Search results for "Environmental engineering"
showing 10 items of 2674 documents
Precipitable water vapour content from ESR/SKYNET sun-sky radiometers: validation against GNSS/GPS and AERONET over three different sites in Europe
2018
The estimation of the precipitable water vapour content (W) with high temporal and spatial resolution is of great interest to both meteorological and climatological studies. Several methodologies based on remote sensing techniques have been recently developed in order to obtain accurate and frequent measurements of this atmospheric parameter. Among them, the relative low cost and easy deployment of sun–sky radiometers, or sun photometers, operating in several international networks, allowed the development of automatic estimations of W from these instruments with high temporal resolution. However, the great problem of this methodology is the estimation of the sun-photometric calibration par…
Investigation of flashing phenomena in MSF chambers
2007
The MSF process has covered in the last years more than 50% of world production of desalinated water from the sea. Although this process has been used for several decades, the large energy requirements force to search for new and feasible ways to improve the overall thermal efficiency. Few studies have bee carried out in lab-scale, pilot and industrial MSF units, underlining the complexity of flashing phenomena and the importance of operating parameters settings for optimal performance. In the present work a study on fundamental phenomena occurring inside MSF chambers has been carried out, focusing on the dependence of flashing efficiency on operating parameters and the effects of flashing …
An experimental investigation on the long-term compatibility of preheated crude palm oil in a large compression ignition diesel engine
2018
An experimental study was carried out on a large stationary compression ignition engine to evaluate the long-term compatibility and durability issues associated with the use of crude palm oil as fuel. Two different preheating temperatures (60 and 80 °C) were adopted to assess the potential improvements related to lower fuel viscosity. The results obtained, in terms of in-cylinder carbon deposits and engine wear, were compared with the results obtained using ordinary diesel fuel. For each fuel and preheating temperature, the engine was operated for 300 consecutive h, during which several engine lubricant samples were collected and analysed to determine soot and fuel contaminations, viscosity…
Reprocessed polylactide: Studies of thermo-oxidative decomposition
2012
The combustion process of virgin and reprocessed polylactide (PLA) was simulated by multi-rate linear non-isothermal thermogravimetric experiments under O2. A complete methodology that accounted on the thermal stability and emission of gases was thoroughly developed. A new model, Thermal Decomposition Behavior, and novel parameters, the Zero-Decomposition Temperatures, were used to test the thermal stability of the materials under any linear heating rate. The release of gases was monitored by Evolved Gas Analysis with in-line FT-IR analysis. In addition, a kinetic analysis methodology that accounted for variable activation parameters showed that the decomposition process could be driven by …
Structure and performance properties of environmentally-friendly biocomposites based on poly(ɛ-caprolactone) modified with copper slag and shale dril…
2018
The potential application of two types of industrial wastes, drill cuttings (DC) and copper slag (CS), as silica-rich modifiers of poly(ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) was investigated. Chemical structure and physical properties of DC and CS fillers were characterized using X-ray diffractometer, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, particle size and density measurements. PCL/DC and PCL/CS composites with a variable content of filler (5 to 50 parts by weight) were prepared by melt compounding in an internal mixer. It was observed that lower particle size of DC filler enhanced processing of biocomposites comparing to CS filler. Smaller particles of DC filler and thus the higher specific surface area, enabl…
Nanocrystalline ZnCO3—A novel sorbent for low-temperature removal of H2S
2013
Abstract The reactivity of a nanocrystalline ZnCO 3 toward H 2 S (0.2 vol% in N 2 /H 2 mixture) at 140–180 °C was characterized by thermal gravimetric analysis and by breakthrough curves measurements. We have found that under used conditions transformation of ZnCO 3 into ZnS is complete and the rate determining step of the sulfidation is the surface reaction. Such behavior is in strike contrast with that of ZnO whose sulfidation is severely limited by diffusion. The higher reactivity of ZnCO 3 in comparison with ZnO is attributed to the different microstructure of ZnS layer formed in these materials after a partial sulfidation. As in ZnO–ZnS transformation the molar volume increases (from 1…
Pineapple peel biochar and lateritic soil as adsorbents for recovery of ammonium nitrogen from human urine.
2021
Abstract Human urine is a rich source of nitrogen which can be captured to supplement the existing sources of nitrogen fertilizers thus contributing to enhanced crop production. However, urine is the major contributor of macronutrients in municipal wastewater flows resulting into eutrophication of the receiving water bodies. Herein, pineapple peel biochar (PPB), and lateritic soil (LS) adsorbents were prepared for the safe removal of ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N) from human urine solutions. Physicochemical properties of PPB, and LS were characterized by scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy…
Thermogravimetric analysis as express tool for quality assessment of refuse derived fuels used for pyro-gasification
2019
The development of pyro-gasification technologies makes necessary the development of new express analytical methods that are able to deal with the variability of feedstock and problems arising from it. Thermogravimetric proximate analysis of refuse derived fuels is a very fast, cheap and simple method for the determination of proximate and fractional composition. Development of this analytical approach may result in a very cost-effective method to describe wholesome composition and characteristics of feedstock used for pyrolysis and gasification processes in real time. The aim of this study was the development of such analytical method. Refuse derived fuel samples produced in Latvia and Est…
Molecular orbital studies on brominated diphenyl ethers. Part II—reactivity and quantitative structure–activity (property) relationships
2005
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are widely used as flame retardants and are increasingly turning up in the environment. Their structural similarities to polychlorinated biphenyls and thyroid hormones suggest they may be a risk to human health. The present study examines the reactivity of brominated diphenyl ethers (BDEs) on the basis of the electronic structures as calculated by semiempirical AM1 self-consistent field molecular orbital (SCF-MO) method. Frontier orbital energies were used to elucidate the reactivity of BDEs in electrophilic, nucleophilic and photolytic reactions. From an examination of the frontier electron densities, the regioselectivity, or orientation, of metabolic…
Integrating in situ measurements of an index of connectivity to assess soil erosion processes in vineyards
2020
In this research, we survey soil erosion processes using an index of connectivity and a non-invasive and long-term assessment in situ technique: the improved stock unearthing method (ISUM), for whi...