Potable water recovery from As, U, and F contaminated ground waters by direct contact membrane distillation process

In this study, the feasibility of the direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) process to recover arsenic, uranium and fluoride contaminated saline ground waters was investigated. Two types of membranes (polypropylene, PP; and polytetrafluoroethylene, PTFE) were tested to compare the permeate production rates and contaminant removal efficiencies. Several experiments were conducted to study the effect of salts, arsenic, fluoride and uranium concentrations (synthetic brackish water with salts: 1000-10,000 ppm; arsenic and uranium: 10-400 ppb; fluoride: 1-30 ppm) on the desalination efficiency. The effect of process variables such as feed flow rate, feed temperature and pore size was studied. The experimental results proved that the DCMD process is able to achieve over 99% rejection of the salts, arsenic, fluoride and uranium contaminants and produced a high quality permeate suitable for many beneficial uses. The ability to utilize the low grade heat sources makes the DCMD process a viable option to recover potable water from a variety of impaired ground waters.     

Radiation-absorption,chemical reaction,Hall and ion slip impacts on magnetohydrodynamic free convective flow over semi-infinite moving absorbent surface

The investigation of radiation-absorption,chemical reaction,Hall and ion-slip impacts on unsteady MHD free convective laminar flow of an incompressible viscous,electrically conducting and heat generation/absorbing fluid enclosed with a semi-infinite porous plate within a rotating frame has been premeditated.The plate is assumed to be moving with a constant velocity in the direction of fluid movement.A uniform transverse magnetic field is applied at right angles to the porous surface,which is absorbing the fluid with a suction velocity changing with time.The non-dimensional governing equations for present inves-tigation are solved analytically making use of two term harmonic and non-harmonic functions.The graphical results of velocity,temperature and concentration distributions on the analytical solutions are displayed and discussed with reference to pertinent parameters.It is found that the velocity profiles decreased with an increasing in Hartmann number,rotation parameter,the Schmidt number,heat source parameter,while it increased due to an increase in permeability parameter,radiation-absorption param-eter,Hall and ion slip parameters.However,the temperature profile is an increasing function of radiation-absorption parameter,whereas an increase in chemical reaction parameter,the Schmidt num-ber Sc or frequency of oscillations decrease the temperature profile on cooling.Also,it is found that the concentration profile is decreased with an escalating in the Schmidt number or the chemical reaction parameter.     

Integrating bioelectrochemical systems for sustainable wastewater treatment

Current wastewater treatment processes such as activated sludge process and other aeration technologies are resource-consuming and are unsustainable. Novel and integrated processes are crucial to the development of sustainable wastewater treatment systems. In this context, anaerobic treatment technologies provide numerous opportunities for minimization of energy and resource consumption and maximization of beneficial products. Further, integration of anaerobic digestion augmented by co-digestion, fermentation, dark fermentation or photo-fermentation and other bioelectrochemical systems may result in resource-efficient waste management and environmental protection. This mini-review discusses various possibilities and highlights recent developments of integrated aerobic and anaerobic technologies with bioelectrochemical systems for sustainable wastewater treatment.     

Hall and ion slip effects on MHD laminar flow of an elastico‐viscous (Walter's‐B) fluid

We investigated the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) laminar flow of an elastico‐viscous electrically conducting (Walter's‐B) fluid through a circular cylinder or pipe, loosely packed with a porous material subjected to Hall and ion‐slip effects. The innovation of the study is to consider the entire flow domain without boundary layer approximation in the governing equations. Fully developed solutions of the velocity and pressure drop are obtained making use of perturbation approximation and computationally discussed with reference to flow governing parameters. It is quite exciting that the elastic parameter almost reduces the speed of the liquid in the center of the channel and then continuously expands into the cylinder. For engineering interest, we found the analytical solution and then computationally discussed for skin friction. The occurrence of a magnetic field and a porous matrix gives a fairly uneven flow between the pipes. Elasticity and suction are resistant to experience greater skin friction and are therefore useful for controlling flow separation. A porch has been made to include studies of non‐Newtonian fluids with Hall and ion‐slip effects due to the vast number of possible engineering applications, like power generators, MHD accelerators, refrigeration coils, electric transformers, and heating elements.     

A decision support system for production planning and bid preparation for a small job shop manufacturer

With the advent of the inexpensive micro-computer, small manufacturers have been able to automate many applications in their day-to-day operations. Under the auspices of the State of Missouri “Productivity Improvement Program” - a program to aid small manufacturing businesses in improving their productivity, a Decision Support System (DSS) was developed to assist a small metals manufacturing company in production planning and bid preparation.

The DSS was developed at UMR by a graduate student as part of his master's thesis; the work was funded by both the Productivity Improvement Program and the small manufacturer. After development of the DSS, the graduate student was hired full time for one year to assist the manufacturer in implementing the DSS and to train on site personnel in its operation.

This paper discusses the development of the DSS, its implementation, and its utilization.     

Ultrasonic study on binary liquid mixtures of propiophenone with anilines and alkyl substituted anilines at T=303.15 to 318.15 K

Densities ‘ρ’, ultrasonic speeds of sound ‘u’ of binary mixtures of propiophenone (PPH) with aniline, N-Methylaniline, N,N-dimethylaniline and N,N-diethylaniline were measured over the entire composition range from 303.15 K to 318.15 K and at atmospheric pressure 0.1 MPa. Experimental data of ultrasonic sound were compared and discussed with the computed values of ‘u’ from various velocity theories like Nomoto’s relation (U_NOM), impedance relation (U_IMP), Van Dael and Vangeel’s ideal mix relation (U_VDV), Rao’s specific velocity relation (U_RAO), Junjie’s theory (U_JUN) and Jouyban-Acree’s (U_JOE) relation for the above binary mixtures over the entire mole fraction range at the studied temperatures. The results are satisfactory and are in agreement between the theoretical and the experimental values. Further, the molecular interaction parameter (α), average percentage error and Chi-square test values were computed by using the values of experimental and theoretical ultrasonic velocities. The Δu values were correlated with Redlich-Kister polynomial equation to compute the coefficients and the standard deviations of the binary mixtures. The results were analyzed in terms of intermolecular interactions.     

Maximin distance based band selection for endmember extraction in hyperspectral images using simplex growing algorithm

Multimedia Tools and Applications - With the fast growing technologies in the field of remote sensing, hyperspectral image analysis has made a great breakthrough. It provides accurate and detailed...     

Innovation systems in Malaysia: a perspective of university—industry R&D collaboration

Collaborative research and development (R&D) activities between public universities and industry are of importance for the sustainable development of the innovation ecosystem. However, policymakers especially in developing countries show little knowledge on the issues. In this paper, we analyse the level of university–industry collaboration in Malaysia. We further examine the fundamental conditions that hinder university–industry collaboration despite the government’s initiatives to improve such linkages. We show that the low collaboration  is a result of an R&D gap between the entities. While the universities engage in basic and fundamental R&D, the private sectors involved in incremental innovation that requires less R&D investments. The different nature of the industries’ R&D requires closer cooperation between firms namely buyers, suppliers and technical service providers and not the universities. Among others, the lack of an intermediary role, absorptive capacity and collaborative initiative by the industry also contribute to the problem. The study suggests that the collaborative activities can benefit both if deliberate and effective efforts on reducing the R&D mismatch are made between the universities and industry. Likewise, proper institutional arrangements in coordinating these activities are required. This result seems to reflect the nature of many developing countries’ national innovation systems, and therefore, lessons from Malaysia may serve as a good case study.     

Tool steel and copper coatings by friction surfacing - A thermography study

Infrared thermography was used to record thermal profiles during friction surfacing. Thermal profiles for different sets of consumable rod/substrates (tool steel/steel; copper/steel and copper/copper) were recorded and analyzed. The thermal profiles showed distinct stages of plastic deformation with respect to temperature. The mechanism of bonding or no-bonding was discussed based on thermal profile data. It was found that a metallurgically bonded coating can be obtained if the flow stress of the plasticized material is comparable with the localized stress developed due to axial loading.