Browsing by Author "Musee, Ndeke"

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    An integrated approach to waste and energy minimization in the wine industry : a knowledge-based decision methodology
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2004-12) Musee, Ndeke; Lorenzen, L.; Aldrich, C.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Process Engineering.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The importance of waste management is growing rapidly for several reasons. These reasons include the escalating cost of wastewater treatment and cleaning chemicals, an emerging trend of onerous regulatory regime regarding e uent disposal from governments, rising public awareness on the adverse e ects of industrial waste as well as drastic reduc- tion in water resources in the winegrowing regions. In addition, owing to the large energy demand for refrigeration purposes for high quality wine production and rapidly increasing energy costs, the challenges of energy management in the wine industry were also inves- tigated. In order to address these challenges adequately, the solutions were derived via the integration of two disciplines: environmental science (waste and energy management) and computer science (applications of arti cial intelligence). Therefore, the ndings re- ported from this study seek to advance knowledge through the construction of decision support systems for waste and energy management in circumstances where conventional mathematical formalisms are inadequate. In that sense, the dissertation constitutes in- terdisciplinary research on the application of integrated arti cial intelligence technologies (expert systems and fuzzy logic) in designing and developing decision tools for waste and energy management in the wine industry. The dissertation rst presents the domain of interest, where the scope and breadth of the problems it addresses are clearly de ned. Critical examination of the domain data- bases revealed that data, information, and knowledge for waste and energy management in the wine industry are generally incomplete and lack structure overall. Owing to these characteristics, a hybrid system approach was proposed for the development of decision support systems based on fuzzy logic. The integrated decision support systems were de- veloped based on an object-oriented architecture. This approach facilitated the exible design required for waste and energy management-related complex problem-solving. To illustrate the applicability of the o -line decision tools developed, several case stud- ies mirroring on actual industrial practices were considered. These systems were found to be robust and yielded results that were in accordance with actual industrial practices inthe wine industry. Furthermore, they provided intelligent suggestions in scenarios where there was minimal information, and under certain instances they o ered feasible sugges- tions in circumstances where a human novice could have problems in making the right decisions.
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    Market dynamics as a driver towards the evolution of research needs : the case of up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket seeding granules
    (Water Research Commission, 2013-01) Musee, Ndeke; Lorenzen, Leon
    Market dynamics offer positive (incentive) or negative (disincentive) feedback loops that shape the research needs for, or certain aspects of, a particular technology. Our case study results illustrate how market dynamics have influenced the evolution of research needs in the wastewater treatment sector, with specific emphasis on research on the seeding granules used to start up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors. Because of insufficient data on the actual market demand for seeding granules for UASB plants, surrogate data, on the number of UASB plants installed internationally from 1970 to 2007, were used to predict the potential future demand for seeding granules. Secondly, we also determined whether or not such a demand would provide sufficient economic justification for the installation of one or more plants for manufacturing seeding granules in South Africa. The direct relationship between the demand for seeding granules and increased numbers of UASB plants was based on the premise that the start-up of each plant required a seeding inoculum before effluent could be treated. Three methods were used to obtain the data used in this study, namely: a literature survey, a questionnaire survey, and interviews with people having expert knowledge of wastewater treatment technologies. Our findings suggest that the UASB technology has largely been marginalised in the wastewater treatment market because of the introduction of competing technologies, and due to high initial capital costs. As a result, South African market demand for the seeding granules is likely to be very small or non-existent, because the number of new UASB plants installed per year is likely to decrease in future. Secondly, our research suggests that market dynamics, political contexts and technologies will continue to change, exerting an increasing downward influence on the UASB technology over time.