Throughout the last decades the developments on desalination field have been focused on energy consumption and costs reduction. However, water recovery and brine disposal are becoming a matter of concern to desalination industry. In this work, a Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) unit coupled with a Solar Micro Gas Turbine (SMGT) system is presented to address, among others, the challenges of mining industry in remote areas, in particular, fossil fuel dependence, water availability and pollution derived from effluents disposal. As a way to assess the feasibility of the proposal, a techno-economic analysis of the application in two Southern American regions (Chile and Ecuador) of photovoltaic modules, wind turbines and Solar Micro Gas Turbines is performed. Afterwards, the main novel feature of the new system—i.e., the ZLD unit—is described and a sensitivity analysis on its functioning whilst coupled with the SMGT is carried out. The aim is to propose a preliminary design of the ZLD process. T... [more]

With the increasing demand for high-efficient continuous casting, parameter optimization during high-speed continuous casting is critical. To clarify the changes in flow characteristics in a multistrand tundish and the optimization principles for the diversion wall, a numerical investigation of an eight-strand tundish during continuous casting of billet was carried out in this paper. The simulation results were validated with the physical results of a 1:3 water model experiment. The results show that, for a tundish with the same flow control device, the average residence time and the maximum residence time difference of liquid steel in different strands are significantly reduced with higher casting speed. At different casting speeds, the effect of the hole diameter and deflection angle of diversion wall on the average residence time and the dead region proportion is very minor, while that on the maximum residence time difference of liquid steel in different strands is significant. For... [more]

The transformation of our linear “take-make-waste” system to a cyclic flow of materials and energy is a priority task for society, but the circular use of waste streams from one industry/sector as a material input for another must be completely safe. The need for new advanced technologies and methods ensuring both microbiological safety and the removal of potential chemical residues in used materials and products is urgent. Non-thermal atmospheric plasma (cold atmospheric plasma—CAP) has recently attracted great research interest as an alternative for operative solutions of problems related to safety and quality control. CAP is a powerful tool for the inactivation of different hazardous microorganisms and viruses, and the effective decontamination of surfaces and liquids has been demonstrated. Additionally, the plasma’s active components are strong oxidizers and their synergetic effect can lead to the degradation of toxic chemical compounds such as phenols and azo-dyes.

Bone diseases such as osteoporosis, delayed or impaired bone healing, and osteoarthritis still represent a social, financial, and personal burden for affected patients and society. Fully humanized in vitro 3D models of cancellous bone tissue are needed to develop new treatment strategies and meet patient-specific needs. Here, we demonstrate a successful cell-sheet-based process for optimized mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) seeding on a β-tricalcium phosphate (TCP) scaffold to generate 3D models of cancellous bone tissue. Therefore, we seeded MSCs onto the β-TCP scaffold, induced osteogenic differentiation, and wrapped a single osteogenically induced MSC sheet around the pre-seeded scaffold. Comparing the wrapped with an unwrapped scaffold, we did not detect any differences in cell viability and structural integrity but a higher cell seeding rate with osteoid-like granular structures, an indicator of enhanced calcification. Finally, gene expression analysis showed a reduction in chondrog... [more]

Rapamycin, also known as sirolimus, inhibits the mTOR pathway in complex diseases such as cancer, and its downstream targets are ribosomal S6 kinases (RPS6K). Sirolimus is involved in regulating cell growth and cell survival through roles such as the mediation of epidermal growth factor signaling. However, the systemic efficacy of sirolimus in pathway regulation is unclear. The purpose of this study is to determine systemic drug efficacy using computational methods and drug-induced datasets. We suggest a computational method using gene expression datasets induced by sirolimus and an inverse algorithm that simultaneously identifies parameters referring to gene−gene interactions. We downloaded two sirolimus-induced microarray gene expression datasets and used a computational method to obtain the most enriched pathway, then adopted an inverse algorithm to discover the gene−gene interactions of that pathway. In the results, RPS6KB1 was a target gene of sirolimus and was associated with gen... [more]

The problem of eliminating petroleum pollution and its consequences is currently very relevant for Kazakhstan, which is among the ten largest oil-producing countries. The specifics of natural conditions—the sharply continental arid climate—necessitate the development and application of adequate technologies for the restoration of oil-contaminated territories and the Caspian seashore. The key factors (temperature, moisture, alkalinity, salinity, low mineral and organic matter content) affect the self-purification processes and microbiological status of oil-contaminated soils of Kazakhstan. The assessment of taxonomic diversity and characteristics of oil-degrading microorganisms isolated from samples of soils and reservoirs contaminated with hydrocarbons are given. The review of biopreparations and biotechnologies developed and used in Kazakhstan for cleaning environments from oil pollution is made, and their effectiveness is shown. The analysis of the current state of research in the fi... [more]

Freeze-drying is generally used to achieve high quality products and preserve thermal sensitive components; however, it is also considered as a high energy and costly process. Modeling of the process can help to optimize the process to reduce these drawbacks. In this work, a mathematical model is presented to predict the heat and mass transfer behavior for freeze-drying of porous frozen food particles during freeze-drying to optimize the process. For the mass transfer, a comparison between Knudsen diffusion and the more complex dusty-gas approach is performed. Simulation results of a single particle are validated by experiments of single-layer drying to extend the usage of this model from a single particle to a particle bed. For the moisture transfer, adaption parameters are introduced and evaluated. A comparison shows a good agreement of the model with experimental results. The results furthermore suggest a strong correlation of the drying kinetics with pore size and particle porosity... [more]

Potassium carbonate (K2CO3) is a promising material for the long-term storage of renewable energy. A reactor vessel filled with K2CO3 can potentially be used as a domestic heat battery. The hydration and dehydration reactions of salt hydrates in a reactor vessel are generally described using a one-process model, such as the ‘Arrhenius-f(α)’ model. However, this modeling approach cannot always be applied correctly. If the reaction does not proceed in a pseudo-steady state, and/or when nucleation and growth processes are simultaneously active during the transformation from an anhydrous to a hydrated state, the one-process modeling approach should not be applied. In this paper, it is investigated using simultaneous thermal analysis (STA) experiments whether the pseudo-steady state approximation is valid during the hydration reaction of K2CO3. Additionally, ‘jump experiments’ using STA are employed to investigate the rate-determining step (RDS) of the hydration reaction by applying step-wi... [more]

Profitably managing inventories is always a big challenge for retailers in the current context of transparent and competitive business. A general retailer always needs to handle both deteriorating and non-deteriorating products simultaneously to run a business. Deterioration of products sometimes impacts a retailer’s profits badly—a situation which can be alleviated by implementing proper preservation technology. In addition, to improve profits and minimize costs, a retailer always seeks some credit facilities (e.g., advance payment, trade credit facilities, etc.) from the supplier to continue the business smoothly with minimum investment. Advance payment is renowned for preventing the possibility of business orders being canceled and helping the retailer to minimize the risk of investing significant amounts at a single time. The foremost objective of this research is to analyze the facilities of advance payment and preservation technology investment and concurrent attempts to deal wit... [more]

In Germany, the number of small wood-burning combustion plants was around 11 million in 2020. The PM2.5 immissions caused by the operation of these combustion plants are already about as high as those from traffic exhaust gases. Thus, particulate matter immissions occur not only on busy roads but also in residential areas. Since there are few official measuring stations for PM2.5 in residential areas and suburbs, this study determined PM2.5 concentrations from November 2020 to June 2021 at three stations (urban, suburban, and residential) in the Karlsruhe area. Simultaneous measurements of PM2.5 at the three locations have been implemented to determine short-term (peaks), medium-term, and long-term particulate matter levels and to assign them to sources by observation, considering wind direction. Illustratively, PM2.5 immission levels in January and May 2021 were compared in this paper. The comparison of the particulate matter immissions measured in the urban and residential area in Ja... [more]

In the synthesis of imidazolinone herbicides, 2-Amino-2,3-dimethylbutyramide (ADBA) is an important intermedium. In this study, the recombinant production of nitrile hydratase (NHase) in Escherichia coli for ADBA synthesis was explored. A local library containing recombinant NHases from various sources was screened using a colorimetric method. NHase from Pseudonocardia thermophila JCM3095 was selected, fused with a His-tag and one-step purified. The enzymatic properties of recombinant NHase were studied and indicated robust thermal stability and inhibition of cyanide ions due to substrate degradation. After systematic optimization of fermentation conditions, the OD600 (optical density at 600 nm), enzyme activity and specific activity of recombinant strain E. coli BL21(DE3)/pET-28a+NHase reached 19.4, 3.72 U/mL and 1.04 U/mg protein at 42 h, representing 5.86-, 26.6- and 4-fold increases, respectively. These results offered an efficient recombinant whole-cell biocatalyst for ADBA synthe... [more]

Cold-rolling oily sludge contains high amounts of oil and iron resources that can be recycled by pyrolysis. We investigated the pyrolysis behavior and volatile products of oily sludge by thermogravimetric analysis (TG) coupled with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and a pyrolyzer (PY) coupled with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The pyrolysis process was divided into three stages: H2O drying and CO2 desorption at low temperatures (below 393 K); the volatilization of low-molecular-weight organics and the covalent bond cleavage of C=C, C-O, and C-H in the medium-molecular-weight organics at medium temperatures (393−844 K); and chain scission of the high-molecular-weight organics and reduction of iron oxides by CO at high temperatures (above 844 K). The weight losses of oily sludge in the three stages were 0.4 wt %, 47.9 wt %, and 14.7 wt %, respectively. According to the kinetic models, stage 2 and stage 3 could be described with the second-order and third-ord... [more]

With the continuous improvement in user demand and the increasingly obvious complexity characteristics, such as strong coupling and nonlinearity of the system, it has become a new problem faced by the decision making of conceptual design. Decision-making methods in conceptual design such as traditional information axioms and the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework cannot provide a good solution for systems with strong coupling and nonlinearity. To fill these gaps, this paper proposes a decision-making method of design for a coupling system based on a complexity composite method (DMDCC). DMDCC is composed of a prediction model and a synthetic paradigm. In the early stages of decision making of design, design-centric complexity (DCC) theory is used to preliminarily sort the schemes. Then, driven by the twin data of existing products, the complexity of function units is obtained by using the prediction model. The complexity of different function units is composited by the comp... [more]

Claw pole machines (CPMs) have the advantages of a simple structure and low cost; therefore, they are commonly used in electric vehicles (EV). However, the methods to improve reliability and efficiency should be studied. So, a new type of hybrid excitation claw pole machine (HE-CPM) for EV is proposed. The permanent magnet (PM) is inserted in the rotor, and the field winding is placed on the front and back ending cover. Because the hybrid flux path of the proposed machine is three-dimensional (3D) and 3D finite element analysis (FEA) is time-consuming, a 3D magnet equivalent circuit (MEC) method considering rotor position is proposed and results between 3D MEC and FEA are compared. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) and 3D MEC are combined in the optimization design of HE-CPM. The optimized results prove the effectiveness of the optimization method. Finally, the flux density distribution, electromagnetic characteristics of HE-CPM are evaluated. The thermal analysis and mechanical stress... [more]

Over the last decade, the conical mill has emerged as a potential piece of equipment to use for continuous dry coating pharmaceutical powders. In this work, silicon dioxide was used as a guest particle on two excipients, fast flow lactose (FFL) and grade PH200 microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), for dry coating by a conical mill with a modified screen that permitted batch and continuous mode operation. Samples were pre-processed in a V-blender. SEM images, particle size distribution, and EDS mapping were used to characterise the treated powders. Pre-processed samples showed some discrete coating of the host particle. After batch processing, the samples were covered with a complete coating. When processed at high impeller speed, coating of FFL was a mix of A200P and FFL fines generated by attrition. Continuous mode processed samples, which had a lower processing time, were coated discretely and showed a better coating than the pre-processed samples. Increasing guest/host mass ratio with F... [more]

Methods to predict the equilibrium solubility of nonelectrolyte solids are indispensable for early-stage process development, design, and feasibility studies. Conventional analytic methods typically require reference data to regress parameters, which may not be available or limited for novel systems. Molecular simulation is a promising alternative, but is computationally intensive. Here, we demonstrate the ability to use a small number of molecular simulation free energy calculations to generate reference data to regress model parameters for the analytical MOSCED (modified separation of cohesive energy density) model. The result is an efficient analytical method to predict the equilibrium solubility of nonelectrolyte solids. The method is demonstrated for the wastewater contaminants monuron, diuron, atrazine and atenolol. Predictions for monuron, diuron and atrazine are in reasonable agreement with MOSCED parameters regressed using experimental solubility data. Predictions for atenolol... [more]

Today’s customer no longer wants one-size-fits-all products but expects products and services to be as tailored as possible. Mass customization and personalization are becoming a trend in the digitalization strategy of enterprises and manufacturing in Industry 4.0. The purpose of the paper is to develop and validate a conceptual model for leveraging Industry 4.0 and digitalization to support product customization. We explored the implications and impacts of Industry 4.0 and digitalization on product customization processes and determine the importance of variables. We applied structural equation modeling (SEM) to test our hypotheses regarding the antecedents and consequences of digitalization and Industry 4.0. We estimated the process model using the partial least squares (PLS) method, and goodness of fit measures show acceptable values. The proposed model considers relationships between technology readiness, digitalization, internal and external integration, internal value chain, and... [more]

The experimental investigation presented in this research was performed in order to examine the possibility of the removal of SO2 from flue gases by cleaning with a solution of lime suspension and formic acid (Ca(OH)2 and HCOOH). Research was conducted in a laboratory plant (rotary kiln) of 44 kW. The mass of the lime suspension (LS) was 400 g. The mass of the LS was homogenized (mixed) in a sample cup with 2 g (0.5%), 4 g (1%) and 8 g (2%) of 60% formic acid. The solution was placed in a gas washing bottle, where a partial flow of flue gas generated by the combustion of diesel fuel was injected. Simultaneously with the diesel fuel combustion, SO2 from a bottle was injected in a rotary kiln. The average mass concentration of SO2 in the flue gas at the entry point of the gas washing bottle was around 2900 ppm. The results indicated that the absorption of SO2 by the cleaning of flue gas with LS was 96.83%. Adding formic acid to the LS in mass ratios of 0.5% (2 g), 1% (4 g) and 2% (8 g) r... [more]

Portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectrometers provide simple, rapid, nondestructive, and cost-effective analysis of the metal contents in soils. The current method for improving pXRF measurement accuracy is soil sample preparation, which inevitably consumes significant amounts of time. To eliminate the influence of sample preparation on PXRF measurements, this study evaluates the performance of pXRF measurements in the prediction of eight heavy metals’ contents through machine learning algorithm linear regression (LR) and multivariate adaptive regression spline (MARS) models. Soil samples were collected from five industrial sites and separated into high-value and low-value datasets with pXRF measurements above or below the background values. The results showed that for Cu and Cr, the MARS models were better than the LR models at prediction (the MARS-R2 values were 0.88 and 0.78; the MARS-RPD values were 2.89 and 2.11). For the pXRF low-value dataset, the multivariate MARS models imp... [more]

Electro-fermentation is a novel process that consists in coupling a microbial fermentative metabolism with an electrochemical system. In such a process, the electrodes act either as the electron sinks or sources modifying the fermentation balance of a microbial fermentative metabolism and provide new options for the control of microbial activity. A theoretical framework for the analysis and control of fermentations using electro-fermentation is currently lacking. In this paper, we propose a simple electro-fermentation model in which a population of fermentative bacteria switch between two metabolic behaviors in response to different electrode potentials. We then mathematically analyze optimal strategies to maximize the production of one of the rising products in a batch fermentation using Pontryagin’s Maximum Principle. The obtained results show that, in some experimental configurations, a dynamic control of the electrode potential is required for the maximization of the desired produc... [more]

To ensure the energy conversion efficiency of a proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), it is necessary to establish a water-cooled cooling system to keep the inlet temperature of fuel-cell coolant and the temperature difference between the inlet and outlet temperature within the set range. First, a semi-empirical and semi-mechanism model was built in Simulink. Then, a variable-universe fuzzy PID controller was designed to adjust the quantization factor and scaling factor by scaling factor α1, α2 and to improve the accuracy of the control results. Finally, the cooling system model with controller is simulated. The results show that compared with other control methods, the simulation results of the variable-universe fuzzy PID controller have smaller maximum overshoot, faster response speed and more gentle temperature fluctuation.

The use of antioxidants in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell cultures to improve monoclonal antibody production has been a topic of great interest. Nevertheless, the antioxidants do not have consistent benefits of production improvement, which might be cell line specific and/or process specific. In this work, we investigated how treatment with the antioxidant rosmarinic acid (RA) improved cell growth and titer in CHO cell cultures using transcriptomics. In particular, transcriptomics analysis indicated that RA treatment modified gene expression and strongly affected the MAPK and PI3K/Akt signaling pathways, which regulate cell survival and cell death. Moreover, it was observed that these signaling pathways, which had been identified to be up-regulated on day 2 and day 6 by RA, were also up-regulated over time (from initial growth phase day 2 to slow growth or protein production phase day 6) in both conditions. In summary, this transcriptomics analysis provides insights into the role of... [more]

The filamentous fungus Penicillium canescens, isolated from oil-polluted soil, was evaluated for its ability to dissipate high-molecular-weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). The study was conducted in a microcosm containing 180 g of historical PAH-contaminated soil under non-sterile conditions with two incubation temperatures (14 °C and 18 °C) on a 12-h cycle. The experiment was conducted over 8 months, with four experimental conditions created by varying the volumes of the bulking agent and vegetable oil (olive oil) and the time of addition of these compounds. The PAH dissipation performance of the fungal augmentation treatment was compared with that achieved with a biostimulated soil (bulking agent and vegetable oil) and with the untreated soil as control. The greatest PAH dissipation was obtained with P. canescens bioaugmentation (35.71% ± 1.73), with 13 of the 16 US EPA PAH significantly dissipated, at rates above 18%, and particularly high-molecular-weight PAH, composed... [more]

Cement-sodium silicate grout (CSG) is now widely adopted in water plugging engineering to prevent water inrush disasters, and the gelation and consolidation characteristics of CSG in water environment significantly affect the grouting effect. To obtain an in-depth understanding of the performance of CSG in water, the CSGs with different water-cement ratios and volume ratios were tested, and the gelation properties, the deposition characteristics and the diffusion process of CSG within water were examined. The compressive strength and microstructure of CSG consolidation formed in air and water were also analyzed comparatively. The test results indicate that the CSG consolidation exhibits obvious stratification and segregation phenomena in water, which can be divided into three layers with different substance compositions. The compressive strength of CSG consolidation formed in water is much lower than that of the grout consolidation formed in air, indicating that the water environment h... [more]

Proceeding our prior studies of SARS-CoV-2, the inhibitory potential against SARS-CoV-2 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) has been investigated for a collection of 3009 clinical and FDA-approved drugs. A multi-phase in silico approach has been employed in this study. Initially, a molecular fingerprint experiment of Remdesivir (RTP), the co-crystallized ligand of the examined protein, revealed the most similar 150 compounds. Among them, 30 compounds were selected after a structure similarity experiment. Subsequently, the most similar 30 compounds were docked against SARS-CoV-2 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (PDB ID: 7BV2). Aloin 359, Baicalin 456, Cefadroxil 1273, Sophoricoside 1459, Hyperoside 2109, and Vitexin 2286 exhibited the most precise binding modes, as well as the best binding energies. To confirm the obtained results, MD simulations experiments have been conducted for Hyperoside 2109, the natural flavonoid glycoside that exhibited the best docking scores, against RdRp (PDB ID:... [more]