Batch Of Material Research Articles

Superfast crystalline powder synthetic strategy toward scale-up of perovskite solar cells

Commercialized perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are limited owing to the high cost of high-purity PbI2 (99.999%), raw material batch variance, and stoichiometric deviation. Here, we report a rapid antisolvent-assisted crystallization (RAC) method to speedily obtain high-grade perovskite powders from low-purity and inexpensive PbI2 (98%) raw materials. Without long-term stirring or employing any toxic antisolvent, RAC is a cost-efficient and environmentally friendly method with a high yield of over 92%. By precise characterization, the RAC method can reduce the impurities in raw materials that minimize the impurity-induced shallow-level trap density and hence the non-radiative recombination of carriers. As per the results, over 12% increase in power conversion efficiency (PCE) is obtained from low-grade raw materials, resulting in a champion PCE of 20.5% for small-area MAPbI3 PSCs and certified 18.35% for doctor-bladed 6.75-cm2 mini-module. With a reduction in material cost and a considerable increase in efficiency, RAC is a suitable alternative to the mass-produced, commercially available large-scale PSC.

Batch and Flow Synthesis of CeO2 Nanomaterials Using Solid-State Microwave Generators.

Microwave-assisted synthesis in combination with flow synthesis offers an interesting approach to develop faster and more sustainable procedures for the preparation of homogeneous nanomaterials. Recently, solid-state generators of microwaves appeared as a tool with improved control over power and frequency. Cerium oxide, despite its excellent catalytic activity, has not been prepared before using solid-state generators or microwave-assisted flow chemistry. We report a procedure for the preparation of nanoparticulated CeO2 (around 4 nm) under 2.45 GHz microwaves in only 30 s. The materials are further calcined at 800 °C to increase particle size, with a better defined particle size and crystallinity. The procedure was tested in batch at pH 11 and 12 and diverse potencies, and the products were characterized by TEM, XRD, DLS, and N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms. The materials were similar at the diverse pH values and potencies. XRD confirms the crystallinity of the CeO2 material with a fluorite-like structure. They are composed of particles around 40 nm that aggregate as structures of around 100 nm. The procedure was successfully adapted to flow synthesis, obtaining materials with structure and properties equivalent to batch synthesis. The batch and flow materials offer peroxidase properties, opening the door for their use as ROS scavengers.

Defining multivariate raw material specifications in industry 4.0

A novel methodology is proposed for defining multivariate raw material specifications providing assurance of quality with a certain confidence level for the critical to quality attributes (CQA) of the manufactured product. The capability of the raw material batches of producing final product with CQAs within specifications is estimated before producing a single unit of the product, and, therefore, can be used as a decision making tool to accept or reject any new supplier raw material batch. The method is based on Partial Least Squares (PLS) model inversion taking into account the prediction uncertainty and can be used with historical/happenstance data, typical in Industry 4.0. The methodology is illustrated using data from three real industrial processes.

Generation of alternative methods for managing raw materials to support decision-making in the dairy industry

The dairy industry is a unique branch of the food production sector, where various decisions have to be made concerning the type and quantity of the manufactured products and the layout of processing lines. The literature on the subject is relatively limited. Therefore, an attempt was made in this study to support decision making in the dairy industry. The article proposes a general methodology for modeling dairy production systems which are characterized by numerous interdependent and concurrent processing operations. The proposed method relies on the object-oriented modeling technique and graph theory, and it can be used to model the equipment and layout of production lines. The method enables multivariate simulations of the production process involving a specific batch of raw materials. The simulated variants differ in the configuration of the production line and/or the allocation of raw materials (semi-finished products) to different segments of the production line. The tested model was verified and validated, and the average relative error of estimation was 3.27% for butter production and 2.46% for buttermilk production. The proposed method could support decision-making in the process of selecting the production strategy, including the assortment and quantity of the manufactured products, and the configuration of production lines.

Systematic in-depth study on material constitutive parameter identification for numerical cutting simulation on 16MnCr5 comparing temperature-coupled and uncoupled Split Hopkinson pressure bars

A comprehensive systematic comparative study on high-strain-rate tests (Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar), with and without in-situ heating of the specimens and their respective influence on the quality of empirical material models is presented. The determination of material constitutive model parameters is one of the most challenging aspects of the modelling and simulation of machining processes. Chip formation and process forces show a significant dependence on the actual constitutive model and its parameters as well as on the testing method. Typically, the influences of strain, strain rate, and temperature are investigated in separate experiments of quasi-static compression tests and tests, because the most widespread phenomenological constitutive material models (e.g. Johnson–Cook model) neglect interactions between temperature and strain rate. In contrast, the presented work demonstrates, that a coupled experimental approach of strain rate and temperature in the same test increases the quality of such uncoupled material models as well. The authors compared both approaches (separated and in situ temperature-dependent experiments) by determining the constitutive model parameters for AISI 5115 steel samples taken from a single material batch. The parameters are calculated based on a covariance matrix adaptation evolution strategy and applied in identical two-dimensional orthogonal FEM cutting simulations. Process forces and chip thickness values were used for comparison with the machining experiments. The work therefore gives new aspects to decide for a suitable experimental approach when calibrating a constitutive equation.

Direct coupling of size exclusion chromatography and mass spectrometry for the characterization of complex monoclonal antibody products.

The present study describes the possibilities offered by an innovative bioinert size exclusion chromatography column for size variant characterization of complex monoclonal antibody products. This size exclusion chromatography column includes a novel column hardware surface. The column was prepared from metallic hardware components that were treated to have prototype hydrophilically modified hybrid organic–inorganic silica surfaces called hybrid surface technology. This provides a significant reduction in nondesired hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions that can occur between column and analyte when performing size exclusion chromatography analysis with volatile mobile phase.Compared to a reference stainless‐steel column packed with the same batch of packing material, peak tailing, band broadening, and above all recovery of high molecular weight species were distinctly improved for all types of monoclonal antibody products. Based on our observations, we found that 50 mM ammonium acetate in water was a suitable mobile phase offering good compromise in terms of liquid chromatography performance and mass spectrometry sensitivity. In addition, method repeatability (intra‐ and interday relative standard deviations) on elution times and high molecular weight species peak areas were found to be excellent.By using this innovative size exclusion chromatography material, the low and high molecular weight species contained in various stressed and nonstressed monoclonal antibody products were successfully characterized with mass spectrometry detection.

Potential Routes to the Sustainability of the Food Packaging Industry

Plastic packaging of food products has a significant impact on the sustainability of the food industry and trade. The article presents selected problems surrounding the production of plastic packaging for food storage and distribution that might cause disruptions in the implementation of sustainable production. An important question regards the extent to which the industry that produces this packaging complies with the sustainability requirements. The present work consists in an investigation of the problems observed in a plastic packaging manufacturing company located in Poland, which is part of a global corporation. Plastic waste management was analyzed and compared with the requirements of a closed loop economy. The quantities of raw material processed and the quantities of waste in the defined period were analyzed. During the analyzed period, 0.05% of the monthly production was non-recyclable waste. The quality of raw material seems to be responsible for the majority of wastes. Therefore, the important role of SAP (Systems Applications and Products) in the use of lower quality batches of raw material is indicated. On the other hand, a possibility of converting the wastes into liquid or gaseous fuels is suggested. In addition, the paper investigates the efficiency of machine use in a film bag production line in a three-shift system. Process losses were analyzed and reliability indicators such as overall equipment efficiency (OEE) and its components, mean time between failures (MTBF), and mean failure repair time (MTTR) were determined. The monthly OEE values for each change individually exceeded 80%.

Optimization of Energy Recovery from Hazardous Waste in a Waste Incineration Plant with the Use of an Application

Recovering energy from waste is a positive element in the operation of a waste incineration plant. Hazardous waste is a very diverse group, including in terms of its fuel properties. Carrying out the thermal process in this case is associated with the difficulty in maintaining stable conditions. This may translate into the efficiency of energy recovery from waste. The article presents a tool supporting the work of hazardous waste incineration plant operators, the aim of which is to select waste for a batch of input material in a manner that ensures process stability and efficient energy recovery. The tool is an application in which the bee algorithm is implemented. It selects the optimal solution to the problem, in accordance with the assumed parameters. The application tests in laboratory conditions were satisfactory and indicated compliance with the assumptions and stability of the solution.

Establishment and Development of a Quality Evaluation Method for Sangbaipi Decoction.

Sangbaipi decoction (SD), a traditional Chinese "Ancient Classical Prescription" consisting of eight medicinal materials, is usually used to treat asthma due to excess lung Qi and phlegm fire. To establish a comprehensive quality evaluation method for SD. HPLC fingerprint analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), and principal component analysis (PCA) were applied for the quality control of SD prepared from different batches of medicinal materials. A total of 10 batches of SD samples were prepared and analyzed. A total of 24 common peaks and six active components (gardenoside, rutin, berberine, palmatine, baicalein, and wogonin) were identified in the HPLC fingerprint of SD. The ten batches of SD samples were divided into four groups via HCA and PCA. The HPLC fingerprint similarities of the 10 batch samples were 0.934 or higher. The precision, stability, repeatability, and other methodological indexes suggested that the developed method met the requirements for qualitative fingerprint research. The results indicated that HPLC fingerprints combined with PCA and multicomponent determination can be successfully applied to SD quality control. This study also provides a basis for a more comprehensive quality evaluation method for SD. The fingerprint of SD, a TCM famous classical formula, was established by HPLC in this paper. Moreover, contents of six pharmacodynamic related components in SD were determined simultaneously in order to establish a comprehensive quality evaluation method of SD. This study can also provide a basis for raw material selection, quality evaluation, extraction process, preparation development and pharmacodynamic material basis research of SD.

Application of a novel EWMA-ϕ chart on quality control in asphalt mixtures production

Traditional Shewhart control charts have insufficient detection capabilities for the volatility of means in asphalt mixture production. This paper proposes an exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) control chart to achieve quality control (QC) in asphalt mixture production based on the statistical process control (SPC) theory. We established a mathematical model of multiple-source variation and considered the effect of three sources of variation including internal variations in materials, variations between materials and variations between material batches in asphalt mixtures production. We analysed the differences between the Shewhart, Cumulative Sum (CUSUM) and EWMA control charts in practical engineering. The results show that the detection efficiency of the EWMA control chart is higher when the offset is larger, while the sensitivity is not sufficient, particularly when the offset is smaller. Therefore, in the proposed EWMA-ϕ control chart, parameters were constantly optimized by an exhaustive search optimization procedure to obtain the minimum extra quadratic loss (EQL) and performance comparison index (PCI) values to optimize the average production length (APL) that could enhance the detection ability over the entire shift range. Finally, a case of key indicator control for asphalt mixtures was introduced, and results showed that the APLs of CUSUM, EWMA and EWMA-ϕ control charts were 13, 9.14, and 7.88 days (taking temperature indicator as an example), respectively, which demonstrates that the EWMA-ϕ has timeliness superior to that of the EWMA control chart and the EWMA-ϕ control chart is more sensitive to the offset (particularly when small) for quality detection data. In addition, it showed significant superiority under any indicator monitoring, which illustrates that the proposed control chart is potentially generalizable to the QC of asphalt mixtures production.

Methods for synchronous detection of 14 mycotoxins in Pseudostellariae Radix and investigation on its contamination

This study aimed to establish a method for synchronous detection of 14 mycotoxins in Pseudostellariae Radix and investigate its contamination with mycotoxins, so as to provide technical guidance for monitoring the quality of Chinese medicinal materials and medication safety. The sample was extracted with 80% acetonitrile in an oscillator for 1 h, purified using the modified QuEChERS purifying agent(0.1 g PSA + 0.3 g C_(18) + 0.3 g MgSO_4), and separated on a Waters HSS T3 chromatographic column(2.1 mm×100 mm, 1.8 μm). The gradient elution was carried out with 0.1% formic acid in water and acetonitrile, followed by the scanning in the multi-reaction monitoring(MRM) mode and the analysis of mycotoxin contamination in 26 Pseudostellariae Radix samples. The recovery rates of the established method were within the range of 82.17%-113.6%, with the RSD values less than 7% and the limits of quantification(LOQ) being 0.019-0.976 μg·kg~(-1). The detection rate of 14 mycotoxins in 26 batches of medicinal materials was 53.85%. The detection rate of sterigmatocystin(ST) was the highest, followed by those of zearalenone(ZEN), aflatoxin G_2(AFG_2), fumonisin B_1(FB_1), HT-2 toxin, and nivalenol(NIV). Their respective detection rates were 38.46%, 26.92%, 23.08%, 11.54%, 11.54%, and 7.69%, with the pollution ranges being 1.48-69.65, 0.11-31.05, 0.11-0.66, 0.28-0.83, 20.86-42.56, and 0.46-1.84 μg·kg~(-1), respectively. The established method for the detection of 14 mycotoxins is accurate, fast and reliable. The research results have very important practical significance for guiding the monitoring and prevention and control of exogenous fungal contamination of Chinese medicinal materials.

The Adsorption of Corn Stalk Biochar for Pb and Cd: Preparation, Characterization, and Batch Adsorption Study

Biochar adsorption emerges as a convenient and cheap treatment technology to cope with the metal pollution in wastewater. In this study, a biochar made from corn stalks was prepared and its adsorption characteristics for two heavy metals, Pb and Cd, were investigated by materials characterization and batch experiments. Biochar pyrolyzed from waste corn stalks at 400–600 °C, where biochar prepared at 600 °C (BC600) was used to perform following experiments. In materials characterization, the SEM images were initially used to reveal an obvious porous structure feature of corn stalk biochar, followed by XPS and FT-IR analyses unraveling the effects of functional groups in adsorption, especially for phenol and carboxyl groups. These functional groups provided vital adsorption sites. In batch experiment, batch experiments were conducted under different factors such as pH, temperature, and background ionic strength. The increase of pH and temperature can improve the adsorption capacity, whereas the ionic strength showed negative effects. The adsorption processes of both metals can be interpreted by fitting pseudo-first order model, as indicated in kinetic experiments, and the adsorption isotherm can be well described by the Langmuir model. Overall, this study revealed the characteristics of corn stalk biochar and deciphered the potential adsorption mechanisms.

Method of composition justification of reference materials of motor fuels performance properties

At present, there are practically no reference materials for values characterizing the beneficial effect of the use of petroleum products, which reduces the efficiency of the metrological assurance processes for petroleum products testing. In particular, certification by the method of monitoring technical characteristics is an ineffective procedure for a number of motor sets and benches. It is necessary to assess the stability of such testing equipment relative to the s TABLE characteristics of any substance or material.Reference materials of motor fuels performance properties must comply with the requirements for the adequacy of the chemical composition of RM and motor fuels and guaranteed reproducibility of the values during the subsequent manufacture of a new batch of the reference material. In addition, reference materials should reproduce the values characteristic of a particular brand of commercial motor fuel or production technology.It was necessary to develop a method for justification of the composition of reference materials of motor fuels performance properties to meet the above requirements. The method includes the following stages: determination of the characteristic hydrocarbon composition of commercial motor fuels, selection of individual hydrocarbons of various groups, verification of their composition and basic physical and chemical properties, study of the most characteristic values of the investigated performance property and establishment of requirements for a possible measurement range of the certified value, measurement of the certified value for each individual hydrocarbon to be added to the composition of the reference material, development of a mathematical model «The composition of the mixture of individual hydrocarbons - The value of the motor fuel performance property» using experimental planning methods, calculation of the values of the concentrations of individual hydrocarbons in the mixture, providing the required certified value, experimental verification of the value of the certified characteristic of the performance property for the mixture with calculated values of the concentrations of individual hydrocarbons, correction of the calculated concentrations of individual hydrocarbons.The efficiency of the developed method is shown by the example of justification of the reference material composition of jet fuel chemical stability.

Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis genotype classification and fluorescence visual identification

AbstractParis polyphylla Smith. var. yunnanensis (Franch.) Hand.‐Mazz (PPY) is the legal species of Rhizoma Paridis recorded in the Chinese pharmacopeia. Therefore, accurate and convenient identification of PPY and its adulterants is key to the quality control of Rhizoma Paridis. In this research, according to single nucleotide polymorphism of internal transcribed spacer, two genotypes (YN‐I and YN‐II) of PPY are in existence. To avoid false‐negative results from the omission of the genotype during authenticity identification of PPY, two pairs of specific primers for YN‐I and YN‐II were designed, respectively. Furthermore, with the fluorescent dye SYBR Green I introduced into the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system, the identification results were directly observed in virtue of the green fluorescent color of the PCR products. After methodological validation based on 25 batches of commercial medicinal material, a rapid and specific visual fluorescent identification method for two genotypes of PPY from its adulterants was established. This research also provided a model for accurate and intuitive identification of traditional Chinese medicine from multiple species of the same genus.

Generalized Input-Output Hidden-Markov-Models for Supervising Industrial Processes

Often in industrial processes, batches of material are processed sequentially and repeatedly through a deterministic sequence of process steps. The possibly large number of sensor measurements collected throughout such industrial processes require supervisory modeling techniques that allow for characterizing the operating conditions (or states) of these process steps. This would allow for inference and predictions over the operating conditions of the current and upcoming process steps (e.g., abnormal behavior, failures, etc.) which may significantly assist the operators of the process. Traditionally, such inference questions in repeated processes can be handled in a rather straightforward manner via Input-Output Hidden Markov Models (IOHMM). However, standard IOHMM are limited to repeated and identical processes, while industrial processes may comprise multiple non-identical process steps and possibly with non-standard interdependencies between process steps. For this reason, in this paper we propose a generalization of standard IOHMM that is more appropriate for modeling industrial processes. Furthermore, we derive the update recursions for training such models and we show analytically that such update recursions guarantee an increase in the likelihood of the observation sequences.

On-line Monitoring and Data Analysis of Environmental Vibration of High Concrete Dam

As we all know, our country has actually gradually developed into a country with frequent occurrence of global earthquakes. The global earthquakes in the southwest region are the most serious. The most severe earthquake occurred in parts of the southwest. In short, the seismic performance design of a high dam is reflected under the action of the high dam for a given amount of seismic motion and input load. At present, one of the main technical methods for studying high dam seismic engineering is to use model calculations and experiments on its structural dynamics. Moreover, the earliest dam prototype dynamic experiments in my country only occurred in the 1970s and 1980s, and few people in China conducted experiments on these dams. Although there were already a certain degree of practical results at that time, a batch of valuable materials was obtained. However, no matter from the perspective of safety or the actual effect on vibration, as well as the prototype dynamic measurement and test method of the above-mentioned main dam, it has not been well applied to the current expressway. Therefore, it is necessary to consider finding an alternative original kinetic test method. The purpose of this article is to in-depth study the data analysis and application of the online monitoring system of environmental vibration of reinforced concrete high dams in my country. A new online monitoring system for dam environmental vibration is carried out for simulation experiments. Experimental research shows that the noise frequency of the three detection points of environmental noise and vibration monitoring is basically controlled between 1.5~2.0 hz, while the noise frequency of the detection point of the symmetrical location is relatively close.

Quality and safety management at bakeries

For bakeries, the main task is to produce bread of the best quality. In order to do this, the company must control the batches of incoming raw materials, semi-finished products and finished products. The quality of bread is a set of characteristics that determine the consumer properties of food products and ensure safety for humans. The use of the HACCP system is currently mandatory and is of great importance in the field of food production. JSC “Saratov bakery named after I.K. Struzhkin” is the main supplier of bakery products in Saratov and the Saratov region. In the work, a survey of all stages of the technological process of the production of bakery products of the therapeutic and preventive direction was carried out, quality management systems were analyzed. Control critical points have been identified, a package of documents and a plan for the implementation of the HACCP system at the Saratov Bakery named after I.K. Struzhkin JSC have been prepared.

Analysis of modern theoretical and technlogcal methods and equipment and prospects for the development of loading of blast furnaces

The current state of analytical support of blast furnace technology is considered. The main methods developed by leading research and design organizations in metallurgy, which are used for effective management of blast furnace smelting, are analyzed. It is shown that the loading technology of the blast furnace is of crucial importance for the efficiency of iron production. Monitoring equipment for modern blast furnaces allows you to obtain a wide range of information that can be used for prompt and effective correction of blast furnace smelting. The use of the specified information provides ample opportunities to ensure the most rational technical and economic indicators of the iron smelting process. In this regard, considerable attention was paid to the features of equipment and technology for loading batch materials into the furnace. The main operating characteristics for the equipment of blast furnaces, which ensure the loading of charge materials in the angle of ensuring the rational circumferential and radial distribution of the charge on the blast furnace, are considered. This, in turn, makes it possible to adhere to the specified loading program and ore loads. A description of how to load using a coneless tray-type loading device is provided. The process of movement of the flow of charge materials along the paths of the coneless loading device is analyzed. Sections of the guide shafts, section of the movement of the charge in the blast furnace space are considered separately. Disadvantages and advantages of the existing methods of calculating the dynamic parameters of charge materials at the relevant sites are revealed. The description of the sequence of operation of the equipment, which ensures the charging of the blast furnace charge, and recommendations for increasing the efficiency of the algorithms of the aggregates are given. The methods for determining the geometric and dynamic parameters of the movement of charge materials in the case of their release from the storage hoppers of the loading device of the blast furnace are considered separately. Analytical dependences are given for determining the flow of charge materials from the outlet and the charge leakage rate. The process of formation of a charge column in a blast furnace is considered. Among the main factors affecting the formation of the necessary ore load along the radius of the blast furnace, the loading program and the granulometric composition of the charge materials supplied to the blast furnace are highlighted. It is also shown that the most effective loading of the blast furnace with charge materials is considered to be the following method, when used, the optimal value of the ore load is ensured while ensuring the necessary gas permeability of the column of charge materials. In thisway, the main directions of effective improvement of the blast furnace smelting technology to ensure the best technical and economic indicators and a significant reduction in the specific consumption of raw materials have been determined.

A model for measuring distruption risk in the prefabrication supply chain

Use of prefabrication in construction projects is increasing due to the benefits in cost, time, quality, and safety. However, utilizing prefabrication introduces uncertainties inherent with the supply chain of the process. These uncertainties, if not managed, can disrupt the prefabrication process and result in schedule delays and cost overruns. This study proposes a model to measure disruption risks in the prefabrication process. The model was used in measuring the disruption risks of prefabrication of headwalls in patients’ rooms for a healthcare project as a pilot study. The risk model could successfully identify the disruption risks originating anywhere in the supply chain based on input information such as required material quantity, batch sizes of material deliveries, production rates, and batch sizes of transporting the headwall units. Using the model, the project team identified two uncertainties that could lead to possible disruptions: the start of the prefabrication processes and the required production rate to meet the on-site schedule. This is a first step to developing a risk exposure model that can prove valuable to the risk managers to analyse and manage the impact of disruptions. This will help the risk managers in making informed decisions about where to focus their limited resources.

Belarusian software for nuclear material accounting at the level of the regulatory body

A review of the information system for nuclear material accounting and control at the level of the Belarusian regulatory body in the field of nuclear and radiation safety is presented. This system is developed in accordance with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) requirements depicted in Code 10 of the State subsidiary arrangements. The system provides automatic generation of the following accounting reports: physical inventory listing, inventory change report, material balance report, and textual report for each material balance area as well as the corresponding General Ledger. It provides all necessary calculations and pre-calculations, based on input data, to produce accurate accounting reports. The system implements the import/export of data to/from the system using Code 10 (labelled and fixed formats), as well as making adjustments to accounting documents in accordance with IAEA rules. There are two possibilities of nuclear material accounting in the system. The first consists of importing into the system of all reporting documents from the material balance areas of facilities and the subsequent possibility of checking the received data using an independent recalculation tool in the system. The second one includes the registration of all necessary information on nuclear material batches at locations outside facilities and their movement in the material balance area and then automatic generation of all required reports and General Ledger.