Topic Review
De-Handing Technologies for Banana Postharvest Operations
Bananas are the largest fruit crop in terms of planting area and trade volume in the world. Banana planting is mainly concentrated in developing countries in tropical and subtropical regions such as China, Brazil, India, Ecuador and the Philippines where it provides one of the main sources of income for farmers. The harvest and postharvest operations in bananas primarily include field picking, ropeway transportation, de-handing, cleaning and disinfecting, and packaging and distributing to grocery outlets. With the development and advancement of mechanization, automation and intelligent technologies, the production efficiency of banana farmers has been greatly improved. Currently, various operations in banana postharvest operations have been mechanized to varying degrees; however, the de-handing operation still relies on manual labor.
  • 1.1K
  • 21 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Innovations and Emerging Cooling Technologies for Greenhouses
The climate control inside the greenhouse constitutes an efficient methodology for maintaining a satisfactory environment that fulfills the requirements of high-yield crops and reduced energy and water resource consumption. In hot climates, the cooling systems, which are assisted by an effective control technique, constitute a suitable path for maintaining an appropriate climate inside the greenhouse, where the required temperature and humidity distribution is maintained.
  • 1.1K
  • 11 Mar 2022
Topic Review
IoT-Enabled Smart Agriculture
The growth of the global population coupled with a decline in natural resources, farmland, and the increase in unpredictable environmental conditions leads to food security is becoming a major concern for all nations worldwide. These problems are motivators that are driving the agricultural industry to transition to smart agriculture with the application of the Internet of Things (IoT) and big data solutions to improve operational efficiency and productivity. The IoT integrates a series of existing state-of-the-art solutions and technologies, such as wireless sensor networks, cognitive radio ad hoc networks, cloud computing, big data, and end-user applications. IoT is defined as the network of all objects that are embedded within devices, sensors, machines, software and people through the Internet environment to communicate, exchange information and interact in order to provide a comprehensive solution between the real world and the virtual world.
  • 1.0K
  • 01 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Natural Coagulants for Pharmaceutical Removal from Wastewater
Pharmaceutical contamination threatens both humans and the environment, and several technologies have been adapted for the removal of pharmaceuticals. The coagulation-flocculation process demonstrates a feasible solution for pharmaceutical removal. However, the chemical coagulation process has its drawbacks, such as excessive and toxic sludge production and high production cost. To overcome these shortcomings, the feasibility of natural-based coagulants, due to their biodegradability, safety, and availability, has been investigated by several researchers.
  • 1.0K
  • 30 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Robotics and Agriculture
The world’s population is steadily increasing, necessitating an increased food supply. According to Sylvestere, agricultural production, particularly field agriculture, must increase by 70% by 2050, when the global population is predicted to exceed 9 billion people. Simultaneously, increased agricultural activity leads to the waste and exploitation of irrigation water, fertiliser, and other phytosanitary products, compromising environmental sustainability and farmers’ profits. The employment of robots in agriculture appears to be a potential option in the context of precision agriculture since it enables repetitive labour to be accomplished without losing precision throughout the working day. This sort of application is growing in popularity in robotics research, and a variety of robots are now available for purchase. 
  • 985
  • 25 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Acoustic Performance-Based Design
Current development in digital design, combined with the growing awareness of the importance of building performance, had drawn attention to performance-based design (PBD) in architecture. PBD benefits both design workflow and outcome, allowing one to control the performance of the design proposal since early design phases. 
  • 964
  • 26 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Communication Signal Delay and the Power Grid
In the electricity grid, communication delays arise at a number of stages, which include signal transmission from phasor measurement units (PMUs) to management centers, from management centers to controllers, analog-to-digital conversion, computing on overall entry adjustable, and phase synchronization of alerts through the Global Positioning System (GPS). Such delays will have an effect on controllers and device performance.
  • 952
  • 15 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Phenolic Compounds
Phenolic compounds are phytochemicals with functions in pigmentation, astringency, protection against ultraviolet rays and antioxidant activity, being widely found in natural sources such as fruits, teas, spices, wine and honey. These compounds have received much attention in recent decades due to evidence related to positive health effects, such as anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antithrombotic, vasodilatory and cardioprotective activity, contributing to the improvement in metabolic markers associated with diabetes, hypertension and obesity.
  • 942
  • 30 Jun 2021
Topic Review
3D Printed Electromagnetic Vibration Harvesters
Energy harvesting is the utilisation of ambient energy in order to power electronics such as wireless sensor nodes (WSN) or wearables without the need of batteries. This allows to operate the node over a much longer time period compared to battery-powered devices along with lower maintenance efforts. Furthermore, the low-maintenance requirements allow to operate these WSNs in environments with limited or no accessibility.
  • 934
  • 05 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Lignin as Fermentation Substrate
Lignin is the most abundant material, and it can be used to produce value-added products such as lignin-modifying enzymes (LMEs), polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), microbial lipids, vanillin, muconic acid, and many others.
  • 930
  • 28 May 2021
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