing.

Wooden and agricultural waste which has the high humidity having negative impact on the quality of the ready-made products is often used as a filler in the composite materials production. At the same time, a decrease in moist indicators of vegetable raw materials with the known methods is a rather energy-intensive action. In this regard, the development of the energy saving drying technologies and equipment is one of the most important problems of modern production. The convective vacuum drying installation of dish-shaped type based on the technology of convective drying at the stationary lowered pressure is presented in this article. The feature of this drying installation is the existence of the multistage punched plates, the diameter of perforation of which varies depending on device height starting from 15 mm in the top part of the camera down to 2 mm in the lower part. That allows drying up different fractions of the crushed material evenly. During experiments it has been revealed that the greatest efficiency of process is reached with a pressure of 50-60 kPa, the temperature of the drying agent of 84-87 0C and the speed of its movement of 6-7 m/s. Besides, this technology of drying allows for the lower power costs associated with the process due to the reduction of heat losses due to the absence of high temperature regimes and decreased duration of the process.

In order to solve the problem of growing energy consumption in drying fruits and vegetables and advance the quality of fruits and vegetables processing, a kind of fruits and vegetables dryer was designed based on market demand for the dryer and drying characteristics of fruits and vegetables. The effects of air temperature and relative humidity on the evaporation rate of fruits and vegetables were analyzed, as well as the influence of design parameters on drying uniformity and energy consumption. A structure scheme of static small-sized dryer for fruits and vegetables with circulating airflow was created. Orthogonal test method was used to optimize the structure parameters of the dryer and the uniformity of drying air flow and drying uniformity were monitored by measuring temperature changes of fruits and vegetables.

The work is devoted to production of bio-additives based on rapeseed oil methyl and ethyl esters, which are suitable for the use in jet fuels. The application of vacuum distillation under low pressure was proposed for removal of additives and improving quality of esters. The pressure range suitable for vacuum distillation was determined by constructing boiling diagrams of individual esters applying Clapeyron-Clausius equation. The comparative characteristics of component composition and physical-chemical properties of rapeseed oil esters and esters after vacuum fractionation were presented. The main characteristics of jet fuels, which contain 10%, 20% and 30% of bio-additives based on rapeseed oil esters were studied. It was shown that physical-chemical properties of mixed jet fuel samples satisfy requirements of standards for traditional jet fuels.

Production of bio-hydrogen from stale rice was conducted in an aerobic digester. It was applied 3 types of pressure control range to the digester, they are (0-3/3%), (0-2/3%), (0-1/3%) of maximum pressure during the production of bio-hydrogen in mesophilic (35 °C) condition which is equal to (0-10 psi), (0-6 psi), (0-3 psi), and as small as possible pressure in the digester. This research shows that the optimum pressure control range to increase total gas production is (0-2/3%) or (0-6 psi), with total production of 19 liters biogas.

In this work we report the use of a natural fibrous biomass, the African Baobab, as precursor to produce activated carbons tailored for the removal of a pollutant frequently found in water streams, the herbicide Diuron. The precursors used were Baobab wastes, namely bark, wood and seeds, collected in Angola. The activated carbons produced by physical activation with carbon dioxide showed an interesting porosity with apparent surface area and pore volume, up to 2130m 2 g -1 and 0.99cm 3 g -1 , respectively. All the activated adsorbents are of microporous nature, with mean pore width between 0.69 and 1.94nm. Selected samples were tested for the adsorption of Diuron from liquid-phase. The maximum adsorption capacity reached 400mgg -1 for sample BS-62. This work shows the suitability of using Baobab wastes to produce activated carbons, which can be considered a new route to the valorization of its wastes, with good properties for the adsorption of Diuron.

The quality of cellulose nanofibril (CNF) films is affected by processing and raw material related factors. The causes of potential excessive cellulose degradation during defibrillation that may directly affect the quality of CNF films may be assessed by cellulose viscosity, which need further investigations. This study aims to investigate the influence of cellulose viscosity and residual lignin of four different hardwood species (Eucalyptus grandis - eucalyptus; Brosimum parinarioides - amapa; Parkia gigantocarpa - faveira; and Cordia goeldiana - freijo ) on water absorption of the subsequent CNF films. Viscosity of the unbleached and bleached pulps was measured by capillary viscosimetry after alkali and bleaching pre-treatments of the raw wood sawdust. Residual lignin was also determined for the bleached pulps. The films were obtained by casting method after pulp nanofibrillation through 10, 20, 30 and 40 passages in a mechanical defibrillator. The amount of water absorbed per film area (g/m2) after water immersion of the CNF films for 60 s was determined and normalized by the thickness. Overall, CNF films obtained from pulps with residual lignin and higher viscosity, and hence lower degradation by the alkali and bleaching pre-treatments, showed lower water absorption. The lowest water absorption of B. parinarioides CNF films may be highlighted. For pulps with lower viscosity, water absorption continuously increased with the increase of passages through the defibrillator, possibly due to combined degradation of pre-treatments and nanofibrillation. This tendency was observed from 10 to 40 passages for eucalyptus CNF films and from 10 to 30 passages for P. gigantocarpa CNF films.

The effect of hydraulic and organic loading rate on the anaerobic digest EGSB (Expanded Granular Sludge Blanket) reactor for producing methane gas from starch wastewater was studied. The results show that, when the hydraulic loading rate of reactor is in the range of 1 - 4m/h and the influent concentration of COD Cr is in the range of 5000 - 10000mg/L, the EGSB reactor can operate stably. Under the volumetric organic loading rate of 30 kg/ (m 3 •d), the removal rate of COD is over 80%. The granular sludge in the reactor has good settleability, the proportion of granular sludge in the bottom of reactor with particle diameter larger than 1.5mm accounted for more than 75%.

Branded blends of wool and cotton for high-end apparel fabrics were established in Britain and later exported to many English-speaking countries during the 19 th century (e.g. woven fabrics Viyella™, 55% wool, 45% cotton; Clydella™, 81% cotton, 19% wool). During the late 20 th century, cotton and wool blend yarns for high-end apparel applications were developed in Australia (Colana®, 70% cotton, 30% wool). None of these branded blends of wool and cotton has a current market presence, yet there is evidence of relevance and interest in such blends for the high-end apparel market. How can we account for this disappearance and for the renewed interest?

The thermal properties of Imperata brasiliensis fibers and cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs), obtained at different conditions of sulfuric acid hydrolysis, were studied in the present work. Imperata Brasiliensis fibers were chemically treated by alkaline solution followed by bleaching treatment and both, untreated and treated fibers were characterized. Using a design of experiments (DOE), CNFs were obtained at nine different conditions, considering four factors (acid concentration, pulp/solution ratio, temperature and reaction time), at three levels. From results of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), it was possible to determine some degradation properties and kinetic parameters such as activation energy (Ea) and understand how this parameter changes as a function of chemical treatments and acid hydrolysis conditions. Considering obtained results, it was possible to stablished that chemical treatments, carried out before acid hydrolysis, were effective since some amorphous components were removed, which was confirmed by the increase of thermal stability and Ea values. The best conditions of acid hydrolysis to obtain CNFs from Imperata brasiliensis fibers was also determined, being H 2 SO 4 64 (wt%) at 35°C for 75 min with pulp/solution ratio of 1/20 (g/mL). The suspension obtained at these conditions presented initial degradation temperature of 117 °C and, Ea for the main stage of cellulose degradation of about 64 kJ/mol.

This paper presents an activated sludge model suitable for modelling membrane bioreactors (MBRs) for wastewater treatment. The model, later referred to as combined EPS and SMP production ASM1-based model (CES-ASM1), extends Activated Sludge Model No. 1 (ASM1) with biokinetics of two types of bacterial biopolymers: soluble microbial products (SMP) and extracel- lular polymeric substances (EPS). The biopolymer kinetics in CES-ASM1 are, in their majority, borrowed from Laspidou and Rittmann[1] although, as shall be explained in the article, with one conceptual correction a kinetic pathway of biomass associated products (BAP). CES-ASM1 was calibrated on published experimental results from batch and continuous flow laboratory and pilot plant experiments and proved to be in good agreement with measurements. Standard set of parameters was then proposed as a combination of empirically identified and literature values. The model was then used to predict SMP and EPS production in an activated sludge system under various operating conditions.

This position paper presents a set of recommendations, advocating that all stakeholders concerned with tackling the Syrian humanitarian crisis should adopt a new scheme for emerging from this crisis. It draws the initial features of a proposed mechanism for easing the immense burden of the Syrian humanitarian crisis, leveraging the resources of the international community.

Malaysian construction industry follows the British Standards. Currently, the British Standards have been withdrawn and replaced by Eurocodes. In 2004, the Institution of Engineers Malaysia published a position paper on the concrete codes of practice in Malaysia after 2010 and recommended that the Eurocodes be adopted after the withdrawal of the British Standards. The structural Eurocode is undoubtedly a state –of-the art design code for structural engineering. Hence we have little choice except to adopt the current Eurocodes as Malaysian National Standards. However, it is permitted to attach a national annex with Nationally Determined Parameters (NDP) to the main body of the Eurocode New concepts and terminologies related to reliability and quality management have been introduced by the Eurocodes. This would to a certain extent affect engineering practice in Malaysia, and it will be the choice of the construction industry whether to adopt them or not. People concerned with the requirements of the Eurocode are: committees drafting standards; professionals; designers and constructors, clients (e.g. for the formulation of their specific requirements on reliability levels and durability) and relevant authorities. This paper will look into the aspects related to reliability and quality management proposed by the Eurocode and the respective comments given in the Malaysian National Annex. This covers definitions, basic requirements, measures and applications, and specific requirements on reliability and Iquality management. implementing the Eurocodes would require high standard of engineering practice and more time and understanding of the various aspects introduced. It is concluded that in order to produce safe and durable structure, all requirements of the Eurocode must be considered. Malaysia must take serious steps towards building a national reliability safety model. Issues related to liability and standard of care, in case of non compliance with the code requirements should also be addressed.

In this work Graphene Oxide (GO) and SnO2 nanowires (NWs) composite sensing performance were studied. Single crystal SnO2 NWs were directly grown by thermal evaporation method and GO was successfully synthesized using modified Hummers method. RF magnetron sputtered Pt particles were used as a catalyst for the growth of SnO2 NWs. Drop cast technique was used to deposited GO on top of the SnO2 NWs. FE-SEM (LEO 1525) was used to investigate the morphology of SnO2 NWs and GO. Fabricated sensors were tested towards various concentration of H2 at different working temperatures. This GO/SnO2 hybrid sensors show a reversible response to H2 at low operating temperature.

Abstract — The removal of mercury from entering process area is the key to safeguard aluminum brazed heat exchanger and other critical equipment in the ethylene production plant from Liquid Metal Embrittlement (LME) and amalgam corrosion. Sulphur Impregnated Activated Carbon (SIAC) is the proven technology for mercury removal. However, currently there is no specific study conducted at fluctuating ethane feedstock to monitor its functionality and performance. This study is conducted at a large scale of aging ethylene plant without Ethylene Buffer Storage Tank (EBST) which results in fluctuating feedstock upstream of mercury removal vessel. Number of experiments and data gathering were done by observing current mercury level at various process stream to determine its performance before and after installation. Analysis performed at mercury removal vessel's outlet indicates consistent decrease in adsorption capacity with an increase of temperature. The fluctuation of ethane feedstock from 35,000 kg/hr to 71,000 kg/hr also results in less adsorption efficiency of SIAC.

Herein, a simple and novel method was used to synthesize a new structure of graphene which can be called hollow graphene. First, the ZnO-Graphene QDs synthesized by solution method and then ZnO QDs were dissolved from this structure using an acidic solution to obtain hollow structure of graphene. Afterward, this structure was used in PbS QDs solar cell in order to improve the transport of electron and decrease the recombination of the carriers. A power conversion efficiency of 5.3% was obtained using hollow graphene as a fast electron extraction layer due to the enhancement of EQE and current density. The improvement of PCE in this device was corresponded to efficient photosensitized electron injection from the conduction band of PbS QDs to the LUMO levels of hollow graphene and slow carriers recombination.

Torrefaction is a mild thermochemical treatment of biomass between 473-573 K in inert atmosphere. The poor economic feasibility of torrefaction due to continuous supply of inert gas hinders the commercialization of this technology. The present study investigates torrefaction of oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) in a vertical tubular reactor under the presence of gas from charcoal combustion. The combustion gas consisted of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, oxygen, carbon monoxide and hydrogen at percentages of 75.5, 16.4, 4.0, 3.5 and 0.3 vol%, respectively. In the present study, the thermal energy generated through charcoal combustion was directly utilized for torrefaction of EFB. Torrefaction experiment was carried out at 461 – 494 K for 30 min. The mass and energy yields and properties of torrefied biomass were investigated. Torrefaction in the presence of combustion gas resulted in an increase in the energy density and carbon content of torrefied EFB. The SEM cross-sectional observation of EFB torrefied in combustion gas showed presence of hollow porous structure like honeycomb. The result of torrefaction in combustion gas was compared with torrefaction carried out at 493 K for 30 min in a mixture of CO2 (12.0 vol%), O2 (9.0 vol%) and N2 (balance) from gas cylinder.

Biological corrosion of sewers and sewage treatment plants constitutes a serious problem and its effects result in the loss of billions of dollars a year. It is generally acknowledged that corrosion of concrete caused by microorganisms is associated with their production of sulphuric acid as the main metabolic product. The activity of the bacteria leads to the formation of the sulphur cycle in the system, and consequently to the formation of sulphuric acid, whose presence causes corrosion of concrete. Moreover, the presence of other organisms, such as nitrifying bacteria, fungi and organic acids also contributes to the degradation of the concrete. This article discusses the mechanism caused by biogenic inorganic acids.

In order to decrease energy consumption in buildings, a new way to recycle materials coming from biomasses waste in mortars was studied. For this purpose, mortars with water/cement equal to 0.5 by weight and aggregate/cement equal to 3.5 by volume were considered. Cement was replaced by hydraulic lime and sand was substituted with two different types of spruce sawdust shavings (as it is and roasted), biomass bottom ash and biomass fly ash. The results show that mortar prepared with cement has obviously a better mechanical strength and 60% lower capillary water absorption. All unconventional aggregates increase the total porosity of lime mortars. Moreover, biomass fly ash and both spruce sawdust shavings based mortars can be classified as lightweight mortar. Regardless of porosity and lightness, biomass bottom ash improves up to 150% the mechanical performance of lime-based mortars. Concerning durability, bio-based lime mortars show in general nearly twice higher capillary water absorption with respect to the sand lime mortars whit the exception of spruce sawdust shavings and biomass bottom ash. Mortars can be classified as permeable to water vapour. As it is and roasted spruce sawdust shavings are able to increase three and two times the capacity of the mortar to be a hygroscopic buffer in terms of MBV values.

Utilizing compost derived from waste offers an alternative nutrients source to cultivate microalgae for biofuel production. This is because compost is a low-cost nutrients source which contains high amount of nutrient composition that suitable for microalgae cultivation. Thus, in the present work, plant-based compost and animal waste-based compost were used to cultivate Chlorella vulgaris . The results shows that C. vulgaris favoured to grow at the following condition: 50 ml amount of goat waste-based compost, under pH of 9, and illuminated continuously for 15 days using fluorescent light. Based on these cultivation conditions, 30% of lipid was successfully extracted from the dried microalgae biomass.

Whenever thickening, filtering and clarifying concentrates or residues, the question is: “What is the best equipment to choose?” This presentation gives guidelines to help evaluate equipment options.

The water used to supply a haemodialysis center requires particular mode of treatment in order to achieve the best technical, economic and therapeutic distribution. Dialysis patients come in contact weekly with a large amount of water through the dialysis apparatus. It is therefore essential that this solution has a high quality and purity in terms of proper electrolyte composition, low concentration or absence of organic and inorganic chemical pollutants, low concentration or absence of bacteria, yeasts, fungi and endotoxins. The chemical and microbiological quality of water intended for medical and biomedical treatments, such as haemodialysis, is generally defined on the basis of a plurality of international reference standards (ASTM International standards D1193 and D5196; International Pharmacopoeia and European Pharmacopoeia CAP / NCCLS 1988). In this work the authors have designed an electrochemical device used to characterize pure and ultrapure water for biomedical applications (Patent: TO2014A000765). The results obtained show a good ability of the device in the discrimination of different bacteria and of their concentration (CFU); Pseudomonas and E-coli have been here tested.

Industrial effluent containing metal ions especially from semiconductor industry is considered as a serious environmental pollutant. A green emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) has been formulated in this research using an environmental-friendly refined palm oil as the main diluent of ELM to recover the chromium from wastewater. The feasibility of using palm oil–based ELM for chromium extraction and its stability were investigated. Several parameters, including carrier concentration, agitation speed, internal phase concentration, treat ratio, and agitation time, which could affect the extraction and recovery performance of chromium in ELM process, were attempted. The results showed that 0.2M of TOMAC, 600rpm for agitation speed and 1.0M of NaOH, 2:1 for treat ratio provided enhancement of emulsion stability and almost 100% of chromium was extracted and recovered.

Part of special issue: Proceedings of the 30th anniversary Eurosensors Conference – Eurosensors 2016, 4-7. Sepember 2016, Budapest, Hungary The increment of uncontrolled nutrients concentration in water is the subject of increasing environmental concern. In particular, the increment of nitrate causes the eutrophication of algae, leading to fauna and flora demise. In order to favour an easy and adequate monitoring of this environmental problem, we have developed an ionogel-based sensor for the colorimetric determination and image analysis detection of nitrite and nitrate in water. The sensor consists on a small poly(methyl)methacrilate (PMMA) device cut by a CO2 laser where both the detection and the calibration zones are integrated. A simple photograph of the whole device, followed by colour processing of the different sections of the chip was used for the determination of nitrite concentrations. The project was carried out with the support of the Ramón y Cajal programme (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad). FBL, LAF-C and JS thank to the European Union‘s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration under grant agreement no. 604241 for economical support. FBL acknowledges the Gobierno Vasco, Dpto. Industria, Innovación, Comercio y Turismo under ELKARTEK KK-2015/00088. Authors personally acknowledge Marian M. De Pancorbo for letting them to use her laboratory facilities at UPV/EHU.

Turkey's plants are fired by lignite, producing class C fly ash containing a high percentage of lime. Sulphate and alkali levels are also higher in class C fly ashes. Therefore, fly ash is, commonly, unsuitable as an additive in cement or concrete in Turkey. In this study, highly alkaline fly ash obtained from the Yenikoy thermal power plants is combined with soil samples in different proportions (5%, 15%, and 25%) and changes in the geomechanical properties of Ankara clay were investigated. The effect of curing time on the physical-mechanical properties of the fly ash mixed soil samples was also analyzed. Free swelling index values showed a decrease of 92.6%. The California bearing ratio has seen a more drastic increase in value (68.7 times for 25% fly ash mix).

Graphene has remarkable mechanical properties, which makes it hypothetically a good reinforcement in metal composites. It also has exclusive optical and thermal properties, which make it striking filler for producing multifunctional composites especially in case of metal matrix composite due to its viability and outstanding mechanical properties. In the past few years, relatively little consideration has been given on graphene reinforced metal matrix composite (GRMMC) in comparison to polymer and ceramic matrix composites. This review article gives a wide-ranging overview on the state of the dispersion of graphene in composites, including materials already synthesized and characterization. This paper also focus on different dispersion methods, mechanism of strengthening, composites synthesized using graphene and its applications.