Identifying and Ranking Landfill Sites for Municipal Solid Waste Management: An Integrated Remote Sensing and GIS Approach

Disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) is one of the significant global issues that is more evident in developing nations. One of the key methods for disposing of the MSW is locating, assessing, and planning for landfill sites. Faisalabad is one of the largest industrial cities in Pakistan. It has many sustainability challenges and planning problems, including MSW management. This study uses Faisalabad as a case study area and humbly attempts to provide a framework for identifying and ranking landfill sites and addressing MSW concerns in Faisalabad. This method can be extended and applied to similar industrial cities. The landfill sites were identified using remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS). Multiple datasets, including normalized difference vegetation, water, and built-up areas indices (NDVI, NDWI, and NDBI) and physical factors including water bodies, roads, and the population that influence the landfill site selection were used to identify, rank, and select the most suitable site. The target area was distributed into 9 Thiessen polygons and ranked based on their favorability for the development and expansion of landfill sites. 70% of the area was favorable for developing and expanding landfill sites, whereas 30% was deemed unsuitable. Polygon 6, having more vegetation, a smaller population, and built-up areas was declared the best region for developing landfill sites and expansion as per rank mean indices and standard deviation (SD) of RS and vector data. The current study provides a reliable integrated mechanism based on GIS and RS that can be implemented in similar study areas and expanded to other developing countries. Accordingly, urban planning and city management can be improved, and MSW can be managed with dexterity

Behavioral Modeling Paradigm for DC Nanogrid Based Distributed Energy Systems

The remarkable progress of power electronic converters (PEC) technology has led to their increased penetration in distributed energy systems (DES). Particularly, the direct current (dc) nanogrid-based DES embody a variety of sources and loads, connected through a central dc bus. Therefore, PECs are required to be employed as an interface. It would facilitate incorporation of the renewable energy sources and battery storage system into dc nanogrids. However, it is more challenging as the integration of multiple modules may cause instabilities in the overall system dynamics. Future dc nanogrids are envisioned to deploy ready-to-use commercial PEC, for which designers have no insight into their dynamic behavior. Furthermore, the high variability of the operating conditions constitute a new paradigm in dc nanogrids. It exacerbates the dynamic analysis using traditional techniques. Therefore, the current work proposes behavioral modeling to perform system level analysis of a dc nanogrid-based DES. It relies only on the data acquired via measurements performed at the input–output terminals only. To verify the accuracy of the model, large signal disturbances are applied. The matching of results for the switch model and its behavioral model verifies the effectiveness of the proposed model

Effects of Farmyard Manure and Different Phosphorus Inorganic Fertilizer Application Rates on Wheat Cultivation in Phosphorus-Deficient Soil

Less phosphorus (P) availability in calcareous alkaline soils is one of the major problems in achieving an optimum crop yield. Its deficiency in plants adversely affects growth and yield attributes. To overcome this issue, growers incorporate inorganic P fertilizers. However, the need for time in the sustainable management of soil fertility in terms of P. Farmyard manure (FYM) application is one of the most popular organic amendments in this regard. Thus, the current study was conducted to explore the best application rate of FYM in combination with inorganic P fertilizer single super phosphate (SSP). There were six treatments i.e., control (0F), 100%SSP (100P), 25% FYM and 75% SSP (25F+75P), 50% FYM and 50% SSP (50F+50P), 75% FYM and 25% SSP (75F+25P), and 100% FYM (100F+0P), applied in three replications. The design of the experiment was a randomized complete block design. For assessment of treatment response, two wheat cultivars (V1 = Pirsabak and V2 = Atta Habib) were used. Results showed that the application of 50F+50P significantly improved the plant height (20.69 and 32.01%), spike/m2 (35.19 and 30.10%), grain (41.10 and 38.16%), and leaf P (49.82 and 71.32%) compared to control in V1 and V2, respectively. A significant improvement in the grain and the biological yield of wheat V2 also validated the efficacious functioning of 50F+50P over control. In conclusion, 50F+50P has the potential to enhance wheat growth and nutrient concentration over control. More investigations are required for a more precise and balanced synchronization of FYM and SSP for the achievement of maximum wheat yield