Development of sustainable chemical technologies using low-cost ionic liquids for waste decontamination and valorization

This work proposed and investigated key strategies that contribute to the advancements of low-cost protic ILs (PILs) for use in the future sustainable chemical industry, particularly in the areas of waste valorization and decontamination. In large, this PhD research contributed to the ongoing development of a lignocellulose fractionation process using PILs. First, the use of contaminated waste wood was investigated as a low-cost alternative feedstock to expensive virgin biomass. Fractionation of post-consumer waste wood collected from construction activities was shown to be highly effective using 1-methylimidazolium chloride [H1Cim]Cl, producing a highly digestible metal-free cellulose pulp, with >70% glucose yield during enzymatic hyrolysis. Evaluation of key process parameters such as solid loading, waste wood composition variation, metal chelation with lignin and IL-clean up were also investigated. The study was expanded to include the valorization of hazardous creosote waste wood using the low-cost PIL N,N,N-dimethylbutylammonium hydrogen sulfate [DMBA][HSO4]. The fractionation produced a highly digestible, PAH-free cellulose pulp stream with 70% glucose release, and a PAH-lignin stream. Second, to develop a better understanding of the process boundary conditions, water use as co-solvent and anti-solvent was investigated using a variety of promising lignocellulosic biomass. It was shown that the impact of water as a co-solvent on the fractionation ability of [DMBA][HSO4] is feedstock-dependent. A reduced water input for lignin precipitation was found not to compromise the cellulose digestibility, while significantly reducing the process energy. In addition, the impact of ionoSolv pretreatment severity on fractionation performance was evaluated using a modified pretreatment severity factor, incorporating the Hammett acidity of the aqueous IL solution. The modified severity factor can better predict the fractionation outcome compared to the classical pretreatment severity factor, particularly regarding delignification and hemicellulose removal. Attention was then turned to utilization of the cellulose pulp derived from the ionoSolv process to produce functionalized nanocellulose crystals (CNCs). Alkaline-H2O2 oxidation was used as a simple and more environmentally friendly method for facile extraction of carboxylated CNCs. The impact of pretreatment severity and cellulose composition on the properties of extracted CNCs was evaluated. The produced CNCs had the ability to form self-standing nanofilms and exhibited similar thermal and colloidal stability to CNCs produced by TEMPO-mediated oxidation. Lastly, a novel approach for textile waste decontamination and synthetic dye reuse using PILs was developed. The PIL [DMBA][HSO4] was used to selectively extract dyes from polyester-based synthetic textiles, leaving the dye-free polyester fiber behind for upcycling. Subsequent dyeing using the dye-rich [DMBA][HSO4] solutions was shown to be possible, achieving a similar color strength to commercially dyed products. The process provides key and novel advantages that can provide a new circular dimension to the textile recycling sector by eliminating virgin dye use, applying a closed-loop solvent-based dyeing process, and creating dye-free polyester fibers.Open Acces

Low-Cost Active Monitoring of Attendance using Passive RFID Technology

In this paper, a smart attendance system for students attending schools is proposed. The proposed attendance system is based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to facilitate automation and convenience. The proposed RFID Attendance System (RFID-AS) should be used by school administration to ensure safety for students as well as using it for grading and evaluation purposes. After careful study, passive RFID technology is selected to be used by the proposed system for its reasonable cost. The main components of the system are an RFID tag, an RFID reader, Visual Studio (XAF Tool), and SQL Server to compare the data from the RFID tag with the students’ database to record attendance automatically. A Graphical User Interface (GUI) is developed using Visual Studio (XAF Tool) to allow parents and school faculty to log in and browse the students’ records. Students will pass the classroom door, which will have an integrated RFID reader device to read their RFID. The paper discusses the design of the solution as well as the testing scenarios

A Study on Pyrolysis of Lignin over Mesoporous Materials

The aromatics have widespread uses across the chemical industries. Where, the monocyclic aromatics (e.g. BTX) and phenolics compounds are important basic raw materials for several industrial petrochemical processes such as synthetic polymers, detergents, biocides, resins, explosives, etc. Traditional production of these valuable chemicals has been dependent on fossil resources for more than half a century. So, it requires strategies for alternative chemical production from renewable sources especially from nonedible biomass. This chapter presents a review of the recent literature on the fast pyrolysis process for the production of aromatic hydrocarbons using mesoporous catalysts. We focus on the factors that can enhance the yield of aromatics and the lifetime of the catalyst used. Background information on catalyst deactivation during the pyrolysis process was described. The role of mesoporous catalyst’s acidity and textural and topological properties of lignin to aromatics conversion was also discussed in detail

Effect of electrical muscle stimulation on prevention of ICU acquired muscle weakness and facilitating weaning from mechanical ventilation

Objective: ICU acquired muscle weakness (ICUAMW) is an acquired neuromuscular disorder associated with increased duration of mechanical ventilation and weaning suggesting a possible relation between the limb and respiratory neuromuscular involvement. There is no preventive tool and no specific treatment has been proposed for ICU acquired muscle weakness. Aim of this study was to assess the effect of electrical muscle stimulation on prevention of ICUAMW and in facilitating the weaning from mechanical ventilation in critically ill patients.Design: A prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.Setting: Critical care department, main Alexandria university hospital.Patients: 80 Critically ill patients on mechanical ventilation for more than  24 h.Methods: They were randomly categorized into two groups: 40 patients received conventional lines of treatment only (control group) and 40 patients received in addition one daily session of Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) (EMS group). Assessment of occurrence of ICUAMW was done through the MEDICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL SCALE (MRCS) which is a method for clinical assessment of muscle strength.Results: MRCS did not show any significant difference between the two groups in the first 3 days post mechanical ventilation while on day 4, MRCS mean value was 46.86± 10.88 in the EMS group versus 43.70 ±9.32 in the control group (p= 0.041). On day 21, MRCS mean value was 29.67± 8.87 in the EMS group versus 19.60 ± 4.34 in the control group (p=0.037). Significant difference was also noted in the duration of mechanical ventilation as the mean value in the EMS group was 9.01 ± 8.01 days versus 11.97 ± 8.07 in the control group (p= 0.048).Conclusions: Although the EMS could not prevent the occurrence of ICUAMW in critically ill mechanically ventilated patients it still has a role in minimizing the degree of muscular weakness and could be helpful in facilitating weaning from mechanical ventilation.Keywords: Mechanical ventilation – weaning; Neuro-polyneuropath

Understanding the landscape of shared-e-scooters in North America; Spatiotemporal analysis and policy insights

Shared-e-scooters are being introduced in cities worldwide, with their introduction often being distant from the actual service characteristics understanding, potential benefits, and threats realization. This research explores scooter use by examining approximately nine million scooter trips from five North American cities (Austin; TX, Calgary; AB, Chicago; IL, Louisville; KY, Minneapolis; MN). By investigating the spatiotemporal hourly and daily use, we found that demand patterns tend to be similar in the different cities. Trip characteristics (speed, duration, and distance) are almost empirically consistent across the five cities; however, there is evidence that trip characteristics change over time in the same city. We also examined the impact of exogenous factors on scooter demand, and found that weather (temperature, wind speed, precipitation, and snow), day of the week, infrastructure (bike lanes, sidewalks, and shared bike stations), sociodemographics (gender, age, and income), land use, and accessibility to transit significantly impact demand. Findings highlight the need for evidence-based examination of shared-e-scooters and regulatory processes to guide policy decisions by the different stakeholders

The sustainability of shared mobility: Can a platform for shared rides reduce motorized traffic in cities?

Studies in several cities indicate that ridesourcing (ride-hailing) may increase traffic and congestion, given the substitution of more sustainable modes and the addition of empty kilometers. On the other hand, there is little evidence if smartphone apps that target shared rides have any influence on reducing traffic levels. We study the effects of a shared-mobility service offered by a start-up in Mexico City, Jetty, which is used by travelers to book a shared ride in a car, van or bus. A large-scale user survey was conducted to study trip characteristics, reasons for using the platform and the general travel choices of Jetty users. We calculate travel distance per trip leg, for the current choices and for the modes that riders would have chosen if the platform was not available. We find that the effect of the platform on vehicle kilometers traveled (VKT) depends on the rate of empty kilometers introduced by the fleet of vehicles, the substitution of public versus private transport modes, the occupancy rate of Jetty vehicles and assumptions on the occupancy rate of substituted modes. Following a sensitivity analysis approach for variables with unavailable data, we estimate that shared rides in cars increase VKT (in the range of 7 to 10 km/passenger), shared vans are able to decrease VKT (around −0.2 to −1.1 km/passenger), whereas buses are estimated to increase VKT (0.4 to 1.1 km/passenger), in our preferred scenarios. These results stem from the tradeoff between the effects of the occupancy rates per vehicle (larger vehicles are shared by more people) and the attractiveness of the service for car users (shared vans attract more car drivers than buses booked through Jetty). Our findings point to the relevance of shared rides in bigger vehicles such as vans as competitors to low occupancy car services for the future of mobility in cities, and to the improvement of public transportation services through the inclusion of quality attributes as provided by new shared-mobility services

Investigating social media spatiotemporal transferability for transport

Social Media have increasingly provided data about the movement of people in cities making them useful in understanding the daily life of people in different geographies. Particularly useful for travel analysis is when Social Media users allow (voluntarily or not) tracing their movement using geotagged information of their communication with these online platforms. In this paper we use geotagged tweets from 10 cities in the European Union and United States of America to extract spatiotemporal patterns, study differences and commonalities among these cities, and explore the nature of user location recurrence. The analysis here shows the distinction between residents and tourists is fundamental for the development of city-wide models. Identification of repeated rates of location (recurrence) can be used to define activity spaces. Differences and similarities across different geographies emerge from this analysis in terms of local distributions but also in terms of the worldwide reach among the cities explored here. The comparison of the temporal signature between geotagged and non-geotagged tweets also shows similar temporal distributions that capture in essence city rhythms of tweets and activity spaces

Identity and Production of Discourse Between Individual Literature and Popular Imagination,Character of (Antara bin Shaddad) As a Model

 تسعى هذه الدراسة إلى محاولة الكشف عن علاقة الهوية بإنتاج الخطاب بين الأدب الفردي والخيال الشعبي، عبر شخصية (عنترة بن شداد). لقد مثَّل خطاب عنترة الشعري خطابًا فرديًّا انطلق من قضية ذاتية وهي قضية إثبات النسب؛ رغبة في تحقيق هدفه والزواج من ابنة عمه، فكان خطابًا آنيًّا يعبر عن الوقائع الاتصالية التي مرت بها الشخصية، وما أفرزته من خطابات تشكلت عبرها تحولات الهوية من العبودية إلى مرحلة تحقق الاعتراف القبلي به بوصفه بطل القبيلة المنقذ لها. بينما صنعت السيرة الشعبية خطابًا غيريًّا مختلف الوظائف؛ إذ منحت عنترة هوية البطل منذ مرحلة الميلاد وحتى موته، انطلاقًا من الوظيفة القومية المنوطة به في توحيد العرب، والقضاء على أعدائهم من الفرس والترك؛ تمهيدًا لظهور النبي محمد (ص) ورسالته السماوية. من هذا المنطلق تحاول هذه الدراسة-مستعينة بمنهج تحليل الخطاب الاجتماعي-التعرف على مفهوم الهوية وتشكلاتها في كل من الخطاب الشعري، وخطاب السيرة الشعبية، وعلاقتها بإنتاج الخطاب.This study attempts to reveal the relationship between identity and discourse production with particular reference to individual literature and folk imagination, through the character of (Antara bin Shaddad). Antara’s discourse represents individual discourse that emerged from a self-issue concerning affiliation, aiming to marry his cousin. It was an instant discourse, expressing the communication facts that the character went through. It resulted in discourses reflecting identity transformations from slavery to tribal recognition constructing the hero of the tribe who saved it. However, the folk biography has formed a discourse of the other with various functions. Antara was granted the identity of the hero from birth until his death, due to his national role in uniting the Arabs and eliminating their enemies from Persians and Turks, before the emergence of the Prophet Muhammad (pbu) and his divine message. Therefore, this study applies social discourse analysis, attempting to determine the concept of identity and its forms in both poetic discourse and discourse of folk biography, and its relationship to discourse production

Multidomain Hierarchical Resource Allocation for Grid Applications

Geographically distributed applications in grid computing environments are becoming more and more resource intensive. Many applications require the collaboration between different domains, may be independently administrated domains, to exchange data and share computing and storage resources. This collaboration should be done in a way that maintains the privacy of each participant domain. This calls for new architectures and approaches to deal with such multidomain environments. We propose a hierarchical-based architecture as well as multidomain hierarchical resource allocation approach. The resource allocation is performed in a distributed way among different domains such that each participant domain keeps its internal topology and private data hidden while sharing abstracted information with other domains. Both computing and networking resources are jointly scheduled while optimizing the application completion time taking into account data transfer delays. Simulation results show the scalability and feasibility of the proposed approach