In this paper, a set of novel adaptive control strategies based on an advanced G-L (proposed by Ge-Li-Tam, called GLT) fuzzy system is proposed. Three main design points can be summarized as follows: (1) the unknown parameters in a nonlinear dynamic system are regarded as extra nonlinear terms and are further packaged into so-called nonlinear terms groups for each equation through the modeling process, which reduces the complexity of the GLT fuzzy system; (2) the error dynamics are further rearranged into two parts, adjustable membership function and uncertain membership function, to aid the design of the controllers; (3) a set of adaptive controllers change with the estimated parameters and the update laws of parameters are provided following the current form of error dynamics. Two identical nonlinear dynamic systems based on a Quantum-CNN system (Q-CNN system) with two added terms are employed for simulations to demonstrate the feasibility as well as the effectiveness of the proposed... [more]

Raspberry juice obtained from fresh raspberry fruits was encapsulated separately using gum Arabic (GA), maltodextrin (MT), and waxy starch (WS) (1:10, w/v) and freeze-dried to develop raspberry juice powders (RBJP). The powders were characterised based on their physicochemical and phytochemical composition and their rheological and antioxidative properties, which significantly varied among the carriers. GA- and MT-encapsulated RBJP exhibited a better colour, higher yield, oil holding capacity, total anthocyanin content, and antioxidant properties. WS-encapsulated powder showed a better water holding capacity and total phenolic content; however, the powder was characterised by low solubility, total soluble solids, and redness. Hygroscopicity and titratable acidity did not significantly (p > 0.05) vary among the powders. Cyanidin diglucoside, the main anthocyanin compound identified in the RBJP, was significantly higher in MT (2549.89 µg/g) compared to GA (1935.45 µg/g) and WS (1458.81 µ... [more]

To decrease the cost of wastewater treatment at the plant, the Wuzhou Shenguan Protein Enteric Coating Production Plant designed and built an expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB)-ceramic membrane bioreactor reactor (CMBR) process for treating high-concentration organic wastewater with a capacity of 25 m3/d. The EGSB is divided into anaerobic and microaerobic sections. The purpose of the anaerobic section is to substantially degrade COD, and the main functions of the microaerobic section are to coordinate the relationship between hydrolytic acid-producing bacteria, methanogenic bacteria (MBP), and sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) and to mitigate the inhibitory effects between them to simultaneously remove COD and sulfate. Anaerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria were added to the CMBR reactor to remove both COD and ammonia nitrogen. The results of the operation showed that more than 99% of the COD was removed by the EGSB-CMBR process, while the removal rates of NH4+-N and SS were greater than... [more]

Emerging pollutants are present in wastewaters treated by conventional processes. Due to water cycle interactions, these contaminants have been reported in groundwater, surface water, and drinking waters. Since conventional processes cannot guarantee their removal or biotransformation, it is necessary to study processes that comply with complete elimination. The current literature review was conducted to describe and provide an overview of the available information about the most significant groups of emerging pollutants that could potentially be found in the wastewater and the environment. In addition, it describes the main entry and distribution pathways of emerging contaminants into the environment through the water and wastewater cycle, as well as some of the potential effects they may cause to flora, fauna, and humans. Relevant information on the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its potential spread through wastewater is included. Furthermore, it also outlines some of the Advanced Oxidation P... [more]

Biodiesel is considered a renewable, green fuel as it is derived from renewable living resources like animal fats or vegetable oils. This research is utilized to investigate the possibility of using Solvay wastewater as a source of biodiesel catalyst, which is CaO. CaCl2 from Solvay wastewater reacts with CO2 to produce CaCO3. CaCO3 is then heated to produce pure CaO. Waste cooking oil, wastewater, and CO2, which are considered dangerous materials to the environment, are used to produce valuable products. This research has environmental and economic benefit benefits of using waste materials as a replacement for raw materials. The selected experimental parameters for the CaCO3 production step are stirring rate (500−1300) rpm, CO2 gas flow rate (900−2000) mL/min, amount of ammonia (15−35) mL, and glycerol volume (0−25) mL. The selected experimental parameters for the biodiesel production step are reaction time (2−6) h, methanol to oil ratio (9−15), catalyst loading (1−5) %, and reaction... [more]

With the advance in gene technology, genetically modified (GM) crops have increased in recent years. GM crops offer us various benefits. However, there are potential risks of GM crops for the environment. In this study, the impacts of transgenic plants on soil microbial community structures were assessed. Two varieties of soybean (Glycine max L.) and hot pepper (Capsicum annuum L.), which introduced the herbicide-resistant gene, bar, were used in this study. The effects of GM crops on soil microbial community structures were investigated using a cultural method, the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) procedure, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing on the Illumina platform. Additionally, the persistence of transgenes was monitored using a quantitative real-time PCR procedure. The cultural method, DGGE analysis, and the amplicon-based community profile indicated that soil microbial communities were not significantly different between GM and non-GM lines. The level of the bar gene in... [more]

The technology of coal breaking and punching by a high-pressure water jet can increase the permeability of coal seam and prevent gas explosion accidents. As one of the key components of this technology, the structural parameters of the nozzle have an important effect on the performance of the water jet. At present, the relationship between multiple optimization indexes and structural parameters of the nozzle is mostly studied separately. In fact, the influence of the nozzle structural parameters on different optimization indexes is different. When there are multiple optimization indexes, they should be considered collaboratively to achieve the best water jet performance of the nozzle. Therefore, a multi−objective collaborative optimization method is proposed which takes the maximum velocity in X-axis and effective extension distance in Y-axis as the performance evaluation indexes of the water jet. The numerical simulation of the nozzle jet is carried out by computational fluid dynamics... [more]

In recent years, the research community is tremendously investigating unexplored plants and herbals as they represent a potential source of various biomolecules, which not only contribute to nutrition but also to human health. In fact, Muicle (Justicia spicigera) has attracted the attention of scientists thanks to its multiple biological activities associated with the phytochemicals and specific biomolecules present in this plant. In this review, an evidence on current development works assaying the potential biological properties of Muicle is given. Here, we introduce the key biologically active molecules ascribed to such properties, along with the mechanism of action and interaction. Although the utilization of this plant has been majorly focused on traditional medicine, specific applications in terms of production of new feedstocks and nanomaterials, and developments of functional foods and formulations, are also a current direction towards the exploitation of this natural source. T... [more]

Spent zinc−manganese batteries contain heavy toxic metals that pose a serious threat to the environment. Recovering these metals is vital not only for industrial use but also for saving the environment. Recycling metal from spent batteries is a complex task. In this study, machine-learning-based predictive models are developed for predicting metal recovery from spent zinc−manganese batteries by studying the energy substrates concentration, pH control of bioleaching media, incubating temperature and pulp density. The main objective of this study is to make a detailed comparison among five machine learning models, namely, linear regression, random forest regression, AdaBoost regression, gradient boosting regression and XG boost regression. All the machine learning models are tuned for optimal hyperparameters. The results from each of the machine learning models are compared using several statistical metrics such as R2, mean squared error (MSE), mean absolute error (MAE), maximum error an... [more]

A pressure-controlled jet crushing tool (PJCT) for the exploitation of deep-sea natural gas hydrate (NGH) was invented to achieve sediment crushing and cavity creation. The opening and closing of tool is controlled by changing the internal flow rate remotely. It can realize the controllable continuous switching of the working state between horizontal well drilling and cavity creation. A dynamic simulation model of the sliding core was established based on the innovative design scheme of the PJCT and the motion law of its slide core was analyzed under the influence of spring stiffness, friction coefficient, and flow rate loading scheme. Moreover, an engineering prototype of the PJCT was manufactured so that a sliding core motion experiment of the prototype was carried out. When the drilling fluid flow rate reaches 455 L/min, the PJCT can stably complete the self-locking and unlocking functions. Its sliding core needs more time to stabilize with an increase in spring stiffness. Meanwhile... [more]

A computational study was conducted on the addition of nitrogen (0−60 vol%) to stoichiometric hydrogen−nitrous oxide flames at various initial pressures (1−10 bar) and temperatures (300−500 K), with a special emphasis on NO, which is a major pollutant that is generated by these flames. The detailed kinetic modeling of H2−N2O−N2 flames, which was performed using the GRI 3.0 mechanism, produced the structure of the H2−N2O−N2 flames for the temperature and mass fraction profiles of 53 species, which participated in 325 elementary reactions. The NO profiles that were computed by the detailed kinetic modeling followed the trend of experimental NO profiles that have been reported in the literature for laminar premixed flames at sub-atmospheric pressures. For the examined H2−N2O−N2 flames, an increase in initial pressure resulted in a significant reduction in the NO mass fraction of the burned gas. The increase in initial temperature was also accompanied by an increase in the mass fractions o... [more]

Accumulation of electronic waste (e-waste) will place a heavy burden on the environment without proper treatment; however, most ingredients contained in it are useful, and it could bring great economic benefits when recycled. A three-phase alternating current (AC) arc plasma pyrolysis device was designed for resourcing treatment of waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs). This paper focuses on the analysis of plasma pyrolysis gas products, and the results showed that the plasma could operate stably, and overcame the problems of the poor continuity and low energy of single-arc discharge. Air-plasma would generate NOx contaminants, burn the organics, and oxidize the metals; therefore, air had not been selected as a working gas. Ar-plasma can break the long chains of organic macromolecules to make a combustible gas. Moreover, the strong adhesion between the metals and fiberglass boards would be destroyed, which facilitates subsequent separation. Ar/H2-plasma promoted the decrease of carbon d... [more]

As people pay ever-increasing attention to the problems caused by psychological stress, research on its influencing factors becomes crucial. This study analyzed the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS, Cycle 3 and Cycle 4) data (N = 5484) and assessed the outcomes using descriptive statistics, Chi-squared tests, and t-tests. Four machine learning algorithms were applied for modeling: logistic regression (linear), random forests (RF) (ensemble), the artificial neural network (ANN) (nonlinear), and gradient boosting (GB) (ensemble). The samples were randomly assigned to a 50% training set and a 50% validation set. Twenty-six preselected variables from the databases were used in the study as predictors, and the four models identified twenty predictors of psychological distress. The essence of this paper is a binary classification problem of judging whether an individual has psychological distress based on many different factors. Therefore, accuracy, precision, recall, F1-scor... [more]

The remediation of groundwater containing arsenic is a problem that has been addressed using adsorption processes with granulated materials in columns, but the remediation itself could be improved by using micro-sized adsorbents in stirred systems. In this study, arsenate (As(V)) batch adsorption experiments were performed using granular ferric hydroxide (GFH) and two derived micro-sized materials. Reduced-size adsorbents were produced by energetic ball milling, giving final sizes of 0.1−2 µm (OF-M samples) and ultra-sonication, producing final sizes of 2−50 µm (OF-U samples). Equilibrium isotherm studies showed that the Langmuir model was a good fit for the three sorbents, with the highest maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) for OF-U and the lowest for OF-M. The adsorption of the two groundwater samples occurred according to the obtained equilibrium isotherms and indicated the absence of interfering agents for the three adsorbents. Batch kinetics tests in stirred beakers followed a pse... [more]

In addition to the consumption of hot utilities, there is also a significant cost associated with the consumption of cold utilities when there is a high demand for cooling. A promising solution for cooling is an absorption chiller (AC), which uses heat instead of electricity for cooling. A thermodynamic approach for evaluating AC integrated with a process is presented in this work. A model for assessing the properties and duties of an AC cycle was developed. The integration of a combined process-AC system was evaluated using the Grand Composite Curve. Three different options of integration were analyzed: (i) above the Pinch, (ii) below the Pinch, and (iii) across the Pinch. AC represents the combined effect of a heat engine and a heat pump, as the generator together with the absorber and condenser has the function of a heat engine, while the evaporator combined with the absorber and condenser mimics the function of a heat pump. The comparison between the non-integrated and integrated p... [more]

Chromatography is a technique widely used in the purification of biopharmaceuticals, and generally consists of several chromatographic steps. In this work, Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography (HIC) is investigated as a polishing step for the purification of therapeutic proteins. Adsorption mechanisms in hydrophobic interaction chromatography are still not completely clear and a limited amount of published data is available. In addition to new data on adsorption isotherms for some proteins (obtained both by high-throughput and frontal analysis method), and a comparison of different models proposed in the literature, two different approaches are compared in this work to investigate HIC. The predictive approach exploits an in-house code that simulates the behavior of the component in the column using the model parameters found from the fitting of experimental data. The estimation approach, on the other hand, exploits commercial software in which the model parameters are found by the fi... [more]

A differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) experiment was carried out to determine the thermal characteristics of harmful substances. Most experimenters only use the results of measurement and rarely conduct in-depth research on the variety of information behind the measurement. This study used Wolfram’s Mathematica as a DSC measurement research tool to plot the peak curve and derive the characteristic parameters graphically for 1,1-Bis(tert-butylperoxy)cyclohexane. The research steps included raw data cleansing, peak curve normalization, characteristic parameter derivation, and total reaction heat calculation. The kinetic parameters of individual data were derived through the Borchardt and Daniels method, and the autocatalytic model was also verified. We applied the derived characteristic parameters to simulate the peak curve through the Gaussian curve model, which can be used for estimating the peak curve of other heating rates. The derived kinetic parameters were used to observe the... [more]

Membrane chromatography (MC) is an emerging bioseparation technology combining the principles of membrane filtration and chromatography. In this process, one type of molecule is adsorbed in the stationary phase, whereas the other type of molecule is passed through the membrane pores without affecting the adsorbed molecule. In subsequent the step, the adsorbed molecule is recovered by an elution buffer with a unique ionic strength and pH. Functionalized microfiltration membranes are usually used in radial flow, axial flow, and lateral flow membrane modules in MC systems. In the MC process, the transport of a solute to a stationary phase is mainly achieved through convection and minimum pore diffusion. Therefore, mass transfer resistance and pressure drop become insignificant. Other characteristics of MC systems are a minimum clogging tendency in the stationary phase, the capability of operating with a high mobile phase flow rate, and the disposable (short term) application of stationary... [more]

Production and business enterprises are aiming to improve their logistics activities in order to increase competitiveness. Therefore, the criteria and decision support models for selecting logistics service providers are significant to businesses. Fuzzy theory has been applied to almost all industrial engineering fields, such as decision making, operations research, quality control, project scheduling and many more. In this research, the authors combined fuzzy theory and a Multicriteria Decision Making (MCDM) model for the evaluation and selection of potential third-party logistics (3PL) providers. The goal is to take the advantages of these approaches and allow for more accurate and balanced (symmetric) decision making through their integration. The main contribution of this study is that it develops a complete approach to assessing the quality of the logistics service industry. The combined method of the SERVQUAL and FAHP−TOPSIS models not only provides reasonable results, but it als... [more]

To shorten the measuring time of formaldehyde emissions from wood-based panels and reduce the costs of quality control processes during industrial furniture production, more efficient methods for measuring formaldehyde emissions from wood-based panels need to be developed. In this study, the formaldehyde emissions from 18-mm-thick veneered particleboard were measured using the desiccator method and the 1 m3 climate chamber method according to Chinese national standard GB/T17657-2013, and the correlation between these two methods was determined. Through a correlation analysis of 60 groups of data, the results indicated that the linear correlation coefficient (R) between two methods was 0.718, and the regression model was established, which by F and P values demonstrated a significant correlation at the 0.01 level of significance. As long as the quality of materials and the production processes remained consistent, the desiccator method was reliable enough for conducting routine quality... [more]

The new RP-HPLC-DAD method for the determination of ciprofloxacin and pefloxacin, next to their degradation products after the oxidation reaction with 4,4′-azobis(4-cyanopentanoic acid) (ACVA) was developed. The method was validated according to the guidelines of the International Council for Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) and meets the acceptance criteria. The experimental data indicate that the course of the oxidation process depends on the type of fluoroquinolone (FQ), the incubation time and temperature. The performed kinetic evaluation allowed us to state that the oxidation of FQs proceeds according to the second-order kinetics. The degradation products of the FQs were identified using the UHPLC-MS/MS method and their structures were proposed. The results obtained by the TLC-direct bioautography technique allowed us to state that the main ciprofloxacin and pefloxacin oxidation products probably retained antibacterial activity agains... [more]

Environmental pollution is currently a major concern globally owing to increase in the world population and advances in industrialization. An automatic waste separation and sorting equipment for small-scale waste sorting systems was constructed in this paper. A two-DoF (two-degree-of-freedom) parallel sorting mechanism as well as a belt waste separation and feeding mechanism were designed, and 3D models of the mechanism were established. Finite element analysis (FEA) was conducted for the sorting mechanism, and kinematic and dynamic analysis and numerical simulation were performed for the waste and sorting mechanism. The simulation results demonstrated that the spherical waste did not roll out of the platform after leaving the slideway. The waste was stabilized at the center of the platform within a short duration with movement of the collecting mechanism of the platform. The system was optimized to reduce waste separation and sorting time. Stability of the waste motion in the equipmen... [more]

Temperature control is widely perceived to be superior to direct composition control for the control of dividing-wall distillation columns (DWDCs) due to its advantages in dynamic characteristics. However, because of the limited estimation accuracy to the controlled product purities, the former cannot eliminate the steady-state errors in the maintained product purities as completely as the latter. In order to reduce the steady-state deviations in the maintained product purities, an effective temperature control method is proposed in the current article by means of a kind of simple but effective product quality estimator (PQE). For the proposed PQE, temperatures of three stages located in the controlled column section (TI1, TI2, and TI3) are employed as inputs, and a linear sum of these three inputted stage temperatures (α × TI1 + β × TI2 + γ × TI3) is given as output. A genetic algorithm with an elitist preservation strategy is used to optimize the locations of the three stage temperat... [more]

The global interest in MgH2 is due to the natural availability of Mg and its capacity to retain hydrogen at a concentration of up to 7.60 wt.%. Despite its appealing characteristics and ease of production on an industrial scale at ambient temperature using the reactive ball milling (RBM) technique, MgH2 is a highly stable chemical with sluggish hydrogenation and dehydrogenation rates below 300 °C. Among the different methods used to improve the hydrogenation/dehydrogenation kinetic behavior of MgH2, mechanical treatment and/or catalysis are regarded to be the most effective methods. The purpose of this research was to explore the effectiveness of several cold rolling (CR) stages on the hydrogenation properties of recycled magnesium rods, as well as the effect of the resulting RBM on the final product. For this process, the as-received waste Mg-rods were firstly cold-rolled 200 times and then remilled under H2 atmosphere for 100 h. The as-RBM powders were then cold-rolled for 100 passes... [more]

The present study assessed the metabolites and bioactivities of Micromeria fruticosa plant parts extracted with various solvents (ethanol, n-hexane, and water) through the steeping extraction method. Thereafter, the extracts were analyzed using GC-MS. Moreover, the extracts were tested for their antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antitumor activities. The quali-quantitative analysis of Micromeria fruticosa crude extracts revealed the occurrence of 27 secondary metabolites. Some major bioactives identified were menthone, oleamide, pulegone, and menthol. Numerous antioxidant minerals, viz., Fe, Zn, and Mn, were present. The water extract of leaves exhibited the highest DPPH scavenging activity (89.73%), followed by the water extract of flowers (80.07%) at 100 μg/mL. The stems’ water extract demonstrated greater antimicrobial activity against all the bacteria species tested. The ethanolic leaf and aqueous stem extracts exhibited strong activity against C. albicans and E. coli. Flowers’ aqueo... [more]