The thermal degradation of lignin for value-added fuels and chemicals is important for environment improvement and sustainable development. The impact of pretreatment and catalysis of Ni(NO3)2 on the pyrolysis behavior of organsolv lignin were studied in the present work. Samples were pyrolyzed at 500 ∘C with an upward fixed bed, and the characteristics of bio-oil were determined. After pretreatment by Ni(NO3)2, the yield of monophenols increased from 23.3 wt.% to 30.2 wt.% in “Ni-washed” and decreased slightly from 23.3 wt.% to 20.3 wt.% in “Ni-unwashed”. Meanwhile, the selective formation of vinyl-monophenols was promoted in “Ni-unwashed”, which indicated that the existence of nickel species promoted the dehydration of C-OH and breakage of C-C in pyrolysis. In comparison with “Water”, HHV of bio-oil derived from “Ni-unwashed” slightly increased from 27.94 mJ/kg to 28.46 mJ/kg, suggesting that the lowering of oxygen content in bio-oil is associated with improved quality. Furthermore,... [more]

The article deals with the issues of improving the accuracy of measurements of the geometric parameters of objects by optoelectronic systems, based on a television multiscan. A mathematical model of a multiscan with scanistor activation is developed, expressions for its integral output current and video signal are obtained, and the mechanism of their formation is investigated. An expression for the video signal is obtained that reflects the dual nature of the discrete−continuous multiscan structure: the video signal can have a discrete (pulse) or analog (continuous) form, depending on the step voltage between the photodiode cells of the multiscan. A Vernier discrete−analog method for measuring the parameters of the light zone on a multiscan is proposed, in which in order to increase the accuracy of the measurements, the location of the video pulse is determined relative to the neighboring reference pulses of a rigid geometric raster due to the slope of the discrete structure of the mul... [more]

In the present study, we isolated and screened thirty strains of GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid)-producing lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from traditional Indonesian fermented foods. Two strains were able to convert monosodium glutamate (MSG) to GABA after 24 h of cultivation at 37 °C based on thin layer chromatography (TLC) screening. Proteomic identification and 16S rDNA sequencing using MALDI-TOF MS identified the strain as Lactobacillus plantarum designated as L. plantarum FNCC 260 and FNCC 343. The highest yield of GABA production obtained from the fermentation of L. plantarum FNCC 260 was 809.2 mg/L of culture medium after 60 h of cultivation. The supplementation of 0.6 mM pyridoxal 5’-phosphate (PLP) and 0.1 mM pyridoxine led to the increase in GABA production to 945.3 mg/L and 969.5 mg/L, respectively. The highest GABA production of 1226.5 mg/L of the culture medium was obtained with 100 mM initial concentration of MSG added in the cultivation medium. The open reading frame (ORF) of 141... [more]

In this second part of our systematic review on the research area of 3D cell culture in micro-bioreactors we give a detailed description of the published work with regard to the existing micro-bioreactor types and their applications, and highlight important results gathered with the respective systems. As an interesting detail, we found that micro-bioreactors have already been used in SARS-CoV research prior to the SARS-CoV2 pandemic. As our literature research revealed a variety of 3D cell culture configurations in the examined bioreactor systems, we defined in review part one “complexity levels” by means of the corresponding 3D cell culture techniques applied in the systems. The definition of the complexity is thereby based on the knowledge that the spatial distribution of cell-extracellular matrix interactions and the spatial distribution of homologous and heterologous cell−cell contacts play an important role in modulating cell functions. Because at least one of these parameters ca... [more]

Submerged hollow fiber membranes (SHFMs) are used for a wide variety of applications. Their applicability and their advantages, however, depend crucially on the prevailing hydrodynamics within single fibers. In this respect, the non-uniform distribution of transmembrane flux is a known problem related to inhomogeneous membrane fouling and disadvantages for cleaning. To address this problem, we propose an approach to homogenize transmembrane flux by varying the local membrane resistance using optimal control methods for the first time in SHFM research. Based on an established model, different scenarios are optimized, namely with different fiber lengths and inner radii. In addition, a double-end setup is explored. It is shown that the optimization goal is reached very well in all tested cases, which underlines the general validity of our strategy. Further uses and extensions of the optimization method are provided, as well as hints for the practical implementation of the suggested measur... [more]

In the current socio-economic situation, smart products are essential for daily life. Energy is a very much related matter to smart products. To buy a smart product, people mostly care about that smart product’s energy consumption and the price. There is always a tug-of-war between the price of the product and the energy consumption of that product. An energy-efficient smart production system is described in this study where the production is variable, and in the out-of-control state, it produces defective products. For prevention of the out-of-control state, preventive maintenance and restoration are used within the smart production system. The rework policy helps to profit from the defective products, and the warranty policy helps to motivate the users. This model applies an improved strategy to the production process and develops a new product that needs to be marketed. Finally, this model plays a vital role in creating smart products with moderate energy consumption at a minimal co... [more]

With the vigorous promotion of new energy sources and the development of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, the influence of the V2G mode should be considered in the joint optimal allocation of Distributed Generation (DG) and electric vehicle charging stations (EVCSs). The timing characteristics of the intermittent output of DG, conventional demand for load, and charging load of the electric vehicle (EV) are considered, as is its participation in grid interaction to examine the construction of typical scenarios and the EV cluster dispatching strategy. From the perspective of comprehensively planning the coordination of the distribution network, a DG-EVCSs bi-level joint planning model is established under the peak and valley price mechanism, with the sub-objectives of obtaining a comprehensive profit and high quality of voltage, curbing system load fluctuations, and satisfactorily charging the EV. An improved harmony particle swarm optimization algorithm is proposed to solve the bi-leve... [more]

Carbohydrates are one of the most important nutrients in human consumption. The digestible part of carbohydrates has a significant role in maintaining the energy status of the body and the non-digestible parts like dietary fibers have specific nutritional functions. One of the key issues of food processing is how to influence the technological and nutritional properties of carbohydrates to meet modern dietary requirements more effectively, considering particularly the trends in the behavior of people and food-related health issues. Physical processing methods have several advantages compared to the chemical methods, where chemical reagents, such as acids or enzymes, are used for the modification of components. Furthermore, in most cases, these is no need to apply them supplementarily in the technology, only a moderate modification of current technology can result in significant changes in dietary properties. This review summarizes the novel results about the nutritional and technologic... [more]

Plastic in the ocean, especially plastic on the ocean surface is not only researched intensively but also photos and reports rise awareness of the challenge in the general public. While research is concerned with the fate of marine litter in the environment, recycling of these materials after collection is rarely addressed, mainly because there is neither considerable data on composition nor a suggested process to do so. This study is the first to analyse and evaluate chemical recycling (pyrolysis, gasification) and energy recovery (incineration) of marine litter. Two heterogenous marine litter samples from Sylt and Norderney, North Sea, Germany, were analysed, consisting of six different material groups. Agricultural mulch foil was used as reference material. The thermochemical treatment processes were reproduced by thermogravimetric analysis. Furthermore, pyrolysis trials on a semi-technical scale were conducted and the residues were analysed by proximate, ultimate and X-ray fluoresc... [more]

We aimed in the current study, the identification of a marine bacterial amylase produced by Bacillus pacificus, which was associated with Turbinaria ornata. Cultural conditions were optimized for the highest amylase production on Tryptic soy broth media supplemented with starch 1% at initial pH 9, 55 °C for 24 h. The newly purified amylase was characterized for a possible biotechnological application. Data indicated that the obtained amylase with a molecular weight of 40 kD and the N-terminal sequence of the first 30 amino acids of amBp showed a high degree of homology with known alpha amylase, and was stable at 60 °C of pH 11. Among the tested substrate analogs, amBp was almost fully active on Alylose and Alylopectine (97%), but moderately hydrolyzed glycogen < sucrose < maltose < lactose. Therefore, the current amylase mainly generated maltohexaose from starch. Mg2+ and Zn2+ improved amylase activity up to 170%. While ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) similarly induced... [more]

Candida antarctica Lipase B (CALB) has a wide range of applications in many fields. In this study, Pichia pastoris was used to express CALB for fermentation tank culture. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was used as a surfactant, and foam separation technology was used to explore the best experimental conditions for the harvest of CALB. The results showed that the optimal technological conditions for the foam separation and recovery of CALB were as follows: liquid volume was 150 mL, separating gas velocity was 600 mL/min, pH value was 7, and surfactant SDS concentration was 0.5 mg/mL. Under these conditions, the enrichment ratio of CALB was 0.95, and recovery rate R was 80.32%, respectively, indicating that the foam separation technology is feasible to extract lipase B.

The mechanism of ultrasonic extraction was discovered and analyzed in detail for the liquid membrane technique from the consideration of the specific features of the radial vibrations of a droplet of the dispersed phase placed into an immiscible continuous phase subjected to ultrasonic irradiation. Analytical formulas were derived for the rate of mass transfer as a function of the amplitude of acoustic pressure oscillations and the time of ultrasonic treatment of an extraction system. Conditions for achieving the maximum efficiency of the extraction of a substance under the stimulating effect of ultrasound were analyzed. A nonlinear equation was derived for the radial vibrations of a spherical droplet of the dispersed phase in an immiscible continuous phase under forcing in the form of acoustic pressure periodically changing with time. Experimental study of the dependence of sulfosalicylic acid distribution on time in an aqueous two-phase system with ultrasound shows good agreement of... [more]

The proposed approach to quantitative assessment of the risk of investor’s profit in projects for the production of raw materials for bioethanol involves the implementation of eight stages. It systematically takes into account the stochastic nature of many factors that determine the amount of investments in the project, as well as the stochastic nature of the market value of raw materials. The use of the proposed approach makes it possible to obtain an accurate assessment of the level of risk of investors in projects for the production of raw materials for bioethanol, taking into account the requirements of investors. Based on the use of the developed application software, stochastic models of profit of investors in projects for the production of raw materials for wheat bioethanol and patterns of changes in their risk for the Western region of Ukraine are obtained. It is established that with the growth of the minimum expected profit of investors of projects from 10 to 70$/ton, the pro... [more]