http://localhost:8081/jspui/handle/123456789/36 Thu, 07 May 2026 21:31:29 GMT 2026-05-07T21:31:29Z http://localhost:8081/jspui/handle/123456789/20455 Title: CONCEPT OF DECENTRALIZED MANAGEMENT OF SEWAGE WASTEWATER & MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE: A DETAILED CASE STUDY OF SAHARANPUR SMART CITY Authors: Ansari, Abdullah Abstract: Waste management and sanitation are two of India's biggest obstacles, as is the case for numerous developing nations. Saharanpur City, like most mid-sized towns, faces substantial hurdles such as budget constraints and limited land for treatment facilities. Currently, its sewage infrastructure and technology are outdated and incapable of meeting the population's needs. This research zeros in on decentralized options as a viable solution to Saharanpur's pressing waste issues. An extensive data collection lays the groundwork. Gathering facts on demographics, socioeconomics, waste volumes, and existing frameworks is critical. This provides insight for risk evaluation by linking sickness patterns to waste characteristics. Drainage planning also benefits from socioeconomic analysis. The project then designs and proposes distributed treatment methods. Recognizing the shortcomings of centralized plants, it explores decentralized approaches already embraced worldwide. Similar decentralized strategies could likewise help solve solid waste management. Addressing waste management difficulties in towns like Saharanpur is essential for sustainable national progress. This study aims to do so by investigating decentralized alternatives. It acknowledges the need for modernized technology, given outdated facilities. Collecting comprehensive information builds understanding for targeted proposals. The focus remains on workable waste solutions for the Saharanpur district's rising population. One crucial element in the process is determining appropriate locations for these decentralized stations. The suggested decentralized treatment approach will be applied on a trial basis, allowing for practical execution and validation of the proposed remedies. Additionally, the project aims to share its findings with other Indian cities, supporting sustainable development principles and contributing to national waste management plans. By focusing on Class-II cities similar to Saharanpur, this project endeavours to offer a comprehensive framework for decentralized waste management through meticulous data collection, inspection, and implementation. To accomplish these goals, the research involved four types of surveys. The initial survey mapped the drains passing through the smart city, providing a detailed understanding of the city's drainage infrastructure. The second survey focused on the health status of the city, collecting data on illness trends and health conditions related to waste management. The third survey assessed municipal solid waste, examining the types and amounts of waste generated and existing disposal methods. The final survey studied the socioeconomic conditions of the city's wards, analysing how these factors influence waste creation and management practices. The study concludes by suggesting decentralization of treatment strategies with the incorporation of all stakeholders, ensuring a comprehensive approach to waste management. This proposed model has been partially implemented in Saharanpur Smart City, with ongoing efforts to increase its effectiveness. The initial results from this partial implementation are promising, indicating that the decentralized model can effectively address the city's waste management challenges. Furthermore, the study suggests that this model has the potential for global expansion, offering a scalable solution to waste management issues in various urban contexts. The need for updated technology in Saharanpur City's sewage treatment is urgent. In the class-II town, outdated facilities result in inefficient waste handling, risking environmental and public health hazards. A decentralized approach could solve this by distributing the load across smaller, localized plants tailored to specific areas' conditions rather than relying on a single overburdened facility. This solution not only improves efficiency through smaller, flexible operations but also reduces risk. Community failures at one plant would no longer endanger the whole system. Decentralization additionally allows for stakeholder involvement essential to initiatives' success and sustainability. Tailored plants address budget and land constraints better than large centralized ones. The comprehensive studies provide a robust foundation for the proposed model. Mapping drainage systems detailed existing infrastructure, identifying needed improvements or expansion. Health surveys highlighted management's impact, emphasizing effective treatment to prevent illness and boost wellness. Waste assessments provided insight into types and quantities, informing customized facility designs. Socioeconomic surveys offered valuable context on how different segments are affected, ensuring proposed solutions are ii equitable and inclusive. Surveying different districts found varying waste loads, infrastructure, and community needs. Large centralized plants are infeasible and risk overburdening. Instead, smaller decentralized facilities in each district can handle tailored volumes. Community-led operations and maintenance utilizing local materials and labor maximizes sustainability and accessibility. Targeted plant sitings minimize transport distances and costs. While integrated analysis of the community studies provides a holistic approach to Saharanpur's waste difficulties, ongoing refinement is essential. The decentralized framework incorporates novel practices and technologies to ensure facilities function adequately, but maintaining relevance requires stakeholder involvement. Locals, authorities, and related groups contribute importantly in planning and applying resolutions adapted for regional traits. Early partial execution in Saharanpur Smart City signals the model's potential effectiveness. Preliminary outcomes indicate significant betterment in waste handling, environmental effect reduction, and public health results. These initial victories construct a strong base to broaden and scale approaches within Saharanpur and other cities confronting parallel problems. Constant renovation keeps the framework adjustable and reactive to evolving demands and conditions over time. In closing, this work highlights waste administration's critical role in addressing Saharanpur's tests. Comprehensive information examination, current technology, and stakeholder participation in the planned system offer a practicable and scalable answer to the city's waste issues. Findings and suggestions assist national and global initiatives improving practices and public health and ecological results. Continued analysis, execution, and dissemination of good strategies intends to meaningfully affect India and beyond. Mon, 01 Jul 2024 00:00:00 GMT http://localhost:8081/jspui/handle/123456789/20455 2024-07-01T00:00:00Z http://localhost:8081/jspui/handle/123456789/20427 Title: GENERATIONS OF VOCS FROM PAPER DUE TO PULPING, BLEACHING, PAPERMAKING ADDITIVES AND ITS EFFECTS ON NATURAL AGING OF PAPER Authors: Alam, Md Izhar Abstract: The study involved the identification of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), specifically aldehydes, that are emitting from paper (unbleached and bleached). The mechanical strength properties of paper, which might be affected by the morphological characteristics of cellulose fibers over time were also considered. Pulp from the integrated mill revealed the presence of pre-existing VOCs like aliphatic hydrocarbons and aldehydes in the samples. Over the course of aging under ambient conditions, observation reveals the generation of acid-functionalized VOCs within the paper. This generation of VOCs was confirmed through ATR-FTIR analysis, which indicated an increase in the intensities of peak absorbance around 3340 cm−1 and 1641 cm−1. These peaks correspond to the –OH stretching of acidic functional groups and the C=O stretching of aldehyde and acidic functional groups. The impact of aging on the degree of polymerization (DP), a critical factor influencing paper strength was studied on unbleached and bleached pulp, which demonstrated that DP was decreased over time. In addition to this the strength properties of unbleached and bleached paper, including the tensile index, exhibited reductions of approximately 12 and 29%, while the burst index experienced decreases of approximately 24 and 42%, respectively. Intermediate bleaching stages also experienced a decline in strength properties and optical properties over time. Laboratory experiments were also conducted to study the generation of volatile organic compounds and the impact of natural aging on the strength properties of both unbleached and bleached pulp. According to the existing literature extractive and metal ions are major sources to produce volatile organic compounds due to auto-oxidation. Thus, acid treatment of the raw material was conducted before making pulp to remove the extractives and metal ions. Treatment at optimized conditions (pH- 2, consistency %, retention time- 1hr) effectively reduced metal ion and extractives content by approximately 50% with the benefits of pulping yield, strength properties of paper, and the reduction in VOC generations. For Mechanical, Kraft, and Soda paper, there was a reduction of approximately 52, 51, and 28% in Hexanal emissions, respectively. Additionally, Nonanal emissions decreased by approximately 35, 64, and 8.3% for the corresponding paper types. The acid treatment of the material also led to a decrease in the demand for active alkali of about 3 % during pulp production in comparison to the untreated material. Despite chemical savings higher pulping yield of about 6-7% was also observed. Furthermore, the acid treatment resulted in improved cellulose fiber characteristics, including, a greater crystallinity index, and a higher degree of polymerization. These modifications contributed to the improved strength properties of paper, such as increased tensile, tear, and burst strength. Various raw materials were examined to study VOC generation, with agro-based sources like wheat straw and rice straw emitting a higher quantity of VOCs in comparison to hardwood pulp. Various pulping methods were employed to assess VOC generation, and the findings confirmed that Hexanal, Octanal, and Nonanal were consistently produced from all types of pulp, with the exception of furfural, which was specifically generated from mechanical pulp. Observations indicate that VOC generation from unbleached paper follows the following pattern. Wed, 01 May 2024 00:00:00 GMT http://localhost:8081/jspui/handle/123456789/20427 2024-05-01T00:00:00Z http://localhost:8081/jspui/handle/123456789/20412 Title: DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF POLYPHENOLIC BASED FLEXIBLE pH INDICATORS FOR SMART FOOD PACKAGING Authors: Akhila, Konala Abstract: Food is a basic and daily necessity for the survival of humans. The constituents of food are complexly crafted by Mother Nature to meet the nutritional demands of the human body. Most of the food is categorized as a highly perishable commodity, meaning it can be devoured of its nutritional value by both extrinsic and intrinsic factors. Once they lose their nutritional value, they generate gigantic amounts of food losses and waste that can pose a threat to food safety and security. This has led to the idea of protecting and preserving food to extend its shelf life by maintaining its inherent properties. Packaging played a crucial role in executing the idea of protection and preservation by creating barriers between food and the external environment. Packaging has evolved rapidly through the years to meet consumer demands. Increased conscience over what is eaten in a day has necessitated fresh and minimally processed food. While food processing has been widely accepted in developing countries and there is no alternative, assuring the freshness of food remains challenging for the industry. Therefore, to enhance the communication functionality of packaging, a new age smart packaging system, specifically intelligent packaging, is the need of the hour. When concerned with the freshness of food, the simple and easiest way to analyze it is through sensory properties. Packed food cannot give consumers the convenience to truly sense the food. However, a reliable indicator of the package can get the job done. These indicators are capable of monitoring the dynamic shelf life and detecting the state of food. Some key deliverables that are expected from indicators are easily comprehendible, cheaper, do not interact with food constituents, and are safe. Two varieties of indicators are usually seen in intelligent packaging systems, namely internal and external indicators. The ones that monitor the inner atmosphere, like headspace gases, moisture content, and microbial growth, are called internal indicators, and the ones that are placed on the outer layer and give information on storage temperature and location are external indicators. The basic principle of indicators is that they chemically interact with volatile organic compounds released into the package headspace during food spoilage and convey through visual changes, most likely its color. These gases released by food are an indirect sign of pH changes in food. Hence, these indicators are broadly called pH indicators, and in addition, some indicators can detect the presence of unwanted gases like oxygen; ethylene comes under the category of gas indicators. Indicators consist of a base matrix and pH or gas-sensitive compound that readily reacts and detects their presence by color change. Synthetic pH-sensitive dyes and polymers were used to serve the purpose, but on the downside, they are carcinogenic and cause environmental pollution. The primary focus of this thesis is to investigate the viability of some natural colorants derived from plant phytochemicals (or) plant polyphenols as a replacement for synthetic dyes and examine their applicability in poultry packaging. Correspondingly, plant biomass-derived polymer matrices were explored to embed these natural pigments, which yields a biodegradable and flexible pH indicator for smart food packaging applications. Details of plant polyphenols and biopolymers, along with a literature review, are discussed in Chapter 1&2. In the third chapter, an attempt was made to investigate simple hydroxybenzoic acid as a pH-sensitive gas indicator, oxygen in particular. Oxygen is the major driving force for denaturation of proteins and lipid oxidation in foods. Scant traces of oxygen may promote the growth of microbes that eventually spoil within no time. Gallic acid is a simple hydroxybenzoic acid known for its radical scavenging activity. Therefore, gallic acid monohydrate (GA), 5 wt%, 10 wt%, 20 wt%, and 30 wt% coated pH-sensitive oxygen indicator labels were developed. Cellulose acetate was employed as a binder in the coating solution, and layer-by-layer coating was applied using a bar coater. Upon exposure to varying pH at atmospheric oxygen, the coated paper exhibited a color change from green to yellow for a pH range of 8-12, as evident from UV-visible spectra. FE-SEM, AFM images confirmed that coating led to a smoother surface with a decrease in roughness by approx. 60-80 %. ΔE values at pH 8 have the highest color difference at all concentrations. Hence, the fabricated gallic acid-coated oxygen indicator paper/label can serve as an intelligent packaging system to indicate the real-time quality of oxygen-sensitive food products. The present indicator will also act as a temper indicator, which will provide a clear optical indication of whether a sealed package has been tampered with during shipping. Despite the successful observation of color change, this polyphenol has a changed color only in alkaline media as gallic acid undergoes oxidation only after deprotonation leaving an option to explore other polyphenols further. Another polyphenol that has a broader spectrum of color changes was selected from the group of flavonoids called anthocyanins. They are a very well-known food colorant. The key focus of Chapter 4 is to extract anthocyanins from flower waste and develop a label out of it using a composite polysaccharide matrix. In addition, the biopolymer matrix was cross-linked using ionic cross-linkers to enhance the swelling index, and fillers like titanium dioxide were added to improve the color of the labels. The flower selected was butterfly pea flower (C. ternatea), and the polysaccharides opted for were flax seed mucilage and pectin. The brilliant blue hue of ternatins present in the flower was extracted using a simple maceration technique. The extract has changed from red to violet, blue to green, and finally yellow due to its structural changes from pH 2 to pH 12. The addition of 5 wt% TiO2 enhanced UV barrier property with a total color change (ΔE) of 23.441±0.54. After incorporating them into a biopolymer matrix, the performance of anthocyanins remains the same. It has taken about 21 days for the developed matrix without crosslinking to degrade completely. Although ionic crosslinking of polymers has decreased the swelling index, the label remains fragile when coming in contact with moisture, and leakage of anthocyanins from the label was noted during experimentation. Wed, 01 May 2024 00:00:00 GMT http://localhost:8081/jspui/handle/123456789/20412 2024-05-01T00:00:00Z http://localhost:8081/jspui/handle/123456789/20391 Title: DEVELOPMENT OF ENERGY HARVESTING MODEL AND OPTIMIZATION OF IEEE 802.11 DCF MAC PROTOCOL FOR COGNITIVE RADIO NETWORK Authors: Joshi, Nandkishor Abstract: Cognitive Radio Networks (CRNs) have emerged as a promising solution to address the spectrum scarcity problem by enabling dynamic spectrum access. This thesis delves into the development of an energy harvesting model and optimization of IEEE 802.11 DCF MAC protocol for cognitive radio networks tailored to the unique characteristics and challenges of CRNs. Its overarching objective is to enhance the overall performance and efficiency of CRNs. The IEEE 802.11 distributed coordination function (DCF) MAC protocol is a fundamental protocol in wireless networks. Therefore, the IEEE 802.11 DCF MAC protocol requires optimization as well as synergy with energy harvesting technologies. Based on the literature survey, some objectives have been proposed for innovative enhancements. Key performance metrics such as throughput, end-to-end delay, collision probability, power allocation, and energy consumption/energy efficiency are evaluated under varying network conditions and traffic loads. The major objectives of the present work are as follows: 1. Systematic exploration of MAC protocols for cognitive radio networks (CRNs), literature survey, classification, and implementation. 2. Evaluating and optimizing the performance parameters of 802.11 DCF MAC protocol using fuzzy techniques for cognitive radio AdHoc networks. 3. Development, analysis, and performance improvement of the MAC protocol for the cognitive radio network (CRN) using Markov Chain and energy harvesting modeling. 4. Development and analysis of the listen-and-talk (LAT) MAC protocol for the full-duplex cognitive radio network (FD-CRN). The first objective aims to review and evaluate the existing literature on MAC protocols for Cognitive Radio Networks (CRNs). The study thoroughly analyzes theMAC protocols for cognitive radio that are already in use, including their classification, the available algorithms, mathematical iii models, and simulation tools linked to MAC protocols in CRNs. By carrying out this analysis, the study delineates significant trends and developments to better understand the current state of the art and develop efficient MAC protocols for cognitive radio networks. The second objective focuses on evaluating and optimizing the performance parameters of 802.11 DCF MAC protocol, specifically throughput and delay, in cognitive radio AdHoc networks using fuzzy optimization techniques. The penultimate research aims to develop, analyze, and improve the MAC protocol for CRNs using markov chain and energy harvesting modeling techniques. Since In the present study, markov chain analyzed the dynamic behavior of systems with probabilistic transitions, making it well-suited for modeling the stochastic nature of spectrum access in CRNs. Additionally, Energy harvesting modeling is employed in this study for the potential integration of energy harvesting capabilities via wireless power transfer in CRNs. It has addressed the energy constraints with the 802.11 DCF MAC protocol. Finally, the fourth objective introduces the full duplex MAC protocols for enhancing the performance of cognitive radio networks. It introduces the LAT-MAC protocol, which utilizes a fullduplex mechanism to enhance secondary users’ access performance in cognitive radio networks. LAT-MAC enables simultaneous transmission and spectrum sensing, utilizing the type 2 fuzzy cooperative spectrum sensing (T2FCSS) technique for improved energy detection. The SA-CRN algorithm is also employed to enhance spectrum sensing performance without compromising powerthroughput trade-offs and self-interference. The thesis is organized into the following chapters. Chapter 1: This chapter covers the introduction part to general concepts of cognitive radio networks and their MAC protocols, motivation, research challenges, objectives, and contributions of the thesis. It also includes the organization of the thesis. Chapter 2: This chapter includes a detailed and systematic literature survey of the different MAC protocols for cognitive radio networks. Additionally, the performance of the IEEE 802.11 (DCF) protocol for WLAN AdHoc and infrastructure modes has been studied in the context of cognitive radio networks. iv Chapter 3: This chapter discusses FIS-based optimization and outlines its challenges in cognitive radio networks. It presents the criterion to optimize 802.11 (DCF) MAC protocol parameters (Throughput and delay) using fuzzy inference systems (FIS). Moreover, aims to improve the efficiency of data transmission, i.e., throughput, and reduce communication delays, thereby optimizing the overall network performance in cognitive radio environments. Chapter 4: This chapter explores efficient energy harvesting in cognitive radio networks by applying wireless power transfer with the 802.11 (DCF) MAC protocol. The study intends to improve energy consumption by allowing secondary users (SUs) to capture power during idle periods using wireless power transfer technology. The study examines the viability and advantages of energy harvesting in cognitive radio networks, which will enhance energy performance and extend the network’s operational lifetime using IEEE 802.11 (DCF) MAC protocol. Chapter 5: The main goal of this chapter is to investigate full-duplex MAC protocols to improve the performance of cognitive radio networks. It developed a scheme inclusive of the LAT-MAC (Listen and Talk - Medium Access Control) protocol, which enables secondary users (SUs) to access the spectrum more efficiently. The LAT-MAC uses a full-duplex mechanism, allowing the SU to simultaneously transmit and sense the spectrum. The protocol incorporates the type 2 fuzzy cooperative spectrum sensing (T2FCSS) technique to improve energy detection. Additionally, the switching algorithm - cognitive radio network (SA-CRN) algorithm enhances spectrum sensing performance without compromising power-throughput trade-offs and self-interference. The developed efficient LAT-MAC protocol offers a promising solution for optimizing spectrum access and improving overall network performance in cognitive radio environments. Chapter 6: This chapter concludes the thesis, which also outlines the future scope of the work and potential prospects for further investigation. Thu, 01 Feb 2024 00:00:00 GMT http://localhost:8081/jspui/handle/123456789/20391 2024-02-01T00:00:00Z