Assessment of the Potential Use of Shallow Geothermal Energy Source for Air Heating and Cooling in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

A large part of the total energy consumption in buildings in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (K.S.A.), is devoted to air cooling. This leads to high electricity costs for residents and a high amount of equivalent CO2 emissions. The work presented in this paper aims at evaluating and applying shallow geothermal energy for cooling and heating to reduce cost and environmental issues in the Kingdom. The system is based on the earth-air heat exchanger (EAHE) equipped with an air circulation fan. In this study, six cities have been selected; Madinah city, where our university is located, and five other cities representing five different climatic zones. A new parameter called “geothermal percentage” is proposed to calculate the ratio of geothermal energy to the cooling/heating total load. It has been shown that the proposed system covers part of the cooling load and the total heating needs for almost all the country’s territory. However, both heating and cooling needs can be fulfilled by the EAHE for few cities such as Guriiat and Khamis, characterized by a moderate climate.

Healthcare Waste, Pandemic Covid-19: A Case of India

The present pandemic, while causing economic slowdown and global panic, also generated healthcare waste in unprecedented amounts across the globe, due to mass screenings/diagnosing/treatment. This paper aims to explore the prospects of the current and future challenges with respect to the risk to human health due to environmental contamination with the healthcare waste generated as a result of and caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in the Indian context. Peer-reviewed literature with respect to healthcare waste generation during the pandemic, its burden, challenges, and policies promulgated during the pandemic and their implications for the future was searched on various databases like PubMed, Google Scholar, and Science Direct and reviewed. Many research studies and international reports have demonstrated that the quantity of biomedical waste has increased in the times of the Covid-19 pandemic across the globe. Additionally, the danger of general waste getting contaminated has also multiplied, in part due to increased quarantine facilities and home quarantines, along with hospitals managing Covid-19 patients and also due to inadequate segregation at the point of generation of such waste, which is a major concern in itself. The occupational exposure of this increased waste to hospital and municipal waste collection workers has also increased, though World Health Organization (WHO) declines having any evidence of transmission of coronavirus while handling healthcare waste. Enough policies existed before the pandemic and few newer guidelines are also issued to address various additional aspects, which are to be implemented to manage the healthcare waste, minimize threats to the environment and human health. Cleaner, greener waste management facilities, the inclusion of bio-disaster in disaster management, the social impact of waste management policies, and waste reduction are to be prioritized.

Study of Some Indicators of Environmental Pollution of Surface Soil for the City of Touggourt (Southeast Algeria)

Soil is contaminated with various potentially harmful metals (PTMs). Therefore, the adequate protection of soil from contamination is imperative, as the soil is regarded as the primary cradle for living and environmental balance. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to assess the contamination level by PTMs in Touggourt city, where soil samples have been collected randomly from 18 sites. These sites included manufacturing companies and institutions belonging to the industrial region of Touggourt city. The concentrations of six PTMs - zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), lead (Pb) and manganese (Mn) were assessed using the atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) instrument as well as the application of the modern pollution indices such as CF (Contamination Factor), PLI (Pollution Load Index) and EF (Enrichment Factor). The highest values of contamination factor (CF) for Zn, Fe, Co, Cu, and Pb were 0.605, 1.605, 0.277, 0.05, 0.438, and 0.01, respectively, and the highest value of pollution load index (PLI) was 0.139, while the results of enrichment factor (EF) for the Zn, Mn, Co, Cu and Pb metals were 2.608, 0.060, 0.740, 0.122, and 2.358, respectively. According to these pollution indices, the results of this study have indicated that human effects or industrial wastes and traffic, in particular, were the sources of heavy metal contaminating the studied region.

Biodiesel-Alkaline Transesterification Process for Methyl Ester Production

The world needs to increase renewable and alternative fuel sources such as Biomass, Bioethanol, and Biodiesel to compete with fossil fuels. Biodiesel is an important renewable fuel source since it can be used in regular diesel vehicles without requiring engine modifications. Conventional biodiesel production takes around 90 min of reaction time. A longer reaction time is not suitable for commercial production. Furthermore, traditional products such as oil react with biodiesel methoxide to produce a maximum of 90% biodiesel yield. As the catalyst is not involved with the reaction, pure methanol and methoxide (methanol with KOH catalyst) are separately added to the system to enhance the pre-reaction step. By changing the methanol to methoxide ratio, biodiesel is produced, and yield is calculated. The highest yield, which is 95%, is obtained with a 5:15% methanol to methoxide ratio. The total reaction time with the new experimental procedure is only 20 min. That is a significant reduction by saving operating costs such as energy consumption. Produced biodiesel show similar properties to that of standard biodiesel.

Current Approach to Develop TiO2 Thin Film as Photocatalysts for Low-Density Plastic Degradation

Low-density plastic bags waste disposal is a big issue in the current scenario which gives rise to grave threats to human beings and environmental health also. Amid the various approaches applied for dealing with the problem, photocatalytic biodegradation in visible light irradiation is an advanced prospect that has received attention nowadays. The present review paper is to provide an outline of the current progress on the synthesis of titania (TiO2) thin-film photocatalysts for solid waste removal. The Photocatalysis method contains the photoinduced redox reactions in the photocatalyst which facilitates the degrading of almost organic compounds like polyethylene into carbon dioxide (CO2), water, and other substance. One of the most excellent photocatalysts which has grabbed attention in an application is titania because of its high photocatalytic activity and chemical stability. The synthesis of the photocatalyst as a thin film is a result of the unfeasible application of conventional powder photocatalyst which may cause a certain environmental hazard. The photocatalyst-coated thin film along with some environmental applications have also been reviewed. Likewise, various approaches for modifying thin-film property, film deposition techniques, and deposition on various substrates are used for the enhanced photocatalytic activity of the TiO2 thin film.

Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Analysis of Sewage Sludge Recycling Systems in China

With the acceleration of economic development and urbanization in China, sewage sludge generation has sharply increased. To maximize energy regeneration and resource recovery, it is crucial to analyze the environmental impact and sustainability of different sewage sludge recycling systems based on life cycle assessment. This study analyzed four sewage sludge recycling systems in China through life cycle assessment using the ReCipe method, namely aerobic composting, anaerobic digestion and biomass utilization, incineration, and heat utilization and using for building materials. In particular, the key pollution processes and pollutants in sewage sludge recycling systems were analyzed. The results demonstrated that aerobic composting is the most environmentally optimal scenario for reducing emissions and energy consumption. The lowest environmental impact and operating costs were achieved by making bricks and using them as building materials; this was the optimal scenario for sludge treatment and recycling. In contrast, incineration and heat utilization had the highest impact on health and marine toxicity. Anaerobic digestion and biomass utilization had the highest impact on climate change, terrestrial acidification, photochemical oxidant formation, and particulate matter formation. In the future, policy designers should prioritize building material creation for sludge treatment and recycling.

Recognition of Image-Based Plant Leaf Diseases Using Deep Learning Classification Models

Plant diseases are spread by a variety of pests, weeds, and pathogens and may have a devastating effect on agriculture, if not handled in a timely manner. Farmers face umpteen challenges from a proper water supply, untimely rain, storage facilities, and several plant diseases. Crops disease is the primary threat and it causes enormous loss to farmers in terms of production and finance. Identifying the disease from several hectares of agricultural land is a very difficult practice even with the presence of modern technology. Accurate and rapid illness prediction for early illness treatment to crops minimizes economical loss to the individual and further proves to be productive for healthy crops. Many studies use modern deep learning approaches to improve the accuracy and performance of object detection and identification systems. The suggested method notifies farmers of different agricultural illnesses, prompting them to take further essential precautions before the disease spreads to the whole agricultural field. The primary objective of this study is to detect the illnesses as soon as they begin to spread on the leaves of the plants. Super-Resolution Convolutional Neural Network (SRCNN) and Bicubic models are employed in the system to identify healthy and diseased leaves with an accuracy of 99.175 % and 99.156 % respectively.

GIS-Based Surface Runoff Modeling Using Empirical Technique For A River Basin In South India

Precipitation is the primary source of fresh water in the world. Surface runoff will happen when the amount of rainfall is greater than the soil’s infiltration capacity. In most water resource applications, runoff is the most important hydrological variable. Aside from these rainfall characteristics, there are a number of catchment-specific elements that have a direct impact on runoff amount and volume. This research focuses on estimating surface runoff over the lower Vellar basin, a river basin in the southern part of India, by integrating Soil Conservation Service-Curve Number (SCS-CN) method with GIS. This technique is one of the most common methods used by hydrologists for estimating surface runoff. Curve Number (CN) is an index established by the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) to denote the potential for stormwater runoff. The nature of the watershed is explored first by creating land use and land cover pattern followed by the preparation of slope, drainage, and location maps. The area taken for this study is the lower Vellar basin situated in the Cuddalore District of Tamil Nadu, India. The curve number is analyzed using the rainfall data of 15 years (2001-2015) and the runoff is being calculated. The watershed pattern of the study area is also explored being analyzed and executed. Preservation of the runoff water is also discussed.

Characterization and Assessment of Stormwater Runoff Quality from Automobile Workshops in Nigeria Using Multivariate Linear Regression

An investigation into the pollution of stormwater runoff from automobile workshops in Nigeria was performed. Also, multivariate regression was used to predict the pH, oil, and grease (O&G) as well as the electrical conductivity (EC) in relation to the characteristics of the solids and metals pollutants of the untreated automobile workshop stormwater. The results indicated that automobile workshops contributed notable amounts of pollutants to stormwater runoff. Results were compared with Nigerian and USEPA standards. It was found that most of the parameters had mean value ranges far greater than standard limits. The multivariate regression showed variations in the results obtained from different automobile workshops. These variations could be due to the influence of factors such as the volume of automobile servicing activities and the waste generated from these activities that flow in the stormwater runoff. However, the bulk of the EC and pH of the stormwater were associated with the concentrations of the total dissolved solids and copper while the bulk of the O&G concentration was associated with the concentrations of lead and cadmium. It is recommended to treat automobile workshop stormwater to prevent detrimental effects in aquatic systems. Future research is aimed at modeling such treatment using multivariate regression techniques is warranted.

Development of Eco-friendly Adsorbent Pellets from Low Fire Clay and Potato Starch for Potential Use in Methylene Blue Removal in Aquaculture

Mesoporous clay-starch ceramic pellets have been prepared using silica-rich low fire clay and potato starch as a pore-forming agent. The ceramic pellets prepared using 30% starch, showed the highest porosity and lowest compressive strength among all the different pellets. Batch mode studies using the pellets showed higher methylene blue adsorption capacity with an increase in time and increased initial dye concentration. The adsorption capacity was found to decrease with increasing pellet dose, while pH had a negligible effect on methylene blue removal which makes them a suitable adsorbent in both acidic and basic mediums. Adsorption isotherm analysis of the process was followed by the Langmuir adsorption isotherm whereas the kinetics analysis fitted well with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. A low-cost, simple device was made from a stainless-steel wire mesh with mesoporous ceramic pellets enclosed in it, which can easily be dipped and taken out of an aquarium and can remove methylene blue from water.