International Research Symposium on Pure and Applied Sciences (IRSPAS)
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Item Determination of an eligible location for installation of a solar panel system in the University of Kelaniya using GIS(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Heshani, A.L.S.; Athukorala, S.M.W.; Leelarathna, W.D.S.R.; Weerasinghe, V.P.A.According to the international energy agency, the role of renewables continue to increase in the electricity, heating and cooling and transport sectors. Newly develop technology in photovoltaic cells that have the potential to dramatically increase solar power generation in the next two decades. Being closer to the equator, Sri Lanka has a great opportunity to have solar energy throughout the year almost 5-6 hours per day. Sri Lankan power supply organizations are mainly depending on diesel, coal and hydro power. Still we do not have enough sources to supply electrical energy throughout the country. All the energy sources except hydro power are not considered as environmental friendly since they emit high amount of carbon to generate power. Being the first Green University in Sri Lanka, University of Kelaniya has initiated many approaches for energy conservation within the University. This study was carried out to find out the most suitable location within the University for installation of a solar panel system using ArcGIS software. For this, surface area of roof of buildings, height of buildings, elevation of the land, disturbance from other structures such as buildings and trees were selected. Map layers were created by using high resolution satellite image. Surface elevation profile was created by using available contour lines. Building layer was digitized from the satellite image using ArcGIS software. After overlaying all layers together suitable roofs were selected for the solar panels to install. In order to find possible energy in the area, meteorological data was collected including minimum and maximum atmospheric temperature, rainfall, and sunshine hours from Welisara meteorological station which is the nearest meteorological station to the University. The mean values of meteorological parameters obtained for the past 8 months were as follows; maximum atmospheric temperature of 28.28 0C and minimum of 26.02 0C, rainfall of 171.92 mm and sunshine hours were 7.6 hours. After selecting suitable buildings from the map, visual observation was done to calculate roof area of each building manually. The building with the highest surface area and minimum disturbance from adjacent structures was selected as the best suited location. The best suited location was selected and also it shows the highest monthly average consumption of electricity among other university buildings. Apart from that suitable lands also can be considered. But as the availability of lands in the university premises is a limited factor, priority was given to the rooves of the buildings. It is easy to make 3D view of the University by using 3D Analyst, if there is a higher resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM). Roof structure and the shape can be used to maximize the efficiency of solar panels. GIS can be used as a supportive tool in optimization of determining the best suited location for the solar panel installation.Item Selection of suitable site for establishing a biogas unit using GIS: Case study in University of Kelaniya(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Wadasinghe, L.G.Y.J.G.; Gnanasingha, S.M.; Weerasinghe, V.P.A.Bio degradable waste management is one of emerging environmental issues in Sri Lanka due to higher moisture levels. As a first green university of Sri Lanka, the University of Kelaniya implements their green policy towards sustainable environment. Bio degradable waste can be managed either by composting or bio gas generation since they are the currently available most cost-effective management methods. Composting alone it needs bigger land to manage all biodegradable waste within the university. Bio gas unit will helps to reduce the land usage for waste management in the University. Bio gas can be used as an alternative fuel source to reduce the consumption of LP gas within the university. Generated sludge can used as fertilizer to preserve the gardening. The main objective of this case study is to identify a suitable site to implement a bio gas unit in the University of Kelaniya by using ArcGIS 10.2 software. Three major criteria were selected namely generated waste amount, bare land, and road accessibility. If it is closer to higher waste generation places, it will save the energy in transportation. Road accessibility is needed to bring waste to the bio gas unit. By using higher resolution satellite image of university of Kelaniya, boundary of the university, building layer and road layer were digitized using ArcGIS software. Since there were no records of biodegradable waste generation in different buildings in the university premises, primary data collection was done. Student hostels and canteens were used to identify the amount of bio degradable waste since they are the identified highest bio degradable waste generation places. Waste was measured by using a spring weighing scale. For analysis, collected data was added to the new layer called waste generated places. Layers were converted into raster format and then reclassify all the layers. Majority amount of waste was generated in gymnasium student canteen and girls’ hostels which ranges from 300-340 kg per day. Buildings with higher waste generation was selected in separate layer. Bare lands were selected using higher resolution image classification and manually update it. Then selected building layer, road layer, and bare land layer were overlaid using weighted overlay method to find out the suitable sites for the bio gas unit. Map layout was developed to show the suitable sites for the bio gas unit in University of Kelaniya. The most suitable place was selected after visual observation. The proposed area for the bio gas unit should not be too closer to hostels, or lecture halls for safety purposes. This map could be used by any responsible party such as administration division or Green committee for their future waste management planning purposes. GIS is an important tool to identify suitable area maps to save time in decision making.Item Mapping and suitability study of existing locations of waste collection bins at University of Kelaniya(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Handapangoda, H.M.A.K.; Jayawardana, H.A.D.A.K.; Weerasinghe, V.P.A.Solid waste management is one of the major environmental and social problems in Sri Lanka. Waste without proper segregation is the one of the main roots of barrier to implement solid waste management systems. University of Kelaniya has established waste collecting bins in different locations in the university premises in order to facilitate waste management within the university premises. The main objective of this study is to map the existing locations of the waste collecting bins in the University using Geographical Information System (GIS). Other objective was to find out the suitability of the existing locations of the waste collecting bins. There are two types of waste collecting bins at University premises. Namely, waste separated bins; biodegradable waste (green), paper waste (blue), polythene and plastic waste (orange), glass (red) and non-separated bins. Locations of the both types of bins were recorded using GPS Garmin eTrex 10 model. GPS data was transferred to ArcGIS10.2 software to map the locations of waste collecting bins. Base map was created by using high resolution satellite image. Building layer, road layer including foot path were digitized using ArcGIS 10.2 software and vector map was developed. Digitized vector layers and transferred GPS points layer were overlayed using overlay function in ArcGIS 10.2 software. Map layout was prepared to show the locations of waste collecting bins. Suitability of the existing locations of the waste collecting bins were studied according to the waste generation amounts in different places. Students canteens, staff canteens, student hostels, student recreational areas were identified as the main waste generation places at Dalugama premises in University of Kelaniya. Amount of waste generated was measured by using a spring weighing scale. Frequency of data collection was once a week. Microsoft Excel was used to analyze the data. The minimum and maximum range of bio degradable waste generation in Dalugama premises was 580-610 kg and non-bio degradable amount was 250-300 kg. Results show that the majority of separated bins are located in high waste generation places. Also it was clear that the generation amount of each type of waste depend on the type of the building, size of the building, amount of staff and students visited or worked and accessibility to bins. Further improvements are recommended in waste collection methods such as not to use separated bins to collect non separated waste and not to use non separated bins to collect separated waste. This will mislead the user when disposing garbage. Existing location of waste bins map can be used as a guide to the administration work as well as visitors and workers in the university.