This study aims to predict and evaluate the transfer behavior of silicon employing SiO2-bearing fluxes during submerged arc welding. Unlike previous studies that only focused on chemical reactions in the weld pool zone, this research investigates the elemental behavior of silicon subjected to essential reaction zones in a submerged arc welding process. The proposed method is compared with the traditional thermodynamic equilibrium models, enhancing the understanding of silicon transfer behavior in the submerged arc welding process. It is demonstrated that relying solely on thermodynamics within the weld pool zone is inadequate for accurately predicting the extent of silicon transfer level since the loss of silicon during the droplet zone and the improvement in oxygen content in the molten droplet are not considered, resulting in an overestimation of the ΔSi level. Finally, the limitations of the traditional elemental transfer quantification method and corresponding corrective suggestion... [more]

This article reports on an experiment that aimed to investigate the effects of digestate and cosubstrate input with varying biochar concentrations on methane production in anaerobic digestion processes. The findings revealed distinct trends in methane production among the substrates. Further investigations were conducted to evaluate the effects of different types of biochars on biomethane production from raw cattle manure digestate. Four conditions were tested: one raw digestate condition and three digestate conditions containing 1% of a different biochar type to one another. BC1 (PEFC-certified spruce BC) and BC2 (oak wood BC) showed promising results in enhancing biomethane production. About 884.23 NmL of methane was produced, with a yield and productivity of 22.80 NmL.g−1 and 1.62 NmL.g−1.day−1 with BC1. However, BC3 (cow and chicken manure digestate BC) demonstrated lower biomethane production compared to raw digestate. Additionally, the study explored the effects of adding reagent... [more]

In order to realize the safe transportation of liquefied ethane pipeline in the Oilfield of China, it is necessary to fully study the process of pipeline replacement, operation and shutdown. The accurate calculation of physical property parameters and critical parameters is the basis of studying the gas-liquid two-phase flow and heat and mass transfer process of liquefied ethane in the pipeline. In this paper, different equations of states (EOSs) were used to predict the physical properties (such as density, dew point and dynamic viscosity) of ethane or ethane mixture, and the predicted results were compared with the corresponding experimental data from the literature. The prediction performance of different EOSs were evaluated by using two evaluation indicators, including average absolute deviation (AAD) and average relative deviation (ARD). The results showed that the PR-Peneloux EOS has the best performance for predicting the density of CH4-C2H6-N2 mixture with an ARD value of 4.46%... [more]

One of the more problematic textile wastewaters to manage is dyeing wastewater, especially methylene-blue-containing wastewater. Its release has a significant negative impact on ecosystems, which could harm the environment. Adsorption techniques are still an efficient technology to eliminate and remove the coloring agent. Tailing ash, obtained from the floatation process, was selected as an adsorbent in the present study. The purpose of this study was to analyze the performance of tailing ash (TA) for MB removal. The effects of operating parameters investigated were pH (2−10), stirring speed (50−150 rpm), initial dye concentration (20−100 mg/L), contact time (120 min), adsorbent dosage (0.5−2.5 g), and temperature (25−45 °C). The performance of TA pretreated with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and thermal tailing ash were also investigated. The experimental results for batch adsorption indicated that 96.23% removal of methylene blue took place at the optimum condition (pH = 10, initial adsor... [more]

This article focuses on the quality of hemp oil processing, specifically the filtration that is an important part of the technological procedure of processing vegetable oils. The aim of the research was to determine the effects of pressure and temperature on the filtration parameters when using plate filters. The research was carried out on an experimental measuring device with adjustable static pressure. The qualitative properties of the oil were observed in terms of analytical composition, microbial content, and changes in peroxide value as the indicator of oxidation stability. The change in pressure affected the oil flow rate, especially at lower pressure values. The increase in temperature of the filtered oil had a negative impact on the oxidation stability.

The integration of information technologies with the industry has marked the beginning of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and has promoted the development of industrial engineering [...]

The Carboniferous−Permian, coal-bearing, sedimentary succession on the eastern edge of the Ordos Basin in the Shilounan Block contains large accumulations of hydrocarbon resources. During the exploration of coalbed methane and tight sandstone gas in the study area, multiple drilling wells in the tight sandstone reservoirs have yielded favorable gas logging results. The Benxi, Taiyuan, Shanxi, Shihezi, and Shiqianfeng formations contain multiple sets of sandstone reservoirs, and the reservoir quality and the controlling factors of its tight sandstones were affected by sedimentation, diagenetic alteration, and pore structure. This study comprehensively examines the sedimentary environment, distribution of sand bodies, and physical characteristics of tight sandstone reservoirs through drilling, coring, logging, and experimental testing. The results indicate that the Carboniferous−Permian tight sandstones are mainly composed of lithic sandstone and lithic quartz sandstone. The reservoir qu... [more]

Computational intelligence (CI) techniques have developed very fast over the past two decades, with many new methods emerging [...]

Powder bed fusion (PBF), a subset of additive manufacturing methods, is well known for its promise in the production of fully functional artefacts with high densities. The quality of the powder bed, commonly referred to as powder spreading, is a crucial determinant of the final quality of the produced artefact in the PBF process. Therefore, it is critical that we examine the factors that impact the powder spreading, notably the powder bed quality. This study utilised a newly developed testing apparatus, designed specifically for examining the quality of powder beds. The objective was to analyse the influence of various factors, including the recoater shape, recoater gap size, and the different powder flow properties, on the powder bed relative packing fraction. Additionally, the study aimed to assess the variation in the particle size and shape across the build plate. The results indicated that all of the variables examined had an impact on the relative packing fraction, as well as the... [more]

In this work, Eucalyptus grandis sawdust was subjected to steam explosion as the first step in cellulosic ethanol production within a biorefinery approach. The effect of the moisture content in the eucalypt sawdust (8 and 50%) and pretreatment process variables, such as temperature and residence time, were evaluated along with the influence of the water washing of steam-exploded solids on enzymatic hydrolysis and C6 fermentation yields. All other process streams were characterized to evaluate the recovery yield of valuable co-products. A recovery of nearly 100% glucans in the solid fraction and 60% xylans in the liquid fraction, mainly as partially acetylated oligomers, was obtained. The best enzymatic hydrolysis efficiencies (66−67%) were achieved after pretreatment at 205 °C for 10 min. The washing of pretreated sawdust with water improved the hydrolysis efficiencies and ethanol production yields by 10% compared to the unwashed pretreated solids under the same experimental condition.... [more]

Previous studies on the co-combustion of sludge and coal have not effectively utilized the characteristics of the combustion process to predict thermal behavior. Therefore, focusing on these combustion process characteristics is essential to understanding and predicting thermal behavior during the co-combustion of sludge and coal. In this paper, we use thermogravimetric analysis to study the co-combustion of coal and sludge at different temperatures (300−460 °C, 460−530 °C, and 530−600 °C). Our findings reveal that the ignition improves, but the combustion worsens with more sludge. Then, we further employ curve extraction based on temperature and image segmentation to extract the DTG (weight loss rate) curves. We successfully predicted the DTG curves for different blends using nonlinear regression and curve extraction, achieving an excellent R2 of 99.7%. Moreover, the curve extraction method predicts DTG better than artificial neural networks for two samples in terms of R2 (99.7% vs. 9... [more]

The inadequate ability to dissipate heat of the gas head cover of the diaphragm compressor will result in its excessive temperature, which will put the operation of the hydrogen filling station at risk for safety issues and raise operating costs. This paper analyzed the structure and the heat transfer characteristics of the gas head cover, along with the relevant heat transfer boundaries, based on which a finite element simulation model of the temperature distribution was established. A test rig for the temperature test of a 22 MPa diaphragm compressor was built to validate this simulation model. The results indicated that the simulated temperatures agree well with the measured values, and the deviation is within 9.1%. Further, this paper proposed two head cover structures for enhancing the heat transfer according to the temperature field distribution characteristics, and the simulation and experimental verification were carried out, respectively. The findings demonstrate that the meth... [more]

Pipelines are the most economical and sensible way to transport oil and gas. Long-distance oil and gas pipelines consist of many steel pipes or pipe fittings joined by welded girth welds, so girth welds are an essential part of pipelines. Owing to the limitations of welding conditions and the complexity of controlling weld quality in the field, some defects are inevitably present in girth welds and adjacent weld areas. These defects can lead to pipeline safety problems; therefore, it is necessary to perform failure risk assessment of pipeline girth welds. In this study, an artificial neural network model was proposed to predict the failure risk of pipeline girth welds with defects. Firstly, many pipeline girth weld failure cases, pipeline excavation, and inspection data were collected and analyzed to determine the main factors influencing girth weld failure. Secondly, a spatial orthogonal optimization method was used to select training samples for the artificial neural network model to... [more]

Capsaicin (Cp) is a secondary metabolite produced by the Capsicum plant family. This molecule exhibits various biological properties such as antioxidant capacities, anti-obesogenic effects, and antidiabetic properties, among others. However, conventional extraction methods for Cp present several disadvantages including toxicity, extraction time, and low purity. Therefore, the utilization of supercritical fluid extraction techniques represents a viable option for obtaining highly pure and low-toxicity oleoresins (capsaicin-rich extracts). This approach involves the use of CO2 in the supercritical state and finds applicability in the pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic industries. The Capsicum chinense variety from the Yucatán Peninsula is a crop with significant economic impact in the region, due to having the highest concentrations of Cp in Mexico. This significant characteristic is attributed to its adaptation to the unique conditions (climate, soil, solar radiation, humidity) of the s... [more]

As an important natural resource, coal plays a critical role in social and economic development [...]

To solve the problem of the field application of downhole hydraulic fracturing technology due to the difficulty in sealing holes, this study analyzes the influence of special cement, expansion agents, stabilizers, and fiber material on basic properties, such as the setting time, fluidity, and compressive strength of high-pressure sealing materials through systematic tests based on a summary of conventional sealing materials. It was determined that with 20−30% special cement and 4% expansion agent added, and a fiber material length of 8 mm and volume of 1%, the high-pressure sealing material had high fluidity and a large expansion rate, demonstrating early strength. The bond performance of the high-pressure sealing material was tested through the variable-angle shear test. The relationship between the fractal dimension of the coal-rock mass around the borehole and the bond performance of the high-pressure sealing material was also explored.

In this work, deep reinforcement learning methodology takes advantage of transfer learning methodology to achieve a reasonable trade-off between environmental impact and operating costs in the activated sludge process of Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). WWTPs include complex nonlinear biological processes, high uncertainty, and climatic disturbances, among others. The dynamics of complex real processes are difficult to accurately approximate by mathematical models due to the complexity of the process itself. Consequently, model-based control can fail in practical application due to the mismatch between the mathematical model and the real process. Control based on the model-free reinforcement deep learning (RL) methodology emerges as an advantageous method to arrive at suboptimal solutions without the need for mathematical models of the real process. However, convergence of the RL method to a reasonable control for complex processes is data-intensive and time-consuming. For this rea... [more]

Skin lesion detection is crucial in diagnosing and managing dermatological conditions. In this study, we developed and demonstrated the potential applicability of a novel mixed-scale dense convolution, self-attention mechanism, hierarchical feature fusion, and attention-based contextual information technique (MSHA) model for skin lesion detection using digital skin images of chickenpox and shingles lesions. The model adopts a combination of unique architectural designs, such as a mixed-scale dense convolution layer, self-attention mechanism, hierarchical feature fusion, and attention-based contextual information, enabling the MSHA model to capture and extract relevant features more effectively for chickenpox and shingles lesion classification. We also implemented an effective training strategy to enhance a better capacity to learn and represent the relevant features in the skin lesion images. We evaluated the performance of the novel model in comparison to state-of-the-art models, incl... [more]

There are various organic compounds that can be utilized in the organic Rankine cycle as working fluids. The selection of a suitable working fluid is complicated due to the large number of options and factors affecting the choice, such as thermodynamic properties, environmental impact, cost, etc. This study evaluates seven different pure organic compounds and twenty-one of their binary zeotropic mixtures as potential working fluids for the organic Rankine cycle powered by a heat source at 200 °C. The pure organic fluids show higher exergy efficiency, higher specific net power output, and lower heat exchange area requirements compared to the binary mixtures. Among the pure fluids, RE347mcc performs the best in terms of exergy efficiency, followed by neopentane, isopentane, and pentane. Cyclopentane exhibits the highest power production capacity per unit mass flow rate of the working fluid. Two mixtures, pentane/Novec 649 and cyclopentane/Novec 649, showed significantly higher exergy eff... [more]

The advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution has revolutionized the manufacturing sector by integrating artificial intelligence into vision inspection systems to improve the efficiency and quality of products. Supervised-learning-based vision inspection systems have emerged as a powerful tool for automated quality control in various industries. During visual inspection or final inspection, a human operator physically inspects a product to determine its condition and categorize it based on their know-how. However, the know-how-based visual inspection process is limited in time and space and is affected by many factors. High accuracy in vision inspection is highly dependent on the quality and precision of the labeling process. Therefore, supervised learning methods of 1-STAGE DETECTION, such as You Only Look Once (YOLO), are utilized in automated inspection to improve accuracy. In this paper, we proposed a labeling method that achieves the highest inspection accuracy among labeling met... [more]

Soybean mosaic disease, caused by the soybean mosaic virus (SMV), is responsible for major losses in yield and seed quality worldwide. Although resistant cultivars are used for its prevention and control, an alternative strategy could consist of applying environmentally friendly antimicrobial agents, such as extracts and essential oils (EOs) of aromatic plants. This study assessed an extract of Achyrocline satureioides and EOs of Minthostachys verticillata, Origanum vulgare, and Thymus vulgaris in terms of their phytotoxicity in soybean. Since all the concentrations tested were found to be safe, the activity of each product against SMV was then assayed in vivo, i.e., in experimentally infected soybean plants. The parameters measured were plant height, wet weight, and virus titer. All the treated plants had a greater height and weight than those in the viral control group. The EOs of M. verticillata (0.80 mg/mL) and T. vulgaris (0.71 mg/mL) inhibited the production of viral antigens, as... [more]

Recently, Japan and the European Union have been experiencing declining petroleum demand owing to global initiatives aimed at reducing environmental impact by curtailing CO2 emissions. Consequently, alternative products and operational conditions should be developed to utilize the fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit. Using simulation software (Aspen Hysys), this study modeled a typical FCC unit and compared the simulation results with operational data to ensure reproducibility. Two new process models were developed to investigate two scenarios: (i) the slurry discharged from the FCC unit is utilized as a feedstock for the FCC process and (ii) the slurry and fraction obtained from the downstream absorber of the FCC unit are introduced into a delayed coker unit to facilitate carbon fixation. Within an optimum riser outlet temperature (ROT) of 520−530 °C, the yields of gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas increased up to 4%. For profit performance, although ROT of 535−545 °C yielded peak... [more]

Fiber-reinforced additive manufacturing components have been used in various industrial applications in recent years, including in the production of aerospace, automobile, and biomedical components. Compared to conventional methods, additive manufacturing (AM) methods can be used to obtainin lighter parts with superior mechanical properties with lower setup costs and the ability to design more complex parts. Additionally, the fabrication of onyx composites using the conventional method can result in delamination, which is a significant issue during composite machining. To address these shortcomings, the fabrication of onyx composites via additive manufacturing with the Mark forged 3D-composite printer was considered. Machinability tests were conducted using abrasive water jet machining (AWJM) with various drilling diameters, traverse speeds, and abrasive mass flow rates. These parameters were optimized using Taguchi analysis and then validated using the Genetic algorithm (GA) and the M... [more]

Peptide modification has emerged as an important topic in the academic community and pharmaceutical industry. However, they are primarily focused on the diversification of amines, thiols, and alcohols. Direct and chemoselective modification of acid residues in peptides is relatively underdeveloped. In this context, we report a novel and efficient method for the direct functionalization of acid residues in peptides. By using ynamides as reaction partners, the adducts are rapidly obtained in moderate to excellent yields at room temperature in water. This approach shows excellent chemoselectivity and a broad scope including dipeptides bearing unprotected Trp or Tyr residue and free Ser or Gln residue.

2,5-Furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) is an important monomer for manufacturing biobased plastics. Biocatalysis has been recognized as a sustainable tool in organic synthesis. To date, the efficiencies of most biocatalytic processes toward FDCA remain low. So, it is highly desired to develop efficient processes. In this work, a biocatalytic route toward FDCA was developed by integrating a cell-free extract of galactose oxidase variant M3−5 with a whole-cell biocatalyst harboring NAD+-dependent vanillin dehydrogenases and NADH oxidase, starting from 5-hydroxymethylfurfural. FDCA was produced in a concurrent mode with >90% yields within 36 h at 20 mM substrate concentration. In addition, biocatalytic synthesis of FDCA was performed on a preparative scale, with 78% isolated yield. The present work may lay the foundation for sustainable production of FDCA.