Use Of Unconventional Sources Research Articles

History from the Dustbins

In this essay, I reflect on the growing political obstacles to doing business history in China and how, in my doctoral dissertation research, I attempted to overcome them. More specifically, I discuss how I drew on unconventional historical sources and novel data to examine the relationship between informal entrepreneurial activity and economic change in Maoist China (1949–1978). Through the quantitative analysis of thousands of case files of individuals prosecuted as “speculators and profiteers”—discarded administrative documents that were recovered from Chinese flea markets—I reassessed the scale and scope of informal entrepreneurial activity in Maoist China. I then went on to triangulate these data with evidence found in other sources to illustrate how, over time, informal entrepreneurial activity became more collusive, encompassing, and impossible to contain. Ultimately, I argued that China’s “Reform and Opening Up” was not the state-led watershed event that it is often made out to be; rather, economic and institutional change was, at least partly, the result of a bottom-up transformation, decades in the making. This essay thus suggests that the use of unconventional sources and mixed methods presents opportunities both for doing research in contexts where history is being actively securitized and for producing countervailing narratives that decenter the state.

AUTONOMOUS POWER SUPPLY ON SOLID FUEL AND BIOGAS

"The article considers two options for autonomous power supply using both traditional and non-traditional fuels. The efficiency of using renewable energy sources is described depending on the climate, geographical location and method of energy production. The relevance of this topic is caused by increasingly high environmental requirements for production. Moreover, decentralization with the use of unconventional sources allows the energy system to be more flexible in an autonomous mode, taking into account the time of day, the intensity of solar, wind and hydropower. The use of renewable energy sources is also possible in combination with solid, liquid and gaseous fuels. Combined systems are very convenient for power supply of small objects. These can be settlements remote from centralized power supply, autonomous industrial facilities, peasant farms, livestock farms. One of the energy supply options is more suitable for the northern region of the country with a long cold period and the presence of large coal reserves, there is an opportunity for the consumer to receive gas, as well as heat and electric energy when using coal as a feedstock, a kind of local gas network. The second method will ensure the disposal of animal waste and organic waste. Keywords: alternative energy sources, biogas, gaseous fuel, coal processing, autonomous power supply."

Challenges of RES with Integration of Power Grids, Control Strategies, Optimization Techniques of Microgrids: A Review

The Conceptual views on renewable energy sources, the use of unconventional sources and integration, future challenges for “Renewable energy sources (RES)” and strategies for controlling different types of microgrids are specified in this paper. The importance of RES has increased in the electrical system power network due to their periodic nature. Its generation does not coincide with load point when need for Energy Management Systems (EMS) is created. In this lexicon, Energy management (EM) prefaces an includible challenge in operation of distributed renewable sources connected to grid. The challenge in this type of sources is due to factors such as the infrequent sources, the estimations in time of day, the size of the “solar panels”, “battery”, limits of the charging, discharging speeds of battery. The novelty of this paper is latest scenarios, potential of solar, wind energy in India is specified in a graphical manner and control strategies, optimization techniques of microgrid are discussed in an elaborated way. In this article, the concepts the basics of microgrid, challenges in integration of grid, optimization techniques and the concept of “Distributed Energy Resources (DER)’s” are discussed.

Assessing four different macroscopic water uptake models for maize plant (ZEA mays L.) under salinity stress*

AbstractThe global shortage of fresh water in arid/semi‐arid regions has inevitably led to the use of unconventional sources of water. One of the strategies for managing saline water consumption is by using simulator models that can help in understanding the physiological response of crops. In this study the number of germinated seeds, shoot fresh weight and plant leaf area index as three of the main parameters of the vegetative stage of maize plants were investigated. In order to quantify the effect of different salinities on vegetative growth parameters, the macroscopic models of Homaee et al., Dirksen et al., van Genuchten and Hoffman and Maas and Hoffman were tested. The fitting of different models to measured data of germinated seeds showed that the Maas and Hoffman model was superior over the other three models with r and NSE values of 0.87 and 0.79, respectively. Similarly, the model of Homaee et al. with the values of r = 0.98 and NSE = 0.89 was the best model for the maize fresh weight variable. Finally, for the leaf area index variable, the van Genuchten and Hoffman model having values of r = 0.95 and NSE = 0.91 was able to provide a better estimate than the other models.

Antioxidant and antibacterial activities of a starch film with bioextracts microencapsulated from cactus fruits (Opuntia oligacantha).

The use of unconventional sources is very relevant in the food area. In the present study the development of active films with the addition of bioextract (BE) or microencapsulated bioextract (MBE) from xoconostle (Opuntia oligacantha) on chayotextle starch was investigated. The film formulations were: 4g of chayotextle starch, 2g of glycerol and 180g of water, three films with BE added (0.4, 0.8 and 1.2g) and three films with MBE added (0.4, 0.8 and 1.2g). Total phenols, total flavonoids, antioxidant activity (ABTS and DPPH), Salmonella typhimurium inhibition, color and mechanical properties of the films were analyzed. The film with 1.2g of MBE showed high concentration of total phenols (54.12 ± 0.77mg EAG/100g), total flavonoids (16.65 ± 0.10mg QE/100g) and antioxidant activity (29.11 ± 0.48 and 41.42 ± 1.81mg EAA for ABTS and DPPH respectively). The addition of bioextract from xoconostle is an option for the development of active films with antioxidant properties.

Propuesta para disminuir el alto consumo energético en las industrias dependientes de combustible fósiles

El presente trabajo tuvo como objetivo ofrecer una panorámica para valorar la mejora de la eficiencia de los sistemas de suministro de energía en industrias con la utilización de fuentes no convencionales de energía que proporcionen beneficios económicos y ambientales para el desarrollo sostenible de la sociedad en general. En la búsqueda de fuentes de energía para disminuir este alto costo, se presentó una propuesta metodológica para impulsar a corto y largo plazo la eficiencia energética con el empleo de biogás en la producción de electricidad. Incentivados como parte del proyecto de investigación científica de eficiencia energética: Introducción de fuentes renovables de energía en el territorio holguinero, del departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica de la Universidad de Holguín.

The balance of nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus in lactating cows

More relevant for today give to the use of unconventional sources of minerals, one such source can serve as a waste alumina production - believei sludge.

Investigation of Effect Additive Phase Change Materials on the Thermal Conductivity

The aim of worldwide policy is to reduce the amount of consumed energy and conventional fuels. An important branch of the economy that affects the energy balance of the country is construction industry. In Poland, since January 1st, 2017 new limit values have been valid regarding energy saving and thermal insulation of buildings. To meet the requirements of more and more stringent technical and environmental standards, new technological solutions are currently being looked for. When it comes to the use of new materials, phase-change materials are being widely introduced into construction industry. Thanks to phase-change materials, we can increase the amount of heat storage. Great thermal inertia of the building provides more stable conditions inside the rooms and allows the use of unconventional sources of energy such as solar energy. A way to reduce the energy consumption of the object is the use of modern solutions for ventilation systems. An example is the solar chimney, which supports natural ventilation in order to improve internal comfort of the rooms. Numerous studies are being carried out in order to determine the optimal construction of solar chimneys in terms of materials and construction parameters. One of the elements of solar chimneys is an absorption plate, which affects the amount of accumulated heat in the construction. In order to carry out the research on the thermal capacity of the absorption plate, the first research work has been already planned. The work presents the research results of a heat-transfer coefficient of the absorption plates samples made of cement, aggregate, water, and phase-change material in different volume percentage. The work also presents methodology and the research process of phase-change material samples.

Використання екструзії при переробці нетрадиційної сировини

The current rates of the poultry industry growth need the following problems to be solved: expansion of the raw material base, use of unconventional sources of raw materials, cutting down the cost of fodder product manufacture and prevention and treatment of diseases.Lately, both infectious and non-infectious diseases spread in poultry breeding, for treatment and prevention of which probiotic preparations are widely used.We have developed a probiotic for poultry. During its manufacture, a by-product in the form of the culture sediment is formed. The culture sediment is characterized by a rich chemical composition and can bb used in production of fodder, but the constraining factor of its use is high humidity, which is a good medium for pathogenic flora development, and considerably reduces the storage life of production residues.We propose to manufacture a fodder additive in order to solve the problem of the by-product disposal. The process provides for extrusion of the culture sediment mixed with grain components.The research objective is to study the effect of the thermal treatment, specifically, of the extrusion process, on physical and chemical properties of the fodder additive using culture sediment. It is found that the extrusion process not only does not impair the fodder additive quality, but also considerably improves physical properties, enhances digestibility of the nutritive substance by digestive tract enzymes of the poultry, and significantly improves sanitation properties of the additive. The extrusion process enabled reducing of the moisture mass fraction of the fodder additive by 38,8 %, which is positive from the point of view of the prospects of its further processing and storage.

Physiological quality of soybean and wheat seeds produced with alternative potassium sources

The use of unconventional sources of K for plants has been widely studied, but the effects of alternative materials on physiological seed quality are still relatively unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate the physiological quality of soybean and wheat seeds after using different potassium sources in a crop succession. The experimental design was a completely randomized block with four replications. Treatments consisted of three K sources (KCl, alkaline rock and ground phonolite, with 58%, 11% and 8.42% of K2O, respectively) applied in four doses (0, 25, 50 and 100 kg K2O ha-1). Potassium doses were applied in soybean and their residual effects were evaluated on the following wheat crop. Soybean and wheat seeds were evaluated immediately after harvesting by tests for moisture content, seed weight, germination, first count, electrical conductivity, seedling length and seedling dry matter. Soybean plants fertilized with alternative sources of K produced heavier seeds with a lower coat permeability compared to KCl; the physiological quality of soybean seeds and the weight of wheat seeds increase due to higher K2O doses, independently of their source.