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The main purpose of this work is to study the structure of Anadara granosa shell sample and its structural transformation upon heat treatments. The sample was ground and characterized as powder throughout this work. Structural identifications of all samples were characterized, and determined qualitatively by using X-ray diffraction, IR spectroscopy and thermogravimetry measurement (TGA). It was found that the specimen is made of aragonite, a common phase of CaCO3 mineral. The powder sample was annealed at specific temperatures over the range of 200°C - 900°C and the effects of heat treatment on the structure of Anadara granosa shell samples were studied. The results show that aragonite transforms to calcite at the temperatures between 200°C and 400°C and completely becomes calcite between 400-500°C. Then, the calcite transforms to calcium oxide at the temperatures between 500°C - 900°C. The exact structures and quantities of phase at different annealing temperatures were studied by Rietveld refinement. In our study, we also used IR spectroscopy and TGA to study the effect of water absorption of the samples on the phase transformation.

This study aims to provide the photocatalytic approach for treatment of some hazard air pollutants such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) under visible light. Silver doped titanium dioxide (Ag/TiO2) thin films with various molar ratios (0.01, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2 mol) were synthesized via sol-gel method and dipped on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) sheet before curing with UV lamp. The X-ray diffractograms showed the composite of TiO2anatase and nanosilver. The effect of silver doping on decreasing of band gap energy of TiO2was observed from the absorption edge shift to higher wave length, analyzed by UV-visible spectrometer. The results from hydrophilicity test indicated that hydrophilicity of TiO2thin film was increased by doping silver. The morphology of the Ag/TiO2thin film studied by Scanning Electron Microscope equipped with an Energy Dispersive Spectrometer revealed well dispersed nanosilver on the smooth thin film. The BTEX degradation was carried out in a batch reactor with the initial concentration of mixed BTEX gas [25 ppm]. The remaining BTEX was examined by Gas Chromatography equipped with flame ionization detector. Among Ag/TiO2thin films, the 0.1 Ag/TiO2thin films exhibited the best performance for gaseous BTEX degradation under visible light. The maximum degradation efficiency was belong to xylene (89%), followed by ethylbenzene (86%), toluene (83%) and benzene (79%).

Thailand is an agricultural country, with rice, sugar, and cassava as the major export products. Production of rice, sugar cane, and cassava entails agricultural activities that give rise to significant airborne dusts. In this work, five photovoltaic (PV) units (one solar rooftop and four power plants) are selected for the study. From the study of dust accumulation on glass surface located near rice farms, it was found that opaque areas due to the deposition of dust are 11–14% after 1–2-week exposure. As a consequence, PV system performance is affected. Performance ratio was calculated to determine these effects. Overall results reveal that during the dry and hot seasons, dust deposition significantly affects the performance ratio. The performance ratio reduces by 1.6–3% for 1-month dust accumulation and reduces by 6–8% for 2-month dust accumulation. After cleaning the dust accumulated, the performance ratio greatly increases, resulting in the increase in the energy output by 10%. This increase provides economic and cost benefits of PV cleaning. The performance ratio is not significantly changed during the rainy season, which PV modules are relatively clean as the dust is washed away by rain. It was also found that most of the solar power plants in Thailand still rely on manual cleaning of PV modules with washing water followed by wiping. However, only one power plant, employs a machine for cleaning, resulting in lower cleaning costs.

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