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This research was conducted to feasibility study and simulation of utilization of renewable energies (solar and biomass) in broiler industry in Khorramabad County. Data was collected by field sampling (for a breeding period in winter 2015-2016) and from organizations. In the simulation of a grid-connected photovoltaic system (20 kW) with PVsyst 6.7 software, the average performance ratio and available useful energy of the system were calculated at 0.785 and 4.75 kWh/kWp/day, respectively. The use of photovoltaic system can cover 25% of electrical energy in broiler production farms in winter season. Also, in feasibility study of combined heat and power system, the potential of biogas production from broiler manure was calculated at 448.5 m³ per 1000 pieces of broiler. The use of biogas plant can supply 98% of the electrical energy of broiler production farms in winter season. According to the results, the use of renewable energies in the present conditions, despite the reduction of fossil fuels consumption and many environmental benefits, in the broiler industry is not economical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Petroleum contains carcinogens and toxic substances that can have an unfavorable impact on environmental quality and human health when the soil becomes contaminated with crude oil. BBiostimulation and bioaugmentation are the main strategies in the bioremediation of oilcontaminated soils. To decompose old-aged petroleum pollution in saline soil, a full factorial experiment was utilized. The experiment was designed using a completely randomized design with four factors: bacterial inoculum, sugarcane bagasse, chemical fertilizer, and molasses. The application of these factors was conducted in four separate experiments: pretreatment of agricultural soil and spent mushroom compost, pretreatment of spent mushroom compost, pretreatment of agricultural soil, and no pretreatment. After a 60-day incubation period at 28 °C, the results showed that the organic wastes of molasses and spent mushroom compost in combination with bacterial inoculum reduced total petroleum hydrocarbons 38 and 33.3%, respectively. Molasses had a considerable impact on increasing the efficiency of bacterial inoculum 1 and bacterial inoculum 3. Similarly, spent mushroom compost was found to significantly affect bacterial inoculum 1. In addition, bagasse was observed to accelerate the bioremediation process by improving the physical conditions of the soil. In the pretreatment of agricultural soil, bagasse in combination with bacterial inoculum 1 and chemical fertilizer reduced the total petroleum hydrocarbons significantly (38%) compared to the control treatment. These results highlight the effectiveness of organic wastes as biostimulation agents in promoting the growth and reproduction of the soil microbial community, as well as establishing the bacterial inoculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The usage of phase change materials (PCMs) in thermal energy storage (TES) systems has been a promising approach in recent years. An accurate estimation of their thermophysical properties is a key factor in their optimal and efficient performance in TES systems. In this study, aluminum oxide (Al2O3) and copper (Cu) nanoparticles were incorporated in paraffin wax as a PCM to enhance its thermophysical properties. The effects of the nanoparticle type, mass fraction, and its size on the specific heat, density, thermal conductivity, and TES density of the nanocomposites, were investigated. A field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) was used to study their morphology. The experiments were based on three factors, nanoparticle type (Al2O3 and Cu), nanoparticle mass fraction (1%, 3%, and 6%), and nanoparticle size (30, 70, and 110 nm), while pure paraffin wax was applied as the control sample. The addition of nanoparticles to paraffin has been proven to be a promising technique. The results showed that the specific heat changes of the NePCMs have not been influenced by the factors under consideration. Also, higher mass fractions and smaller sizes of nanoparticles resulted in higher densities in NePCMs. Moreover, the thermal energy storage density of NePCMs increased at higher loading and smaller size of the nanoparticles. The improvement in thermal conductivity is especially significant if the smallest nanoparticle size with mass fractions of 3% and 6% is used. An improvement in thermal conductivity of up to 72% has been achieved at a mass fraction of 6% of 30 nm copper nanoparticles. Finally, the NePCM containing 6% mass fraction and 30 nm size of the nanoparticle (A6S and C6S) were selected as optimal NePCMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: People in the Middle East are facing the problem of freshwater shortages. This problem is more intense for a remote region, which has no access to the power grid. The use of seawater desalination technology integrated with the generated energy unit by renewable energy sources could help overcome this problem. In this study, we refer a seawater reverse osmosis desalination (SWROD) plant with a capacity of 1.5 m3/h used on Larak Island, Iran. Moreover, for producing fresh water and meet the load demand of the SWROD plant, three different stand‐alone hybrid renewable energy systems (SAHRES), namely wind turbine (WT)/photovoltaic (PV)/battery bank storage (BBS), PV/BBS, and WT/BBS are modeled and investigated. The optimization problem was coded in MATLAB software. Furthermore, the optimized results were obtained by the division algorithm (DA). The DA has been developed to solve the sizing problem of three SAHRES configurations by considering the object function's constraints. These results show that this improved algorithm has been simpler, more precise, faster, and more flexible than a genetic algorithm (GA) in solving problems. Moreover, the minimum total life cycle cost (TLCC = 243 763$), with minimum loss of power supply probability (LPSP = 0%) and maximum reliability, was related to the WT/PV/BBS configuration. WT/PV/BBS is also the best configuration to use less battery as a backup unit (69 units). The batteries in this configuration have a longer life cycle (maximum average of annual battery charge level) than two other configurations (93.86%). Moreover, the optimized results have shown that utilizing the configuration of WT/PV/BBS could lead to attaining a cost‐effective and green (without environmental pollution) SAHRES, with high reliability for remote areas, with appropriate potential of wind and solar irradiance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study uses cradle-to-factory gate life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate environmental impact categories in producing packaged canola edible oil in Isfahan province of Iran. In this study, LCA methodology is applied in order to satisfy two goals, namely, to evaluate hot spots in production chain of canola oil and to compare environmental burdens of oil production at each stage of the production chain. The initial data about inputs consumption and canola yield are collected from 126 farmers in Fereydounshahr region by face-to-face questionnaire method. Detailed information about processing, input materials and energy consumption in industrial phase of oil production are obtained by visiting factory units and interviewing with employees and engineers of Golbahar Sepahan oil factory. The required data about the background system are extracted from Ecoinvent 3.2 and Industry data 2.0 databases. LCA results in canola edible oil production show that farm stage has a key role in environmental impacts wherein the use of chemical fertilizers and diesel fuel make major contributions. In oil extraction and refinement step, natural gas combustion and background processes of natural gas also play major roles in generating environmental impact categories. In packaging step, the packaging materials, i.e., plastic and carton, and the background processes of diesel fuel have major contributions to aggravating environmental burdens. In conclusion, reducing the consumption of chemical fertilizers, especially nitrogen-based ones, is important for reducing environmental footprints in canola edible oil production due to the key role of farm stage in environmental impacts of canola edible oil production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this study was to examine the energy flows for poultry breeding in broiler production farms in Alborz province of Iran. Data were obtained randomly from 30 poultry production farms using a face to face questionnaire method. The results indicated that the total input energy was 189805.48 MJ per 1000 birds, while the output energy was 28151.17 MJ/(1000 bird). Net energy was negative, -161654.31 MJ/(1000 bird), implying that energy had been lost. Energy use efficiency was calculated as 0.15, showing the inefficient use of energy in the broiler production farms. The fuel energy (energy content of the fuel) with a share of 58.35% had the highest share of input energy and the feed energy by 29.71% was the next. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission of the studied farms was 10267.96 kg CO2-eq/(1000 bird). Among different inputs, feed with 48% had the highest share of GHG emissions. Cobb-Douglas frontier production function was adopted to specify the production technology of the farms. Econometric model evaluation showed that the effects of diesel fuel and feed on output energy was significant at 1% level. The marginal physical productivity (MPP) values of energy inputs based on sensitivity analysis were 0.04 and 0.51 for diesel fuel and feed, respectively. The variability results between poultry farms showed that the most variability comes from fuel consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, fluidized bed drying experiments were conducted for poplar wood particles (Populus deltoides) at temperatures ranging from 90°C to 120°C and air velocities ranging from 2.8 m s−1to 3.3 m s−1. The initial moisture content (MC) and the bed height of the poplar wood particles were 150% (on an oven-dry basis) and 2 cm, respectively. The results showed that the drying rate increased by increasing the drying temperature and air velocity. The constant drying rate period was only observed at the early stages of the drying process and most of the drying processes were found in the falling rate period. The experimental data of the drying process were put into e11 models. Among these models, Midilli, Kucuk, and Yapar (2002) and Henderson and Pabis (1961) were found to satisfactorily describe the drying characteristics of poplar wood particles. The effective moisture diffusivity of wood particles increased from 7E-6 to 8.46E-6 and 7.65 E-6 to 1.44E-5 m2s−1as the drying air temperature increased from 90°C to 120°C for 2.8 m s−1and 3.3 m s−1of velocities, respectively. Also, the activation energies of diffusion were 34.08 kJ mol−1and 64.70 kJ mol−1for the air velocities of 2.8 m s−1and 3.3 m s−1, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saffron is regarded as an important crop in Iranian agricultural economics that needs to be investigated to produce the environmentally friendlier product. In the present study, saffron production as an important agricultural production system in Iran was evaluated thoroughly from an environmental point of view. Data were collected from saffron farmers in Southern Khorasan province of the country with face-to-face questionnaire method during cropping period of 2013-2014. The system boundary was considered from the production of raw input materials to the harvested saffron. In order to identify the main hotspot during cultivation, impact categories were considered using CML methodology and cumulative exergy demand (CExD) indicator. Based on the results, chemical fertilizers N and P were the main hotspots in abiotic depletion (AD), acidification (AC), global warming (GWP), and photochemical oxidation (PO) impact categories, while diesel fuel was the main hotspot in fresh water aquatic ecotoxicity (FE), marine aquatic ecotoxicity (ME), and terrestrial ecotoxicity (TE). Direct emission from diesel fuel combustion (saffron) was the main hotspot only in human toxicity (HT). The small farms had the highest amounts of AD, AC, EP, GWP, and PO indicators in comparison with the medium and large farms. Total CExD indicator for production of 1 kg saffron was 1894.23 MJ eq. Totally, large farms (bigger than 1 ha) had better environmental performance considering all the impact categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this study is to create a novel eco-exergoenvironmental toxicity index to identify the most sustainable irrigation system among surface irrigation and drip irrigation for sunflower production in Kurdistan, Iran. This research emphasizes on choosing a sustainable irrigation agricultural system with an invented index, which considers all aspects. For this purpose, life cycle assessment (USEtox 2.0) is applied for evaluating toxicity factors and results show that the environmental situation of drip irrigation is better than that of surface irrigation. Exergy analysis results reveal that total exergy demands are 287,421 and 211,458 Megajoule per ten ton of sunflower for surface irrigation and drip irrigation scenarios, respectively. Nitrogen has the highest share (more than 50%) in all factors and exergy categories. Eco-efficiency of all toxicity factors of drip irrigation (with net profit $7417.86) is more than those of surface irrigation (with net profit $6614.35). The analytic hierarchy process analysis indicates that human toxicity, cancer has the first rank of priority based on expert choices. Based on the novel index results, sustainable rates are 1.690 and 1.169 for surface irrigation and drip irrigation, respectively. Thus, drip irrigation is an eco-exergoenvironmental-friendly scenario in comparison to surface irrigation. [Display omitted] • Eco-Exergoenvironmental toxicity index is created for comprehensive suitability assessment. • LCA of surface and drip irrigation systems is investigated by USEtox 2.0. • CExD and Eco-efficiency are applied for energy and economical investigation. • Nitrogen is the main hotspot in all environmental toxicity and exergy categories. • Drip irrigation is the most sustainable irrigation system with EET of 1.169. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydrodynamics, kinetics as well as energy and exergy analyses of fluidized bed drying of rough rice under various experimental conditions were investigated. Drying experiments were conducted at drying air temperatures of 55, 60, and 70°C, superficial fluidization velocities of 2.3, 2.5, and 2.8 m/s, solid holdups of 0.66 and 1.32 kg, and rough rice initial moisture content of 0.25 d.b. Various popular drying models were used to fit the drying data. It was found that the fluidized bed hydrodynamics of the rough rice was uniform and stable. The drying rate was found to increase with increase in drying air temperature and superficial fluidization velocity, while decreased with increase in solid holdup. Statistical analyses showed that the Midilli et al. model was the best model in describing fluidized bed drying characteristics of the rough rice. The results showed that the values of energy efficiency were higher than the corresponding values of exergy efficiency during the entire drying process. Furthermore, at initial stage of drying, the energy and exergy efficiencies were higher than those at the end of drying. It was also found that both the energy and the exergy efficiencies increased with increasing drying air temperature and solid holdup, whereas decreased with the increase in superficial fluidization velocity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a model for a plug-flow fluidized bed dryer under steady-state conditions was presented. The model was based on differential equations; thus the bed of the dryer was divided horizontally and vertically into major and minor control volumes, respectively. Each control volume was composed of two thermodynamic systems: solid and gas. The mass and energy balances of the particles in the major control volume based on the axial dispersion were developed to derive the axial profiles of solid moisture content and temperature. To derive the variation of gas humidity and temperature along the bed height and hence the axial profiles of outlet gas humidity and temperature, the mass and energy balances in the gas over the minor control volume, considering the plug flow of gas through the bed, were developed. The model was validated by comparing the simulation results with the experimental data obtained by drying the long-grain rough rice under steady-state conditions in a laboratory-scale, plug-flow fluidized bed dryer. A very satisfactory agreement between the simulation and the experimental data of solid moisture content, solid temperature, and outlet gas humidity and temperature was achieved. Also, the effects of inlet gas temperature, weir height, and inlet dry solid mass flow rate on the simulated axial profiles of solid moisture content and temperature, humidity difference between inlet and outlet gas, and outlet gas temperature were investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Improving the environmental impact is a critical factor in achieving sustainable development in agricultural systems. To achieve this goal, the environmental assessment of agricultural products to identify environmental hot-spots and provide strategies for reducing them is essential. In line with that, the current study is performed to assess the environmental impacts of Primrose greenhouse production in Savojbolagh County, Iran. More specifically, the environmental impacts of Primrose greenhouse production based on the cradle to gate analysis using the life cycle assessment approach are evaluated. According to results, production and combustion of diesel fuel are introduced as the environmental hotspot in non-carcinogens, respiratory inorganics, respiratory organics, terrestrial acid/nutri, aquatic acidification, global warming, and non-renewable energy impact categories. The application of pesticides and fertilizers in the greenhouse has the highest contribution in aquatic ecotoxicity as well as terrestrial ecotoxicity impact categories. Moreover, electricity consumption has the highest impact on carcinogens, and ozone layer depletion impact categories. Based on the outcomes of the life cycle assessment approach, the production of a piece of Primrose leads to damages of 1.48 × 10−7 DALY (disability-adjusted life year) and 3.41 × 10−1 PDF.m−2.yr−1 (potentially disappeared fraction in square-meters per year) to human health and ecosystem quality, respectively. In addition, the production of each Primrose plant results in primary damages of 2.06 × 10−1 kg CO 2eq. (equivalent carbon dioxide) and 2.94 MJ (Megajoule) to climate change and resources, respectively. Finally, the weighing of environmental impacts based on IMPACT 2002+ methods shows that the ecosystem quality damage category has a share of 30% in total environmental impacts of one piece of Primrose production. Damages to ecosystem quality are mostly caused by pesticide and fertilizer applications in Primrose greenhouse. Accordingly, it could be concluded that correct management of pesticides and fertilizers can potentially mitigate environmental impacts of Primrose production in a greenhouse. Image 1 • Global warming caused by Primrose greenhouse production is 0.206 kg CO 2eq./piece. • Damage to human health of Primrose greenhouse production is 1.48 × 10−7 DALY/piece. • Primrose production leads to 0.3.41 PDF.m−2.yr−1/piece damage to ecosystem quality. • Ecosystem quality damage category has a share of 30% in total environmental impact. • Fertilizers consumption is an important factor in damage to the ecosystem quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly accurate estimating of daily solar radiation by developing an intelligent and robust model has been a subject of prominent concern for many researchers in the past few years. The precise prediction of solar radiation is of great interest and importance to improve the incorporation of solar power plants. In this study, a novel multilayer framework for a particular combination of the bat algorithm (BA) and neural networks (NN) is proposed, which is called bat neural network (BNN), aimed at predicting daily solar radiation over Iran. For appraising the performance of the proposed BNN, daily solar radiation data from four cities of Iran including Jask, Kermanshah, Ramsar, and Tehran are analyzed. The results indicate that among the tested models, BNN gains the best performance in the prediction of daily solar radiation. Among various soft computing approaches, the BA, which is inspired by the nature of microbats' behaviour, has a significant impact on the optimization of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the energy flow and environmental impacts in grape production system are studied at first. Then, energy consumption is optimized to determine optimum energy consumption pattern for saving energy and mitigating adverse environmental impacts in the production system. To attain this purpose, a combination of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is conducted. In this study, 58 vineyards are examined in Arak county, Iran. The energy input and output are computed as 33,264.47 MJ ha −1 and 211,715.80 MJ ha −1 , respectively. Results indicate that 22.41% of the studied vineyards operate efficiently. The optimization by using constant returns to scale (CRS) method shows saving of 3628.18 MJ ha −1 (10.90%) in energy consumption. The most potential reduction in energy consumption is related to potassium fertilizer, by 27.14%. LCA results show that poultry manure is the hotspot in six impact categories, including Global Warming (GW), Abiotic Depletion (AD), Ozone Layer Depletion (OLD), Freshwater Aquatic Ecotoxicity (FAE), Marine Aquatic Ecotoxicity (MAE), and Terrestrial Ecotoxicity (TE). The coupled application of LCA + DEA shows reduction in impact categories in the range of 0.25% for Acidification to 18% for Ozone Layer Depletion. Accordingly, the estimated value of GW impact category is reduced by 10%. It is concluded that results of the coupled LCA and DEA is able to help to convince farmers to reduce input consumption so as to attain operational efficiency, lower costs and lower environmental impacts in grape production system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some of agricultural operations such as privet stem pruning are slow, repetitive and occasionally dangerous for operators. Almost operators of privet trimmers are exposed to the unpleasant and dangerous arm and body vibrations and sound of pruning machines. The knowing of the shearing behaviors of privet stem have an important role in the design and fabricate of suitable pruning machine. So a series of experimental tests were performed to measure the shear force, shear consumption energy and shear strength of stem internodes of privet stalk under quasi-static and impact cutting at different loading rate, different internode position and moisture level 58% wet base. In the quasi-static cutting test, the stalk specimens were cut in the quasi-static process at four loading rates: 5, 10, 15 and 20 mm min-1 and three internode positions: fifth, tenth and fifteenth. In impact cutting test, the stalk specimens were served in impact process at four loading rates: 1, 2, 3 and 4 m s-1 and three internode positions: fifth, tenth and fifteenth. In quasi-static cutting, the variance analysis of the data indicated that the loading rate created significant effect on shear strength and shear consumption energy in probability level of 5%. Also the internode position and the interaction effect of loading rate and internode position, created significant effects on shear strength and shear consumption energy in probability level of 1%. Based on the statistical analysis, the average values of shear consumption energy and shear strength were obtained as 556.70 J from 95.35 to 1567.95 J and 29.12 MPa from 19.63 to 37.04 MPa respectively. In impact cutting, the variance analysis of the data results showed that the effects of loading rate, internode position and interaction effect of loading rate on internode position, created significant effect on shear consumption energy and shear strength in probability level of 1%. The data statistical analysis showed the average values of shear consumption energy and shear strength were obtained as 17.16 J from 3.19 to 28.60 J and 1.01 MPa from 0.21 to 2.53 MPa respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The continuous growth in energy demand, the inevitable decline in the availability of fossil fuels, and the rising concern about increasing emissions are all precursors to climate change. The aims of this study comprise the assessment of energy flow and greenhouse gas emission of peanut production in Guilan province, Iran, and then the application of data envelopment analysis to determine optimum energy use pattern for saving energy and reduction of greenhouse gas emission. 120 peanut farms in Guilan province, Iran, an important hub for peanut production, are examined. Data envelopment analysis results show that 22 (18.33%) and 90 (75%) peanut producers are effective units based on constant and variable returns to scale, respectively. The technical, pure technical and scale efficiencies are 0.79, 0.98 and 0.81, respectively. The amount of energy consumption saving by converting inefficient farms into efficient farms is estimated to be 1760 Mega-Joule per hectare. Chemical fertilizer (contributing 48%) has the maximum share to total energy saving in peanut production. Therefore, correct and standard consumption of chemical fertilizer can be a viable solution for energy saving consumption. The total greenhouse gas emissions from peanut farming are computed to be 571.18 and 512.39 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent per hectare for present and optimum farms, respectively. Moreover, the total greenhouse gas emission can be reduced by 58.79 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent per hectare by optimizing energy inputs in peanut farming. This reduction in greenhouse gas emission can be realized by management of diesel fuel, nitrogen and machinery consumption according to optimized input rates introduced by the data envelopment analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study the environmental profile of Iranian rapeseed cultivation was analysed with a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach, in order to identify the hot spots of the system. Also, in order to apply environmental indicators for agricultural decision making purposes, the environmental burden of different residue management practices were compared. Primary data were collected from 150 rapeseed farms from the Iranian Mazandaran province. The system considers a cradle-to-farm gate boundary, and the functional unit was regarded as being one Mg of rapeseed production. The LCA results indicate that the global warming potential amounts to 1181.6 kg CO 2eq Mg −1 . Also, the acidification and eutrophication potentials were found to be 23.3 kg SO 2eq Mg −1 and 18 kg PO 4 3 eq Mg −1 , respectively. The results also reveal that environmental emissions of crop production were significantly affected by residue management practices. Specifically, rapeseed residue removal from the field is the most environmentally-friendly practice. This is followed by a scenario involving residue incorporation in the soil. The practice of burning such residue entails the highest environmental emissions. In conclusion, reducing the consumption of chemical fertilisers, especially nitrogen based ones, is important for decreasing the environmental footprints in the area. Furthermore, avoiding crop residue burning and developing rapeseed-bean rotation are favourable management strategies for establishing more environmentally-friendly rapeseed production systems in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated environmental analysis using life cycle assessment for different fuel blends used in a single-cylinder diesel engine was performed to select the most eco-friendly fuel blend. More specifically, the inventory data in support of the integrated environmental analysis of water-emulsified 5% biodiesel/diesel blends (B5) containing different levels of carbon nanoparticles ( i.e. , 38, 75, and 150 µM) as a novel fuel nanoadditives at a fixed engine speed of 1000 rpm and four different engine loads ( i.e ., 25, 50, 75, and 100%) are presented. Neat diesel, B5, and B5 containing water (3 wt.%) were used as controls. Raw data related to the production and combustion of fuel blends were experimentally collected. Industrial ( i.e. , experiments at large scale) and laboratory ( i.e., experiments at small scale) data were used for fuel blends production while experimental data obtained by engine tests were used for the combustion stage. Then raw data were processed with the IMPACT 2002+ methods by using the SimaPro software and EcoInvent database and were then converted into environmental impacts. Accordingly, six supplementary files including the inventory data on integrated environmental analysis of the different fuel blends are presented (Supplementary Files 1-6). The data could be applied for integrated environmental analysis in order to avoid subjective weighting of combustion parameters for selecting the most eco-friendly fuel blend for use in diesel engines. More specifically, by developing a single score indicator obtained through conducting integrated combustion analysis, comparison of various fuel blends is largely facilitated., (© 2020 The Author(s).)