Waste-to-energy: A way from renewable energy sources to sustainable development

Nowadays, energy is key consideration in discussions of sustainable development. So, sustainable development requires a sustainable supply of clean and affordable renewable energy sources that do not cause negative societal impacts. Energy sources such as solar radiation, the winds, waves and tides are generally considered renewable and, therefore, sustainable over the relatively long term. Wastes and biomass fuels are usually viewed as sustainable energy sources. Wastes are convertible to useful energy forms like hydrogen (biohydrogen), biogas, bioalcohol, etc., through waste-to-energy technologies.In this article, possible future energy utilization patterns and related environmental impacts, potential solutions to current environmental problems and renewable energy technologies and their relation to sustainable development are discussed with great emphasis on waste-to-energy routes (WTERs).     

Renewable elastomers based on blends of maleated polypropylene and plasticized starch

Most recent developments in polymers from renewable resources have focused on thermoplastics, whereas there has been no comparable development of plastics with elastomeric properties. Here we evaluate the possibility of developing renewable elastomers based on starch. Potato starch plasticized with glycerol (called plasticized starch, or PLS) was melt‐blended with small quantities (5 wt % or 15 wt%) of maleated polypropylene (MAPP). The maleic anhydride groups of the polypropylene are expected to react with the hydroxy groups of starch under melt blending conditions. The resulting blends of MAPP and PLS were characterized by mechanical testing, SEM, DMA, and DSC. SEM, solubility and adhesion tests indicate that the blends are two‐phase materials, in which the continuous phase PLS is physically crosslinked by polypropylene domains. The materials showed rubbery properties as judged by a low glass transition temperature (～?50°C independent of polypropylene content), and a wide rubbery plateau in DMA experiments that extended from room temperature to as high as 170°C. The tensile properties are also characteristic of elastomers. However, slow aging due to starch crystallization, and extraction of glycerol upon water exposure remain two challenges that must be overcome before the materials can be used as practical elastomers. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Comparison of deformation induced precipitation behaviour in Alloy 718 under two microstructural conditions

Alloy 718 samples under two initial microstructural conditions, viz., solution annealed to form only γ phase (ST) and aged to precipitate only δ particles (DELTA), were deformed in tension till fracture in the temperatures range from 200°C–700°C. From the comparison of the evolved microstructure of deformed and undeformed specimens that have been subjected to similar thermal history, deformation induced precipitation could be identified. Deformation in the range of 550°C to 650°C promoted the precipitation of γ′ and γ″ phases in both structures. In case of DELTA alloy, the γ′ precipitation was found to precede the γ′ phase precipitation while no such preference for precipitation could be identified in ST specimens. This difference in the precipitation behaviour and the sequence of precipitation has been explained on the basis of the relative concentration of solutes in the matrix of the starting microstructures of ST and DELTA specimens.     

Frequency dependent electrical transport properties of 4,4′,4″-tris(N-3-methylphenyl-N-phenylamine)triphenylamine by impedance spectroscopy

The frequency dependent ac conduction mechanism in 4,4′,4″-tris(N-3-methylphenyl-N-phenylamine)triphenylamine (m-MTDATA) has been studied as a function of applied bias and temperature. The Cole–Cole plot shows a slightly depressed semicircle indicating Debye type relaxation. This result has been explained by an equivalent circuit of the device designed as a two parallel resistor and capacitance network in series with contact resistance. The ac conduction studies under dc bias for hole only devices shows an increase in device conductivity with the increase in bias. The variation of bulk resistance with applied bias indicates Space Charge Limited Conduction (SCLC) mechanism for hole conduction. The hole mobility of the material has also been evaluated from SCLC as 8.859 × 10^?6 cm²/V s. The temperature dependent impedance studies show two activation energies indicating two different phase of the material with a phase transition at 235 K.     

Evidence of low-symmetry phases in pressure-dependent Raman spectroscopic study of BaTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

In the earlier pressure-dependent Raman spectroscopic studies, it has been reported that BaTiO₃ undergoes a tetragonal to cubic phase transition above ~ 2 GPa, whereas pressure-dependent X-ray absorption, X-ray diffuse scattering studies and pair distribution function studies have reported the presence of a low-symmetry rhombohedral phase above ~ 2.3 GPa. In this report, we present our pressure-dependent Raman spectroscopic studies on polycrystalline BaTiO₃ which shows that it first undergoes a transition from tetragonal to orthorhombic/rhombohedral phase above ~ 2.6 GPa and then finally goes to the cubic phase above 8.4 GPa. Pressure-dependent synchrotron X-ray diffraction (SXRD) studies have also been carried out that provided rate of change of volume as a function of pressure resulting in bulk modulus of 215 ± 9 GPa.     

Geometric optimization of trapezoidal thermoelectric heat pump considering contact resistances through genetic algorithm

An alternate option for improving the performance of the thermoelectric heat pump (TEHP) is the variation in thermoelectric leg configuration. In this paper, the thermodynamic model based on first and second law of thermodynamics for an exoreversible TEHP including influence of Thomson effect as well as leg geometry on the coefficient of performance and heating load of the device has been developed and optimized. Modified expressions have been derived analytically for dimensionless heating load, irreversibilities, figure of merit, energy, and exergy efficiency. The effects of operating and geometry parameters such as shape parameter (A_c/A_h), temperature ratio (T_c/T_h), Thomson effect, thermal and electrical contact resistances on the coefficient of performance, and heating load of the TEHP have been analysed. The results indicate that the Thomson effect has adverse effect on heating load of the system. The optimal parameters obtained through GA optimization process have been compared with the optimal parameters obtained through analytical method which proved the validity of GA optimization method for optimization of TEHP. After the testing, the GA optimization has been performed to determine the optimum parameters corresponding to maximum energy efficiency and maximum heating load. It was found that the GA population converges quickly after 20 runs only which proved the GA as time and cost‐effective optimization tool. This study will be useful for designing of practical TEHP systems of different leg geometries.     

Studies on the production of B. thuringiensis based biopesticides using wastewater sludge as a raw material

Growth and delta-endotoxin yield of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) subsp kurstaki in tryptic soy yeast extract (TSY) medium, soybean meal based commercial medium and wastewater sludge medium were studied. The viable spores (VS) count in sludge medium was comparable to that obtained in laboratory and commercial media. The entomotoxicity of the fermentation liquid (Bt grown sludge) against Choristoneura fumiferana was comparable to the concentrated commercial Bt formulation available in the market (Foray 48B). A higher entomotoxicity was observed in a sludge medium than in the TSY or soybean meal media. The secondary and mixed (mixture of primary and secondary) sludges from various wastewater treatment plants were also evaluated for spore formation and entomotoxicity yield. The VS count was higher in a mixed sludge compared to the secondary sludge at a similar sludge solids concentration. Both VS count and entomotoxicity yield was found to be a function of sludge solids concentration in the medium. The optimum value of solids concentration for Bt production was found to be 25 g (-1) (dry weight basis). Beyond this concentration, a drop in VS count and entomotoxicity yield was observed. A low C:N ratio in the secondary sludge and a high C:N ratio in the mixed sludge resulted in a higher entomotoxicity. The optimum value of C:N ratio in combined sludge for Bt production was found to be 7.9-9.9. Relationships between entomotoxicity and maximum specific growth as well as with specific sporulation rate were developed.     

Preparation, thermal expansion, high pressure and high temperature behavior of Al2(WO4)3

The titled compound Al₂(WO₄)₃ was synthesized by a conventional solid state reaction and characterized by powder XRD. It crystallizes in an orthorhombic (Pbcn, No. 60) lattice, with unit cell parameters as 12.582(2), 9.051(1), 9.128(2) Å, and V = 1039.5(3) (Å)³. The compound was found to show negative thermal expansion (NTE) behavior in the temperature range of 25 to 850°C. The average linear NTE coefficient (₁), in this temperature range, was –1.5 × 10^–6 K^–1. The effect of pressure at ambient temperature, was studied by a Bridgman Anvil (BA) apparatus, to reveal that there is no irreversible phase transition up to 8 GPa. The effect of high pressure and high temperature on this compound was studied by a Toroid Anvil (TA) apparatus. This compound has a limited stability under high pressure and temperature, as it undergoes a decomposition to AlWO₄ and WO_3–x with a partial oxygen loss. As an off-shoot of this work, certain new modifications of WO_3–x under pressure and temperature were observed, viz., monoclinic, tetragonal and an orthorhombic modifications at 5 GPa/1400°C, 3 GPa/900°C and 1.8 GPa/1030°C, respectively. The detailed XRD studies of the products are presented here.     

From data to diagnosis and control using generalized orthonormal basis filters. Part I: Development of state observers

This work is aimed at the development of a state observer (steady state Kalman filter) for a multivariable system with unknown time delays, which is subjected to unmeasured disturbances. To design such a filter, we explore the feasibility of capturing system dynamics using generalized orthonormal basis filters (GOBF). A two step identification procedure is proposed by exploiting the fact that the GOBF based models have output error structure. The deterministic component of the model is identified in the first step and used to compute a residual signal. In the second step, a filter that whitens the residuals is estimated using GOBF and combined with the deterministic component. A minimal order state realization of the innovation form of the state model is then generated from this high order model using realization based sub-space based state space (4SID) identification algorithm. When time delays are not known a-priori, the similarity between GOBF and Pade approximation is used to estimates time delay matrix directly from multivariate data. The efficacy of the proposed modeling technique is demonstrated by carrying out simulation studies on the benchmark Shell control problem and experimental evaluation on a stirred tank heater (STH) system. From the analysis of simulation and experimental results, it can be inferred that the proposed approach produces fairly accurate estimates of the time delay matrix and the deterministic and stochastic components of the dynamic model.     

Effect of surface recombination on the transient decay of excess carriers produced by short wavelength laser pulses

Effect of surface recombination on the transient decay of excess carriers injected very near to the surface region has been analysed for a semi-infinite semiconductor sample. The one dimensional continuity equation for the excess minority carriers has been solved analytically assuming that the surface recombination is important only on the front surface from which the excess carriers are injected. The decay of total excess carrier charge as a function of time is calculated for various values of the surface recombination velocities. It is found that values of S lower than 10³ cm/sec. have little effect on the decay of total excess charge and the decay is exponential. For values of S larger than 10⁴ cm/sec. the initial decay of excess charge is much faster and is dominated by the surface recombination. However, if one waits long enough for the excess carrier to diffuse into the semiconductor the decay becomes exponential when the excess charge decays to about 5% of its initial value. This exponential decay can be used to determine the excess carrier lifetime fairly accurately. A source of error in such experiments may arise from the heating of the silicon sample by the laser pulse. This effect, however is negligible for short duration pulses of low average power.