The environmental knowledge and pro-environmental behavior of future engineers in Morocco

During the recent decades, raising the level of environmental awareness has become one of the main social goals, which has reached a level of social and political consensus never seen before. Education can be the catalyst that changes people’s behavior regarding the environment (Zsóka et al., 2013; Schultz, 2014). Many studies have demonstrated a positive link between education level and pro-environmental behavior (Fernandez-Manzanal et al., 2007; Levine and Strube, 2012; Meyer, 2015; Monier et al., 2009). In Morocco, as in many countries of the world, human behavior towards the environment has been defective. However, the country has been taking a number of steps to protect the environment. There have been few researchers investigating the role of universities as agents contributing to environmental awareness, especially engineering schools. Engineering work has a significant effect on the world. The advent of engineers, engineering work, and engineering schooling is closely related to countries development (Downey and Lucena 2004, Downey and Lucena 2005). This paper aims to analyze the relationship between 3 factors: the sources of environmental issues, the acquired knowledge and the pro-environmental behavior to protect the environment. In order to do that, a survey of 141 engineering students has been assessed in 5 different engineering schools and the results have then shown that the sources of information is the internet and this source doesn’t lead to accountability of the individuals. Furthermore, the taken actions for the environment rarely include trash sorting, paper and meat consumption

Exploitation of olive mill wastewater in sorghum irrigation

Purpose In Morocco, the olive industry has made remarkable progress thanks to the "Green Morocco Plan" adopted by the Ministry of Agriculture. In 2018, the total production was around 2,000,000 tons of olives, with a growth of 11.93% compared to the previous years. However, each year this activity generates millions of tons of liquid and solid pollutants "olive mill wastewater (OMW)" and "pomace", discharged directly into water streams without prior treatment, which creates serious ecological problems.Method This study focuses on the use of raw and diluted OMW for the fertilization of sorghum. The OMW were characterized, diluted (½ and ¼), and applied at a rate of 5 L /week /m2. Sorghum growth was monitored by studying physiological performance (transpiration, stomatal conductance, the intensity of photosynthesis, and the performance of photosystem II).Results The raw OMW is acidic, salty, highly loaded with organic (COD / BOD5 = 7.1> 3), and inorganic matter and polyphenol content of 9 g/L. All the parameters for monitoring the growth of sorghum are lower for plants irrigated by raw OMW, which are symptoms of water stress. Using the T-test, the plants irrigated by half-diluted OMW have yielded the same results as those of the control.Conclusion Despite the fact that the half dilution of OMW has proved promising results, we suggest that it should be pretreated before its use in sorghum irrigation to reduce its organic loads and acidity

Application of the Plackett-Burman Design on Soil Fertility Determinants

In the present review article, a soil from the region of Fez-Sefrou Morocco was screened for some physicochemical characteristics using the Plackett-Burman model in order to determine the most important factors that promote its fertility. Five independent variables were selected: pH, electrical conductivity, humidity, organic matter, and C/N ratio. These variables were evaluated by statistical analysis, based on their significance, the value of the coefficient of determination and the Pareto chart. The results suggest that humidity and C/N ratio have an influence with a high level of confidence, while the other three show no significant effect on the content of nutrients in the soil. The analysis of the R2 variance value also showed that the models used for prediction were large and significant factors (p less than 0.05). Pareto chart plots for each response and its characteristics provided accurate data to select well-fitting variables for further optimization

Margines : traitement, valorisation dans la germination des graines de tomate et dans la filière de compostage

Les margines présentent une source de pollution pour l’environnement, d’où la nécessité de leur traitement ou de leur valorisation. Ce travail propose le traitement des margines par électrocoagulation et leur valorisation, d’une part dans la germination des graines de tomate de la variété Campbell 33, et d’autre part dans l’humidification d’un compost. Les margines étudiées sont acides, de couleur noire, et elles portent une forte charge organique et minérale non biodégradable. Leur traitement par électrocoagulation a augmenté leur pH jusqu’à la neutralité et a nettement réduit l’intensité de leur couleur, qui s’est traduite par une diminution de leur charge polluante en matières minérale et organique. Les margines traitées ont agi très favorablement sur la germination des graines de tomate, quel que soit le taux de dilution. L’application des margines brutes inhibe cette activité. L’utilisation des margines dans l’humidification du compost a participé à la biodégradation aérobie de tous les substrats, comme indiqué par la mesure des paramètres physicochimiques en fonction du temps jusqu’à sa maturation au bout de 12 semaines.Olive mill wastewaters represent a source of pollution for the environment, and hence there is a need for their treatment or their valorization. This study proposes the treatment of the olive mill wastewaters by electrocoagulation and their valorization, on the one hand, in the germination of the tomato seeds, and, on the other hand, in the humidification of compost. Raw olive mill wastewaters are acidic, with intense colour. They also have a high organic and mineral load. Electrocoagulation treatment increased their pH to neutrality and markedly reduced the intensity of their colour, which was reflected in a decrease in their polluting load of mineral and organic matter. The treated olive mill wastewaters acted very favourably on the germination of the tomato seeds, irrespective of the dilution rate. However, the application of raw olive mill wastewaters inhibited this activity. Using the olive mill wastewaters in the humification of compost contributed to the aerobic biodegradation of all substrates, as shown by monitoring physicochemical parameters over time until maturation after 12 weeks

Farmers’ Perceptions and Willingness of Compost Production and Use to Contribute to Environmental Sustainability

Composting is an ecological method of recycling organic waste. It presents an effective solution to reduce the large volume of agricultural waste and provides an organic fertilizer and soil amendment. However, its implementation remains limited, especially in Morocco. The vast majority of farmers are unaware of the effectiveness of compost, and it is often considered as an inefficient product compared with chemical fertilizers. In order to develop a local marketing strategy for compost, this study aims to identify the perceptions and willingness of farmers to produce and use compost in agriculture, and to assess the factors shaping these perceptions and willingness, including socio-economic, agricultural and individual factors. The case of Morocco is investigated, where the vast majority of farmers practice inappropriate disposal of agricultural waste and excessive use of agro-chemicals. Data are collected using a standard questionnaire and face-to-face interviews with 350 farmers during their visit to the international agricultural exhibition in Morocco. Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance (ANOVA) are used for data analysis. The results showed a high level (80%) of acceptance by farmers of the production and use of compost. Farmers are also very willing to produce and use compost in agriculture. All the socio-economic, individual and agricultural factors, except gender, length of experience and cultivated area, had a highly significant influence on farmers’ perception and willingness to produce compost (p < 0.005). The positive perceptions of farmers and the high level of willingness to produce compost imply that the composting of organic waste should be encouraged by our local authorities. The production of compost will thus contribute to environmental sustainability and to the promotion of the ecological management of agricultural waste meeting the requirements of a circular economy

Abstracts of the First International Conference on Advances in Electrical and Computer Engineering 2023

This book presents extended abstracts of the selected contributions to the First International Conference on Advances in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ICAECE'2023), held on 15-16 May 2023 by the Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Echahid Cheikh Larbi Tebessi, Tebessa-Algeria. ICAECE'2023 was delivered in-person and virtually and was open for researchers, engineers, academics, and industrial professionals from around the world interested in new trends and advances in current topics of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Conference Title: First International Conference on Advances in Electrical and Computer Engineering 2023Conference Acronym: ICAECE'2023Conference Date: 15-16 May 2023Conference Venue: University of Echahid Cheikh Larbi Tebessi, Tebessa-AlgeriaConference Organizer: Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Echahid Cheikh Larbi Tebessi, Tebessa-Algeri