This paper proposes an efficient power management approach for the 24 h-ahead optimal maneuver of Mega−scale grid−connected microgrids containing a huge penetration of wind power, dispatchable distributed generation (diesel generator), energy storage system and local loads. The proposed energy management optimization objective aims to minimize the microgrid expenditure for fuel, operation and maintenance and main grid power import. It also aims to maximize the microgrid revenue by exporting energy to the upstream utility grid. The optimization model considers the uncertainties of the wind energy and power consumptions in the microgrids, and appropriate forecasting techniques are implemented to handle the uncertainties. The optimization model is formulated for a day-ahead optimization timeline with one-hour time steps, and it is solved using the ant colony optimization (ACO)-based metaheuristic approach. Actual data and parameters obtained from a practical microgrid platform in Atlanta,... [more]

The objective of this paper is to establish the significance of the mycoremediation of contaminants such as Cd2+ to achieve sustainable and eco-friendly remediation methods. Industries such as electroplating, paint, leather tanning, etc. release an enormous amount of Cd2+ in wastewater, which can drastically affect our flora and fauna. Herein, we report on the in vitro bioadsorption of Cd2+ ions using fungal isolates obtained from different contaminated industrial sites. The detailed studies revealed that two fungal species, i.e., Trichoderma fasciculatum and Trichoderma longibrachiatum, were found to be most effective against the removal of Cd2+ when screened for Cd2+ tolerance on potato dextrose agar (PDA) in different concentrations. Detailed adsorption studies were conducted by exploring various experimental factors such as incubation time, temperature, pH, inoculum size, and Cd2+ salt concentrations. Based on optimum experimental conditions, T. fasciculatum exhibited approximately... [more]

Axial piston pumps are crucial for the safe operation of hydraulic systems and usually work under variable operating conditions. However, deterioration status recognition for such pumps under variable conditions has rarely been reported until now. Therefore, it is valuable to develop effective methods suitable for processing variable conditions. Firstly, considering that information entropy has strong robustness to variable conditions and empirical mode decomposition (EMD) has the advantages of processing nonlinear and nonstationary signals, a new degradation feature parameter, named local instantaneous energy moment entropy, which combines information entropy theory and EMD, is proposed in this paper. To obtain more accurate degradation feature, a waveform matching extrema mirror extension EMD, which is used to suppress the end effects of EMD decomposition, was employed to decompose the original pump’s outlet pressure signals, taking the quasi-periodic characteristics of the signals i... [more]

For continuous and efficient oil/water separation and adsorption of dyes, coconut shell powder was grafted onto the surface of quartz sand by dip-coating method to make coconut shell powder-covered quartz sand filter media (CSQS) with superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic properties and superoleophilic and underoil highly hydrophobic properties. The contact angles of the underwater oil and underoil water with CSQS were more than 151.2° and 134.2°, respectively. A continuous oil/water separation device was designed. The separation device filled with CSQS can separate oil/water mixture (whether heavy or light oil) into water and oil at the same time with a separation efficiency of above 99.92%. The filter layer can be recovered through reverse extrusion even after lyophobic liquid penetrated the filter layer; hence, the separation efficiency of the filter layer was still above 99.99% for diesel and water mixture. Simultaneously, CSQS can effectively adsorb methylene blue with t... [more]

The enzymatic hydrolysis of triglycerides with lipases (EC 3.1.1.3.) involves substrates from both water and oil phases, with the enzyme molecules adsorbed at the water-oil (w/o) interface. The reaction rate depends on lipase concentration at the interface and the available interfacial area in the emulsion. In emulsions with large drops, the reaction rate is limited by the surface area. This effect must be taken into account while modelling the reaction. However, determination of the interfacial saturation is not a trivial matter, as enzyme molecules have the tendency to unfold on the interface, and form multi-layer, rendering many enzyme molecules unavailable for the reaction. A multi-scale approach is needed to determine the saturation concentration with specific interfacial area so that it can be extrapolated to droplet swarms. This work explicitly highlights the correlation between interfacial adsorption and reaction kinetics, by integration of the adsorption kinetics into the enzy... [more]

Recently, an increasing interest is paid to bee products obtained as a result of the fermentation process. Some of them can be consumed directly (bee-collected pollen, honey, bee bread etc.), while others are the result of lactic and/or acid fermentation (honey vinegar and honey wine). Bee bread is the result of pollens’ lactic fermentation, whereas mead is obtained by honeys’ lactic fermentation. Moreover, as a result of honey acetic acid fermentation, honey vinegar is obtained. Sensory characteristics and aroma composition have been scarcely studied, which may depend on the starter culture and fermentation process. Along with the medicinal properties they are a vital resource for future researches as they are of particular importance in the food market. In this review, we discuss the aroma-active compounds, taste, and sensorial characteristics of fermented bee products along with the approaches that can be developed for the flavor improvement based on existing technologies. Furthermo... [more]

In this study, we constructed a new algorithm to determine the optimal parameters for friction stir welding including rotational speed, welding speed, axial force, tool pin profile, and tool material. The objective of welding is to maximize the ultimate tensile strength of the welded aluminum. The proposed method combines the response surface method and the modified differential evolution algorithm (RSM-MDE). RSM-MDE is a method that involves both experimental and simulation procedures. It is composed of four steps: (1) finding the number of parameters and their levels that affect the efficiency of the friction stir welding, (2) using RSM to formulate the regression model, (3) using the MDE algorithm to find the optimal parameter of the regression model obtained from (2), and (4) verifying the results obtained from step (3). The optimal parameters generated by the RSM-MDE method were a rotation speed of 1417.68 rpm, a welding speed of 60.21 mm/min, an axial force of 8.44 kN, a hexagon-... [more]

Data-based process monitoring methods have received tremendous attention in recent years, and modern industrial process data often exhibit dynamic and nonlinear characteristics. Traditional autoencoders, such as stacked denoising autoencoders (SDAEs), have excellent nonlinear feature extraction capabilities, but they ignore the dynamic correlation between sample data. Feature extraction based on manifold learning using spatial or temporal neighbors has been widely used in dynamic process monitoring in recent years, but most of them use linear features and do not take into account the complex nonlinearities of industrial processes. Therefore, a fault detection scheme based on temporal-spatial neighborhood enhanced sparse autoencoder is proposed in this paper. Firstly, it selects the temporal neighborhood and spatial neighborhood of the sample at the current time within the time window with a certain length, the spatial similarity and time serial correlation are used for weighted reconst... [more]

Nanoparticles (NPs) are known as important nanomaterials for a broad range of commercial and research applications owing to their physical characteristics and properties. Currently, the demand for NPs for use in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is very high. The use of NPs can drastically benefit EOR by changing the wettability of the rock, improving the mobility of the oil drop and decreasing the interfacial tension (IFT) between oil/water. This paper focuses on a review of the application of NPs in the flooding process, the effect of NPs on wettability and the IFT. The study also presents a review of several investigations about the most common NPs, their physical and mechanical properties and benefits in EOR.

The application of food processes can lead to a modification of both the structure and the activities of flavonoids. In this article, the effect of heat treatment and exposure to light on the antioxidant activity of 6 model flavonoid solutions (rutin, naringin, eriodictyol, mesquitol, luteolin, and luteolin 7-O-glucoside) was studied. The evolution of the antioxidant activity measured after heat treatment of 130 °C at 2 h and an exposure to visible light for 2 weeks is measured by the ABTS (2,2′-Azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt) method and represented by a new parameter called ΔTEAC. The model solution of Mesquitol showed the highest increase in ΔTEAC after a heat treatment, a value of 200 mM was obtained. The increase in ΔTEAC is always greater with thermal treatment than with light exposure. Thus, temperature and light lead to different degradation pathways of the flavonoid. In vivo measurements were carried out with solutions of naringin, erodictyol,... [more]

Here, we report a successfully modified Czochralski process system by introducing the cooling system and subsequent examination of the results using crystal growth simulation analysis. Two types of cooling system models have been designed, i.e., long type and double type cooling design (LTCD and DTCD) and their production quality of monocrystalline silicon ingot was compared with that of the basic type cooling design (BTCD) system. The designed cooling system improved the uniformity of the temperature gradient in the crystal and resulted in the significant decrease of the thermal stress. Moreover, the silicon monocrystalline ingot growth rate has been enhanced to 18% by using BTCD system. The detailed simulation results have been discussed in the manuscript. The present research demonstrates that the proposed cooling system would stand as a promising technique to be applied in CZ-Si crystal growth with a large size/high pulling rate.

Syngas (CO, CO2, and H2) has attracted special attention due to the double benefit of syngas fermentation for carbon sequestration (pollution reduction), while generating energy. Syngas can be either produced by gasification of biomasses or as a by-product of industrial processes. Only few microorganisms, mainly clostridia, were identified as capable of using syngas as a substrate to produce medium chain acids, or alcohols (such as butyric acid, butanol, hexanoic acid, and hexanol). Since CO plays a critical role in the availability of reducing equivalents and carbon conversion, this work assessed the effects of constant CO partial pressure (PCO), ranging from 0.5 to 2.5 atm, on cell growth, acid production, and solvent production, using Clostridium carboxidivorans. Moreover, this work focused on the effect of the liquid to gas volume ratio (VL/VG) on fermentation performances; in particular, two VL/VG were considered (0.28 and 0.92). The main results included—(a) PCO affected the grow... [more]

Few experiments have been performed to investigate the hydraulic performance in a chevron brazed plate heat exchanger (BPHE) with the narrow channel at lower Reynolds number. The hydraulic characteristics of seven types of chevron BPHEs were investigated experimentally and numerical simulation revealed the effects of structural parameters on hydraulic performances. The correlations between friction factor f and Re were fitted out based on more than 500 sets of pressure drop data. The research results show that there is a power-law between f and Re; which has a similar trend but a different amplitude for different plates, and the exponent of the power-law could be approximate to a constant. Numerical results show that the pressure drop Δp is positively correlated with the corrugated angle and spacing, however, negatively correlated with the corrugated height. Research on the hydraulic performance is significant for the optimal design of BPHE.

The use of Fabric-Reinforced Cementitious Matrix (FRCM) systems as externally bonded reinforcement for concrete or masonry structures is, nowadays, a common practice in civil engineering. However, FRCM durability against aggressive environmental conditions is still an open issue. In this paper, the mechanical behavior of a glass FRCM system, after being subjected to saline, alkaline and freeze−thaw cycles, has been investigated. The experimental campaign includes tensile tests on the fabric yarns, compression and flexural tests on the matrix and tensile tests (according to AC434) on FRCM prismatic coupons. The effects of the different environmental exposures on the mechanical properties of both the constituent materials and the composite system have been investigated and discussed. Ion chromatography analysis has also been performed to better understand the damage mechanisms induced by environmental exposures and to evaluate the ions’ penetration within the inorganic matrix. Alkaline e... [more]

Phaeodactylum tricornutum is an interesting source of biomass to produce biocrude by hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL). Its biochemical composition, along with its biomass productivity, can be modulated according to this specific application by varying the photoperiod, the addition of CO2 or the variation of the initial nitrate concentration. The lab-scale culture allowed the production of a P. tricornutum biomass with high biomass and lipid productivities using a 18:6 h light:dark photoperiod and a specific CO2 injection. An initial concentration of nitrates (11.8 mM) in the culture was also essential for the growth of this species at the lab scale. The biomass generated in the scale-up photoreactor had acceptable biomass and lipid productivities, although the values were higher in the biomass cultivated at the lab scale because of the difficulty for the light to reach all cells, making the cells unable to develop and hindering their growth. The biocrudes from a 90-L cultivated microalg... [more]

Alzheimer’s disease is notoriously the most common cause of dementia in the elderly, affecting an increasing number of people. Although widespread, its causes and progression modalities are complex and still not fully understood. Through neuroimaging techniques, such as diffusion Magnetic Resonance (MR), more sophisticated and specific studies of the disease can be performed, offering a valuable tool for both its diagnosis and early detection. However, processing large quantities of medical images is not an easy task, and researchers have turned their attention towards machine learning, a set of computer algorithms that automatically adapt their output towards the intended goal. In this paper, a systematic review of recent machine learning applications on diffusion tensor imaging studies of Alzheimer’s disease is presented, highlighting the fundamental aspects of each work and reporting their performance score. A few examined studies also include mild cognitive impairment in the classi... [more]

α-Glucan phosphorylase catalyzes the enzymatic polymerization of α-d-glucose 1-phosphate (Glc-1-P) monomers from a maltooligosaccharide primer to produce α(1→4)-glucan—i.e., amylose. In this study, by exploiting the weak specificity for the substrate recognition of a thermostable α-glucan phosphorylase (from Aquifex aeolicus VF5), we investigated the enzymatic copolymerization of 2-deoxy-α-d-glucose 1-phosphate (dGlc-1-P), which was produced in situ from d-glucal, with Glc-1-P to obtain non-natural heteropolysaccharides composed of α(1→4)-linked dGlc/Glc units—i.e., partially 2-deoxygenated amylose. The reactions were carried out at different monomer feed ratios using a maltotriose primer at 40 °C for 24 h. The products were precipitated from the reaction medium, isolated by centrifugation, and subjected to 1H NMR spectroscopic and powder X-ray diffraction measurements to evaluate their chemical and crystalline structures, respectively. Owing to its amorphous nature, the partially 2-de... [more]

Polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) provide efficient and carbon-free power by converting the hydrogen chemical energy. The PEFCs can reach their greatest performance in humidified condition, as proton exchange membranes (PEMs) should be humidified for their proton transportation function. Thus, external humidifiers are commonly employed to increase the water content of reactants. However, being burdened with external humidifiers can make the control of PEFCs complicated and costly, in particular for transportation application. To overcome this issue, self-humidifying PEMs have been introduced, with which PEFC can be fed by dry reactants. In fact, internal humidification is accomplished by produced water from the recombination of permeated hydrogen and oxygen gases on the incorporated platinum catalysts within the PEM. While the water production agent remains constant, there is a broad range of additives that are utilized to retain the generated water and facilitate the proton condu... [more]

Quality management is important for maximizing yield in continuous-flow manufacturing. However, it is more difficult to manage quality in continuous-flow manufacturing than in discrete manufacturing because partial defects can significantly affect the quality of an entire lot of final product. In this paper, a comprehensive framework that consists of three steps is proposed to predict defects and improve yield by using semi-supervised learning, time-series analysis, and classification model. In Step 1, semi-supervised learning using both labeled and unlabeled data is applied to generate quality values. In addition, feature values are predicted in time-series analysis in Step 2. Finally, in Step 3, we predict quality values based on the data obtained in Step 1 and Step 2 and calculate yield values with the use of the predicted value. Compared to a conventional production plan, the suggested plan increases yield by up to 8.7%. The production plan proposed in this study is expected to con... [more]

Since the discovery of graphene, there has been increasing interest in two-dimensional (2D) materials. To realize practical applications of 2D materials, it is essential to isolate mono- or few-layered 2D nanosheets from unexfoliated counterparts. Liquid phase exfoliation (LPE) is the most common technique to produce atomically thin-layered 2D nanosheets. However, low production yield and prolonged process time remain key challenges. Recently, novel exfoliation processes based on microfluidics have been developed to achieve rapid and high yield production of few-layer 2D nanosheets. We review the primary types of microfluidic-based exfoliation techniques in terms of the underlying process mechanisms and the applications of the 2D nanosheets thus produced. The key challenges and future directions are discussed in the above context to delineate future research directions in this exciting area of materials processing.

Debitterizing water contains a great amount of amygdalin, a potential toxic compound, so it is mandatory the degradation of amygdalin to reduce the water’s toxicity and environmental pollution. In this paper, the suspended mycelia in debitterizing water were firstly investigated by digital microscope, cold field emission scanning electron microscope, and internal transcribed spacers (ITS) high-throughput sequencing. Thereafter, the degradation of commercial amygdalin by the identified species was assessed by determining the changes of amygdalin content and the β-glucosidase activity. The results indicate that the mycelia matched with genus of lower fungi, mainly including Irpex, Trichoderma and white rot fungus. Among them, Irpex lacteus had a definite promoting effect on the degradation of amygdalin, which was not caused by producing β-glucosidase, and the suitable degrading colony numbers ranged from 6.4 × 106 CFU/mL to 6.4 × 107 CFU/mL. In conclusion, this research might provide a p... [more]

In response to the high demand of the operation reliability and predictive maintenance, health monitoring and fault diagnosis and classification have been paramount for complex industrial systems (e.g., wind turbine energy systems). In this study, data-driven fault diagnosis and fault classification strategies are addressed for wind turbine energy systems under various faulty scenarios. A novel algorithm is addressed by integrating fast Fourier transform and uncorrelated multi-linear principal component analysis techniques in order to achieve effective three-dimensional space visualization for fault diagnosis and classification under a variety of actuator and sensor faulty scenarios in 4.8 MW wind turbine benchmark systems. Moreover, comparison studies are implemented by using multi-linear principal component analysis with and without fast Fourier transform, and uncorrelated multi-linear principal component analysis with and without fast Fourier transformation data pre-processing, resp... [more]

The industry is gradually forced to integrate socially sustainable development practices and cross-social issues. Although researchers and practitioners emphasize environmental and economic sustainability in supply chain management (SCM). This is unfortunate because not only social sustainable development plays an important role in promoting other sustainable development programs, but social injustice at one level in the supply chain may also cause significant losses to companies throughout the chain. This article aimed to consolidate the literature on the responsibilities of suppliers, manufacturers, and customers and to adopt sustainable supply chain management (SSSCM) practices in the Pakistani industry to identify all possible aspects of sustainable social development in the supply chain by investigating the relationship between survey variables and structure. This work went beyond the limits of regulations and showed the status of maintaining sustainable social issues. Based on se... [more]

Large volume production of vaccine virus is essential for prevention and control of viral diseases. The objectives of this study were to propagate Fowl adenovirus (FAdV) isolate (UPM08136) in chicken embryo liver (CEL) cells adapted to Cytodex™ 1 microcarriers using stirred tank bioreactor (STB) and molecularly characterize the virus. CEL cells were prepared and seeded onto prepared Cytodex™ 1 microcarriers and incubated first in stationary phase for 3 h and in STB at 37 °C, 5% CO2, and 20 rpm for 24 h. The CEL cells were infected with FAdV isolate (UPM08136) passage 5 (UPM08136CELP5) or passage 20 (UPM08136CELP20) and monitored until cell detachment. Immunofluorescence, TCID50, sequencing, alignment of hexon and fiber genes, and phylogenetic analysis were carried out. CEL cells were adapted well to Cytodex™ 1 microcarriers and successfully propagated the FAdV isolates in STB with virus titer of 107.5 (UPM08136CELP5B1) and 106.5 (UPM08136CELP20B1) TCID50/mL. These isolates clustered wi... [more]

The [hmim][Tf2N] ionic liquid is considered in this work to develop a model in Aspen Plus® capturing carbon dioxide from shifted flue gas through physical absorption. Ionic liquids are innovative and promising green solvents for the capture of carbon dioxide. As an important aspect of this research, optimization is carried out for the carbon capture system through a central composite design: simulation and statistical analysis are combined together. This leads to important results such as the identification of significant factors and their combinations. Surface plots and mathematical models are developed for capital costs, operating costs and removal of carbon dioxide. These models can be used to find optimal operating conditions maximizing the amount of captured carbon dioxide and minimizing total costs: the percentage of carbon dioxide removal is 93.7%, operating costs are 0.66 million €/tonCO2 captured (due to the high costs of ionic liquid), and capital costs are 52.2 €/tonCO2 capt... [more]