Predicting Slump Values of Concrete Made by Pozzolans and Manufactured Sand using ANN

Large amounts of natural fine aggregate (NFA) and cement are used in building, which has major environmental consequences. This view of industrial waste can be used in part as an alternative to cement and part of the sand produced by the crusher as fine aggregate, similar to slag sand (GGBFS), fly ash, metacaolin, and silica fume. Many times, there are issues with the fresh characteristics of concrete when using alternative materials. The ANN tool is used in this paper to develop a Matlab software model that collapses concrete made with pozzolanic material and partially replaces natural fine aggregate (NFA) with manufactured sand (MS). Predict. The slump test was carried out in reference with I.S11991959, and the findings were used to create the artificial neural network (ANN) model. To mimic the formation, a total of 131 outcome values are employed, with 20% being used for model testing and 80% being used for model training. 25 enter the material properties to determine the concrete slump achieved by partially substituting pozzolan for cement and artificial sand (MS) for natural fine aggregate (NFA). According to studies, the workability of concrete is critically harmed as the amount of artificial sand replacing natural sand grows. The ANN model's results are extremely accurate, and they can forecast the slump of concrete prepared by partly substituting natural fine aggregate (NFA) and artificial sand (MS) with pozzolan.

Impacts of a saline water control project on aquaculture livelihoods in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta

PurposeDrought and salinity intrusion aggravated by climate change threaten agricultural livelihoods in Viet Nan's Mekong Delta. In response, authorities have built water management infrastructure for irrigation and salinity protection. This study assessed the impact of one such project, the Ba Lai dam in Ben Tre province, on the livelihoods of aquaculture farmers.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework to assess the impact of the Ba Lai dam on the livelihood capitals of 18 farming households in four communes, located both upstream and downstream of the dam.FindingsThe authors find that, apart from some positive effects, the dam has also brought negative environmental consequences, such as increased water pollution. The authors also find that farmers have responded to the changes by adapting their livelihood practices.Research limitations/implicationsThe samples were relatively small, encompassing four communes in Ben Tre province. On the other hand, this case study is instructive to the many ongoing infrastructure projects in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta.Social implicationsThe project have caused an increase in water-related social conflict.Originality/valueThe case of the Ba Lai dam provides a cautionary example for infrastructure-based water management plans, both in Viet Nam and more broadly. The study suggests the need to strengthen community participation and prioritize impacts of farmers' capital assets when constructing water management infrastructure for climate change adaptation.

Investigating the Human Impacts and the Environmental Consequences of Microplastics Disposal into Water Resources

During the last decades, one of the most contentious environmental issues has been the investigation of the fate of microplastics (MPs) and detrimental consequences in natural and water resources worldwide. In this respect, it is critical research firstly to track the ways in which MPs are determined as key anthropogenic pollutants in terms of ecological risk and secondly to plan feasible policies under which the role of science and society in tackling this global issue in the future should be prioritized. In this study, a systematic theoretical, technical, and planning analysis was developed in alignment with a Scopus search deployed in the second half of the year 2021 and covering a wide chronological range (from 1970s onwards) and thematic contexts of analysis by using keywords and key phrases organized into two groups. The document results were graphically represented, revealing the main scientific focus of studies. Subsequently, our study investigated the quantitative assessment methods of MPs in marine environments, denoting the range of standard procedures applied for collecting and analyzing samples of water, bottom sediments, and coastal deposits. The technological part of the study includes the presentation of the relevant analytical techniques applied for MPs tracking and monitoring in water resources, determining the wide spectrum of plastic compounds traced. Of particular interest was the determination of environmental depletion and human implications caused, even by extremely low concentrations of MPs, for marine biota, posing potential risks to marine ecosystems, biodiversity, and food availability. Finally, the research proposed the challenges of actions needed to support scientific, industry, policy, and civil society communities to curb the ongoing flow of MPs and the toxic chemicals they contain into water resources, while rethinking the ways of plastics consumption by humanity.

Development of Animal Fibres Composites for Construction Applications

Climate change has become one of the world’s leading threats. Currently, the construction industry has a high environmental footprint. For this reason, the scientific and technological sector is looking for new materials to reduce the environmental consequences of this division. It is well known that the valorisation of different by-products can contribute to the reduction of the energy global consumption and CO2 emissions. Magnesium Phosphate Cement (MPC) can be obtained by using Low Grade Magnesium Oxide (LG-MgO) as a by-product from the industrial process of magnesite calcination. In this research, a Sustainable MPC (Sust-MPC) for different construction purposes is developed by using LG-MgO along with monopotassium phosphate KH2PO4 (MKP) as raw materials. The increasing use of synthetic fibres in clothing, as well as China’s competitive prices on Animal Fibres (AF) market, have led to a commercial interest fibre decrease for wool-like AF in Spain. This study aims to formulate a Sust-MPC cement with Animal Fibre (AF) to reduce the cost of the new material (Sust-MPC-AF) and to increase the thermal insulation, allowing the use of Sust-MPC-AF in several potential applications. Besides, it should be emphasized that the final pH of Sust-MPC is neutral, which allows containing natural fibres. To develop Sust-MPC-AF, some properties such as thermal conductivity, density, Modulus of Elasticity (MoE), flexural strength, and economic cost were evaluated using the Design of Experiments (DoE). The DoE studies allowed obtaining a model for further optimization considering minimum thermal conductivity and cost dosages. The formulation 30L-25EW presents the minimum conductivity (λ=0.140 W·m-1·K-1). Therefore, two optimal dosages (36L-25EW and 24L-22EW) are obtained by considering mixing variables such as AF/Cement ratio (AF/C) and AF/Extra Water ratio (AF/EW).

Pipeline Leak Detection and Estimation Using Fuzzy PID Observer

A pipe is a ubiquitous product in the industries that is used to convey liquids, gases, or solids suspended in a liquid, e.g., a slurry, from one location to another. Both internal and external cracking can result in structural failure of the industrial piping system and possibly decrease the service life of the equipment. The chaos and complexity associated with the uncertain behaviour inherent in pipeline systems lead to difficulty in detection and localisation of leaks in real time. The timely detection of leakage is important in order to reduce the loss rate and serious environmental consequences. The objective of this paper is to propose a new leak detection method based on an autoregressive with exogenous input (ARX) Laguerre fuzzy proportional-integral-derivative (PID) observation system. The objective of this paper is to propose a new leak detection method based on an autoregressive with exogenous input (ARX) Laguerre fuzzy proportional-integral-derivative (PID) observation system. In this work, the ARX–Laguerre model has been used to generate better performance in the presence of uncertainty. According to the results, the proposed technique can detect leaks accurately and effectively.

A review of Brazilian agro-industrial pig farming systems: environmental impacts and applied anaerobic digestion processes with mineral additives

The agro-industrial systems comprise activities which transform raw materials of agricultural, aquacultural, livestock and forestry industries from primary production stages to consumption. Pig farming stands out in national and international markets for agro-industrial processes such as slaughtering and meat processing. Although this sector positively contributes to the economies of several countries, the high flow of waste resulting from implementing integrated production systems has led to serious environmental consequences (e.g., polluted water bodies and Greenhouse Gases - GHGs emissions). Among the treatment methods, anaerobic digestion reduces the organic load of biomass in the absence of oxygen, generating biogas and organic fertilizer. However, there are limitations associated with high CH4 variability and low yield, resulting a minimal and slow implementation in Brazil. Some research has reported the use of mineral additives to optimize the digestion process. This study comprises a bibliographic review of pig farming systems and production models, followed by an analysis on a global scale and environmental consequences. It is also discussed the use of additive minerals which have been applied in anaerobic digestion of swine manure as well as some prospects for global advances with opportunities to mitigate GHGs and bottlenecks. Despite being a promising technology, detailed evaluations of the use of these additives and their implementation in treatment plants must still be carried out in such a way to understand the optimization of such process.

Environmental Consequences of Soil Erosion

Soil is one of the most valuable natural resources. Despite soil importance, the pressures on soil have increased in recent decades. Soil degradation is a critical and growing problem, whereby soil erosion presents a prevailing process compared to other degradative processes. The intensity of erosion depends on the topography, climate conditions, soil characteristics, human activities, and the presence of vegetation. In this chapter, the diverse factors that cause soil erosion have been evaluated. The level of damage associated with soil erosion has been analyzed, with emphasis on the impacts they may have on the global carbon cycle, phosphorus loss, dust emissions, eutrophication, and soil biodiversity.

A Bibliographic Analysis of E-Waste Recycling Research

The tremendous increase in the amount of e-waste and its impact on the environment and human health is a concern for the whole world. The low rate of recycling of e-waste as compared to the rate at which e-waste is increasing is a matter of concern and needs immediate action. Negative environmental consequences of e-waste have prompted the interest of both academia and industry alike. The objective of the study is to study the yearly growth pattern for the last 20 years, recognize relevant scholars, and explore collaborations among various institutes, authors, and countries over time. The study also intends to identify any shift in the field of e-waste recycling. So to better understand the development of this field in the past 20 years, its required to study the yearly growth pattern of publication and to identify the relevant collaborations among authors, institutes, and countries that contributed to this field. In line with this, this study is conducted to examine the research landscape of e-waste recycling by using comprehensive bibliometric analysis.