Toilet Research Articles

Recycling detoxified cement asbestos slates in the production of ceramic sanitary wares

The recycling of cement asbestos slates (CASs) thermally treated in air at 1100 °C as secondary raw material in the production of Vitreous China (VC) sanitary wares has been investigated. Deactivated cement asbestos powder (DCAP) has been used in individual substitutions (5 wt%) of quartz and feldspar. The single raw materials, the ceramic technological properties before and after firing, and the phases and microstructure evolution during firing have been investigated with a variety of techniques, including those commonly used for production quality checks and instrumental methods for mineralogical analyses. DCAP acts as flux rather than as inert in the firing process, promoting greification. Although the substituted samples have some critical aspects that need to be addressed before processing, such as the presence of sulphate salts that increase the dispersant demand and the colour of the fired ceramic body, the overall technological properties are comparable to those of normal production, suggesting the possible reuse of DCAP powder in the production of sanitary wares.

Parametric chamfer alignment based on mesh deformation

Alignment for natural images in unconstrained environment is a challenging task. Despite the success for complex deformation, existing feature-based methods may be confused in low-textured regions where features are insufficient, while pixel-based approaches may fail when color changes. In this paper, a parametric chamfer alignment method based on mesh warping model is proposed. Warped positions of mesh vertices are considered as parameters and estimated by optimizing an object function, which measures the chamfer distance of edges and the smoothness of warping. To distinguish the sharpness of pixels, edges are detected through K-means cluster and weights are attached to different levels of edge points. In addition, after the warping model is initialized by feature-based alignment, a growing technique for registering the vertices is presented. Experiment shows that the proposed method outperforms some state-of-the-arts on real data and can be applied in stitching ceramic sanitary ware images.

Buck Moon

Buck Moon Meghan Moya Finn (bio) How could you have died in high summer berries wetand beaches pouring over crystal water slick white zinc screensmell of your hands smearing me protectivelywhen I was your child How could you while I was eating seared scallopsand drinking fine bubbly wine in a tavern called Blackfish?You look younger than ever, my good friend had saidacross the white tablecloths. ________ On the full Buck Moon of Julywhen young deer get their antlers I lostmy mother but not once,shed her, snake-like, all my life. They were calling it a super moon, a bloodmoon, and your blood was splashing into the whitevessel of the toilet bowl in Albany, New York Your body become a flood, the metals in itsought their way back to the groundmagnetizing and on your knees it happened. You white vesselholy mother, speared. On your knees, a great emptying occurredand what wild prayers were they,flowing from the mouthout of the heart, from its four seas— what waters were those? [End Page 294] ________ Was it redder than a lobster claw or blacklike mud? I didn't see your blood, I didn'tsee the paddles placed on the chest lateover the emptied heart. While you were touched by a paramedicI was having halibut in butter sauce, already over, the river runthe contents of your interior life madevisible in the bowl. That night the wine flowed into meand out of you The thick night,the night to be felt. ________ The moon was full and super—a Buck Moon, thunder moon.You did those things I bet you thunderedand bucked, a deer bleats didn't you?Or was it calm as the eyes of cows? Me with my oyster my saying thisis the world and isn't it saltyand sweet? I sang like a fool in the night,I feasted. [End Page 295] Meghan Moya Finn Meghan Moya Finn is a writer, translator and amateur field naturalist based in Massachusetts. She holds a Masters of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School and has received residencies from the Banff Centre, Vermont Studio Center, and the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest. Copyright © 2022-2023 Pleiades and Pleiades Press

Internet of Things (IoT) Arduino-Based Classroom Monitoring Utilizes Temperature Sensors And CO2 Sensors

Comfort room temperature is determined by indoor air quality, such as temperature and CO2 gas. This study aims to determine the comfort of a class by reviewing the number of students, CO2 gas, and temperature in an Arduino-based classroom using an automatic IoT system with a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) method. Research proves that there is a significant effect between the number of students on the concentration of CO2, but it does not directly affect the air temperature in the room. The lecture hall is still relatively safe but not ideal and requires a temperature reduction of -7oC.

Ventilation reconstruction in bathrooms for restraining hazardous plume: Mitigate COVID-19 and beyond

Converging evidence reports that the probability of vertical transmission patterns via shared drainage systems, may be responsible for the huge contactless community outbreak in high-rise buildings. Publications indicate that a faulty bathroom exhaust fan system is ineffective in removing lifted hazardous virus-laden aerosols from the toilet bowl space. Common strategies (boosting ventilation capability and applying disinfection tablets) seem unsustainable and remain to date untested. Using combined simulation and experimental approaches, we compared three ventilation schemes in a family bathroom including the traditional ceiling fan, floor fan, and side-wall fan. We found that the traditional ceiling fan was barely functional whereby aerosol particles were not being adequately removed. Conversely, a side-wall fan could function efficiently and an enhanced ventilation capability can have increased performance whereby nearly 80.9% of the lifted aerosol particles were removed. There exists a common, and easily-overlooked mistake in the layout of the bathroom, exposing occupants to a contactless vertical pathogen aerosol transmission route. Corrections and dissemination are thus imperative for the reconstruction of these types of family bathrooms. Our findings provide evidence for the bathroom and smart ventilation system upgrade, promoting indoor public health and human hygiene.

A deep learning counting model applied to quality control

PurposeThis paper aims to present two different methods to speed up a test used in the sanitary ware industry that requires to count the number of granules that remains in the commodity after flushing. The test requires that 2,500 granules are added to the lavatory and less than 125 remain.Design/methodology/approachThe problem is approached using two deep learning computer vision (CV) models. The first model is a Vision Transformers (ViT) classification approach and the second one is a U-Net paired with a connected components algorithm. Both models are trained and evaluated using a proprietary data set of 3,518 labeled images, and performance is compared.FindingsIt was found that both algorithms are able to produce competitive solutions. The U-Net algorithm achieves accuracy levels above 94% and the ViT model reach accuracy levels above 97%. At this time, the U-Net algorithm is being piloted and the ViT pilot is at the planning stage.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first approach using CV to solve the granules problem applying ViT. In addition, this work updates the U-Net-Connected components algorithm and compares the results of both algorithms.

Design and Build a Water and Electric Power Management System at Public Toilet Using Microcontroller-Based Hybrid Solar Cell

The need for public facilities in densely populated areas is an important matter. One of the needs for public facilities is a public toilet or commonly called MCK. However, the MCK facilities do not yet have management of charging water and electricity. One way to overcome this problem is to use a system that is able to manage water filling and electrical power in the MCK. The problem of insufficient power can be overcome by applying Solar Cell using a Hybrid system so that the existing power becomes more efficient. This study uses a water management system in the toilet bowl using ultrasonic sensors and solenoid valves. The duration of using MCK is known from the PIR sensor. The power management itself uses a hybrid solar cell system where the resources used are batteries and PLN. Then the sensor reading data is sent to firebase and displayed on the website. Based on the test, it was found that the performance of the solar cell during testing on Saturday 10 July 2021 to Monday 12 July 2021 produced an average power of 20.28Watt and the average intensity of sunlight was 680062.32lx. The power used by the load for 3 days is 0.81 kWh. The average usage on the 3 days of the trial was 9.72 Min. Quality of Service testing on a 3-day trial system obtained an average delay of 0.9637308s and packet loss of 2.2%.

Investigation of various medical wastes and its impact on environmental pollution

Medical waste is not given enough attention in India, which is one of the fastest economically developing countries in the world. The handling and disposal of sanitary ware by municipal employees, the public, and the great health of the environment creates risks. The amount and composition of medical waste will serve as a basis for a successful management plan if adequate and accurate information is available. Only 41 percent of medical waste disposal workers are properly trained, and only 38.9 percent of medical waste is properly divided. Medical waste made up of plastic products accounts for about 35 percent of the total. This is a sustainable resource recovery and recycling opportunity. More than enough infectious waste remains to prevent a storage catastrophe. Compliance with medical waste environmentally sustainable management in all countries is essential. There is currently no national law in place to govern medical waste management in India, but its 13 regional governments have adopted terms related to the management of medical waste for both health and environmental protection. Spanish regional law studies have yielded positive results in this article. Some differences in criteria were discovered in our study of sorting, collection, storage, transport, treatment, and removal procedures.

Sanitary Ware Waste as a Source for a Valuable Biodiesel Catalyst

Biofuel is a type of fuel that is made from biomass using modern techniques rather than the relatively slow geological processes that lead to the development of fossil fuels. In Europe, biodiesel is the most widely used biofuel. The sanitary ware industry generates a lot of hazardous waste, such as waste gypsum molds. These molds are broken, pulverized, and reacted with NaCO3 to make CaCO3, which is then heated to produce CaO. The resulting CaO catalyzes the reaction between waste frying oil and methanol for biodiesel synthesis. To evaluate the effect of reaction parameters on the production of biodiesel, the independent reaction parameters that were chosen are as follows: reaction temperature in the range 50–70°C, methanol to oil (M:O) molar ratio in the range 9–15, catalyst loading in the range 1–5%, and time in the range 2–6 hrs. The influence of the independent factors on the reaction-dependent responses was evaluated and it was found that reaction temperature and methanol-to-oil ratio have a major effect on the biodiesel yield. Reaction condition optimization has been studied to maximize biodiesel yield at minimum reaction conditions. The optimum process conditions are 93.4% biodiesel yield at an M:O molar ratio of 15 : 1, catalyst loading of 1%, reaction temperature of 53.6°C, and reaction time of 2 h. The results showed that resulted biodiesel catalyst (CaO) can be used one time; then, a fresh catalyst will be used.

Characterisation of Recycled Quarzitic and Plastic Aggregates for Sustainable Lightweight Screeds

The present contribution reports the results of the experimental investigation on a sustainable lightweight cementitious composite material, in which virgin sand is partially substituted by a very fine composite powder retrieved from the manufacturing process of kitchen and sanitary ware. In order to obtain lightweight structural concrete suitable for screeds, the mixture is completed by the addition of recycled polyethylene terephthalate aggregates and lightweight glass spherules. First, physical and morphological properties of the raw powder are thoroughly investigated. Then, the mechanical response of the composite is assessed by means of three-point bending tests and uni-axial compression tests. The conglomerates exhibit promising mechanical performance, thus being regarded as possible candidate for innovative and sustainable structural applications.

Evaluating the quality of services provided in women’s toilets around Al-Masjid Al-Haram: تقييم جودة الخدمات المقدمة بدورات المياه النسائية حول المسجد الحرام

Purpose- This study aims to assess the quality of services provided in women's toilets around Al-Masjid Al-Haram, by identifying the services provided in women's toilets around Al-Masjid Al-Haram, and identifying the most important health requirements available, and then measuring the level of quality of services provided there. Design / Methodology / Approach- To achieve the objectives of this study, the descriptive analytical approach was applied, due to its relevance to the nature of the study problem and its ability to achieve its objectives, in addition to applying a set of appropriate statistical methods. The study tool (the questionnaire) according to the model, and some of its phrases were reformulated in a way that suits the population and sample of the study. In addition to the researcher's use of the observation form to reflect the actual reality of the toilets and evaluate the quality of the service provided from the researcher's point of view, where (4) toilets were randomly selected from different women's toilets on the western and southern sides of the courtyards of Al-Masjid Al-Haram. Findings- The study reached many results, the most important of which are: that the women’s toilets distributed around Al-Masjid Al-Haram (which are available in them) apply the five dimensions of service quality, which are reliability, tangibility, empathy, safety, and response. from the point of view of visitors and users of women’s courses around Al-Masjid Al-Haram, taking into account Consider that this availability (application) varies among the five dimensions. The evaluation of visitors and users of the same dimensions was similar with respect to all dimensions. The study did not show any differences in the evaluation of visitors and users of quality dimensions due to any of the demographic variables. The researcher recommends many issues related to quality dimensions indicators, the most important of which are: the commitment of those in charge of serving the pilgrims to provide and provide health requirements for toilets distributed around Al-Masjid Al-Haram, and the development of smart toilets that comply with international quality standards for toilets, such as those established at international airports. The presence of a digital system linked to the quality of the sanitary ware used, the development of sanitary ware, and the allocation of places to store visitors' luggage.

PELAKSANAAN PEMBERSIHAN KAMAR TAMU OLEH PRAMUGRAHA DI HOTEL NARIPAN BANDUNG

The key to make guestroom looks tidy is by implementing room cleaning of standard operational procedure each hotel. Standard operating procedure is a standard where there is a special rule, principle, or action that is set as a reference for employees in carrying out their duties consistently. In a cleaning process at the hotel, it also need some proper and complete equipment as well as some cleaning materials that are suitable for their use. By interviewing housekeeping supervisors, the researcher obtained data regarding the number of cleaning equipment used by the room attendant in cleaning one room. The lack of equipment that is still lacking is metallic pressure. As for cleaning supplies, room attendant have their needed by request it. Researcher also asked for responses from room attendant regarding the completeness of work equipment, whether electronic or not, cleaning supplies used, and from the results obtained, room attendant said all equipment was in good condition. There are still guest complaints about the cleanliness of the guest rooms, especially on the condition of the floor, the cleanliness of the bed, the cleanliness of the pillow nests, and the cleanliness of the sheets. Likewise, the cleanliness of the bathroom which includes the cleanliness of the shower cabin, the cleanliness of the toilet bowl, and the cleanliness of the floor in the bathroom, this results in guest dissatisfaction with the services provided by the hotel.

Valorization of ceramic sludge waste as alternative flux: A way to clean production in the sanitary ware industry

The ceramic industry consumes a large amount of raw materials, much of which consists of fluxes. In view of the growing demand for infrastructure and sanitation, the waste valorization is a viable alternative for recycling materials, mitigating the extraction of natural resources. In this context, the present work studied the feasibility of replacing feldspathic flux by ceramic sludge waste (CS) in the sanitary ware production. The waste was characterized by particle size distribution, chemical composition, and mineralogical phases. The replacement ratios (by mass) were set in a wide range of 5, 10, 25, 50, 75, and 100%. The ceramic mass in fluid aspect was evaluated by means of density, viscosity, thixotropic index, setting rate and drying time. The hardened state was investigated through shrinkage, pyroplastic deformation, compressive and flexural strengths, water absorption and microstructure. The results showed that CS can be a stronger flux than granite. One of the proportions with total replacement (B-100) showed promising results, being the best option in terms of rheological behavior and physical-mechanical properties. An important finding concerns water absorption, which decreases with increasing the CS content. It is suggested that CS valorization on industrial scale may be sufficient to eliminate the entire volume of waste. This approach represents an eco-friendly solution, promotes the closing of waste loops and can be a way to cleaner production in the sanitary ware industry.

Reducing the particles generated by flushing institutional toilets

Airborne particles play a significant role in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. A previous study reported that institutional flush-O-meter (FOM) toilets can generate 3–12 times as many droplets as other toilets by splashing (large droplets) and bubble bursting (fine droplets). In this study, an aerosol suppression lid was evaluated to measure the reduction of particles by size using three metrics; number, surface area, and mass concentrations. To quantify toilet flush aerosol over time, detailed particle size distributions (from 0.016–19.81 µm across 152 size bins) were measured from a FOM toilet in a controlled-environment test chamber, without ventilation, with and without use of the suppression lid. Prior to each flushing trial, the toilet bowl water was seeded with 480 mL fluorescein at 10 mg/mL. A high-speed camera was used to record the large droplet movements after flushing. An ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer was used to analyze the wipe samples to evaluate the contamination on the lid. The particle number, surface area, and mass concentrations without a lid were elevated compared to a lid in the first 90 sec. Overall, the lid reduced 48% of total number concentration, 76% of total surface area concentration, and 66% of total mass concentration, respectively. Depending on the particle size, the number concentration reduction percentage ranged from 48–100% for particles larger than 0.1 µm. Large droplets created by splashing were captured by the high-speed camera. Similar studies can be used for future particle aerodynamic studies. The fluorescein droplets deposited on the lid back sections, which were closer to the FOM accounted for 82% of the total fluorescein. Based on two-way ANOVA analysis, there were significant differences among both the experimental flushes (p = 0.0185) and the sections on the lid (p = 0.0146). Future work should explore the aerosolization produced by flushing and the performance of the lid in real restroom environments, where feces and urine exist in the bowl water and the indoor ventilation system is in operation.

Precipitated silica, alkali silicates and zeolites from construction and demolition waste materials

The construction and demolition industry generates a large volume of wastes, which are used in the same industry to elaborate new cementitious materials. However, the use of the mentioned wastes to prepare other type of silicate materials has been little reported. In the present work, silica, sodium silicate, potassium silicate, SAPO-34 zeolite and zeolite X, phillipsite, and sodalite were prepared using local sand waste, concrete, ceramic sanitary ware waste and building block. First, the wastes were characterized to know the elemental composition and mineralogical phases. Further alkaline fusion was carried out with NaOH and KOH, respectively. The products obtained in this step were neutralized with H2SO4 solution to form precipitated silica with high purity. For the zeolite experiments, SAPO-34 zeolite was synthesized using the precipitated silica, sodium aluminate, and H3PO4. Low Si/Al ratio zeolites were synthesized using the sodium silicate and like potassium silicate. The results of XRD technique show the formation of amorphous sodalite and phillipsite zeolites. Pure zeolite X was obtained only with the sodium silicate prepared from the ceramic ware waste; however, the use of an alternative aluminum source could be used with the other wastes to promote the formation of pure zeolites. With the non-conventional use of construction and demolition industry wastes, new technical opportunities were demonstrated herein to obtain functional materials promoting the circular economy and sustainable development.

Life’s Journey of Trans-woman Students: A Phenomenological Study

Transgender-woman students are already visible in both private and public schools in Cebu City. Although their visibility in the schools is a manifestation of the implementation of the Anti-Bullying Act in the country and the Child Protection Policy of the Department of Education, still there are incidents of bullying and even discrimination not just among trans-woman students but also to other members of the LGBTQ. These incidents greatly affect the academic performance and non-academic activities of the students. This phenomenological study explored how the academic and non-academic life of the 17 trans-woman students shifted throughout their student life, impacted by their gender identity and expression and sexual orientation, and the factors that caused them to refocus, change or shift their priorities and perspectives in their lives as students and individuals over time. This study identified 6 themes that aroused from the transcription of the data. The findings of the study showed that to be a transgender-woman student is never easy and whatever ways they inform everyone about their gender identity and expression and orientation still get bullied. It also showed in this study that trans-woman students respect the people in the school for they also want to be respected in return. When they are given the freedom to express themselves, then they have the strong will to do good in their academic tasks and become responsible citizens. But still, trans-woman students do not feel safe and comfortable in some of the educational systems and facilities in the school like the use of the comfort rooms, curriculum and teaching-learning process. The different people in the school play a critical role in the journey of trans-woman students.

Measuring the flushing-generated flow and aerosols in lavatory of commercial aircraft

Lavatory use on commercial aircraft may present a risk of contagion, especially on long-haul flights. Flushing the toilet can induce a strong sweeping flow, which generates aerosols in the toilet bowl and also resuspends deposited particles from lavatory surfaces. Currently, the generation of aerosols, the flushing-induced airflow, and the potential of airborne particle exposure for a lavatory user are unclear. This investigation performed in-flight tests to measure the particle concentrations in the toilet bowl, near the floor, and in the breathing zone. A lavatory mockup was constructed in a laboratory for visualization of the airflow and measurement of airflow speeds. After the similarity in particle generation between the in-flight test and mockup model had been verified, the residual ratio of the generated aerosols in the toilet bowl after flushing was determined. Then the total number of generated aerosols in the toilet bowl of a commercial aircraft was inferred. In addition, the effects of the drainage pressure and rinse water pressure on the particle concentrations and spectrum were measured and evaluated. The results revealed that the total number of aerosols larger than 0.3 μm generated by the flushing of a toilet on a typical aircraft was 8498 ± 1,918, of which the submicron particles comprised 92%. A higher drainage pressure or a lower rinse water pressure resulted in a lower monitored aerosol concentration. The concentration in the breathing zone with an open toilet lid was clearly higher than that with a closed toilet lid, which should be given careful attention.

Status of Students’ Boarding Houses in the University of Eastern Philippines, Laoang Campus

Student boarders’ satisfaction has been regard as the most important indicator in evaluating student-housing quality and services. This study determined the status of students’ boarding houses in the University of Eastern Philippines Laoang Campus. The respondents were students residing in boarding houses using universal sampling. The research design employed is a descriptive method, using a survey questionnaire, and the statistical tools used are frequency counts, percentages, and mean. Findings revealed that the respondents were in their late teenage years, there were more females, most were still single, majority has a family income of 5000-below, and most were BSEd. Only few completed the needed requirements, has a distance 1kilometer-below from the school, has 4-5 room occupants, has a monthly rental of 401-500, students’ boarders were allowed to used charcoal in cooking, additionally, open well as the source of water supply, almost all used manual flush in their comfort room, not all were allowed to used available appliances, and garbage was collected by disposal team. The respondents were satisfied in terms of the residential satisfaction according to specific attributes but encountered problems such as lack and unsafe water supply, and no abode policies and contracts executed.

A Study on Consumer Perception of Hindware Sanitary Ware & Industries Ltd's Wares

For the company to manage and please customers by offering goods according to their demand, it's critical to know what they think of the products they sell by conducting research on their perception of Hindware sanitary ware & industries Ltd's wares. The study helps to identify the possible strategic initiatives and decisions that the company should take in order to expand its market share in the sanitary ware sector. Key Words: Hindware Sanitary Wares, Consumer Perception.

Green/sustainable treatment of washing machine greywater for reuse in the built environment

Given the growing demand for water in the world, approaches and/or actions are needed to reduce consumption and increase demand. In the latter case, water reuse is a viable alternative to increase the demand for non-potable water in homes. This study aims to optimize washing machine greywater treatment using aqueous solutions of aluminum sulfate and Moringa oleifera seed extract. To this end, an experiment was carried out using washing machine greywater from a residence. The data from this test were evaluated adopting the Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The parameters evaluated in the experiment were the pH, turbidity, sludge volume produced, and the total dissolved solids. Afterward, these were compared with limits established by technical standards and authors regarding non-potable water reuse. The results of this study indicate that using the treatment with the lowest coagulant dosages, i.e., 20 mL L −1 of Moringa oleifera extracted in calcium nitrate and 1 mL L −1 of aluminum sulfate, it is feasible to reuse greywater after treatment in toilet bowl flushing. For these dosages of coagulants, the turbidity removal was 96.22% and the pH varied from 7.2 to 6.8. The association of aluminum sulfate with Moringa oleifera extracted in calcium nitrate is viable for the treatment by coagulation of greywater from the washing machine to reduce the dosage of each coagulant and meet the criteria of the standards. • Combining natural and chemical coagulants to treat the greywater, up to 96.22% of the turbidity was removed. • Modeling the treatment, using response surface methodology, led to optimizing and reducing the use of the chemical coagulant. • Using Moringa oleifera combined with calcium nitrate enhances the effects of the natural coagulant. • Treated water meets the criteria for reuse in toilet flushing.