Dissertations/Theses - Institute of Appropriate Technology

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    Development and characterization of a composite as an alternative of plastic foam by using waste paper and natural Jute Fiber
    (Institute of Appropriate Technology (IAT), BUET, 2024-09-03) Kamruzzaman Rasel, Md.; Bhuiyan, Dr. Iftekhar Uddin
    It is well known to all that the population of the Earth is growing daily. To fulfill the needs, different types of plastic products are being used throughout the world, made from polymeric materials such as expanded polystyrene (EPS), expanded polypropylene (EPP), and Styrofoam (plastic foam) because of their easy processing, high durability, and many other properties. Packaging is one of the major sectors of polymeric material use. Packaging is the process by which goods or products are enclosed to protect products during distribution, storage, sale, and use. Of those polymeric materials, some are recyclable, but recycling is very costly; some are non-recyclable (melamine-thermosetting polymer). After use, most of the plastics are thrown into the environment, and those are getting mixed with land, wildlife, forests, and aquatic ecosystems, creating a threat to the everyday lives of people, wildlife, marine animals, and so on. Since polymeric materials have a long lifetime and a long time required to decompose naturally, researchers are continuously trying to develop alternative products that can be used as a substitute for plastic products. Researchers have used natural fiber-based products, but most of them are based on polymers, where those polymers act as a matrix form of a composite, such as epoxy resin, polyester, polypropylene, HDPE, LDPE, Vinyl ester resin, epoxy, and polyester resin and natural fiber used as a reinforcing agent. Most of them are non-biodegradable and take a long time to decompose naturally. There is an opportunity to use natural-based materials in matrix form. Hence, this research aims to develop a composite by using waste papers as a matrix material of the composite and jute fiber as the reinforcing agent that can reduce the use of certain portions of plastic-type products, especially Styrofoam in the packaging sector. The hand lay-up method was used to fabricate the composite after collecting the raw materials, and starch (arrowroot powder) was used as a binder. After the final curing of the developed composite, shore hardness test, stress test, strain test, compressive test, density test, water absorption test, and degradation test were done and compared with the available Styrofoam sample. The experimental results indicate that developed composite samples are superior in terms of hardness and compressive strength compared to available Styrofoam samples, developed composite samples are inferior in terms of density and water absorption compared to the available Styrofoam samples. The level of strain found in both samples (Developed and available samples) is comparable. Also, the degradation test indicates that developed composite samples are degradable in soil and water, whereas available Styrofoam samples are known to be non-biodegradable. Typically, a portion of the waste paper produced is recycled to decrease reliance on virgin raw materials and to lessen the use of natural resources like trees, water, and other components. However, there is a lack of effective management aimed at minimizing waste paper generation at its source. This research can contribute to addressing this issue by illustrating methods to reduce waste paper generation and ultimately utilizing existing technology to recycle the paper waste created.
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    Development and evaluation of construction and demolition waste management framework in the context of Dhaka city
    (Institute of Appropriate Technology (IAT), BUET, 2024-05-11) Sabbir Ahammed Rayhan, Dewan; Bhuiyan, Dr. Iftekhar Uddin
    This thesis looks over the current Construction and Demolition Waste Management (C&DWM) situations by scrutinizing the definition, classification, components, compositions, the generated sources and causes, the global scenario, impacts of generated Construction and Demolition Wastes (C&DWs), waste management hierarchy (WMH), 3R Principles, Circular Economy (CE), tools and frameworks of C&DWM. Dhaka city is witnessing rapid infrastructural development. Now, C&DW generation is becoming a burning issue due to its adverse impacts. This study reviews the present scenario of Dhaka city regarding the status of C&DW generation, approaches for minimizing C&DW generation, existing systems for managing C&DWs, existing relevant strategies, acts, and policies for C&DWM, and previous research on C&DWM. The review finds that landfilling, on-site and off-site disposal, and disposal in unauthorized places are the common strategies of C&DWM in Dhaka city that result in environmental pollution in the city as well as lessening the potential land spaces in the city. Moreover, the old landfill sites in Dhaka city are reaching their fullest capacity. The main objective of this study is to introduce a sustainable C&DWM framework for evaluating the C&DWM alternatives in Dhaka city by incorporating the application of expanded Waste Management Hierarchy (E-WMH) and Multi-criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) models because these tools don’t get considerable attention in the C&DWM field of Bangladesh. This study considers the E-WMH principles as the alternatives for managing C&DWs in Dhaka city and selects and groups the criteria into social, economic, environmental, and technical criteria to achieve sustainability based on the comprehensive literature review and the Delphi survey with the subject-matter experts in Bangladesh. The ELECTRE I and ELECTRE II MCDA methods are employed in this study because these methods are suitable for solving environmental-related problems. Based on the results of ELECTRE I and ELECTRE II methods, reuse, recovery, and prevent are the suitable strategies, and incineration (burn), and treat and disposal are the poorest strategies for managing C&DWs in Dhaka city. Finally, this thesis provides some recommendations for C&DWM in Dhaka City to achieve greater efficiency in C&DWM and pinpoint some directions of the scope of future research in the field of C&DWM.
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    Development of assessment methodology for valuation of used vehicles
    (Institute of Appropriate Technology (IAT), BUET, 2020-11-29) Rasfeq Hossain, Md.; Bhuiyan, Dr. Iftekhar Uddin
    The recondition segment of Automotive Industry in Bangladesh is flourishing radically but irony is that no justified pricing methodology has been developed till now. Even financial institutions like Bank, Insurance Companies, etc. are performing valuation of vehicles by considering flat depreciation of 15% irrespective the technical condition of vehicle. To mitigate this pricing dispute between buyers and sellers, an attempt has been taken in this study to formulate a pricing methodology and assessment techniques for used vehicles by using field survey, Delphi technique, Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and regression analysis. The pricing chart has been developed where the price can be extracted directly by giving input in the Pricing table after physical assessment of the major aggregates of used vehicle. To develop this pricing table, a survey was carried out by a structured questionnaire among the existing buyers and sellers to identify the key factors which are being considered during negotiation of pricing and to understand the strength, weakness, opportunity and threat of the used vehicles market. Survey was conducted in two phases containing a sample size of hundred where sample size was determined from sample size formula. Experts from different areas in Automotive Industry of Bangladesh were identified and their opinion were assessed by Delphi method to find out the most influential factors out of forty-three factors obtained from field survey analysis. The Delphi method reveals Vehicle Age, Technical Soundness, Out-look, Brand and After Sales Performances as the most influential factors within the criteria of decision making factors, physical inspection factors and brand selection factors. These factors were ranked by paired comparison under Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to get the impact of these key factors on vehicle pricing. Incorporating linear regression model to depreciation, these parameters were organized and programmed in Microsoft Excel Sheet and named as “Pricing Chart”. This pricing chart is expected as a helping aid during the negotiation between buyers and sellers in recondition vehicle segment as revealed by the validation studies.
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    Strategic approach to facilitate integration of internet of things (IoT) in health care sector of Bangladesh
    (Institute of Appropriate Technology (IAT), 2020-09-06) Adnan Hossain, Md.; Bhuiyan, Dr. Iftekhar Uddin
    The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the use of intelligently connected devices and systems to leverage data gathered by embedded sensors in machines and other physical objects. IoT has the potential to deliver solutions that dramatically improve energy efficiency, security, health, education, and many other aspects of daily life. Now-a-days IoT & healthcare has become the crucial topics worldwide in view of the new technological advantages and outcomes of our day to day life. The goal of this research is to find out the feasibility of choosing an appropriate approach to facilitate the integration of IoT in the healthcare sector of Bangladesh. Here in this research, firstly an analysis is being made to find out the main challenges and major constraints. Then possible solutions are being addressed through AHP analysis. From the first phase analysis, two major constraints are being identified through the AHP method. Similarly, in the second phase analysis and based on the possible solutions, two solutions are being identified through AHP analysis. Considering the analysis outcomes and based on the feedback of experts, the IoT based tele-medicine is being recommended as a reliable and suitable opportunity in healthcare sector of Bangladesh. Tele-medicine is an increasingly popular method of providing healthcare remotely. The concept of tele-medicine started with the birth of telecommunications technology, the means of sending information over a distance in the form of electromagnetic signals. In IoT based tele-medicine, IoT is incorporated with the conventional tele-medicine method for the betterment of the health care sector. At the end of the research and on top of both first and second phase analysis, two models are being constructed. The models are being approached as “Interaction of duty doctors with patients and IoT devices” and “Direct interaction of patients with IoT devices”. In the first approach patients can interact with both the duty doctor and IoT device with the help of duty doctor but in the second approach patients will have the direct interaction with IoT devices without duty doctor involvements. Finally, from the proposed models, one framework is being validated and accepted by the Delphi technique to obtain a suitable and acceptable approach to facilitate the integration of IoT in the healthcare sector of Bangladesh. v