In this work, an integrated multiscale simulation of magnetron sputtering epitaxy was conducted to study the effect of sputtering pressure on the surface micro-topography of sputtered Cu/Si films. Simulation results indicated that, as the sputtering pressure increased from 0.15 to 2 Pa, the peak energy of the incident energy distribution gradually decreased from 2 to 0.2 eV, which might be mainly due to the gradual decrease in the proportion of deposited Cu atoms whose energy ranged from 2 to 30 eV; the peak angle of the incident polar angle distribution increased from 25° to 35°, which might be attributed to the gradual thermalization of deposited Cu atoms; the growth mode of Cu film transformed from the two-dimensional layered mode to the Volmer-Weber mode. The transformation mechanism of growth mode was analyzed in detail. A comprehensive analysis of the simulation results indicated that incident energy ranging from 2 to 30 eV and incident angle between 10° and 35° might be conduciv... [more]

Brewer’s spent grain (BSG) as the major byproduct in the brewing industry is a promising feedstock to produce value-added products such as volatile fatty acids (VFAs). Synergistic ball mill−enzymatic hydrolysis (BM-EH) process is an environmentally friendly pretreatment method for lignocellulosic materials before bioprocessing. This study investigated the potential of raw and BM-EH pretreated BSG feedstocks to produce VFAs through a direct thermophilic anaerobic fermentation process without introducing a methanogen inhibitor. The highest VFA concentration of over 30 g/L was achieved under the high-solid loading fermentation (HS) of raw BSG. The synergistic BM-EH pretreatment helps to increase the cellulose conversion to 70%. Under conventional low TS fermentation conditions, compared to the controlled sample, prolonged pretreatment of the BSG substrate resulted in increased VFA yields from 0.25 to 0.33 g/gVS, and butyric acid became dominant instead of acetic acid.

The occurrence of hump instability in pump mode within a pump turbine poses a significant challenge to the safe and stable operation of Pumped Storage Power Plants (PSPP). To achieve more precise numerical simulations, this paper establishes a weakly compressible model of water based on the Tait equation. Using this model, it is discovered that the onset of hump instability is closely linked to an increase in hydraulic losses induced by stalled rotation within the diffuser. Then, a flow control approach employing water injection into the guide vanes of a pump turbine is proposed in order to suppress flow instabilities and optimize the hump region. The findings reveal that the water injection approach can mitigate hydraulic losses, suppress unstable structures, and diminish the pulsation amplitude within the diffuser, ultimately delaying the emergence of the hump region to lower flow mass conditions. This study is helpful in widening the range of the safe and stable operation of pump tu... [more]

Hydraulic fracturing was the main technology to achieve the economic development of conglomerate reservoirs, knowing that the hydraulic fracture propagation mode was of great significance for improving the development of conglomerate reservoirs. This paper proposed a new method to understand the hydraulic fracture behavior based on a hybrid finite-discrete element method. The simulation indicated that a complex fracture network was created near the wellbore in the studied conglomerate reservoir, and hydraulic fracture propagation around the gravel layer was the main failure mode when the hydraulic fracture reached the gravel layer. From the simulations, it was shown that under small differences in horizontal stress and tensile strength, the hydraulic fracture propagated more easily around the gravel layer, while it could cross the gravel under large differences in horizontal stress and tensile strength. Greater tensile strength differences can reduce the complexity of the fracture netw... [more]

has several medicinal uses, especially its leaves. Over 4000 years ago, Ayurvedic medicine used it for its therapeutic benefits. This study examined the biological activity of Neem crude extracts and green-chemically produced Ag-NPs. TPCs and TFCs were measured for polyphenolic burden in consecutive extracts. DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP experiments measured antioxidant and antimicrobial activity against seven strains of food-borne pathogenic bacteria and eight mycotoxigenic fungi. At 1000 μg/mL, ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Neem leaves had 80.10% and 69.41% in DPPH and 71.42% and 74.61% in ABTS assays for the antioxidant activity, compared to 93.58% for BHT. At 800 μg/mL, both extracts showed antioxidant activity with 57.52 and 57.87 μM in the FRAP assay, compared to 139.97 μM for Ascorbic acid. Both extracts demonstrated antimicrobial activity with 0.02 to 0.35 mg/mL as antibacterials, 0.03 to 2.17 mg/mL as antifungals, and 0.04 to 0.42 mg/mL as antibacterials. Compared to Neem crude ex... [more]

Global situations such as economic recovery after a pandemic, geopolitical instability, and future digital and energy transition are some of the drivers for the European Union (EU) to explore new and existing sources of raw materials. The Iberian Pyrite Belt in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) hosts a great number of tailing deposits from centuries of mining operations. A unique tailings deposit has been studied and characterized. The similarities with other tailing deposits deeply studied suggested the presence of critical raw materials. Furthermore, a very gross reserves estimation was made. The characterization and reserves estimations were compared with the bibliography from mining companies who operated in the area decades ago and from the bibliography available at Fundación Riotinto. The presence of critical raw materials was confirmed, some of them in high concentrations. Moreover, a singular difference was found compared with other similar tailings st... [more]

Organic-rich mud rocks are being developed on a large scale worldwide, including in the Middle East. The Jurassic Tuwaiq Mountain Formation (TMF) in the Jafurah Basin is a potential world-class unconventional play. Based on a petrophysical evaluation of the Jafurah basin, the TMF exhibits exceptional and unconventional gas characteristics, such as a high total organic content (TOC) and low clay content. Additionally, the TMF is in the appropriate maturity window, indicating that it has reached the required level of thermal maturity to generate hydrocarbons. Plans for the development of the Jafurah unconventional field use multistage hydraulic fracturing technology. The elastic properties of the shale formation, particularly its Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio, dictate how the rock responds to stress and deformation. These properties strongly impact the growth of hydraulic fractures in shale formations. Without a comprehensive understanding of the elastic properties, predicting the... [more]

A soil depleted of its organic carbon content is typically destabilized, i.e., its capacity to maintain its microstructure intact under various stress conditions weakens, and consequently, landslides and mudflows can be triggered and propagated more easily. In a previous work, we showed with a rheological analysis that the removal of the sole water-soluble organic carbon “destabilized” the slurry very similarly to what occurs with the removal of the vast majority of soil organic carbon. In principle, the water-soluble organic carbon can be dissolved by rainfall, during which water can infiltrate the soil, eventually leaving it either by percolation or evaporation. These two processes are mimicked here with two different soil water wetting procedures. The stability of the treated (wetted) soils is studied with rheological and granulometric experiments. The former run on concentrated suspensions, while the latter run on very diluted ones. Despite this, the results agreed very well, indic... [more]

In this work, the enzymatic synthesis of pentyl acetate obtained from acetic acid and pentan-1-ol using the commercial immobilized lipase Lipozyme®435 was studied. Specifically, the effects of several variables of the process on the kinetics were shown, such as the initial concentration of the acetic acid, the alcohol/acid molar ratio, and the possible reuse of the enzyme, while other variables, such as temperature, agitation, and the enzyme/acid ratio were held constant. The kinetics were determined by assessing the acetic acid concentration throughout the reactive process. Experimental data were correlated with the rate equation consisting of a modified version of the Bi−Bi Ping-Pong mechanism. The results showed that when no hydrophobic solvents were used with the reagents in stoichiometric proportion, a high molar fraction of acetic acid (x0,acid ≈ 0.50) caused the loss of enzymatic activity, achieving a conversion of only 5%. However, when there was an excess of pentan-1-ol, the r... [more]

The conversion of renewable energy into hydrogen (H2) by power-to-gas technologies involving electrolysis is seen today as a key element in the transition to a sustainable energy sector. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) could be integrated into future green H2 networks as users of oxygen (O2) produced alongside H2 in water electrolysis. In WWTPs, O2 is required for biological treatment steps, e.g., in activated sludge (AS) systems. However, the production costs of electrolysis O2 should be competitive with those of conventional O2 production processes. In this study, mathematical models of a polymer electrolyte membrane electrolyser (PEME) plant and the WWTP of the Benchmark Simulation Model No. 2 (BSM2) were used to simulate electrolysis O2 supply to an AS system and estimate net costs of production (NCP) for produced O2 via a techno-economic assessment (TEA). Assuming that produced H2 is sold to a nearby industry, NCPs for O2 were calculated for two different PEME plant dimensions,... [more]

The initial excitation of interface crack of large-size ultra-thin chips is one of the most complicated technical challenges. To address this issue, the reversible fracture characteristics of a silicon-based chip (chip size: 1.025 mm × 0.4 mm × 0.15 mm) adhesive layer interface was examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM) tests, and the characteristics of a cohesive zone model (CZM) unit were obtained through peel testing. The fitting curve of the elastic bilinear model was in high agreement with the experimental data, with a correlation coefficient of 0.98. The maximum energy release rate required for stripping was GC = 10.3567 N/m. Subsequently, a cohesive mechanical model of large-size ultra-thin chip peeling was established, and the mechanical characteristics of crack initial excitation were analyzed. The findings revealed that the larger deflection peeling angle in the peeling process resulted in a smaller peeling force and energy release rate (ERR), which made the initial c... [more]

Magnetic CuFe2O4 powder obtained by sol−gel method and coupled photocatalysis was used to activate peroxydisulfate for tetracycline (TC) removal. A scanning electron microscope, X−ray diffraction Raman spectroscopy and FT−TR were used to characterize the catalysts. The degradation efficiency and stability of TC were highest under neutral conditions. The TC degradation rate reached 91.1% within 90 min. The removal rate of total organic carbon reaches 39.6% under optimal conditions. The unique electron transfer property of CuFe2O4 was utilized to achieve the synergistic effect of photocatalysis and persulfate oxidation. The main oxidizing substances involved in the decomposition were sulfate radicals and hydroxyl radicals, and the removal rate of over 84% could be maintained after five cycles of experiments.

The control of a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) without a position sensor based on a sliding-mode observer (SMO) algorithm has a serious jitter problem in the process of motor phase tracking. A second-order adaptive sliding-mode observer algorithm was proposed, and the ideas and principles of the second-order sliding-mode observer algorithm based on the super-twisting algorithm were elaborated. In particular, adaptive estimation with the introduction of back-electromotive force (EMF) was investigated, and the Lyapunov stability criterion was used to determine the convergence properties of the algorithm. The results showed that the second-order adaptive sliding-mode observer algorithm had better jitter suppression and a better phase tracking performance than the traditional sliding-mode observer algorithm. The experimental results showed that when the motor velocity was 800 r/min, the velocity error of the second-order adaptive sliding-mode observer algorithm was 0.57 r/min a... [more]

The simulated moving bed (SMB) is a well-established, fully continuous process for chromatographic separation of difficult tasks with overlapping peaks, but it is relatively complex. The 1-SMB, which uses only one column but includes residence time zones to preserve concentration profiles, is a simpler semi-continuous alternative. This work examines the possible design of these residence time zones. Simulation studies were conducted to investigate the dependence of process metrics, such as purity, yield, productivity, and eluent consumption, on fluid dynamics. No deterioration in purity was observed, and the other variables remained constant over a wide range of axial dispersion before decreasing sharply. Pilot-scale experiments were conducted with various devices, including coiled flow inverters, eluate recycling devices, packed columns, and tank arrangements, to validate possible apparatus implementations with fluid dynamic measurements. It was demonstrated that the 1-SMB offers simi... [more]

In the era of digitalization, the process industry is one of the sectors most affected by the need for change. The adoption of IoT-based intelligent monitoring systems for the collection of real-time measurements of energy and other essential operational variables, on one hand, makes it possible to accumulate big data useful for the company management to monitor the stability of the production process over time, and on the other hand, helps to develop predictive models that enable more efficient work and production. The OTTORTO project stems from the need of the FARRIS company to adapt its production line to agriculture 4.0 policies, responding to the higher goals of digitization and technological transition imposed at the national and EU level. The objectives of the current study are (i) to present an “ad hoc” customized intelligent and multi-parameter monitoring system to derive real-time temperature and humidity measurements inside the company’s industrial drying kilns; and (ii) to... [more]

Buildings consume large amounts of energy resources and emit considerable amounts of greenhouse gases, especially existing buildings that do not meet energy standards. Building retrofitting is considered one of the most promising and significant solutions to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. However, finding suitable energy efficiency measures for existing buildings is extremely difficult due to the existence of thousands of retrofit measures and the need to meet various objectives. In this paper, a multi-stage decision framework, including a multi-objective optimization model, and a ranking method are proposed to help decision-makers select the optimal energy efficiency measures. The multi-objective optimization model considers the economic and environmental objectives, expressed as the retrofit cost and energy consumption, respectively. The entropy weight ideal point ranking method, an evaluation and ranking method that combines the entropy weight method and ide... [more]

Thermal energy recovery systems have different candidates to mitigate CO2 emissions as recommended by the UN in its list of SDGs. One of these promising systems is thermal absorption transformers, which generally use lithium-water bromide as the working fluid. A Double Stage Heat Transformer (DSHT) is a thermal machine that allows the recovery of thermal energy at a higher temperature than it is supplied through the effect of steam absorption in a concentrated solution of lithium bromide. There are very precise thermodynamic models which allow us to calculate all the possible operating conditions of the DSHT. To perform the control of these systems, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is proposed with two computational techniques—Fuzzy Logic (FL) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN)—to calculate in real-time the set of variables that maximize the product’s Gross Temperature Lift (GTL) and Coefficient of Performance (COP) in a DSHT. The values for Coefficient of Determination (R2), M... [more]

Understanding the evolution of pore-fracture networks in coal during loading is of paramount importance for coalbed methane exploration. To shed light on these dynamic changes, this study undertook uniaxial compression experiments on coal samples collected from the eastern edge of the Ordos Basin, complemented by μ-CT scanning to obtain a 3D visualization of the crack network model. The compression process was divided into three stages, namely, micro-crack compaction, linear elasticity, and peak failure. An increase in stress resulted in greater concentration and unevenness in fractal dimensions, illustrating the propagation of initial cleats and micro-cracks in the dominant crack direction and the ensuing process of crack merging. These results provide valuable insights into the internal structure and behavior of coal under stress, informing more efficient strategies for coalbed methane extraction.

With the continuous optimization of the steel production process and the increasing emergence of smelting methods, it has become difficult to monitor and control the production process using the traditional steel management model. The regulation of steel smelting processes by means of machine learning has become a hot research topic in recent years. In this study, through the data mining and correlation analysis of the main equipment and processes involved in steel transfer, a network algorithm was optimized to solve the problems of standard back propagation (BP) networks, and a steel temperature forecasting model based on improved back propagation (BP) neural networks was established for basic oxygen furnace (BOF) steelmaking, ladle furnace (LF) refining, and Ruhrstahl−Heraeus (RH) refining. The main factors influencing steel temperature were selected through theoretical analysis and heat balance principles; the production data were analyzed; and the neural network was trained and tes... [more]

The Ladle Shroud has become an important part of secondary steelmaking, with its role in reducing liquid steel contamination and process improvements. Due to the inherent negative pressure at the lower nozzle−Ladle Shroud joint, it is well known that Ladle Shrouds, protecting steel flows between a Ladle and a tundish below, can suffer from inadvertent ingress of air. Therefore, there is a need to apply inert gas injection at the joint. In the present paper, 3D transient multi-phase simulations of flows occurring for a Reverse Tapered Ladle Shroud during start-up were studied using CFD software ANSYS Fluent 19.1. This allowed us to study the initial multi-phase flow developed during the start-up and potential steel reoxidation, based on a first principles approach. Time-dependent phase fields as well as attendant velocity and turbulence fields were obtained, resulting in the prediction of a turbulent multi-phase flow during start-up and filling. Additionally, some transient phenomena li... [more]

The effects of ash and slag from a biomass power plant on the compressive strength, setting time and fluidity of the pastes of Portland cement (P.O) and sulfoaluminate cement (SAC) were studied, and the hydration products and microstructure at the age of 7 days were analyzed via XRD, SEM and other test methods. The results show that the compressive strength of the composite cementitious material decreases, the setting time prolongs and the fluidity increases with the increase in the ash and slag content in the power plant. The microscopic analysis shows that the ash and slag of the biomass power plant can promote the hydration of Portland cement and sulfoaluminate cement paste, and increase the generation of hydration products. The results showed that replacing SAC clinker with 20−30% biomass power plant ash (BPPA) decreased the cement strength, and that an appropriate amount of BPPA (10−15%) could significantly improve the mechanical strength of SAC blended cement. The compressive str... [more]

The production of titanium dioxide via the sulfuric acid process generates large amounts of acidic wastewater. Investigating the possibility of reusing this wastewater after deep treatment can reduce pollutant discharge and conserve water resources. In a pilot study, a dual-membrane method of ultrafiltration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO) was employed to perform deep treatments of sulfuric-acid−titanium-dioxide wastewater. The findings showed that the multimedia and precision filters reduced the turbidity of water from an external drainage to as low as 0.18 NTU, with a turbidity removal rate of approximately 50%, reaching a maximum of 68%. When the UF effluent had a membrane flux of 70−100 L/m2 h and a water production rate of 85−90%, the SDI15 was <5.0 and the turbidity was 95%, a CODCr removal rate of 85%, and a desalination rate of >98.5%. At a smooth operation system water recovery rate of 50%, the highest system recovery rate obtained was 64%. The water produced via RO adhered t... [more]

Natural gas hydrate (NGH) is a kind of clean energy with great potential because of its huge reserves. There are several effective methods for exploiting hydrate sediments such as depressurization, thermal excitation, inhibitor injection and displacement, etc. Among these methods, the combined depressurization and heat injection method is considered a very promising method, which solves the problem of insufficient heat supply during the depressurization process. In this paper, the mechanism of combined depressurization and heat injection exploitation of NGH is analyzed, and the multiphase flow models of the injection well and production well are established, respectively, for the parallel horizontal NGH well production system with this combined method. The multiphase flow laws of fluids in a wellbore were obtained, and the factors affecting the temperature and pressure distributions in the wellbore were analyzed. The results of this study show that gas and water are produced simultaneo... [more]

The landfill barriers effectively prevented the migration of high-concentration pollutants, such as NH4+ and Na+, from the landfills to the surrounding environment. However, due to the high hydraulic head inside the landfill compared to the surrounding environment, NH4+ and Na+ can migrate towards the outside of the landfill barrier with the infiltrating solution, potentially causing harm to the surrounding environment. To address this, saturated mixed soil column samples made of bentonite and Shanghai clay, with bentonite contents of 3% and 10%, were used in this study. Permeability coefficients of the column samples in solutions are obtained by using permeation tests, and using NaCl and NH4Cl solutions with concentrations of 37.4 mmol/L and 74.8 mmol/L, respectively. The concentration-depth result of the column samples after permeation tests was determined using Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and Ion Chromatography (ICS-1100). Numerical simulations... [more]

As societal interest in recycling of plastics increases, modeling thermochemical recycling of vinyl polymers, e.g., via pyrolysis or reactive extrusion, becomes increasingly important. A key aspect remains the reliability of the simulation results with fewer evaluation studies regarding convergence as in the polymerization or polymer reaction engineering field. Using the coupled matrix-based Monte Carlo (CMMC) framework, tracking the unzipping of individual chains according to a general intrinsic reaction scheme consisting of fission, β-scission, and termination, it is however illustrated that similar convergence demands as in polymerization benchmark studies can be employed, i.e., threshold values for the average relative error predictions on conversion and chain length averages can be maintained. For this illustration, three theoretical feedstocks are considered as generated from CMMC polymer synthesis simulations, allowing to study the effect of the initial chain length range and th... [more]