The effect of wind pressure on the frequency of open and closed flue organ pipes

LD2668 .T4 1941 C47Master of Scienc

Optimisation and modelling of pyrolysis processes focused on the treatment of municipal solid waste scaled towards decentralised energy from waste systems

Energy from Waste (EfW) technologies are beneficial for both energy generation and as a waste management option. However they face significant challenges due to the heterogeneous nature of municipal solid waste. The overall aim of the research reported in this thesis was therefore to explore some of the problems which hinder the development of commercial scale EfW technologies. A laboratory scale pyrolysis reaction rig has been developed to investigate the effect of temperature, residence time and fuel type on the pyrolysis products. Investigations were also undertaken to establish the composition of gas produced from the pyrolysis of typical waste feedstocks in two commercial scale pyrolysis rigs. An empirical model has been developed to predict the pyrolysis behaviours on a larger scale and comparisons have been made with data from the commercial scale rigs. The research findings showed that the majority of the reduction of mass during pyrolysis occurred within the first 5-10 minutes with a loss of up to 70 % at 550 °C and up to 77 % at 700 °C for paper, newspaper and cardboard. Paper, newspaper and cardboard behaved similarly with solid, liquid and gaseous fractions of approximately 33 %, 53 % and 13 % respectively. Products from the plastics components varied significantly; PET produced the highest gaseous products (42 %) and HDPE produced the highest solid products (45 %). An increase in pyrolysis temperature increased the gaseous products from paper to 34 % to the detriment of liquid and solid yields. The main gases produced from the pyrolysis were found to be CO2, CO and H2, except for the pyrolysis of PVC where the main gases produced, from the high content of hydrochloride, were not identified in this study. An increase in pyrolysis temperature was found to increase the production of CO and H2. The gas produced from commercial rig 1 mostly consisted of CO2 due to the low temperature and the addition of air to the pyrolysis chamber. The gas produced from commercial rig 2 consisted of high volumes of CO and H2 suggesting the rig was operating at a temperature above 550 °C. An empirical model was developed based on laboratory data to allow prediction the effect of a change in MSW composition on the pyrolysis gas. It was found that the addition of newspaper to a waste mix led to a higher production of CO and therefore a higher HHV. In general, the results of this study suggest that the laboratory scale pyrolysis rig used in this study and the empirical models developed, can be employed to predict the behaviour of larger scale commercial pyrolysis systems. However, further experimental investigation on the pyrolysis behaviours of mixed waste samples, especially plastic fractions, is hereby proposed

Distributed Sensor Logging: As Easy as a Mesh of Yoyos

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.The Mass Gathering Data Acquisition and Analysis (MaGDAA) project involved the development of hardware and software solutions to facilitate the rapid and effective collection of autonomous and survey based data during mass gathering events. The aim of the project was the development and trial of a purpose-built Open Hardware based environment monitoring sensor prototypes using IOIO (pronounced “yoyo”) boards. Data from these sensors, and other devices, was collected using Open Source software running on Android powered mobile phones, tablets and other open hardware based platforms. Data was shared using a Wi-Fi mesh network based on an Open Source project called The Serval Project. Additional data in the form of survey based questionnaires were collected using ODK Collect, one of the applications in the Open Data Kit suite. The MaGDAA project demonstrated that it is possible for researchers (through the use of Open Source software and Open Hardware) to own, visualise, and share data without the difficulties of setting up and maintaining servers. MaGDAA proved to be an effective infrastructure independent sensor logging network that enables a broad range of data collection (demographic, predispositions, motivations, psychosocial and environmental influencers and modifiers of audience behaviour, cultural value) in the field of mass gathering research

From awareness to involvement? A qualitative study of respiratory patients’ awareness of health service change

Background  Despite the policy rhetoric, patient involvement in health service decisions remains limited. Highlighted barriers include a concern that most patients are unable to see beyond personal aspects of their care in order to contribute meaningfully to health service development, and a perception that professionals do not welcome patient involvement. Objectives  We aimed to explore respiratory patients’ awareness of changes in local health service provision and provide insight into health professionals’ attitudes to engaging patients. Methods  Nested within an ethnographic study of health service reconfiguration, we recruited 31 patients with a range of respiratory diseases from four case study areas in England and Wales. Data from telephone interviews, illness diaries and focus groups with patients, and interviews with health professionals and managers were transcribed and analysed using the Framework approach. Results  Participants were not only aware of trends in health service provision (e.g. emergence of new professional roles, shift from secondary to primary care) but interpreted changes in the light of local and national events. Despite this awareness, none of the patients was formally involved in service development, though some contributed to local voluntary groups. Professionals generally welcomed the need for patients’ views to be heard. Discussion and conclusions  Our data give grounds for optimism. Patients are aware of and interested in a broad range of health‐related issues. Professionals’ motivation to involve patients in service development may be underestimated. Although practical obstacles remain, our findings should encourage the ongoing search for effective models of promoting patient engagement in health‐care services

The effect of ovariectomy and of the injection of extracts of the corpus luteum on pregnancy in rats

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1930 C4

Digital Education Services- Bridging the gap

Activate Learning presentation at the 2019 Oxford Brookes library TeachMeet