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This chapter presents the Smart Irrigation system using the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT Technology is a network of physical objects that are connected with sensors, software, etc. This chapter concludes the project based on the agriculture field that automates the irrigation process and on the agriculture field that automates the irrigation process and solves the challenge of water consumption in those areas. We have developed the system using different sensors like (1) Soil Moisture sensor, which measures the moisture present in the soil, (2) Humidity and Temperature Sensor (DHT11), which traces the temperature change. All these sensors are connected to the Node MCU ESP8266 microcontroller, which is also a Wi-Fi module. It uploads the data to the cloud and displays it in the form of readings detected by the Blynk Application. This sensor's reading values control the pump for emergency purposes, such as stopping the pump for irrigation. Thus, this project can automate the irrigation process by analyzing soil moisture and climatic conditions, covering essential aspects like less labor, power consumption, reliability, and cost.

The impact of climate change towards water surface resources is crucial, particularly in developing and non-developing countries. Groundwater as a main water resource is thus an essential. However, contamination due to hydrocarbon spills affects the groundwater as a water resource, especially as a main source of drinking water. This chapter investigates the light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) penetrations in double-porosity soil with different moisture contents and with or without vibration impact. It also explains the LNAPL penetration phenomena by employing image analysis. The physical laboratory experiments were implemented using an acrylic cylinder, a mirror, toluene and a Nikon D90 DSLR digital camera. Prepared soil was poured in an acrylic cylinder and compressed with compressor until it became 10 cm in height. LNAPL was then poured instantaneously onto the acrylic cylinder that was filled with soil sample. The LNAPL penetration patterns were recorded and monitored using a Nikon D90 DSLR digital camera. The processing technique was conducted at predetermined time intervals using Surfer software and Matlab routine to plot the LNAPL pattern. The results showed that a higher penetration rate of LNAPL occurred with higher moisture content and without vibration impact. The penetration time for LNAPL to reach the bottom of the soil sample was found to be longer for the soil that had low moisture content and with vibration impact.

The Monsoon Asian region has a much wider rainfall distribution than other regions of the world. The countries in this region are characterized mostly by floods and typhoons, which result from the interplay among the ocean, the atmosphere, and the land. Thus, many factors affect the strength of the rainfall, including sea surface temperatures in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, variations in solar output, land snow cover and soil moisture over the Asian continent, and the position and strength of prevailing winds. The links between these factors and monsoons appear to wax and wane over time, and the observational record is too short to explain this longer-term variability. Precipitation and surface wind maps of Asia during the summer months of June to August show the average spatial patterns of monsoon circulation and moisture.

There is an urgent need to develop climate-smart agrosystems capable of mitigating climate change and adapting to its effects. Conventional agricultural practices prevail in Mauritius, whereby synthetic chemical fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides are used. It should be noted that Mauritius remains a net-food importing developing country of staple food such as cereals and products, roots and tubers, pulses, oil crops, vegetables, fruits and meat (FAO, 2011). In Mauritius, the agricultural sector faces extreme weather conditions like drought or heavy rainfall. Moreover, to increase the crop yields, farmers tend to use 2.5 times the prescribed amount of fertilizers in their fields. These excess fertilizers are washed away during heavy rainfall and contaminate lakes and river waters. By using smart irrigation and fertilization system, a better management of soil water reserves for improved agricultural production can be implemented. Soil Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium (NPK) content, humidity, pH, conductivity and moisture data can be monitored through the cloud platform. The data will be processed at the level of the cloud and an appropriate mix of NPK and irrigation will be used to optimise the growth of the crops. Machine learning algorithms will be used for the control of the land drainage, fertilization and irrigation systems and real time data will be available through a mobile application for the whole system. This will contribute towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): 2 (Zero Hunger), 11 (Sustainable cities and communities), 12 (Responsible consumption and production) and 15 (Life on Land). With this project, the yield of crops will be boosted, thus reducing the hunger rate (SDG 2). On top of that, this will encourage farmers to collect the waters and reduce fertilizer consumption thereafter sustaining the quality of the soil on which they are cultivating the crops, thereby increasing their yields (SDG 15).

Globalization has increased the consumer's demand for safe and quality foods. To make food available to consumers from farm to fork, packaging plays a crucial role. The objective of packaging is to shield the foodstuff from degrading and to serve as the medium of communication between the processing industry and the consumers. Conventionally, several materials are used in the packaging such as laminates, plastics, glass, metal, etc., but with the advent of technology, newer and novel smart packaging technologies have entered this field. Smart packaging in the form of active and intelligent packaging not only acts as a barrier to external influences but also prevents internal deterioration. Oxygen scavengers, moisture controllers, antioxidants, CO₂ absorber/emitter, antimicrobial agents, etc., are some of the vital active packaging systems. On the other hand, an intelligent packaging system contains internal or external indicators and sensors that monitor the condition of packed food and gives information about its quality during storage and transportation. It seems that these interventions in packaging have very positive effects on the whole industry, but it is observed that this advancement in the packaging has also raised questions about its disposal. To overcome this issue, industries have started using smart packaging design along with the sustainable packaging trend. Communication with the recycling bodies at the time of development will ensure the smart packaging fit to be recycled. Considering such standards for smart packaging will not only create a healthy bond between industries and consumers but will also help in sustainable development. This chapter mainly focuses on the advancement of the packaging system associated with the agri-food sector. It also discusses how the implementation of these technological advancements will help the industries toward sustainable development.

Among natural disasters, drought affected the most people worldwide during the past few decades (Obasi, 1994). Since the late 1970s, there has been a shift in El Niño-Southern Oscillation toward more warm events, closely related to a worldwide trend for intensified drought (Dai, Trenberth, & Karl, 1998). In particular, this trend was manifested as widespread droughts during 1999–2002 in the northern hemisphere (Lotsch, Friedl, Anderson, & Tucker, 2005), including Asia, and notably in Mongolia (Nandintsetseg, Shinoda, Kimura, & Ibaraki, 2010; Shinoda, Ito, Nachinshonhor, & Erdenetsetseg, 2007). The decade of 2000s has experienced increased vegetation degradation and wind erosion that resulted from decreased summer precipitation in wide areas of East Asia (Kurosaki, Shinoda, & Mikami, 2011a; Kurosaki, Shinoda, Mikami, & Nandintsetseg, 2011b). Furthermore, in general, projections of climate models have suggested that the frequency and intensity of extreme weathers will likely increase in the future (IPCC WG I, 2007). Given this background, it is vital to make an assessment of socioeconomic impacts of the extreme weathers and to develop proactive approaches to mitigating such impacts.

Cleats are considered one of the significant permeability-related parameters in coalbed methane (CBM) growth. As critical parameters for CBM extraction, a complete characterisation of cleat distributions and orientation can provide a better tool to indirectly estimate porosity and permeability in coal reservoirs. This chapter presents the outcomes of the production of comprehensive research cleats within Miocene coal seams as part of CBM exploration and development. The majority of data (cross-section view measurement) were collected on mine’s walls. Cleat data were gathered from 16 windows measurement locations with hundreds of cleats were measured from outcrops for several coal seams. Two primary cleat orientations; for face cleats, NNE-SSW and for butt cleats, ESE-WNW. The ratio of low permeability coals appears to have a smaller cleat aperture than high permeability coals. As critical parameters for CBM extraction, a complete characterisation of cleat distributions and orientation can provide a better tool to indirectly estimate porosity and permeability in coal reservoirs.

With the rapid development of China’s urbanisation and market economy, municipal solid waste (MSW) generation is increasing dramatically. In response to the threat of environmental pollution and the potential value of converting waste into energy, both the government and the public are now paying more attention to MSW treatment and disposal methods. In 2014, 178.6 million tonnes of MSW was collected at a safe treatment rate of 84.8%. However, the treatment methods and the composition of MSW are influenced by the collection area, its gross domestic product, population, rainfall and living conditions. This chapter analysed the MSW composition properties of Lhasa, Tibet, compared with other cities, such as Beijing, Guangzhou and so forth. The research showed that the moisture content of MSW in Lhasa approaches 31%, which is much lower than the other cities mentioned previously. The proportion of paper and plastics (rubbers) collected was 25.67% and 19.1%, respectively. This was 1.00–3.17 times and 0.75–2.44 times more than those found in Beijing and Guangzhou, respectively. Non-combustibles can reach up to 22.5%, which was 4.03–9.11 times that of Beijing and Guangzhou, respectively. The net heating values could reach up to 6,616 kilojoule/kilogram. The food residue was only half the proportion found in other cities. Moreover, the disposal method applied in each city has also been studied and compared.

The evolution in developed countries has taken a role in global warming and natural disasters such as flash flood, El-Nino, earthquake and groundwater contamination. The underground storage tank leakage problems and spillage of hydrocarbon liquid leading to the contamination of non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) into the groundwater could reduce the quality of groundwater. This chapter is intended to investigate the behaviour and the pattern of NAPL migrations in double-porosity soil under vibration and intact conditions. The experimental model is developed by using kaolin soil type S300 and toluene as NAPLs. The kaolin soil was mixed with 25% of moisture content to produce kaolin granules in the soil column and vibrate under 0.98 Hz of frequency within 60 seconds. As a result, both specimen liquids completely migrated to the bottom of soil column: sample 1 has higher permeability compared to sample 2. This is due to the fracture in double-porosity soil under vibration effect and loosened the soil structure in sample 1 compared to good intact soil sample 2 with stronger and compact soil structure. In conclusion, this study proves that the dangerous hydrocarbon NAPL migration in fractured double-porosity soil has very harmful effect on the environment and groundwater resources.