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Analysis and Improvement of Hazardous Traffic Locations (Black Spots) in Nablus Governorate
(2023) Lama Majdi Odeh; Mira Ra’ed Hijjawi; Tareq Ayman Nazzal
With the constant increase in motorization levels, road crashes have been increasing in many parts of the world, including Palestine. Road sections or intersections with high traffic crashes are typically referred to as “Black Spots.” This project focuses on the black spots in Nablus' Governorate. Nablus Governorate is located in the north of the West Bank. it is the heart of various economic and educational centers, as well as a densely populated area with a large number of vehicles. Nablus is the Palestinian Governorate with a high frequency and rate of road crashes.
Mainly, this project aims to analyze the existing formula to detect the black spots in Palestine and modify the formula as needed taking into consideration crash frequency, rate, and severity. The types of crashes and their causes at the black spots in Nablus Governorate are analyzed.
The black spots data was collected from the Ministry of Public Works and Housing (MPWH) Mapping Portal web and traffic crash data for these spots were collected based on crash reports from the General Directorate of Palestinian Police. A modified formula to detect black spots in Palestine, taking Nablus Governorate as a case study is presented. Also, proposed improvements for the black spot locations are provided. These improvements might include geometric and traffic improvements, needed education and awareness, and enforcement, among others. Furthermore, recommendations at the policy level will be provided.
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PACK CARBURIZING PROCESS OF LOW CARBON STEEL USING PEAT AND DATE SEEDS
(2022-12-22) Saleh Aziz; Motaz Abu Mwies; Fares Abu Mustafa
In recent years, the amount of waste generated by the agricultural sector has increased, for example, in Palestine; huge quantities of date seeds and olive oil are produced, resulting in large quantities of waste such as peat and date seeds. In this project, olive peat and date seeds were converted into a carbon source and used in the pack carburizing process to increase the mechanical properties of low carbon steel. Through this project, the hardness and properties of low-carbon steel were increased by using agricultural waste that is harmful to the environment.
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The potential of palm waste as a source of renewable energy: a case study of Palestine
(2023-01-15) • Anas Jarrar; • Hasan Totti; • Hamzah Nada
Energy problem has been and still haunting scientists and researchers, as well as the disposal of industrial waste. In this regard, the use of waste biomass to produce biodiesel as a sustainable energy source is expected to be a solution to these problems. This project aims to find a new source of renewable energy mainly in Palestine, and possibly worldwide. Palestine currently relies on fossil fuels as a main source of energy, but it is expected to face several challenges in its availability for several reasons. The most notable of which is the geographical factor as Palestine lacks fossil fuel sources in comparison to Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf countries. Another reason is the political factor as the Israeli occupation controls the sources of energy in Palestine in general and fossil fuels in particular.
Palm cultivation is widespread in Jericho and the Jordan Valley, where the number of palm farms in Palestine has reached 571 farms, which contain 311,000 palm trees [1], according to the statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture in September 2021. As a living thing Palm trees excrete things they no longer need or which otherwise might be harmful to them. Thus, Palm trees will invariably need to excrete a number of things to remain healthy. According to international studies, a single palm tree produces approximately 15-20 kg of waste annually, i.e. a total of (4,665 tons annually (311 thousand * 15 kg / tree)) is being disposed in useless and environmentally harmful methods such as burning [1].
Where in this project, we searched for alternative ways to benefit from the biomass of this waste as a source of alternative energy in Palestine. Palm biomass consists of the following main components: cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin [11]. In addition, palm has a high content of volatile solids and a low percentage of moisture. Thanks to these factors and components, palm biomass is an excellent source of energy if we turn its waste into fuel, as there is a wide range of thermal and biochemical technologies used to convert the energy stored in palm biomass to several useful forms of energy. In addition to the presence of a low moisture content in palm dates, its wastes are well suited for thermal and chemical conversion technologies such as incineration, gasification and pyrolysis [7].
On the other hand, the presence of a high percentage of volatile solids in the palm biomass indicates its potential for biogas production in anaerobic digestion plants. It is possible to convert the cellulosic content in palm waste into biofuel (bioethanol) by using the fermentation process.
In this project, a study was conducted on this issue in Palestine to find out how the owners of palm tree farms deal with this waste and how it is disposed of. We conducted a questionnaire that we published on 40 farmers, which constitutes 7% of the number of farm owners in the Jericho and Jordan Valley area. This questionnaire focused on collecting general information about the nature of the palm tree, such as irrigation methods and trees, their type, problems and challenges faced by this cultivation. In addition to the main points in this research such as, the methods of waste disposal, their quantity and the damages resulting from them. In this regard, farmers used to follow several methods such as burning or simply throwing them in areas close to crops or chopping them and reusing them as fodder. Then, we studied these methods to obtain results and compared between them to reach to the best economic and environmental solution for Palestine in terms of producing energy and reducing wastes and pollution. The idea was strongly supported, as the percentage of farmers who found this as a practical and efficient solution to the problem of the lack of energy in Palestine was 97.5%.
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Modelling and simulation of Pneumatic dough slicing machine
(2022-12-20) MAJDI ABDULLAH; AHMED YAHYA
The Palestinian market and the West Bank and Gaza Strip are thriving opportunities for doing business, despite the unique challenges that arise from the Israeli side. In particular, the West Bank economy has shown growth in the past years before a more recent downturn. However, the Palestinian market is still lagging behind other countries in the Middle East, North Africa and emerging countries. Due to the small size of the local market, however, many large holding companies dominate certain sectors. These sectors are growing rapidly both horizontally and vertically which include; Stone, marble, textile, clothing, food processing, engineering, metallurgical, chemical, pharmaceutical, veterinary, construction, handicraft, paper, printing, furniture, leather, shoe and plastic industries. However, the bakery sector still relies on traditional manual machines that suffer from many malfunctions. An in-depth investigation of the bakeries available in the West Bank reveals that they operated under a single system and that the process of cutting the dough was either manually and/or electrically. here. This project aims to develop these bakeries to keep pace with the development of the global trend, and the ability to design different machines, whatever the idea. This development will be by converting the dough divider from a manual and/or electric machine to a pneumatic system. Where the necessary calculations for the design of the basic mechanical parts in this project were explained. Thus, the design is theoretically complete to obtain an integrated machine that serves these factories at the lowest costs and the highest possible quality. The machine will also be designed on special software, including Solid Work, so that the machine is seen before it is laid on the ground to avoid all possible errors.
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Solar-powered water pumping system
(2023-01-03) ● Abdelrahman Braik; ● Bisan Nazzal
The economy of Palestine depends mainly on agriculture, this requires different types of irrigation, which is practised at different levels around the world. With the increase in crop yields, irrigation systems continue to consume large amounts of traditional energy such as electricity and fuel. With the rise in diesel prices and the difficulty of transporting it to remote places, the need for a system that reduces this has increased significantly. The photovoltaic system is ideal, especially in areas with no electrical network.
A solar-powered automatic irrigation system provides a sustainable solution to enhance water use efficiency in agricultural fields by using a renewable energy system that protects the environment from emissions. This photovoltaic (PV) irrigation system will contribute to social and economic development. It is the proposed solution to the energy crisis for Palestinian farmers.
In this project, the following main points will be discussed:
1. Methods for designing and sizing photovoltaic pumping system in Nablus and Tulkarm
2. PVsyst software
3. Estimating the Optimum Tilt Angles for South-Facing Surfaces in Palestine.
4. The difference in emissions produced with the two systems.
5. Savings($).
The water volume power increased by 2.13% monthly, 1.6% quarterly, 1.4 semi-annually, and 0% annually in Nablus, when the tilt angle was changed. In Tulkarm the water volume power increased 3.41% monthly, 2.78% quarterly, 2.85% semi-annually, and 0% annually. When the Photovoltaic (PV) system was used instead of the diesel generators, the yearly savings for Nablus were $12,586 and were $12,338 for Tulkarm. Emissions produced by the Photovoltaic (PV) pumping system are 0Kg CO2 per year compared to the massive amount of emissions produced by the diesel generator, being 27,506.4Kg CO2 per year.