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The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for high-frequency (HF) measurements is a cutting-edge technology that has recently attracted attention. The measurements of far and near fields of antennas, mobile network tests, direction finding, and locating the sources of interference as well as radio-frequency (RF) imaging are a few of the HF applications of UAVs. In this article, we discuss the advantages and capabilities of UAVs for HF measurements as well as some recent progress in the use of UAVs for related types of applications.

Commercial starch extraction is a multi-step process which requires high capital cost and infrastructure. The present study aimed at exploring a low cost process for small scale/on-farm processing of potato for isolation of starch which included potato grinding, slurry filtration, starch settling, increased number of starch washings to obtain maximum yield and purity followed by starch drying. Two commercial cultivars (Kufri-Chipsona-3 and Lady Rosette) and two commonly grown cultivars (Kufri Pukhraj and Kufri Ganga) were used for the experiments. The isolated starches varied significantly (p

In the recent years, increasing labour cost and shortage of labour being the major constraints to follow manual harvesting in cotton in staggered manner. Further, it is very expensive and farmers would like to increasingly opt for mechanical harvesting. In this context, it is suggested that research should focus to reduce cost of cultivation substantially by promoting the use of synchronized maturity in cotton and use of defoliants to encourage mechanical harvesting. In agriculture, defoliants are used to eliminate the leaves of a crop plant so that they do not interfere with the harvesting by machinery. Early harvesting with good boll opening can also be achieved by use of defoliants. The use of defoliants also reduces the trash content in picked cotton which will also help in improving the quality of cotton. There is a need to identify suitable defoliant with suitable dose and time of application so as to facilitate mechanical harvesting in rainfed cotton. Some of the successful defoliants for uniform boll bursting and higher yield of cotton such as rthrel, rthepon, mepiquat chloride (MC), sodium salt and DU (Dropp Ultra) are the hormonal defoliants and TDZ thidiazuron butifos, merphos, tribufos and tribufate are the herbicidal defoliants. The best combination of thidiazuron + diuron (DCMU), pyraflufen ethyl, thidiazuron + diuroncellular isozyme, Ethephon + AMADS, ethephon + cyclanilide ethephon + tribufos Mepiquat chloride (MC) + cyclanilide may be recommended to facilitate mechanical harvesting in cotton.

The article determines main factors of the need for modern conditions of temporary setting aside trains from the traffic, which require consideration of this operation not as an emergency forced measure, the need for which arises because of operational personnel errors, but as one of the elements of the transportation process technology that require it rational organization. These factors are: formation of large unloading areas in seaports taking into account recurring difficulties in its work, technical equipment failures and traffic safety violations, daily irregularity of train operation, etc. Principles of building a rational strategy for temporary setting aside trains from traffic are considered. It makes provision for: using the capabilities of the operational area infrastructure as a whole for set aside trains, impermissibility of reducing the carrying capacity of previous sections of the difficult section below its carrying capacity as a result of set aside trains, selecting stations for set aside trains based on feasibility studies.Use of a cost-effective strategy for the temporary setting trains from traffic in the event of operational difficulties will minimize the expenses of the JSC “Russian Railways” related to the need to carry out this element of the transportation process technology.

In this technical brief, we investigate the feasibility to use a cost-effective system for the study of frictional losses in hydro- and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flows. Experiments are performed in rectangular channels with different aspect ratios, whose dimensions range from 500 μm to 1.835 mm. Fabrication is done with conventional technology, and characterization by commercial sensors and open-source electronic prototyping platforms. Water and GaInSn are used as working fluids. GaInSn experiments are performed for one aspect with and without external magnetic field. For these experiments, Reynolds number varies from 80 to 1000. Characterization is performed in terms of the Darcy friction factor. Uncertainty associated with this common fabrication and characterization methodology is presented.

The MinION is a portable DNA sequencer that allows real time sequencing at low capital cost investment. We assessed accuracy and cost-effectivess of the MinION for genetic diagnostic testing of known SCN1A mutations that cause Dravet Syndrome (DS). DNA samples (n = 7) from DS patients previously shown to carry SCN1A mutations via Ion Torrent and Sanger sequencing were sequenced using the MinION. SCN1A amplicons for 8 exons were sequenced using the MinION with 1D chemistry on an R9.4 flow cell. All known missense mutations were detected in all samples showing 100 % concordance with results from other methods. However, the MinION failed to detect the insertions/deletions (INDELs) present in these patients. Nevertheless, these results indicate that MinION is a cost-effective platform for use as an initial screening step in the detection of nucleotide substitution mutations in in SCN1A, especially in under-resourced laboratories or hospitals. Further improvements are required to reliably detect INDELS in this gene.

To control the total treatment cost of textile dye effluent a new advanced combined treatment technology has been investigated. Advanced oxidation processes like ozonation have much potential to degrade dye but its main drawback is high cost. To reduce the cost of ozonation for dye degradation and decolourization, ozonation followed by anaerobic biodegradation using upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor was carried out. The synthetic textile wastewater containing Reactive Black 5 has been used in this study by this combined treatment process. The system of ozonation and anaerobic treatment by UASB reactor showed that the chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction has reached to about 90% and dye removal 94% respectively. Combined treatment enhanced the overall color removal up to 10 on platinum cobalt (Pt–Co) scale. Thus the combined treatment process results in high color, COD and total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiency which would minimize the overall treatment cost. Dye degradation products were analyzed by ion chromatography (IC) and UV–vis spectroscopy.

This paper addresses the current oil & gas industry need for awareness and how to accelerate use of international standardization efforts, with focus on multi-disciplinary ISO standards and business governance. Qualified compliant use of ISO standards can unlock necessary business value and is a means to achieve cost-efficiency, HSE objectives, and minimize climate impact. The user domain encompasses regulatory bodies, oil and gas companies, drilling companies, engineering companies, equipment manufacturers, research & consultancies. The ISO/TC67 Working Group "Reliability engineering and technology" has responsibility for reliability and cost related ISO standards within the Petroleum, petrochemical and natural gas industries. The portfolio of the multi-disciplinary ISO standards is internationally acknowledged and has recently been updated by many new standards that the global user domain can benefit from to achieve cost reducing technologies. Reliability and cost is part of the equation in innovative technology development processes to enforce quality and minimize risk, and enable new technology meets overall business performance objectives. This paper will give highlights of the following ISO standards and a roadmap for their application: ISO 14224 - Collection and exchange of reliability and maintenance data for equipment ISO 20815 - Production assurance and reliability management ISO 19008 - Standard cost coding system to gas production and processing facilities Company applications are presented to show examples in technology development, project development, and oil & gas field operations. Standards relation to digitalization of oil and gas industry will also be addressed, e g. how "reliability communication" between oil company and supplier can benefit from use of the latest ISO standard 14224. Contractual framing of reliability and Key Performance Indicators will also be presented. This ISO standardization work is based on international expert team efforts by many countries, and in collaboration with IOGP. The work supports the ISO/TC67 Mission: "To create value-added standards for the oil and gas industry", and the ISO/TC67 Vision: "International standards used locally worldwide."

A novel arrangement for an electro-Fenton reactor aimed to treat neutral wastewater is presented. The arrangement consists on three-compartments in series, two of them packed with a cation exchange resin and one positioned between these, containing a polarized activated carbon column where the electrochemical generation of the Fenton reagent takes place. While the hydroxyl radicals electrochemically produced in-situ, react with the pollutant species adsorbed on the activated carbon cathode, the resin compartments administrate and collect the iron cation and the hydrated proton species in alternating flow direction cycles. The resulting process is a system that does not require acid or iron chemical addition to the process while at the same time, renders decontaminated water free of iron-dissolved species at neutral pH. The proposed electrochemical reactor arrangement is therefore the basis for the design of commercially viable electro-Fenton reactors in which the addition and subsequent removal of acid and iron chemicals is avoided; two of the currently most limiting features for the development of electro-Fenton technology for treating wastewater., Graphical abstract Image 1, Highlights • A novel arrangement for an alternating electro-Fenton process is proposed. • The reactor consists on polarized activated carbon and ion exchange resin sections. • The system avoids acid or iron addition rendering iron-free water at neutral pH. • The approach points to the development of competitive electro-Fenton technology.

Conventional electronic circuit wiring methods involve subtractive processes such as etching the copper foils, and thus are inefficient and cause serious environmental problems. Printed electronics technology is expected to be more environmentally benign and have lower cost, due to its additive characteristics. In this paper, we present a simple and efficient strategy to fabricate high performance copper metal fine circuits by a galvanic replacement deposition method. Zinc nanoparticles filled epoxy resin paste is printed onto the substrate film as the seed layer; with a subsequent simple galvanic replacement reaction between Zn and Cu2+, we can obtain a conductive Cu layer that can be further thickened by electroplating. The as-prepared circuits show bulk Cu conductivity, excellent flexibility, adhesion strength and pattern resolution. By adjusting the processing parameters, this technology is suitable for various practical applications, such as flexible circuit boards, RFID tags, touch panels, membrane switches, and photovoltaics, making it a promising solution for low-cost and environmentally friendly fabrication for flexible electronic devices.

Arsenic is present in groundwater in some parts of India. Despite the fact that a variety of treatment methods are available, the efficiency of these methods is not fully known. With the revision of Indian standards for permissible levels of arsenic in drinking water to 10 μg/L or lower, it is necessary to develop a treatment method, which meets drinking water standards of 10 μg/L. Iron based adsorbents have been reported to have high affinity for arsenic. Many researchers have also shown that the corrosion of Zero Valent Iron (ZVI) forms Hydrous Ferric Oxide (HFO) which can act as an adsorbent for arsenic. And the oxidation of Fe to Fe has also been reported to oxidize As(III) to As(V). Using this information a ZVI based Arsenic Filter has been developed by Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. Test units of the IITB-Arsenic Filter have been installed in the field in four villages in West Bengal. From the results, it is clear that the filter is able to consistently achieve arsenic levels around 10 μg/L for initial arsenic concentrations ranging from 0.06 to 0.4 mg/L. The flowrate of the filtered water is aprox. 600 L/hr. Thereby the IITB-Arsenic Filter is able to consistently provide drinking water for about 200 families on a daily basis. The IITB-Arsenic Filter does not require frequent backwashing/cleaning (cleaning frequency is once in 3 months, and is done by the villagers) and therefore has low operation and maintenance costs. Moreover, it does not require monitoring of flow parameters and is easy-to-operate by unskilled personnel. The Fe/As ratio used in the filter is around 20. Low Fe/As ratios mean lesser sludge generation. Thus it is felt that the IITB Arsenic filter is a suitable technology for rural India.

Soda-alkaline method of alunite ore processing includes crushing, grinding and enrichment (flotation) of the alunite ore. Enriched alunite ore, containing 50 - 60% of alunite, is roasted at temperatures between 520о – 620о С for 1 – 3 hours. Roasted alunite is further leached with sodium carbonate solution (5–20 %). Proportion of sodium carbonate for binding of SO3 aluminum sulfate in alunite accounts for 100 – 110 % of stoichiometric quantities. Leaching takes place at temperatures around 70 – 100о С for 0.5 – 2.0 hours. Solution of the resulting pulp contains all the potassium sulfate from alunite and sodium sulfate from soda. Solution of sulfates is separated from the insoluble residue and is fed for conversion with potassium chloride. As result of this conversion we obtain quantities of potassium sulfate (fertilizer) and table (common) salt. The remaining insoluble residue contains all the aluminum oxide from alunite and waste rock. Further processing of the insoluble residue based on the Bayer out-of-autoclave process produces alumina and quartz sand. Besides alumina, this method makes it possible to get four times more the amount of potassium sulfate and certain volumes of table salt. Taking into account the processing capacity of Ganja Alumina Plant (150,000 tons of alumina per year), this method allows the production of fertilizer, potassium sulfate (370,000 tons per year), coagulant for purification of water from mechanical impurities (49,000 tons per year), table salt (NaCl) (126,000 tons per year), and quartz sand for non-ferrous casting and production of construction materials (300,000 tons per year). Approximate yearly financial efficiency of the soda-alkaline technology for processing of 150,000 tons of alumina per year will be around 171,46 million USD.

Implementations of mini hydro schemes with conventional hydraulic, electrical equipment's and controllers have proven very expensive and uneconomical. Many developing countries that are in need of rural electrification have encountered economical problem when setting up these mini hydro schemes. To address this problem, alternative options and new designs of these equipment's have been explored by many researchers around the world. The application of these new designs would reduce the overall cost of mini hydro development and would help in making it a cost effective technology. These new designs will also help developing countries to provide electricity to rural areas or remote regions where interconnection of transmission line from the electrical grid is uneconomical. The new designs can also be an enabling factor in boosting up electricity generation using a renewable energy source. This paper provides survey of all these alternative options and new designs in the controller, hydraulic turbine and generators that have been implemented in different countries of the world.

This abstract discusses the development of a multimission, autonomous sensor platform and describes applications ranging from measuring metocean parameters to detecting oil seeps in a cost effective manner with full Service Quality and HSE compliance. Examples from Gulf of Mexico and other offshore areas of the world demonstrate how persistent, unmanned mobile monitoring platforms have proved beneficial and effective to offshore exploration and production efforts, moving this technology from a state of infancy towards maturity. Accurate meteorological and oceanographic data are essential for developing climate models and weather forecasts used in planning offshore exploration and production operations. A new remotely controlled, autonomous marine vehicle (AMV) supports a variety of sensors for conducting detailed metocean surveys across vast distances and under extreme conditions. To gather this data we use a wave powered AMV that harnesses kinetic energy from wave action to produce locomotion in the ocean, while remaining environmentally friendly and fuel-free; the vehicle is completely self-sustaining using solar panels to power its payloads. The platform includes navigational and control systems with communication to an operations center via satellite. Once deployed the AMV uses no crew, requires no fuel and produces no emissions, thus eliminating both risk to personnel and impact on the environment. For less than the cost of a moored buoy or a vessel and crew, the vehicle provides mobility and long-range endurance for extended ocean monitoring missions. The propulsion system allows it to hold station in tidal or eddy currents. It simply steers to a designated waypoint—a programmed set of geographic coordinates. When it approaches the limits of a predefined watch circle, it turns around and heads back to the same point repeatedly. The AMV can maintain station for long durations with a watch circle of 25 to 50 m [82 to 164 ft], depending on currents and sea state. By contrast, the mooring systems of deep-ocean buoys employ ground tackle that produces a much wider watch circle the AMV can accommodate a broad range of off-the-shelf or custom sensors to fit the needs of the mission. A GPS receiver not only determines vehicle position, it provides a precise time stamp for all data recorded on the mission. Photovoltaic panels keep lithium-ion batteries charged to support WiFi, cellular or satellite communications systems, onboard data processing and various payloads. This technology can and has assisted clients in providing early warning signs from a meteorological and oceanographic perspective for better managing risks and making critical decisions in protecting personnel and assets on installations both manned and unmanned. Value is enhanced when a number of these sensors are deployed on a swarm of vehicles to conduct pre-site baseline surveys for risk and insurance management.

Cryogenic condensation is an extremely cost-effective technology for controlling emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from chemical processing facilities under certain conditions. This paper describes the technology and provides the case history of an application in the pharmaceutical industry, in which its cost effectiveness was compared with a range of alternative technologies, including thermal oxidation, catalytic oxidation, flaring, carbon adsorption, and scrubbing. Because the facility already used significant quantities of liquid and gaseous nitrogen for inerting, blanketing, and purging, a very convenient cold source for cryogenic condensation was already present. On a lifetime cost basis, cryogenic condensation was significantly less costly than all other technologies evaluated.

(2011). The challenge of cost-effective technology-enhanced learning for medical education. Education for Primary Care: Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 66-69.

The U.S. government, which funds virtually all types of basic research and development, can maximize its investment and best support technology transfer by focusing on RD the selection of projects that will produce research and development results convertible to prototypes for testing in the end user’s environment; and the selection of projects that complement each other for building a critical mass of technology transfer from the bottom up. This type of approach utilizes the best attributes of each member of the technology partnership; focuses technology transfer efforts at the level of basic technology, where there is maximum flexibility and opportunity; and utilizes existing program funding to accomplish technology transfer objectives.

Deep, cold seawater has long been recognized as a valuable energy resource, and early studies in the 1970's, motivated by the energy crisis, identified its advantages for coastal air conditioning.',' Air conditioning with seawater uses only a small fraction of the electrical power required for conventional air conditioning. At the time of these studies, however, the cost of the seawater air conditioning system was uncertain because pipelines had not been built to the water depths required and heat exchangers had significant unknowns relative to corrosion, fouling and costs. This has now changed. Over the last decade, research on Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) has brought the development of reliable, moderately sized pipelines suitable for cold water air conditioning and the development of low cost aluminum heat exchangers compatible with deep, cold seawater. Air conditioning with seawater for some areas is now a reliable, cost-effective technology. This paper summarizes the operation of an air conditioning system using deep, cold seawater and identifies the primary conditions under which a system can be cost effective. The primary factors impacting the economic success of such a system is the size of the air conditioning load, the accessibility to deep cold water, the percent utilization of the air conditioning system and the local cost of electricity. This paper provides data and graphs that are suitable for an initial assessment of the economic pay back period based on these site-specific conditions.

The introduction of Western horizontal drilling techniques into Siberia has achieved outstanding results for Sibneft, a Russian independent operator. Before 2000, vertical or directional S-shape wells were being drilled to develop the Sibneft-NoyabrskNeftegaz oil fields using local techniques provided by Siberian drilling contractors. An alliance with a major Western service provider made possible a Western-Russian design group familiar with all available options. The group created an ideal marriage of Western and Russian fit-for-purpose equipment, procedures, and techniques for a cost-efficient horizontal well design. The methodology applied in this project is a fusion of classic Russian drilling techniques, i.e., compact rigs skidding on a rail system with aluminum drillpipe with Russian turbines to drill tophole sections, coupled with modern horizontal technology such as steerable motors and mud pulse telemetry measurement-while-drilling (MWD) and logging-while-drilling (LWD) systems. To date, 90 wells have been drilled with a progressive learning curve enabling wells to be drilled to around 4000 m (with more than 1000 m of horizontal section) in less than 48 days that at the start of the campaign were taking more than 100 days. The successful integration of these cost-effective solutions has been pivotal in helping Sibneft approach its production targets. Today the 90 wells drilled in the last 3 years (out of 4,500 total wells) account for approximately 175,000 BOPD, or one quarter of total Sibneft production. The cooperation of reservoir and drilling engineering teams from the service provider and the operator was critical to project accomplishments.

Rapid and cost effective technology development is required in order to meet competitive time to market constraints for modern semiconductor products. TCAD tools are indispensable for meeting both time and cost targets by pinpointing the required development effort and thereby reducing the development work required. In this study, the requirement is to increase the substrate breakdown voltages and thereby reducing the development work required. In this study, the requirement is to increase the substrate breakdown voltages of both npn and pnp bipolar transistors for a complimentary vertical bipolar process from 120V to 155V. A design of experiment approach to both device layout and process technology development is used to ensure that both layout and process sensitivities are rigorously considered in designing-in the manufacturability of the technology at the development stage. TCAD tools are used to show that the increased breakdown voltages can be achieved purely by optimizing the device layout. A layout DOE is performed to guarantee that there is no marginality relating to the device layout. Monte Carlo analysis then performed to determine the process steps that the breakdown voltage is most sensitive to. A process DOE is then run to ensure that there is no marginality relating to the process.

Background 1. Public safety is an important issue for coastal management and planning. 2. Despite continued efforts, coastal drowning continues at unacceptable levels. 3. SLS has many systems in place to collect, analyse and communicate information. 4. Maintaining this information is very resource intensive. Objectives In order to address these issues SLSA has developed a suite of low cost, high tech, location based tools. These tools are used for a range of applications including, public education, data collection, event risk management and coastal public safety risk assessment. Methods BeachSafe A website and location based iPhone app containing information on all of Australia's 11 900 beaches. The application is backed by the ABSAMP Database, developed jointly by Prof. Andrew Short (University of Sydney) and SLSA. Event Risk Management Application Every year SLSA conducts the Australian Surf Life Saving (SLS) Championships This event has more competitors than the Commonwealth Games and is held in the most unpredictable of environments, the beach. SLSA has developed user friendly, guided, risk management tools for the iPad. This application is currently used at the Australian SLS Championships providing real time information on the ever changing risk levels to the event emergency services. Coastal Public Safety Risk Assessment Application SLSA provides commercial risk management services to local government and other organisations as required to mitigate coastal public safety risk. SLSA has developed a ground breaking enterprise tool for this purpose that revolutionises this service. This application allows for the rapid collection of data and instant reporting, as well as validating and updating data in contained in the ABSAMP database. This presentation will illustrate how SLSA is addressing coastal public safety issues using these cost effective and efficient applications. This is an abstract of a presentation at Safety 2012, the 11th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion, 1-4 October 2012, Michael Fowler Center, Wellington, New Zealand. Full text does not seem to be available for this abstract.

(1997). Environmentally Sound, Cost Effective Technology for Recycling Mixed Plastic and Rubber Waste. Materials Technology: Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 3-4.

In situ bioreclamation is a proven technology that cost-effectively treats organic contamination in subsurface environments. As a remediation strategy, it reduces both the contamination dissolved in ground water, as well as residual soil-bound contamination. To maximize biodegradation, the technology is applied after conducting laboratory studies. Application of the technology involves infiltrating necessary nutrients to the contaminated subsurface. Results of a specific case study indicate excellent performance with rapid cleanup of petroleum hydrocarbon contamination from soils and ground water. Costs associated with in situ bioreclamation technology showed a savings of approximately 50 percent over simple pump-and-treat technology. Time frame for cleanup was shown to be approximately 30 percent of the projected time frame of simple pump-and-treat technology.

The directions that electric propulsion technology should take to meet the primary propulsion requirements for earth-orbital missions in the most cost effective manner are determined. The mission set requirements, state of the art electric propulsion technology and the baseline system characterized by it, adequacy of the baseline system to meet the mission set requirements, cost optimum electric propulsion system characteristics for the mission set, and sensitivities of mission costs and design points to system level electric propulsion parameters are discussed. The impact on overall costs than specific masses or costs of propulsion and power systems is evaluated.

Human operators use tele-operated service robots for performing more or less hazardous operations (manipulation of heavy and/or dangerous products) in more or less hostile environments (nuclear reactors, space missions, warehouses, etc). Anyway, independently of the operation, the robot has to interact with both the environment it is working on and with human operators. Therefore, it is essential that the design (which include both software and hardware) of the robot involves no risk, or at least an acceptable level of risk, neither for the operators, nor for the environment nor for the robot itself. Nevertheless, it is not always possible to make a system free of failures in its design or operation. Apart from the risk inherent to the use of the mechanisms themselves, these systems work in hazardous environments, where the probability of the risk is higher than normal. Should a failure happen, its consequences could even involve the loss of human lives. (Neumann, 1994) documents many cases of computer-related failures, such as the Therac-25 (a radiation-therapy device), the missiles shield in Saudi Arabia, etc. Nevertheless, safety aspects are seldom included in the early phases of the system design process from the beginning, even though they are a critic aspect. Generally, safety has to conform and adapt to the already designed system and not vice versa, when it is widely known that safety involves not only the design of the software but also the hardware. Even more, a simple hardware solution can eliminate a hazard or simplify the software design in many situations. This research has been funded by the Spanish CICYT project MEDWSA (TIN2006-15175- C05-02) and the Regional Government of Murcia Séneca Program (02998-PI-05).

Visual impairment, which means that a person’s eyesight cannot be corrected to the normal level, is the curse. If individuals are partially blind, they have limited vision and may have blurry vision or an inability to distinguish the shapes of objects. Complete blindness means individuals cannot see at all. Worldwide there has a large visually impaired population, and a large part is in developing and emerging countries. Vision difficulty always makes a person’s life hard, and poorness adds a new dimension. Technology is advancing and aids, like all other sectors, visually impaired individuals in performing daily activities, including walking to travel distances. Most of the technologies are costly and difficult to bear for poor visually impaired individuals, especially people in emerging and developing countries. This research aims to develop a cost-effective technology to aid visually impaired individuals. We implemented the system using a microcontroller, sonar sensor, micro coin vibration motor, and light-depending resistor as the main components. The results demonstrate that the developed technology can aid visually impaired individuals and add new facilities if there have hearing disabilities. The developed cost-effective technology, therefore, provides the best solution for a large number of visually impaired individuals.

Norfolk Island, like many islands in the subtropical Pacific, is at increasing risk of drought. To test the hypothesis that desalination is the most cost-effective technology for providing potable water during ‘water emergencies’, this study calculated and compared the levelised cost on Norfolk Island of seven ‘centralised’ intervention options and two ‘diffuse’ options for increasing groundwater accessions. Gully dams were the ‘centralised’ intervention option found to have the lowest levelised cost but had the largest percentage reductions in yield (i.e., 39% for 1 ML storage) under a projected drier future climate, greater than twice the percentage reduction in rainfall (16%) but less than the percentage reduction in runoff (44%). Cluster-scale roof-harvested rainwater systems with ‘turkey nest’ earth embankment had the second lowest levelised cost but are probably socially unacceptable due to siting on the community’s premier sporting oval. Desalination had the third lowest levelised cost, followed by the use of existing deep groundwater bores to pump and store water exclusively for use during a water emergency. Although desalination was not the most cost-effective technology, it is likely to be more socially acceptable than the two more cost-effective options. After gully dams, rainwater harvesting intervention options had the second highest proportional reductions in yield under a projected drier future climate (~10%); however, the reductions were less than the percentage reductions in rainfall. The yield from desalination and groundwater were unaffected under a drier future climate projected for ~2060.

This research aims to evaluate the OPV window (OPVW) potential application in a deep-plan multi-storey office building, in order to verify its contribution to indoor daylighting quality. OPVW is a cost-effective technology with reduced environmental impact, suitable for application in a multi-story office building due to its potential to adapt to different architectural configurations, lightness and transparency, etc. In an earlier study developed by the authors, an experiment was conducted with a generic office room scale model. Three window materials were compared under real sky conditions (overcast and clear): 3 mm single glass (A scenarios); single glass with OPV (B scenarios); and single glass with application of solar control film (C scenarios). In the present study the same parameters from the experiment were used as input for simulations on Radiance, whose results were compared to previous (work plane illuminance, Daylight Factor and model interior photographs). We found similarities between them. Thus, further results were produced: isolux curves, Daylight Glare Index and render images. The rendered images show a brighter view at A scenarios, and at B and C scenarios. Even if average illuminance is reduced, a better daylight distribution and a reduction in glare are achieved. DGI indicates perceptible glare for some of A scenarios. On the other hand, at most of B and C scenarios, glare was below the perceptible range. Furthermore, the scenarios with OPVW (B scenarios) still show one more advantage: the energy production for artificial lighting when illuminance values are not sufficient. This research aims to evaluate the OPV window (OPVW) potential application in a deep-plan multi-storey office building, in order to verify its contribution to indoor daylighting quality. OPVW is a cost-effective technology with reduced environmental impact, suitable for application in a multi-story office building due to its potential to adapt to different architectural configurations, lightness and transparency, etc. In an earlier study developed by the authors, an experiment was conducted with a generic office room scale model. Three window materials were compared under real sky conditions (overcast and clear): 3 mm single glass (A scenarios); single glass with OPV (B scenarios); and single glass with application of solar control film (C scenarios). In the present study the same parameters from the experiment were used as input for simulations on Radiance, whose results were compared to previous (work plane illuminance, Daylight Factor and model interior photographs). We found similarities between them. Thus, further results were produced: isolux curves, Daylight Glare Index and render images. The rendered images show a brighter view at A scenarios, and at B and C scenarios. Even if average illuminance is reduced, a better daylight distribution and a reduction in glare are achieved. DGI indicates perceptible glare for some of A scenarios. On the other hand, at most of B and C scenarios, glare was below the perceptible range. Furthermore, the scenarios with OPVW (B scenarios) still show one more advantage: the energy production for artificial lighting when illuminance values are not sufficient.

Hyderabad city is an emerging pharmaceutical hub of India. Pharmaceutical effluent contains many organic and inorganic compounds which need to be treated before discharging into natural water bodies or municipal sewers. The disposal of these wastes should be done in a safe, secure and aesthetic way failing which, results in harmful effects on human, plant and animal life. In the present study effluent from a pharmaceutical industry in Hyderabad, manufacturing Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and solid oral dosage forms is analyzed. It was found to contain large amounts of Dissolved solids, COD, Suspended solids, chlorides and colour. In this paper a comparative study of Chemical coagulation and Electrocoagulation in treating the effluent is made to find a more efficient and cost-effective technology. The results showed that though chemical coagulation has brought a considerable decrease in percentage of COD, suspended solids and chlorides, but the extent of decrease in the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) is only 14.05 % using Alum and 26.3 % with FeCl3. Whereas electrocoagulation method which has reduced both COD and TDS to greater extent (92.3 % & 91.5 %) proved more efficient with Fe-Al assembly using a lowest current of 0.04 A at a time interval of 15 min. The coagulant consumption is also less in eletrocoagulation compared to chemical coagulation rendering it a cost effective technology.

Nanotechnology is a continually expanding field for its uses and applications in multiple areas i.e. medicine, science, and engineering. Biosynthesis is straightforward, less-toxicity, and cost-effective technology. TiO2 NPs biosynthesis has attained consideration in recent decades. In this study, probiotic bacteria were isolated from cow’s raw milk samples, and then were identified by using the Vitek2 system; as Leuconostoc spp. included Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides (Leu.1), Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris (Leu.4), and Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides (Leu.14). All Leuconostoc spp. isolates showed an ability for TiO2 NPs bio-production, after being incubated at anaerobic conditions (30 o C/ 24 h) in DeMan Regosa and Sharpe (MRS) broth medium. The biosynthesized TiO2 nanoparticles were characterized using the following apparatuses: UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) apparatus, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM) in addition to Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) spectra. The characterized biosynthesized TiO2 NPs were spherical-shaped, nanostructure anatase crystals with an average size range of 53.35-59.41 nm. The UV absorption spectrum was observed at the wavelength 344-248 nm; the topography AFM 2D and 3D images result showed the height and roughness of biosynthesized TiO2 NPs that were in the range of 1.137-18.88 nm. Absorption peaks in the FTIR spectra were located in a region typical of TiO2 NPs, and biosynthesized TiO2 nanoparticles’ main IR topographies (408.21- 445.80) cm-1 belonged to anatase Titania (Ti-O-Ti) bridge.

The quality of agricultural production and their modulation by biofertilizer application has gradually received attention. However, the importance of Bacillus strains has not been studied extensively especially in strawberry. The present investigation was carried out to study the effect of Bacillus strains on growth, yield and quality of strawberry cv. Chandler during the year 2016-17 and 2017-18. The study indicates that various Bacillus strains significantly influenced growth, yield and quality of fruits. Among different Bacillus strains, HCA61 strain recorded the significantly higher fruit yield per plant (233.69 g). It also recorded the highest value concerning different growth parameters, viz., plant height (12.56 cm), spread (22.78 cm), number of leaves per plant (11.31), crown diameter (12.46 mm), fresh weight (43.86 g) and dry weight (12.36 g) of plant with minimum number of days (79.50 days) to flower in strawberry plants. Among different yield attributing characters like number of fruits per plant (22.13), fresh weight of fruit (10.56 g), fruit length (40.31 mm), fruit breadth (28.83) and moisture content in fruit (92.83%), HCA61 strain showed superiority than other Bacillus strains. Regarding various physicochemical characters, viz. TSS, acidity, ascorbic acid and anthocyanin content of fruits, Bacillus RCA3 strain, exhibited significantly highrt values. The Bacillus strain HCA61 caused improved growth and yield. However, concerning the physicochemical characteristics of fruits Bacillus RCA3 strain was found best. The results indicated that inoculation with Bacillus strains could be an eco-friendly and cost-effective technology for improving strawberry growth, yield and quality.

Petroleum and its byproducts are one group of universal environmental pollutants. Microorganisms have over time played significant roles in the clean-up exercise of unwanted substances in the environment. This research was aimed at studying the degradative potentials of biosurfactantproducing bacterial isolates (Bacillus sp.) from palm oil mill effluent (POME) in crude oil degradation. Standard microbiological and analytical methods were applied to ascertain biosurfactant production and degradation of crude oil by Bacillus sp. isolated from palm oil mill effluent discharged points and logging area of effluent bunk at Nigerian Institute for Oil-Palm Research (NIFOR) in Edo State. The bacteria were isolated and subjected to screening for hydrocarbon degradation and biosurfactant production. Biosurfactants characterization by Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) technique. total viable heterotrophic bacterial count of POME and Bonny light crude oil ranged from 6.6 x106 – 8.2 x106 cfu/ml and 4.2 x106 – 5.8 x106 cfu/ml respectively. Bacillus sp. that had the highest biodegradative potential and biosurfactant production was identified molecularly as Bacillus circulans. It could be used as bio-stimulants to ameliorate crude oil polluted areas as an efficient and cost- effective technology.

Recent advances in nanotechnology have witnessed tremendous progress concerning nanofiber synthesis and practical applications. Electrospinning is a simple, versatile, and cost-effective technology that relies on electrostatic repulsions between surface charges to continuously fabricate various scalable assemblies from a wide range of raw materials (polymers, ceramics, nanoparticles, carbon nanomaterials, gels, etc.) with diameters down to macro-nano scale. Nanofibers prepared by electrospinning possess remarkable large and specific surface area to volume ratio, interconnected and tunable structures, diverse morphologies, physio-chemical and mechanical properties. In this paper, Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofibers with different concentrations and under constant electrospinning conditions have been prepared and characterized. The increase of the PVDF polymeric concentration improved the morphological structure of the PVDF nanofibers due to the enhanced molecular chain entanglement which allows the stretching and elongation of the fibers during the electrospinning process. At higher PVDF concentration, the fiber diameters become thinner and beadless nanofiber mats are obtained. Finally, the potential practical applications of electrospun PVDF nanofibers are addressed in this paper.

In order to develop a cost-effective technology for obtaining the amount of triterpene glycosides from the aerial part of Astragalus unifoliolatus, it was decided to extract this class of compounds with their further separation by precipitation, purification and recrystallization. At the same time, traditional methods for the purification of triterpene glycosides were also used to obtain high-purity products

Over the past decades, the increasing consumption of phosphonates, which are limited resources, has attracted greater attention at the world level. Phosphonate in wastewater is a crucial resource while it may cause eutrophication as a serious environmental problem. Hence phosphonates removal and recovery from wastewater are crucial for sustainable development consideration. Adsorption as a cost-effective technology for low-concentration phosphonates resource utilization has contributed to sustainable wastewater treatment practices. Nevertheless, a systematic review on phosphonates removal and recovery from wastewater via economically realistic adsorption technique is still missing and therefore is realized in this review, especially regarding novel adsorbents. Additionally, we discussed the influence of pH and metal ions on adsorption performance and the role of characterization and chemical computation techniques for phosphonates removal mechanism. The recently established novel adsorbents (granular ferric hydroxide, ZnFeZr@MP, La/Zn/Fe3O4@PAC, Zr-La@Fe3O4, and montmorillonite) provided good adsorption capacity and removal efficiency of phosphonates. Specifically, the ZnFeZr@MP was implemented for practical application in industrial and municipal wastewater, and ZnFeZr-oxyhydroxide suggested a potential endothermic process could be realized in application practices. High desorption efficiency typically obtained by ZnFeZr (NTMP-90%; DTPMP-100%), Zr-La@Fe3O4 (96.1% and 101.8%), and clay minerals (100%) from the reusability tests. During the practically column breakthrough treatment >90% removal efficiency and 78% desorption efficiency of NTMP were achieved from membrane concentrate. Further, various modern characterization tools enhanced the investigation of phosphonate removal mechanisms. Thus, this review article is recommended to explore the mechanism for phosphonate removal and adsorption via characterization and chemical computation techniques in the future.

This paper presents an experimental based performance evaluation of ground source heat pumps (GSHP) to offset domestic energy consumption in Pakistan. Global population growth and rising energy consumption drove up demand for fossil fuels, adding to pollution and hastening the effects of climate change. A clean, renewable, durable, and cost-effective technology is GSHPs, which could help ease the burden of energy-intensive industries like residential cooling and heating. But due to the lack of performance characteristics of GSHP, resulting in less people opting for its installation and usage in homes. The performance assessment of GSHP system is carried out to provide financial sustainability of using this technology for heating and cooling in homes. It will also enable the readers to know the price range of this system and hence, better prepare them to take more informed decisions in the use of energy conservation and the quest for alternative/renewable energy means. The results show that by installing GSHP system, reduced excavation/backfilling, materials and other component ((like pump, radiator, water tank) costs that contributed 50%, 20% and 30% of the total costs of the system respectively. It is also noted that that GSHP system (1500ft of pipe length, placed at shallowest depth of 15ft) took 2.16 years while the system (placed at 15ft depth and having heat exchanger length of 1000ft) took 0.64 years to return its cost. If the GSHP system is insulated efficiently it can produce 3 to 4.5 time’s electrical energy that can serve for heating multiple homes. Based on these results, it can be concluded that GSHP system can be considered a viable solution to offset domestic energy consumption in Pakistan.

As the world now is turning towards renewable energy sources and countries like Iceland have obtained 100% renewable energy status and India has also started to lean towards renewable energy, moreover rooftop solar panels are becoming a trend nowadays but In order to know how efficiently the solar photovoltaic system is working and for performance evaluation there should be some monitoring system. Therefore here we propose a system using a microcontroller and internet of things technology using sensors to monitor the parameters of the solar photovoltaic system remotely from anywhere using smart phones and computers using web server. Some solar photovoltaic systems are located in inaccessible locations and it is difficult to monitor it and the solar panels are not utilized to its full efficiency all day ,in order to achieve the solar panel must absorb maximum sunlight every instant , in order to achieve it here we propose a sun tracking technology to control the solar panel and rotate it so it absorbs maximum sunlight every instant .The system is based on a new cost effective technology using a microcontroller and internet of things technology monitors and controls the solar photovoltaic system remotely from anywhere around the world.

Methods for extracting mineralized alteration information using remote sensing images have recently become both efficient and cost-effective. Technology involving the extraction of alteration information based on multi-spectral data has been widely practiced and effectively verified. In recent years, research on fine mineral extraction methods based on hyperspectral data has also been rapidly developing. The Yulong copper belt is a porphyry copper belt located in China with high prospects for mineralization. However, most previous studies focused on the northern section of the Yulong copper belt, with limited exploration of the southern section. In this study, alteration information of the southern section of the Yulong copper belt was extracted from remote sensing data from Landsat-8 OLI, ASTER, and ZY1-02D, and the prospecting potential of this area was evaluated. Principal component analysis was used to extract iron oxide and hydroxyl alteration from Landsat-8 data, in addition to Al hydroxyl and propylitic alterations from ASTER data. Considering the challenge of the extraction of too many pseudo-anomalies using traditional methods, the mixture-tuned matched filtering (MTMF) method was used to more accurately extract iron oxide alterations. Regarding hyperspectral data, the minimum noise fraction and pure pixel index algorithms were used to extract white mica and carbonatite endmembers. The MTMF method was also used for alteration mapping, which took advantage of sub-pixel abundance mapping to finely divide the white mica and carbonatite alterations into five classes. The extraction results of multi-source remote sensing data were then compared and analyzed to avoid occasional single-image extraction results, which confirmed the superiority of the hyperspectral remote sensing and MTMF methods. Combined with field verification, the mineralization alteration information coincided with the spatial location of the Secuo, Mamupu, and Jicuo deposits, which confirmed the accuracy of alteration information extraction. The results of this study confirmed the application potential of remote sensing alteration information extraction in the field of mineral resource exploration. The results have important reference significance for further geological prospecting and exploration in the southern section of the Yulong copper belt.

In India, the modular precast construction sector, light gauge steel or commonly known as cold-formed steel and precast Ferrocement composite structures are gaining attention. This composite construction is a sustainable way of construction, leaving a low carbon footprint, as compared to conventional RCC construction. It enables fast construction with lower overheads, such as material transportation, labor cost, and amazing speed of construction thus making it an overall cost effective technology. The technology for typical G+5 residential building made of precast ferrocement panels combined with light gauge steel composite structure have been established. It claims to offer the practically enhanced solution to substitute the conventional RCC structure. Once structural performance is established, it is important to establish the thermal performance of this innovative construction technology for residential use purpose. This article represents the laboratory prototype study of residential space subjected to temperature variation, which may affect the comfort of the dwellers, energy requirement for maintaining working temperature for the building. Analytical and experimental approach establishes the thermal response of this precast composite construction technology and supports its futuristic development.