scholarly journals Development and Implementation of an IoT-Enabled Optimal and Predictive Lighting Control Strategy in Greenhouses

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 2652
Author(s):  
Shirin Afzali ◽  
Sahand Mosharafian ◽  
Marc W. van Iersel ◽  
Javad Mohammadpour Velni
Keyword(s):  
Heuristic Method ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Growth Parameter ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Time Step ◽  
Lighting Control ◽  
Electricity Cost ◽  
Supplemental Lighting ◽  
The Cost

Global population growth has increased food production challenges and pushed agricultural systems to deploy the Internet of Things (IoT) instead of using conventional approaches. Controlling the environmental parameters, including light, in greenhouses increases the crop yield; nonetheless, the electricity cost of supplemental lighting can be high, and hence, the importance of applying cost-effective lighting methods arises. In this research paper, a new optimal supplemental lighting approach was developed and implemented in a research greenhouse by adopting IoT technology. The proposed approach minimizes electricity cost by leveraging a Markov-based sunlight prediction, plant light needs, and a variable electricity price profile. Two experimental studies were conducted inside a greenhouse with “Green Towers” lettuce (Lactuca sativa) during winter and spring in Athens, GA, USA. The experimental results showed that compared to a heuristic method that provides light to reach a predetermined threshold at each time step, our strategy reduced the cost by 4.16% and 33.85% during the winter and spring study, respectively. A paired t-test was performed on the growth parameter measurements; it was determined that the two methods did not have different results in terms of growth. In conclusion, the proposed lighting approach reduced electricity cost while maintaining crop growth.

Development and Implementation of a New Optimal Supplemental Lighting Control Strategy in Greenhouses

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sahand Mosharafian ◽  
Shirin Afzali ◽  
Javad Mohammadpour Velni ◽  
Marc W. van Iersel
Keyword(s):  
Heuristic Method ◽  
Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density ◽  
Photon Flux ◽  
Raspberry Pi ◽  
Photon Flux Density ◽  
Time Step ◽  
Electricity Cost ◽  
Electricity Costs ◽  
Supplemental Lighting ◽  
A Site

Abstract The use of supplemental lighting is an effective way for increasing greenhouse productivity. Recently, using light-emitting diodes (LEDs), capable of precise and quick dimmability, has increased in greenhouses. However, electricity cost of lighting can be significant, and hence, it is necessary to find optimal lighting strategies to minimize supplemental lighting costs. In this paper, we model supplemental lighting in the greenhouse equipped with LEDs as a constrained optimization problem, and we aim at minimizing electricity costs of supplemental lighting. We consider not only plant daily light integral (DLI) need during its photoperiod but also sunlight prediction and variable electricity pricing in our model. We use Markov chain to predict sunlight irradiance throughout the day. By taking sunlight prediction information into account, we avoid supplying more light than plants require. Therefore, our lighting strategy provides sufficient light for plant growth while minimizing electricity costs during the day. We propose an algorithm to find optimal supplemental lighting strategy and evaluate its performance through exhaustive simulation studies using a whole year data and compare it to a heuristic method, which aims to supply a fixed photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) to plants at each time-step during the day. We also implement our proposed lighting strategy on Raspberry Pi using Python programming language. Our prediction-based lighting approach shows (on average) about 23% electricity cost reduction compared to a heuristic method throughout the year for a site located at West Virginia.

scholarly journals The original way to get lime

2018 ◽  
pp. 18-20
Author(s):  
N.A. Klimenko ◽  
A.I. Feldman ◽  
Yu.A. Feldman ◽  
A.A. Bobukh
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Production Method ◽  
Consumption Ratio ◽  
Annular Gap ◽  
Cost Effective Method ◽  
Harmful Emissions ◽  
Metallurgical Lime ◽  
The Cost

Purpose. Development of a cost-effective method for the production of branded metallurgical lime. Metodology. Analysis of technical solutions known in engineering in the field of lime production technology, as well as a generalization of the experimental studies obtained. Findings. An efficient method for the production of metallurgical lime with a low consumption ratio with low energy consumption and reduction of harmful emissions has been developed and introduced into production. Practical value. Developed and implemented in the production method of lime can be implemented in the foundry industry and will reduce the cost of products, reduce harmful emissions, especially in the conditions of micro-metallurgical production Key words: energy consumption, harmful emissions, vertical annular gap, lined shells, electric heaters, counter thermal flows, expenditure ratio, branded metallurgical lime.

scholarly journals A review of current bracken control and associated vegetation strategies in Great Britain

Web Ecology ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Pakeman ◽  
M. G. Le Duc ◽  
R. Marrs
Keyword(s):  
Great Britain ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Calluna Vulgaris ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Control Programme ◽  
Vegetation Restoration ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Set Of Points

Abstract. Bracken is a major problem for livestock-based, extensive agriculture in many parts of the world. It also causes problems for conservation, recreation, game management and forestry and is hence subject to management in order to control it. This paper reviews current bracken control strategies in Great Britain to assess whether they can be improved, and reviews recent work on combining bracken control with vegetation restoration to derive guidelines for maximising the cost-effectiveness of these measures to increase biodiversity. Bracken control in Great Britain is currently, mainly undertaken by aerial spraying of herbicide. A large-scale survey showed that only a small proportion (25%) of sites were likely to show long-term control, the developing vegetation was not that desired by the instigator of control, and there was a large geographic variation in success. The major conclusion was that large-scale treatment often exceeded the area that could be adequately treated by follow-up measures. Experimental studies demonstrate that to obtain “desirable” vegetation (usually Calluna vulgaris-dominated heath in Great Britain) a number of steps usually have to be followed. However, the steps that have to be taken may differ between sites. Deep litter sites, where stock numbers are low, need the litter disturbed in some way and seed of suitable species added. On sites with higher stock numbers, litter disturbance has in effect already been carried out, so that management must involve seed addition and the exclusion/reduction of stock. It is not yet known how long or to what level stock must be removed before the vegetation is able to withstand grazing. It should be noted that management to reverse succession could prove less cost-effective than management that accelerates succession to woodland or forestry. A set of points which highlight the considerations necessary at the commencement of an “integrated” bracken control programme are outlined. Targeting sites in western Britain or sites with residual vegetation present would provide the greatest gains for biodiversity in the short term. However, in many situations management for vegetation restoration must be seen as a key part of this strategy, not as something that will proceed unaided after bracken control has taken place.

scholarly journals Increasing Parameters of Diesel Engines by Their Transformation for Methanol Conversion Products

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 1710
Author(s):  
Sviatoslav Kryshtopa ◽  
Krzysztof Górski ◽  
Rafał Longwic ◽  
Ruslans Smigins ◽  
Liudmyla Kryshtopa
Keyword(s):  
Diesel Engine ◽  
Diesel Fuel ◽  
Diesel Engines ◽  
Alternative Fuels ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Methanol Conversion ◽  
Initial Product ◽  
Working Together ◽  
The Cost

The work is aimed at solving the problem of converting existing diesel power drives to gas fuels, which are cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternatives to diesel fuel. Method of energy efficiency increasing of alternative fuels has been improved. Thermochemical essence of energy increasing of source fuel based on the provisions of thermodynamics is considered. Alternative methanol fuel has been chosen as initial product for conversion process and its cost, energy value, and temperature conditions have been taken into account. Calculations showed that the thermal effect from combustion of the converted mixture of CO and H2 exceeds the effect from combustion of the same amount of non-convertible methanol. Fuel energy and engine power were increased due to thermochemical regeneration of exhaust gas heat. An experimental setup was created to study the operation of a converted diesel engine on methanol conversion products. Experimental studies of power, economic, and environmental parameters of converted diesel engine for methanol conversion products were performed. Experimental studies have shown that conversion of diesel engines to work using methanol conversion products is technically reasonable. Fuel consumption reduction was accompanied by environmental performance improvement of the diesel engine working together with a thermochemical methanol conversion reactor. Formation of nitrogen oxides in the exhaust gases decreased in the range of 22–35%, and carbon monoxide occurred in the range of 0–24% according to the crankshaft speed and loading on the engine. Conversion of diesel engines for methanol conversion products is very profitable, because the price of methanol is, on average, 10–20% of the cost of diesel fuel.

scholarly journals Multistage Bounded Evolutionary Algorithm to Optimize the Design of Sustainable Photovoltaic (PV) Pumping Irrigation Systems with Storage

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 1026 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julián Ignacio Monís ◽  
Rafael López-Luque ◽  
Juan Reca ◽  
Juan Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Optimal Design ◽  
Irrigation System ◽  
Hybrid Approach ◽  
Heuristic Method ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Search Space ◽  
Irrigation Systems ◽  
Space Reduction ◽  
The Cost

Small off-grid photovoltaic (PV) pumping irrigation systems with storage tanks are an environmentally friendly, cost effective and efficient way of taking advantage of solar energy to irrigate crops, and they are increasingly being used today. However, finding the optimal design of this type of system is cumbersome since there are many possible designs. In this work, a new heuristic method based on the hybrid approach, which uses search space reduction, is developed and adapted to the optimal design for this type of PV irrigation system. At different stages, the proposed approach iteratively combines a bounding strategy based on the application of engineering rules with the aim of reducing the search space with a genetic algorithm to find the optimal design within this search space. The proposed methodology was applied to minimize the cost of a benchmark case study consisting of a real farm placed in the province of Almería (Spain). The proposed methodology was able to provide a faster and an accurate convergence due to the reduction of the search space. This fact led to a reduced total cost of the system. This study proved that the most sensitive variables were the number of modules and the type of pump, whereas the diameter of the pipe and volume of the storage tank remained more stable.

scholarly journals A review of experimental studies on sand screen selection for unconsolidated sandstone reservoirs

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 1675-1688
Author(s):  
Nur Aqilah Ahad ◽  
Morteza Jami ◽  
Stephen Tyson
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Experimental Tests ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Sand Production ◽  
Hydrocarbon Production ◽  
Sand Control ◽  
First Choice ◽  
Sandstone Reservoirs ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact

AbstractSand production is a problem that affects hydrocarbon production from unconsolidated sandstone reservoirs. Several factors, such as the strength of the reservoir, its lithification and cementation and reduction in pore pressure, may cause sand to be separated from the rock and transported by hydrocarbons to the well. Producing sand commonly causes erosion and corrosion of downhole and surface equipment, leading to production interruptions and sometimes forces operators to shut-in wells. Several different methods of sand control are available to reduce the impact of sand production. The reviewed papers suggest that the most suitable methods for unconsolidated sandstone reservoirs are stand-alone screens and gravel packs. Because of the cost and complexity of gravel packs, stand-alone screens are usually the first choice. These screens have different geometries, and selection of the most suitable screen depends on the particle size distribution of the grains in the formation and other reservoir and production parameters. A screen retention test, run in a laboratory with screen samples and typical sands, is often used to ensure that the screen is suitable for the reservoir. This paper reviews the main causes of sand production, the properties of unconsolidated sandstones that predispose reservoirs to sand production problems and the selection criteria for the most suitable mitigation method. The process of selecting a screen using experimental screen retention tests is reviewed, and the limitations of these tests are also discussed. Some numerical simulations of experimental tests are also reviewed, since this represents a very cost-effective alternative to laboratory experiments.

Nanoclay for Micropollutant Removal in Wastewater-Effective Alternative?

2014 ◽  
Vol 1024 ◽  
pp. 11-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamad Faiz Mohd Amin ◽  
S.G.J. Heijman ◽  
L.C. Rietveld
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Treatment Method ◽  
Priority Substances ◽  
Micropollutant Removal ◽  
Receiving Waters ◽  
New Treatment ◽  
The Cost

The effluent of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is an important source of priority substances and is, therefore, one of the bottlenecks in achieving the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) objectives. At various locations in the Netherlands, standard for priority substances are exceeded. The current concern regarding the cost and treatment method of these micropollutants in receiving waters may call for new approaches in wastewater treatment. In this study, a new treatment alternative is developed to remove micropollutant and wastewater parameter effectively and in a more cost effective way. A potential solution is the used of clay coupled with biodegradable polymer flocculants. Clay is naturally abundant and relatively inexpensive compared to currently conventional used adsorbent which can also act as coagulants. Experimental studies were carried out with four different nanoclay to select the best nanoclay for further optimisation. The atrazine removal percentage archived is in the range of 10-99% based on the nanoclay concentration of 0.01-50 g/L. Optimisation of best nanoclay performer leads towards atrazine reduction of >99% with dosage of 0.1 g/L. The best and underperformed nanoclay then tested in other experiments with the addition of cationic starch flocculants. In this experiment, the addition of polymer increased the atrazine removal for the underperformer nanoclay to 46% with only 0.01 g/L clay dosages. This new approach in dealing with both micropollutant and wastewater parameter is promising and might help in reducing the compound concentration and the operational cost. However, further analysis and optimisation is required before any conclusion can be made.

Sewer infiltration/inflow: long-term monitoring based on diurnal variation of pollutant mass flux

2009 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Bareš ◽  
D. Stránský ◽  
P. Sýkora
Keyword(s):  
Surface Waters ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Time Step ◽  
Sewer System ◽  
Pollutant Load ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Water Quality And Quantity ◽  
Term Monitoring

The paper deals with a method for quantification of infiltrating groundwater based on the variation of diurnal pollutant load and continuous water quality and quantity monitoring. Although the method gives us the potential to separate particular components of wastewater hygrograph, several aspects of the method should be discussed. Therefore, the paper investigates the cost-effectiveness, the relevance of pollutant load from surface waters (groundwater) and the influence of measurement time step. These aspects were studied in an experimental catchment of Prague sewer system, Czech Republic, within a three-month period. The results indicate high contribution of parasitic waters on night minimal discharge. Taking into account the uncertainty of the results and time-consuming maintenance of the sensor, the principal advantages of the method are evaluated. The study introduces a promising potential of the discussed measuring concept for quantification of groundwater infiltrating into the sewer system. It is shown that the conventional approach is sufficient and cost-effective even in those catchments, where significant contribution of foul sewage in night minima would have been assumed.

The IBM-PC in electron microscopy

1996 ◽  
Vol 54 ◽  
pp. 612-613
Author(s):  
James F. Mancuso
Keyword(s):  
Head Start ◽  
Image Acquisition ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Financial Applications ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
Instrument Control ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Training And Support ◽  
Control Image ◽  
Ibm Pc

IBM PC compatible computers are widely used in microscopy for applications ranging from control to image acquisition and analysis. The choice of IBM-PC based systems over competing computer platforms can be based on technical merit alone or on a number of factors relating to economics, availability of peripherals, management dictum, or simple personal preference.IBM-PC got a strong “head start” by first dominating clerical, document processing and financial applications. The use of these computers spilled into the laboratory where the DOS based IBM-PC replaced mini-computers. Compared to minicomputer, the PC provided a more for cost-effective platform for applications in numerical analysis, engineering and design, instrument control, image acquisition and image processing. In addition, the sitewide use of a common PC platform could reduce the cost of training and support services relative to cases where many different computer platforms were used. This could be especially true for the microscopists who must use computers in both the laboratory and the office.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document