Graduates of engineering programs have to be enabled to create hardware products by having easy a... more Graduates of engineering programs have to be enabled to create hardware products by having easy access to methods for designing, manufacturing, distributing and learning. Such capabilities can be hosted in makerspaces. The makerspace approach remains immature in many developing economies, such as Jordan. Academia in Jordan is considered mostly research-oriented, while the industry is concerned purely with commercial returns. However, higher education institutions in Jordan have realized that linking industry and academia is crucial for maximizing the value of research, as seen through the lens of commercial development. This study aims to establish a roadmap and framework model for developing engineering programs in Jordanian universities by establishing a makerspace to introduce hands-on teaching. Several steps must be conducted sequentially to achieve the objectives of the study, which will ultimately enhance higher education institutions in the field of engineering. The study foc...
Citric acid is considered one of the most important organic acid, which is used in various aspect... more Citric acid is considered one of the most important organic acid, which is used in various aspects. Fermentation is considered one of the best methods for citric acid production using microorganisms such as Aspergillus niger . Cheese whey could be used as a good substrate for the production of citric acid. In this study four levels of lactose 40, 90, 150 and 180 g/l were tested for their effect on the activity of Aspergillus niger PLA30 in citric acid production. Results indicated that the optimum lactose concentration to be added to the fermentation medium, which resulted in the production of 25.53ml of acidity and 72.11% real yield. Indicating that modification of raw cheese whey by the addition of lactose can serve as a potential carbon and energy source for the production of citric acid and increase its production.
2019 IEEE 7th Palestinian International Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering (PICECE)
In a time of catastrophes like war or earthquake, people forced to leave their houses and live in... more In a time of catastrophes like war or earthquake, people forced to leave their houses and live in tents or remote areas. In both cases, utilities such as electricity, hot water, and probably toilet need to be provided urgently. Maker movement creates a creativity on the mind of engineers. Engineers use knowledge, which they learned to create valuable objects. In this work, a movable toilet, which can be placed in the needed region, is tailored. In this toilet, proper light and hot water are provided from solar energy. The toilet body is made from used plastic containers (1m3). In Gaza, the containers, which are used, are available at cheap prices. They are usually used to hold chlorine gallons. One small solar panel is used to provide the light to the toilet. Hot water is supplied to the toilet by small water heaters tanks that depends on small mirrors to collect the sun light. More explanation on each part will be given in details in the body of the paper.
2019 IEEE 7th Palestinian International Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering (PICECE)
Maker-based education as well as research is a novel way to build self-designed tools on reasonab... more Maker-based education as well as research is a novel way to build self-designed tools on reasonable costs to perform tests with new methods and technologies. The application of maker movement (e.g. 3D printing, microcomputers, etc.) is future oriented and sustainable especially for renewable energy engineering which has to compete with cheap fossil sources of fuel. An interdisciplinary approach is followed between experts from technical and socioeconomic disciplines as well as from teaching experts in order to get to a comprehensive view on structural development issues.Development of solar panel tracking system has been ongoing for several years. As the sun moves across the sky during the day, it is advantageous to have the solar panels track the location of the sun, such that the panels are always perpendicular with the position of the sun. Moreover, this method can be combined with tracking of the sun according sun position data. Although sun tracker systems are available commercially, they can be quite costly, depending on their tracking sophistication level. This contribution described a less costly alternative, which offers the advantage to be optimized by the operators. The functioning principle of how to use the maker movement approach for building up the auto-tracking photovoltaic model has been scientifically developed. This model enable students, researchers and operators to design and prototype a fully functional solar tracker system. Moreover, up-scaling procedures were developed.
In recent decades, works have been published on the Hybrid Renewable Energy System (HRES) to prov... more In recent decades, works have been published on the Hybrid Renewable Energy System (HRES) to provide available, feasible, and efficient renewable energy systems. Several studies have looked at the efficiency of the systems in terms of sustainability through performance parameters. This study aims at estimating the optimum HRES based on biomass and photovoltaic (PV) using the case study of 94 residential buildings with an electricity demand of 84.5 kWp. The influence of key parameters (global solar irradiation, component efficiencies, fuel consumption, economic convenience) and their impact on the performance and cost of the system is investigated. The optimum system is evaluated by the simulation software HOMER Pro. A single year of hourly data is used to analyze the component performance and the overall system performance. In this work, a mathematical model based on the IEC 61724 standard is used to incorporate numerous performance indicators that are critical for estimating the pe...
Worldwide, a large amount of biomass accumulates in the form of ligno-cellulosic agricultural by-... more Worldwide, a large amount of biomass accumulates in the form of ligno-cellulosic agricultural by-products that can neither be efficiently used as animal feed nor as feedstock for anaerobic digestion. A clean and energy-efficient utilization in combustion plants is counter-indicated by high contents of elements like Cl, K and Na that decrease the ash-melting-point and lead to fouling and corrosion. Although this biomass is, therefore, not suitable for conventional combustion plants, a pyrolysis process can be applied that works at lower temperatures of 500600°C. In such a process, the biomass splits into char and a gaseous phase containing a relevant fraction of condensable compounds. The gaseous phase does not contain the critical ash constituents and can be utilized in high-temperature processes. The ash fraction essentially stays in the pyrolysis char. If the char is applied to agricultural soil, macro and micro nutrients such as P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Mn and Zn are returned and na...
Renewable energy resources for energy generation in the Gaza Strip (GS) emerge as a complementary... more Renewable energy resources for energy generation in the Gaza Strip (GS) emerge as a complementary resource, not only to meet the need of society for energy in various forms, but also to find available, sustainably, and less costly resources for institutions as with individuals. These resources could provide safety in use, increase energy security, and address environmental concerns. This work aimed to assess the renewable energy potential in the GS, which has few natural resources and a real crisis in energy supply. Therefore, an integrated evaluation methodology is assumed for renewable energy potential; the methodology comprises mathematical as well as software programming to assess the renewable energy. The results reveal the assessment of the existing four renewable energy sources: solar, wind, wave, and biomass. The estimations exhibit that the solar and biomass resources are dominant. The methodology consists of mathematical models for calculating the energy outputs from diffe...
The application of microalgae biomass of Chlorella sorokiniana as environmentally friendly biosor... more The application of microalgae biomass of Chlorella sorokiniana as environmentally friendly biosorbents for removing potentially toxic elements (PTE) from water and as a source of biofuel has been thoroughly studied. In this paper, we investigate its physicochemical properties infrared spectroscopy (IR spectra), microstructure, adsorption properties); we have managed to isolate the lipid complex, which amounted to 20% of dry biomass. Studies of the lipid complex showed that 80.02% of lipids are unsaturated fatty acids (C18:1, C18:2, C18:3). Additionally, we have investigated the efficiency of using the residual biomass obtained after lipid extraction for water purification from rare-earth metals (REM) and PTE. To increase the sorption properties of residual biomass, its thermal modification was carried out and sorption materials based on heat-treated residual biomass and chitosan were created. The physicochemical and mechanical properties of the obtained sorption materials were studi...
The thermal cracking of cotton stalks (CS) via pyrolysis was performed using a laboratory scale b... more The thermal cracking of cotton stalks (CS) via pyrolysis was performed using a laboratory scale batch pyrolysis reactor. The effects of the final pyrolysis temperature varying from 300 to 800°C on the pyrolysis products distribution has been investigated. The maximum biochar yield of 46.5% was obtained at 400°C. As the pyrolysis process temperature increased, the solid char product yield decreased. The lowest biochar yield of 28% was obtained at 800°C. The largest higher heating value (HHV, 25.845 MJ kg-1) was obtained at 600°C. All biochar samples produced between 500 and 700°C had an energy densification ratio of 1.41, indicating a higher mass-energy density than the initial feedstock. A larger share of syngas and bio-oil were produced at higher temperatures, as estimated. Preferential selection of a char based on the energy yield would lead to a selection of the 400°C product, while selection based on the energy densification ratio would be for a product obtained between 500 to 7...
Graduates of engineering programs have to be enabled to create hardware products by having easy a... more Graduates of engineering programs have to be enabled to create hardware products by having easy access to methods for designing, manufacturing, distributing and learning. Such capabilities can be hosted in makerspaces. The makerspace approach remains immature in many developing economies, such as Jordan. Academia in Jordan is considered mostly research-oriented, while the industry is concerned purely with commercial returns. However, higher education institutions in Jordan have realized that linking industry and academia is crucial for maximizing the value of research, as seen through the lens of commercial development. This study aims to establish a roadmap and framework model for developing engineering programs in Jordanian universities by establishing a makerspace to introduce hands-on teaching. Several steps must be conducted sequentially to achieve the objectives of the study, which will ultimately enhance higher education institutions in the field of engineering. The study foc...
Citric acid is considered one of the most important organic acid, which is used in various aspect... more Citric acid is considered one of the most important organic acid, which is used in various aspects. Fermentation is considered one of the best methods for citric acid production using microorganisms such as Aspergillus niger . Cheese whey could be used as a good substrate for the production of citric acid. In this study four levels of lactose 40, 90, 150 and 180 g/l were tested for their effect on the activity of Aspergillus niger PLA30 in citric acid production. Results indicated that the optimum lactose concentration to be added to the fermentation medium, which resulted in the production of 25.53ml of acidity and 72.11% real yield. Indicating that modification of raw cheese whey by the addition of lactose can serve as a potential carbon and energy source for the production of citric acid and increase its production.
2019 IEEE 7th Palestinian International Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering (PICECE)
In a time of catastrophes like war or earthquake, people forced to leave their houses and live in... more In a time of catastrophes like war or earthquake, people forced to leave their houses and live in tents or remote areas. In both cases, utilities such as electricity, hot water, and probably toilet need to be provided urgently. Maker movement creates a creativity on the mind of engineers. Engineers use knowledge, which they learned to create valuable objects. In this work, a movable toilet, which can be placed in the needed region, is tailored. In this toilet, proper light and hot water are provided from solar energy. The toilet body is made from used plastic containers (1m3). In Gaza, the containers, which are used, are available at cheap prices. They are usually used to hold chlorine gallons. One small solar panel is used to provide the light to the toilet. Hot water is supplied to the toilet by small water heaters tanks that depends on small mirrors to collect the sun light. More explanation on each part will be given in details in the body of the paper.
2019 IEEE 7th Palestinian International Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering (PICECE)
Maker-based education as well as research is a novel way to build self-designed tools on reasonab... more Maker-based education as well as research is a novel way to build self-designed tools on reasonable costs to perform tests with new methods and technologies. The application of maker movement (e.g. 3D printing, microcomputers, etc.) is future oriented and sustainable especially for renewable energy engineering which has to compete with cheap fossil sources of fuel. An interdisciplinary approach is followed between experts from technical and socioeconomic disciplines as well as from teaching experts in order to get to a comprehensive view on structural development issues.Development of solar panel tracking system has been ongoing for several years. As the sun moves across the sky during the day, it is advantageous to have the solar panels track the location of the sun, such that the panels are always perpendicular with the position of the sun. Moreover, this method can be combined with tracking of the sun according sun position data. Although sun tracker systems are available commercially, they can be quite costly, depending on their tracking sophistication level. This contribution described a less costly alternative, which offers the advantage to be optimized by the operators. The functioning principle of how to use the maker movement approach for building up the auto-tracking photovoltaic model has been scientifically developed. This model enable students, researchers and operators to design and prototype a fully functional solar tracker system. Moreover, up-scaling procedures were developed.
In recent decades, works have been published on the Hybrid Renewable Energy System (HRES) to prov... more In recent decades, works have been published on the Hybrid Renewable Energy System (HRES) to provide available, feasible, and efficient renewable energy systems. Several studies have looked at the efficiency of the systems in terms of sustainability through performance parameters. This study aims at estimating the optimum HRES based on biomass and photovoltaic (PV) using the case study of 94 residential buildings with an electricity demand of 84.5 kWp. The influence of key parameters (global solar irradiation, component efficiencies, fuel consumption, economic convenience) and their impact on the performance and cost of the system is investigated. The optimum system is evaluated by the simulation software HOMER Pro. A single year of hourly data is used to analyze the component performance and the overall system performance. In this work, a mathematical model based on the IEC 61724 standard is used to incorporate numerous performance indicators that are critical for estimating the pe...
Worldwide, a large amount of biomass accumulates in the form of ligno-cellulosic agricultural by-... more Worldwide, a large amount of biomass accumulates in the form of ligno-cellulosic agricultural by-products that can neither be efficiently used as animal feed nor as feedstock for anaerobic digestion. A clean and energy-efficient utilization in combustion plants is counter-indicated by high contents of elements like Cl, K and Na that decrease the ash-melting-point and lead to fouling and corrosion. Although this biomass is, therefore, not suitable for conventional combustion plants, a pyrolysis process can be applied that works at lower temperatures of 500600°C. In such a process, the biomass splits into char and a gaseous phase containing a relevant fraction of condensable compounds. The gaseous phase does not contain the critical ash constituents and can be utilized in high-temperature processes. The ash fraction essentially stays in the pyrolysis char. If the char is applied to agricultural soil, macro and micro nutrients such as P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Mn and Zn are returned and na...
Renewable energy resources for energy generation in the Gaza Strip (GS) emerge as a complementary... more Renewable energy resources for energy generation in the Gaza Strip (GS) emerge as a complementary resource, not only to meet the need of society for energy in various forms, but also to find available, sustainably, and less costly resources for institutions as with individuals. These resources could provide safety in use, increase energy security, and address environmental concerns. This work aimed to assess the renewable energy potential in the GS, which has few natural resources and a real crisis in energy supply. Therefore, an integrated evaluation methodology is assumed for renewable energy potential; the methodology comprises mathematical as well as software programming to assess the renewable energy. The results reveal the assessment of the existing four renewable energy sources: solar, wind, wave, and biomass. The estimations exhibit that the solar and biomass resources are dominant. The methodology consists of mathematical models for calculating the energy outputs from diffe...
The application of microalgae biomass of Chlorella sorokiniana as environmentally friendly biosor... more The application of microalgae biomass of Chlorella sorokiniana as environmentally friendly biosorbents for removing potentially toxic elements (PTE) from water and as a source of biofuel has been thoroughly studied. In this paper, we investigate its physicochemical properties infrared spectroscopy (IR spectra), microstructure, adsorption properties); we have managed to isolate the lipid complex, which amounted to 20% of dry biomass. Studies of the lipid complex showed that 80.02% of lipids are unsaturated fatty acids (C18:1, C18:2, C18:3). Additionally, we have investigated the efficiency of using the residual biomass obtained after lipid extraction for water purification from rare-earth metals (REM) and PTE. To increase the sorption properties of residual biomass, its thermal modification was carried out and sorption materials based on heat-treated residual biomass and chitosan were created. The physicochemical and mechanical properties of the obtained sorption materials were studi...
The thermal cracking of cotton stalks (CS) via pyrolysis was performed using a laboratory scale b... more The thermal cracking of cotton stalks (CS) via pyrolysis was performed using a laboratory scale batch pyrolysis reactor. The effects of the final pyrolysis temperature varying from 300 to 800°C on the pyrolysis products distribution has been investigated. The maximum biochar yield of 46.5% was obtained at 400°C. As the pyrolysis process temperature increased, the solid char product yield decreased. The lowest biochar yield of 28% was obtained at 800°C. The largest higher heating value (HHV, 25.845 MJ kg-1) was obtained at 600°C. All biochar samples produced between 500 and 700°C had an energy densification ratio of 1.41, indicating a higher mass-energy density than the initial feedstock. A larger share of syngas and bio-oil were produced at higher temperatures, as estimated. Preferential selection of a char based on the energy yield would lead to a selection of the 400°C product, while selection based on the energy densification ratio would be for a product obtained between 500 to 7...
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