Energy Consumption Reduction by High Solar Reflective Paint

High solar reflective paint has been widely used nowadays. It is claimed that it can substantially reduce heat gain through building envelope and energy consumption of houses. This study investigated energy saving from using high solar reflective paint compared with conventional paint. The chosen color tone was dark brown. Actual energy consumption was measured from two houses. One house was painted with high solar reflective paint. The other one was painted with conventional paint. Both houses were identical: 4 m wide x 6 m long x 3.16 m high with 24 m2 floor area. The houses were located in Samut Prakan, Thailand. From actual measurements during March and September 2019 which were in the hot and rainy seasons of Thailand, it was found that high solar reflective paint could reduce exterior surface temperature by as high as 8.1oC and save energy by 31.24% from decreasing cooling load due to less heat gain through the envelope. The energy simulation using the EnergyPlus software showed 32.69% saving which agreed well with the actual results

A parametric study on supercritical water gasification of Laminaria hyperborea: a carbohydrate-rich macroalga.

The potential of supercritical water gasification (SCWG) of macroalgae for hydrogen and methane production has been investigated in view of the growing interest in a future macroalgae biorefinery concept. The compositions of syngas from the catalytic SCWG of Laminaria hyperborea under varying parameters including catalyst loading, feed concentration, hold time and temperature have been investigated. Their effects on gas yields, gasification efficiency and energy recovery are presented. Results show that the carbon gasification efficiencies increased with reaction temperature, reaction hold time and catalyst loading but decreased with increasing feed concentrations. In addition, the selectivity towards hydrogen and/or methane production from the SCWG tests could be controlled by the combination of catalysts and varying reaction conditions. For instance, Ru/Al2O3 gave highest carbon conversion and highest methane yield of up to 11 mol/kg, whilst NaOH produced highest hydrogen yield of nearly 30 mol/kg under certain gasification conditions

The Relative Roles of Initial and Residual Sodium Nitrite on Germination of \u3cem\u3eClostridium botulinum\u3c/em\u3e Spores in Meat

Four levels of NaNO2 (0 ppm, 50 ppm, 100 ppm, and 156 ppm) were tested for antibotulinal activity in ground pork inoculated with spores of Clostridium botulinum either at the time of formulation or after cooking. Samples formulated with less than 156 ppm sodium nitrite received additional nitrite to adjust the residual nitrite equal to that found after cooking in samples formulated with 156 ppm nitrite. All samples were subjected to abusive storage at 27 C. Inoculating the spores at the time of formulation resulted in a faster rate of swelling. Heating C. botulinum spores for 30 min. at 77 C before addition to cooked meat also resulted in rapid germination. Total botulinal counts were significantly higher (p=0.05) in these samples, compared with similarly treated samples formulated with unheated spores. Samples formulated with 50 ppm initial sodium nitrite and with 78 ppm additional NaNO2 after cooking were the most inhibitory. Initial nitrite concentration was shown to be important for inhibition of C. botulinum growth, probably because of the inhibitory carryover effects of protein-bound nitrite formed during cooing, as well as influencing the concentration of residual nitrite

Fair Resource Allocation for Demands with Sharp Lower Tail Inequalities

We consider a fairness problem in resource allocation where multiple groups demand resources from a common source with the total fixed amount. The general model was introduced by Elzayn et al. [FAT*'19]. We follow Donahue and Kleinberg [FAT*'20] who considered the case when the demand distribution is known. We show that for many common demand distributions that satisfy sharp lower tail inequalities, a natural allocation that provides resources proportional to each group's average demand performs very well. More specifically, this natural allocation is approximately fair and efficient (i.e., it provides near maximum utilization). We also show that, when small amount of unfairness is allowed, the Price of Fairness (PoF), in this case, is close to 1

Effect of Iron Form, Temperature, and Inoculation with Clostridium botulinum Spores on Residual Nitrite in Meat and Model Systems

The effect of iron form (ferrous, ferric, heme), temperature and botulinal spores on nitrite level was determined in meat. In model systems, ferritin iron was also included, and ascorbate was used as a reducing agent. Reduced hemoglobin caused the most rapid nitrite depletion in both systems. Ferrous iron caused faster nitrite depletion in model systems than in meat. Ferrous iron reduced nitrite readily in model systems at 27°C, but not at 5°C. Ferritin iron did not affect nitrite level. In meat at 27°C, nitrite depletion was much faster in inoculated samples. Protein-bound nitrite levels were higher in meat with added ionic iron. In cured meat with added ionic iron, iron-NO-protein complexes may form, lowering the amount of nitric oxide (NO) available to inhibit botulinal spore outgrowth