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Editorial Framing of the Post-quake Nepal and its Response to the Gorkha Earthquake
Get PDFThis paper examines eleven editorials of The Himalayan Times, The Kathmandu Post, and The Rising Nepal (henceforth THT, TKP and TRN) published after the Great Gorkha Earthquake of April 2015. The representations of this disaster in these mainstream papers form the main concern of this study. It identifies the post-quake Nepali government’s emergency response to the catastrophe as the dominant theme and then examines how this theme has been framed in the sampled editorials. Although the 2015 disaster has been studied in various writings, these are mostly restricted to reviews, field reports, write-ups and surveys. Research works exist even little. This lack of scholarly works reveals a gap in the studies conducted so far. Using framing analysis, this paper broadens the editorial representation of the April catastrophe. It engages a two-fold analytical process: identifying the dominant theme first and then analyzing how the theme has been framed. The paper also compares the editorials to understand whether they converge or diverge in terms of their framing, focusing on the major question: what dominant theme(s) have the editorials covered and how the frames used in the editorials project the overall national image of Nepal. The conclusion reveals that the frames used in the editorials have ultimately controlled readers’ perception of the post-quake Nepali government and the way it has responded to the emergency situation
Nothing Endures But Change: Haris Adhikari's Flowing with a River
Get PDFNothing Endures But Change: Haris Adhikari's Flowing with a Rive
Nonlinear Simulation and Optimization of Oil Palm Bunch Stripping Machine
Get PDFA developed oil palm stripping machine was evaluated, optimizing its performance in oil palm bunch stripping. The operational parameters considered were the rotary speed of the machine, mass of loaded oil palm, length of the stripping shaft, number of beaters, and stripping time, while the stripping efficiency, throughput capacity, and specific energy consumption of the machine constituted performance parameters. A two-level half factorial central composite design was employed in the development of empirically based nonlinear models for predicting the performance responses. The developed models were used to optimize the performance using the MOSQP solver for nonlinear programming. It was established that the optimal factor settings of the machine were 438rpm, 45kg, 2625mm, 8 beaters, and 540 seconds for the machine speed, mass of loaded palm bunch, shaft length, number of beaters, and stripping time, respectively. The optimal performances at these factor settings were 84.2%, 225kg/hr, and 57.51kJ/kg at an optimality rate of 91%, 99.1%, and 97.2% for the stripping efficiency, throughput capacity, and specific energy consumption, respectively, with an overall optimality value of 95%. Also, confirmatory test results showed that the machine, when operated at the optimal settings, gave values close to the predicted optimal results at a 95% confidence level. With these models, oil palm bunch stripping machines were characterized and rated for increased productivity and earnings in the oil palm processing sector
Studying the Performance and Kinetic Values for Pollutant Removal Using Lab Scale Plant
Get PDFThe present study aimed at determining performance and pollutant removal kinetics in the treatment of wastewater using a laboratory-scale continuous flow stirred tank reactor (CFSTR) based on activated sludge process (ASP). The waste activated sludge from the Guheshwori Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) is used as a start-up seed sludge. The CFSTR is operated at varying solid retention time (SRT) of 1, 2, 3, 5, 7.5 and 10 days using synthetic wastewater prepared daily as an influent. Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN) of the influent, effluent and Mixed Liquor Volatile Suspended Solids (MLVSS) of aeration tank are analyzed at various SRT to determine the respective kinetic coefficients. The COD and TKN removal increased with increasing SRT. The kinetic coefficients; maximum substrate utilization rate (k), the half velocity constant (Ks), cell yield coefficient (Y ) and decay coefficient (kd) have been found to be 1.61 g COD/g VSS · day, 87.22 mg/L, 0.50 g Volatile Suspended Solid (VSS)/g COD and 0.07 day-1 respectively for synthetic wastewater. Similarly, k, Ks, Y and kd for the treatment of wastewater from Guheswori WWTP have been observed to be 1.86 g COD/g VSS.day, 107.77 mg/L, 0.32 g VSS/g COD and 0.04 day-1
Development and Feasibility Study of a Mixed-Mode Solar Dryer for Bankariya, Hetauda, Province-3, Nepal
Get PDFSolar Drying is one of the practical and efficient ways to preserve vegetables, fruits, and other crops from spoilage and periodic degradation. Bankariya VDC Hetauda, Province-3, Nepal, where the study was conducted, has been facing the problem of spoilage mainly due to lack of transportation and prevalent effective drying practices. To address the existing situation, basing upon the geographic and economic factors, a mixed-mode solar dryer was fabricated for the locality and the performance of the solar dryer against 2.5 mm slice of fresh ginger was evaluated. The mixed-mode solar dryer showed good results with a percentage time saved of 77.77% and with the cumulative drying rate of 0.0368 kg/h for 1 kg sample and 0.085 kg/h for 2 kg sample, respectively. The mixed-mode solar dried showed promising results for varying sample sizes and could be further upscaled for larger quantities of varying crops
Artificial Neural Network Modelling of Biogas Yield from Co-Digestion of Poultry Droppings and Cattle Dung
Get PDFMechanistic modeling aimed at predicting biogas yield is marred with complex interactions and hence, a very tedious endeavor. Consequently, an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) modeling approach was used to model the relationship among six physico-chemical properties of a mixture of poultry droppings and cattle dung to predict the volume of biogas produced i.e. pH, Total Dissolved Solids, temperature, mass of the slurry, Biochemical Oxygen Demand and Dissolved Oxygen. Three floating drum anaerobic digesters were loaded with 27 varying ratios of a mixture of poultry droppings and cattle dung using batch method, such that the three digester reactors ran nine different batches of mix ratio for a retention period of 27 days each. Slurry temperature, gas and slurry-gas interfaces were monitored using WZP pt100 and DHT 11 sensors installed on an Arduino microcontroller. The 3-layer Feed-Forward model with Back-Propagation Multi-Layer Perception (MLP) architectures, 6-12-1 (6 nodes each in input layer, 12 nodes in hidden layer and single node in output layer) developed for biogas prediction yielded optimal results. The developed model used the default data separation of 60%, 20%, and 20% in Matlab R2015a software. Correlation Coefficient (R) of developed ANN model for biogas prediction were 0.9653, 0.9245, and 0.9842 for training, validation, and test sets respectively. Statistical analysis showed that mass of slurry and TDS had the best correlation with biogas volume (i.e.), while DO and BOD had the least correlation with biogas volume. The developed ANN modelled biogas production from the co-digestion of poultry droppings and cattle dung efficiently
A Pilot Scale Study of Greywater Treatment Using Gravel Sand Followed by Granular Activated Carbon
Get PDFGreywater (GW) reuse can help reduce water footprint if used as an alternative source of water for non-potable use, but it requires careful treatment to remove the contaminants. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop a simple treatment system with low-cost and low footprint. This study evaluated the performance of a treatment plant with flow rate of 1 m3/day and organic loading rate of 0.32 kg COD/m3.day for on-site treatment and reuse of water collected from wash basins and sinks, as a major source of GW. Gravel sand filter followed by granular activated carbon (GAC) were used as filter medias. Results showed that the removal efficiencies of TSS, COD and BOD concentration were reduced by an average of 53%, 57% and 47% respectively corresponding to 36 mg/L, 125.6 mg/L and 85.3 mg/L, respectively in the treated effluent. The treated effluent satisfied Nepal Water Quality Guideline for irrigation for parameters like EC, pH and TSS. However, the microbial removal efficiency was found to be low so, use of disinfectant is recommended. The cost-benefit analysis indicated payback after 500 m3 of GW treatment and reuse, thereby reducing water demand with monetary benefits. 
Design and Performance Analysis of Institutional Cooking Stove for High Hill Rural Community of Nepal
Get PDFIncreasing dependency on the firewood due to increasing population in the rural community of Nepal has resulted in many adverse effects on energy, environment, and human health. Due to the large demand for energy, various technologies have been incorporated into stoves to increase their efficiency and reduce health risks. The paper focuses on the design and fabrication of a durable stove using proper orientation of insulating bricks considering technical, social, and economic factors. A single-pot institutional ICS designed with parameters under the "Nepal Interim Benchmark for the Solid Biomass Cookstove 2016" protocols was fabricated and tested at the Biomass Stove Testing Lab, Kathmandu University, under "No wind condition". A total of 12 bricks along with a mild steel top plate of 3mm and a properly insulated chimney were used to fabricate the stove. Water Boiling Tests (WBT) were conducted under the national stove testing protocol. Thermal efficiency, fuel consumption rate, burning rate, firepower, and turn-down ratio are parameters used to determine the performance of the stove. Thermal efficiency was recorded at 31% using Alnus nepalensis, a fuel, with an average moisture content of 13% on a wet basis. The emission test was carried out using the Indoor Air Pollution Meter (IAP Meter) from Aprovecho Research Center, USA. The test was conducted along with the WBT test following the standard test protocols. The general average PM concentration was found to be 109 µg/m³, and the average CO concentration was 3.6 ppm
Impacts of Long-Term Flood-Induced Sedimentation on Agricultural Land: Case Study of the 2008 Koshi Flood in Eastern Nepal
Get PDFFlood of August 2008 in eastern lowlands of Nepal affected around 2.64 million people in India and Nepal, including 65,000 people and 700 ha fertile land in Nepal. It was estimated that 20% of land was still barren even in 2016 (eight years after the flood). The long-term effect of flood-fed sedimentation in context of agriculture practices is the focus of this research. Information from questionnaire survey, field measurement and lab analysis are the adapted methods for the assessment. The affected area is divided into four zones with respect to the depths from 0.10 m to 5.0 m. The area where sedimentation thickness is less than 0.5m is in manageable condition within a year and in between 0.5m to 1.5m thickness could not be suitable for traditional crop even after 8 years. The thickness existed more than 2m is not suitable for any crop even after the 8 years because of its long-term impact on cultivation in context of flood-fed sedimentation and recovery. From Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) analysis also indicated that the recovery with vegetation trend is about 10% per year in less than 2m of thick sedimentation zones. Size of sediments and sedimentation thickness are the significant parameters to recover flood-fed sedimentation zone
Free convective flow of a couple stress fluid through a vertical porous channel in the presence of a transverse magnetic field
Get PDFNonlinear oberbeck convection of a couple stress fluid in a vertical porous channel in the presence of transverse magnetic field is investigated in this paper. Analytical solution is obtained using the perturbation technique for vanishing values of the buoyancy parameter. Numerical solution of the nonlinear governing equations is obtained using the finite difference technique to validate the results obtained from the analytical solutions. The influence of the physical parameters on the flow, such as couple stress parameter, Hartmann number, temperature parameter, porous parameter and buoyancy parameter are evaluated and presented graphically. A new approach is used to analyse the flow for strong, weak and comparable porosity cases. It is found that increase in porous parameter, couple stress parameter, Hartmann number and temperature parameters decrease the velocity considerably