Chapters authored
Wheat Straw Open Burning: Emissions and Impact on Climate Change
The state of Baja California, Mexico, is the second national wheat producer. Mexicali, the capital of Baja California, is the primary wheat producer, and it represents the most significant crop in the valley, with 90,609 ha of a cultivated surface by 2015; it leads to a wheat production of 585,334 t and a generation of 661,446 t of wheat straw as agricultural residue. The 15% of this waste has various uses. The 85% of wheat straw is open burnt in situ to prepare the farmland for the next agricultural cycle. Through the development of an emissions and energy model on iThink®, the emissions of 6,185 t of PM, 35,983 t of CO, and 1,125 t of CH4 considering a headfire burning or 3,373 t of PM, 30,360 t of CO, and 731 t of CH4 by backfire burning were estimated. Also, the wheat straw wasted energy was estimated at 8.15 PJ by 2015, with a lower heating value of 14.50 MJ/kg determined experimentally. The results highlight that for each hectare of harvested wheat, 6.205 t of wheat straw are generated and burnt. It represents the emission of pollutants and 89,972.50 MJ of wasted energy.
Part of the book: Global Wheat Production
Methodology of Energy Management in Housing and Buildings of Regions with Hot and Dry Climates
In this chapter, power consumption and electrical demand in buildings or housing due to the utilization of HVAC systems are shown to be intimately linked to construction materials. This work proposes a methodology of energy management intended to analyze and evaluate actions aimed at saving and efficient use of electric energy of HVAC systems applied to regions with hot and dry climates. The methodology consists of: (1) characterization of local climatology using the concept of degree-hours (DH). (2) Utilization of a Fourier-type mathematical model to calculate hourly temperature using only daily maximum and minimum temperatures as well as an empirical model to compute energy efficiency (EER) of air-cooled air conditioning units. (3) Thermal simulation applying a software developed by the authors based on ASHRAE\'s Transfer Functions methodology to calculate hourly cooling loads, the adequate sizing of air conditioning equipment and the rate of heat extraction. (4) System analysis, identification of improvement actions, evaluation of viable alternatives of saving and efficient use of energy. The advantage of this proposal is its flexibility because it can be applied to any climatology and easily adaptable to the conditions of energy usage anywhere in the world.
Part of the book: HVAC System
Development and Implementation of Virtual Instrumentation for the Measurement of Operating Parameters of an Engine Using Diesel-Biodiesel Mixtures
Through a reaction of alkaline transesterification of soybean oil using sodium methoxide, biodiesel denominated as B100 was obtained, with which four mixtures of diesel-biodiesel B2, B5, B10, and B20 were prepared. Kinematic viscosity and high heating value of the four blends, B100, and diesel were determined. The blends, B100, and diesel were used in a motor of four cylinders in-line engine, air intake at atmospheric pressure with a power of 250 hp and 6000 cm3, operating at a constant rate of 850 ± 50 rpm, a temperature of 25°C, and a relative humidity of 50%. To monitor the emissions, rpm, fuel consumption, and temperature in the engine’s exhaust manifold, which operates with diesel-biodiesel mixtures, an integral instrument that uses the virtual instrumentation technology was developed in the programming platforms LabVIEW 2010 and ARDUINO. The development and implementation of the virtual instrument allow monitoring in real time the parameters of internal combustion engines and presents the versatility, flexibility, scalability, and capacity to function in equipment that operates with different liquid fuels at a lower cost than the one that conventional systems offered. These characteristics represent a significant benefit in comparison with the measurement and monitoring systems in the present market.
Part of the book: Biofuels