Production Cycle Research Articles

Sustaining Rice Farming: Challenges and Solutions for Agribusiness in Barangay Tagum Norte, Trinidad, Bohol

In the Philippines, rice is a vital crop that serves as the primary food source for 80% of the population in Barangay Tagum Norte, Trinidad, Bohol. Despite the potential of rice agribusiness, farmers in this area need help maintaining consistent production due to limited resources, economic uncertainties, and market fluctuations. This research identifies and addresses these challenges to promote sustainability in rice agribusiness. The study employs a descriptive-exploratory qualitative research design, focusing on a case study approach. Ten rice farmers actively involved in agribusiness in Barangay Tagum Norte were interviewed using structured researcher-made guides. Thematic Analysis was utilized to analyze the gathered information, assigning codes to relevant data segments and organizing them into themes or categories. The findings revealed that financial constraints force farmers to sell their rice at lower prices, and borrowing from lending institutions results in high interest rates, leading to solo farming practices and potential efficiency issues. Manpower challenges, machinery accessibility issues, and significant expenses for seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides also impact productivity. Price fluctuations during harvest create economic challenges, threatening the sustainability of agribusiness. Limited market access and information exacerbate these issues. Farmers need collaborative government-private sector initiatives to address their irrigation, machinery, seed, and fertilizer needs. The study concludes that rice farmers face interconnected challenges throughout the production cycle, including financial constraints, labor shortages, machinery access, seed and fertilizer expenses, government-supplied shortages, and market volatility. The research highlights adaptive strategies such as the “Rollover method,” where farmers strategically time last season’s harvest sale to avoid price declines, showcasing a proactive approach to market fluctuations. Keywords: Agribusiness, Challenges to Sustainability, Qualitative Research, Thematic Analysis

The effects of different hormone combinations on the growth of Panax notoginseng anther callus based on metabolome analysis

Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS), the primary active components of Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F.H.Chen, a traditional and precious Chinese medicinal herb, are mainly derived from the roots of the plant. However, due to the long cultivation period and specific environmental requirements, the PNS supply is often limited. And, callus cultures of P. notoginseng, which grow rapidly, have short production cycles, and can be cultured under controlled conditions, provide a more efficient source for the quick acquisition of saponins. In this study, anthers of P. notoginseng were used as explants, and twelve hormone combinations were tested to induce callus formation. Eight kinds of hormone combinations successfully induced P. notoginseng anther callus. Among these, callus induced by combinations 5 and 7 had the highest saponin content, while those induced by combinations 1 and 3 exhibited the highest relative growth rates. Metabolomic analysis of these four callus types revealed that there were a total of 99 differential metabolites between combinations 5 and 7, 30 between combinations 1 and 3, 123 between combinations 3 and 7, and 116 between combinations 1 and 5. Further analysis showed that the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle metabolites in callus induced by combinations 1 and 3 were significantly upregulated, with corresponding genes showing high expression levels, increased ATP accumulation, and low responses of the auxin response factor PnARF-3 and cytokinin response factor PnCRF-3. The abundance of metabolites in the PNS biosynthesis pathway in callus induced by combinations 5 and 7 increased significantly, with related genes showing high expression levels, increased IPP accumulation, and high responses of PnARF-3 and PnCRF-3. Overexpression of PnARF-3 and PnCRF-3 in callus induced by combination 3 promoted the production of IPP and saponins while reducing ATP production. In conclusion, different hormone combinations affect the distribution of Acetyl-CoA through PnARF-3 and PnCRF-3, resulting in the relative growth rate and saponin of P. notoginseng anther callus differences.

Формування моделі міжнародних економічних відносин у контексті попередньої траєкторії розвитку національного господарства України

In the conditions of war and post-war reconstruction, Ukraine’s further integration into the world economy and trade-economic cooperation with the EU, the USA, and other developed countries is a priority task. However, the Soviet economic heritage in the form of the extensive elements and forms of economic management continues to create obstacles to building a competitive model of foreign trade cooperation. And overcoming these obstacles is impossible without rethinking and evaluating the historical experience. The research’s aim is to summarize the determinants and structural-institutional characteristics of the model of Ukrainian international economic relations shaped within the Soviet economic system. The theoretical basis of the research includes the concepts of dependent development and the «track effect», which allow assessing the influence of the Soviet legacy on the modern economic processes. The research methodology is based on the systemic approach, and problem-logical, comparative, institutional, and statistical analysis. The author defines the institutional and structural characteristics of the Ukrainian model of international economic relations shaped within the Soviet economic space and outside it. These include the republic's lack of autonomy regarding foreign trade and its subordination to the state system of centralized export-import planning; absence of closed production and technological cycles within one republic and deepening of all-Union trade and economic integration; production specialization of regions according to the central interests; the dominance of trade with other socialist countries and the so-called countries of non-capitalist orientation; a high share of barter operations and compensatory cooperation aimed at strengthening the so-called socialist integration; and an active application of the policy of customs and trade protectionism in relation to countries with a market economy. It is confirmed that the place of Ukraine's economy in the Soviet Union’s division of labor and the system of foreign economic relations was determined by the republic’s political and economic dependence on the center and its subordination to the Soviet concept of building an all-Union economic space. This largely limited Ukraine's opportunities in the formation and implementation of its own strategies of foreign economic interaction and led to an inertial pursuit in the fairway of the post-Union political entities and economic agreements after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the first decades of Ukraine's state independence.

Discovery, Biomanufacture, and Derivatization of Licorice Triterpenoids.

Triterpenoids are the major active constituents of licorice, a well-known traditional medicinal herb. Licorice triterpenoids, represented by glycyrrhizin and glycyrrhetic acid, have a high structural diversity and are excellent lead compounds for the development of potent pharmaceuticals. However, their further application can be limited by insufficient activities, low bioavailability, and the presence of side effects, as well as the inefficiency of traditional plant extraction processes for compound production. To address these issues, researchers are focusing on rare triterpenoid components in the genus Glycyrrhiza and developing derivatives to preserve or enhance the original physiological activities with improved bioavailability and reduced side effects. At the same time, synthetic biology offers opportunities to shorten the production cycle, create eco-friendly manufacturing processes, and reduce the cost of producing licorice triterpenoids. Although much progress has been achieved in this field in recent years, there is still a lack of a comprehensive review to summarize the overall characteristics of licorice triterpenoids rather than glycyrrhizin and glycyrrhetinic acid. Based on this, our review comprehensively outlines the structures, origins, and pharmacological activities of licorice triterpenoids and predicts their pharmacological activities using the drugCIPHER algorithm. Furthermore, this paper reviews the advances and strategies for the biomanufacturing of licorice triterpenoids using synthetic biology methods and outlines the perspectives and structure-activity relationships for the derivatization of licorice triterpenoids. This review provides new insights into the discovery and synthesis of pharmaceuticals derived from natural triterpenes.

Economic Viability of Organic Fertilization in Forage Oats (Avena sativa L.) in the Mexicali Valley

O Objective: To economically evaluate the use of chemical, organic and organic-mineral fertilizers in of forage oat production in the Mexicali Valley; and to determine the profitability of each fertilization type. Design/methodology/approach: Three treatments were established, one chemically fertilized (T1), one with organic fertilization (T2), and one with organic-mineral fertilization (T3) with two replications under a completely randomized design. Cash flow, financial costs and economic costs were calculated. Results: Fertilization costs accounted for between 37% and 52% of the cost structure. Treatments T2 and T3 did not cover production costs. Only treatment T1 treatment demonstrated the ability to cover both production and financial costs. None of the treatments covered economic costs. Limitations on study/implications: It is suggested to replicate the economic viability analyses in consecutive productive cycles, as other studies have shown positive impacts on soil fertility. Findings/conclusions: The organic and organic-mineral fertilization systems (T2 and T3) were not profitable in the short term. The chemical fertilization system (T1) demonstrated the ability to cover, in addition to production costs, the depreciation costs of fixed assets. However, none of the treatments showed the ability to compensate the risk of investing in the activity.

The Chinese Painting-style Animation Innovation in the AI Era

In the era of artificial intelligence, Chinese painting-style animation is undergoing an unprecedented transformation. The application of AI technology not only improves the efficiency of animation production but also brings new possibilities for innovation to creators. The impact of the AI era on the animation industry is multi-dimensional. AI technology can automate many repetitive tasks, such as the generation of in-between frames, the drawing of characters and scenes, and its application in various other aspects, thereby shortening the production cycle, reducing actual time costs, and improving timeliness. Its detailed functions, such as AI-assisted scriptwriting and directing to generate creative storylines, plots, and even scripts, provide new ideas for animation creation. One of the most admired and sought-after aspects is the operability and personalization of AI. By analyzing audience preferences and behaviors through various cases and traffic analysis, it can provide personalized content recommendations using animation production techniques, meeting the psychological needs of different audience groups. In terms of image and video processing, it can be used to enhance the visual effects of animation, such as automatic coloring, background rendering, image clarity and blurring processing, etc. For the design of characters and scenes, designers can quickly generate concept drawings of characters and scenes through subjective expression, including composition positioning, character body dynamics, and simulating different styles and schools of painting techniques. In terms of sound, it is also excellent, capable of simulating specific sound effects, generating and improving dubbing sound effects and sound quality, enhancing the auditory experience of animation, and through analysis techniques such as voice recognition and natural language processing, allowing animated characters to use lifelike body movements and facial expressions to interact with the audience, providing a better interactive experience.

Effect of innovative peat-free organic growing media and fertilizer on nutrient allocation in pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) seedlings

This study evaluates the effects of novel peat-free organic growing media and a novel liquid fertilizer on the biometric features and macronutrient allocation of Quercus robur and Fagus sylvatica seedlings with the view to compare biomass and nutrient allocation of plant organs in seedlings cultivated on peat growing medium against those grown on novel peat-free growing medium and fertilizer. The experimental setup involved four growing medium variants, including peat as the control (R20, R21, R22 and C). The novel growing medium and fertilizer were designed and formulated by the University of Agriculture in Kraków, Poland (UAK). Fertilization used in the state forest nurseries was represented as SR20, SR21, and SR22, while the novel fertilizer of UAK was represented as UR20, UR21, and UR22; meanwhile, SC and UC represented the control growing medium (peat) in both cases, respectively. The experiment was laid in a 2 × 2 × 4 experimental design using five seedlings per treatment. Seedlings were assessed for roots, shoots, and leaves biomass. The allocation patterns highlighted the variability of nutrient allocation within the plants, with more nutrients allocated to the root system. Interestingly, treatment UR22 yielded the highest mean root values, root biomass, and virtually all macroelement allocation. The SC solid fertilizer treatment and the UR22 liquid fertilizer treatment consistently showed superior performance across both species and different plant organs. These findings suggest that these treatments are particularly effective in enhancing the nutrient content of oak and beech seedlings, making them suitable choices for optimizing the growth and health of these species. Seedlings were assessed for roots, shoots, and leaves biomass after the nursery production cycle.

Innovative management of the production risks of agricultural enterprises

The article examines the innovative infrastructure in the management of production risks of agricultural enterprises, which is related to the rules for evaluating alternative scenarios for reducing threats in the production system of agricultural production entities in order to obtain the desired result. A methodical approach to the assessment of factors-tools in the innovative management of production risks, which activate the process of economic development of agricultural enterprises in an institutional environment, is presented. It is proved that the institutional determinants that manage the production risks of agricultural enterprises form a system whose effectiveness depends on the implementation of the relevant directions of economic development of agricultural institutes focused on the introduction of innovations into the production cycle. The structural dialectic connection of the concept of innovative development of agricultural enterprises with the cyclical development of the production system is presented. A structural and logical diagram of a methodical approach to the implementation of the mechanism of innovative management of production risks of agricultural enterprises has been built. A mathematical toolkit for evaluating scenarios of innovative management of production risks of agricultural enterprises is defined. Stimulating and disincentive factors-tools in the innovative management of production risks and their impact on the economic development of agricultural enterprises are determined. In order to determine the optimal scenarios for neutralizing threats to the economic development of agricultural enterprises, models of acceleration (deceleration) of the action of stimulating and disincentive factors-tools in the innovative management of production risks were built. The integral index of the economic development of agricultural enterprises of the agro-climatic regions of Ukraine in the pre-war, war-conflict and post-war periods was calculated. It has been established that due to the accumulation of a significant amount of production, financial, material, technical and innovative potential, the level of economic development of agricultural enterprises of the agro-climatic zones of the Forest-Steppe and Polissia increases, which characterizes their ability to reproduce the production system of agriculture in Ukraine.

Advancing sustainability in Electron and laser beam powder Bed Fusion technologies via Innovation: Insights from patent analysis

Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies continuously evolve in materials and operational processes. However, challenges related to energy consumption, material reuse efficiency, and the integration of Circular Economy (CE) principles may impede the overall sustainability of AM processes. As many industrial sectors adopt AM technologies, there is a growing need for innovative tools, methods, and frameworks that guide companies toward more sustainable and circular production practices. This shift involves improving resource efficiency and fostering new Circular Business Models that emphasize material recovery, product lifecycle extension, and waste minimization. This study assesses current and future trends in the development of sustainable AM technologies for processing metal feedstock, based on a comprehensive patent analysis covering the period from 2004 to 2024. We specifically focus on the sustainability impacts of Electron and Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-EB, PBF-LB) and Direct Energy Deposition (DED), given their widespread industrial applications. Patents were categorized into three groups: materials, processes, and components. Furthermore, AM technologies were analyzed according to their role within the production cycle: materials preparation, pre-processing, manufacturing, and post-processing. This categorization allows for a detailed understanding of how innovations in AM contribute to more sustainable production and consumption practices by improving energy efficiency, material usage, circularity, and overall environmental impact.

A novel simplified model to evaluate environmental impact based on life cycle assessment methodology –Case study of spinach considering food waste reduction through modified atmosphere packaging–

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) from food loss and waste (FLW) act as a major hindrance to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 13. Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) can reduce the FLW of packaged fruits and vegetables, decreasing FLW-related GHGs. This study assessed the influence of food waste reduction (FWR) via MAP on the environmental load of the spinach life cycle. Particularly, we introduced a novel model to estimate the environmental loads of the life cycle. Additionally, we employed the model for the life cycles of strawberries and peaches to verify the suitability of the model to other product's life cycles. Furthermore, we assessed the trade-offs between the increase in the environmental loads attributed to MAP production and the decrease in the environmental loads of the spinach life cycle via FWR. FWR via MAP decreased the environmental loads of the spinach supply chain by 45.2 % compared to the waste reduction via oriented polypropylene packaging, although MAP increased the environmental loads for packaging production. Further, the proposed model could suitably predict the environmental loads of the life cycles of spinach and other products, irrespective of the packaging conditions (film, box, or tray), thereby contributing to environmentally sustainable improvements in future food-packaging systems.

Comparative Assessment of Chloride Family Hydrogen Production Cycles Driven by a Nuclear-Geothermal Energy System

In this present study, a nuclear geothermal hybrid system is designed and integrated three different chloride family hydrogen production cycles: cobalt-chloride, 3-step magnesium-chloride, and 4-step magnesium-chloride cycles. This study aims to investigate the integrated systems with the energy and exergy approaches employing the first and second laws of thermodynamics and compare the hydrogen production potentials of the cycles. The produced heat and electricity by nuclear geothermal hybrid system are employed in the hydrogen production cycles, remained heat and electricity are sent to the community for domestic usage. The nuclear geothermal hybrid system produces 1205.40 MW of heat and 578.56 MW of electricity. The hydrogen production amounts of the Co-Cl, 3- and 4-step Mg-Cl cycles are calculated as 0.27 kg/s, 1.09 kg/s and 0.97 kg/s, respectively. Consequently, the highest overall energy and exergy efficiencies are calculated to be 65.05% and 88.27% for the Co-Cl cycle driven by heat only. The integrated nuclear-geothermal hybrid also produces power as a useful output.

The impact of foreign direct investment on innovation in China's forest products industry

The forestry industry, with its high resource dependence, long production cycles, and extensive development modes, lags behind other industries in terms of innovation. This study examines the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on product innovation in China's forest products industry. We use data from 146,526 forest products enterprises spanning the years 1998 to 2013, merged with patent application records from the China National Patent Database, and employ a two-way fixed effects model. Our estimates show that a 10 % increase in FDI is associated with a 0.86 % increase in patent applications, a smaller effect than in other industries. In particular, we examine how this positive effect of FDI on innovation is affected by the specific production and layout features of the forest products industry. We find that this effect is greater in regions rich in forest resources and non-coastal areas. Additionally, enterprises in this industry often focus on strategic innovations, such as product design, rather than substantial technological change, with innovation priorities differing across sub-sectors. Mechanism analyses reveal that FDI promotes innovation in forest products enterprises by increasing R&D investments, optimizing the marketing environment, and alleviating financial constraints. Extended analyses indicate significant spillover effects of FDI-driven innovation across the industry, especially between the upstream and downstream segments of the supply chain. We advise the global forest products industry to consider these unique production and layout features in their development strategies, and suggest a reorientation of government innovation policies toward long-term goals.

Enhancing Operational Efficiency in Crushers Through the Use of an Industry 4.0 Based Crusher Control System

In the aggregate and mining industry, an excessive flow rate of raw material from the feeder, caused by irregularities in the raw material being processed by crushers, can lead to blockages or excessive strain on the crusher. Conversely, a low flow rate of raw material can result in high energy consumption by the crusher, despite operating at a low capacity. The issues encountered in the first group result in excessive energy usage in the secondary and tertiary groups. The study focuses on a system that utilizes artificial intelligence and is based on industry 4.0 principles. The system aims to maintain production in the crusher within a specific range by controlling the flow rates of the feeders using an algorithm. This control is done automatically without the need for user intervention. The system optimizes energy consumption while maximizing production capacity and ensures uninterrupted operation. The system was developed during the installation phase at an aggregate pilot plant in the Kahramanmaraş Evri region. It assesses the material capacity data using a belt scale on the crusher, feeder, and output conveyor. This data is then compared to the limit values stored in the database, and the system generates an information signal to initiate the required control actions. Based on this matching result, it sends information to the inverter, coordinates the production cycle, manages and documents the process stages using a structured learning system and artificial intelligence logic.The installation procedure was conducted using two distinct density gradation inputs. As a consequence of the reporting, the records in the report were compared during both the active and inactive states of the system. The project achieved an efficiency of 22% in terms of energy consumption per unit capacity. Based on the whole yearly energy usage, a total of 368609.7 kg of carbon emissions were averted. The facility's aggregate crushing capacity was increased by 40%.

Distinct interspecies thermal resistance strategies exhibited by euplanktonic, tychoplanktonic and benthic diatoms under marine heatwaves

Extreme climate events, such as marine heatwaves (MHWs), are expected to occur more frequently and intensely in the future, resulting in a substantial impact on marine life. The way that diatoms respond to MHWs may have crucial effects on global primary production and biogeochemical cycles. Euplanktonic diatoms appear to benefit from MHWs directly, but this phenomenon needs an explanation. As concerns tychoplanktonic and benthic diatoms, no studies have been addressed on their thermal response strategies. To address this, we investigated the responses and underlying mechanisms of three typical growth forms of diatoms, Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries (euplanktonic), Paralia guyana (tychoplanktonic) and Navicula avium (benthic), under heat stress by combining a growth experiment with transcriptomic analysis. Our results showed that the physiological responses of diatoms to MHWs and underlying molecular mechanisms are largely related to their growth forms. The euplanktonic diatom was first depressed, but then had a distinct increase in the growth rate accompanied by inducing zeatin and unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis and repressing substance assimilation and energy metabolism. Contrarily, the benthic diatom showed elevated substance and energy demands for macromolecules accumulation by reducing cell division and increasing photosynthesis and nitrogen assimilation. The tychoplanktonic diatom exhibited higher physiological plasticity to maintain growth and cellular homeostasis. Our results indicate the increased rate of cell division in euplanktonic diatoms under heat stress is likely an emergency response strategy promoting diatom dispersal for survival, but at the cost of disturbances of metabolic balance.

Exogenous MnSO4 Improves Productivity of Degenerated Volvariella volvacea by Regulating Antioxidant Activity

Manganese is one of the trace elements necessary for organisms to maintain normal biological activities and is also a cofactor for manganese superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD) and manganese peroxidase (MnP). In order to find a simple and effective method to rejuvenate the degenerated V. volvacea strains, we explored the effect of the exogenous addition of MnSO4 on the antioxidant vigour and productivity of degenerated strains of V. volvacea. The results showed that the exogenous MnSO4 had no significant effect on the non-degenerated strain T0, but it could effectively increase the mycelial growth rate, mycelial biomass, and LBL decolouring ability of the degenerated strains T10 and T19, and reduce the production cycle and increased the biological efficiency of T10; it helped the severely degenerated T19 to regrow its fruiting body; and it also significantly increased the viability of the matrix-degrading enzymes such as EG, Lac, Xyl, etc. of T10 and T19. Meanwhile, exogenous MnSO4 significantly increased the activity of GPX, GR, CAT, SOD, and the content of GSH, polyphenols, minerals, and polysaccharides in T10 and T19 strains, which resulted in a significant decrease in the accumulation of ROS, such as O2− and H2O2 in T10 and T19. The correlation analysis showed that there was a significant correlation between antioxidant activity and the production ability of V. volvacea. This study can provide theoretical reference and technical support for the rejuvenation research of degenerated strains of V. volvacea and other edible fungi.

Novel deep learning based soft sensor feature extraction for part weight prediction in injection molding processes

In the current injection molding (IM) industry, it remains challenging to monitor and estimate production quality promptly. It is costly and time-consuming to measure part quality manually after each production cycle ends, which results in quality defects difficult to be captured in time. In this case, a soft sensor is essential to model the IM process and predict the final quality in real time with multi-source industrial production data. However, traditional data-driven modeling methods fail to take advantage of the information in complex high-frequency data from in-mold sensors, resulting in an inaccurate IM model and unsatisfactory quality prediction performance. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a novel soft sensor framework based on a teacher-student structure. After specialized preprocessing of multiple sensor time series data, a GRU-based autoencoder with an attention mechanism (GRU-A-AE) is trained as a teacher model, extracting deep implicit features involving valuable time sequential information. Then, a cascaded relationship among shallow feature points from sensor signals, deep features, and final part weights is established using back propagation neural networks (BPNNs). To demonstrate its effectiveness and superiority, the proposed soft sensor is trained and tested with practical IM data under normal and fluctuating production conditions, respectively. Compared with conventional methods, our method has higher prediction accuracy with testing RMSE of 0.1049 and R2 of 0.9950 under normal conditions, which proves more valuable information in high-frequency sensor signals are explored from the teacher model and IM production dynamics are captured precisely. In addition, its better prediction performance in the case of production condition fluctuation verifies its strong robustness.

ЕФЕКТИВНІСТЬ БІЗНЕС-ПРОЦЕСІВ НА ОСНОВІ ТЕХНОЛОГІЙ ОЩАДЛИВОГО ВИРОБНИЦТВА

The article examines the issue of increasing the efficiency of business processes based on Lean Production technologies. Lean production is a modern management concept aimed at minimizing losses and optimizing enterprise resources. The article compares the efficiency of implementing lean production technologies to optimize business processes at enterprises and the impact of Lean technologies on cost reduction, improvement of the quality of goods and services, and productivity improvement. In particular, the main tools of lean production, such as 5S, kanban, kaizen, standardization of work processes, and their impact on reducing costs, improving product quality, and shortening production cycles are considered. It has been established that the application of Lean technologies helps to identify and eliminate actions that do not add value to the end user, thereby improving the performance of the entire technological production system. The importance of involving personnel in the process of implementing changes and forming a corporate culture focused on continuous improvement are emphasized separately. It has been established that the introduction of Lean Production tools improves the links of the technological cycle and ensures an increase in the efficiency of business processes at the enterprise. The choice of a specific tool depends on the strategic goals of the enterprise, the industry and the level of personnel training. It has been proven that in the national business environment there is a number of barriers that prevent the introduction of lean production technologies, such as: resistance to changes in personnel and management, personnel training, limitations in financial resources, insufficient flexibility of suppliers and untimely provision of resources, as well as instability of the national economy. The results of the study indicate that the implementation of Lean Production allows to significantly increase the efficiency of business processes, reduce costs, improve product quality and increase the flexibility of the enterprise in conditions of instability of the market environment. Key words: lean production, Lean Production, business process efficiency, cost optimization, product quality, production cycles, corporate culture.

Thermal design and analysis of a fully solar-driven copper-chlorine cycle for hydrogen production

Solar copper-chlorine (Cu-Cl) thermochemical cycle is a clean, efficient and large-scale hydrogen production technology. However, when the Cu-Cl cycle is driven by solar energy, large amounts of flows with various heat-absorption and release characters at different temperatures from 25°C to 500°C, resulting in a complex internal heat exchanger network (HEN). The feasible HEN design, the heat transfer losses, and the improvement direction of the system are still unclear. Therefore, a fully solar-driven Cu-Cl cycle for hydrogen production is proposed, in which a 100 MW solar tower and an S-CO2 cycle are utilized to supply heat and electricity. A feasible HEN and possible pinch points are obtained considering energy cascade utilization. Comprehensive energy and exergy conditions are presented and the effects of direct normal irradiance (DNI), recuperative ratio (RR) and maximum temperature (Tm) are assessed. The results show that the receiver has the highest energy efficiency but the lowest exergy efficiency, and the overall system energy and exergy efficiencies are 15.93% and 16.64%. Pinch points of heating the Cu-Cl cycle and S-CO2 cycle lead to limitations of heat transfer. Furthermore, positive effects of increasing RR and Tm are significantly weakened and even turn into negative effects for increasing Tm.

Insights into carbon and nitrogen footprints of large-scale intensive pig production with different feedstuffs in China

Through the whole process of large-scale pig production, feed production puts great environmental pressure in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and nitrogen (N) emission. Additionally, different feedstuffs will have different results. While previous studies seldom analyzed carbon footprint and nitrogen footprint from feed components or diet choices. Thus, we selected China, the largest producer and consumer of pork in the world, to analyze both nitrogen footprint and carbon footprint through the life cycle of pig production with different feed components. We used life-cycle environmental footprint and scenario analysis to compare carbon footprints, nitrogen footprints, and feed prices of large-scale pig production with different feedstuffs in China. The life cycle of the pig production includes feed crop cultivation, feed processing, pig raising, and manure management. The functional unit is the weight of 1 kg of live pig. The results showed that the carbon footprints, nitrogen footprints, and feed prices ranged from 1.67 kg CO2-eq FU−1 to 1.70 kg CO2-eq FU−1, 35.3 g Nr FU−1 to 38.9 g Nr FU−1, and 1.42 CNY kg −1 to 2.15 CNY kg −1, respectively. Feed crop production and manure management contributed the largest carbon footprint (54%) and the largest nitrogen footprint (64%), respectively. The four scenarios exhibited various results. Scenario 3 (S3), substituting soybean meal in the original feed with distillers dried grains with soluble (DDGS), presented a more favorable outcome with respect to carbon and nitrogen footprints as well as feed prices. This was mainly attributed to feed crop cultivation, manure management, crude protein contents of feeds, and prices of the feed crops. Concerning the uneven feed crop production, number of pig farrowed, feed consumption, and inter-provincial transportation across China, we conducted the spatial analysis under the optimal S3. It revealed that the northern provinces in China exhibited both higher carbon and nitrogen footprints than the southern provinces, due to the northern regions cultivating the crop feed. Finally, we proposed recommendations from perspectives of cultivation practice, feed adjustment, manure management, and strategic zoning. The study not only highlighted the importance of environmental footprint for analyzing environmental impacts of pig production, but also provided the implications for enhancing the sector’s environmental sustainability from perspective of feed adjustment.

Continuous CuCl2 Hydrolysis in the Six-Step Cu–Cl Thermochemical Cycle for Green Hydrogen Production

Continuous CuCl₂ Hydrolysis in the Six-Step Cu–Cl Thermochemical Cycle for Green Hydrogen Production