Cost Of Production Process Research Articles

Optimum Design of Square Blank Dimension with Low Energy Consumption and Low Cost for Milling Based on Business Compass Concept

Blank is the foundation for manufacturing enterprise production. The change of blank dimension is the fundamental purpose of product processing, and blank dimension change process dramatically affects the cost and energy consumption of blank production and use process. Therefore, the blank dimension design is of great significance for the sustainable development of enterprises. Based on the management concept of the business compass, combined with the enterprise development plan and production situation, this article established a blank dimension optimization design model, which can design the blank dimension according to enterprise demand. The model took the energy consumption and cost of the blank production and used process as the optimization objectives, and was solved by the gray wolf algorithm. The model was verified by analyzing the machining process of a fixture cavity. By comparison with standard square blank dimensions, the research results showed that the optimized square blank dimension can meet the objective of saving energy and reducing costs, it can also fully coordinate economy and resource consumption.

N-acylhomoserine lactonase-based hybrid nanoflowers: a novel and practical strategy to control plant bacterial diseases

BackgroundThe disease caused by plant pathogenic bacteria in the production, transportation, and storage of many crops has brought huge losses to agricultural production. N-acylhomoserine lactonases (AHLases) can quench quorum-sensing (QS) by hydrolyzing acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs), which makes them the promising candidates for controlling infections of QS-dependent pathogenic bacteria. Although many AHLases have been isolated and considered as a potentially effective preventive and therapeutic agents for bacterial diseases, the intrinsically poor ambient stability has seriously restricted its application.ResultsHerein, we showed that a spheroid enzyme-based hybrid nanoflower (EHNF), AhlX@Ni3(PO4)2, can be easily synthesized, and it exhibited 10 times AHL (3OC8-HSL) degradation activity than that with free AhlX (a thermostable AHL lactonase). In addition, it showed intriguing stability even at the working concentration, and retained ~ 100% activity after incubation at room temperature (25 °C) for 40 days and approximately 80% activity after incubation at 60 °C for 48 h. Furthermore, it exhibited better organic solvent tolerance and long-term stability in a complicated ecological environment than that of AhlX. To reduce the cost and streamline production processes, CSA@Ni3(PO4)2, which was assembled from the crude supernatants of AhlX and Ni3(PO4)2, was synthesized. Both AhlX@Ni3(PO4)2 and CSA@Ni3(PO4)2 efficiently attenuated pathogenic bacterial infection.ConclusionsIn this study, we have developed N-acylhomoserine lactonase-based hybrid nanoflowers as a novel and efficient biocontrol reagent with significant control effect, outstanding environmental adaptability and tolerance. It was expected to overcome the bottlenecks of poor stability and limited environmental tolerance that have existed for over two decades and pioneered the practical application of EHNFs in the field of biological control.Graphical

Aqueous Dual-Electrolyte Full-Cell System for Improving Energy Density of Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are regarded as one of the most promising candidates for next-generation energy storage devices and have been gradually grasping market share for their low cost and similar reaction mechanism and production process as compared to lithium-ion batteries. However, the low energy density of SIBs restricts their practical applications. For example, regular full cells of a Prussian blue cathode and NASICON anode have only a low discharge capacity (about 77 mA h/g at 1 C). Taking into account the compatibility of the electrolyte and electrode materials, a novel strategy for a viable aqueous dual-electrolyte sodium-ion battery (ADESIB) has been proposed using Na2SO4 solution as the anolyte and redox-active sodium hexacyanoferrate Na4Fe(CN)6 solution as the catholyte to accommodate a NASICON NaTi2(PO4)3 anode and Prussian blue Na2NiFe(CN)6 cathode. The capacity of Na+ ion deinsertion/insertion electrodes combined with the redox chemistry of the Na4Fe(CN)6 catholyte thus enhances overall charge storage and energy density. The ADESIB delivers a capacity of about 113 mA h/g at 1 C, showing a 43% improvement over batteries with a regular single Na2SO4 electrolyte. Additionally, the dual-electrolyte full-cell system is proved to reach a 84.7% capacity retention after 1000 cycles, mainly due to the synergy of the electrolytes in both sides. This pioneering research proposes an aqueous dual-electrolyte sodium-ion full cell, showing potential applications in a new sodium-ion full battery system.

PENGARUH BIAYA BAHAN BAKU DAN HARGA JUAL TERHADAP LABA PADA HOME INDUSTRI SARI BUMI

This study aims to determine whether or not there is an effect of raw material costs, selling prices on profits that arise due to the increase in soybean raw materials in the market, this research is a quantitative study. Raw materials are costs that must be incurred by a company in order to obtain raw materials for later use in the production process. The selling price is the price determined and charged to consumers which is obtained or calculated from the entire cost of the production process plus non-production costs plus the profit expected by the company. The profit that the company hopes for is a benchmark for the company to see how well the company is performing for the sake of the company's survival. The company in this study is a manufacturing company where the company is a company that produces raw materials until the materials are ready for sale. This company produces tofu which is made from soybeans. The population taken in this study is the purchase of raw materials which are included in production costs and profit and loss statements at the company as many as 72 samples. The sample in this study is the cost of raw materials, selling price and income statement financial data taken for 6 years. The data analysis technique used in this study uses inferential statistics or also often referred to as inductive statistics. The research data is secondary data in the form of financial statements owned by the company in 2015-2021. The results of this study conclude that the cost of raw materials and selling prices partially have a significant effect on profits. The cost of raw materials has a significant effect on profit. The selling price partially affects the profit.
 Keywords: raw material cost, selling price and Profits

Effects of Organic Fertilizer Application on Strawberry (Fragaria vesca L.) Cultivation

In the agricultural production process, the production and environmental costs of chemical fertilizers used to increase yield and quality and the question of how to evaluate the herbal and animal wastes that arise in the agricultural production process are important issues. The main purpose of using herbal and animal wastes that arise in the agricultural production process as an alternative fertilizer to chemical fertilizers is to reduce production costs and to ensure sustainability in agricultural production by reintroducing these wastes to the economy. In this study, the effects of vermicompost, chicken manure, farm manure, and chemical fertilizers on product yield and quality, plant nutrients, and economic profitability in strawberry cultivation were investigated. In the study, strawberries were used as the plant material and vermicompost, chicken manure, farm (cattle) manure, and chemical fertilizers were used as plant nutrition materials. In the study, statistically significant differences were found in the parameters of yield, quality, plant nutrient content in leaves, and economic profitability compared to chemical fertilizers. In terms of product yield and some quality parameters, organic fertilizers (worm manure and chicken manure in yield, total sugar and nitrate accumulation in fruit, chicken manure in vitamin C) gave better positive results than chemical fertilizers. In the macronutrient content of the leaves, chicken manure in terms of nitrogen and phosphorus; vermicompost, chicken manure, and farm manure in terms of potassium; and vermicompost and chicken manure in terms of calcium all gave better results than chemical fertilizers. In the micronutrient content of the leaves, chicken manure in terms of iron, vermicompost in terms of zinc, and chicken manure and farm manure in terms of copper gave better results than chemical fertilizers. In terms of economic profitability, while more profit was obtained from vermicompost, chicken manure and farm manure applications compared to chemical fertilizer applications, the highest profitability was obtained from vermicompost application. The findings of this study support the idea that vermicompost, chicken manure, and farm manure can be recommended as an alternative plant nutrition input to chemical fertilizers in strawberry cultivation.

Labor flexibility in Industry 4.0

Industry 4.0 brings with it technological innovation and automation, generating a reduction in the costs of production processes, as well as labor, which leads to a change in the traditional way in which the employment relationship is developed. This article, through the application of the historical - logical method, has as its main research objective, to determine the impact of industry 4.0 on employment and the application of labor flexibility, taking as reference the figures and perspectives of the ILO, World Bank, among others, concluding that automation and digitization can bring with it a duality of results, from a negative perspective, lower job creation, elimination of job sources, as well as little respect for the rights of workers by not having adequate regulatory development. While, from a positive point of view, it can be an opportunity to offer new work possibilities through the application of policies such as teleworking, digital platforms, hourly work, which allows the employee to feel motivated to time to do your job, generating higher performance and reducing costs.

3D porous scaffolds from wheat glutenin for cultured meat applications

Scaffolds suitable for use in food products are crucial components for the production of cultured meat. Here, wheat glutenin, an inexpensive and abundant plant-based protein, was used to develop 3D porous scaffolds for cultured meat applications. A physical cross-linking method based on water annealing was developed for the fabrication of porous glutenin sponges and fibrous aligned scaffolds. The pore sizes ranged from 50 to 250 μm, with compressive modulus ranges from 0.5 to 1.9 kPa, depending on the percentage of glutenin (2%–5%) used in the process. The sponges were stable in PBS with refrigeration for at least six months after water annealing. The glutenin scaffolds supported the proliferation and differentiation of C2C12 mouse skeletal myoblasts and bovine satellite cells (BSCs) without the need to add specific cell adhesive proteins or other coatings. The low cost and food safe production process avoided the use of toxic cross-linkers and animal-derived extracellular matrix (ECM) coatings, suggesting that this as approach is a promising system for scaffolds useful in cultivated meat applications.

A natural composite and nanocomposite of luffa fibers and chitosan resin under mechanical tests

This article introduces natural composite and nanocomposite panels of Luffa fibers–chitosan resin; and they are subjected to quasi-static penetration tests and compression experiments to discuss their penetration resistance and compression strength. Natural fibers of Luffa cylindrical sponge were used as the reinforcement and natural chitosan resin was produced from shrimp shells. Specimens with various characteristics were produced through hand layup method and they were subjected to penetration test of a blunt-nose punch. Results demonstrated that there is an optimum mass fraction for chitosan and magnetite nanoparticles to achieve the highest penetration strength; and the best layer configuration is as 0 and 90°, alternately. Furthermore, some glass-chitosan composite panels were produced and comparison of their penetration tests and the corresponding Luffa-chitosan composite experiments demonstrated that in a certain condition, the maximum loads of penetrating the punch into the both composite panels are the same. In second type experiments, quasi–static compression tests were performed on some cubic Luffa–chitosan specimens and results showed that the natural composite cube has significant specific absorbed energy; and by selecting its suitable dimensions, a natural energy absorber can be achieved. Development of the natural Luffa–chitosan composite is suggested, based on sustainability considerations; and using it in the bulletproof vests and armors is presented as a creative idea; due to its natural structure, compatibility with human skin, acceptable resistance against the penetration, its biodegradable ability and simple and low cost production process.

Fortification of staple foods with calcium: a novel costing tool to inform decision making.

Low calcium intake and its impact on maternal and child health are a major concern in low- and middle-income countries. Given the low calcium in diet, as well as the low adherence and acceptability of calcium pills in those settings, the discussion about policies to increase calcium intake has moved toward staple food fortification strategies. Nevertheless, there is scarce information on the economic feasibility of implementing these strategies. We aimed to design and propose a novel costing tool to estimate the cost of the flour fortification with calcium by carrying out a literature review about costing studies for staple food fortification programs and costing tools previously developed. A deliberative meeting with stakeholders was held to discuss and face-validate the conceptual framework proposed. We showed the costing tool application for the case of Costa Rica (a country with a population with low calcium intake), including the absolute cost of the staple food fortification production process, the incremental cost of fortification according to the public/private sector, and the incremental cost by target population. This open-source and publicly available costing tool can be useful to inform policymaking in countries considering the implementation of staple food fortification programs.

Volume versus value of crop-related water footprints and virtual water flows: A case study for the Yellow River Basin

Blue water (irrigation water) and green water (rainwater) constitute the indispensable inputs in crop production, and they virtually flow through crop trade. The valuation of water for crops is becoming essential for providing not only guidance in measuring both the biophysical and economic sustainability of agricultural water resources but also crucial information for investors and authorities engaged in water allocations. However, valuation of green water has been severely disregarded. Here, taking the Yellow River Basin as the study case, we show the feasibility of estimating the value of green water for crop production considering the costs in production processes in addition to blue water valuation. Thus, the volume versus value of blue and green water consumed in crop production as well as that of corresponding virtual water (VW) flows related to crop transfers within the basin are comparable. Fourteen major crops in current three typical years and four scenarios for the year 2050 under climate-socio-economic changes are examined. Results show that value of blue water was approximately 3 times that of green water for irrigated crops, whereas at similar level to the value of green water for rain-fed crops. Visible trade-offs between the regional volume and value of water used in crop production and that of the intra-national VW flows exist in terms of magnitude in time and space, as well as the structure by crops. The total volumes of the water footprint (WF), i.e., water consumption, in crop production and VW exports changed little over years, however the corresponding total water values was tripled and seven-folded, respectively, due to apple production expansions. Wheat was the biggest contributor in volume of VW export while apple accounted the most in value of VW export of the basin. The considered scenarios for 2050 suggested that the reduced values of crop-related WF and VW flows were more sensitive than the corresponding water quantity. This study implies the importance of managing the internal trade-offs or mutual effects between water resources and economic returns.

A Study on the Applicability of Thermodynamic Sensors in Fermentation Processes in Selected Foods.

This study focuses on the use of thermodynamic sensors (TDS) in baking, brewing, and yogurt production at home. Using thermodynamic sensors, a change in the temperature flow between the two sensor elements during fermentation was observed for the final mixture (complete recipe for pizza dough production), showing the possibility of distinguishing some phases of the fermentation process. Even during the fermentation process in the preparation of wort and yogurt with non-traditional additives, the sensors were able to indicate significant parts of the process, including the end of the process. The research article also mentions as a new idea the use of trivial regulation at home in food production to determine the course of the fermentation process. The results presented in this article show the possibility of using TDS for more accurate characterization and adjustment of the production process of selected foods in the basic phase, which will be further applicable in the food industry, with the potential to reduce the cost of food production processes that involve a fermentation process.

Electrochemically stable, cost-effective and facile produced selenium@activated carbon composite counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), as third generation photovoltaic technology, have been extensively investigated due to their numerous advantages, such as inexpensive and simple/fast preparation methods. As known, DSSCs are composed of different components. Counter electrode, which is one of the components, is an indispensable part of high-performance DSSCs. Designing new counter electrodes (CEs) with low cost and desired physical and electrochemical properties are important to achieve higher performance/stable DSSCs. In this sense, in this current report, new selenium@activated carbon (Se@AC) composites as alternative to expensive platinum (Pt) were produced by cost-effective and facile applied ball milling method, and used as CE in the DSSC architecture. Here, firstly, porous activated carbon (AC) was prepared from fruit peel wastes via chemical activation technique. Then the Se was incorporated into the structure of porous AC with different ratios to improve different physical and electrochemical properties of pristine AC. After Se incorporation strategy, the electro-catalytic activity and charge transfer parameters (RCT value decreased from 27.41 to 12.09 Ω cm2) of Se@AC composite CEs were significantly enhanced. The fabricated DSSC with a CE using Se@AC:3@5 showed a power conversion efficiency (PCE) value of 5.67% with current density (Jsc) of 13.26 mA/cm2, open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 648 mV and fill factor (FF) of 66%, which can acceptable close to the performance of the fabricated DSSC with the Pt-based CE (6.86%). The improvement electro-catalytic activity and charge transfer properties obtained with the low cost and facile production process could render the Se@AC composite CE standing out as an effective alternative to the precious/expensive Pt reference CE.

Review of the Current Status of Ammonia-Blended Hydrogen Fuel Engine Development

As fossil fuels continue to be extracted and used, issues such as environmental pollution and energy scarcity are surfacing. For the transportation industry, the best way to achieve the goal of “carbon neutrality” is to research efficient power systems and develop new alternative fuels. As the world’s largest product of chemicals, ammonia is a new renewable fuel with good combustion energy. It can be used as an alternative fuel to reduce carbon emissions because of its proven production process, low production and transportation costs, safe storage, the absence of carbon-containing compounds in its emissions, and its future recyclability. This paper firstly introduces the characteristics of ammonia fuel engine and its problems; then it summarizes the effects of various ammonia-blended fuels on the combustion and emission characteristics of the engine from the combustion problem of ammonia-blended engine; then the fuel storage of ammonia-blended hydrogen is discussed, the feasibility of hydrogen production instead of hydrogen storage is introduced.

Electrochemical Preparation of Novel Perovskite Solar Cells

With the development of human society, the shortage of traditional fossil fuels has intensified, and due to sustainable development and ecological environment, new green and pollution-free energy has entered the public’s field of vision. Thin-film solar cells have high photoelectric conversion efficiency, stable performance and low consumption of raw materials. However, some elements in raw materials are toxic and their reserves are small, which limits their large-scale popularization and use. Perovskite solar cells have attracted public attention because of their low cost and simple production process. The traditional energy content is limited, and the demand for energy is increasing with the development of the world economy, so the world is bound to face the dilemma that single fossil energy cannot meet the demand for energy for economic maintenance and development. As a clean energy, extensive use of solar energy is also an effective solution to the pollution caused by traditional energy utilization. This paper mainly analyzes the electrochemical preparation methods of perovskite solar cells, and studies its performance optimization.

Metabolic Engineering of <i>Escherichia coli</i> for Production of Ectoine

Ectoine, a cyclic amino acid derivative is produced by some moderately halophilic microorganisms. It is widely used in the field of medicine and cosmetics; however its high cost, low yield and complicated production process restrict its use in an industry. The present study was carried out to construct an engineered Escherichia coli for the heterologous ectoine production. Firstly, the ectoine synthesis cluster (ectABC genes) from Halomonas elongata were introduced into E. coli for the ectoine production in heterologous system. Secondly, the effect of deletion for lysA and thrA on producing ectoine was investigated. Thirdly, the bioconversion conditions for synthesizing ectoine were optimized. In this study, nine strains of E.coli BW25113 were constructed, and an engineering strain ABC (∆lysA)/BW25113 with ectoine synthesis ability was screened out. An improved yield of ectoine was obtained with optimized conditions like 100 mmol/L sodium aspartate, 100 mmol/L glycerol, 80 mmol/L glucose and 120 mmol/L KCl at temperature 30°C, and the pH 7.0. A yield 2.08 g/L of ectoine was obtained. After preliminary optimization, the ABC (∆lysA)/BW25113 catalytic synthesis of ectoine increased by 2 times, indicating that optimized reaction conditions can increase the yield of ectoine. Here, we successfully constructed an engineered Escherichia coli for the heterologous production of ectoine. Our study herein provides a feasible and valuable biosynthesis pathway of ectoine with a potential for large-scale industrial production using simple and cheap feedstocks.

Automated process control system of Jaw crusher production

Rocks go through a series of crushing stages to produce the final aggregate size which suit customer’s needs. Aggregate crushers suffer from many problems in reality that affect its production processes badly and may lead to its stoppage. These problems could be unchangeable feed rate, hidden steel part between rocks and wastage from storing final aggregate stockpile on the ground. The purpose of this research is to develop an automated control system for Jaw crusher production process as a solution for the real specified problems to get more productive aggregate production. First a 3D model which mimic exactly the real crushing plant was built to test the proposed system. Then a C++ code was programmed to control the proposed system components such as motor, sensors and LCD screens. Thereafter, the aggregate flow simulation program (AggFlow) is utilized to simulate the proposed system results. Cost analysis calculations were performed to explore the impact of proposed system on the production process cost and time. Finally, the results confirmed that the proposed system enhance and increase the crusher production process. As it shows increase in the crusher automatic control, the net profit and the feed rate while decrease in the final product waste.

Environmental crisis effect on environmental costs

Environmental management accounting is a mechanism for determining and evaluating, and incorporating these cost and benefit in the day-to-day business decision making, the full spectrum of environmental costs of current production processes and the economic benefits of contamination prevention, or cleaner processes. In practice, the past 10 years have acquired significance from corporate accounting, which is the most prominent part of cost accounting. Limits were widely acknowledged of conventional financial and cost accounting techniques reflecting companies’ sustainability efforts and providing management with necessary information for sustainable business choices. Information on companies’ environmental performance may be somewhat accessible, but both domestic decision makers and those at the level of public authorities are seldom able to connect environmental information with economic variables and are essentially deprived of environmental cost information. Decision makers do thus not recognize the economic worth of natural resources as asset and the commercial and financial benefit of excellent environmental performance. Beyond ‘goodwill’ efforts, there are a number of market-based incentives for integration with decision making of environmental issues. This article provides an outline of environmental management methods and we evaluate environmental costs in terms of current economic crisis.

Atomically Dispersed, Low-Coordinate Co-N Sites on Carbon Nanotubes as Inexpensive and Efficient Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution.

Hydrogen produced using renewable electricity is considered the key to achieving a low-carbon energy economy. However, the large-scale application of electrochemical water splitting for hydrogen evolution currently requires expensive platinum-based catalysts. Therefore, it is important to develop efficient and stable catalysts based on the rich reserves of transition metals as alternatives. In this study, the authors prepare a carbon-nanotube material enriched with atomically dispersed CoN sites having uniquely low coordination numbers via the simple mixing, pyrolysis, and leaching of inexpensive precursors. These atomically dispersed low-coordinate CoN sites provide an overpotential of only 82mV at 10mA cm-2 for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) under challenging acidic conditions and show excellent durability in accelerated stability tests. Theoretical simulations also confirm that these unique, low-coordinate CoN2 sites have lower energy barriers in catalyzing the HER than Fe/NiN2 sites and commonly reported CoN3 /N4 sites. Therefore, the method provides a new concept for the design of single-atom catalytic sites with low coordination numbers. It also serves to reduce the cost of hydrogen production in the future owing to the high catalytic activity, low cost, and scalable production process.

Bright all-solution-processed CsPbBr3 perovskite light emitting diodes optimized by quaternary ammonium salt

Perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) prepared by the all-solution-process are gradually coming into view due to their low cost and flexible production process. However, the performance of CsPbBr3 device is limited by the high non-radiative recombination losses due to incomplete surface coverage and grain defects. Here a quaternary ammonium salt, tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate (TBA-PF6) was simultaneously introduced into perovskite emission layers (CsPbBr3) and electron transport layer (TPBi (1,3,5-Tris(1-phenyl-1H-benzimidazol-2-yl) benzene) dissolved in ethyl acetate). As a result, the morphology and luminescence of CsPbBr3 films were improved, and the energy level of TPBi was more conducive to charge transport. Consequently, the maximum luminance and current efficiency of the modified green-emitting PeLEDs are improved. Furthermore, the optimized device had an operating life of more than 20 min at an initial luminance of 1230 cd/m2. This work provides a simple and easy method to be scaled up for the development of low-cost all-solution-processed PeLEDs.

A critical perspective on the scope of interdisciplinary approaches used in fourth-generation biofuel production

The use of algae in biofuel production is more sustainable as compared to crop-based resources as it doesn't compromise food security, rainforests, or arable land. Furthermore, the utilization of molecular biology methods such as CRISPR/Cas9 with guided RNA for genetic modification in algae has opened up new avenues to meet the future energy demand. Recently, a progressive shift in the paradigm of algal growth from an open system (raceways) to a closed system (e.g.; PBRs) has been observed because the latter is more efficient in biofuel production as it provides optimized growth conditions. Several algal species have been genetically engineered and characterized for different parameters, especially their ability to grow in a closed system. Since the advent of the closed system viz. fermenters for industrial applications, several advancements have been made in its design and functions to optimize the growth of industrially used microbial strains and the yield of their bio-products. Genetically engineered algae have diverse growth condition requirements varying even at strain levels, consequently, an enormous amount of significant information or data is available on the optimization of algal growth conditions in PBRs. In conjunction with different computational biological approaches, the high throughput analysis of data becomes fast, enabling to predict the scale-up production process and capital cost and investment requirements. Systematic and planned, altogether applications of genetic engineering, PBRs, and computational approaches should not only help to make the production of fourth-generation biofuels more convenient but also pave the way of different interdisciplinary approaches to be used in algal biofuel production processes in near future.