Critical review of real-time methods for solid waste characterisation: Informing material recovery and fuel production

Waste management processes generally represent a significant loss of material, energy and economic resources, so legislation and financial incentives are being implemented to improve the recovery of these valuable resources whilst reducing contamination levels. Material recovery and waste derived fuels are potentially valuable options being pursued by industry, using mechanical and biological processes incorporating sensor and sorting technologies developed and optimised for recycling plants. In its current state, waste management presents similarities to other industries that could improve their efficiencies using process analytical technology tools. Existing sensor technologies could be used to measure critical waste characteristics, providing data required by existing legislation, potentially aiding waste treatment processes and assisting stakeholders in decision making. Optical technologies offer the most flexible solution to gather real-time information applicable to each of the waste mechanical and biological treatment processes used by industry. In particular, combinations of optical sensors in the visible and the near-infrared range from 800 nm to 2500 nm of the spectrum, and different mathematical techniques, are able to provide material information and fuel properties with typical performance levels between 80% and 90%. These sensors not only could be used to aid waste processes, but to provide most waste quality indicators required by existing legislation, whilst offering better tools to the stakeholders

Ag-IoT for crop and environment monitoring: Past, present, and future

CONTEXT: Automated monitoring of the soil-plant-atmospheric continuum at a high spatiotemporal resolution is a key to transform the labor-intensive, experience-based decision making to an automatic, data-driven approach in agricultural production. Growers could make better management decisions by leveraging the real-time field data while researchers could utilize these data to answer key scientific questions. Traditionally, data collection in agricultural fields, which largely relies on human labor, can only generate limited numbers of data points with low resolution and accuracy. During the last two decades, crop monitoring has drastically evolved with the advancement of modern sensing technologies. Most importantly, the introduction of IoT (Internet of Things) into crop, soil, and microclimate sensing has transformed crop monitoring into a quantitative and data-driven work from a qualitative and experience-based task. OBJECTIVE: Ag-IoT systems enable a data pipeline for modern agriculture that includes data collection, transmission, storage, visualization, analysis, and decision-making. This review serves as a technical guide for Ag-IoT system design and development for crop, soil, and microclimate monitoring. METHODS: It highlighted Ag-IoT platforms presented in 115 academic publications between 2011 and 2021 worldwide. These publications were analyzed based on the types of sensors and actuators used, main control boards, types of farming, crops observed, communication technologies and protocols, power supplies, and energy storage used in Ag-IoT platforms

Analysis of hop drying in chamber dryer

ArticleThis article is aimed at the analysis of the hop drying process that has been carried out in the chamber dryer of Rakochmel Co. Ltd. in Kolešovice with the Saaz hop variety. The values measured by means of dataloggers as well as fixed sensors show an identical trend. When the hops fall over from one slat box onto another, the drying air temperature declines and the relative humidity rises. A sharp increase in the relative humidity gradually decreases starting with the first slat box and finishing with the emptying conveyor, which points to a gradual levelling of the relative humidity and hop moisture. The hop moisture content, determined from laboratory samples, logically decreases depending on the measurement time. In comparison to belt dryers, chamber dryers clearly ensure continuous and more gentle drying during which the hops are not overdried and a moisture content of 10% is achieved practically only at the outlet of the dryer prior to conditioning

Sensors Application in Agriculture

Novel technologies are playing an important role in the development of crop and livestock farming and have the potential to be the key drivers of sustainable intensification of agricultural systems. In particular, new sensors are now available with reduced dimensions, reduced costs, and increased performances, which can be implemented and integrated in production systems, providing more data and eventually an increase in information. It is of great importance to support the digital transformation, precision agriculture, and smart farming, and to eventually allow a revolution in the way food is produced. In order to exploit these results, authoritative studies from the research world are still needed to support the development and implementation of new solutions and best practices. This Special Issue is aimed at bringing together recent developments related to novel sensors and their proved or potential applications in agriculture

Internet of underground things in precision agriculture: Architecture and technology aspects

The projected increases in World population and need for food have recently motivated adoption of information technology solutions in crop fields within precision agriculture approaches. Internet Of Underground Things (IOUT), which consists of sensors and communication devices, partly or completely buried underground for real-time soil sensing and monitoring, emerge from this need. This new paradigm facilitates seamless integration of underground sensors, machinery, and irrigation systems with the complex social network of growers, agronomists, crop consultants, and advisors. In this paper, state-of-the-art communication architectures are reviewed, and underlying sensing technology and communication mechanisms for IOUT are presented. Moreover, recent advances in the theory and applications of wireless underground communication are also reported. Finally, major challenges in IOUT design and implementation are identified

IoT-based systems for soil nutrients assessment in horticulture

Soil nutrients assessment has great importance in horticulture. Implementation of an information system for horticulture faces many challenges: (i) great spatial variability within farms (e.g., hilly topography); (ii) different soil properties (e.g., different water holding capacity, different content in sand, sit, clay, and soil organic matter, different pH, and different permeability) for different cultivated plants; (iii) different soil nutrient uptake by different cultivated plants; (iv) small size of monoculture; and (v) great variety of farm components, agroecological zone, and socio-economic factors. Advances in information and communication technologies enable creation of low cost, efficient information systems that would improve resources management and increase productivity and sustainability of horticultural farms. We present an information system based on different sensing capability, Internet of Things, and mobile application for horticultural farms. An overview on different techniques and technologies for soil fertility evaluation is also presented. The results obtained in a botanical garden that simulates the diversity of environment and plant diversity of a horticultural farm are discussed considering the challenges identified in the literature and field research. The study provides a theoretical basis and technical support for the development of technologies that enable horticultural farmers to improve resources management.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Drying of granulated products by conventional heat transfer and high-frequency techniques

In this study the contribution of the different heat transfer methods in the drying of granulated materials is analysed from the viewpoint of the available electro-heat technology. Although the work has been directed to present day commercial applications and proposes definite drying schemes the research has been focused on high frequency heating techniques, which appear to be the most promising alternatives as far as medium and large throughput continuous processes are concerned. An experimental rig has been designed and built, this unit has been used to obtain a preliminary set of data on the performance of the high frequency drying process under different operating conditions