The heritage of ancient buildings is an important part of the world’s history and culture, which has extremely rich historical−cultural value and artistic research value. Beijing has a large number of ancient palace buildings, and because of the age of their construction, many of them have problems with varying degrees of peeling and molding on the inner surfaces of the envelope. To solve the problems of damp interiors of palace buildings, a mathematical model of indoor heat and moisture transfer was established based on an ancient wooden palace building in Beijing. The model was validated by fitting the measured and simulated data. And the effects of outdoor relative humidity, soil moisture, wall moisture, and other factors on indoor heat and moisture transfer of ancient buildings were simulated and analyzed via the control variables method. The results showed that the measured and simulated data are within the error range, which verifies the accuracy of the model. And the simulation... [more]

The Anaerobic Digestion Model 1 is the quasi-industry standard for modelling anaerobic digestion, and it has seen several new implementations in recent years. It is assumed that these implementations would give the same results; however, a thorough comparison of these implementations has never been reported. This paper considers four different implementations of ADM1: one in Julia, one in Java, and two in Python. The Julia code is a de novo implementation of the ODE formulation of ADM1 that is reported here for the first time. The existing Java and Python codes implement the more common DAE formulation. Therefore, this paper also examines how DAE implementations compare to ODE implementations in terms of computational speed as well as solutions returned. As expected, the ODE and DAE forms both return comparable solutions. However, contrary to popular belief, the Julia ODE implementation is faster than the DAE implementations, namely by one to three orders of magnitude of compute time,... [more]

A large number of CO2 emissions caused a serious greenhouse effect, aggravating global warming and climate change. Therefore, CO2 utilization has been a research hotspot, especially after the Paris Agreement, and among the various CO2 utilization technologies, the power-to-gas (PTG) and power-to-liquid (PTL) processes have recently attracted significant attention because they can transform CO2 into fuels and/or chemicals. Considering the lack of detailed information in the literature with regard to process design and economic analysis, we have critically and comprehensively summarized the recent research progresses concerning the PTG and PTL processes. Herein, we mainly focus on the power-to-methane in the case of PTG and the power-to-syncrude, power-to-methanol, and power-to-ethers in the case of PTL. From the technical point of view, the bottleneck problem of PTG and PTL processes is the low system efficiency, which can be improved by heat integration and/or process integration. Mean... [more]

Valves are important components in controlling the amount of fluid going to devices. One of these types is the butterfly valve (BFV) that adjusts the amount of flow by rotating the valve disk by means of its shafts which is usually located in the middle of the flow. Despite its common usage in various applications, the BFV is known to cause a high-pressure drop. Conversely, the pinch valve is another type of flow control device that uses a pinching mechanism to open and close the inner tube by pinching at different degrees. The absence of flow-controlling mechanisms in the flow path, such as the valve disk and its shaft, contribute to the minimal pressure drop in pinch valves. The high-pressure drop in BFVs and the minimal pressure drop in pinch valve flow make it worthwhile to investigate and compare their flow at all opening positions of the two valves. Therefore, this work numerically explores the potential of using the pinch valve as an alternative to the BFV in terms of its abilit... [more]

China has focused on the exploration and development of shale gas resources to reduce its reliance on coal and shift to cleaner energy sources. While significant progress has been made in the Sichuan Basin, unlocking the shale gas potential in other regions of South China has proven challenging due to the complex geology and mountainous terrain. In 2021, Well QSD-1 was deployed in southwestern Guizhou and achieved a daily shale gas flow of 11,011 m3 in the Dawuba Formation, marking the first time an industrial gas flow had been obtained from shale gas drilling in the marine strata of the Upper Paleozoic in China. This breakthrough has deepened the understanding of the southern China Carboniferous marine strata and highlighted key aspects of the formation: (1) Sedimentation occurred in alternating platforms and basins, with most organic-rich shale developed in sloping and basin areas; (2) the formation exhibits favorable static indicators, with a relatively thick section (over 200 m), a... [more]

Current performance analysis processes for drag-dominant tidal turbines are unsuitable as disk actuator theory lacks support for varying swept blockage area, bypass flow downstream interaction, and parasitic rotor drag, whereas blade element momentum theory is computably effective for three-blade lift-dominated aerofoil. This study proposes a novel technique to calculate the optimal turbine tip speed ratio (TSR) with a cost-effective and user-friendly moment balancing algorithm. A reliable dynamic TSR matrix was developed with varying rotational speeds and fluid velocities, unlike previous works simulated at a fixed fluid velocity. Thrust and idle moments are introduced as functions of inlet fluid velocity and rotational speed, respectively. The quadratic relationships are verified through regression analysis, and net moment equations are established. Rotational speed was a reliable predictor for Pinwheel’s idle moment, while inlet velocity was a reliable predictor for thrust moment fo... [more]

Ship-to-shore connection is an important technological element that reduces air pollution in ports. Therefore, ports install facilities that allow mooring ships to connect to the port distribution network. By 2025, this will be mandatory for all ports in Europe. This can be a challenging task in most ports due to the different frequency of the network and ship frequency. This problem can be solved by the use of grid-forming static frequency converters. This solution also brings some other advantages: The ship is not threatened by high shore short-circuit currents, and the port distribution network is not affected by the character of the ship load. However, frequency converter software must include a droop control algorithm to ensure that voltage deviations do not exceed the allowed limits during transients. Typical frequency converters used for shore connection are those developed as static frequency converters (SFCs). However, those converters were not developed for large power output... [more]

A series of mesoporous NiO catalysts with high specific surface area were prepared by a simple hydrothermal method and modified by cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as the crystal structure directing regent. The characterization with SEM, XRD, BET, and H2-TPR results demonstrated that the introduction of CTAB effectively improved the dispersion, specific surface area, and pore volume and redox ability of NiO, and thus exposed more active sites. Meanwhile, the NiO catalyst with a CTAB/NiSO4·6H2O molar ratio of 2/3 exhibited the better catalytic ozonation performance of toluene, formaldehyde, methanol, and ethyl acetate than NiO. The in-situ DRIFTS elucidated the reaction path of catalytic ozonation of toluene and indicated that the introduction of CTAB facilitated the complete oxidation of by-products into CO2 and H2O.

Mixotrophic microalgal cultivation can utilize CO2 and organic carbon sources. This study optimized the cultivation nitrogen source (peptone, urea, yeast extract, NH4Cl, (NH4)2SO4, NH4NO3, NaNO3 and KNO3), carbon combination (glucose, glycerol, sucrose), (NH4)2SO4 nitrogen source and pH (6−11) in a local microalgae species with three characteristics (high pH-resistant, high growth rate and high lipid content). Chlorella sp. G3H3-1-2 biomass production and lipid accumulation were estimated using the fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) concentration. The Chlorella sp. G3H3-1-2 FAME content was strongly influenced by the carbon, nitrogen sources and pH variations. The pH ranged from 6.0 to 8.0, which produced the highest specific growth rate of 1.22 day−1 for Chlorella sp. G3H3-1-2 while using glucose as the single carbon source. However, the highest total FAMEs content of 59% in the Chlorella sp. G3H3-1-2 biomass of 1.75 g/L was obtained while using the combination of 1 g-glucose/L as the c... [more]

The natural hydrophilic property of leather makes it a possible growing substrate for microorganisms. Microorganisms such as bacteria, yeasts, and molds frequently grow on shoe lining leather, causing skin diseases, unpleasant odors, and discomfort for the wearers. To address these issues, herein, bio-synthesized silver nanoparticles from Piper betle L. leaf extract were applied as an antimicrobial agent to pig leather via the exhaustion method. The characterization of nanosilver-treated pig leather was performed using colorimetry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), and FTIR techniques. Evaluation of antimicrobial efficacy of the nanosilver-treated leather was both qualitatively and quantitatively assessed against two bacteria (Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus) and two fungi (a yeast Candida albicans and a mold Aspergillus niger) in accordance with AATCC TM90, AATCC TM30, and ISO 16187:2013 sta... [more]

The present study explored anti-tubercular pyrrole derivatives against cancer targets using different in silico and in vitro approaches. Initially, nineteen anti-tubercular pyrrolyl benzohydrazide derivatives were screened against a potent cancer target PLK1 using an AutoDock Vina approach. Out of the nineteen derivatives, the two most potent derivatives C8 [N′-(4-(1H-pyrrol-1-yl) benzoyl)-3-chlorobenzohydrazide] and C18 [N′-(4-(1H-pyrrol-1-yl) benzoyl)-4-nitrobenzohydrazide], were subjected to molecular simulation analysis for a 100 ns trajectory. Further, these two derivatives were tested against A549, MCF-7, and HepG2 cell lines using an MTT proliferation assay. Apoptotic cell cycle and DAPI assays were also performed for C8 on A549 cell lines. Molecular dynamic analysis revealed that the stability of the C8−PLK1 protein complex during the 100 ns trajectory run was better than that of the C18−PLK1 protein complex. In addition, C8 showed lower IC50 values against the tested cell line... [more]

In view of the problem that the formation of deepwater wells in the study area leak easily, the mechanism of loss-circulation was studied in depth, and the loss-circulation plugging material SmartGel was developed with guar gum and its derivatives as the main synthetic raw materials. The gel process could be controlled by adjusting the dosage and temperature of gel accelerators. In order to adjust the gelling speed of SmartGel, GelRetarder and GelAccelerant were developed. The extrusion strength of SmartGel increased with the increase in SmartGel dose and decreased with the increase in temperature. As for the plugging performance of SmartGel, the sand bed test confirmed that the pressure capacity of SmartGel in the 80 °C sand bed can reach at least 7 MPa, which can meet the requirements of site construction. The PPT sand tray test and core flow meter simulation pore test showed that SmartGel has good bearing performance. As for the gel-breaking of SmartGel, low-temperature gel-breaking... [more]

Two novel separation methods have been presented for the concurrent assessment of flumethasone pivalate (FP) and clioquinol (CL) in their combinations in ear drop formulations or in the presence of phenoxyethanol preservative (PEP) in their cream formulations. The first method is an innovative thin-layer chromatographic (TLC) method. The optimal separation was accomplished via silica gel aluminum plates F254, with a mixture of benzene, ethyl acetate and formic acid (5:5:0.2, in volumes) as the mobile system. In Method II, a new ultra-high-performance liquid chromatographic method (UHPLC) with a photodiode array detector (PDA) was presented. A reversed-phase inertsil ODS 5 µm C 18 packed column (100 Å, 4.6 mm internal diameter (I.D.) × 50 mm) at 30 °C was employed. Elution was completed in 3 min. Unfortunately, greener solvents were tested as a mobile phase, but an asymmetric peak for CL was noted. In addition, the new UHPLC method has a priority over the old HPLC one by Sayed et al., 2... [more]

Periodontal diseases are highly prevalent oral conditions associated with severe complications in the oral cavity. These inflammatory diseases are caused by the oral microbiome and are influenced by several factors, such as aging, tobacco usage, systemic illness and inadequate oral hygiene. Plant-derived phytochemicals are extensively utilized in managing various periodontal diseases due to the presence of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities. Plant materials have shifted attention from conventional medicine to indigenous medicine. Solanum xanthocarpum is a medicinal herb found in India. It exhibits various pharmacological properties essential for periodontal disease prevention and management. The current work analyzes various pharmacological properties of S. xanthocarpum aqueous extract. The S. xanthocarpum extracts’ antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties were ascertained by DPPH assay, HRBC membrane stabilization assay and disk diffusion a... [more]

Core−shell nanoparticles are functional materials with tailored properties, able to improve the requirements of various applications. Both core and shell components can be inorganic or organic, and there are numerous studies in this field regarding their synthesis methods, properties, and applications. This review aims to study core−shell nanostructures with Fe3O4 cores and different shell types, observing their antibacterial and anticancer properties. By the type of coating, Fe3O4 core−shell nanoparticles (NPs) are classified into four categories: metal-coated NPs, metal-organic framework (MOF) coated NPs, metal oxide coated NPs, and polymer-coated NPs. Each category is briefly presented, emphasizing anticancer or antibacterial properties and specific applications (cancer diagnosis or therapy, drug carrier). Moreover, synthesis methods and particle size for both core and shell nanostructures, as well as the magnetic properties of the final core−shell material, are summarized in this r... [more]

Uncertain variables, such as electric power system parameters, have significant impacts on dynamic simulations of power systems. As traditional uncertainty analysis methods for power system dynamic simulations, both the simulation method and the approximation methods are difficult to balance the model complexity, computational efficiency, and simulation accuracy. In order to balance the model complexity, computational efficiency, and simulation accuracy, this paper proposes a method for uncertainty analysis for power system dynamic simulation based on the Nataf transformation and Gaussian-Hermite quadrature. Firstly, the samples on the normal distribution space are determined according to the Gaussian-Hermite quadrature points and the Nataf transformation. Secondly, obtain the simulation samples by inverse Nataf transformation, and perform power system dynamic simulation. Thirdly, the random output is approximated as a linear combination of a single random input, and the mean and stand... [more]

In this investigation, an automotive component made of nylon as a structural element was studied by several characterization techniques to identify material properties. Firstly, a Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was carried out to obtain information about composition, then, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to extract useful information on sample thermal behavior. The humidity and volatile materials percentage could be assessed by thermogravimetry analysis (TGA). Morphology and topography were carried out by optical microscopy, moreover, X-ray Tomography allows it to display the sample’s inner part. Characterization shows that the component could have been contaminated or exposed to conditions that promote degradation after the manufacturing process. Finally, computerized X-ray tomography displayed that both samples showed a difference in porosity in a fractured sample and a healthy sample. All the above implies a change in the mechanical integrity of the... [more]

This work reports on the development of a real-time vehicle sensor network (VSN) system and infrastructure devised to monitor particulate matter (PM) in urban areas within a participatory paradigm. The approach is based on the use of multiple vehicles where sensors, acquisition and transmission devices are installed. PM values are measured and transmitted using standard mobile phone networks. Given the large number of acquisition platforms needed in crowdsensing, sensors need to be low-cost (LCS). This sets limitations in the precision and accuracy of measurements that can be mitigated using statistical methods on redundant data. Once data are received, they are automatically quality controlled, processed and mapped geographically to produce easy-to-understand visualizations that are made available in almost real time through a dedicated web portal. There, end users can access current and historic data and data products. The system has been operational since 2021 and has collected over... [more]

Lime juice is rich in bioactive components and exerts a wide range of therapeutic effects, especially antioxidant activity. Freeze concentration is considered an essential method to maintain the nutritional values and bioactives of fruit juices. This study aimed to compare the ability in enriching ascorbic acid, total phenolic compounds, and major flavonoids and the antioxidant activity (DPPH) of concentrated lime juices prepared by vacuum and freeze-concentrations. The ascorbic acid in the juices was analyzed using the HPLC-PDA method. The total phenolic content and DPPH inhibition ability were measured by the colorimetric method. The polyphenol profiles of two lime varieties (C. latifolia and C. limonia) were qualitatively analyzed using LC-TOF MS/MS; then, the major juices’ flavonoids were analyzed by HPLC-PDA against/based on commercial standards. The results showed that C. latifolia was superior to C. limonia in ascorbic acid, TPC, major flavonoids, and antioxidants. C. latifolia... [more]

Twelve crude oil blends prepared from seven individual crude oils and an imported atmospheric residue were characterized through a true boiling point (TBP) distillation analysis and their density. When comparing the measured TBP fraction yields with those estimated through the application of the additive blending rule, it was found that, for four crude oil blends, the additive blending rule was valid, while for the remaining eight crude oil blends, deviations of the measured TBP yields from the estimated ones were bigger than the TBP analysis’s repeatability limits. By the use of intercriteria analysis evaluation of the data for the deviation of the TBP yields from the additive blending rule and the molar excess volume of the crude oil blends, statistically meaningful relations between the delta TBP yields of light and heavy naphtha, as well as vacuum residue with the molar excess volume, were found. The higher the magnitude of the crude oil blend’s molar excess volume, the bigger the... [more]

This paper focuses on the trajectory tracking control for general nonlinear single-input single-output (SISO) systems in which the output is not directly related to the control input. To address the tracking problem with the consideration of possible model uncertainty, external disturbance, and control input saturation, we employ the input-output feedback linearization technique and design a finite-time disturbance observer-based terminal sliding mode controller to improve the tracking performance and enhance the robustness. The stability analysis is carried out by using the Lyapunov method. To alleviate the chattering while achieving an acceptable control performance, a boundary layer method is adopted for the trade-off between the high-frequency control actions and the bounded unavoidable nonzero steady-state error. The proposed method is evaluated on the two typical nonlinear systems, which are fully linearizable and partially linearizable, respectively, and compared to the state-of... [more]

Due to the success of the first edition of the Special Issue “Industrial Chemistry Reactions: Kinetics, Mass Transfer and Industrial Reactor Design” in terms of both the quantity and quality of the published papers, we thought it would be prudent to announce a second edition [...]

In this laboratory batch adsorption study, the raw pine tree leaf biomass solid waste adsorbent material was used for the removal of methylene blue (MB) dye from water at different physicochemical process conditions. The characteristics of adsorbents were determined for particle size, surface area, the existence of functional group identification, and the morphology of the adsorbent surface. The adsorption was performed at different process conditions, which include solution pH, dye concentrations, adsorbent doses, and temperature, respectively. In this study, it was found that MB dye adsorption increased with increases in solution pH and adsorbate MB dye concentration but decreased with adsorbent doses and temperature at fixed process conditions. The Langmuir isotherm model was best fitted with the experimental equilibrium data, with a higher linear regression coefficient (R2) value of 99.9% among the two widely used Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm model equations. The max... [more]

The impact of adding a modified Ludzack−Ettinger (MLE) configuration with Nitrate Recycle (NRCY) on continuous-flow aerobic granulation has yet to be explored. The potential negative effects of MLE on sludge densification include that: (1) bioflocs brought by NRCY could compete with granules in feast zones; and (2) carbon addition to anoxic zones could increase the system organic loading rates and lead to higher feast-to-famine ratios. Two pilot-scale plug flow reactor (PFR) systems fed with real domestic wastewater were set up onsite to test these hypotheses. The results showed that MLE configuration with NRCY could hinder the sludge granulation, but the hindrance could be alleviated by the NRCY location change which to some extent also compensates for the negative effect of higher feast-to-famine ratios due to carbon addition in MLE. This NRCY location change can be advantageous to drive sludge densification without a radical washout of the sludge inventory, and had no effects on the... [more]

To enhance fault characteristics and improve fault detection accuracy in bearing vibration signals, this paper proposes a fault diagnosis method using a wavelet packet energy spectrum and an improved deep confidence network. Firstly, a wavelet packet transform decomposes the original vibration signal into different frequency bands, fully preserving the original signal’s frequency information, and constructs feature vectors by extracting the energy of sub-frequency bands via the energy spectrum to extract and enhance fault feature information. Secondly, to minimize the time-consuming manual parameter adjustment procedure and increase the diagnostic accuracy, the sparrow search algorithm−deep belief network method is proposed, which utilizes the sparrow search algorithm to optimize the hyperparameters of the deep belief networks and reduce the classification error rate. Finally, to verify the effectiveness of the method, the rolling bearing data from Casey Reserve University were selecte... [more]