A Review of Recent Advances in Water Vapor Deficit Sensor Technology for Improving Plant Water Usage Efficiency

Accurate assessment and monitoring of plant water stress are essential for optimizing irrigation strategies, improving water use efficiency. This article explores the multifaceted issue of water stress, encompassing both agricultural and environmental contexts. It emphasizes the pivotal role of precise water stress detection in effectively managing water resources and fostering sustainable agricultural practices. The primary focus is on the progression of sensors designed specifically to detect water stress, with particular attention given to two approaches: Vapor Pressure Deficit (VPD) and Crop Water Stress Index (CWSI). The article thoroughly investigates the underlying principles, operational mechanisms, advantages, and limitations of these sensor technologies. It vividly showcases their wide-ranging applications across agriculture, horticulture, and environmental monitoring, elucidating their significance in each domain. Moreover, it delves into the integration of VPD and CWSI sensors and introduces emerging technologies like thermal imaging and chlorophyll fluorescence sensors, expanding the horizon of water stress detection methodologies. Addressing the challenges linked to calibration and data interpretation, the article proposes potential pathways for future research endeavors. In essence, the overarching goal of this article is to propel the development of advanced sensor technologies, ultimately facilitating precise water stress detection. It aims to bolster sustainable water resource management practices while fortifying resilient agricultural methods in the face of evolving environmental challenges. VPD and CWSI-based approaches offer precise water stress insights in agriculture, aiding irrigation management

Designing, Simulating and Technical Analysis of a 2 MW On-grid Photovoltaic System for Agricultural Applications

The aim of this paper was to analyze technical analysis of agrivoltaic system in Kerman using PVsyst. A 2 MW photovoltaic system was developed for the grid-connected system. Meteonorm 7 software was used to get the meteorological data for the city of Kerman. PV loss resulting from variations of irradiance intensity and temperature and the inverter losses due to the operation were determined. The energy that can be generated throughout the year was calculated for each month considering the PV-array collection loss and system loss, i.e., inverter loss. The corresponding performance ratio was also determined for the energy output per month. Incident irradiation distribution, system output power distribution, array voltage distribution, and array temperature distribution were reported. Finally, parameter optimization tool was used to study the effect of tilt and azimuth. The tilt angle and the azimuth angle were 30o and 0o, respectively. The amount of annual energy injected into the grid was found to be 3766.321 MWh. The maximum energy injected into the grid was in August with 359.713 MWh, and the lowest energy was is in February with 264.412 MWh. As a result, an average annual performance ratio of 80.80% was achieved

Advances in consumer electric vehicle adoption research: A review and research agenda

In spite of the purported positive environmental consequences of electrifying the light duty vehicle fleet, the number of electric vehicles (EVs) in use is still insignificant. One reason for the modest adoption figures is that the mass acceptance of EVs to a large extent is reliant on consumers’ perception of EVs. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the drivers for and barriers against consumer adoption of plug-in EVs, as well as an overview of the theoretical perspectives that have been utilized for understanding consumer intentions and adoption behavior towards EVs. In addition, we identify gaps and limitations in existing research and suggest areas in which future research would be able to contribute. Document type: Articl

Investigating the Kinetics, Energy and Exergy of Drying Apple Slices Using Infrared Radiation

Evaluating energy and exergy can help to optimize the amount of energy consumption in dryers. In this research, apple slices were dried using infrared radiation, and then the energy and exergy of this process were analyzed. For conducting the experiments, apple slices, in two thicknesses of 5 and 10 mm, were prepared and dried using two air mass velocities of 0.006 and 0.012 kg/s and under infrared radiation. The drying time varied from 90 to 130 minutes. Experimental data were fitted to three mathematical models. A logarithmic type model with coefficient determination of 0.99 was the best fit for drying apple slices data.  The results of energy and exergy analysis showed that the amount of energy consumption, energy efficiency, the amount of exergy consumed and its efficiency decrease in all treatments. The value of energy efficiency changed between 0.09 and 0.42 and exergy efficiency between 0.01 and 0.81 in different stages indicating that a large amount of energy consumed in dryer, leaves the system unused

Configuration Designs and Recent Applications of Photovoltaic-Thermal Solar Collectors for Drying Agricultural Material: A Review

Photovoltaic-thermal (PV-T) solar air/water collectors have received increasing attention in recent years. Efficiency is the most important parameter usually considered in PV-T technologies. The present paper expressed energy efficiency and thermal-electrical exergy of PV-T collectors, and compared the studies of researchers on the performance of these systems. The figures are provided to give an overview of how PV-T performance is improved. Changes in heat transfer fluid play a major role in electrical and thermal efficiency. A brief overview of the most promising fluids used in PV-T is reported in this article. Nowadays, improving PV- T performance by optimizing the adsorbent plate and cooling fluid and using nanofluid has been considered by researchers. The application of these schemes in implementation, especially in agriculture, can help significantly in increasing the efficiency of solar radiation. Therefore, future work should be aimed at increasing efficiency and reducing costs to increase their competitiveness and use as a renewable and environmentally friendly energy device

New product development based on customer knowledge management

New product development is risky and costly but could provide great competitive advantage for a company. If NPD success, then the revenue comes but if it does not success, the loss could be disruptive. The common failure rate in new food product development is between 60 to 80 percent (Grunert and Valli, 2001) which is noticeable. But how to reduce the risk of failure in NPD? What factors could cause in success? According to literature, one of the check boxes of NPD success is the consumers’ check box. If they are involved in NPD process in a systematic way, at least one source of risk has been faded. The first phase in NPD process, idea generation and developing the product concept is important to the success of NPD and acceptance of new product from consumer. Since this is the first step, it is the most proper point to focus. We here also target this phase. And try to provide a framework to systematic involvement of consumers in the first step of NPD.Validerat; 20101217 (root

Drivers to and barriers against sustainable consumption : exploring the role of consumer anticipated emotions in the context of consumer adoption of alternative fuel vehicles

With the increasing environmental problems, sustainable consumption is an important consumer behavior. Therefore, it is important to investigate further the significant drivers to and barriers against sustainable consumption, in order to increase the share of sustainable consumption and understanding of consumer behavior. This dissertation identifies two gaps. The first is in understanding consumer positive and negative anticipated emotions as an important factor influencing high-involvement sustainable consumption. The second gap relates to the lack of understanding about the associations between anticipated emotions and personal moral norms in high-involvement sustainable consumption. Against this background, the aim is to contribute to the sustainable consumption literature by investigating the roles and relations of anticipated emotions, personal moral norms, and weighing costs and benefits as drivers to and barriers against consumer adoption of a high-involvement sustainable product. A literature review and two empirical studies were conducted. Consumer adoption of alternative fuel vehicles is the specific sustainable consumption. Using quantitative methods, this phenomenon is investigated in the empirical studies conducted in Sweden. It was shown that anticipated emotions have direct effects on consumers' intention to adopt alternative fuel vehicles. Moreover, positive anticipated emotions (e.g. pride, pleasure, happiness) are drivers of sustainable consumption, while negative anticipated emotions (e.g. regret, embarrassment) are barriers against the sustainable consumption. This dissertation suggests an extension to the norm activation model, and shows that moral norms, ascription of responsibility, and awareness of environmental problems influence consumers' intentions through consumers’ anticipated emotions. For people who perceive high social norms related to decreasing the environmental impacts of car driving, the influence of positive anticipated emotions and personal moral norms are stronger. This points toward the social aspect of sustainable consumption and suggests that targeting the consumers who perceive high social norms is an important step to promoting sustainable consumption. Findings would be of relevance to marketers, policymakers and environmental organizations. Creating awareness and communicating personal responsibilities and moral norms related to the environment and consumption are important drivers for consumer adoption of sustainable products. However, it is noteworthy that consumer anticipated emotions about high-involvement sustainable products (such as alternative fuel vehicle) have also important influence on the sustainable consumption. Thus, consumer anticipated emotions should be considered in designing promotion programs

Public responses to an environmental transport policy in Sweden: Differentiating between acceptance and support for conventional and alternative fuel vehicles

Understanding public responses to environmental policies can"br/"help in achieving a move towards more renewable energy. Focusing on two"br/"types of public responses to a policy, namely public acceptance and"br/"public support, this study utilizes a survey of car owners (N=1,422) to"br/"explore public responses to an environmental transport policy in Sweden."br/"The results demonstrate higher levels of public acceptance than support"br/"for the policy and that adopters of Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFVs) are"br/"more prone to accept and support the policy by expressing higher"br/"intentions for continuous AFV adoption. Results of regression analyses"br/"show that policy acceptance can be explained by environmental beliefs and"br/"previous experience with AFVs. In addition, public support is also"br/"explained by public acceptance, even when controlling for other factors,"br/"which lends support to the deduction that policy acceptance can be"br/"theorized as antecedent to policy support. This study emphasizes the"br/"importance of understanding different types of public responses to an"br/"energy policy in order to recognize drivers for, and barriers against,"br/"successfully implementing a policy and communicating it with the public

Public responses to an environmental transport policy in Sweden: Differentiating between acceptance and support for conventional and alternative fuel vehicles

Understanding public responses to environmental policies can help in achieving a move towards more renewable energy. Focusing on two types of public responses to a policy, namely public acceptance and public support, this study utilizes a survey of car owners (N = 1422) to explore public responses to an environmental transport policy in Sweden. The results demonstrate higher levels of public acceptance than support for the policy and that adopters of Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFVs) are more prone to accept and support the policy by expressing higher intentions for continuous AFV adoption. Results of regression analyses show that policy acceptance can be explained by environmental beliefs and previous experience with AFVs. In addition, public support is also explained by public acceptance, even when controlling for other factors, which lends support to the deduction that policy acceptance can be theorized as antecedent to policy support. This study emphasizes the importance of understanding different types of public responses to an energy policy in order to recognize drivers for, and barriers against, successfully implementing a policy and communicating it with the public