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Title : Absorptive Removal of Nitrate and Ntriteion from Ground and Surface Wastewater by Novel Core Shell Chitosan microsphere@MgAl LDH Composite: co-existing anion, Cation Effect and Mechanism
Name : Mehak Bansal
University : Thapar institute of engineering and technology
Country : India
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The growing concentration of nitrate and nitrite with potential toxicity in the food, industry, environmental, and agricultural systems is a major concern across the world. Biopolymers that are renewable, sustainable, and biodegradable are used for this purpose. In this work, a novel core-shell composite (CS@LDH) was synthesised by growing MgAl layered double hydroxide (MgAl LDH) plates on the surface of crosslinked chitosan microsphere (CS) for the removal of nitrates and nitrites. The physical and chemical properties of as-prepared adsorbent were assessed by XRD, FTIR, FE-SEM, HR-TEM, BET and XPS analysis. The HRTEM images of the CS@LDH composites indicate the formation of a core shell structure with a CS core (~10.24nm) encased in an LDH shell (~2.9nm). LDH plates on the surface of CS increase the surface area of CS@LDH, preventing LDH aggregation and making the surface more conductive to adsorption. The synergistic action of LDH’s hydroxyl groups and metal hydroxide, as well as the many active groups of CS, enhanced the adsorption effect. The maximum adsorption capacity of CS@LDH for the removal of nitrate and nitrite was 2062 and 1086 mg/g respectively. Furthermore, the nitrate adsorption mechanism on CS@LDH was examined and validated by experiment and characterisation analysis. Additionally, CS@LDH was employed for the removal of nitrates from real contaminated wastewater and by the end of 3hrs; the concentration of NO3– was below safely permissible limit of drinking water. The goal of this study is to synthesise a novel core-shell chitosan microspheres @LDH adsorbent for nitrate and nitrite adsorption and real waste water treatment.
Title : Landscape-level Changes to Large Mammal Space use in Response to a Pastoralist Incursion
Name : Symon Masiaine
University : Michigan State University
Country : USA
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Pastoralists and their livestock have long competed with wildlife over access to grazing on shared rangelands. In the dynamic 21st century however, the configuration and quality of these rangelands is changing rapidly. Climate change processes, human range expansion, and the fragmentation and degradation of rangeland habitat have increased competition between pastoralist livestock and wildlife. Interactions of this type are particularly apparent in East Africa, and perhaps most obvious in northern Kenya. In 2017, following months of intense drought, a pastoralist incursion of a protected area (Loisaba Conservancy) occurred in Laikipia County, Kenya. An estimated 40,000 livestock were herded onto the conservancy by armed pastoralists where the cattle were grazed for approximately three months. Using 53 camera trap sites across the 226 km2 conservancy, we quantified spatial patterns in site visitation rates (via spatially-explicit, temporally-dynamic Bayesian models) for seven species of large mammalian herbivores in the three-month period directly before, during, and after the incursion. We detected significant changes in space use of all large mammalian herbivores during the incursion. Furthermore, these patterns did not return to their pre-incursion state in the three-month period after the pastoralists and their livestock left the conservancy. Thus, in addition to reduced site vitiation rates for these large mammalian herbivores, we also detected considerable displacement in response to the livestock incursion. Our results illustrate that pastoralist incursions can cause large-scale disruptions of wildlife space use, supporting the notion that livestock can competitively exclude large mammalian herbivores from grazing access. We discuss the implications of this research for applied management decisions designed to alleviate competition among wildlife and pastoralist livestock for the benefit of wildlife conservation and pastoralist well-being.
Biography
Dr. Symon Masiaine, a devoted ecologist working with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. His career has revolved around preserving charismatic and endangered species. He is initially worked on safeguarding African wild dogs and cheetahs, conducting groundbreaking research and implementing conservation strategies. Now, his focus is on giraffes in Northern Kenya, where he address challenges like habitat degradation and poaching. He collaborate with local communities and researchers to collect essential data on giraffes. Beyond his scientific work, He advocate for community-based conservation and aim to inspire future generations to protect Kenya’s remarkable biodiversity. His mission is to be a beacon of hope for wildlife conservation in our region.
Title : Restoration of a Fish-attracting Flow Field Downstream of a Dam Based on the Swimming Ability of Endemic Fishes: A Case Study in the Upper Yangtze River Basin
Name : Xuefeng Chen
University : Sichuan University
Country : China
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The construction of fish passage facilities can mitigate the negative effects of dams and other water engineering construction on river connectivity and have a significant positive effect on the conservation of local fish diversity. To attract target fishes into fish passage facilities effectively, the optimal flow velocity range to attract fish must be determined by combining the hydraulic preferences and swimming characteristics of the major local protected fish species. Three local endemic species of the Mishi Reservoir were considered as the protection targets. However, the swimming abilities of these three endemic fishes remain unclear, and previous similar projects do not provide accurate references. Therefore, the induced swimming speed (Uind), critical swimming speed (Ucrit) and burst swimming speed (Uburst) of three fish species were tested, and the optimal flow velocity to attract fish was determined to be in the range of 0.15-0.51 m/s based on these three swimming speeds. A validated three-dimensional hydrodynamic model was used to simulate each scenario of the design scheme, and the simulation results showed that the objective of attracting the target fishes into the fish collection pond was not achieved. Qualitative analysis of migratory routes and quantitative analysis of the percentage of area of the most preferred zone and connectedness were used to compare different restoration measures. We obtained the optimal measure to restore the flow field, i.e., a multiple engineering measure combining increased the fish attraction flow in the fish collection pond and construction of a spur dike. This study not only provides a solution for this specific case but also enriches the database of the swimming characteristics of endemic fish located in the upstream reaches of the Yangtze River. In addition, this study provides an important reference for the design of flows to attract fish and possible measures for flow field restoration in similar projects in the future.
Biography
Mr. Xuefeng Chen is a PhD student from Sichuan University, China, specializing in environmental hydraulics, focusing on the hydrodynamic properties of water environments in rivers, oceans, lakes and other waters. In recent years, He have been working with my team on environmental hydraulics and have completed several research projects. The main research areas of our team are water flow and hydrological processes, water pollution dispersion, water resources management, water environment engineering, water ecology, and numerical simulation and experimental studies of water bodies. His main research results in these two years, “Study of the characteristics of pollutants in rural domestic sewage and the optimal sewage treatment process: a Chengdu Plain case study” was published in Water Science and Technology, and “Restoration of a fish-attracting flow field downstream of a dam based on the swimming ability of endemic fishes: A case study in the upper Yangtze River basin” was published in Journal of Environmental Management.
Title : Hormetic effects of Rare Earth Elements from inhibition/toxicity to stimulation
Name : Marco Trifuoggi
University : University of Naples Federico II
Country : Italy
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Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are used in several industrial, agricultural and zootechnical applications. A body of literature highlights both favourable and adverse effects of REEs. Similar to other xenobiotics hormetic concentration-related trends in REEs imply stimulatory or protective effects at low concentrations, with marked adverse effects at higher levels. Both experimental and epidemiological studies have assessed the health risks associated to REE exposures with subsequent reclassification of REEs as “emergent contaminants” of concern. On the other hand, established literature assessed that REE mixtures have been used in Chinese agriculture as fertilizers for more than 30 years to improve crop yields. Furthermore, REE supplementation in livestock feed positively affects both animal growth and feed conversion efficiency in pigs, cattle, and chickens. In support of hormetic concentration-related effects, recent work in our group testing cerium (Ce), lanthanum (La) and their equimolar combination showed that adverse effects were observed above 10-6 M (10-5 and 10-4 M), whereas sub-micromolar concentrations (10-8 and 10-7 M) resulted in stimulating effects in terms of developmental defects and fertilisation success in S. granularis sea urchins. Analogous results were found in Ce-exposed duckweed (Lemna minor), whose growth was increased by mM Ce and inhibited by mM Ce. The present awareness of the hormetic dose-related effects of REEs provides the grounds for evaluating their potentially authorised safe use in agronomy and zootechny.
Biography
Dr. Marco Trifuoggi Currently Associate Professor in Analytical Chemistry at the University of Naples Federico II. Nearly two hundred articles in peer-reviewed journals, mostly as first or last author; 2 book chapters, many contract reports and meeting presentations. Established experience both in environmental research and, in the recent decade, studies focusing on the adverse effects of rare earth elements (REEs), on the present and prospect use of REEs in agronomy and zootechny, on the relationship between biological liquids and heavy metal pollution. or participant in EC- and a NATO-supported projects, including study design, project management, and writing reports. Experience in interacting with national and international scientists by interfacing the respective science expertise. Head of ACE Lab (Analytical Chemistry for the Environment Laboratory, ISO 9001 certified and ISO 17025 accredited) of Federico II University of Naples since 2001 http://www.ace.unina.it Participant or proponent of some national and international research projects (PRIN, PON, FARO, H2020, etc.). Lecturer of 65 academic courses or modules since 1994. Lecturer in advanced training courses (Masters of I and II level and PhD) since 1994. Supervisor of more than 150 university theses (three-year, specialist and master’s); guiding teacher and supervisor of 10 doctoral theses. Scientific manager and coordinator of more than 150 industrial research contracts since 1994. Scientific manager and coordinator of more than 200 research grants and fellowships since 1994. External evaluator of research projects (PRIN, FIRB Giovani) and peer reviewer (Int. J. Env. Health, J. Dairy Sci., Food Anal. Meth., etc.). Research interests: environmental chemistry, rare earth elements (REEs), persistent organic pollutants (POPs), food traceability, metal speciation.
Title : Utilisation of Woody Plants by the Cape Porcupine in Mesic Savannas in South Africa
Name : Tlou Julius Tjelele
University : Agricultural Research Council, Animal Production
Country : South Africa
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Herbivory plays a fundamental role in determining the structure of savannas. The impacts of small and medium-sized mammalian herbivores on trees in savannas remain poorly understood because most research attention focuses on large herbivores such as elephants whose destructive effects on trees can be pervasive at landscape scales. On the other hand, feeding activities of generalist herbivores such as Cape porcupines on woody plants can lead to tree mortality. This study investigated the utilisation of woody plants by the Cape porcupine in three mesic savanna sites in South Africa. We determined the woody plant diet of the porcupine for the early and late dry seasons at Roodeplaat Farm in Gauteng Province, and at Goss Game Farm and Bisley Valley Nature Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal Province. Thirty and twenty randomly located quadrats (30 m × 30 m) were laid at Roodeplaat and Goss, respectively, while 10 smaller quadrats (10 m × 10 m) were laid at Bisley. We measured stem diameter and the length and width of bark scars made by porcupines on stems of woody plants. We collected ten dung samples from each study site in the wet and dry seasons for quantification of woody material in porcupine diet. Porcupine foraging behaviour impacted different tree species at each site: Vachellia robusta at Roodeplaat, Spirostachys africana at Goss and Vachellia nilotica at Bisley. Each of these trees was dominant at each site. More scarring and tree mortality were recorded at Bisley with almost 70% tree sapling mortality occurring on trees that porcupine fed on. The size of bark scars was greater at Goss (P < 0.01) than at Roodeplaat and Bisley, which were similar. The area of bark damage on S. africana trees differed significantly by stem diameter size class (P = 0.007) and was greater for small stems (size class < 7.1 cm) than the larger stems (size classes 7.1-14 cm and 14.1-21). For all the study sites, dung samples revealed that woody material contributed over 80% of the porcupine diet during the dry season, but was lower at 35% during the wet season for Roodeplaat, although it was consistently high for Bisley at 79%. Porcupine foraging activities substantially contributed to tree mortality at each site. We posit that porcupine induced mortality on dominant tree species at each site may contribute to structural heterogeneity in woody plant vegetation in mesic savannas.
Biography
Dr. Julius Tjelele holds a PhD (Botany) from the University of Kwazulu Natal. He worked as a researcher for 10 years before he became a Research Team Manager: Range and Forage at the Agricultural Research Council. His research interest is in rangeland ecology and management with special focus on herbivores and their interaction with vegetation; and factors governing their foraging behaviour and seed dispersal of woody plant species. Dr Tjelele served as the Publication editor of Grassroots, a popular newsletter of the Grassland Society of Southern Africa (GSSA), president and currently the immediate past president of the GSSA. He is also serving on the advisory board of the Centre for African Conservation Ecology at Nelson Mandela University. Dr Tjelele is passionate about mentoring of young people.
Title : Thermophilic biohydrogen production from optimized enzymatic pretreatment of palm oil mill effluent via box-behnken design.
Name : Wan Mohd Faizal
University : University Malaysia Kelantan
Country : Malaysia
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The demand for energy is increasing continuously due to the vast developments in many ways of life. Palm oil mill effluent (POME) seems to be a good carbon feedstock for hydrogen generation in fermentation processes. A biological pretreatment was applied to degrade the lignocellulose biomass in the anaerobic digestion process and improve the bioenergy production yield; one of the techniques is to use enzymes. In this study, enzymatic pretreatment was applied to POME to determine the optimum process parameters for producing reducing sugars (RS) to be used as a substrate in biohydrogen production. The Box-Behnken design (BBD) was used to construct an experiment to optimize the pretreatment variables, such as reaction time (h), enzyme concentration (% w/v), and pH. The optimum experimental conditions were found to be 12 hr of reaction time, an enzyme concentration of 3.76% w/v, and pH 5. The result showed that POME treated with the optimal enzymatic pretreatment increased the RS content by 182%. Next, thermophilic biohydrogen production using a pretreated substrate was carried out at a temperature of 55 °C, mixing speed of 150 rpm, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) concentration of 29,100 mg/L, seed content of 18.2%, and initial pH 7.14. The biohydrogen production potential (Hmax) was significantly increased by 145% (177 mL H2/g reducing sugar) by using enzymatically pretreated POME as a substrate. This result indicated that the recovery of RS from recalcitrant POME via enzymatic pretreatment could enhance biohydrogen production. Hence, it is a useful proposal for further application in bioenergy conversion from organic waste.
Biography
Associate Prof Dr Wan Mohd Faizal Wan Ishak, a 51-year experienced Malaysian scientist, has been working on water quality, water, and wastewater treatment for over 20 years. His research focuses on environmental issues, such as river water quality, solid waste and has been recognized through national and international projects including from Korea, Japan, and Brunei with a total of RM5 million. Ishak’s work has been involved in various projects, including simulating river water quality, recovering heavy metals from Malaysian electroplating companies, and monitoring water quality online. He has also contributed to the development of biogas from sewage sludge and the study of sediment and composting of Jetropha biomass. Ishak has also contributed to the development of a knowledge transfer program for the Ministry of Education and has been awarded grants for micro bubble air flotation, consortium-specific bacteria, and seaweed sp. for industrial waste recovery. He also oversaw the B40-Sustainable Social Enterprise through Integrated Bamboo Processing, which received a grant of RM2,356,000 for 2021-2025 from TERAJU.
Title : Sustainable supplier selection in the oil and gas industry: An integrated multi-criteria decision-making approach.
Name : Gidiagba Osheyor Joachim
University : University of Johannesburg
Country : South Africa
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The goal of this study is to develop a comprehensive solution model based on an integrated Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) approach as an alternative method capable of evaluating various elements for supplier selection (SS) in the Oil and Gas (O&G) industry. The problem of delays during resource extraction and refinement is one of the primary issues frequently experienced, this has a detrimental effect on O&G operations. MCDM is considered a decision-making technique effective for solving SS problems. In this study, an integrated approach has been proposed. A standard Delphi technique is used to first filter and rank unnecessary factors according to their relevance in order to determine the most significant and pertinent criteria for the oil and gas business. The best worst method (BWM) is adopted to address the criteria weight as it reduces the number of necessary pairwise comparisons while producing findings that are less inconsistent than those produced by other approaches and finally, TOPSIS is implemented for ranking the supplier as it makes full use of attribute information, provides a cardinal ranking of alternatives, and does not require independent attribute preferences. This study uses data obtained from the O&G industry. From the information obtained for thirty (30) O&G datasets based on business criteria, it was necessary to determine the most significant and pertinent. The standard Delphi technique was first employed to access and define the fifteen (15) most accessible criteria that were taken into consideration. Then with the best-worst method, the criteria weights were addressed and finally, TOPSIS was employed for supplier ranking. The decision-making units (01), unit (04), and unit (07) were considered to be the best suppliers. The novelty in this study is the implementation of an integrated MCDM model for sustainable SS in the O&G industry and its adaptation ability as a generic model applicable in other industrial sectors for SS.
Biography
Dr. Gidiagba Osheyor Joachim is a senior lecturer at Terotechnica Asset Management College and a PhD fellow at the University of Johannesburg where he is currently working on solving supplier selection problems for both mining and oil & gas industries. He has over 5 years of experience in Physical Asset Management with major interest in System Reliability, Reliability Centred Maintenance, and Maintenance Logistics.
Title : Green Synthesis of Nanoparticles: From Preparation to Applications
Name : Azeez Abdullah Barzinjy
University : Soran University
Country : Iraq
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Nanotechnology is an emerging field of science. The base of nanotechnology is nanoparticles. The size of nanoparticles ranges from 1 to 100 nm. The nanoparticles are classified into different classes such as inorganic nanoparticles, organic nanoparticles, ceramic nanoparticles and carbon base nanoparticles. The inorganic nanoparticles are further classified into metal nanoparticles and metal oxide nanoparticles. Similarly, carbon base nanoparticles classified into Fullerene, Carbon nanotubes, Graphene, Carbon nanofiber and carbon black. Nanoparticles are also classified on the basis of dimension such as zero-dimension, one-dimension, two-dimension and three-dimension nanoparticles. The nanoparticles are synthesized by using two approaches like top-down approach and bottom-up approach. Since the main methods for producing nanoparticles are chemical and physical methods which are often expensive and potentially harmful to both the environment and the user. So, we did our best in our researches to synthesize metallic and metal oxide nanoparticles using plant extracts and avoiding expensive and toxic chemicals at the same time. Therefore, it is with great pride that our research group is considered a pioneer in the region, and many high quality research articles have been published by our group highlighting the necessary needs of the community [1-22]. After synthesizing different types of nanoparticles, using easy, one-pot, inexpensive and green process, from locally grown plant extracts and novel eutectic-based ionic liquids, different characterization techniques have been used to investigate structure, size, morphology, thermal behavior, surface area, surface charge, chemical composition and optical properties of the nanoparticles. After synthesizing and characterization process, the green synthesized nanoparticles were employed in thin film application, gas-sensing, enhancing solar panel efficiency, wastewater treatment, catalytic application, harvesting sunlight for solar thermal generation and many other applications.
Biography
Dr Azeez Abdullah Barzinjy: was born in Erbil-Iraq. He received his BSc. (Physics) and M.Sc. (Superconducting transmission line) from the
University of Salahaddin-Erbil in 1998 and 2004, respectively. He completed his PhD (Materials Science) at the Materials Science centre,
University of Leicester/UK in 2014. He is currently Associated Professor at Scientific Research Centre in Soran University and teaching in Tishk
International University in Iraq. He participated in many international and local conferences as a keynote speaker and he published many highly impact
scientific articles. His current research interests include Green Synthesis of Nanoparticles, metal electroplating from novel ionic liquids and
investigating their properties, solar selective coating, surface plasmon resonance and nanotechnology. He is currently supervising several master
and PhD students in different universities. He Organized 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5+th and 6th International Nanotechnology
workshop from 2017-2022 with his colleague at Tishk International University. Erbil, Iraq.
Title : Plenum Gas Effect on Fuel Temperature
Name : Alok Jha
University : Tarapur Atomic Power Station
Country : India
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All key phenomena in a fuel element are dominated by the temperature distribution. Fuel thermal expansion, fission gas-induced swelling, and release are directly related to the temperature distribution of the fuel. The fuel-cladding heat transfer coefficient has two components – Heat transfer through the plenum gap and Heat transfer in case of contact. The gap width, in turn, is affected by thermal expansion, cracking and healing of the fuel, fuel densification, and fuel swelling. As the thermal and mechanical properties of the fuel are interdependent, inaccuracy in fuel-cladding temperature difference directly affects the reactor operating margins. A quantitative, as well as qualitative assessment of the fission heat transport across the fuel and embodiment of that knowledge in computer code, allows for a more realistic prediction of fuel performance. This knowledge helps in reducing the operating margins and leads to an improved operating economy of the reactor.
The main thrust of FCCAL is to analyze the plenum gas conductivity with fission gas accumulation and its analytical evaluation. With irradiation of the fuel inside the reactor core, fission noble gases Xenon and Krypton accumulate in the plenum gap which changes the gap conductivity from the initial fuel behavior that is for the Helium-filled during manufacturing. The analytical model is a better approximation over the use of correlations to estimate the effect of noble gases in the plenum gap. The change in conductivity is observable in the fuel in CANDU reactors where on-power refueling is practiced and the old fuel bundles move to higher power generating regions of the core. The fresh fuel along with the old bundles leads to a higher fission rate and hence the release of trapped noble gases in the plenum of the old bundles. This results in a higher temperature of the old bundles even without an appreciable change in the power.
Biography
Dr. Sri Alok Jha is currently working as a reactor physicist at Tarapur Atomic Power Station since 2008. He is responsible for planning of reactor refueling, reactor power management and reactor criticality of PHWR. He has experience in reactor physics related instrumentation of PHWR. He did his Masters in Science (Physics) from Indian Institute of Technology-Roorkee, India. He is currently working on coupled code development for PHWRs. He is an expert in nuclear fuel safety analysis, reactor kinetic computations and coupled code development. He is proficient in Openfoam CFD package and has expertise in various programming languages like Fortran, C++ and Python. His work on fuel safety analysis is the topic of this presentation.
Title : Advantages of controlled traffic of agricultural machinery for the recovery of degraded soils, improve crop yields and reduce environmental impact
Name : Silvia Imhoff
University : National University of Litoral
Country : Argentina
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Controlled traffic farming (CTF) has been proposed as an alternative to reduce the negative impact of soil compaction. However, information about the effects of CTF are almost non-existent in Argentina. The effects of the distribution of soil compaction caused by CTF on different soil properties, maize (Zea Maiz L.) and sunflower (Helianthus annus L.) yield and N2O emission of Argiudolls of the Argentinean Flat Pampas were studied. Two experimental sites (Videla and Aurelia) were set out with CTF. Treatments consisted in different compaction levels in the permanent traffic lanes (wheeled zones-WZ): T0: control, without initial compaction; T1: WZ compacted until 2 MPa; T2: WZ compacted until 4 MPa. Soil relative compaction (SRC) at 0-10 and 10-20 cm depth, least limiting water range (LLWR), aggregates distribution (AD), aggregates mean weight diameter, sunflower and maize yield, sunflower root biomass (RB) and N2O emission were studied in a transect sampling covering three positions in the WZ and one in the non-wheeled zones (NWZ). The critical bulk densities were 1.68±0.05 and 1.54±0.03 Mg m-3 in Videla and Aurelia. Significant differences of SRC between sampling positions were observed in both sites. The higher values of SRC were observed at 10-20 cm depth in the center of the WZ. No differences in the LLWR between positions were observed in T0, while it was greater in the NWZ than in the WZ in T1 and T2. The AD varied with the sampling positions. The higher proportion of greater aggregates was observed in the center of the WZ whereas de MWD was greater in the NWZ. The lower yield of maize was observed in the center of the WZ in T2, and in the center of the WZ in T1 and T2 for sunflower. Contrasting the yield of maize and sunflower in the WZ of T0 vs T1 and T2, differences of 2751 and 848 kg ha-1 were observed. No differences were found in the same contrast for NWZ. Sunflower RB was reduced by 53% in the WZ without differences between treatments. In the WZ 86% of RB was found at 0-10 cm depth while in NWZ 90% of RB was found at 0-20 cm depth. The N2O emission rates were different between sampling positions, with the highest emission in WZ. CTF reduced the global soil N2O emission. This study demonstrates that CTF application is a good strategy to reduce the negative impact of random agricultural machinery traffic on soil, crop yields, and the environment.
Biography
Dr. Silvia Imhoff studied in the Agricultural Science Faculty at the National University of Litoral (UNL) (Argentina). She concluded the Ms. Sc. in Soil and Plant Nutrition in 1998 and the Ph.D. in Agronomy (Soil Physics) at the University of São Paulo (Brasil) (2002). She was Visiting Scientist at the University of Guelph (Canadá) (2001 and 2007). Dr. Imhoff currently works as Associate Professor of Soil Management at the Agricultural Science Faculty (UNL) and as Researcher at the National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET). She is the Head of the Institute of Agricultural Science CONICET-UNL, Associate editor of Geoderma and Scientia Agricola Journal, Advisor of Master’s and PhD students, with more than 65 research papers in international and local journals and many chapters in books published. The research interests include soil compaction, soil physical quality-plant-environment interactions, and more recently manure application effects on soil physical quality-plant interactions.
Title : Index insurance for managing offshore wind O&M weather downtime risk
Name : Shih-Chieh Liao
University : National Chengchi University
Country : Taiwan
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Renewable energy is crucial to secure a clean energy transition and help to limit global warming. Taiwan plans to generate 20% of its total energy capacity from renewable energy by 2025, and the share of renewable sources in the power sector needs to be rapidly scaled up. Renewable energy projects face dynamic risk exposure for different risks throughout their life cycle that can contribute to a complex insurance environment requiring detailed knowledge and understanding from stakeholders such as developers, contractors, investors, and lenders. Index-based insurance can provide coverage opportunities for the complete life cycle of renewable energy projects from the beginning financing stage to operational exposures.
Operation and maintenance (O&M) activities are a big part of the total costs for offshore wind farms. However, weather-related risks such as strong winds or high waves can result in time spent waiting out unfavorable weather conditions until planned works can recommence for safety reasons. That causes a costly impact on O&M activities.
We intend to estimate the number of weather windows, their durations, and the waiting times (weather downtime) for a sea area. The environmental limit considered resulted from an analysis of significant wave heights (Hs). By doing so, it is possible to identify the limiting factor in determining weather windows and quantifying the levels of access to an offshore wind project located at a specific site in Taiwan Strait. This study designs an index insurance to manage the logistical and financial risks caused by the weather downtime for offshore wind farm O&M activities.
Biography
Dr. Shih-Chieh Liao is President of AC Re Services Co., Ltd., and an adjunct associate professor of the Department of Risk Management and Insurance at the National Chengchi University, Taiwan where he received his PhD degree. Most of his publications are focusing on renewable energy: offshore wind farm and solar PV power plant, insurance, and reinsurance. During his career, Dr. Liao worked for several international companies such as Swiss Re and Aon. He has participated and coordinated several national and international research projects for public and private organizations.
Title : Greenhouse gas emissions and corporate social responsibility in USA: A comprehensive study using dynamic panel model
Name : Khaleeq Ahmad
University : University of Lahore
Country : Pakistan
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This study addresses the issues of Greenhouse Gas Emission and corporate social responsibility of firms in USA. This paper estimates various econometrics estimations varying from multivariate regression, static panel modes and dynamic panel models. Finally, to control the endogeneity problem dynamic panel model is preferred to capture the relationship of greenhouse gas emissions and corporate social responsibility. The result of the study shows a positive and significant relationship between greenhouse gas emission and corporate social responsibility. Further, it is also observed that firms with better corporate social responsibility performance can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is the first research that attempts to explore two-way relationships between greenhouse gas emission and corporate social responsibility by using various estimation techniques varying from multivariate, OLS to dynamic panel GMM. From a policy point of view, corporate social responsibility plays an important role in managing and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, ultimately creating a secure environment for all parties while improving business performance. Policymakers should create policies to control greenhouse gas emissions and enhance corporate social responsibility.
Title : Mitigation of dust on PV panels that operate light posts using a wind shield, mechanical vibrations and AN antistatic coating
Name : Ramy Amir Shenouda
University : German University in Cairo
Country : Egypt
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The objective of this research is to minimize dust accumulation on PV panels operating street light posts, in order to maximize the time between successive maintenance and reduce the maintenance costs. A novel technique is proposed to mitigate dust on PV panels that operate light posts, and that is adding a windshield to the panel, which obstructs the dust carried by the wind to reach and settle on the PV panel. 1D and 2D shields were implemented and their influence on the performance of PV panels were tested outdoors in Cairo, Egypt, and the results were compared to those of a PV panel that is not shielded. Also, the influence of using an antistatic coating and vibrating the panel in addition to the dust shield on the performance of the panel have been examined. The 2D shield obstructs the wind in the North-South and East-West directions, while, the 1D shield obstructed the wind just in the North-South direction only. The results show that the 2D shield assisted in the accumulation of dust on the PV surface compared to the non-shield panel, while the 1D shield had a better performance. Using a mechanical vibrator together with a 1D shield has decreased the accumulation of dust to a very good extent, such that the drop in efficiency exceeded the maintenance limit of 10 %, after 5 weeks of operation, while in case of a 1D shield without mechanical vibrations, the limit was exceeded in 3 weeks. However, applying the antistatic coating together with the 1D shield while vibrating the panel preserved the efficiency of the panel, such that the drop in efficiency did not exceed the maintenance limit during the experiment duration of 6 weeks.
Biography
Dr. Ramy Amir Shenouda is a Ph.D. holder since November 2022 in the field of renewable energy at the department of mechatronics at the German university in Cairo (GUC), Egypt. He started as a teaching assistant in 2014. He received his M.Sc. degree in 2017 from the GUC. During his masters, he worked on cooling of solar panels. He is currently working on developing new techniques to mitigate dust on solar panels and his interests are renewable energy especially solar energy and Computational Fluid Dynamics.
Title : Life Cycle Techno-Economic-Environmental Assessment of Green and Low-carbon Ethanol Production by Low-value Tail gas
Name : Lingyun Zhang
University : University of Nottingham Ningbo China
Country : China
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Conversion of low-value tail gas from industries into ethanol (TG-ethanol) was demonstrated to be a promising cutting-edge route for value-added utilisation of tail gas. However, a systematic and objective understanding of the technol-economic analysis (TEA) and environmental impact benefits is still lacking. In this work, this technology’s TEA performance and environmental footprint are systematically evaluated by life cycle assessment (LCA) and compared with its competitors under different development scenarios. The assessment results show that the TG-ethanol route is the most environmentally benign option, whose environmental impact value is 22%-25% lower than that of the Corn-ethanol and Coal-ethanol routes. By taking the tail gas from the Chinese steel industry as an example, it is found that if TG-ethanol technology is applied, the carbon reduction potential can achieve 5.6 Mt CO2/year by 2060, with 19.9-23.4 billion RMB economic profit compared with TG-originated power route. The carbon reduction potential is more focused in the context of carbon neutrality. In order to address the low carbon efficiency of TG-ethanol, we proposed an upgraded technology of tail-gas ethanol coupled with Electro-catalytic CO2 reduction (ECR), which is modelled by modular engineering process with Aspen Plus tool and then performed the TEA and LCA analysis with Monte Carlo simulation. The results indicate that ECR 0.7 scenarios have a more profitable application prospect with a net present value (NPV) higher than zero in considered 17 scenarios. Furthermore, the enormous carbon reduction potential of CO-70% at an ECR cycle ratio of 0.9 pathway can achieve 63%, which is a very exciting result in pursuing the carbon neutrality target. In addition, a sensitivity analysis was performed to identify the high-impact variables for this research focused on the carbon reduction potential of LCA carbon footprints and NPV. We can conclude that the ethanol price and photovoltaic (PV) cost are the key factors affecting NPV, and coal to steam, PV and grid power are the driving factors dominating carbon reduction potential. Finally, we hope this type of work allows researchers and stakeholders to see this technology’s economic potential and environmental impact while it is still in development based on experimental and modelling work results
Biography
Dr. Lingyun Zhang is a PhD candidate at the University of Nottingham. Her research project is the low-carbon potential research of CCUS technology and life cycle techno-economic-environmental assessment. In 2015, she received her bachelor’s degree from Xi’an University of Science and Technology; in 2018, she received her master’s degree from Shanghai University. In September 2020, she was admitted to the University of Nottingham (UNNC) with a full PhD scholarship. Her academic performance ranked top 3 in her major, and she has won first-class scholarships many times. She has published 8 SCI papers, participated in 4 international conferences, and delivered 2 presentations and 2 poster presentations, respectively. She has participated in the national key research and development project, the national key strategic research project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission project, and the STS Science and Technology Service Network Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. She won the third prize in the UNNC Safety week 2020 Poster competition, the UNNC 6th PGR conference Excellence Award, the UNNC 4th Annual FoSE PGR Research Showcase Best Poster Award, the UNNC 2022 “Excellent Communist Party Member”, the first prize in the fifth life cycle carbon neutral innovation competition, and the scholarship fund of China Scholarship Council. She believes hard work and persistence are always the only way to success. We always have the right to choose what kind of person we want to be and move forward with our dreams!
Title : Sustainable Supply Chain Management: A key Lever To Mtigating Climate Change And Increasing Supply Chain Resilience
Name : Julius Eggert
University : EBS Business School
Country : Germany
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As globalization has progressed in recent decades, Western companies have increasingly outsourced their non-core operational processes to global supply chains. While benefiting financially from the usually poorer environmental and social working conditions in upstream supply chains, this entails considerable responsibilities and dependencies. In fact, most of the greenhouse gas emissions contributing to climate change for which Western companies are responsible are emitted in their upstream supply chains. Alongside of this, the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated on an unprecedented scale how dependent societal supply security is on resilient supply chains. Based on empirical research, it can now be demonstrated that through sustainable supply chain management, companies are deliberately able to reduce emissions in their supply chains while making them more resilient for unexpected disruptions. This enables them to address climate change responsibilities while reducing the negative impacts of dependence on global supply chains, and in the process achieve significant financial and competitive benefits. These findings and implications can lead to long-term and fundamental changes in the way supply chains will operate in the future. It also equips decision-makers and advisors for future discussions with stakeholders who tend to view sustainable supply chain management activities as a financial disadvantage for companies and doubt the impact on emissions reduction.
Title : Exploring A Sea Of Sustainability Choices: The Nexus Of Blue Economy, Green Economy And Energy In ASEAN
Name : Ayesha Afzal
University : Innovation and Technology Centre, Lahore School of Economics
Country : pakistan
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Reduction of carbon intensity has gained significant importance due to the environmental damage caused by carbon emissions. The blue economic model is being highlighted for addressing this global challenge and reaching a win-win situation of economic growth with environmental sustainability. This research incorporates carbon intensity, blue economic indicators (marine trade, aquatic production and marine tourism), green economic variables (R&D, patents and technology) and energy factors. The sample includes the 10 countries of Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (ASEAN). According to UN, over 80% of global trade is conducted through the seas. This shows importance of marine resources in the global economy as well as the SouthEast Asia region. Southeast Asia has a coastline of 173 000 km bordering some of the most economically and ecologically rich ocean areas of the world. Since blue economic resources have an important role in this region, governments have recognised the importance of their sustainable utilisation. Against this backdrop of economic opportunities and sustainability concerns, the blue economy concept has been promoted. Therefore, SouthEast Asia is a highly relevant sample for this research. Data for the 2010-2022 period has been analysed using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model. Results show that blue economic indicators and green economic variables help to lower carbon intensity. Energy intensity contributes to carbon emissions. Renewable energy sources decrease carbon intensity while non-renewable sources have the opposite impact. These findings have implications for economic and public policy makers. Blue economic sectors should utilise modern mechanisms of sustainable economic growth. First, every business in the ASEAN region should plan its resource usage carefully. This will help to control energy intensity and non-renewable energy usage. Second, enterprises should aim at innovation in terms of market offerings that have low energy intensity or are based on renewable energy. In this area, R&D efforts can be highly useful. Third, businesses need to adopt cleaner technologies for more sustainable economic development. More specifically, technologies such as carbon capture and storage should be utilised. Fourth, the blue economic sectors can introduce modern mechanisms such as solar power boating. Fifth, organisations need to be proactive in this context. More specifically, actions are needed to limit environmental damage. For example, they should ensure that there is proper treatment of carbon emissions they are producing. Government authorities need to support these sectors. Efforts should be made to garner stakeholder support for sustainable economic growth.
Biography
Dr. Afzal is a Professor and member of permanent faculty at Lahore School of Economics. She has been a fellow at the University of Oxford where she has worked on issues in growth and social policy under modern financial paradigm in comparative studies of South Asian economies. Dr. Afzal’s research interests include various aspects of development with special focus on sustainable development, financial system, and risk management. She is currently conducting collaborative research with renowned international researchers on Blue Economy, Sustainable development and Green finance. Along with academic research, Dr Afzal is also consulting with various organizations for projects on sustainable development and finance. Currently, she is working as “Project Coordinator” with World Bank Project on Building Energy Efficiency Opportunities Study and as a “Project Economist” with SAMAˆVerte on a Pilio carbon Insetting project
Title : The optimum of heat recovery in non-residential buildings
Name : Christoph Kaup
University : Department of environmental planning / environmental technology
Country : denmark
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This presentation is intended to answer the question of whether there can be a clear optimum according thermal efficiency and the corresponding electric effort when using heat recovery systems (HRS) under specific framework conditions. Since the benefits and the associated effort can vary widely in individual cases due to the different framework conditions, the question arises whether it is sensible to define the HRS requirements based on individual criteria, rather than blanket, rigid statutory requirements as is done with EU Regulation 1253/2014. In order to be able to find a respective economic optimum of the heat recovery in individual cases on the basis of various framework conditions without an individual optimization, a polynomial equation based on the nonlinear multiple-regression analysis has to be developed to predict the relevant optimum easily and quickly on the base of multidimensional optimizations. Thus, the determination of an optimal heat recovery in any case can prevent that with a too small or too large heat recovery an economic potential is given away. This makes sense from a business as well as from a macroeconomic point of view, since the sum of the business (microeconomic) optima must lead to a macro¬economic optimum. The influence on the heat recovery is shown on the basis of the parameters outdoor air temperature, extract air temperature and operating time. As a result, both the optimal temperature efficiency of the heat recovery, and the therefore required optimal air velocity, as well as the corresponding optimal pressure drop or the represented SFP-value de¬pending on the general framework conditions are highlighted on the basis of two load cases and two balance limits. The Impact of CO2-Emission reduction can be implemented in the model by using a CO2-price to evaluate the CO2-influence. The optimization calculations were carried out with constant energy prices. In a combined factorial regression, based on simple non-linear regressions on the various influencing factors, the energy prices are also used as variables to determine the optimum.
Title : Integration of Renewable Based Distributed Generation in Distribution networks Considering the Uncertainty
Name : Ashraf Ramadan Ragab
University : Aswan university
Country : Egypt
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Renewable energy resources (RER) are widely embedded in grids. where RERs are considered the key technologies for grid applications and provides a promising future for power generation in electric networks. Many benefits can be captured by RER integration in terms of the power quality and economic consideration such as energy loss minimization, voltage profile improvement, stability enhancement and cost minimization of energy production.
Nevertheless, RER including photovoltaic power generation and wind power generation are considered the major uncertainty sources in grid due to the continues variations of irradiance and wind speed as well as the uncertainties of load demand, electricity price, plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) and future uncertain load growth. Nowadays, the uncertainty handling in grids became one of the main concerns of the decision makers (including governors, engineers, managers, and scientists), for efficient planning and operation of grid and to diminish the risk of assigning the optimal siting and sizing of RER.
Many methods are used to handle the uncertainty in grid including Probabilistic method, Possibilistic method and hybrid possibilistic–probabilistic methods. A Comprehensive survey is presented to depict the advantages and shortages of the uncertainty handling methods as well as the most recent techniques for handling uncertainty in grid.
Biography
Dr. Ashraf Ramadan is Renewable Energy consultant at Business Vision for renewable energy company & Instructor of Electrical Engineering. He totals 19 years in designing and supervision in electrical and Electronics work expert in Renewable Energy Uncertainty, teaching both courses and labs (Lab setup and development). He holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering and Renewable Energy with the title “Optimal Allocation of Distributed Generation in Radial Distribution Networks Considering Renewable Energy Uncertainty” from Aswan university Aswan Egypt. He got his Master of Electricals and Electronics Engineering Faculty of Engineering Assiut University Assiut Egypt “Testing and Fault Diagnosis for Pipelined ADCs” on May 2018. He has working experience in the following fields PV System Design installation, Wind Energy Course Renewable Energy, Electrical testing laboratory, Electrical measurements and instrumentations.
Title : Rainfall-runoff modeling using HEC-HMS model for Meki river watershed, rift valley basin
Name : Jerjera Ulu Guduru
University : Haramaya University
Country : Ethiopia
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Detail understanding of rainfall-runoff processes is tremendously important for a watershed with variable streamflow generation. The streamflow of the Meki River fluctuates seasonally causing flooding on surrounding agricultural land. This study adopted Hydrologic Engineering Center Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS) to model the streamflow and predict flood in the Meki watershed, Rift valley basin. The model was calibrated with observed streamflow data from (1987– 2004) whereas the consecutive year’s data (2005–2010) was used for model validation. The evaluation criteria namely: Nash Sutcliff Efficiency and coefficient of determination were preferred to evaluate the model performance. The finding relieved that, the model can perform very well (NSE = 0.83, R2 = 0.91) during Calibration, and (NSE = 0.804, R2 = 0.89) at validation period. Moreover, the predicted floods at 2, 10, 25, 50, and 100 years were 133.2, 178.1, 239.7, 313.2, and 346.19 m3 /s, respectively in the watershed. The novelty of this study lies in evaluating the model results using both statistical parameters (NSE and R2 ) and the Generalized Extreme Value method). The finding of this study is vital to developing flood mapping and designing flood mitigation measures in the study area. Further, the developed models can be applied to other hydrology with similar hydrological conditions.
Biography
Dr. Jerjera Ulu Guduru obtained his BSc (Water Resources and Environmental Engineering) from the University of Jimma institute of Technology, Jimma University and his M.SC. (Hydraulic Engineering) from the University of Jimma institute of Technology, Jimma university. He previously worked as a teaching, community engagement, and researcher at the Haramaya Institute of Technology, Haramaya University. His research focus area is groundwater exploration, watershed management, and hydrological modeling in the Ethiopian river basin. He currently lectures water resources and environmental engineering at the Haramaya Institute of Technology, Haramaya University. His area of interest is Hydrology, Numerical methods, and transforms. He has published three papers in peer-reviewed journals (Elsevier journal).
Title : Crustal rheological heterogeneities beneath the Harrat Lunnayir in SW Saudi Arabia - - Perspectives of the Afar Plume activity along the Red Sea margin
Name : Manoj Mukhopadhyay
University : University of Technology
Country : Papua New Guinea
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The crustal and sub-crustal rheological parameters are investigated down to a depth of 150 km for an area of 650 x 215 km2 of the Large Igneous Province of Arabia whose spine is constituted by the Makkah-Madinah-Nafud (MMN) volcanic line. This is done with an aim to gain an insight on the plume head as well as on the regional crustal effects brought by the Afar Plume. The rheological parameters are: Vp, Vp/Vs, Density (ρ), Acoustic Impedance, Lame’s First constant (λ), Shear modulus (μ), Poisson’s Ratio (σ), Bulk modulus (K) and Young’s modulus (E). These are computed from the Receiver Function Analysis results based on data from 24 seismic stations underlying the Harrat Lunnayir, Northern Rahat and Khaybar (Figure 1). Actual calculations are done by the following constitutive relations: (i) Vp (km/s) = 0.9409 + 2.0974Vs–0.8206 Vs2 + 0.2683Vs3 – 0.0251Vs4, where, VP = P-wave velocity, VS = Shear-wave velocity, (ii). ρ = 1.6612Vp – 0.4721Vp2 +0.0671Vp3 – 0.0043Vp4 + 0.000106Vp5, (iii). λ = ρ (Vp 2 – 2VS 2), (iv). μ, K and E are calculated following equations [μ = Vs2 ρ; K = λ +2/3(μ); E = μ (3λ+2μ)/(λ+ μ)], (v). σ = 0.8835–0.315Vp + 0.0491Vp2 – 0.0024Vp3 and (vi). Acoustic Impedance (AI) = Vp*ρ. The parameters are analyzed by: (a) individual plots to infer the variation of lithological composition and metamorphism at crustal depths, (b) spatial mapping of the parameters to identify their 2D-variation. The former accounts for the changes locally introduced underneath the harrats by magmatic intrusions. Mutual correlations of computed rheological parameters for upper and lower crustal columns underneath HL indicate linear relations in the upper crust but represented mostly as linear pattern in the lower crust. These are inferred as changes in rock composition from felsic to mafic, where the lower crust attains granulite facies of metamorphism. The rheological parameters for HL, when compared to those for the host region, indicate fundamental changes in crustal composition which were locally introduced in HL by the mantle flow produced by Afar plume activity. The Vp/Vs values are higher in the lower and upper crust below HL in comparison to the entire area. In the lower crust, Vp/Vs attains an average value of 1.73 (with λ = μ) represent a change in crustal composition from quartz-diorite to diorite. These results are best described by a pervasive and interconnected ‘Zone of Anomalous Rheological Parameters’ (ZARP) in the upper and lower crust. Their major features are: (i) a clear continuity between the upper and lower crust, (ii) the surface gap between the harrats Rahat and Lunayyir is actually represented by a ZARP high underneath, and (iii) the ZARP maps when correlated to detailed structural maps provide an initial indication on the causal pathway of magmatic intrusion at crustal depths connecting the harrats laterally. Next we look for their vertical continuity by tracking the rheological parameters to lithospheric depths that unravels, for the first time, two anomalous zones at respective depth intervals of 30-50 km (the immediate sub-crust) as well as at greater lithospheric depths or still beyond (80-150 km). We speculate that the former acts as the zone of de-compressed crustal melting linked to crustal thinning that possibly acts as the magma feeder zone for the harrats represented by the MMN Line. By definition, this should thus represent the plume head. The deeper zone at sub-lithospheric depth is likely to represent the more extensive and persistent zone of horizontal mantle flow from the Afar region (Figure 2). Further studies are warranted to substantiate these initial findings.
Biography
Prof. Manoj Mukhopadhyay holds an M.Sc. (Applied Geophysics) (1971) degree from Indian School of Mines (ISM), Dhanbad and Ph.D. (Geophysics) (1976) from ISM & the National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, India. He worked as a faculty with the Department of Applied Geophysics at ISM from 1976 – 2006, when, he was elevated to the rank of Professor in 1989. He also held the Departmental Chair for seven years (1994-97 and 2004-06). His teaching areas cover: Gravity Exploration, Offshore Geophysics and Geodynamics. He conducted gravity mapping over extensive areas in central and eastern India. He set up the ISM Seismological Observatory Dhanbad in 1998. He was a Visiting Fellow of the Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council, Govt. of Canada, working at the Earth Physics Branch, Ottawa (formerly; the Dominion Observatory) (1978-80), and a Visiting Fellow of the Royal Norwegian Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, Oslo, working at the Norwegian Institute of Technology, Trondheim (1991-93). He was a Visiting Professor at the University of Kuwait (2006-08), and subsequently, a Professor of Geophysics, Department of Geology & Geophysics, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (2008-15). Since 2017, he is with the Department of Applied Physics, University of Technology, Lae, Papua New Guinea. His research publications are indexed in: (i) Canadian Geophysical Atlas (1987) published by the Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, (ii) Bouguer Gravity Anomaly Map of Bangladesh (1990) published by the United States Geological Survey, Denver, (iii) Seismotectoinc Atlas of India & its Environs (2000) published by the Geological Survey of India, Kolkata, & (iv) World Stress Map, Helmholtz Centre Potsdam – GFZ. His Research Gate ‘Research Interest Score’ (Aug. 2022): 1070 (67 publications), and h-index (Elsevier Science alert): 24.
Title : Identification and Assessment of Sustainability Performance Indicators for Construction Projects
Name : Sareh Rajabi
University : University of Sharjah
Country : UAE
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Improving the sustainability performance of construction projects is essential to the sustainability of regions, nations, and the world as a whole. Sustainability key performance indicators (KPIs) can play an essential role in advancing the practice of sustainable construction. Despite the numerous studies on sustainability indicators, there is still a gap in identifying applicable sustainability KPIs that can be used during the execution phase of construction projects for contractors. This research aims to identify and assess KPIs for monitoring and evaluating the sustainability performance of construction projects during the execution phase. Twenty-two sustainability indicators were identified and shortlisted based on a comprehensive review of related literature. The indicators were grouped into two groups environmental and socio-economic. A survey was then designed and sent to construction professionals in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Thirty-one respondents evaluated the importance of indicators using pair-wise comparison using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The results highlighted that the use of renewable energy indicator was ranked as the most important with a global weight of 0.164 (environmental group). In contrast, the construction site safety indicator was the most important, with a global weight of 0.093 (socio-economic group). This research is important as it fills the identified research gap. Additionally, this study benefits contractors in identifying the most appropriate sustainability indicators for their construction projects to assess sustainability performance during the construction phase.
Biography
Dr. Sareh Rajabi was born on 1986, in Tehran, Iran. She was educated in a private school, The International School of Zakkieh, and was granted her high school diploma in June 2004 with honors. She then joined the American University of Sharjah and from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in June 2009. Upon graduation, Ms. Sareh worked as a planning engineer in a multinational contracting organization, Al Rajhi Construction Company (ARC). She was responsible for successfully completing many critical tasks in high-profile infrastructure projects undertaken in the UAE. She held the position of Sr. Planning Engineer at the end of her career with ARC. In 2010, She began a master’s program in Engineering Systems Management at the American University of Sharjah and graduated in May 2012. In 2015, She joined DX Contracting LLC, another contracting organization in UAE, holding the position of Project Control Manager. She has professional experience in project control in initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing large and complex projects. In 2018, She began a PhD program in Engineering Systems Management at the American University of Sharjah and graduated in May 2022.
Title : Optimal Solar and wind energy cable pooling mix for enhancing grid transport capacity
Name : Sander Mertens
University : Hague University of Technology
Country : Netherlands
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The electrical transport capacity of the grid depends on the load and capacity factor of the cables of the grid. The optimum load of the cables has a capacity factor of 100% at rated power of the cable. Yet, the capacity factor of the electricity production of renewable energy sources: solar and wind power, is much smaller, approximately 10% to 50%. As a consequence, solar and wind power provide inefficient cable usage. Solar and wind farms are mostly found at remote locations with little demand in the surrounding areas so that transport capacity of solar and wind power is a standard requirement. What means do we have to improve the transport capacity for solar and wind power? What The electrical transport capacity of solar and wind power is studied with a dynamic simulation of solar and wind power, based on hourly weather data from the Dutch meteorological office KNMI. How Various mixes of solar and wind power, with different load factors above rated power of a cable, provided insight in increasing cable transport capacity and optimal mix of solar and wind power to provide that increased transport capacity. Solar and wind power are modelled with basic physics that handle the meteorological input of solar irradiation and wind speed. The physics of the models of the mix are analysed to interpret and understand the results of the dynamic simulation on the transport capacity. Result The dynamic simulation provided insight in the optimal mix of solar-, wind power and cable loads, with the smallest curtailment losses of excessive power (i.e. above rated cable power). It is shown that large cable loads of up to 1,8 times the rated cable capacity have only small curtailment losses of a few percent. The results of this study allow us to optimally use our electrical infrastructure. This is important to achieve low transport costs, but this is even more important for the Dutch situation where the energy transition results in a vanishing grid capacity for solar and wind parks Additionally to findings in literature of the optimal baseload mix of solar and wind power, in order to arrive at the lowest seasonal storage capacity, the study reveals a different optimum mix of solar and wind power, to achieve maximum transport capacities at the smallest curtailment losses.
Title : Clean nuclear energy to help meeting global decarbonization goals.
Name : Raul B. Rebak
University : General Electric Research in Schenectady
Country : USA
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During the recent pandemic, the world has grown more sensitized and concerned about climate change as expressed by the outcomes of the recent COP26 and COP27 conferences in 2021 and 2022, respectively. The mission of the many participant nations was to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels in the generation of electricity, or to embrace a decarbonization process. That is, most nations are committed to rely more and more on clean energy sources such as solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermic and, of course, nuclear. At this moment the USA still has the world largest fleet of light water reactors (92) which currently produce approximately 50% of the clean electricity consumed in the country. Recent legislation in the USA has provided funds to the private sector to prevent the premature shutdown of operating commercial nuclear power plants. The goal of the US Department of Energy is not only to keep existing nuclear plants operating but also to build new capacity through advanced reactors including micro reactors, small modular reactors, and larger scale Gen III and Gen IV reactors. It is argued that the commercialization of accident tolerant fuels (ATF) in the next quinquennium may contribute to the life extension of current light water reactors.
Biography
Dr. Raul B. Rebak is a corrosion research scientist at General Electric Research in Schenectady, New York since 2007. Previously he was the lead for materials corrosion testing in the Yucca Mountain Project at the University of California Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Raul has more than 30 years’ experience in environmental degradation processes of materials in many fields including nuclear power, oil & gas, energy storage, healthcare, transportation, and aerospace. Raul is a Fellow of both NACE International and ASM International.
Title : Automated System for defect discrimination and grading in citrus fruits
Name : Harvinder Singh
University : Torrens University Australia
Country : Australia
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The citrus industry is Australia’s largest fresh fruit exporting industry by volume, with major export markets in Asian countries and the United States. However, the export of fresh produce (particularly fruit) is limited by quarantine restrictions in several countries. One of the major causes of these restrictions includes postharvest decay and defects. These post-harvest losses can reach 30% of the total production in developed
and 50% in less developed countries. National breakdown of on-farm losses for citrus is between 20-30% that equals 30-35,000 tones in Australia. We propose a novel, safe and low-cost citrus defect discrimination and grading mobile application based on computer vision and image analysis technique to sort healthy from defective and also, predict the early disease infestation that may result in reducing the application of commonly used synthetic fungicides (hence reduced MRLs) during post-harvest management. Deep neural networks (DNN) was employed to extract desired features with an appropriate set of filters applied on the given set of images. The system was able to automatically categorize and then sort the given various samples in respective classes in real-time citrus post-harvesting procedures. It is efficient, cost-effective, accurate and non-destructive, furthermore, it will improve inspection time and quality sorting guarantee in citrus production and supply chain management.Besides this the solution will allow farmers to reduce waste and achieve a sustainable and efficient gradingprocess, providing real-time information which accurately identifies fruit diseases and imperfections that
would also improve the efficiency of supply chain by 30-35%.
Biography
Professor Harvinder Singh has been an academic for nearly two decades with strong teaching and research expertise in applied informatics, traditional and molecular plant breeding approaches for the improvement and management of cereal crops, and medicinal plants. He has IPs for novel inventions in agriculture and has published over 50 research articles in peer reviewed journals, books and conference proceedings. He has also presented his research at national and international conferences.