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The primary goal in designing wind turbine blades is to maximize aerodynamic efficiency. One promising approach to achieve this is by modifying the blade geometry, with winglets to the tip. Winglets are intended to reduce the strength of the tip vortices, thereby reducing induced drag, increasing torque, and, ultimately, improving the power output of the wind turbines. In this study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were utilized to assess the aerodynamic performance of wind turbine blades with and without winglets at various wind speeds (5, 7, 10, 13, 15, 20, and 25 m/s). The results indicate that winglets have a limited effect at low (5 and 7 m/s) and high (20 and 25 m/s) wind speeds due to fully attached and separated flows over the blade surface. However, within the 10–15 m/s range, winglets significantly enhance torque and power output. While this increased power generation is beneficial, it is essential to consider the potential impact of the associated increase in thrust force on turbine stability. 

To implement sustainable water resource management, the industries that produce a huge amount of wastewater are aiming to recycle wastewater. Reverse osmosis (RO) is an advanced membrane process that can produce potable water from wastewater. However, the presence of diverse pollutants in the wastewater necessitates effective pretreatment to ensure successful RO implementation. This study evaluated the efficiency of microfiltration (MF) and ultrafiltration (UF) as two pretreatment methods prior to RO, i.e., MF-RO and UF-RO, for recycling poultry slaughterhouse wastewater (PSWW). The direct treatment of PSWW with RO (direct RO) was also considered for comparison. In this study, membrane technology serves as a post treatment for PSWW, which was conventionally treated at Sanderson Farm. The results demonstrated that all of the processes, including MF-RO, UF-RO, and direct RO treatment of PSWW, rejected 100% of total phosphorus (TP), over 91.2% of chemical oxygen demand (COD), and 87% of total solids (TSs). Total nitrogen (TN) levels were reduced to 5 mg/L for MF-RO, 4 mg/L for UF-RO, and 9 mg/L for direct RO. In addition, the pretreatment of PSWW with MF and UF increased RO flux from 46.8 L/m2 h to 51 L/m2 h, an increase of approximately 9%. The product water obtained after MF-RO, UF-RO, and direct RO meets the required potable water quality standards for recycling PSWW in the poultry industry. A cost analysis demonstrated that MF-RO was the most economical option among membrane processes, primarily due to MF operating at a lower pressure and having a high water recovery ratio. In contrast, the cost of using RO without MF and UF pretreatments was approximately 2.6 times higher because of cleaning and maintenance expenses related to fouling. This study concluded that MF-RO is a preferable option for recycling PSWW. This pretreatment method would significantly contribute to environmental sustainability by reusing well-treated PSWW for industrial poultry purposes while maintaining cost efficiency. 

The aerodynamic shapes of the blades are of great importance in wind turbine design to achieve better overall turbine performance. Fluid–structure interaction (FSI) analyses are normally carried out to take into consideration the effects due to the loads between the air flow and the turbine structures. A structural integrity check can then be performed, and the structural/material design can be optimized accordingly. In this study, three different tip shapes are investigated based on the original blade of the test wind turbine (Phase VI) from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). A one-way coupled simulation of FSI is conducted, and results with a focus on stresses and deformations along the span of the blade are investigated. The results show that tip modifications of the blade have the potential to effectively increase the power generation of wind turbines while ensuring adequate structural strength. Furthermore, instead of using more complicated but computationally expensive techniques, this study demonstrates an effective approach to making quality observations of this highly nonlinear phenomenon for wind turbine blade design.