The transformation to Supply Chain (SC) 4.0 promises new opportunities for companies to gain competitiveness. The Lean Value Stream Mapping (VSM) tool allows the supervision of all the processes of the entire SC, from which we can identify the different types of waste that hinder the competitiveness of the SC. Following the existing problems detected with the help of a diagnostic, we will propose a new process design by integrating 4.0 technologies to modernize the company. For our case study, we treat the multinational SC of Automotive Wiring Equipment Morocco, where we will focus on the downstream part of the SC composed of the warehouse and the different stages of road and sea transport until the final delivery in Austria. Then, we will consider the opportunities offered by each country in terms of logistics competitiveness. In this research work, we will show how Lean VSM4.0 will contribute to sustainable development by integrating the three pillars economic, environmental, and soc... [more]

In order to assess the sunflower oil (SFO) oxidative stability that was added by the essential oils extracted from Lonicera japonica flower buds (LJEO) during deep-frying at 180 °C for 30 h, we clarified the compound/compounds of LJEO that improved the oxidative stability of SFO. The results displayed that the addition of LJEO (0.06 g/kg) could significantly restrict the elevation or the reduction in the levels of total polar compounds (TPC), thiobarbituric acid (TBA), conjugated dienes and conjugated trienes, and the values for polymer, viscosity and the color of SFO during the whole period. Meanwhile, the reduction in the sensory attributes, including flavor, taste, crispness and overall acceptability of the fried product, youtiao, was obviously restricted as well. After the bioassay-guided fractionation of LJEO and repeated deep-frying at 180 °C for 30 h, one of its chemical constituents, eugenol, was demonstrated to be the very compound that did significantly inhibit the oxidative... [more]

To study the movement law of methane in the goaf drained by a large-diameter borehole drilling machine under “U”-shaped ventilation, a simulation on a coal mine was conducted on Fluent to find the optimal spacing between large-diameter boreholes and the most appropriate distance between the borehole and the upper corner. The variation of borehole drilling and the methane concentration in the upper corner were obtained through a field test. Results show that the method of drilling large-diameter boreholes greatly reduces the methane concentration in the goaf and the upper corner, with the optimal borehole spacing being 30 m and the most appropriate distance between the borehole and the upper corner being 15 m. When the large-diameter borehole is drilled 25 m deep down into the goaf, it penetrates into the stress impact area, and the methane concentration increases rapidly, with the maximum being 3.7%. When the borehole is drilled 35 m down into the goaf, the methane concentration slight... [more]

In today’s linear economy, waste streams, environmental pollution, and social−economic differences are increasing with population growth. The need to develop towards a circular economy is obvious, especially since waste streams are composed of valuable compounds. Waste is a heterogeneous and complex matrix, the selective isolation of, for example, polyphenolic compounds, is challenging due to its energy efficiency and at least partially its selectivity. Extraction is handled as an emerging technology in biorefinery approaches. Conventional solid liquid extraction with organic solvents is hazardous and environmentally unfriendly. New extraction methods and green solvents open a wider scope of applications. This research focuses on the question of whether these methods and solvents are suitable to replace their organic counterparts and on the definition of parameters to optimize the processes. This review deals with the process development of agro-food industrial waste streams for bioref... [more]

Lithium-ion batteries are state of the art and, still, their performance is constantly improving. To increase the energy density and electric conductivity, electrodes are usually calendered. Hereby, a higher degree of compaction, while reducing structural damage, can be reached by heating the calendering rolls. For industrially relevant line speeds, it is however questionable whether the contact time between electrode and roll is sufficient to reach the full positive effect of the increased temperature. This study shows a numerical approach based on the discrete element method to simulate the heating behavior of electrodes before and during calendering using a typical NMC-622-cathode as a model structure. To improve the results of existing, more simplified discrete element method simulations, which neglect the heat transfer through the carbon black−binder matrix, an extension with heat transfer through the carbon black−binder matrix has been implemented. Considering process parameters,... [more]

The failure of thickeners at high temperature results in gelled acid acidification fracturing. To solve the problem, 8 kinds of polymers were synthesized by free radical polymerization of aqueous solution using AM, AMPS, NaAMPS, MAPTAC, DTAB and NVP as raw materials. The polymer was characterized by infrared spectroscopy and viscosity-average molecular weight, and the temperature resistance, rheology, salt resistance and shear resistance of the polymer solution were compared, and the mechanism was analyzed. The results show that the viscosity of GTY−2 is 181.52 mPa·s, and the viscosity loss rate is 56.89% at 180 °C and 100 s−1, and its temperature resistance is the best. Meanwhile, the viscosity retention rate of GTY−2 is 84.58% after 160 min shear, showing the strongest shear resistance. The viscosity loss rate of GTY−1 in 20% hydrochloric acid solution is 80.88%, and its acid resistance is stronger than that of GTY−2. Moreover, due to the amphiphilicity of DTAB, the molecular hydrati... [more]

Research aimed at finding alternative fuels to replace petroleum diesel (petrodiesel) used in controlled combustion engines (CCEs) has identified biodiesel as one of the main candidates, due to its sustainability and potential for use in energy matrices. In this study, the gas emissions from a diesel CCE were investigated, with a focus on total hydrocarbons (THC) and carbon monoxide (CO). Biodiesel (B100) samples derived from the transesterification of frying oil, produced applying conventional chemical catalysis (CC) or non-thermal plasma (NTP) technology, were tested as alternative fuels. Three engine rotation speeds were investigated (900, 1500, and 2500 rpm) and biodiesel samples obtained from the residual frying oil were compared with conventional road diesel (S-500) without biodiesel added, acquired from a gas station. Blends were also prepared with S-500 and B100 obtained applying NTP for 15 or 30 min, in mixes containing 2, 12, 20, and 50% of biodiesel. These blends showed redu... [more]

While COVID-19 vaccines are generally available, not all people receive vaccines. To reach herd immunity, most of a population must be vaccinated. It is, thus, important to identify factors influencing people’s vaccination preferences, as knowledge of these preferences allows for governments and health programs to increase their vaccine coverage more effectively. Fortunately, vaccination data were collected by U.S. Census Bureau in partnership with the CDC via the Household Pulse Survey (HPS) for Americans. This study presents the first analysis of the 24 vaccination datasets collected by the HPS from January 2021 to May 2022 for 250 million respondents of different ages, genders, sexual orientations, races, education statuses, marital statuses, household sizes, household income levels, and resources used for spending needs, and with different reasons for not receiving or planning to receive a vaccine. Statistical analysis techniques, including an analysis of variance (ANOVA), Tukey mu... [more]

To improve the battery state of charge (SOC) of the electric vehicle (EV), this paper proposes a master−slave electro-hydraulic hybrid electric vehicle (MSEH-HEV). The MSEH-HEV uses a planetary row as the core transmission component to realize the interconversion between mechanical energy, hydraulic energy and electrical energy. Meanwhile, this paper introduces the six working modes in vehicle operation, matches the parameters of key components to the requirements of the vehicle’s performance and designs a rule-based control strategy to dominate the energy distribution and the operating mode switching. The research uses AMESim and Simulink to perform a co-simulation of the MSEH-HEV, and the superiority of MSEH-HEV is testified by comparing it with an AMESim licensed EV. The simulation results show that in the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) and the Extra Urban Driving Cycle (EUDC), the MSEH-HEV has a 15% reduction in battery consumption, and the motor peak torque is greatly reduce... [more]

The non-oxygenated oil product of the pyrolysis of polypropylene cannot be used directly as an engine fuel due to its high content of alkenes. However, high pressure of hydrogen gas is commonly employed in the hydrotreatment of alkenes to produce alkanes. A semi-batch hydrogenation reaction using a hydrogen gas self-inducing impeller to internally recirculate the hydrogen gas has been implemented in the present work to provide small hydrogen gas bubbles so that the gas dispersion in the liquid phase is intensified. This technique is expected to improve the contact of hydrogen, oil, and the Ni/Al2O3 catalyst, which in turn alleviates high pressures of hydrogen gas. The hydrogenation reaction was performed at 185 °C with an impeller speed of 400 rpm. The pressure was varied from 2 to 8 bar. At the pressure of 2 bar, the main reactions are the hydrogenation of alkenes and cyclization of alkenes leading to cycloalkane formation, while at the pressures of 4, 6, and 8 bar, the main reactions... [more]

Lignite’s large abundance, physicochemical properties and low cost are attractive for industrial wastewater remediation. However, directly applying lignite for wastewater treatment suffers low efficiency. Here, we synthesize highly efficient zero-valent iron (ZVI)-decorated lignite carbon through the in-situ carbonization of a lignite and FeCl2 mixture for heavy metal removal. The effect of carbonization temperature on the morphology, structure and crystallite phases of ZVI-decorated lignite carbons (ZVI-LXs) was investigated. At an optimized temperature (i.e., 1000 °C), ZVI particles were found evenly distributed on the lignite matrix with the particles between 20 to 190 nm. Moreover, ZVI particles were protected by a graphene shell that was formed in situ during the carbonization. The synthesized ZVI-L1000 exhibited higher Cu2+, Pb2+ and Cd2+ stripping capacities than pristine lignite in a wide pH range of 2.2−6.3 due to the surface-deposited ZVI particles. The maximum Langmuir adsor... [more]

Powder deaggregation in Dry Powder Inhalers (DPI) with carrier-based formulations is a key process for the effectiveness of drug administration. Carrier-wall collisions are one of the recognised mechanisms responsible for active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) aerosolisation, and DPI geometries are designed to maximise their efficacy. The detachment of fine and cohesive API particles is investigated at a fundamental level by simulating with DEM the normal collision of a carrier sphere with an API particle attached. The impact velocity at which detachment occurs (escape velocity) is determined as a function of key parameters, such as cohesiveness, coefficient of restitution, static and rolling friction. An analytical model for the escape velocity is then derived, examining the role of the initial position of the particle, cohesion model and particle size. Finally, the results are framed in the context of DPI inhalers, comparing the results obtained with impact velocities typically recor... [more]

Bubble size and its distribution are the important parameters which have a direct impact on mass transfer in bubble column reactors. For this, a new robust image processing technique was presented for investigating hydrodynamic aspects and bubble behavior in real chemical or biochemical processes. The experiments were performed in a small-scale bubble column. The study was conducted for the wide range of clear liquid heights and superficial gas velocities. However, a major challenge in image analysis techniques is identification of overlapping or cluster bubbles. This problem can be overcome with the help of the proposed algorithm. In this respect, large numbers of videos were recorded using a high-speed camera. Based on detailed experiments, the gas−liquid dispersion area was divided into different zones. A foam region width was found as inversely proportional to the clear liquid height. An entry region width was found as directly proportional to the clear liquid height. Hydrodynamic... [more]

This paper focuses on the use of AI in various MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System) biosensor types. Al increases the potential of Micro-Electro-Mechanical System biosensors and opens up new opportunities for automation, consumer electronics, industrial manufacturing, defense, medical equipment, etc. Micro-Electro-Mechanical System microcantilever biosensors are currently making their way into our daily lives and playing a significant role in the advancement of social technology. Micro-Electro-Mechanical System biosensors with microcantilever structures have a number of benefits over conventional biosensors, including small size, high sensitivity, mass production, simple arraying, integration, etc. These advantages have made them one of the development avenues for high-sensitivity sensors. The next generation of sensors will exhibit an intelligent development trajectory and aid people in interacting with other objects in a variety of scenario applications as a result of the active de... [more]

This work focused on the optimization of the ultrasound (US) extraction of polyphenols from sweet cherry pulp by monitoring cyanidin-3O-rutinoside, quercetin-3O-rutinoside, and trans-3-O-coumaroylquinic acid, representing the main anthocyanin, flavonol, and hydroxycinnamate, respectively, identified in the extracts through chromatographic analyses (HPLC-DAD), as output variables. The optimization was performed following a two-level central composite design and the influence of the selected independent variables (i.e., extraction time and solid to solvent ratio) was checked through the response surface methodology. The maximum recovery of the phenolic compounds was obtained at 3 min and 0.25 g/mL in water/ethanol (1:1, v/v) at a set temperature (25 °C), sonication power (100 W), and sonication frequency (37 kHz). Subsequent validation experiments proved the effectiveness and reliability of the gathered mathematical models in defining the best ultrasound-assisted extraction conditions.

In this brief, we consider the mean-field type H− index problem for stochastic Markovian jump systems. A sufficient condition is derived for stochastic Markovian jump systems with (x,u)-dependent noise based on generalized differential Riccati equations. Especially for stochastic Markovian jump systems with only x-dependent noise, a sufficient and necessary condition is developed to characterize H− index larger than some ξ>0. Finally, a numerical example is addressed to verify the effectiveness of our obtained results.

Agricultural productivity plays a vital role in a country’s economy, which can be increased by providing the proper water needed for crops. Proper water provision ensures suitable moisture and appropriate conditions essential for crops, water resource preservation, minimized water wastage, and energy consumption. However, adequate water provision is challenging due to intermittent and uncertain environmental and weather conditions. On this note, a model with uncertain and stochastic conditions (rain, wet, dry, humidity, and moisture) capturing abilities is needed. Thus, a smart-sensors-based solar-powered system is developed for monitoring and controlling the tube well that ensures proper water provision to crops. The developed system properly checks weather and environmental conditions (rain, temperature, irradiance, humidity, etc.), soil conditions (wet or dry), and crop conditions to monitor and regulate water flow accordingly to minimize water and energy consumption wastage. The de... [more]

Identifying combustion regimes is important for understanding combustion phenomena and the structure of flames. This study proposes a combustion regime identification (CRI) method based on rotated principal component analysis (PCA), clustering analysis and the back-propagation neural network (BPNN) method. The methodology is tested with large-eddy simulation (LES) data of two turbulent non-premixed flames. The rotated PCA computes the principal components of instantaneous multivariate data obtained in LES, including temperature, and mass fractions of chemical species. The frame front results detected using the clustering analysis do not rely on any threshold, indicating the quantitative characteristic given by the unsupervised machine learning provides a perspective towards objective and reliable CRI. The training and the subsequent application of the BPNN rely on the clustering results. Five combustion regimes, including environmental air region, co-flow region, combustion zone, prehe... [more]

Both anthropogenic and natural sources of pollution are regionally significant. Therefore, in order to monitor and protect the quality of Langat River from deterioration, we use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to model the river water quality. This study has applied several machine learning models (two support vector machines (SVMs), six regression models, and artificial neural network (ANN)) to predict total suspended solids (TSS), total solids (TS), and dissolved solids (DS)) in Langat River, Malaysia. All of the models have been assessed using root mean square error (RMSE), mean square error (MSE) as well as the determination of coefficient (R2). Based on the model performance metrics, the ANN model outperformed all models, while the GPR and SVM models exhibited the characteristic of over-fitting. The remaining machine learning models exhibited fair to poor performances. Although there are a few researches conducted to predict TDS using ANN, however, there are less to no research condu... [more]

Currently, the concern for achieving and fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a constant in advanced societies. The scientific community and various organisations are working on obtaining an information system that will make it possible to offer the necessary value to this type of sustainability information. The article aims to incorporate criteria on the technology used in the reporting system, specifically in collecting the different types of data and generating other interfaces. The methods described here are carried out on a specific case study, a Smart City, showing the different types of data that exist and the possible interfaces that allow objective monitoring of the achievement of the SDGs. It is, therefore, a descriptive study of a process whose results are the establishment of criteria concerning the different data sources as well as the generation of a set of interfaces that motivate the monitoring that can be carried out in a specific city to observe its... [more]

Countries have started to aggressively undertake energy structure transformation strategies in order to reach the objective of carbon neutrality. Both clean and efficient coal energy use and clean energy use will be crucial to the process of changing the energy structure since the two cannot be totally replaced within a short period of time. In this study, we quantify emotions as an irrational factor, combine them with an evolutionary game using RDEU theory, and build an evolutionary game model between government regulators and energy consumers. We then analyze how low-carbon emotions of decision-makers affect their choice of strategy and the transformation of the energy structure. The findings support that by affecting the relative importance of each strategic choice, emotions have a profound impact on the evolutionary steady state of the system. Appropriate stress and anxiety can increase decision-makers’ feelings of responsibility, while pleasant emotions frequently support strategi... [more]

Hydraulic fracture networks, especially fracture geometry, height growth, and proppant transport within the networks, present a critical influence on productivity evaluation and optimization of fracturing parameters. However, information about hydraulic fracture networks in post-fractured formations is seldom available. In this study, the characteristics (density and orientation) of hydraulic fractures were obtained from field observations of cores taken from conglomerate hydraulic fracturing test site (CHFTS). A large number of fractures were observed in the cores, and systematic fracture description was carried out. The fracture analysis data obtained includes fracture density, fracture depth, fracture orientation, morphology, fracture surface features, apertures, fill, fracture mechanical origin (type), etc. Our results show that 228 hydraulic fractures were intersected in a span of 293.71 m of slant core and composed of irregularly spaced single fractures and fracture swarms. One o... [more]

The objective of this research work was to investigate the potential of control models based on reinforcement learning in the optimization of solar thermal cooling systems (STCS) operation through a case study. In this, the performance of the installation working with a traditional predictive control approach and with a reinforcement learning (RL)-based control approach was analyzed and compared using a specific realistic simulation tool. In order to achieve the proposed objective, a control system module based on the reinforcement learning approach with the capacity for interacting with the aforementioned realistic simulation tool was developed in Python. For the studied period and the STCS operating with a control system based on RL, the following was observed: a 35% reduction in consumption of auxiliary energy, a 17% reduction in the electrical consumption of the pump that feeds the absorption machine and more precise control in the generation of cooling energy regarding the install... [more]

A large number of microfluidic applications are based on effective mixing. In the application of water purification, the contaminated water needs to be effectively mixed with a solution that is loaded with nanoparticles. In this work, the Tesla valve was used as a micromixer device in order to evaluate the effect of this type of geometry on the mixing process of two streams. For this reason, several series of simulations were performed in order to achieve an effective mixing of iron oxide nanoparticles and contaminated water in a duct. In the present work, a stream loaded with Fe3O4 nanoparticles and a stream with contaminated water were numerically studied for various inlet velocity ratios and initial concentrations between the two streams. The Navier−Stokes equations were solved for the water flow and the discrete motion of particles was evaluated by the Lagrangian method. Results indicate that the Tesla valve can be used as a micromixer since mixing efficiency reached up to 63% for... [more]

An electro-hydraulic servo pump control system realizes the basic action of a hydraulic cylinder by controlling the servo motor, which effectively improves the problems of a traditional valve control system such as high energy consumption, low power-to-weight ratio, and poor anti-pollution ability. However, the static accuracy and dynamic performance of an electro-hydraulic servo pump control system are limited due to the electro-hydraulic coupling and flow nonlinearity. Based on this, in this paper, we establish a mathematical model of an electro-hydraulic servo pump control system. Starting from the internal control mechanism of the system, the Simulink simulation model is established to analyze the dynamic response of the system current loop, speed loop, position loop, and pressure loop. The system parameters are obtained by combining the system dynamic analysis and component technology samples. The position/force control model of the electro-hydraulic servo pump control system is b... [more]