Mehran University Research Journal of Engineering and Technology

6

Authors: Lakho N.A., Zardari M.A., Memon N.A.

Reinforced baked clay beams may be considered to be a substitute of reinforced cement concrete beams in order to build low cost houses. The baking of these clay beams can pose problems such as cracking and warping. This paper presents the effect of different treatments applied to clay beams during baking to reduce cracking and warping. These clay beams were baked in pottery kiln in which the temperature could not be raised to the extent of fusing of clay beams placed at bottom of firing chamber. As expected, the beams were not baked properly and a number of them got cracked. Then these beams were baked in a commercial Hoffman’s kiln. The beams, in preheating stage, were moistened to full depth due to humidity and moisture of flue gases. As a result, the beams cracked and warped at the time of firing. In order to avoid the beams from being moistened by the moisture of the flue gases, different treatments were opted. Firstly, these beams were covered with plastic sheet, the cracks were reduced to some extent. Secondly, double layer of mud, with a layer of gunny bags between them, was applied. Consequently, a few cracks occurred in the beams. The treatments suggested in this paper can be used for baking of clay beams in Hoffman’s kiln at commercial level.

6

Authors: Ali S., Ahmed F., Khatri A.

PCDA (Pentacosadiynoic Acid) monomers were successfully embedded in PCL (Poly ε-Caprolactone)polymer matrix by electrospinning process for the first time. The resultant EFM (Electrospun Fibers Mat) was photo-polymerized under 254 nm UV light that enables colorimetric detection of fake gasoline. Results revealed that the fake gasoline develops a red color mat within 5 sec. FE-SEM images showed that the fake gasoline treatment dissolved the PCL EFM that give access to interact with PDA polymer. The proposed litmus-type sensor based on PCL-PDA EFM is highly sensitive to fake gasoline and can be fabricated easily.

8

Authors: Naz S., Umar A.I., Razzak M.I.

Arabic script character recognition is challenging task due to complexity of the script and huge number of ligatures. We present a method for the development of multilingual Arabic script OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and lexicon reduction for Arabic Script and its derivative languages. The objective of the proposed method is to overcome the large dataset Urdu and similar scripts by using GCT (Ghost Character Theory) concept. Arabic and its sibling script languages share the similar character dataset i.e. the character set are difference in diacritic and writing styles like Naskh or Nasta’liq. Based on the proposed method, the lexicon for Arabic and Arabic script based languages can be minimized approximately up to 20 times. The proposed multilingual Arabic script OCR approach have been evaluated for online Arabic and its derivative language like Urdu using BPNN. The result showed that proposed method helps to not only the reduction of lexicon but also helps to develop the Multilanguage character recognition system for Arabic Script.

10

Authors: Safwan M., Valiuddin, Asif M.

A control scheme is being presented for the trajectory tracking of a nonholonomic kinematic model of mobile robots. As a kinematic model of mobile robots is nonlinear in nature, therefore, it is controlling is always being a difficult task. Thus, a control hybrid scheme comprises of fuzzy logic and PID (Proportional Integral Derivative) is being proposed, in which adaptive gains of PID controller is being tuned by a fuzzy logic controller. Moreover, the effectiveness of this innovative technique is also proved using the simulations by adding model uncertainties and external disturbances in the system. Besides,the fuzzy logic control system is also being compared by the proposed control system. Results attained shows that the fuzzy based PID controller drives improved results than fuzzy logic controller.

10

Authors: Shaheen N., Arif S., Khan A.

This research work deals with a study of a residential building located in climatic context of Karachi with the objective of being the study of thermal performance based upon passive design techniques. The study helps in reducing the electricity consumption by improving indoor temperatures. The existing residential buildings in Karachi were studied with reference to their planning and design, analyzed and evaluated. Different construction’s compositions of buildings were identified, surveyed and analyzed in making of the effective building envelops. Autodesk® Ecotect, 2011 was used to determine indoor comfort conditions and HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning and Cooling) loads. The result of the research depicted significant energy savings of 38.5% in HVAC loads with proposed building envelop of locally available materials and glazing.

10

Authors: Syed H.A., Raza K., Hashmani M.A.

This paper addresses ELSP (Economic Lot Scheduling Problem) using EBPA (Extended Basic Period Approach) model with PoT (Power of Two) policy. The objective is to solve the ELSP using HCA (Hybrid Cuckoo Search Algorithm). The proposed approach improves the solution (i.e. minimizes the total cost which is the sum of setup and inventory holding costs) obtained through GA (Genetic Algorithm). The solution obtained from HCA is compared with GA on 17 Bomberger’s problems. The comparison indicates the superiority of the proposed HCA over GA with respect to the solution quality.

10

Authors: Noonari A.A., Mahar R.B., Sahito A.R.

The SRRMs (Steel Re-Rolling Mills) are being releasing air pollutants in the environment. In order to evaluate their effect on the health of the workers, health and safety issues were analyzed by first measuring the concentrations of SOx (OIxides of Sulphur), NOx (Oxides of Nitrogen), CO (Carbon Monoxide) and O2 (Oxygen) produced in the three SRRMs located in SITE area Hyderabad. The mean concentration of SOx, NOx and CO were in the order of 0.35, 0.280, 6.333 ppm, respectively, whereas the mean concentration of O2 was 203.53 thousand ppm. As per results, the concentration of air pollutants, including SOx and NOx were significantly higher than to the NEQS (National Environmental Quality Standards) and NAAQS (National Ambient Air Quality Standards). The concentration of CO was lower than to the NAAQS, but higher than to the NEQs, while the concentration of O2 was slightly lower than to the standard value. The workers who were exposed to these air pollutants are being suffering from chronic diseases related to breathing and allergies. Moreover, labour staff was lifting heavy loads manually, which causes them to muscular and joint problems. In all the SRRMs under study, the electrical and mechanical equipments were used without any safety. The MSDS were not displayed on the workstations, the housekeeping was inadequate and most of the workers were performing their jobs without personal protective equipment. In addition to these, the other serious issues related to the occupational health and safety were an unhygienic supply of water, higher noise level, placement of explosive cylinders in the open atmosphere and unavailability of the first aid facilities in the Mill premises.

12

Authors: Siddiqui A.A., Shaikh Z.A., Aqeel-Ur_Rehman

Semantic searching has already received a substantial amount of interest as a way to search specific contents on the web. The development of ontologies has proven their worth in providing interesting solutions to knowledge validation. This paper presents a general overview about the incorporation of semantic searching in different computing related areas, more specifically its usage in the domain of Islamic knowledge and legal rulings. Semantic computing is basically an approach towards the “relevant and meaningful” search that relies on semantic structures, such as ontological representation. Furthermore, this paper provides a summary of relevant work conducted so far in the said domains. It also focuses on the importance of Islamic Legal Rulings (Fatawa) which are authentic legal documents provided by specialized scholars (Muftis) on different daily life issues in the context of Islam. To find a valid and concluded legal ruling regarding a particular issue is surely not a simple task from an enormous knowledgebase of Islamic Legal Rulings given by different scholars in different times. These collections are so vast mainly due to a couple of reasons; one being the time span since the inception of Islam that spreads over fourteen hundred years and the other being the difference of opinions recorded by different scholars in different stages, places, and time. These arguments clearly justify the need of semantic computing in the prescribed domain and its appropriateness as a mean for searching in case of Islamic Legal Ruling besides the keyword based searching.

6

Authors: Memon N.A., Laghari M.A., Memon F.A.

Generation of construction waste is a worldwide issue that concerns not only governments but also the building actors involved in construction industry. For developing countries like Pakistan, rising levels of waste generation, due to the rapid growth of towns and cities have become critical issue. Therefore this study is aimed to detect the factors, which are the main causes of construction waste generation. Questionnaire survey has been conducted to achieve this task and RIW (Relative Importance Weight) method has been used to analyze the results of this study. The important factors contributing to the generation of construction as identified in this study are: frequent changes/ revision in design during construction process; poor scheduling; unavailability of storage; poor workmanship; poor layout; inefficient planning and scheduling of resources and lack of coordination among supervision staff deployed at site. Based on the identified factors, the study also has presented some suggestions for the reduction of construction waste in building construction projects of Pakistan

8

Authors: Ibrar-Ul-Haque M., Hassan H.,Anisi M.I.

This paper proposed a new technique to compressed image blockiness/blurriness in frequency domain through edge detection method by applying Fourier transform. In image processing, boundaries are characterized by edges and thus, edges are the problems of fundamental importance. The edges have to be identified and computed thoroughly in order to retrieve the complete illustration of the image. Our novel edge detection scheme for blockiness and blurriness shows improvement of 60 and 100 blocks for high frequency components respectively than any other detection technique.

8

Authors: Amanullah, Rashad M. Ahmed I.

The binary operation of usual addition is associative in all matrices over R. However, a binary operation of addition in matrices over Z n of a nonassociative structures of AG-groupoids and AG-groups are defined and investigated here. It is shown that both these structures exist for every integer n > 3. Various properties of these structures are explored like: (i) Every AG-groupoid of matrices over Z n is transitively commutative AG-groupoid and is a cancellative AG-groupoid ifn is prime. (ii) Every AG-groupoid of matrices over Z n of Type-II is a T3-AG-groupoid. (iii) An AG-groupoid of matrices over Z n ; G nAG(t,u), is an AG-band, ift+ u=1(mod n).

10

Authors: Fizza G., Hussain A., Jokhio S.H.

Nonlinearities implanted by refractive index and scattering degrade the performance of optical networks. In this paper, FWM (Four Wave Mixing) has been analyzed for four different channels with 10 nm spacing. Due to the presence of resonant frequency, FWM interface of different channels in WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing) hinders the performance of the system. The system is affected by nonlinear cross talk. A system with the bandwidth of 10 Gbps has been investigated using External Modulation and an optical rectangle filter as a key parameter to improve the system performance with respect to FWM effect

10

Authors: Jan I., Pervez S.

Effective institutional arrangements at local and national levels are important for promotion of renewable energy in a country. The present study attempts to examine the institutional arrangements for development of domestic clean energy in rural northwest Pakistan. The survey data were collected from 100 randomly selected households in District Swat in northwest Pakistan. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-Square test was applied wherever needed. The study describes that very limited number of public and private organizations were working on CD (Clean Development) in the area. Surprisingly, no institutional arrangements exclusively meant for domestic clean energy promotion were observed in the area. The study concludes that the objectives of Kyoto Protocol in Pakistan can be achieved only if the government and NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) work together to initiate cost-effective renewable energy interventions, particularly in rural areas. This will not only improve the socioeconomic and environmental conditions in the local context, but will play a key role in achieving the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) of the United Nation?s post-2015 development agenda.

10

Authors: Sahito A.A., Tunio S.M., Khizer A.N.

Fast dynamic response, high efficiency, low cost and small size of power electronic converters have exponentially increased their use in modern power system which resulted in harmonically distorted voltage and currents. Voltage harmonics mainly caused by current harmonics are more dangerous as performance and expected operating life of other power system equipment are affected by harmonically distorted supply voltage. Electronic filter circuits are used to improve system power quality by mitigating adverse effects of harmonics. Hybrid filters having advantages of both passive and active filters are preferred to resolve the problem of harmonics efficiently and avoiding any chance of resonance. In this paper, a three phase three wire network is considered to supply an adjustable speed drive represented by a resistive load connected across a three phase bridge rectifier. Simulation of the considered system shows THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) of 18.91 and 7.61% in supply current and voltage respectively. A HAPF (Hybrid Active Power Filter) is proposed to reduce these THD values below 5% as recommended by IEEE Standard-519. P-Q theorem is used to calculate required parameters for proposed filter, which is implemented through hysteresis control. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the designed filter as THD for both current and voltage have reduced below allowable limit of 5%.

12

Authors: Hayat U., Khan M.U.G.

Uncertain data can be categorized as imprecise data and probabilistic data. In each of these categories, the uncertainty can be found at different granularity levels. Conventional data models are developed for the purpose of storing, manipulating and retrieving certain data. These data models do not extend their support for the management of uncertain data. Thus, a standalone data model is required aimed at storing, manipulating and retrieving certain as well as uncertain data. In this paper we introduce UDMrelations, an uncertain data model for the management of uncertain data along with certain data. Vertical partitioning approach is used to translate an uncertain relation into UDM-relations. Our data model supports ALU (Attribute-Level Uncertainty) as well as TLU (Tuple-Level Uncertainty) for the finite sets of possible worlds. It follows the concept of standard relational database technology. With slight modifications to standard relational algebra operators, we have introduced four relational operators that are used to evaluate a query on UDM-relations.

14

Authors: Draz U., Jahanzeb M., Asghar G.

SMEs (Small and Medium Sized Enterprises) sector is facing problems relating to implementation of international quality standards. These SMEs need to identify factors affecting business success abroad for intelligent allocation of resources to the process of internationalization. In this paper, MLP NN (Multi-Layer Perceptron Neural Network) has been used for identifying relative importance of key variables related to firm basics, manufacturing, quality inspection labs and level of education in determining the exporting status of Pakistani SMEs. A survey has been conducted for scoring out the pertinent variables in SMEs and coded in MLP NNs. It is found that ?firm registered with OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) and ?size of firm? are the most important in determining exporting status of SMEs followed by other variables. For internationalization, the results aid policy makers in formulating strategies

6

Authors: Israr A., Rakocevic V., Aamir M.

Autonomous and self-organizing wireless ad-hoc communication networks for moving objects consist of nodes, which use no centralized network infrastructure. Examples of moving object networks are networks of flying objects, networks of vehicles, networks of moving people or robots. Moving object networks have to face many critical challenges in terms of routing because of dynamic topological changes and asymmetric networks links. A suitable and effective routing mechanism helps to extend the deployment of moving nodes. In this paper an attempt has been made to analyze the performance of the Greedy Decision method (position aware distance based algorithm) for geographic routing for network nodes moving according to the random waypoint mobility model. The widely used GPSR (Greedy Packet Stateless Routing) protocol utilizes geographic distance and position based data of nodes to transmit packets towards destination nodes. In this paper different scenarios have been tested to develop a concrete set of recommendations for optimum deployment of distance based Greedy Decision of Geographic Routing in randomly moving objects network

6

Authors: Khahro S.H., Memon F.A., Talpur M.A.H.

Conflicts seem to arise throughout the life cycle of the construction project and in result, these may lead to several other issues such as project cost overrun, time overrun, productivity loss, loss of profit and above all damage of business relationships in general and specifically in construction industry. Hence, this paper focuses on various direct and indirect causes leading to conflicts in construction industry of Sindh, Pakistan. Detailed literature review and interviews have been carried out to identify several direct and indirect causes of conflicts and finally, a set of questionnaire has been designed and distributed to get expert opinion on the significance of these causes in this sector. The data has been analyzed by RIW (Relative Importance Weight) method. The outcome of this study shows that payment delay is the major direct cause of conflicts in the construction projects followed by contractual claims, public interruption, poor communication and site conditions. Thus, it is suggested that proper attention should be given to the above mentioned concerns so as to have a uniform flow of construction project life cycle without any interruption.

8

Authors: Bhutto G.M, Keerio M.U., Junejo A.K.

When the distribution system is disconnected from the transmission system, the islanded portion of the network comprising DG (Distributed Generation) units forms a MG (Micro Grid). It is essential either to shut down the DG units or ensure the stable and the controlled operation of the islanded MG. The frequency and the voltage of the islanded MG vary when it is isolated from the main transmission grid. The voltage and the frequency of the islanded MG can be controlled to the permissible limits by providing the required amount of the active and reactive power by the local available sources in the MG. The main focus of this paper is about the control of the network frequency in the islanded MG by employing PI controllers based STATCOM (Static Compensator) and BESS-STATCOM (Battery Energy Storage System Equipped) devices. The study is done by using DIgSILENT power factory software version 15.0

8

Authors: Shaikh P.,Khahro S.H., Memon A.A.

For economic reasons, engineers are compelled to explore low cost methods in construction industry to reduce the overall cost of a project. Research studies have been conducted in this regard throughout the world and value engineering is one of such approaches. Its effective use and applications reduces the project cost without compromising the project quality. Project cost, and efficient design alternatives can be identified using this technique, which will ultimately reduce the overall project cost. Client satisfaction, project reliability and quality can also be improved by the application of value engineering. It is also used for improving managerial performance, project schedule and reduced risks in a project. It is a powerful tool used to identify problems and recommend solutions. This paper highlights the importance of value engineering in general and with specific perspective of Construction Industry in Pakistan. Questionnaire based survey has been conducted by construction managers (i.e. project engineers, construction engineers, project managers, architects, etc.) through online web based system, as a result, random data sampling is achieved. The attributes are mapped to obtain goals for the project. The data has been analyzed through reliability and linear regression using SPSS while Z-Score and Average Index are conducted using MS Excel. The results showed that there is ample need to apply such techniques in initial phases of any project to get project benefits.

10

Authors: Jokhio M., Mahoto N.A., Jokhio S.

Sentiment analysis is a growing research these days. Many companies perform this analysis on public opinions to get a general idea about any product or service. This paper presents a novel approach to get views or comments of Twitter users about plastic surgery treatments. The proposed approach uses machine-learning technique embedded with the naïve Bayesian classifier to assign polarities (i.e. positive, negative or neutral) to the tweets, collected from ?Twitter micro-blogging website?. The accuracy of the obtained results has been validated using precision, recall and F-score measures. It has been observed from 25000 tweets dataset that people tend to have positive as well as substantial negative opinions regarding particular treatments. The experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed approach

12

Authors: Khan S., Qureshi I.M., Shoaib B.

In this article, we introduce a CSA (Cuckoo Search Algorithm) for compensation of faulty array antenna. It is assumed that the faulty elemental location is also known. When the sensor fails, it disturbs the power pattern, owing to which its SLL (Sidelobe Level) raises and nulls are shifted from their required positions. In this approach, the CSA optimizes the weights of the active elements for the reduction of SLL and null position in the desired direction. The meta-heuristic CSA is used for the control of SLL and steering of nulls at their required positions. The CSA is based on the necessitated kids? bloodsucking behavior of cuckoo sort in arrangement with the Levy flight manners. The fitness function is used to reduce the error between the preferred and probable pattern along with null constraints. Imitational consequences for various scenarios are given to exhibit the validity and presentation of the proposed method.

12

Authors: Qabulio M., Malkani Y.A., Keerio A.A.

WSNs (Wireless Sensor Networks) comprise a large number of small, inexpensive, low power and memory constrained sensing devices (called sensor nodes) that are densely deployed to measure a given physical phenomenon. Since WSNs are commonly deployed in a hostile and unattended environment, it is easy for an adversary to physically capture one or more legitimate sensor nodes, re-program and redeploy them in the network. As a result, the adversary becomes able to deploy several identical copies of physically captured nodes in the network in order to perform illegitimate activities. This type of attack is referred to as Node Replication Attack or Clone Node Attack. By launching node replication attack, an adversary can easily get control on the network which consequently is the biggest threat to confidentiality, integrity and availability of data and services. Thus, detection and prevention of node replication attack in WSNs has become an active area of research and to date more than two dozen schemes have been proposed, which address this issue. In this paper, we present a comprehensive review, classification and comparative analysis of twenty five of these schemes which help to detect and/or prevent node replication attack in WSNs

6

Authors: Hussain M., Saleemi A.R., Rabbani J.

A large number of scientists have been conducting research to improve the hydrodynamic characteristics of mixing of fluids. Out of these techniques, static mixing is adopted in this study to improve the mixing of fluids, which has a lead of negligible energy consumption in comparison with dynamic mixers. Air Water system have been cast-off for mixing in which reduction in pressure, energy consumed, bubble diameter and mass transfer rate was mainly taken into account to design the static mixer element. Five different types of elements (Baffle, Plate, Blade, Needle and Wheel) were tested to observe and compare above mentioned hydrodynamic properties. Two point source characteristics i.e. reduction in pressure and bubble size, were carried out using Hg manometer and still photography respectively. Other nonpoint source characteristics (Energy depletion, rate of mixing) were found to be directly influenced by these point source characteristics. From the experimentations baffle element catches more importance, in terms of less energy depletion, more mixing rate, when compared with the other elements tested. This element becomes also comparable with other elements renowned in literature.

8

Authors: Channa S.A., Memon S., Rind M.H.

This research is an attempt to upgrade Lakhra Lignite Coal using ?Dense Medium Separation? technique, to make it techno-environmentally acceptable product for different industries. The air-dried samples of ROM (Run of Mine) coal were crushed, screened, ground and subjected to initial analysis and specific gravity based sink-float tests. The initial analysis of air-dried samples shows the average values of moisture 19%, volatile matter 22.33%, ash 27.41%, fixed carbon 31.26% and sulphur 4.98%. The investigational results of sink-float analysis indicate that physical cleaning at particle size range from -5.6 to +0.3 mm and 75% clean coal recovery can potentially reduce the ash yield and sulphur content of Lakhra coal up to 41 and 42.4% respectively. This washed coal is techno-environmentally acceptable yield and simultaneously qualifies the quality parameters set by various industries of Pakistan

8

Authors: Sahito A.R., Mahar R.B., Rajput M.H.

In the present study, a newly developed VMMI (Volumetric Methane-Measuring Instrument) for laboratory scale anaerobic reactors is presented. The VMMI is a reliable, inexpensive, easy to construct, easy to use, corrosion resistant device that does not need maintenance, can measure a wide flow range of gas at varying pressure and temperature. As per the results of the error analysis, the accuracy of the VMMI is unilateral, i.e. -6.91%. The calibration of VMMI was investigated and a linear variation was found; hence, in situ calibration is recommended for this type of instrument. As per chromatographic analysis, it absorbs almost 100% of the carbon dioxide present in the biogas, results only the methane, and thus eliminates the need of cost intensive composition analysis of biogas through gas chromatograph

10

Authors: Aslam M.

n the present study, MODFLOW-MT3D groundwater model was employed to perform numerical experimentation to develop design and operational parameters for SW (Skimming Wells) based on hydrogeology and groundwater salinity conditions of Chaj Doab, Punjab, Pakistan. Numerical experimentation resulted in: (i) a 1-strainer SW with discharge of 14 l/s (litres per second) and penetration of 30% resulted in more saltwater upconing at 8 hours/day well operation compared to that occurred at 4 hours/day operation; (ii) a 1-strainer well with penetration of 30% and operation of 8 hours/day caused higher saltwater upconing at 14 l/s discharge compared to that at 9 l/s discharge; (iii) a 4-strainer well with penetration of 30% and operation of 8 hours/day also caused more saltwater upconing at 14 l/s well discharge compared to that at 9 l/s discharge. Similar trend was found for a 8- strainer well; and (iv) 1- or 4- or 8-strainer well with 30-60% penetration, 9-14 l/s discharge and 4-8 hours/day operation could provide pumped groundwater of salinity less than 1000 ppm. Considering hydro-chemical performance and costs of wells, a 4-strainer well with 30% penetration, 9- 14 l/s discharge and 4-8 hours/day operation is recommended to skim groundwater of salinity less than 1000 ppm in Chaj Doab of Punjab, Pakistan @ 1982-2015 Mehran University Research Jounal Of Engineering & Technology, Jamshoro, 76062, Sindh, Pakistan

14

Authors: Rajper N.J., Marganiec S.R.

This paper presents the VOML (Virtual Organization Modelling Language) framework. VOML is a formal approach for specifying VOs (Virtual Organizations) and their VBEs (Virtual Breeding Environments).The VOML framework allows domain users to model a system in terms of their domain terminology and from that domain specific model IT community can derive a complete operational model closer to underlying execution environment. The framework is a collection of three sub-languages, each covering different aspects which are considered paramount at a particular level of VO representation. We present VOML and its underlying methodological approach in detail and demonstrate how to model VOs. Our focus will be on the methodological approach that VOML supports and on the language primitives that VOML offers for modelling VOs.

5

Authors: Memon A.R., Aftab A., Shaikh G.Y.

Pakistan like other countries is also faced with energy crisis, for which there is a need to identify indigenous technologies along with renewable energy sources to satisfy the energy footprint of the country. Use of MFC (Microbial Fuel Cell) technique is currently a step towards this direction that can play an effective role in solving the dual problems of environmental pollution and energy shortage. In this study, sewage sludge from a wastewater treatment plant was collected and used as a substrate for electricity generation in association with other biomass sources. Effect of relevant parameters such as oxygen flow rate, pH and concentration on voltage generation was also analyzed. The experimental results yielded in voltage generation of 2500 mv/l for sewage sludge in comparison to that obtained using carbon manure (270 mv/l), wastewater (229 mv/l) and cow manure (330 mv/l) suggesting towards the potential of sewage sludge for power generation.

6

Authors: Ahmed F., Shaikh I.F., Rajput M.H.

In this study, a novel idea of using ozone oxidation at the end of reactive dyeing process was explored in order to achieve zero discharge dyeing. An advanced oxidative treatment was given during the dyeing process to remove unfixed and hydrolyzed reactive dyes from cotton substrate. Three different shades were dyed using vinylsulphone reactive class of dyes. At the end of fixation step, washing of fabrics was carried out using appropriate quantities of ozone in the process. Ozone oxidation continued until the liquor was decolorized around 95-100% and COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) was reduced about 80-90%, thus achieving zero liquid discharge dyeing process. The decolouration efficiency of wastewater was regarded as an indicative of removal of dyes from the textile materials because fabric was being washed continuously in the same liquor. Fabric samples dyed with conventional and new methods were compared in terms of change in shade, colourfastness properties, colour stripping, and fabric appearance. Overall results showed that the use of ozone during reactive dyeing can result in less water consumption, reduced process time, and zero discharge of coloured effluents from textile dyeing factories

7

Authors: Bhutto R.A., Memon A.R., Aftab A.

Bioremediation of aliphatic HC (Hydrocarbons) in the oily sludge of Kunnar oil and gas field, Pakistan was attempted by means of previously isolated and developed Bacillus sp. Both autoclaved and non-autoclaved sludge samples were analyzed for a reaction time of 30 days with pH 7 and temperature of 380C in 50 ml MSM growth media for the sludge concentration of 5, 10 and 50% with 2, 4 and 6ml of Bacillus sp. relatively, in air atmosphere. Stabilization of the samples by microbial activity resulted in the decrease in TPH (Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon) concentration by 60, 69 and 87% in autoclaved samples in contrast to the decrease of 70, 84 and 94% observed in non-autoclaved samples, relatively. Hydrocarbon degradation in oily sludge was investigated via GC which transpired that 97 and 99% concentration of aliphatic hydrocarbons in autoclaved and non-autoclaved samples was removed at 5% of TPH concentration, relatively. However, with 10% TPH concentration aliphatic hydrocarbons reduction was 68% in autoclaved samples to that of 87% in non-autoclaved samples. Further increase in the hydrocarbons concentration by 50% yielded in the removal of aliphatic hydrocarbons by 65% in autoclaved samples as compared to 98% decrease in non-autoclaved samples

7

Authors: Rajput M.H., Ansari A.K., Mahar R.B.

The GROW Technology for greywater treatment was installed at the MUET (Mehran University of Engineering & Technology), hostel and run under continuous flow conditions with hydraulic loading rate of 0.15m.d-1. The monitoring and analysis of influent and effluent water were carried out during January-December, 2010. Local plants species such as water hyacinth, Pennywort (duck weed), Mint and Cattail were used in the GROW rig as a mixed mode. Coarse Gravels were filled in the troughs as a medium. The collected samples were analyzed for BOD5 (Biochemical Oxygen Demand), COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand), TSS (Total Suspended Solids), pH, and DO (Dissolved Oxygen). Removal efficiencies of BOD5, COD and TSS were calculated as 83.0,69.0 and 84.0% respectively. DO was found increased from 0.6-3.5 mg.dm-3 while pH was observed between 6.5-7.8

8

Authors: Agha A.N., Shah F.A., Kandhar N.A.

Microorganisms are the most prominent entities for solubilization of phosphate in various soils of different areas of Sindh Province including Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allah Yar, Nawabshah, Rato Dero-Larkana, Shikarpur and Umer Kot. These soils, having varying concentrations of chemicals, different climatic conditions, pH and varying numbers of microorganisms for PSA (Phosphate Solubilization Activity). This presentation shows the isolation of different fungi and bacteria capable Psa including fungi (Fusarium sp. Aspergillus sp. Penicillium sp. and Rhizopus sp.) and bacteria (Bacillus sp. Pseudomonas sp. and Arthrobacter sp.). From the observations, it was revealed that fungi Aspergillus sp. and Bacillus sp. showed greater phosphate solubilization activity as compared to other fungi and bacteria showing 60 and 53.33% Psa (Phosphate Solubilizing Activity) respectively

14

Authors: Qureshi J.A., Jalbani A.A.

This study intends to meticulously probe about the applications of cutting-edge strategies of globally expanding companies operative in several industrial sectors of Pakistan. Many companies craft and execute various strategies to globalize their operations and networks in several continents, which can not only benefit them but add value in the domestic cum global economy. Many researchers expounded that along with many other factors, capacity-building and competitive edges of business provide these companies the competitive strengths to excel in their global operations. Regarding such strengths, advancement in technology inclusive of research in business R&D (Research & Development), and marketing and business research, process design, automation, and e-commerce play a decisive role in providing them the core competitive edges that they leverage to advance their growth and expansion in the global market. This paper employs hybrid research techniques including qualitative and quantitative research. Semi-structured interviews have been taken for qualitative enquiry and structured survey has been undertaken for quantitative enquiry. The samples are drawn from multiple populations pertaining top-five export sectors of Pakistan by applying convenience sampling procedures for interviews and proportionate stratified sampling articulated with systematic sampling for survey. The findings uncover that after turning as retrenched domestic entities, many of the companies in Pakistan prefer global expansion. They usually resume from export operations in various countries especially where they develop a network of business associates, and then gradually move to open subsidiaries abroad. They avail technological edges to upgrade their processes, plants, products