Davide Maffiola, Stefano Longari, Michele Carminati
et al.
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSs) technology has advanced during the past years, and it is now used for several applications that require vehicles to exchange real-time data, such as in traffic information management. Traditionally, road traffic information has been collected using on-site sensors. However, crowd-sourcing traffic information from onboard sensors or smartphones has become a viable alternative. State-of-the-art solutions currently follow a centralized model where only the service provider has complete access to the collected traffic data and represent a single point of failure and trust. In this paper, we propose GOLIATH, a blockchain-based decentralized framework that runs on the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) system to collect real-time information exchanged between the network's participants. Our approach mitigates the limitations of existing crowd-sourcing centralized solutions by guaranteeing trusted information collection and exchange, fully exploiting the intrinsic distributed nature of vehicles. We demonstrate its feasibility in the context of vehicle positioning and traffic information management. Each vehicle participating in the decentralized network shares its position and neighbors' ones in the form of a transaction recorded on the ledger, which uses a novel consensus mechanism to validate it. We design the consensus mechanism resilient against a realistic set of adversaries that aim to tamper or disable the communication. We evaluate the proposed framework in a simulated (but realistic) environment, which considers different threats and allows showing its robustness and safety properties.
Chromium is a highly toxic and carcinogenic pollutant commonly found in industrial effluents such as electroplating, tanning, and dye manufacturing, posing a serious risk to human health and the environment. Among modern treatment methods, electrocoagulation has attracted wide attention due to its simplicity, high efficiency, and no need for external chemical coagulants. In this study, the removal of chromium from aqueous solutions using the EC process was investigated in two parts. In the first part, the effects of three key parameters: current density, initial concentration, and reaction time, on removal efficiency and operating cost were modeled and optimized using Response Surface Methodology. The results showed that current density had a consistently positive effect on removal efficiency, while the influence of reaction time depended on conditions, becoming significant only at current densities above 90 A/m² and in interaction with initial concentration. In contrast, increasing initial concentration had an inverse effect, reducing removal efficiency by up to 8.1%. Regarding operating costs, the effects of time and concentration were limited, while current density was the main driver, raising costs by up to 161.57% when increased from 48 to 132 A/m². In the second part, the role of electrode surface morphology was examined under optimized conditions, including one solid electrode and three perforated electrodes with hole diameters of 4, 8 and 15 mm. The findings indicated that perforated electrodes reduced removal efficiency due to decreased active surface area, with the 4 mm electrode lowering removal efficiency by 6.27%. However, hole diameter played a decisive role, as enlarging the diameter from 4 to 8 mm improved efficiency by 2.63%. Moreover, perforated electrodes significantly reduced operational costs, achieving up to 30.9% savings compared to solid electrodes. The reduction in operational cost with perforated electrodes is attributed to the lower system output voltage due to reduced active surface area and the decreased initial corrosion resistance at perforation edges, both of which lead to lower energy consumption and improved economic performance of the process. Overall, the results demonstrate that simultaneous optimization of operational conditions and electrode surface design can improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the EC process for chromium removal. The perforated electrode with 8 mm holes was identified as the optimal choice, balancing high removal efficiency with reduced operating costs.
Technology, Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes
Ahmad Bin Afzal, Nabil Mohammed, Shehab Ahmed
et al.
Climate change has led to an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, posing significant challenges for power distribution systems. In response, this work presents a planning approach in order to enhance the resilience of distribution systems against climatic hazards. The framework systematically addresses uncertainties during extreme events, including weather variability and line damage. Key strategies include line hardening, backup diesel generators, and sectionalizers to strengthen resilience. We model spatio-temporal dynamics and costs through a hybrid model integrating stochastic processes with deterministic elements. A two-stage stochastic mixed-integer linear approach is developed to optimize resilience investments against load loss, generator operations, and repairs. Case studies on the IEEE 15-bus benchmark system and a realistic distribution grid model in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia demonstrate enhanced system robustness as well as cost efficiency of 10% and 15%, respectively.
The use of data collection to support decision making through the reduction of uncertainty is ubiquitous in the management, operation, and design of building energy systems. However, no existing studies in the building energy systems literature have quantified the economic benefits of data collection strategies to determine whether they are worth their cost. This work demonstrates that Value of Information analysis (VoI), a Bayesian Decision Analysis framework, provides a suitable methodology for quantifying the benefits of data collection. Three example decision problems in building energy systems are studied: air-source heat pump maintenance scheduling, ventilation scheduling for indoor air quality, and ground-source heat pump system design. Smart meters, occupancy monitoring systems, and ground thermal tests are shown to be economically beneficial for supporting these decisions respectively. It is proposed that further study of VoI in building energy systems would allow expenditure on data collection to be economised and prioritised, avoiding wastage.
Dundo C. Wllson, Dr. Rashid Kiliza, Dr. Lucas Kisasa
Globally, waste arising from human and animal activities that are normally solid and are discarded as useless or unwanted are broadly defined as solid waste. It includes municipal garbage, industrial and commercial wastes, sewerage slug, waste of agricultural and animal husbandry, demolition waste and mining residues. The study aimed to identify strategies deployed by the management at Kivukoni Ferry Fish market. The study adopted case study research design with mixed approaches. The study used purposive and probability sampling techniques. The study used Slovenes formulae to obtain sample size of 160 respondents from target population of 213 respondents. The study used questionnaire and interview to obtain data needed. The study findings indicates that 77.1% of respondents agreed that management of Kivukoni Ferry fish market provide clean water for fish processing and fish waste collection bins. The study concluded that, Kivukoni fish market provide clean water for fish processing, also inadequate provision tools for fish waste collection and poor logistics for fish waste transportation from Kivukoni Ferry fish market to Pugu damp. In additional to that, poor market infrastructure led the market to produce odor smell, immediately in hot weather condition, this situation threaten the environment and the safety of workers and community at large. The study recommended that, Kivukoni Ferry fish market management should establish designated waste collection points within the market to streamline the disposal process and should develop a reliable logistics system for the timely transportation of fish waste from the market to Pugu dump.
The rapid urban growth in Indian cities has exerted tremendous pressure on existing infrastructure, particularly in the area of sanitation. The influx of population into urban centres, along with inadequate facilities, often leads to challenges in managing and maintaining effective sanitation systems. This paper investigates the sanitation landscape of Indian cities through a comprehensive case study of Patna, focusing on the infrastructure’s ability to meet the city’s growing demands.The paper contextualizes Patna within the framework of urbanization, discussing demographic character, population growth, housing conditions, and the persistent issues faced by urban poor communities and slum residents. A detailed profile of Patna’s sanitation infrastructure is discussed, covering urban basic services such as sanitation facilities, sewerage system and water supply evaluating their reach, capacity, and efficiency. To assess the existing sanitation status, the paper utilizes the Shit Flow Diagram (SFD) as a key analytical tool, providing a comprehensive overview of the city’s sanitation value chain, from collection to disposal. The paper examines government and community-driven initiatives, including public and community toilets, and assesses the availability, accessibility, and conditions of these facilities. The paper identifies significant sanitation challenges at multiple levels: city-wide systemic issues, institutional shortcomings, household-level inadequacies, and limitations faced by NGOs working in sanitation. Based on these observations and findings, paper proposes recommendations to enhance Patna’s sanitation situation, focusing on sustainable infrastructure development, improved governance, and increased community engagement to address current gaps and improve sanitation outcomes in Indian urban areas..
With the increase in maintenance and repair costs, as well as changing expectations towards the growth of efficiency and increasing the life cycle of equipment, detecting the possibility of failures before they occur and reducing the time of breakdowns and stops, maintenance and repairs and condition monitoring of equipment have become more important. Reliability-centered maintenance is one of the methods and strategies that are systematically related to equipment maintenance and repairs. Since the pumps are the center and axis of the treatment plants, their study can be of great significance. This is because the output of the water and sewage industry is very important because of its connection with people's lives. The current research is focused on investigating the impact of RCM strategy on water treatment plant pumps by using the Analytical Hierarchy Process. Questionnaires were designed based on objectives and criteria, and the weighting of data was done by the AHP method. Also, information worksheets and RCM decision worksheets for pumps were designed and completed. In total, the MTBF index of clear water pumps was investigated in two time periods (from June 2021 to June 2022 and June 2022 to June 2023). The data analysis shows that the value of this index increased in the second period compared to the first period, which indicates the positive effect of Reliability Centered Maintenance activities.
Technology, Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes
The article discusses the existing drainage systems in Samara, the proposed project for the reconstruction of storm collector outlets located within the boundaries of the historical part of Samara. One of the factors of reservoir pollution (of Volga and Samara rivers) is untreated surface wastewater. The article specifies the outlets in the historical part of the city pernicious for the water reservoir. The study on the sedimentation of pollutant components contained in surface wastewater disposed from the historical part of Samara was held. As a result of the research, it was found that due to treatment facilities and storage tanks construction, as well as wastewater pumping into the household sewerage system, surface wastewater pumping will reduce the anthropogenic impact on the reservoir. It will also contribute to some extent to household waste dilution and increase the hydraulic load on urban sewage treatment plants. The water bodies of the water area of Samara are experiencing anthropogenic pressure, including due to untreated surface wastewater. The qualitative indicators of surface wastewater of a large industrial center have been studied on the example of the urban district of Samara. A list of negative indicators for water bodies has been determined; their maximal, average and minimal value ranges have been specified. It was revealed that the presented data will not have a negative impact on the centralized water disposal systems of settlements and urban districts.
Emily Camily da Silva Rocha, Liliane Santos Gomes, Vinícius Sousa Souto
et al.
One of the issues present in the determinations of the National Solid Waste Policy concerns the disposal of vegetable oil from frying generated in homes and commercial establishments. In Brazil, it is estimated that three billion liters of edible vegetable oil are produced per year. Of this total, only 2.5% is reused for some purpose, while the rest is improperly disposed of by the population and industries, in soils, water bodies, sewage system, or even incinerated (ABIOVE, 2012).According to Folha do Amapá (2007), a safer way to dispose of waste vegetable oil is to deliver it to a collection point, for later reuse in the manufacture of biodiesel or soap.
The simulation design of this animal waste treatment plant is a design that applies the sewage treatment plant system which is made to cope with environmental pollution, especially rivers due to indiscriminate disposal of animal waste. Making this animal waste treatment plant provides information to readers or the public about how to design an animal waste treatment plant system and the performance of the sewage treatment system so that people know how to deal with environmental pollution caused by the livestock themselves. The manufacture of this installation system uses data collection methods from direct farmers and theories obtained from books, journals, articles related to sewage treatment plant theory, plumbing, electricity, and others. Finally, the data was collected by testing the animal dung waste treatment system where the test data was taken from the pH content of the water used for processing the animal dung waste treatment system. The test results on the sewage treatment plant system concluded that in order to obtain optimal results or water pH content, namely the pH content of 6, it is necessary to deposit animal manure between two to three days, while the maximum processing of this system is the pH content of 6.5. and processing of animal manure, which is on the fourth day to get the maximum pH content.
Orest Verbovskyi, Vadym Orel, Oksana Matsiyevska
et al.
During the cleaning and further treatment of municipal wastewater, sediments are formed, which are extremely dangerous from a sanitary and hygienic point of view, poorly dewatered, have high humidity (over 90%), large volumes (up to 3% of wastewater consumption), contain organic substances, pathogens, heavy metals, etc. In Ukraine, at most wastewater treatment plants, sewage sludge is mostly piled up on sludge sites after minimal treatment. Effective processing and disposal of sewage sludge in order to reduce the negative impact on the environment, as well as the use of sewage sludge as secondary raw materials, is an actual, complex and urgent task. The key link in the existing process of treatment and disposal of sewage sludge is their dewatering. When designing facilities for the treatment and disposal of sewage sludge, advanced technologies should be used, the use of which is based on scientific and technical research. The article reviews the results of research on the intensification of existing mechanical methods of sewage sludge. One of the most effective methods of intensifying the process of dewatering sewage sludge is electro-dewatering, which involves the application of an electric field during mechanical dewatering of sludge. Electro-dewatering technology makes it possible to reduce the humidity of sediments to 20...40%, reduce the concentration of heavy metals and pathogens in sediments, etc. The purpose of this work is to study the possibility of electro-dewatering of activated sludge from secondary settling tanks of municipal wastewater treatment plants in Lviv. Empirical research methods were used. A laboratory scale has been designed for electro-dewatering of sewage sludge. Activated sludge with a moisture content of 98% was studied. It is shown that the effect of activated sludge dewatering, depending on the duration of its treatment, is an S-shaped curve that resembles a kinetic autocatalytic reaction with three periods: induction, main, and fading. The possibility of electro-dewatering of sewage sludge with a maximum dewatering effect of 60% has been proven. Therefore, it is proposed to carry out mechanical dewatering of city sewage sludge using an electric field.
In modern conditions, the increase in anthropogenic pressure on the environment discharge of significant amounts of untreated or insufficiently treated wastewater into natural water bodies leads to a deterioration of water quality in sources of drinking water. Therefore, not only conceptual efforts to prevent environmental pollution and provide consumers with quality drinking water are of great importance, but also the mechanisms for their implementation should be revealed. In this aspect, one of the main tasks is the introduction of the latest tools, materials and designs of water treatment facilities and quality control of water supplied to consumers or discharged into natural sources. Pollution entering water bodies changes their physicochemical and biological parameters and leads to complications in the operation of water supply facilities. The solution of these problems is facilitated by the use of advanced technologies for the treatment of both drinking and wastewater. No less important is the establishment of optimal modes of operation of water treatment plants, which ensures maximum efficiency of their operation, conservation of water and energy resources, obtaining guaranteed quality of purified water. The article substantiates the use of natural mechanisms in the processes of deironing of water from underground sources and wastewater treatment. The generalized analysis of the operation of the units with bioreactor and contact clarifier filter during the filter cycle revealed that the standard quality of filtered water is ensured only between the minimum Gmin and maximum Gmax specific dirt content of the filter. It is offered to carry out automation of management of work of such installations at control by the differential pressure gauge of the maximum losses of pressure on the filter corresponding to Gmax value, with its switching to the washing mode. When washing the filter, it is necessary to reduce the specific amount of activated sludge from Gmax to Gmin, controlling the duration of washing the specified intensity with a timer. The proposed measures provide significant savings in water and electricity costs during operation.
Mehak Puri, Kavita Gandhi, Sanjay M. Kashyap
et al.
Abstract In the present work, wastewater treatment plant and sewerage drains from Nagpur, Central India were studied for frequently occurring endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). All the EDCs, such as bisphenol A (BPA), butylparaben (BuP), and diethyl phthalate (DEP) were present in all the collected samples with a detection frequency of 100%. Laboratory analysis revealed high BPA, BuP, and DEP levels, with mean concentrations of 79.10 ng/L, 4.12 ng/L, and 2.25 µg/L, respectively, in influent samples and 33.20 ng/L, 1.62 ng/L, and 0.77 µg/L, respectively, in effluent wastewater. The distribution of the emergent pollutants among the sampling locations was found to be consistent with the physico-chemical characteristics of wastewater, according to the component analysis, and the sites with the highest levels of contamination were also identified. Finally, an ecological risk assessment was carried out for aquatic biota in terms of risk quotients (RQs). The RQs for the target chemicals in effluent wastewater suggested a minimal impact, except for the target insect Chrironomus riparius, which had an RQ value of 33.20 for BPA.
In this paper, we consider the problem of verifying pre-opacity for discrete-time control systems. Pre-opacity is an important information-flow security property that secures the intention of a system to execute some secret behaviors in the future. Existing works on pre-opacity only consider non-metric discrete systems, where it is assumed that intruders can distinguish different output behaviors precisely. However, for continuous-space control systems whose output sets are equipped with metrics (which is the case for most real-world applications), it is too restrictive to assume precise measurements from outside observers. In this paper, we first introduce a concept of approximate pre-opacity by capturing the security level of control systems with respect to the measurement precision of the intruder. Based on this new notion of pre-opacity, we propose a verification approach for continuous-space control systems by leveraging abstraction-based techniques. In particular, a new concept of approximate pre-opacity preserving simulation relation is introduced to characterize the distance between two systems in terms of preserving pre-opacity. This new system relation allows us to verify pre-opacity of complex continuous-space control systems using their finite abstractions. We also present a method to construct pre-opacity preserving finite abstractions for a class of discrete-time control systems under certain stability assumptions.
Monitoring the quality of rivers entering the Caspian Sea can play a key role in planning to preserve and manage the health of aquatic organisms. Mazandaran province has several rivers flowing into the Caspian Sea. Hence, the quality of 28 estuaries along the coasts of Mazandaran province were investigated in the present study using water quality indexes. Method: Water sampling from 28 estuaries was performed and physicochemical parameters were measured including dissolved oxygen, pH, fecal coliform, chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand, phosphate, nitrate, ammonia, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, total solids, bisphenol A and nonylphenol. Then, the water quality was evaluated through NSFWQI, IRWQISC, and Liou indexes. Ranges of 1.99-18.94 mg/L and 3-12.42 mg/L were obtained in Kazemrood, Tajan, Alamkola, Kelayebon, Mahmoodabad, Talarood and Noshahr estuaries for BAP and in Chalakrood, Espirood, Chaloos, Alamkola, Fereidonkenar and Mashalakrood estuaries for NP, respectively. Results illustrated, a few rivers have high quality according to IRWQISC index. While, with the NSFWQI, IRWQISC and Liou index classification, a high number of rivers, especially Sorkhrood, Tonekabon, Noor, Mahmoodabad and Tajan were placed in the worst quality categories. The urban and agricultural row wastewaters surrounding the Mazandaran Province Rivers are the main reasons for the decreasing water quality. Studies should be undertaken on wastewater treatment and riparian ecological rivers to improve the water quality of the mentioned rivers.
Technology, Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes
Overdue water and wastewater bills of clients impedes any effort by utility companies at providing better services. It is thus essential to identify the factors affecting the timely payment of water bills. The data used in this study consists of the information of the first five billing periods of 2019 and 2020 for 181578 household clients in Qom, Iran. The logistic regression and decision tree models are used for the analysis of this data. The results showed that the methods have similar performance and the accuracy of the models is close to each other and equal (72%). The highest accuracy in late and timely payments is related to logistic regression (72%) and decision tree (75%), respectively. The two methods of support vector machine and neural network have similar performance. Logistic regression method indicates that billing payment status in the previous year and the total debt amount at the end of the previous year, as well as the number of unmetered bills and the average consumption of the current year, with regression coefficients of 1.75, -0.86, -0.70 and 0.034 respectively, are the most significant factors affecting the number of timely paid bills. The results of the decision tree model show that 43% of subscribers did not pay on time in the new year, did not pay on time in the previous year. Also, 39% of subscribers who pay on time in the new year, also paid on time in the previous year and in the new year they did not have unmetered bills. Comparing the results of logistic regression and decision tree models has shown that both methods have similar accuracies. The results show that the payment behavior in the previous year, the total amount of debt at the end of the previous year, and the number of unmetered bills in the current year have a significant effect on the number of paid bills in the current year. Therefore, various monitoring, incentive, and preventive measures can be used to improve the prospect of collecting the receivables. Increasing the supervision on meter reading staff, surveying the customers with unmetered bills, providing bonuses for timely payments, installment of previous debts, assigning penalties for delayed payments, and finally, cutting the water supply as a last resort are among these measures. In addition, the Omid utilities executive order, issued in January 2021, indicates that the household customers with monthly consumption of less than 5 m3 are exempt from payment. Therefore, these customers must be monitored, and special measures should be taken to collect their outstanding debts.
Technology, Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes
Wastewater treatment unit in an oil refinery is one of the main emission sources of volatile organic compounds and exposure to these pollutants has major negative impacts on refinery staff and residents of adjacent areas. The purpose of this study is to investigate the concentration of volatile organic compounds in refinery effluents and to estimate the emission of these compounds into the air. Concentration and pollution load of volatile organic compounds in operating units and basins of treatment unit wastewater were analyzed using gas chromatography and emission estimation of them was done using the Rank 2 and Rank 3 of the US Environmental Protection Agency. The pollution received by wastewater plant was 1095 ton/y of five components: benzene, toluene, xylene, ethyl benzene and hexane, while 5379 ton/y for the eleven pollutants including previous five components plus pentane, heptane, methyl cyclohexane, 1-2-4 tri-methylbenzene, 1-3-5 tri-methylbenzene and dodecane. Based on refinery feed, for each ton of crude oil processed, 187 g of the total 5 compounds and 692 g of 11 compounds are produced from operational units; but only 78% of the 11 compounds and 60% of the 5 compounds could reach the treatment unit, which indicates the emission of pollutants in the transfer path. Overall, for each ton of processed crude oil, 48.5 g of 5 compounds and 241.6 g of 11 compounds from effluent treatment ponds are emitted to the atmosphere. Identifying the sources of volatile organic compounds production is one of the ways to reduce the pollution load entering the treatment unit and thus reduces the emission from the refinery. Based on these results, refineries could apply proper strategies for emission decrease. This research has been done for a refinery with ten megatons capacity per year and medium complexity, which could be used by any analogous refinery in the world.
Technology, Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes
Within the last decade the production of plastic steadily increased and so did the amount of plastic waste. When bigger plastic pieces enter the environment, they are fragmented over time due to mechanical and environmental forces. The occurring and the directly released microplastic cause severe problems on soil organisms, due to alteration of physical properties and chemical interactions in the habitat. Main emissions sources of microplastic are different kinds of abrasions (road traffic, packaging, fibers of textiles during washing), waste disposal and drifts. Remains of mulching foils and protection nets spoil agricultural soil as well as the application of compost, sewage sludge and digestate, which may contain microplastic. Once released, microplastic accumulates much stronger in terrestrial than in aquatic systems. Spectroscopic, microscopic and thermo-analytical methods are commonly used to analyze microplastic in soil. The main challenges are to differentiate between soil matrix and plastic particles and to get rid of disturbing organic compounds. Unfortunately, there is no soil without plastic, no environmental blind sample to allow the finding of method limits. Inter-laboratory cooperation and data collection should allow estimation and comparison of emissions not only on European but on global scale. Investigations of Austrian samples provided a first orientation for regulations and measures to avoid further environmental pollution.
A discrete multidimensional system is the set of solutions to a system of linear partial difference equations defined on the lattice $\Z^n$. This paper shows that it is determined by a unique coarsest sublattice, in the sense that the solutions of the system on this sublattice determine the solutions on $\Z^n$; it is therefore the correct domain of definition of the discrete system. In turn, the defining sublattice is determined by a Galois group of symmetries that leave invariant the equations defining the system. These results find application in understanding properties of the system such as controllability and autonomy, and in its order reduction.