Background: Omega-3 fatty acids are essential fatty acids that the body cannot create itself; thus, they must be obtained from functional foods. Therefore, the food processing industries are becoming more interested in the production of omega-3 enriched food products, as consumers and healthcare organizations are increasingly demanding functional foods with minimal fatty acid loss and higher oxidative stability. Moreover, the stability of long-chain, polyunsaturated fatty acids in functional foods is a major challenge for the food processing industries. Therefore, the spray drying method was used to prepare spray-dried microcapsules (SDMs) with the minimum loss of, and more stable, fatty acids. Methods: In this study, emulsion blends of chia seed oil (CSO, 50%) and fish oil (FO, 50%) were spray-dried using varied operating conditions, including the inlet air temperature (IAT) (125, 140, 155, 170, and 185 °C), wall material (WM) (5, 10, 15, 20, and 25%), pump speed (PS) (3, 4, 5, 6, and... [more]

Applications of a metallic material highly depend on its mechanical properties, which greatly depend on the material’s grain sizes. Reducing grain sizes by severe plastic deformation is one of the efficient approaches to enhance the mechanical properties of a metallic material. In this paper, severe plastic deformation of equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) will be reviewed to illustrate its effects on the grain refinement of some common metallic materials such as titanium alloys, aluminum alloys, and magnesium alloys. In the ECAP process, the materials can be processed severely and repeatedly in a designed ECAP mold to accumulate a large amount of plastic strain. Ultrafine grains with diameters of submicron meters or even nanometers can be achieved through severe plastic deformation of the ECAP. In detail, this paper will give state-of-the-art details about the influences of ECAP processing parameters such as passes, temperature, and routes on the evolution of the microstructure of... [more]

Low-density polyethylene is the most applied packaging plastic. The recycling rate of LDPE is low, especially for the material from the post-consumer source. The quality of the LDPE post-consumer recyclates is influenced by different contaminations, either intentionally or non-intentionally. Printing ink is one of the substances that is regarded as having a negative influence on the quality of LDPE recyclates. This study used a new type of nonionic surfactant oxirane, methyl-, polymer for de-inking as a pretreatment. Afterward, the LDPE film flakes were mechanically recycled in the laboratory. A melt flow index (MFI), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and tensile strength analysis were carried out. This work reported the de-inking effect of a new type of nonionic surfactant. However, no evidential correlation between the rate of color removal and the improvement in the rheological, thermal, and mechanical properties can be identified from the result of this study.

Blast furnace slag is a key large-tonnage waste product of metallurgical production, which is considered to be a promising alternative material in construction. In order to determine the scope of potential use of slag as a marketable product, it is necessary to study its structure and composition, which is determined by means of modern analytical instrumental methods. This paper analyzes the application of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and chemometrics methods to develop calibration models for identifying pelletized slag by elemental composition. In a comparative analysis of FTIR-spectra of slag the characteristic frequencies of absorption bands responsible for the content of calcite, silicates and aluminosilicates in the composition of samples were determined. Multivariate regression methods (principal components regression, partial least squares regression) and data of elemental composition results by EDX method were used to develop calibration models for determining... [more]

The separation of polyethylene glycols (PEGs) into single homologs by reversed-phase chromatography is investigated experimentally and theoretically. The used core−shell column is shown to achieve the baseline separation of PEG homologs up to molar weights of at least 5000 g/mol. A detailed study is performed elucidating the role of the operating conditions, including the temperature, eluent composition, and degree of polymerization of the polymer. Applying Martin’s rule yields a simple model for retention times that holds for a wide range of conditions. In combination with relations for column efficiency, the role of the operating conditions is discussed, and separations are predicted for analytical-scale chromatography. Finally, the approach is included in an efficient process model based on discrete convolution, which is demonstrated to predict with high accuracy also advanced operating modes with arbitrary injection profiles.

Since conventional techniques are ineffective for NO removal at low concentrations, photocatalysis has become attractive in this regard, recently. However, in practice, photocatalytic NO removal has drawbacks such as limited light absorption and the proclivity of producing toxic by-products. To address these issues, novel defective Bi/Bi3NbO7 structures with good porosity were fabricated by a solvothermal method and used for enhanced photocatalytic NO removal under visible light irradiation. The morphological and structural properties of the prepared materials were comprehensively analyzed. The optimal photocatalytic activity of pore-defective Bi/Bi3NbO7 for NO removal was 60.3%, when the molar ratios of urea and Bi(NO)3•5H2O to pristine Bi3NbO7 were 1:25 and 1:2, respectively, under the following operational conditions: NO concentration of 700 ppb, catalyst dosage of 50 mg and irradiation time of 14 min. The induced defects and the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of Bi nanodots... [more]

The surface exchange and bulk transport of oxygen are highly relevant to ceria-based redox materials, which are envisaged for the solar thermochemical splitting of carbon dioxide in the future. Experimental investigations of oxygen isotope exchange on CeO2-δ, Ce0.9M3+0.1O1.95-δ (with M3+ = Y, Sm) and Ce0.9M4+0.1O2-δ (with M4+ = Zr) samples were carried out for the first time utilizing oxygen-isotope-enriched C18O2 gas atmospheres as the tracer source, followed by Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS), at the temperature range 300 ≤ T ≤ 800 °C. The experimental K˜O and D˜O data reveal promising results in terms of CO2 splitting when trivalent (especially Sm)-doped ceria is employed. The reaction temperatures are lower than previously proposed/reported due to the weak temperature dependency of the parameters K˜O and D˜O. The majority of isotope exchange experiments show higher values of K˜O and D˜O for Sm-doped cerium dioxide in comparison to Y-doped and Zr-doped ceria, as well as nomin... [more]

In this study, a procedure for selecting the optimal heat-accumulating material based on phase transitions for the economical maintenance of poultry farms by applying ANOVA to complex solid bodies’ thermodynamic parameters is described. The relevance of the topic is due to its importance for the development of an energy-saving technology based on the release or absorption of significant heat during the crystallization or melting of materials. The applicability of one-way ANOVA for the selection of the optimal material with a specific functional purpose was demonstrated. As result, the best composition for maintaining a normal temperature regime in poultry farms that could meet all the requirements imposed on heat-storage materials was determined. It was found that magnesium sulphate heptahydrate is such a material.

From the textile manufacturers’ point of view, coarse and medullated fibers are undesirable in the production of fine woolen materials, but highly desirable in the production of textiles and yarns with special effects, especially in carpet production. For sustainability, the entire sheep fleece should be used, including the coarse and medullated fibers. The raw wool must be scoured to obtain clean wool fibers without damage or excessive fiber entanglement, with a certain moisture content, low dirt content and residual grease for further processing, and proper color. In order to remove the impurities in raw wool with maximum efficiency, save energy and minimize the environmental impact, this study investigated the changes in some fiber properties during the scouring process due to the effect of the enzyme complex on coarse wool fibers. The effects were studied through the amount of clean wool fibers and impurities within the fleece, the fiber diameter and color. Conventional and enzyme... [more]

The need arises to seek new depuration technological responses aimed at the reuse of wastewater, which requires the development and promotion of economically and environmentally sustainable technologies. In this paper, it studies an improvement to a disinfection system sustainable, low-cost, patented in 2019, and based on solar energy. The water passes through a canal of reflective material in the continuous regime, and in the batch regime, the water remains in the canal. The panels are located parallel to the lateral faces of the canal. The fraction of the radiation reflected outside the canal reaches the reflective side panels that return the radiation to the canal. These panels concentrate the radiation in the canal through reflection. The disinfectant canal with fins and side panels uses ultraviolet radiation to eliminate the bacterial load carried by treated wastewater. For this reason, the present work analyzes the incidence in the area of influence of the disinfectant canal. Whe... [more]

This article was conducted within the framework of project reg. no. CZ.11.4.120/0.0/0.0/16_013/0002594, programme, Interreg V-A Czech Republic-Poland, Microprojects Fund 2014−2020 in the Euroregion Silesia. It is focused in the area of modelling technological processes and the presentation of the main principles of these models. The modelling of technological processes is important in terms of its applicability to process prediction in industry. A complex of analytical and predictive metallurgical models was developed within VSB-TUO. The original mathematical model of coke degradation in a blast furnace makes it possible to calculate the minimum consumption of coke from the dynamic balance for different values of the ratio of direct and indirect reduction. As part of the graphic output, it determines the practically and theoretically achievable minimum coke consumption points. The use of the model enables the determination of a real reserve in reducing the amount of coke.

During the sugar production process, undesirable compounds such as dextrans are produced and contaminate the flow of the sugar mill, reaching levels in the fluid of more than 10,000 ppm. Dextranase is an enzyme that has different industrial applications, since it catalyzes the hydrolysis of the bonds in random sites of the dextran. Therefore, the enzyme was immobilized using synthesized ferrite magnetic nanoparticles to degrade dextran in the fermented mash, because it is suitable to reuse and has a large surface area to bind dextranase on a solid carrier for easy magnetic separation. The synthesized bare and modified nanoparticles were characterized using SEM, EDS, FTIR, and XRD and confirmed the core−shell silica by increasing the silica composition from 0.2% of bare Fe3O4 NPs to 31.3% of modified Fe3O4 NPs. Ultrasonic treatment reduced the calculated crystal size with Scherer’s equation from 91.3 to 13.5 nm, providing more particles for immobilization. The solvothermal process synth... [more]

With the spread of the Industry 4.0 concept, implementing Artificial Intelligence approaches on the shop floor that allow companies to increase their competitiveness in the market is starting to be prioritized. Due to the complexity of the processes used in the industry, the inclusion of a real-time Quality Prediction methodology avoids a considerable number of costs to companies. This paper exposes the whole process of introducing Artificial Intelligence in plastic injection molding processes in a company in Portugal. All the implementations and methodologies used are presented, from data collection to real-time classification, such as Data Augmentation and Human-in-the-Loop labeling, among others. This approach also allows predicting and alerting with regard to process quality loss. This leads to a reduction in the production of non-compliant parts, which increases productivity and reduces costs and environmental footprint. In order to understand the applicability of this system, it... [more]

The magnesium nanosized ferrite powder with formula MgFe2O4 was synthesized via a pyrochemical sol−gel glycine−nitrate method and annealed consistently at temperatures of up to 1300 °C. The MgFe2O4 ferrite samples’ microstructure was studied by SEM and XRD methods. According to the results of the studies, the increase in MgFe2O4 nanoparticles size from about 15 nm to micron-sized particles was observed when increasing annealing temperatures. The DC electrical conductivity of MgFe2O4 also clearly shows the change in conduction behavior of samples with increased calcination temperatures. The electromagnetic microwave properties of micron-sized particles of MgFe2O4 ferrite powder for a 1200 °C annealing temperature were studied for composites in paraffin matrix with produced magnetic filler mass concentration at 40% and 50%. The filament composites of polymer polylactic acid with MgFe2O4 ferrite powder samples were prepared by the FDM 3D-printing process and their microwave-absorbing prop... [more]

In this study, the effects of heat-treatment temperature and hot-end coating (HEC) by spray coating on the mechanical properties and reliability of lightweight glass bottles were investigated. When the chemical strengthening occurred at Tg, the hardness and impact strength increased by 163% and 198%, respectively. All specimens exhibited improved mechanical properties with chemical strengthening, regardless of the HEC. The strengthening effect was relatively large in the absence of HEC. However, the distribution of the impact strength was smaller when HEC was applied. Compared to non-HEC bottles, HEC glass bottles had higher Weibull modulus values after chemical strengthening, which increased their reliability. Therefore, it is possible to chemically strengthen a lightweight glass bottle by spray-coating. Chemically strengthened lightweight glass bottles with excellent mechanical properties and high reliability can be produced when both HEC and chemical strengthening are applied.

To improve the operating performance of the large-capacity battery pack of electric vehicles during continuous charging and discharging and to avoid its thermal runaway, in this paper we propose a new hybrid thermal management system that couples the PCM with the liquid cooling plate with microchannels. The flow direction of the microchannel structure in the bottom plate is designed according to the characteristics of the large axial thermal conductivity of the battery, and the cooling performance of the whole system under continuous charge/discharge cycles is numerically simulated. The results show that the hybrid PCM/liquid cooling plate can maintain good cooling performance under the discharge process of a large-capacity battery pack. After each cycle the temperature of the battery pack can be reduced to less than 30°, and the maximum temperature change rate of multiple cycles is controlled within 0.8%. With the application of the hybrid PCM/liquid-cooled plate battery cooling syste... [more]

Bonechar presents high sorption capacity for mobile herbicides retained in soil and water. However, its use in a granulated and/or powder form makes it difficult to remove water. The objective of this study was to produce a cellulose acetate film with bonechar as a viable alternative to remove metribuzin from water. The treatments were composed of 2 and 3 g of bonechar fixed on a cellulose acetate film, pure bonechar, and a control (no bonechar). The sorption and desorption study was carried out in the equilibrium batch mode with five concentrations of metribuzin (0.25, 0.33, 0.5, 1, and 2 mg L−1). The water used in the experiment was potable water. Herbicide analysis was performed by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The addition of 2 and 3 g of the bonechar fixed on the acetate film sorbed 40% and 60%, respectively, of the metribuzin at the lowest concentrations (0.25, 0.33, and 0.5 mg L−1). For both additions, desorption was low, being 7% and 2.5% at 24 and 120 h, respe... [more]

Blending is a classical and well-known optimization problem that has been applied in the food, steel, and composite material industries. However, tea blending is more complicated than general problems due to the variety of products, processes, and sources of raw materials and semi-products. So, in this research, a fuzzy multi-objective model for the tea blending problem was proposed to minimize the total production cost and the deviation of quality target score; it provides a more robust and flexible method than existing models for complex real-world problems. Existing research works of a blending problem consider only raw material cost, but semi-product cost and processing cost are included in the proposed model that matches the actual case. Losses that occur during production are also incorporated. The selection of appropriate raw materials and semi-product sources can be obtained with the preferred levels of cost and quality by the proposed algorithm. The interactive fuzzy multi-obj... [more]

Biodiesel is regarded as a significant alternative fuel to petrodiesel due to its excellent combustion features and renewable character. The water content in the reactant mixtures needs to be considered so as to retard the conversion rate and it is suggested to be kept as low as possible. The fluid characteristics of biodiesel might be affected by initial water content; however, the optimum ratio of water content added to raw oil for achieving superior fluid characteristics of biodiesel has not yet been studied. Hence, this study empirically investigated the influences of the initial water content added to raw feedstock oil on the fluid characteristics of biodiesel. The experimental results show that an adequate amount of water content in the reactant mixture was found effective for improving the transesterification reaction and, in turn, the fluid characteristics. The biodiesel made from raw oil with 0.05 wt. % water content added was observed to bear the lowest water content, acid va... [more]

The control of ice growth inside channels of aqueous solution flows is important in numerous fields, including (a) cold-energy transportation plants and (b) the preservation of supercooled human organs for transplantation. A promising method for this control is to add a substance that influences ice growth in the flows. However, limited results have been reported on the effects of such additives. Using a microscope, we measured the growth of ice from one sidewall toward the opposite sidewall of a mini-channel, where aqueous solutions of sodium chloride and antifreeze protein flowed. Our aim was to considerably suppress ice growth by mixing the two solutes. Inclined interfaces, the overlapping of serrated interfaces, and interfaces with sharp and flat tips were observed in the cases of the protein-solution, salt-solution, and mixed-solution flows, respectively. In addition, it was found that the average interface velocity in the case of the mixed-solution flow was the lowest and decreas... [more]

A flat plate solar collector (FPSC) was analytically studied, with functionalized graphene nanoplatelets (f-GNPs) as its working fluid. Four samples (wt % nanofluids) were prepared in different base fluids such as ethylene glycol (EG), distilled water (DW):EG (70:30), and DW:EG (50:50). Experimental results (via DW) were used to verify the effectiveness of the analytical model. Some of the operating conditions were taken into account in this research, including temperatures, power, and mass flow rates. Experimental techniques were used to elucidate the modified nanofluids’ physicochemical properties, such as its particle sizes, stability, and morphology, involving electron microscopes (EMs), UV−VIS, and X-ray techniques. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were applied to test the thermal analysis. The findings confirmed that the use of f-GNPs nanofluids enhanced the performance of the FPSC relative to the use of base fluids for all testing cond... [more]

This paper presents the results of investigations concerning the simultaneous removal of Al(III), Cu(II), and Zn(II) from dilute aqueous solutions using ion and precipitate flotation methods. The effects of initial solution pH, surface active substance concentration, and the gas velocity on the flotations’ efficiency and course are studied. Experimental results are discussed in terms of physicochemical aspects related to aqueous solutions of metal salts. The results indicate that satisfying simultaneous flotations of aluminum, copper and zinc species are observed if the pH value ranges between 7.0 and 9.0. It was found that an increase in collector concentration results in a decrease in the flotation rate constants. An increase in the gas velocity results in an increase in the ion and precipitate flotation rates.

The permeability of more than 70% of coal seams in China is less than 1 mD, creating difficulties in recovering underground coal methane. Therefore, a new technology of high-temperature nitrogen (HTN2) injection into the coal seam was proposed to improve the coal permeability and gas extraction rate. In this paper, the effects of the N2 temperature, injection pressure and cycle number on the permeability of naturally fractured coking coal has been investigated. When HTN2 was injected into coal samples, the results indicated that the permeability decreased over time in the beginning, suddenly increased to a large value, and was subsequently maintained in a relatively stable range. The maximum permeability ratio increased with the rise of the N2 temperature and injection pressure. An analysis indicated that the increase of coal permeability was the result of the increase of the global coal strain caused by thermal expansion and the adsorption-induced expansion. The maximum permeability r... [more]

Catechin exhibits numerous physiological characteristics. In this study, we determined the photosensitivity of catechin to various lights under alkaline conditions, and the mechanisms by which catechin generates free radical species and polymerizes via a photoreaction. In addition to this, the application of catechin photolysis was investigated. A solution of catechin is transparent, but turns yellowish under blue light illumination (BLI) in neutral or weak alkaline solutions. When catechin is subjected to BLI, a dimeric catechin (proanthocyanidin) and a superoxide anion radical (O2•−) are generated in a photolytic reaction. When ascorbic acid or gallic acid is added to catechin and the mixture is subjected to BLI at alkaline pH, fewer catechin dimers and less O2•− are produced, because both acids inhibit the photosensitive oxidation of catechin. When AlCl3 is added to catechin and the mixture is subjected to BLI at pH 8, a photolytic reaction is suppressed by AlCl3, and AlCl3 acts as... [more]

Pterostilbene, a dimethylether analog of resveratrol, has been found to have potent biological activity. However, the bioavailability of pterostilbene in the biological system is limited due to its poor solubility in an aqueous environment. A nanoemulsion system was designed for this purpose. Lecithin-based nanoemulsion was formed after 3 cycles through a high-pressure homogenizer at 500 psi. The rheological properties and particle size were measured using dynamic light scattering and a viscometer. The storage stabilities of the prepared formulation were determined based on its ability to maintain its particle size and loading concentration. According to the experimental results, the lecithin-based nanoemulsion system contained approximately 9.5% of pterostilbene. Over the 28-day stability test, the particle size, zeta potential, and encapsulation of pterostilbene in the nanoemulsion did not change significantly, indicating good storage stability. The positive effect of the prepared na... [more]