Papers by Muhammad Akbar Jamil
Energies
Life is dependent on water. However, in terms of the potential effects, water scarcity is quickly... more Life is dependent on water. However, in terms of the potential effects, water scarcity is quickly emerging as one of the most critical problems in the world. To access more fresh water for drinking, sanitation, and irrigation, water can be harvested from different forms of water on earth. Atmospheric harvesting is the best alternative for producing fresh water for everyday life and reducing global water shortages. To date, many modern technologies have been introduced for this application, with several prototypes being demonstrated. Thus, this study explores the potential benefits of the current atmospheric water harvesting systems in terms of their modes, atmospheric conditions, and production rate and examines the key factors that affect the efficiency of atmospheric water harvesting, such as temperature and humidity. According to the studies, there has been a significant advancement in energy harvesting and conversion technology, along with atmospheric water harvesting, over the ...
Computers, Materials & Continua
Technical debt (TD) happens when project teams carry out technical decisions in favor of a short-... more Technical debt (TD) happens when project teams carry out technical decisions in favor of a short-term goal(s) in their projects, whether deliberately or unknowingly. TD must be properly managed to guarantee that its negative implications do not outweigh its advantages. A lot of research has been conducted to show that TD has evolved into a common problem with considerable financial burden. Test technical debt is the technical debt aspect of testing (or test debt). Test debt is a relatively new concept that has piqued the curiosity of the software industry in recent years. In this article, we assume that the organization selects the testing artifacts at the start of every sprint. Implementing the latest features in consideration of expected business value and repaying technical debt are among candidate tasks in terms of the testing process (test cases increments). To gain the maximum benefit for the organization in terms of software testing optimization, there is a need to select the artifacts (i.e., test cases) with maximum feature coverage within the available resources. The management of testing optimization for large projects is complicated and can also be treated as a multi-objective problem that entails a trade-off between the agile software's short-term and long-term value. In this article, we implement a multi-objective indicatorbased evolutionary algorithm (IBEA) for fixing such optimization issues. The capability of the algorithm is evidenced by adding it to a real case study of a university registration process.
Sustainability
Agricultural extension workers play an essential role in the productivity of agricultural systems... more Agricultural extension workers play an essential role in the productivity of agricultural systems. Based on the actual conditions in the field, it can be seen that the level of extension services still needs to be higher due to a lack of human resources in the field of extension services. This research was conducted to determine the effectiveness of agricultural extension services andthe factors that influence the effectiveness of agricultural extension to farmers in Baubau City, Indonesia. The analytical method includes exogenous latent variables: human resources, technological progress, farming capital, farmer age, education, and farming experience. The effectiveness of agricultural extension is used as an endogenous latent variable. The research sample consisted of 110 rice farmers in Baubau City, and the Slovin formula was used to calculate the sample. The data collection for this research was carried out by distributing questionnaires to respondents, in-depth interviews, and di...
Turkish Journal of Agriculture - Food Science and Technology
Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima Lam.) is a well-known, extensively grown and consumed crop, world-wide.... more Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima Lam.) is a well-known, extensively grown and consumed crop, world-wide. Pumpkins are natural and rich source of potential bioactive compounds. The presence of active phytochemicals makes these fruits a great matrix to be further exploited for therapeutic purposes, beyond biotechnological applications. Peel, flesh and seeds of this fruit are heavily loaded with phenolics, flavonoids and carotenoids, which are the main tributes of this functional and medicinal food. Present study was designed to utilize these parts of pumpkin in the form of powders, at 0, 5, 10 and 15% replacement levels with white flour, to develop biscuits and to obtain methanolic extracts of these biscuits to determine their phytochemical parameters. Among the different treatment biscuits, highest amount of total phenolics (101.79 mg GAE/100 g), flavonoids (60.74 mg CE/ 100 g) and DPPH free radical scavenging activity (38.00 mg AAE/100 g) was found in biscuits with 15% replacement of pumpk...
International journal of food science and agriculture, Jul 19, 2021
Gajjar grass, Parthenium hysterophorus L., from the family Asteraceae (tribe: Heliantheae), is a ... more Gajjar grass, Parthenium hysterophorus L., from the family Asteraceae (tribe: Heliantheae), is a vertical and densely branched annual herb well-known for its environmental, medical, and agricultural hazard. It is thought to have been familiarized into India and Australia from North America and in the previous few years the weed has appeared as the utmost distressing weed in Africa, Asia, and Australia. Many scientists employed biological methods like insects, fungi, trees and crop plants which were creating harm to P. hysterphorus, but found the allelopathy as the most efficient method to control the parthenium as well as other weeds. Scientists are doing experiments to use allelopathic potential of plants for weed management. It has been shown in researches that the extracts and residues of many allelopathic plant species (herbs, grasses and trees) effectively reduce the germination and growth of parthenium. The purpose of this review is to summarize all the general information about biological management of this noxious weed. Parthenium control has been attempted using a variety of methods, but no sole administration choice would be suitable to cope Parthenium, and there is a need to assimilate numerous management choices. The only way to successfully manage this weed is through a comprehensive mechanism that includes bio-control as a major component.
Journal of Innovative Sciences, 2021
V ermicomposting is a term coined to explain the whole process of utilization of biodegradable ma... more V ermicomposting is a term coined to explain the whole process of utilization of biodegradable material by earthworms and producing vermicasts. The process enhances the bioavailability of basic nutrients by consuming raw nutrients and reproducing useful byproducts. Vermicast is also reported for having descend of growth sufficient hormones i.e. ethylene, auxin, gibberellin and enzymes i.e. cellulose, nitrogenase, phosphatase etc. Those nutrients are produced during the passage of degradable mass through the gut of earthworm. It is also a strong belief that all such hormones and enzymes are plant growth stimulants while inhibit the pathogen invasion causing different diseases. The environmental friendly and pure organic highly nutritious fertilizer vermicompost fertilizer is used for crop production Abstract | Presenting the world state of the art review, which summarizes the core ideas from experiments performed by expert researchers on vermicomposting. Vermicompost is a finely decomposed peat like material having good aeration, high drainage, good water holding capacity, microbial activity, superior in nutrient status and buffering capacity therefore having the amiable required physiochemical charms for fertility of soil and growth of plant. The worms increase the biological decomposition of organic substrates by maintaining the aerobic conditions of the organic substrates. Experiments on earthworms and the vermicast production by different species are also included in review. The paper also reveals fitness or compatibility of different species of earthworms to 'bioprocess' variation in different forms of organic waste. The review also presents the basic idea of all those research studies about effect of vermicomposting on different parameters of plant growth. Such an explanatory review is remarkably few and far among studies about the impact on plants of vermicasts prepared from aquatic weeds and agriculture wastes.
International Journal of Food Science and Agriculture, 2021
A large number of plant and weed species produce secondary metabolites known as allelochemicals, ... more A large number of plant and weed species produce secondary metabolites known as allelochemicals, and the process is known as allelopathy. Allelochemicals can be used to control weeds in agricultural systems by using allelopathic crops for intercropping, crop rotation, or mulching. A few important examples of crop species with high allelopathic potential may include (but not limited to) wheat, rice, sorghum, rye, barley, and sunflower. The naturally produced allelochemicals in these crops could be manipulated to suppress weeds and witness an environment-friendly and sustainable agricultural production system. The objective of this article is to review the opportunities for using allelopathy to enhance overall potentiality of weeds and crops in natural weed management. Allelopathy is the beneficial or adverse effect of one plant on another due to direct or indirect release of chemicals from live or dead plants (including microorganisms). Although we cannot discard use of synthetic herbicides completely at the present situation but their use can be reduced up to a specific extent by using allelopathic potentiality as a preferred weed management strategy for crop production as well as environmental benefits.
Thermal Science and Engineering Progress, 2022
The energy efficiency of seawater desalination processes is usually expressed in terms of kWh ele... more The energy efficiency of seawater desalination processes is usually expressed in terms of kWh electricity or low-grade heat per cubic meter of water produced. This energy efficiency evaluation criteria unfortunately omitted the embedded quality of derived energy input. To have fair comparison of assorted desalination processes, it is important to consider quantity as well as quality of derived energy input based on their generation mechanisms. The numerator (m 3 of distillate produced) and denominator (kWh_derived energy consumption) terms in energy efficiency evaluation are to be benchmark onto a common platform for fair evaluation and comparison. An inadequate comparison may result in an inferior adaptation of desalination methods that can lead to high economical destruction. In this article, a detailed thermodynamic framework has been developed to convert cogeneration-based electricity and heat into standard primary energy input. The proposed standard primary energy platform will help to demystify the quality and quantity aspects of derived energy supply. The thermodynamic based rigorous calculations show that 1.813 units of primary energy are required to produce one unit of electricity due to conversion efficiencies and loses involved in the power plant. On the other hand, one unit low-pressure steam to operate thermally driven desalination cycles need only 0.0944 units of primary energy. This stark difference clearly shows that omitting the grade of energy in performance evaluation can lead to an inefficient installation decision. This proposed framework will provide a basic ground for future efficient processes selection and assorted processes evaluation at common platform.
Energies, 2021
As non-renewable conventional fossil fuel sources are depleting day by day, researchers are conti... more As non-renewable conventional fossil fuel sources are depleting day by day, researchers are continually finding new ways of producing and utilizing alternative, renewable, and reliable fuels. Due to conventional technologies, the environment has been degraded seriously, which profoundly impacts life on earth. To reduce the emissions caused by running the compression ignition engines, waste cooking oil (WCO) biodiesel is one of the best alternative fuels locally available in all parts of the world. Different study results are reviewed with a clear focus on combustion, performance, and emission characteristics, and the impact on engine durability. Moreover, the environmental and economic impacts are also reviewed in this study. When determining the combustion characteristics of WCO biodiesel, the cylinder peak pressure value increases and the heat release rate and ignition delay period decreases. In performance characteristics, brake-specific fuel consumption increases while brake-spe...
Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, 2021
Water, 2021
Pakistan is among the countries that have already crossed the water scarcity line, and the situat... more Pakistan is among the countries that have already crossed the water scarcity line, and the situation is worsened due to the recent pandemic. This is because the major budget of the country is shifted to primary healthcare activities from other development projects that included water treatment and transportation infrastructure. Consequently, water-borne diseases have increased drastically in the past few months. Therefore, there is a dire need to address this issue on a priority basis to ameliorate the worsening situation. One possible solution is to shift the focus/load from mega-projects that require a plethora of resources, money, and time to small domestic-scale systems for water treatment. For this purpose, domestic-scale solar stills are designed, fabricated, and tested in one of the harshest climatic condition areas of Pakistan, Rahim Yar Khan. A comprehensive overview of the regional climatology, including wind speed, solar potential, and ambient temperature is presented for...
Heat Transfer Engineering, 2021
Case Studies in Thermal Engineering, 2021
Heat Exchangers, 2021
Heat exchangers are the mainstay of thermal systems and have been extensively used in desalinatio... more Heat exchangers are the mainstay of thermal systems and have been extensively used in desalination systems, heating, cooling units, power plants, and energy recovery systems. This chapter demonstrates a robust theoretical framework for heat exchangers investigation based on two advanced tools, i.e., exergoeconomic analysis and Normalized Sensitivity Analysis. The former is applied as a mutual application of economic and thermodynamic analyses, which is much more impactful than the conventional thermodynamic and economic analyses. This is because it allows the investigation of combinatory effects of thermodynamic and fiscal parameters which are not achieved with the conventional methods. Similarly, the Normalized Sensitivity Analysis allows a one-on-one comparison of the sensitivity of output parameters to the input parameters with entirely different magnitudes on a common platform. This rationale comparison is obtained by normalizing the sensitivity coefficients by their nominal val...
International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, 2021
Integration of energy recovery section with thermal desalination systems improves their performan... more Integration of energy recovery section with thermal desalination systems improves their performance from thermodynamics, economics, and environmental viewpoints. This is because it significantly reduces input energy, heat transfer area, and capital cost requirements. Above all, the system outlet streams can achieve thermal equilibrium with the environment by supplying heat for useful preheating purposes thus reducing the environmental impacts. The plate heat exchangers are generally employed for this purpose as preheaters. The current paper presents a comprehensive investigation and optimization of these heat exchangers for thermal desalination systems applications. An experimentally validated numerical model employing Normalized Sensitivity Analysis and Genetic Algorithm based cost optimization is developed to investigate their performance at assorted operating conditions. The analysis showed that the heat transfer coefficient, pressure drop, and outlet water cost were improved by an increase in feed flow rate. However, with an increased flow rate, the comprehensive output parameter (h/ΔP) decreased due to the high degree increase in pressure drop. Moreover, an increase in the chevron angle reduced the heat transfer coefficient, pressure drop, and water cost. Finally, the optimization lowered the heat transfer area by ~79.5%, capital investment by ~62%, and the outlet cost of the cold stream by ~15.7%. The operational cost is increased due to the increased pressure drop but the overall impact is beneficial as C total of equipment is reduced by ~52.7%.
Processes, 2021
One of the greatest challenges of the 21st century is to fulfill the growing energy needs sustain... more One of the greatest challenges of the 21st century is to fulfill the growing energy needs sustainably and cost-effectively. Among the different sources of energy, biodiesel is one of the alternative energy sources that has tremendous potential to become a major mainstream renewable energy mix. Jatropha is an important raw input for biodiesel that provides an ecological and sustainable solution for emerging greenhouse gas emissions over the other biomass feedstock. This paper critically evaluates different factors and presents a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) and barriers to the adoption of Jatropha biodiesel. In Pakistan, the estimated production of Jatropha biodiesel is expected to be 2.93 million tons, that are calculated from available barren land and possible shortlisted suitable areas for Jatropha plantation. It is ~25% of the total import (11.84 million tons) of petroleum products, which can save ~$2 billion USD reserves of Pakistan. The cult...
Coatings, 2021
The four-ball tester was used in this analysis to demonstrate the lubricity of tire pyrolysis oil... more The four-ball tester was used in this analysis to demonstrate the lubricity of tire pyrolysis oil (TPO). The tribological performance of the tire pyrolysis oil was compared with diesel fuel (DF) and their blends, DT10 (TPO 10%, Diesel 90%) and DT20 (TPO 20%, Diesel 80%). A scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to investigate the wear scar. In contrast to diesel fuel, TPO demonstrated better antiwear behaviour in terms of higher load-carrying capacity. DT10, DT20, and TPO’s wear scar diameter (WSD) was 22.35%, 16.01%, and 31.99% smaller than that of diesel at 80 kg load, respectively. The scanning electron microscope micrographs showed that the TPO and DT10 had less wear than their counterparts.
International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, 2021
Indirect evaporative cooling technology has emerged as an energy-efficient, low-cost, and sustain... more Indirect evaporative cooling technology has emerged as an energy-efficient, low-cost, and sustainable alternative to conventional air conditioning systems for space cooling. This is because of its significant (40-50%) energy-saving potential compared to ventilation, vapor compression cooling, and desiccant cooling systems. The current paper presents a novel humidifier-assisted regenerative indirect evaporative cooler that eliminates the use of hydrophilic surfaces within the system and mitigates the fouling propensity and water management issues. A generic cell of the proposed system is fabricated and tested for different operating scenarios along with the uncertainty propagation analysis. Thereafter, a normalized sensitivity analysis is performed to identify the most influential parameters on the cooler performance. The experimental data shows an effective cooling performance with a temperature drop of 20 °C of outdoor air and cooling capacity of 175 watts of 1800 mm x 300 mm generic cell. The cooling coefficient of performance was calculated as 44 and maximum effectiveness of 83.82 % for the proposed configuration. The sensitivity analysis reveals scaling trends of the coefficient of performance in the following order of primary air inlet temperature > primary air outlet temperature > primary air velocity and the cooler effectiveness as secondary air outlet temperature > primary air inlet temperature > primary air humidity > primary air outlet.
Sustainability, 2021
Energy is essential for the nature of life and the development of countries. The main demand for ... more Energy is essential for the nature of life and the development of countries. The main demand for the 21st century is to fulfill growing energy needs. Pakistan, through the use of fossil fuels, meets energy demands. There is pressure on the economy of the country due to the massive reliance on fossil fuels, and this tendency is influenced by various environmental impacts. To overcome the burden on fossil fuels, more attention has been drawn to provide fossil fuel substitution. Tire pyrolysis is among the effective substitutes of the fuel technology that generates useful products of liquid oil, char, and pyro gas. This research focuses on the environmental, social, and economic viability of tire pyrolysis oil in Pakistan. This study estimates the production and potential of tire pyrolysis oil (TPO) in Pakistan. Based on the calculations, the potential of tire pyrolysis oil production in Pakistan from 2015–2019 is 468,081 to 548,406 tons. The potential production of TPO in 2018–2019 wa...
Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, 2021
The recent studies emphasize the importance of modern technologies and the reduction of gases emi... more The recent studies emphasize the importance of modern technologies and the reduction of gases emission while neglecting the significance of the optimum fuel. A comprehensive comparison for compressed natural gas, liquified natural gas, liquified petroleum gas, gasoline, electricity, diesel, and alternative fuels such as bioethanol and biodiesel as a transport fuel is carried out for Pakistan. The comparison is carried out by undertaking various factor that affects the fuel economy. Therefore, a comparison of fuel properties, production, consumption, emission of gases, engine performance and economy are carried to observe the optimum fuel for Pakistan. It concluded that compressed natural gas, electricity, and alternative fuels were found to be the optimum fuel for the environment and economy of Pakistan and having a high potential for its availability through different sources. Besides, strategy and future policies and directions are also discussed for the optimum fuel. Moreover, the future of vehicles is also discussed to analyze the transportation trend of the world. The present study will be very efficient for the optimum fuel consideration and growing future for developing countries. Therefore, Pakistan should pay attention to these fuels for their production, implementation, and electric vehicles for a sustainable future.
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Papers by Muhammad Akbar Jamil