Developing key concepts in physics : Is it more effective to teach using scientific visualizations?

A quantitative, quasi-experimental study of the effectiveness of computer-based scientific visualizations for concept learning on the part of Year 11 physics students (n=80) was conducted in six Queensland high school classrooms. Students’ gender and academic ability were also considered as factors in relation to the effectiveness of teaching with visualizations. Learning with visualizations was found to be equally effective as learning without them for all students, with no statistically significant difference in outcomes being observed for the group as a whole or on the academic ability dimension. Male students were found to learn significantly better with visualizations than without, while no such effect was observed for female students. This may give rise to some concern for the equity issues raised by introducing visualizations. Given that other research shows that students enjoy learning with visualizations and that their engagement with learning is enhanced, the finding that the learning outcomes are the same as for teaching without visualizations supports teachers’ use of visualizations.

The utilization of waste date seed as bio-oil and activated carbon by pyrolysis process

The renovation of biomass waste in the form of date seed waste into activated carbon and biofuel by fixed bed pyrolysis reactor has been focused in this study to obtain gaseous, liquid, and solid products. The date seed in particle form is pyrolysed in an externally heated fixed bed reactor with nitrogen as the carrier gas. The reactor is heated from 400◦C to 600◦C. A maximum liquid yield of 50wt.% and char of 30wt.% are obtained at a reactor bed temperature of 500◦C with a running time of 120 minutes. The oil is found to possess favorable flash point and reasonable density and viscosity. The higher calorific value is found to be 28.636 MJ/kg which is significantly higher than other biomass derived. Decolonization of 85–97% is recorded for the textile effluent and 75–90% for the tannery effluent, in all cases decreasing with temperature increase. Good adsorption capacity of the prepared activated carbon in case of diluted textile and tannery effluent was found.

Fixed bed pyrolysis of date seed waste for liquid oil production

The conversion of biomass waste in the form of date seed into pyrolysis oil by fixed bed pyrolysis reactor has been taken into consideration in this study. A fixed bed pyrolysis has been designed and fabricated for obtaining liquid fuel from these date seeds. The major component of the system are fixed bed pyrolysis reactor, liquid condenser and liquid collector. The date seed in particle form is pyrolysed in an externally heated 7.6 cm diameter and 46 cm high fixed bed reactor with nitrogen as the carrier gas. The reactor is heated by means of a biomass source cylindrical heater from 4000C to 6000C. The products are oil, char and gas. The reactor bed temperature, running time and feed particle size are considered as process parameters. The parameters are found to influence the product yield significantly. A maximum liquid yield of 50 wt.% is obtained at a reactor bed temperature of 5000 C for a feed size volume of 0.11- 0.20 cm3 with a running time of 120 minutes. The pyrolysis oil obtained at this optimum process conditions are analyzed for some fuel properties and compared with some other biomass derived pyrolysis oils and also with conventional fuels. The oil is found to possess favorable flash point and reasonable density and viscosity. The higher calorific value is found to be 28.636 MJ/kg which is significantly higher than other biomass derived pyrolysis oils.

Design and construction of fixed bed pyrolysis system and plum seed pyrolysis for bio-oil production

This work investigated the production of bio oil from plum seed (Zyziphus jujuba) by fixed bed pyrolysis technology. A fixed bed pyrolysis system has been designed and fabricated for production of bio oil. The major components of the system are: fixed bed reactor, liquid condenser and liquid collector. Nitrogen gas was used to maintain the inert atmosphere in the reactor where the pyrolysis reaction takes place. The feedstock considered in this study is plum seed as it is available waste material in Bangladesh. The reactor is heated by means of a cylindrical biomass external heater. Rice husk was used as the energy source. The products are oil, char and gas. The parameters varied are reactor bed temperature, running time and feed particle size. The parameters are found to influence the product yields significantly. The maximum liquid yield of 39 wt% at 5200C for a feed particle size of 2.36-4.75 mm and a gas flow rate of 8 liter/min with a running time of 120 minute. The pyrolysis oil obtained at these optimum process conditions are analyzed for some of their properties as an alternative fuel. The density of the liquid was closer with diesel. The viscosity of the plum seed liquid was lower than that of the conventional fuels. The calorific value of the pyrolysis oil is one half of the diesel fuel.

Fast pyrolysis for better utilization of tamarind seed from renewable energy point of view

The conversion of tamarind seeds into pyrolytic oil by fixed bed fire-tube heating reactor has been taken into consideration in this study. The major components of the system were fixed bed fire-tube heating reactor, liquid condenser and collectors. The raw and crushed tamarind seed in particle form was pyrolized in an electrically heated 10 cm diameter and 27 cm high fixed bed reactor. The products are oil, char and gases. The parameters varied were reactor bed temperature, running time, gas flow rate and feed particle size. The parameters were found to influence the product yields significantly. The maximum liquid yield was 45 wt% at 4000C for a feed size of 1.07cm3 at a gas flow rate of 6 liter/min with a running time of 30 minute. The pyrolysis oil was obtained at these optimum process conditions were analyzed for physical and chemical properties to be used as an alternative fuel.

Pyrolysis decomposition of mahogony seeds (Swietenia macrophylla) for alternative fuel oil

A fixed bed pyrolysis has been designed and fabricated for obtaining liquid fuel from Mahogany seeds. The major components of the system are fixed bed pyrolysis reactor, liquid condenser and liquid collectors. The Mahogany seed in particle form is pyrolysed in an externally heated 10 cm diameter and 36 cm high fixed bed reactor with nitrogen as the carrier gas. The reactor is heated by means of a biomass source cylindrical heater from 450oC to 600oC. The products are oil, char and gas. The reactor bed temperature, running time and feed particle size are considered as process parameters. A maximum liquid yield of 54wt% of biomass feed is obtained with particle size of 1.18 mm at a reactor bed temperature of 5500C with a running time of 90 minutes. The oil is found to possess favorable flash point and reasonable density and viscosity. The higher calorific value is found to be 39.9 MJ/kg which is higher than other biomass derived pyrolysis oils.

Fixed bed pyrolysis of pulm seed waste for liquid oil production

Among various thermo-chemical conversion processes, pyrolysis is considered as an emerging technology for liquid oil production. The conversion of biomass waste in the form of plum seed into pyrolysis oil by fixed bed pyrolysis reactor has been taken into consideration in this study. A fixed bed pyrolysis has been designed and fabricated for obtaining liquid fuel from this plum seeds. The major component of the system are fixed bed pyrolysis reactor, liquid condenser and liquid collectors. The plum seed in particle form is pyrolysed in an externally heated 7.6 cm diameter and 46 cm high fixed bed reactor with nitrogen as the carrier gas. The reactor is heated by means of a biomass source cylindrical heater from 4000C to 6000C. The products are oil, char and gas. The reactor bed temperature, running time and feed particle size are considered as process parameters. The parameters are found to influence the product yield significantly. A maximum liquid yield of 39 wt% of biomass feed is obtained with particle size of 2.36-4.75 mm at a reactor bed temperature of 520oC with a running time of 120 minutes. The pyrolysis oil obtained at this optimum process conditions are analyzed for some fuel properties and compared with some other biomass derived pyrolysis oils and conventional fuels. The oil is found to possess favorable flash point and reasonable density and viscosity. The higher calorific value is found to be 22.39 MJ/kg which is higher than other biomass derived pyrolysis oils.

Nanoparticles in European cities and associated health impacts

Atmospheric nanoparticles are one of those pollutants currently unregulated through ambient air quality standards. The aim of this chapter is to assess the environmental and health impacts of atmospheric nanoparticles in European environments. The chapter begins with the conventional information on the origin of atmospheric nanoparticles, followed by their physical and chemical characteristics. A brief overview of recently published review articles on this topic is then presented to guide those readers interested in exploring any specific aspect of nanoparticles in greater detail. A further section reports a summary of recently published studies on atmospheric nanoparticles in European cities. This covers a total of about 45 sampling locations in 30 different cities within 15 European countries for quantifying levels of roadside and urban background particle number concentrations (PNCs). Average PNCs at roadside and urban background sites were found to be 3.82±3.25 ×104 cm–3 and 1.63±0.82 ×104 cm–3, respectively, giving a roadside to background PNC ratio of ~2.4. Engineered nanoparticles are one of the key emerging categories of airborne nanoparticles, especially for the indoor environments. Their ambient concentrations may increase in future due to widespread use of nanotechnology integrated products. Evaluation of their sources and probable impacts on air quality and human health are briefly discussed in the following section. Respiratory deposition doses received by the public exposed to roadside PNCs in numerous European locations are then estimated. These were found to be in the 1.17–7.56 1010 h–1 range over the studied roadside European locations. The following section discusses the potential framework for airborne nanoparticle regulations in Europe and, in addition, the existing control measures to limit nanoparticle emissions at source. The chapter finally concludes with a synthesis of the topic areas covered and highlights important areas for further work.

Restructuring of carbonaceous particles upon exposure to organic vapours

Recent research has described the restructuring of particles upon exposure to organic vapours; however, as yet hypotheses able to explain this phenomenon are limited. In this study, a range of experiments were performed to explore different hypotheses related to carbonaceous particle restructuring upon exposure to organic and water vapours, such as: the effect of surface tension, the role of organics in flocculating primary particles, as well as the ability of vapours to “wet” the particle surface. The change in mobility diameter (dm) was investigated for a range carbonaceous particle types (diesel exhaust, petrol exhaust, cigarette smoke, candle smoke, particles generated in a heptane/toluene flame, and wood smoke particles) exposed to different organic (heptane, ethanol, and dimethyl sulfoxide/water (1:1 vol%) mixture) and water vapours. Particles were first size-selected and then bubbled through an impinger (bubbler) containing either an organic solvent or water, where particles trapped inside rising bubbles were exposed to saturated vapours of the solvent in the impinger. The size distribution of particles was simultaneously measured upstream and downstream from the impinger. A size-dependent reduction in dm was observed when bubbling diesel exhaust, particles generated in a heptane/toluene flame, and candle smoke particles through heptane, ethanol and a dimethyl sulfoxide/water (1:1 vol %) mixture. In addition, the size distributions of particles bubbled through an impinger were broader. Moreover, an increase of the geometric standard deviation (σ) of the size distributions of particles bubbled through an impinger was also found to be size-dependent. Size-dependent reduction in dm and an increase of σ indicate that particles undergo restructuring to a more compact form, which was confirmed by TEM analysis. However, bubbling of these particles through water did not result in a size-dependent reduction in dm, nor in an increase of σ. Cigarette smoke, petrol exhaust, and wood smoke particles did not result in any substantial change in dm, or σ, when bubbled through organic solvents or water. Therefore, size-dependent reduction in the dm upon bubbling through organic solvents was observed only for particles that had a fractal-like structure, whilst particles that were liquid or were assumed to be spherical did not exhibit any reduction in dm. Compaction of fractal-like particles was attributed to the ability of condensing vapours to efficiently wet the particles. Our results also show that the presence of an organic layer on the surface of fractal-like particles, or the surface tension of the condensed liquid do not influence the extent of compaction.

Production of liquid fuel and activated carbon from mahogany seed by using pyrolysis technology

The renovation of biomass waste in the form of Mahogany seed waste into bio-fuel as well as activated carbon by fixed bed pyrolysis reactor has been taken into consideration in this study. The mahogany seed in particle form is pyrolyzed in an enormously heated fixed bed reactor with nitrogen as the carrier gas. The reactor is heated from 4000C to 6000C using a external heater in which rice husk and charcoal are used as the heater biomass fuel. Reactor bed temperature, running time and feed particle size have been varied to get the optimum operating conditions of the system. The parameters are found to influence the product yields to a large extent. A maximum liquid and char yield are 49 wt. % and 35 wt. % respectively obtained at a reactor bed temperature 5000C when the running time is 90 minutes. Acquired pyrolyzed oil at these optimal process conditions were analyzed for some of their properties as an alternative fuel. The oil possesses comparable flame temperature, favorable flash point and reasonable viscosity along with somewhat higher density. The kinematic viscosity of the derived fuel is 3.8 cSt and density is 1525 kg/m3. The higher calorific value is found 32.4 MJ/kg which is significantly higher than other biomass derived fuel. Moderate adsorption capacity of the prepared activated carbon in case of methyl blue & tea water was also revealed.

Traffic-related fine and ultrafine particle exposures of professional drivers and illness : An opportunity to better link exposure science and epidemiology to address an occupational hazard?

Exposures to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) can be particularly high in transport microenvironments (i.e. in and around vehicles) despite the short durations typically spent there. There is a mounting body of evidence that suggests that this is especially true for fine (b2.5 μm) and ultrafine (b100 nm, UF) particles. Professional drivers, who spend extended periods of time in transport microenvironments due to their job, may incur exposures markedly higher than already elevated non-occupational exposures. Numerous epidemiological studies have shown a raised incidence of adverse health outcomes among professional drivers, and exposure to TRAP has been suggested as one of the possible causal factors. Despite this, data describing the range and determinants of occupational exposures to fine and UF particles are largely conspicuous in their absence. Such information could strengthen attempts to define the aetiology of professional drivers' illnesses as it relates to traffic combustion-derived particles. In this article, we suggest that the drivers' occupational fine and UF particle exposures are an exemplar case where opportunities exist to better link exposure science and epidemiology in addressing questions of causality. The nature of the hazard is first introduced, followed by an overview of the health effects attributable to exposures typical of transport microenvironments. Basic determinants of exposure and reduction strategies are also described, and finally the state of knowledge is briefly summarised along with an outline of the main unanswered questions in the topic area.

Individual dose and exposure of Italian children to ultrafine particles

Time-activity patterns and the airborne pollutant concentrations encountered by children each day are an important determinant of individual exposure to airborne particles. This is demonstrated in this work by using hand-held devices to measure the real-time individual exposure of more than 100 children aged 8-11 years to particle number concentrations and average particle diameter, as well as alveolar and tracheobronchial deposited surface area concentration. A GPS-logger and activity diaries were also used to give explanation to the measurement results. Children were divided in three sample groups: two groups comprised of urban schools (school time from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm) with lunch and dinner at home, and the third group of a rural school with only dinner at home. The mean individual exposure to particle number concentration was found to differ between the three groups, ranging from 6.2×104 part. cm-3 for children attending one urban school to 1.6×104 part. cm-3 for the rural school. The corresponding daily alveolar deposited surface area dose varied from about 1.7×103 mm2 for urban schools to 6.0×102 mm2 for the rural school. For all of the children monitored, the lowest particle number concentrations are found during sleeping time and the highest were found during eating time. With regard to alveolar deposited surface area dose, a child's home was the major contributor (about 70%), with school contributing about 17% for urban schools and 27% for the rural school. An important contribution arises from the cooking/eating time spent at home, which accounted for approximately 20% of overall exposure, corresponding to more than 200 mm2. These activities represent the highest dose received per time unit, with very high values also encountered by children with a fireplace at home, as well as those that spend considerable time stuck in traffic jams.

Impact of prescribed burning on urban air quality : a case study

For fuel management and/or ecological reasons prescribed burnings are conducted each year across Australia. Smoke from prescribed burnings could be the major source of air pollution in urban environment during the period of intensive prescribed burning. To investigate the impact of prescribed burning on air quality and the characteristics of prescribed burning particles, field measurements were conducted during the end period of a prescribed burning event in September 2011, Brisbane, Australia.

An investigation of gaseous and particulate emissions from compression ignition engines operated with alternative fuels, injection technologies, and combustion strategies

Whilst the compression ignition (CI) engine exhibits many design advantages relative to its spark ignition engine counterpart; such as: high thermal efficiency, fuel economy and low carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions, the issue of Diesel Particulate Matter (DPM) emissions continues to be an unresolved problem for the CI engine. Primarily, this thesis investigates a range of DPM mitigation strategies such as alternative fuels, injection technologies and combustion strategies conducted with a view to determine their impact on the physico-chemical properties of DPM emissions, and consequently to shed light on their likely human health impacts. Regulated gaseous emissions, Nitric oxide (NO), Carbon monoxide (CO), and Hydrocarbons (HCs), were measured in all experimental campaigns, although the major focus in this research program was on particulate emissions...

Effect of outdoor site location on calculated I/O ratios

Motor vehicle emissions have been identified as one of the major contributors of fine and ultrafine particles (UFP) in urban areas. Schools located near major roads could potentially be exposed to high levels of UPFs and school classroom is an important microenvironment where significant exposure to UFPs is likely to occur. Most of the research conducted to date has investigated the relationship between indoor and outdoor particle number concentration (PNC) in schools based on one outdoor location, which may introduce a level of error when calculating the variation of total UPFs, and can result in the underestimation or overestimation of indoor to outdoor (I/O) ratio values.