A Novel Treatment for Determining Thermal Conductivity of the Soil Substrates for Selecting Sustainable Growing Mediums in Terms of Thermal Resistance

Abstract

The Thermal conductivity of the soil is important to determine the horticultural performance of growing medium. Microclimatic features influence the viability of soil mixtures for vegetation. The goal of this study is to assess the heat conductivity of soil mixture samples comprising Coir, Biochar, Sawdust, Wood bark, and Compost in order to discover the best growth medium in terms of thermal resistance. Specimens were prepared by mixing 60% of raw materials with 40% topsoil and moulded into cylinders. Each sample were converted into semi solids and undergone for thermal conductivity apparatus measurements. Thermal conductivity of each specimen was determined using mathematical analysis based on experimental readings. The calculated results were used to deduce thermal resistance. Thermal conductivity values of all specimens were observed in the range from 0.64 W/mK to 0.91 W/mK. The maximum and minimum thermal conductivity magnitudes were exhibited by Sawdust (60:40) and Wood bark (60:40) respectively. In terms of suitability as a growing medium, Wood bark (60:40) contains highest thermal resistance while the lease thermal resistance was determined in Sawdust (60:40) due to its high thermal conduction. This research concludes that Wood bark (60:40) is the most convincing substrate in terms of thermal sustainability.

Machine Learning Practices During the Operational Phase of Buildings: A Critical Review

“…The consequent developments in building constructions have caused more energy consumption specified to non-renewable earth resources such as minerals and fossil fuels [6]. While analyzing the building life-cycle stages, it is evident that the operational phase of buildings consumes more energy compared to all the other building life phases [7,8]. The main cause of this enormous energy expenditure is the intense amount of water and electricity usage during the operational life stages [9,10].…”

Methodological Challenges in Estimating Soil Organic Matter: A Review

“…The relevance of a landscape-scale approach to address environmental concerns in agricultural areas is being increasingly recognized by soil scientists with an emphasis on estimation of soil C stocks (Kader et al, 2022;Sestras et al, 2023). In terrestrial ecosystems, the largest stock of carbon is comprised by the soil surface, contributing significant proportion of organic carbon (OC) (Li et al, 2022).…”

“…Being the key parameter of agricultural soils, SOM is a practical index of soil fertility and soil quality and a prime factor in governing the dynamics of different agrochemicals in soil (Dhaliwal et al, 2019;Kader et al, 2022). Furthermore, the physical, chemical and biological properties of different soil components are directly and indirectly affected by the SOM (Kader et al, 2021;Kader et al, 2023;Nannipieri and Eldor, 2009).…”

“…Comprehending the significance of organic matter, there is a call for regular monitoring of SOM for detection of changes in OC content, quality and its potential to sustain its purpose over time. Additionally, the SOM has proven an imperative parameter in directing soil fertilization as well as irrigation, thereby; a request for its determination by different fertility laboratories is apparent (Borase et al, 2020;Kader et al, 2022).…”

“…Moreover, the assessment of soil organic matter on qualitative grounds in practical is still a challenging part. The involvement of humic acid to fulvic acid ratio and the absorbance ratio of alkaline soil extract at 400 and 600 nm wavelengths (E4/E6 or A400/A600) has been put forward for the assessment of SOM quality (Guillaume et al, 2021), the fractionation being cantered on the principle of their differential solubility at distinct pH values (Kader and Jaufer, 2022).…”