This work focuses on the use of biologically produced activated carbon for improving the physi-co-chemical properties of water samples obtained from the Tigris River. An eco-friendly and low-cost activated carbon was prepared from the Alhagi plant using potassium hydroxide (KOH) as an impregnation agent. The prepared activated carbon was characterised using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy to determine the functional groups that exist on the raw material (Alhagi plant) and Alhagi activated carbon (AAC). Scanning electron microscope–energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscope was also used to investigate the surface shape and the elements that compose the powder. Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area analysis was used to evaluate the specific surface area and pore size of the prepared AAC. This study investigated three influential variables: activation temperature, activation time and impregnation ratio (IR) (KOH: dried solid wt./wt.). Central composite design was used to determine the interactions between the influential vari-ables. Results show that an activation temperature of 650°C, activation time of 2.5 h and IR of 1:2.6 are optimal for activated carbon preparation. © 2023 Desalination Publications. All rights reserved.
Increased downscaling of CMOS circuits with respect to feature size and threshold voltage has a result of dramatically increasing in leakage current. So, leakage power reduction is an important design issue for active and standby modes as long as the technology scaling increased. In this paper, a simultaneous active and standby energy optimization methodology is proposed for 22 nm sub-threshold CMOS circuits. In the first phase, we investigate the dual threshold voltage design for active energy per cycle minimization. A slack based genetic algorithm is proposed to find the optimal reverse body bias assignment to set of noncritical paths gates to ensure low active energy per cycle with the maximum allowable frequency at the optimal supply vo
... Show More15 sediment samples were collected; 8 samples from the eastern bank, and 7 samples from the western bank of Al-Wind River in Diyala governorate to assess the sediment pollution in some trace elements such as Fe, Ni, Cd, Zr, Zn and Cu in addition to some oxides such as Al2O3, CaO, Na2O and K2O to find the effect of anthropogenic pollution and the industrial production on the sediment closed especially Naftkhana by using some geochemical pollution indices such as: geoaccumulation factor (I-geo), enrichment factor (EF),contamination factor (CF), pollution loud index (PLI) and to evaluate the degree of weathering by Applying the Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA)in both banks of Al-Wind River. The
... Show MoreThis research focuses on the synthesis of carbon nanotube (CNT) and Poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) (pristine polymer) with Ag doped (CNT/ P3HT@Ag) nanocomposite thin films to be utilised in various practical applications. First, four samples of CNT solution and different ratios of the polymer (P3HT) [0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7 wt.%] are prepared to form thin layer of P3HT@CNT nanocomposites by dip-coating method of Ag. To investigate the absorption and conductivity properties for use in various practical applications, structure, morphology, optical, and photoluminescence properties of CNT/P3HT @Ag nanocomposite are systematically evaluated in this study. In this regard, the UV/Vis/NIR spectrophotometer in the wavelength range of 350 to 7
... Show MoreSub-threshold operation has received a lot of attention in limited performance applications.However, energy optimization of sub-threshold circuits should be performed with the concern of the performance limitation of such circuit. In this paper, a dual size design is proposed for energy minimization of sub-threshold CMOS circuits. The optimal downsizing factor is determined and assigned for some gates on the off-critical paths to minimize the energy at the maximum allowable performance. This assignment is performed using the proposed slack based genetic algorithm which is a heuristic-mixed evolutionary algorithm. Some gates are heuristically assigned to the original and the downsized design based on their slack time determined by static tim
... Show MoreThis paper focuses on Load distribution factors for horizontally curved composite concrete-steel girder bridges. The finite-element analysis software“SAP2000” is used to examine the key parameters that can influence the distribution factors for horizontally curved composite steel
girders. A parametric study is conducted to study the load distribution characteristics of such bridge system due to dead loading and AASHTO truck loading using finite elements method. The key parameters considered in this study are: span-to-radius of curvature ratio, span length, number of girders, girders spacing, number of lanes, and truck loading conditions. The results have shown that the curvature is the most critical factor which plays an important
In the current work various types of epoxy composites were added to concrete to enhance its effectiveness as a gamma- ray shield. Four epoxy samples of (E/clay/B4C) S1, (E/Mag/B4C) S2, (EPIL) S3 and (Ep) S4 were used in a comparative study of gamma radiation attenuation properties of these shields that calculating using Mont Carlo code (MCNP-5). Adopting Win X-com software and Artificial Neural Network (ANN), µ/ρ revealed great compliance with MCNP-5. By applying (µ/ρ) output for gamma at different energies, HVL, TVL and MFP have been also estimated. ANN technique was simulated to estimate (µ/ρ) and dose rates. According to the results, µ/ρ of all epoxy samples scored higher than standard concrete. Both S2 and S3 samples having h
... Show MoreThe excessive permanent deformation (rutting) in asphalt-concrete pavements resulting from frequent repetitions of heavy axle loads is studied in this paper. Rutting gradually develops with additional load applications and appears as longitudinal depressions in the wheel path. There are many causes of the rutting of asphalt roads, such as poor asphalt mixing and poor continuous aggregate gradation. All factors affecting the mixture resistance to permanent deformation must be discussed, and all must be properly considered to reduce the rutting propensity of asphalt-aggregate mixtures. In this study, several mixtures were produced with the most common techniques in rutting resistance (using the most effective additives for each mixture), and
... Show MoreDesign sampling plan was and still one of most importance subjects because it give lowest cost comparing with others, time live statistical distribution should be known to give best estimators for parameters of sampling plan and get best sampling plan.
Research dell with design sampling plan when live time distribution follow Logistic distribution with () as location and shape parameters, using these information can help us getting (number of groups, sample size) associated with reject or accept the Lot
Experimental results for simulated data shows the least number of groups and sample size needs to reject or accept the Lot with certain probability of
... Show MoreA novel robust finite time disturbance observer (RFTDO) based on an independent output-finite time composite control (FTCC) scheme is proposed for an air conditioning-system temperature and humidity regulation. The variable air volume (VAV) of the system is represented by two first-order mathematical models for the temperature and humidity dynamics. In the temperature loop dynamics, a RFTDO temperature (RFTDO-T) and an FTCC temperature (FTCC-T) are designed to estimate and reject the lumped disturbances of the temperature subsystem. In the humidity loop, a robust output of the FTCC humidity (FTCC-H) and RFTDO humidity (RFTDO-H) are also designed to estimate and reject the lumped disturbances of the humidity subsystem. Based on Lyapunov theo
... Show MoreCarbon dioxide (CO2) flooding is an EOR technique in which carbon dioxide is injected into the reservoir to improve the oil recovery. The reservoir oil and rock properties are altered when carbon dioxide interacts with the oil and rock present in the reservoir. Carbon dioxide injection alters the oil and rock properties by causing reduction in oil viscosity, oil swelling and wettability alteration of the rock. This paper will present a proposal to study the wettability alteration in carbonate formations during miscible carbon dioxide flooding. In miscible carbon dioxide flooding, the injection pressure of carbon dioxide would be kept above the minimum miscibility pressure. Thus carbon dioxide is miscible with the oil present in the reservoi
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