Assessment of trophic state and water quality of coastal-inland lakes based on Fuzzy Inference System

Accurate assessment and monitoring of coastal and inland water quality by satellite optical remote sensing is challenging due to improper atmospheric correction algorithm, inaccurate quantification of in-water constituents' concentration and a lack of efficient models to predict the water quality status. The present study aims to address the latter two parts in conjugation with an appropriate atmospheric correction algorithm to assess trophic status and water quality conditions of two coastal lagoons using Landsat-8 OLI data. Three vital underwater light attenuating factors, directly related to water quality, are considered namely, turbidity, chlorophyll and colored dissolved organic matter (a_CDOM). These water quality parameters are quantified based on certain sensitive normalised water-leaving radiance band ratios and threshold values. To assess the accuracy of the derived products, these algorithms were applied to independent in-situ data and statistical evaluation of the results showed good agreement between the estimated and measured values with the errors within desirable limits. Being a primary nutrient indicator, the chlorophyll concentration was used to evaluate Trophic State Index. The Water Quality Index was derived from three parameters namely, chlorophyll concentration, turbidity and a_CDOM(443) which were expressed in terms of Trophic State Index, Turbidity Index and Humic-Fulvic Index, respectively. The Water Quality Index maps, derived using a Fuzzy Inference System based on the Centre of Gravity method, provided insights into spatial structures and temporal variability of water quality conditions of the coastal lagoons which are influenced by anthropogenic factors, hydrographic changes and land-ocean-atmospheric interaction processes.     

MICROBIALLY FORMED CATALYSTS FOR ENHANCEMENT OF DIRECT COAL LIQUEFACTION

The present study examines the potential to biologically precipitate active catalytic compounds on the surface of coal particles in a water slurry. These compounds could be active forms of iron, an element abundant in coal, or active forms of molybdenum added as a soluble salt. The acidophilic microorganisms Thiobacillus ferrooxida/ns and Acidianus brierlyi were added to a 5% coal slurry at a pH of 3·0 or less. Experiments were carried out for 21 days in shake flasks/automated fermentor at constant temperature and pH. Deposition of iron and molybdenum compounds on the particle surface was confirmed by several spectroscopic methods. After bio-treatment, the coal was removed by filtration and dried. A sample was then liquified in a bomb at 385°C in tetralin and hydrogen for 15 minutes. In some runs the sulfiding agent dimethyl disulfide (DMDS) was added to the mixture. Separation of the products was by soxhlet extraction. Total conversion, gas + oil + asphaltenes + preasphaltenes, of the pretreated coal was compared with the conversion of raw, untreated coal. Statistically significant increases in conversion were achieved for various pre-treatment methods. The maximum conversion achieved was with coal pre-treatment in the presence of Acidianus brierleyi, and with the addition of 200 mg/1 of ammonium molybdate to the slurry. Under these conditions, liquefaction of 2 separate runs, in the presence of DMDS, produced conversion of 78 and 81%. This compared with 48% conversion for the raw coal under the same liquefaction conditions.     

Real Time Control of pH in Fed‐Batch Process

Abstract

The objective of this work is to implement the linear, non linear model based and linear cascade controllers to control pH in a fed batch neutralisation process in real time and compare the performance with the simulation results. The control objective here is to make the process output pH to follow the given reference trajectory. This work aims at bringing out the best features of model‐based control and linear cascade control, when applied to highly non‐linear systems like pH‐controlled fed‐batch processes. For these processes, control of pH by a conventional Proportional Integral Derivative controller fails to provide satisfactory performance because of the extreme non‐linearity in the pH dynamics. Typical problems in control, e.g., uncertainty in model parameters, are addressed in this work. These controllers are implemented in real time using a lab scale setup and compared with the simulation. The results show the superior performance of the non linear model‐based and linear cascade controller over that of the conventional Proportional Integral controller.     

Power and area-optimised Carry-Select Adder architecture for standard cell-based design

A Carry-Select Adder (CSA) is one of the most suitable adders for high-speed applications, but the power and area penalties are greater, because it requires a double Ripple-Carry Adder (RCA) structure corresponding to carry inputs 0 and 1. Current low-power and low-area techniques are not suitable for a standard cell-based design which is one of the widely adopted design methodologies. Our work proposes two simple optimised architectures suitable for standard cell-based designs. A simple decision logic that replaces the RCA for Carry input 1 in a conventional CSA is proposed. One of the proposed architectures reduces power and area significantly with a small delay penalty compared to the existing techniques. Another proposed architecture improves the speed of operation and reduces the power and area considerably. The first one is more suitable for high-speed arithmetic in battery-operated applications where there is a trade-off between speed and power, while the other one is suitable for high-performance applications which also require area and power optimisation. The proposed architectures were implemented in TSMC 0.18um CMOS technology, and compared with conventional Square Root Carry-Select Adders and an existing standard cell-based design.     

Densification of Al-Y<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> composite powder by equal channel angular pressing

In this study, equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) with and without back pressure was used for consolidation of fine mechanically alloyed Al-Yttria composite powder. The effect of ECAP on consolidation behaviour of powder, microstructure, density and hardness is discussed. The powder was encapsulated in an aluminium can. Room temperature back pressure aided ECAP results in a nearly full denser (97% of its theoretical density) compact at room temperature. Nano Indentation technique was used to determine the modulus of the ECAP consolidated compact.     

Sintered Fe08%C10%Si04%Cu P/M Steel Preform Behaviour During Cold Upsetting

Cold upsetting experiments were carried out on sintered Fe 0.8%C1.0%Si-0. 4%Cu steel preforms in order to evaluate their deformation characteristics. Powder preforms of 86 % of theoretical density, with two different ratios of height to diameter, were prepared using a suitable die set assembly on a 1.0 MN capacity hydraulic testing machine. Sintering was carried out in an electric muffle furnace for 1.5 h at 1 150 ℃. Each sintered compact was subjected to incremental loading of 0.04 MN under dry friction condition till a crack appeared at the free surfaces. The experimental results were critically analysed, the stress as a function of strain and densification was obtained, then the work hardening behaviour was analyzed. It has been found that in the process of enhancing densification, strength and strain hardening is also induced during upsetting, but the work hardening behaviour is not homogenously enhanced against strain and densification.     

Free vibration of thin-walled multi-cell structures

Dynamic analysis for free vibration characteristics of multi-cell structures by using the simplified grillage technique is described. The problems, such as adequate representation of shear lag effects and the torsional stiffness of the closed cells, are discussed. A comparison of the results obtained, for structures with different support conditions, with those obtained by the finite element method establishes the accuracy of the proposed method. The effect of the aspect ratio of the multi-cell structures on their natural frequencies is also investigated.     

Val bean (Lablab purpureus L.) proteins: composition and biochemical properties

Val bean (Lablab purpureus L.) proteins were fractionated using the Osborne protein fractionation scheme and biochemically characterized. The seed flour contained 302 g kg^?1 protein (micro‐Kjeldahl N × 6.25) on a dry weight basis. Albumin, globulin, prolamin, and glutelin accounted for 22.8%, 45.1%, 1.8% and 30.3%, respectively, of the total soluble seed proteins. Among the solvents tested, 0.1 mol L^?1 aqueous NaOH was the most effective protein solubilizer. Isoelectric focusing indicated the seed proteins to be predominantly acidic (pI range was ～4–7). Val globulin is a glycoprotein composed of at least three polypeptides in the molecular mass range 51–64 kDa. Albumin fraction had the highest trypsin inhibitory activity, while the globulin fraction registered the highest hemagglutinating activity. Sulfur amino acids were the first limiting amino acids in the total seed proteins. The proportion of essential to total [E/T(%)] amino acids for the bean flour was 36.97%. Among the protein fractions, glutelin fraction had the highest E/T (42.86%) followed by albumin (41.57%), globulin (39.87%), and prolamin (39.15%). Native globulin, although resistant to pepsin, was effectively digested in vitro upon moist heat (100 °C, 30 min) denaturation. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry