WSEAS Transactions on
Environment and Development
Contents:
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Print ISSN: 1790-5079
E-ISSN: 2224-3496
Volume 11, 2015
Notice: As of 2014 and for the forthcoming years, the publication frequency/periodicity of WSEAS Journals is adapted to the 'continuously updated' model. What this means is that instead of being separated into issues, new papers will be added on a continuous basis, allowing a more regular flow and shorter publication times. The papers will appear in reverse order, therefore the most recent one will be on top.
Volume 11, 2015
Title of the Paper: Quantifying Potential Socioeconomic Displacements and Land Use Conflicts in Prospective Mining Villages in Ghana
Authors: Abdul-Wadood Moomen
Abstract: This study advances that quantifying the potential cost of the mining industry’s activities on local communities’ livelihood can be an efficient tool for managing company-community land use conflicts. A case study is conducted in the emerging Ghana’s North-west gold province. The study combines and uses primary and secondary data that were obtained during two fieldworks. The livelihood activities of 55 sample villages were inventoried and characterised using techniques of regional science. Furthermore, Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and Geographic Information Science (GIS) tools are integrated. These tools are used to develop land use extents base maps of 53 out of the 55 sample villages. The study finds agriculture, manufacturing, wholesale and retail as the major livelihood sectors in the communities. A coefficient of specialisation (LQ) > 1 in non-agricultural livelihood is found in over 75% of the villages; and a location association (La) > 50 between the industries. The study also quantifies the interactions between village space and mining land use interests. The minimum village area potentially displaced by exploration and mining leases is 90 ha, and the maximum is from 2861 to 4576 ha. Following the location association between industries, a displacement of villages’ space will have a cumulative effect on major aspects of the local economy. The findings can enhance sustainable mining, local communities’ empowerment, and benchmark indicators for land use conflicts management in Africa.
Keywords: Village, mining, land-use, conflicts, displacement, livelihood, District
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #35, pp. 325-342
Title of the Paper: Neural Network and Time Series Analysis Approaches in Predicting Electricity Consumption of Public Transportation Vehicles
Authors: Claudio Guarnaccia, Joseph Quartieri, Carmine Tepedino, Svetoslav Iliev, Silviya Popova
Abstract: Public transportation is a relevant issue to be considered in urban planning and in network design, thus efficient management of modern electrical transport systems is a very important but difficult task. Tram and trolley-bus transport in Sofia, Bulgaria, is largely developed. It is one of the largest consumers of electricity in the city, which makes the question of electricity prediction very important for its operation. In fact, they are required to notify the energy provider about the expected energy consumption for a given time range. In this paper, two models are presented and compared in terms of predictive performances and error distributions: one is based on Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and the other on Time Series Analysis (TSA) methods. They will be applied to the energy consumption related to public transportation, observed in Sofia, during 2011, 2012 and 2013. The main conclusion will be that the ANN model is much more precise but requires more preliminary information and computational efforts, while the TSA model, against some errors, shows a low demanding input entries and a lower power of calculation. In addition, the ANN model has a lower time range of prediction, since it needs many recent inputs in order to produce the output. On the contrary, the TSA model prediction, once the model has been calibrated on a certain time range, can be extended at any time period.
Keywords: Neural Network, Time Series Analysis, Electricity consumption prediction, Public transportation
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #34, pp. 312-324
Title of the Paper: Measurements of the Quality of Rainwater Run-Off and its Potential for Savings of Potable Water in TUKE Campus
Authors: Gabriel Markovic, Zuzana Vranayova
Abstract: Rainwater harvesting is significant nowadays because in our conditions we face unsustainability in water management in general and there are also many countries around the world being confronted by new approaches and changes. The main objective of this article is to evaluate the potential for potable water savings by using rainwater in buildings of TUKE campus for the planned concept of rainwater management for TUKE campus, measurements and evaluation of volume of incoming rainwater from the roof of the actual building PK6 and also information about the quality of rain water from this building located at the TUKE (Technical University of Kosice) campus site.
Keywords: potable water, rainwater harvesting, rainwater harvested from surface runoff, quality of water
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #33, pp. 302-311
Title of the Paper: Parametric Sensitivity in Geoengineering and Controlling the Weather and Climate
Authors: Sergei A. Soldatenko, Rafael M. Yusupov
Abstract: From the standpoint of control theory, the Earth’s climate system (ECS) can be considered as a self-regulating feedback cybernetic system, in which the climate system itself represents control object and the role of controller is given to human operators. Mathematical modelling is one of the most suitable and reasonable instruments to study the ECS and to explore climate manipulation (geoengineering) and weather modification technologies. This is because of the extreme complexity of the ECS as physical object. Mathematical modelling allows describing large-scale interventions in the ECS parametrically. Consequently, the efficiency of geoengineering methods can be estimated by studying the sensitivity of ECS models with respect to variations in their input parameters that reflect the influence of external man-made forcing. In this paper, we will discuss the use of sensitivity analysis in climate engineering and controlling the weather and climate problems. Certain critical issues that can arise will be also considered.
Keywords: Geoengineering, climate manipulation, weather modification, climate change, optimal control, sensitivity analysis
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #32, pp. 289-301
Title of the Paper: Integrated Building Water Management Options
Authors: Daniela Kaposztasova, Martina Rysulova, Pavol Purcz
Abstract: Using alternative water sources is the way how to ensure the sustainable water management and treat with potable water carefully. How we can treat water carefully? If we focus on buildings water management, there are several ways, how we can preserve wasting of potable water, what is the usual event in building water treatment. The decision to collect and use alternative water sources may be influenced by a range of factors. It reflects the adaptability of water uses to the changes of environment, and the ability to make long-term development strategy of possible water use in building to the characteristic and various regulations of building cycle and water sources. According to raising charges for water and sewerage, we can expect that using grey water systems become more popular and more attractive not just for user but also for investors. The aim is to show all combination of portfolios of proposed water strategies and to describe how we can treat with this source of water, and demonstrate its potential utilization at the building level.
Keywords: user habits, saving potential, water portfolios, grey water, potable water, well water, rainwater, AHP
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #31, pp. 282-288
Title of the Paper: Renewing Bus Fleet into Diesel Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles: Environmental Implications in a Medium-Size City in Italy
Authors: Armando Carteni
Abstract: In urban and metropolitan area, the transport sector significantly contributes in terms of both fuel consumption and pollutant emissions. In this context the ex-ante evaluation (through quantitative methods) and the implementation of sustainable policies must be a central aim for urban mobility. Many papers deal with the importance to take rational decisions to improve the transportation system (.eg. Cascetta et al., 2015). The idea of this paper is to propose an ECO-rational transportation planning, that means acting in the best possible way considering the men’s health and the environment’s benefits (ECO-logocal) and are sustainable for an economic point of view (ECO-nomical). Starting from this definition, the question proposed is: are the so called “common” sustainable transport policies always eco-rational? For example the renewal of vehicle fleet; the use of light goods vehicles for urban distribution, the introduction of a restricted area in the city center, are always rational interventions? In this research I have tried to partially answered to this question, estimating the environmental impacts of using electric and/or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles for renewing the bus fleet for public transport services in an Italian medium size city. Results of the estimation show that updating (renewing) the 30% of the Salerno public transport bus fleet into electric vehicles the fuel consumption and the equivalent CO2 emissions will reduced to -7.2%, while the PM10 will reduced up to -10.0%. By contrast, from an economical point of view, the high acquisition cost for electric buses and the inefficiencies deriving from the low autonomy of the batteries suggest that this scenario is not “eco-rational”. The simulation results deriving from the renewing a percentage of the bus fleet into a diesel plug-in hybrid electric vehicles show comparable environmental impacts (scenario with bus equipped with two batteries for a double autonomy) and is economically sustainable with an investment cost of 4.8 millions of Euro and a payback period of about 10 years.
Keywords: Environmental models, transportation planning, sustainable mobility, greenhouse gas and particulate matter emissions, fuel consumption, ex-ante analysis
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #30, pp. 272-281
Title of the Paper: Green Roofs Hydrological Performance under Different Climate Conditions
Authors: Mirka Mobilia, Antonia Longobardi, Joachim Friedrich Sartor
Abstract: Green roof can provide a significant reduction of stormwater runoff in urban areas where stormwater management is increasing because urbanized areas are quickly replacing natural places with a consequent huge increase in impervious surfaces. In this study, runoff reduction assessment for a virtual green roof is provided under different weather conditions, with special reference to the characteristics of precipitation and evaporating power of the atmosphere. In particular, the Mediterranean and Oceanic climate settings have been considered, with the use of local weather data to run long term, seasonal and single events simulations. On short time scales simulations, the virtual green roof performs similarly as the runoff reduction approaches a total mitigation. On the long term time scales, the green roof provides good performances in both climatic conditions, even though it seems to outperform in northern latitude climates, as in some seasons there can be a total mitigation of runoff. To improve the performances, in terms of runoff reduction, of Mediterranean areas, which amount to 60%, the depth of the greening rooftops and therefore its weight has to considerably increase, entailing an increase green infrastructure and underlying traditional concrete roof costs.
Keywords: Green roofs, stormwater management, climate impact, sustainable urban drainage
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #29, pp. 264-271
Title of the Paper: Hexavalent Chromium Determination in Waste from Leather Industry Using Spectrophotometric Methods
Authors: Pavel Kocurek, Hana Vašková, Karel Kolomazník, Michaela Bařinová
Abstract: Focus of this paper is the description of common used methods for hexavalent chromium measurement. This work is focused especially on commonly available spectrophotometric method based on the reaction with 1,5-diphenylcarbazide, because not every laboratory is equipped with modern devices for this pollutant measurement,. Special attention was focused on the variability possibilities of the basic spectrophotometric method with practical demonstration of individual variants, some critical points and moments in laboratory conditions using real samples containing hexavalent chromium. Among others, there are mentioned other spectrophotometric methods with which we do not meet often. Confirmation of presence of hexavalent chromium in samples was performed also by Raman spectroscopy and use of this method was discussed too.
Keywords: Leather waste, hexavalent chromium, measurement variability, spectrophotometric method, 1,5-diphenylcarbazide, Raman spectroscopy
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #28, pp. 256-263
Title of the Paper: A Novel Model for Uncertainty Propagation Analysis Applied for Human Thermal Comfort Evaluation
Authors: Andrea Manuello Bertetto, Luigi Antonio Besalduch, Edmondo Minisci, Martin Kubicek, Roberto Ricciu
Abstract: The comfort sensation is mainly affected by six variables: air temperature, mean radiant temperature, air velocity, relative humidity, personal metabolism and clothing insulation. These are characterized by different mean values and distributions. To analyze the uncertainty propagation three numerical models are used: the Fully Monte Carlo Simulation MCSs, the Monte Carlo Simulation Trials MCSt, and a novel model named "Adaptive Derivative based High Dimensional Model Representation" (AD-HDMR). In the paper these three different methods are applied to the thermal comfort evaluation, through the PMV Index, they are analyzed and their efficiency was verified in terms of computational time. To allow a revision of this index, the effect of the different variables was then analyzed.
Keywords: Mathematical models, Statistical analysis, Thermal comfort, Engineering physics
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #27, pp. 246-255
Title of the Paper: Air Pollution Dispersion in Segments of Urban Areas
Authors: Jiri Pospisil, Michal S. Pilacek, Martin Lisy
Abstract: The paper presents results of numerical calculation of pollutants dispersion in segments of urban areas. Geometry of the typical segments of urban area was transformed in numerical models built up from hexagonal finite elements. The solution domains represent areas of 1 × 1 km. Traffic is considered as the primary source of airborne particles. Dispersion of pollutants from the traffic path in direction perpendicular to the traffic path is monitored as important parameter for subsequent simplified prediction of air pollution concentration in urban areas. Deposition of particles is described by inclusion of Brownian diffusivity and eddy diffusivity in close vicinity of the surfaces. The relation of PM10 concentration and perpendicular distance from the line source was used for evaluation of the PM10 dispersion intensity. Numerical modelling (CFD code StarCD) was used as the computational code for carried out studies. The Eulerian approach of the particle dispersion was engaged. The parametrical study was focused on assessment of pollutant dispersion from line sources surrounded by the buildings with various configurations.
Keywords: particulate matter, CFD modelling, dispersion, particulate matter, line source
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #26, pp. 237-245
Title of the Paper: Pre-Assessment of a Low-Temperature Geothermal and Solar ORC System for Power Co-Generation: the Effi Low Res Approach
Authors: M. Gr. Vrachopoulos, N. S. Tachos, M. K. Koukou, G. K. Karanasiou, C. Karytsas, P. Tsekouras, V. Drosou
Abstract: Under the auspices of Effi low res project an ORC power generation unit working at low temperatures with improved overall efficiency will be developed. The performance of the ORC unit that will exploit low temperature energy sources (solar and geothermal) will be optimized so as to make it cost effective. The research focuses on the preliminary design of the ORC apparatus giving technical specifications that comprises working fluid selection, sizing of solar plant, heat exchangers and expanders and other auxiliary equipment. Modeling techniques have been applied to study the performance of refrigerants selected for the specific application so as to justify the selection of the most suitable refrigerant for process optimization. As it is shown R134a as a working fluid is an optimal solution based on the balance of three factors studied: required amount of heat, mass flow rate and cost.
Keywords: ORC, geothermal energy, solar energy, refrigerant
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #25, pp. 228-236
Title of the Paper: Ecological Efficiency Assessment of a Specific Machine for Distribution of Pesticides in Vineyards of Apulian Region
Authors: Ferruccio Giametta, Lucio Brunetti, Roberto Romaniello, Biagio Bianchi
Abstract: The goal of the present research was to assess, through field tests, the environmental performance of a prototype of tunnel sprayer machine, specifically designed for the distribution of pesticides in Apulian espalier vineyards which cover a significant percentage of the national wine producing area, whereas there are no machines designed to meet the agronomic requirements of these crops. The tests were characterized by a comparison between the prototype and a standard air sprayer, so also an assessment of the off-target during different distributions. The operating agronomic and weather conditions were extremely adverse: wind speeds exceeding 15 km/h, not pruning crop and, in one of the tests, speed of the machine close to the upper limit for the treated crops. Despite the conditions in which the tests were carried out, by the use of the prototype, the event of the drift affected an area at less than 4 m from the sprayed row, significantly reducing the risk of contamination of nearby crops and housing; it was, however, found the limit by the panels of not ensuring total effectiveness of containment of the drops, which led to high leakage into the ground (risk of moving to more far areas) even if only in correspondence of the row adjacent to the sprayed one. Overall, the prototype allows a recovery of the sprayed product by at least 19%, which results in a lower environmental impact and lower costs of crop protection.
Keywords: Tunnel sprayer prototype, Apulian vineyard, spray deposition on the ground, spray dispersion in atmosphere, off-target recovering
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #24, pp. 219-227
Title of the Paper: Sick Building Syndrome Suppressing by Room Ventilation
Authors: Karel Adamek, Jan Kolar, Pavel Peukert
Abstract: The paper deals with the problem of so-called “sick building syndrome”, typical for air-tight rooms and buildings without natural or artificial ventilation where the pollutant concentrations (heat, moisture, CO2, etc.) are increasing and make problems, sometimes dangerous, during the use of the room. Typical problems are for instance higher air humidity, water condensation, mould growth etc. The presented results of numerical flow simulations, simulated for the conditions of Central Europe, are made for the cold winter period and present that simple measures can remedy such unsuitable state, practically without investing expenses and without consumption of operational energy – not any known air conditioning devices used. Important differences between ventilation by large opening and narrow slots are presented, too.
Keywords: Room ventilation, Pollutant concentration, Flow simulation, Self-ventilation, Sick building syndrome
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #23, pp. 207-218
Title of the Paper: SX34 and the Decontamination Effects on Chemical Warfare Agents (CWA)
Authors: L. Palestini, G. Binotti, A. Sassolini, A. Malizia, O. Cenciarelli, L. Di Gianbernardino, F. D’amico, D. Di Giovanni, M. Carestia, R. Bonora, S. Miorotti, A. Costagliola Di Fiore, F. M. Orecchio, J. F. Ciparisse, L. A. Poggi, L. Palombi, C. Bellecci, P. Gaudio
Abstract: The decontamination of sensible surfaces contaminated by chemical agents is a key issue for the safety of population and security of structures. SX34 is an innovative decontamination product developed for sensible surfaces decontamination from biological and chemical agents. In this work the authors present the effects of SX34 on contaminated surfaces and its effectiveness compared to classic decontaminants The electrical insulation on sensitive equipments is analyzed as innovative possible application of this product.
Keywords: Chemical Warfare Agent, Decontamination, Sensitive equipment, SX34, CBRNe
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #22, pp. 201-206
Title of the Paper: Post Event Analysis of the Flash Flood in Small Basin
Authors: Veronika Bacova Mitkova, Pavla Pekarova, Pavol Miklanek, Sona Liova
Abstract: Flash floods are one of the major natural hazards occurring on small streams with negative effect on the country as well as on human lives. Flash floods are mostly local events scattered in time and space. Nevertheless, this type of flood, often affecting ungaged watersheds, remains a poorly documented phenomenon. This paper presents a reconstruction of the catastrophic floods occurred in July 2014 which occurred on the Varinka stream in the Vratna Valley and in Terchova village located at the Mala Fatra National Park, Slovakia. The methodology is based on description of past events from 1941 to 2014. These measurements were focused on documenting of the flood development and on measuring of the flood culmination. Subsequently, the measured results were preliminary evaluated. At the end of this paper, there are described some extreme flash floods which occurred on the Slovak territory. The flash flood on July 2014 on the Varinka stream is there compared with the most extreme flash flood occurred on the Mala Svinka stream in July 1998.
Keywords: natural hazards, flash floods, small basin, Vratna Valley, Slovakia
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #21, pp. 193-200
Title of the Paper: Commuters Perspective on Urban Public Transport System Service Quality
Authors: George Botzoris, Athanasios Galanis, Vassilios Profillidis, Nikolaos Eliou
Abstract: Today, 54% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, a proportion that is expected to increase to 66% by 2050. Without public transport these areas are hardly liveable, unsustainable, and very far from equitable. Improving of perceived by users service quality of urban transport is important for the attractiveness and thus the increase of frequency of their usage, which could lead to significant reduction of total greenhouse gas emissions due to urban transport. In this paper, an evaluation of environmental effects of urban transport is presented and a correlation between air pollutant emissions and the market share of urban public transport is conducted. The definition of service quality and effect on the attractiveness of urban public transport are analyzed. An extended literature review of evaluation methods of the quality of services offered is also conducted. The commuters’ perception on service quality offered by the public transport system of the city of Thessaloniki (Greece's second-largest city) is measured by using customer satisfaction survey. Finally, an exploratory factor analysis is performed to determine the principal components of service quality, in which public transport must focus on in order to improve its services offered, increase frequency of services usage, and to contribute for the reduction of harmful environmental effects of urban transport.
Keywords: Urban public transport, Environmental effect, Service quality, Demand, Questionnaire survey
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #20, pp. 182-192
Title of the Paper: Pseudo-Solidification of Dredged Marine Soils with Cement - Fly Ash for Reuse in Coastal Development
Authors: Chee-Ming Chan
Abstract: The dislodged and removed sediments from the seabed, termed dredged marine soils, are generally classified as a waste material requiring special disposal procedures. This is due to the potential contamination risks of transporting and disposing the dredged soils, and the fact that the material is of poor engineering quality, unsuitable for usage as a conventional good soil in construction. Also, taking into account the incurred costs and risk exposure in transferring the material to the dump site, whether on land or offshore, it is intuitive to examine the possibilities of reusing the dredged soils, especially in coastal development where the transportation route would be of shorter distance between the dredged site and the construction location. Pseudo-solidification of soils is not a novel idea though, where hydraulic binders are injected and mixed with soils to improve the inherent engineering properties for better load bearing capacity. It is commonly used on land in areas with vast and deep deposits of soft, weak soils. However, to implement the technique on the displaced then replaced dredged soil would require careful study, as the material is far more poorly than their land counterparts, and that the deployment of equipment and workforce in a coastal environment is understandably more challenging. The paper illustrates the laboratory investigation of the improved engineering performance of dredged marine soil sample with cement and fly ash blend. Some key findings include optimum dosage of cement and fly ash mix to produce up to 30 times of small strain stiffness improvement, pre-yield settlement reduction of the treated soil unaffected by prolonged curing period, and damage of the cementitious bonds formed by the rather small dosage of admixtures in the soil post-yield. In short, the test results show a promising reuse potential of the otherwise discarded dredged marine soils.
Keywords: dredged soil, solidification, strength, stiffness, reuse
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #19, pp. 173-181
Title of the Paper: Nanocomposites Catalysts for Sustainable Chemistry and Environmental Protection
Authors: Esfir M. Sulman, Valentina G. Matveeva, Mikchail G. Sulman, Irina P. Shkileva
Abstract: This report is devoted to the investigation of noble metal nanoparticles formation and stabilization by polymeric nanostructures as well as catalytic properties of synthesized systems. The following types of nanostructured polymers were used: amphiphilic block-copolymers; polyelectrolytes and polymeric matrices. Catalytic properties of nanocomposites were studied in selective hydrogenation of acetylene alcohols, direct selective oxidation of monosaccharides and phenol catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO). All the catalysts revealed high activity, selectivity (up to 98–99% at 100% conversion) and stability. The special attention is paid to use of nanocomposites catalysts for environmental protection. CWAO of phenols is an important process of environmental catalysis, allowing one to reach nearly complete oxidation of phenols to non-hazardous compounds. Catalysts based on Ru-containing nanoparticles (NPs) formed in the pores of hypercrosslinked polystyrene (HPS) were synthesized. The catalysts containing from 0.5 to 2.8 wt.% of Ru were studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The NP sizes were controlled by the pores of HPS. The two types of Ru species: Ru(IV) and Ru(IV)xnH2O, constituted the NP composition. The effects of the phenol initial concentrations and temperature were investigated in the phenol CWAO. Removal of 97% of phenol was observed for the most active catalyst containing 2.8 wt.% of Ru.
Keywords: nanocatalysis, nanostructured polymers, noble metal nanoparticles, hydrogenation, oxidation, phenol catalytic wet air oxidation
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #18, pp. 163-172
Title of the Paper: Strategy for Reducing Pollutant Emissions from Ship Activities at the Port of Tanjung Perak, Surabaya
Authors: Arif Fadillah, Augustinus Pusaka, Shanty Manullang, Y. Arya Dewanto, Danny Faturachman
Abstract: Since te national policy to promote sea transportation as the main transportation, pollution from ship activities in the port is a national issue that needs to be addressed; because it is expected of marine pollution will increase in the future. The result of calculations of the emissions from ships in the Port of Tanjung Perak Surabaya shows that from year to year, either to ship overseas and domestically increased total exhaust emissions from ships. In this paper is addressed a stragey to reduce the emissions from ships activities in the port by use the port electricity for ship at the port and efficiency of ship turn round time in the port.
Keywords: Air Pollution, Emissions, Vessel Activities, Reducing Emissions, Tanjung Perak Port
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #17, pp. 155-162
Title of the Paper: Modeling and Analysis of Water Resources System Problems by Using the Causal Feedback Loop Diagram of System Dynamics
Authors: Chiu-Sung Lin, Chao-Chung Yang, Chao-Hsien Yeh
Abstract: To the work of modeling and analysis of water resources system problems, it is hard to realize completely the structure and behavior of a system just from a system diagram, flowchart, or the outcomes of a software simulation. With a causal feedback loop diagram of system dynamics, the casual interactive relationships among model variables and parameters can be revealed to elucidate the nature of impact dynamics and feedback, portraying information feedback in a system. Therefore, in this paper, the causal feedback loop diagram of system dynamics was briefly described and the feedback characteristics within a system was identified by using the technique of causal feedback loop diagram through two case studies of a general reservoir operation problem and a water resources system capacity-expansion planning. According to scenario results and analysis, a causal feedback loop diagram of system dynamics is one approach that can help decision maker to better grasp the structure and characteristics of a system.
Keywords: Causal feedback loop diagram, System dynamics, System analysis, Water resources system, Reservoir operation, Flowchart, Modeling
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #16, pp. 143-154
Title of the Paper: Heavy Metals Contamination of Sediments from Chosen Dam Reservoirs in Terms of their Usage in Earthworks
Authors: Karolina Koś, Eugeniusz Zawisza
Abstract: Evaluation of heavy metals contamination of the bottom sediments from chosen dam reservoirs was presented in the paper. A Ph reaction and the content of thirteen heavy metals were determined. Obtained values were compared with the ones given by numerous regulations and classifications. A possibility of using bottom sediments for earthworks purposes was also discussed in legal terms. It was stated that the bottom sediments from Czorszty?ski and Rzeszowski Lakes are not a threat to the environment and they can be used as a construction material in earthworks.
Keywords: dam reservoirs, bottom sediments, heavy metals
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #15, pp. 136-142
Title of the Paper: Description and Validation of a Numerical Box Model for Near-Surface Atmospheric Radon
Authors: Natalia De Luca, Giovanni Pitari
Abstract: A numerical box model has been developed to better understand the physical drivers of the diurnal and seasonal variability of Radon-222 in the atmospheric boundary layer and to assess the role of different mechanisms controlling the tracer abundance immediately above the Earth surface. Dynamical removal due to turbulent convective motions is found to be the dominant controlling process. Since the latter is highly dependent on atmospheric meteorological conditions, a realistic representation of the small-scale convective mixing term in the mass continuity equation has been obtained by constraining the box model with meteorological parameters collected in a radon measurement site, located in the town of L’Aquila in central Italy. Model results are finally validated by direct comparison with hourly observations of radon taken in this site: a correlation coefficient of 0.8 is found between measured and modelled radon hourly values over two years of data. It is also shown how the model can be used to infer to the magnitude of the monthly averaged radon soil flux in the L’Aquila measurement site. Radon data collected during March 2009 have also been analysed to find possible signs of perturbation due to the on-going seismic activity that would have reached its peak in the April 6th, 2009 destructive earthquake. No significant radon activity increase was observed in L’Aquila at that time with respect to a previous ‘seismically-unperturbed’ year, during the same month with similar meteorological conditions, nor any statistically significant increase (or change) of the model derived radon soil flux.
Keywords: Box model, Mass continuity equation, Meteorology, Atmospheric boundary layer dynamics and transport, Atmospheric Radon
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #14, pp. 126-135
Title of the Paper: On the Possible Use of Geophysical Cybernetics in Climate Manipulation (Geoengineering) and Weather Modification
Authors: Sergei Soldatenko, Rafael Yusupov
Abstract: Geophysical cybernetics is a new research area that studies the geophysical processes and phenomena using cybernetic methods and approaches. A mathematical formulation of the problem of optimal control of the geophysical system is presented from the standpoint of geophysical cybernetics. Further, the essential features of the geophysical system as a control object are considered. The optimal control problem for the large scale atmospheric dynamics is considered and the necessary optimality conditions are derived.
Keywords: geophysical cybernetics, geophysical system, optimal control, atmospheric dynamics, weather modification, geoengineering
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #13, pp. 116-125
Title of the Paper: Changes in the Heating Load of Domestic Hot Water and its Impact on the Design of the District Heating Network
Authors: Teet-Andrus Koiv, Aleksander Kovshikov
Abstract: The article gives an overview of the changes in the field of domestic hot water (DHW) consumption. In Eastern Europe instantaneous water heaters are widely used for DHW heating. Over the past 20-25 years there has been a significant change in DHW consumption in Eastern Europe and Estonia. The changes have been so great that new dimensioning methodology is needed. This necessity has also been stated by Dutch investigators. The developed methodology allows to reduce the capacity of instantaneous DHW heaters in residential, educational and public buildings by up to two times. The new calculation methodology of DHW heaters can significantly reduce duct size in tree-shaped district heating (DH) networks, the station power and maintenance costs.
Keywords: DHW consumption in residential buildings, DHW heating load in educational buildings, DHW heating load in public buildings, DHW influence on DH system dimensioning
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #12, pp. 108-115
Title of the Paper: Tabique Walls Typologies and Building Details in the Alto Douro Wine Region
Authors: R. Cardoso, J. Pinto, A. Paiva, J. Lanzinha
Abstract: Tabique is one of the main Portuguese traditional building techniques which use raw materials as earth, wood and stone. In general, a tabique building component as a wall is formed by a timber structure more or less complex, filled and plastered by a composite earth based material. The earth based material has an important role in this system because it protects the internal timber structure as well as it is a finishing. The Alto Douro Wine Region, located in the interior of Northern Portugal, added to the UNESCO’s Word Heritage Sites List in December 2001 as an ‘evolved continuing cultural landscape’, is rich in terms of tabique heritage constructions. Meanwhile, previous research works have shown that the existing tabique constructions, in this region, present a generalized advanced stage of deterioration. This aspect associated to the fact that there is still a lack of scientific studies done in this field motivated the writing of this paper, which its main objective is to identify the diversity of structural timber tabique walls solutions and building details presents in the tabique constructions located in Lamego municipality, in the Alto Douro Wine Region, in order to motivate and give guidelines to the preservation of this important legacy.
Keywords: Alto Douro Wine Region, tabique, timber structures, traditional building techniques, raw materials
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #11, pp. 95-107
Title of the Paper: The Application of Light Research Aircraft for the Investigation of Volcano Eruption Plumes, Industrial Emissions and Urban Plumes
Authors: Konradin Weber, Christian Fischer, Tobias Pohl, Christoph Böhlke, Martin Lange, Emad Scharifi, Jonas Eliasson, Junichi Yoshitani
Abstract: Airborne measurements have proved to be an important tool for the investigation of volcanic emission plumes, industrial pollution plumes, fugitive emissions and urban pollution plumes. In this paper several examples are demonstrated, how these investigations can be performed by light and microlight propeller aircraft. Throughout the last years innovative aircraft were developed.in the light and microlight class showing an excellent flight performance. This enables airborne measurements, which were performed in former years normally by big jet engine driven research aircraft. Moreover, these light and microlight aircraft are equipped with piston motors, which are sturdy enough to operate even in adverse and harsh flight conditions, e.g. in volcanic plumes with high ash concentration. Additionally, turbo charged versions of these airborne piston motors are available, which allow flight altitudes of 7000m – 9000m enabling a large variety of research missions. Another advantage of light and microlight research aircraft is that they are quite cost effective and have a comparatively short certification process for the installation of new measurement equipment. This made it possible to respond fast to the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallaj?kull 2010 and Grimsv?tn 2011 with research flights in volcanic ash plumes over Germany and Iceland. In this way it was possible to deliver real airborne measurements additional to the ash plume model calculations of the London Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC). In this paper examples of airborne measurements in the volcanic plumes of the recent eruptions of Icelandic volcanoes are given. Moreover examples are presented, which highlight the outstanding capabilities of these aircraft for pinpointing industrial emissions and for characterizing urban pollution plumes.
Keywords: Airborne measurements, research aircraft, OPC, UV-DOAS, volcano, urban plume, fugitive emissions, industrial emissions
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #10, pp. 89-94
Title of the Paper: Complex Utilization of Dairy Waste (Whey) in Biorefinery
Authors: Áron Németh, Zoltán Kaleta
Abstract: Whey is one of the most important industrial wastes. The annual worldwide milk collection and processing is around 622 Million tons [1], and the rest of the process is whey, which content and quality is determined by the dairy technology: while after cheese production sweet whey is the byproduct, skim and cottage cheese production results sour whey (poor in lactose). While pure sweet whey have several high added value containing commodities (for example for infants) with increasing demand and production, sour whey is usually combined, stored and handled together with primary washing waters of the facility and is transferred for final degradation. Since the latter one is poor in lactose and further diluted with washing streams, it is very difficult to utilize it. However, it still has high COD and TOC content resulting high cost of wastewater treatment and even high risk to the environment. For this reason we developed a complex utilization of such dairy waste streams for providing more products and less environment risk with less costs for the production site. We set up with the help of experiment supported process simulation (i.e. flowsheeting) a biorefinery concept, in which the low lactose content of this waste is converted into yeast biomass for ergosterol (i.e. previtamin D2) production, and the residual yeast debris of ergosterol section is combined with the lactic acid containing residual organic part of the used whey for application to propionic acid and vitamin B12 production. Our simulation study revealed, that with appropriate ratio between production lines “zero landfill” theory can be reached and valuable products with profit can be generated at the same time.
Keywords: dairy waste, whey, process simulation, biorefinery, propionic acid, ergosterol
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #9, pp. 80-88
Title of the Paper: Spectral Characteristics of the Wind Components in the Surface Atmospheric Boundary Layer
Authors: Costas Helmis, Dimosthenis Asimakopoulos
Abstract: The objective of this work is the study of the spectral characteristics of the wind components in the surface Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL). The analyzed data are based on an experimental campaign measurements which has been conducted in the framework of the European project ECATS, at the Athens International Airport (AIA), Greece, from 13th to 25th of September 2007, with the use of remote sensing and in situ instrumentation. Among other instrumentation, a 10 m high meteorological mast was installed, equipped with a sonic anemometer and a fast hygrometer at 10 m height, with high frequency (20 Hz) sampling, for the three-dimensional wind components (u, v and w) and virtual temperature (T) measurements, as well as for water vapor (q) measurements. These high frequency measurements yield estimates of the vertical transport of the momentum (u’w’ and v’w’), the heat (w’T’) and the humidity (w’q’) fluxes through the eddy correlation method, for 10-min time intervals. In order to quantify the background air flow, additional information related to the synoptic conditions as well as radiosonde data from a nearby station was also used. Spectra of the wind components (u, v and w) were also calculated and analyzed. Results showed that the slope values of the spectra at the inertial sub-range reveal certain deviations from the expected theoretical ones, but the mean values eliminate these deviations between theory and observations. Also, the atmospheric stability and the mean wind speed influence the slope values of the spectra. According to the analysis an increase of the wind speed or the friction velocity lead to a decrease of the spectra slope values while the evolution of the atmospheric stability from unstable to stable conditions increase the spectra slope values which generally become steeper, meaning that the turbulence in the surface ABL dissipates faster than expected.
Keywords: Atmospheric Boundary Layer, ECATS, turbulence, wind components spectra, spectral slope
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #8, pp. 73-79
Title of the Paper: Spatial and Temporal Troughfall Deposition Patterns on Two Regions at the Center and at the Southeast of Mexico
Authors: R. Ceron, J. Ceron, C. Aguilar, C. Montalvo, E. Rustrian, E. Houbron, E. Ramirez, M. Muriel, A. Cordova, C. Carballo, A. Garcia, H. Chi, M. Hernandez
Abstract: In this study, throughfall deposition of N and S was measured in two regions at the center and at the southeast of Mexico. In the region 1, sampling was carried out from June 6, 2014 to January 6, 2015 at Xicalango-Atasta region. In the region 2, throughfall deposition was collected from November 29, 2014 to February 7, 2015 at C?rdoba-Orizaba region. Passive throughfall collectors were used to collect samples in 23 sampling points distributed along these two regions in a multiple transects design. Ions retained (NO3-, NH4+, and SO42-) by the resin column were extracted with 2N KCl, and analyzed by colorimetry and turbidimetry. Mean throughfall deposition fluxes for N (NO3- + NH4+) and S (SO42-) were 0.8 and 9.22 Kg ha-1 yr-1, respectively in region 1. N deposition flux in Xicalango-Atasta region did not exceed the critical load proposed; however, throughfall deposition flux for S was 3 times higher than those proposed for sensitive areas, suggesting that S deposition could be a threat for the mangrove ecosystems and fisheries in the region 1. On the other hand, mean throughfall deposition fluxes for N (NO3- + NH4+) and S (SO42-) were 0.38 and 46.97 Kg ha-1 yr-1, respectively in region 2. Long-range transport of regional pollutants was completely evident during autumn and winter seasons in C?rdoba-Orizaba region. N deposition flux in region 2 did not exceed the critical load value proposed for sensitive ecosystems; however, S throughfall deposition flux exceeded almost 15 times the critical load value, suggesting that this region is highly polluted.
Keywords: Throughfall Deposition, Nitrogen, Sulphur, Campeche, Veracruz, Mexico
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #7, pp. 57-72
Title of the Paper: Power Quality Measurement of Small Solar off-Grid System
Authors: Peter Janiga, Martin Liska, Anton Belan, Vladimir Volvko, Marian Ivanic
Abstract: Energy from renewable energy sources increase of recent years. This increasing is consequence of reduction of CO2 effort and it reduces the price of renewable energy sources. Development of distributed generation and energy self-sufficient regions supported also by the development of a smart grids research contributes significantly to the diversification of primary energy sources and helps to increase the energy efficiency. Smart grids, distributed generation and self-sufficient off-grid systems are becoming one of the priorities for research in EU Member. The interest in off-grid systems is proved by the number of research and pilot projects. Aim of this paper is presented an example of stand alone low power photovoltaic off-grid system and an analysis of the power quality carried out for the system working to load control system. This load control system was developed to make the tests and simulations of this off-grid system with optional and user predefined load profiles in laboratory environment. In the last part of paper are results from in-situ measurement in small off-grid installation. All the results give information for better knowledge about off-grid operation and power quality.
Keywords: Off-grid system, power quality, load profile, load control, appliance simulator, smart grid, renewable energy sources
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #6, pp. 49-56
Title of the Paper: Water Saving Plan by Water Reuse in the Hotel Building
Authors: Martina Rysulova, Daniela Kaposztasova, Gabriel Markovic, Frantisek Vranay
Abstract: What is grey water and how we can use it? There are lots of proven and operating grey water systems in the world. Slovakia is in this regard quiet lagging country, where system doesn’t have this position, neither instance of application. Due to approach the topic of reuse systems, this article describes grey water system reuse and its brief characteristic. The main aim of this article is to characterize the grey water system, its design and water treatment on the case study by pointing out its saving potential. Therefore this study confirms, that system of alternative recycled water use, can save particular source of potable water, where the water is unnecessarily wasted and used where drinking water quality is no needed. In parallel to water savings, grey water system can bring financial savings, which are relevant especially for users at decision-making processes. It is obviously that system have advantages and disadvantages, but if we are sustainable thinking, we have to refer about every drop of water we can save, and we can consider that grey water system is the way we can reach it.
Keywords: water demand, water production, saving potential, system design, grey water, white water
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #5, pp. 41-48
Title of the Paper: Comparing Standard and Low-Cost Tools for Gradient Evaluation Along Potential Cycling Paths
Authors: Paulo Ribeiro, Daniel S. Rodrigues, Elton Taniguchi
Abstract: Promoting the use of non-motorized modes of transport, such as cycling, is an important contribution to the improvement of mobility, accessibility and equity in cities. Cycling offers a fast and cheap transportation option for short distances, helping to lower pollutant emissions and contributing to a healthier way of life. In order to make the cycling mode more competitive in relation to motorized traffic, it is necessary to evaluate the potential of alternatives from the perspective of the physical effort. One way to do so consists of assessing the suitability of locations for implementing cycling infrastructures. In this work, four tools to determine the gradient along potential cycling paths are compared. Furthermore, an evaluation of the reliability of some low-cost tools to measure this parameter was conducted, by comparison with standard measurements using cartographic plans, on a field case study applied to the city of Braga, Portugal. These tools revealed a good level of accuracy for the planning stage, but proved to be less reliable for use in design.
Keywords: Cycling, Cycling Planning, Gradient, Low-Cost Tools
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #4, pp. 29-40
Title of the Paper: Numerical Study on the Characteristics of a Specially Designed Rectangular Tube Absorber Photovoltaic Thermal Collector (PVT)
Authors: Ali Najah Al-Shamani, Sohif Mat, M. H. Ruslan, Azher M. Abed, K. Sopian
Abstract: The electrical efficiency of a photovoltaic (PV) cell decreases as it temperature increases. Since PV cells must be arranged in direct sunlight to produce electricity, heating is inevitable. A heat exchanger can be adapted to a PV cell to extract heat and hence increase the conversion efficiency while using heat absorbed from the cells for secondary applications. The thermal system consists of a rectangular aluminum reservoir that is mounted to the backside of PV panels, through which water flow. In this study, the solution for this was by adding a cooling system to the photovoltaic panel. The purpose of this study was to cool the solar cell in order to increase its electrical efficiency and also to produce heat energy in the form of hot water. The rectangular tube absorber was located at the back side of a standard photovoltaic panel. The simulation results shows that the Rectangular tube absorber collector generates combined PV/T efficiency of 64.8% with electrical efficiency of 11.4% at ambient temperature set between 28.6 to 33.55°C, fluid flow rate at 0.045kg/s and solar radiation between 700 to 800 W/m2. It is recommended for PV/T system to further improve its efficiency by optimizing the contact surfaces between the solar panel (photovoltaic module) and the absorber collector underneath.
Keywords: Photovoltaic/Thermal (PV/T), Absorber Collector, Energy, Thermal and Electrical Efficiency
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #3, pp. 23-28
Title of the Paper: Conceptual Framework of On-The-Fly Web Map Generalization Process
Authors: Lejdel Brahim, Kazar Okba
Abstract: Today, great numbers of users want access to spatial data on the web specific to their needs. This may be possible by applying the suitable generalization process which consists to simplify the objects of the map and may transform the topological relations between them into another ones in real-time. This process called on-the-fly generalization maps. Many approaches were proposed for improving this process, but those do not suffice to guide a powerful and efficient process. In this paper, we will propose a conceptual framework to transform the topological relationships during the on-the-fly web map generalization and treat the problem associated to modeling of streets and rivers as Linear objects because, in the reality ( real word), they have some widths or areas. By considering a road or a river as a line or as an area, topological relationships can be different. We use mainly two types of object; ribbon and regions.
Keywords: On-the-fly maps generalization, Agent, Genetic Algorithm, topological relationships, Ribbons, Visual acuity, Scale
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #2, pp. 8-22
Title of the Paper: Investigation of Harmonized Layers (HLs) Impact on Quantum Efficiency for N or P Type Emitter of cSi Solar Detector
Authors: Bablu K. Ghosh, Saiful Sapri Mohd Zainal, Ismail Saad, Khairul Anuar
Abstract: It is expected that passivation layer impact prominently on efficiency of solar detector and surface charges apparently varied on emitter types as well as passivation. In connection with the higher energy edge absorption of solar spectrum and photo current generation, compatible (SiO2+Si3N4) harmonized layers (HLs) are introduced for surface effect mitigation and better photon management. Emitter junction effect on responsivity and/or external quantum efficiency (EQE) are also studied for PN, NP, P+N, N+P, P+iN and N+iP detectors with and without optimized coating/HLs even compared with the bare detectors. With optimized HLs,very intense solar band response and EQE are realized for both emitters and its junction characteristics are also found to be varied. These influences on photo response are found specifically. For P emitter EQE is found relatively better at the higher energy edge of solar spectrum while for N type emitter, improvement of EQE at near IR is precisely observed. Due to insertion of harmonized (passivation and anti-reflection; SiO2+Si3N4) layers (HLs), surface charges effect for N or P emitter of Si detectors are not profoundly realized.
Keywords: Harmonized layers, different passivation layers, P and N emitters, quantum efficiency, active layer engineering
WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-5079 / 2224-3496, Volume 11, 2015, Art. #1, pp. 1-7