600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften
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- Doctoral Thesis (3) (remove)
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- Abfall (1)
- Abwasser (1)
- Biomass (1)
- Biomass Technology (1)
- Biomasse (1)
- Biotechnologie (1)
- Brikettierung (1)
- Briquette Production (1)
- Briquetting (1)
- Data (1)
Year of publication
- 2017 (3) (remove)
The construction and operation of a sanitary landfill (SLF) in the Philippines presents concerns on the regulation of the activities of the informal sector in the area. In anticipation of these directives, an association of informal waste reclaimers group called Uswag Calajunan Livelihood Association, Inc. (UCLA) was formed in May 2009. One option identified was the waste-to-energy activity through the production of fuel briquettes. With the availability of raw materials in the area, what was lacking then was an appropriate technology that would cater to their needs. This study, therefore, presented the case of UCLA on how socio-economic and technical aspects was integrated for the development and improvement of a briquetting technology needed in the production of quality briquettes as part of their income generating activities. A non-experimental posttest only design was utilized for the collection of descriptive information. Descriptions and discussions were also made on the enhancement of the briquetting machine from the first hand-press molder developed until the finalized design was attained.
Results revealed that the improved briquetting technology withstood the wear and tear of operation showing a significant (P<0.01) increase on the production rate (220 pcs/hr; 4 kg/hr) and bulk density (444.83 kg/m3) of briquettes produced. The quality of cylindrical briquettes produced in terms of bulk density, heating value (15.13 MJ/kg), moisture (6.2%), N and S closely met or has met the requirements of DIN 51731. Based on the operating expenses, the briquettes may be marked-up to Php0.25/pc (USD0.006) or Php15.00/kg (USD0.34) for profit generation. The potential daily earnings of Php130.00 (USD2.95) to Php288.56 (USD6.56) generated in producing briquettes are higher when compared to the majority of waste reclaimers’ daily income of Php124.00 (USD2.82). The high positive response (93%) on the usability of briquettes and the willingness of the respondents (81%) to buy them when sold in the market indicates its promising potential as fuel in the nearby communities. Results of briquette production citing the case of UCLA could be considered as potential source of income given the social, technical, economic and environmental feasibility of the experiment. This method of utilizing wastes in an urban setting of a developing country with similar socio-economic and physical set-ups may also be recommended for testing or replication.
The world society faces a huge challenge to implement the human right of “access to sanitation”. More and more it is accepted that the conventional approach towards providing sanitation services is not suitable to solve this problem. This dissertation examines the possibility to enhance “access to sanitation” for people who are living in areas with underdeveloped water and wastewater infrastructure systems. The idea hereby is to follow an integrated approach for sanitation, which allows for a mutual completion of existing infrastructure with resource-based sanitation systems.
The notion “integrated sanitation system (iSaS)” is defined in this work and guiding principles for iSaS are formulated. Further on the implementation of iSaS is assessed at the example of a case study in the city of Darkhan in Mongolia. More than half of Mongolia’s population live in settlements where yurts (tents of Nomadic people) are predominant. In these settlements (or “ger areas”) sanitation systems are not existent and the hygienic situation is precarious.
An iSaS has been developed for the ger areas in Darkhan and tested over more than two years. Further on a software-based model has been developed with the goal to describe and assess different variations of the iSaS. The results of the assessment of material-flows, monetary-flows and communication-flows within the iSaS are presented in this dissertation. The iSaS model is adaptable and transferable to the socio-economic conditions in other regions and climate zones.
In contemporary society, data representation is an important and essential part of many aspects of our daily lives. This thesis aims to contribute to our understanding on how people experience data and what role representational modality plays in the process of perception and interpretation. This research is grounded in phenomenology - I align my theoretical exploration to ideas and concepts from philosophical phenomenology, while also respecting the essence of a phenomenological approach in the choice and application of methods. Alongside offering a rich description of people’s experience of data representation, the key contributions I claim transcend four areas: theory, methods, design, and empirical findings. From a theoretical perspective, besides describing a phenomenology of human-data relations, I define, for the first time, multisensory data representation and establish a design space for the study of this class of representation. In relation to methodologies, I describe and deploy two methods to investigate different aspects of data experience. I blend the Repertory Grid technique with a focus group session and show how this adaption can be used to elicit rich design relevant insight. I also introduce the Elicitation Interview technique as a method for gathering detailed and precise accounts of human experience. Furthermore, I describe for the first time, how this technique can be used to elicit accounts of experience with data. My contribution to design relates to the creation of a series of bespoke data-driven artefacts, as well as describing an approach to design that I call Design Probes, which allows researchers to focus their enquiry on specific design features. To answer the research questions I set out in this thesis, I report on a series of empirical studies that used the aforementioned methods. The findings of these studies show, for instance, how certain representational modalities cause us to have heightened awareness of our body, some are more difficult to interpret than others, some rely heavily on instinct and each of them solicit us to reference external events during the process of interpretation. I conclude that a phenomenology of human-data relations show how representational modality affects the way we experience data, it also shows how this experience unfolds and it offers insight into particular moments such as the formation of meaning.