Development Of Industrial Processes Research Articles

Metal/acid bifunctional catalysts for the reductive catalytic fractionation of lignocellulose into phenols and holocellulose

Mongolian oak (MO), a lignocellulosic biomass feedstock comprising lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose, was fractionated via reductive catalytic fractionation (RCF) into holocellulose-rich solid residue and lignin-derived phenol-rich liquid oil. To achieve an economically feasible RCF process, tungstate-zirconia (WZr)-supported metal catalysts, exhibiting bifunctionalities of hydrogen-adsorbing metal and acidic WZr, were used for depolymerizing and valorizing lignocellulose, and their catalytic activity was found to be highly dependent on the deposited metal. Ru/WZr exhibited excellent fractioning ability, achieving a maximum yield of 23.6 wt% of monomeric and dimeric compounds from MO and exhibiting the potential to be techno-economically viable. The superior activity of Ru/WZr can be attributed to the synergistic effects of metal and acid, which were studied by investigating the product distributions of aromatic small molecules depending on the properties of WZr-supported metal catalysts. The stabilization of reactive radical intermediates depending on the surface Brønsted acidity of acid catalysts and hydrogen-adsorbing ability of metals were also investigated. RCF reaction conditions were optimized for the maximum yield of monomeric compounds, which can be beneficial for the further development of industrial processes.

Sparse Actuator and Sensor Attacks Reconstruction for Linear Cyber-Physical Systems With Sliding Mode Observer

Driven by the rapid development of modern industrial processes, cyber-physical systems (CPSs), which tightly conjoin computational and physical resources, have become ever-more prevalent during recent years. However, due to the intrinsical vulnerability of the cyber layer, the system performances of CPSs are easily degraded by malicious false data injection (FDI) attacks, which are launched by adversary. In this article, the issue of secure reconstruction is considered for linear CPSs with simultaneous sparse actuator and sensor attacks. First, an adaptive counteraction searching strategy is proposed to identify the potential combinational attack mode. In this way, malicious FDI attacks are excluded. Second, by constructing a descriptor switched sliding mode observer, the sparse FDI attacks and the system state are reconstructed effectively. Meanwhile, sufficient conditions of the error convergence can be derived. Finally, a numerical simulation is utilized to illustrate the applicability of the proposed theoretical derivation.

Process Development for Benzyl Alcohol Production by Whole-Cell Biocatalysis in Stirred and Packed Bed Reactors.

The ocean is an excellent source for new biocatalysts due to the tremendous genetic diversity of marine microorganisms, and it may contribute to the development of sustainable industrial processes. A marine bacterium was isolated and selected for the conversion of benzaldehyde to benzyl alcohol, which is an important chemical employed as a precursor for producing esters for cosmetics and other industries. Enzymatic production routes are of interest for sustainable processes. To overcome benzaldehyde low water solubility, DMSO was used as a biocompatible cosolvent up to a concentration of 10% (v/v). A two-phase system with n-hexane, n-heptane, or n-hexadecane as organic phase allowed at least a 44% higher relative conversion of benzaldehyde than the aqueous system, and allowed higher initial substrate concentrations. Cell performance decreased with increasing product concentration but immobilization of cells in alginate improved four-fold the robustness of the biocatalyst: free and immobilized cells were inhibited at concentrations of benzyl alcohol of 5 and 20 mM, respectively. Scaling up to a 100 mL stirred reactor, using a fed-batch approach, enabled a 1.5-fold increase in benzyl alcohol productivity when compared with batch mode. However, product accumulation in the reactor hindered the conversion. The use of a continuous flow reactor packed with immobilized cells enabled a 9.5-fold increase in productivity when compared with the fed-batch stirred reactor system.

Metabolic pathways for biosynthesis and degradation of starch in Tetraselmis chui during nitrogen deprivation and recovery

Tetraselmis chui is known to accumulate starch when subjected to stress. This phenomenon is widely studied for the purpose of industrial production and process development. Yet, knowledge about the metabolic pathways involved is still immature. Hence, in this study, transcription of 27 starch-related genes was monitored under nitrogen deprivation and resupply in 25 L tubular photobioreactors. T. chui proved to be an efficient starch producer under nitrogen deprivation, accumulating starch up to 56% of relative biomass content. The prolonged absence of nitrogen led to an overall down-regulation of the tested genes, in most instances maintained even after nitrogen replenishment when starch was actively degraded. These gene expression patterns suggest post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms play a key role in T. chui under nutrient stress. Finally, the high productivity combined with an efficient recovery after nitrogen restitution makes this species a suitable candidate for industrial production of high-starch biomass.

Equipment upgrade service provision in the context of servitization: drivers, capabilities, and resources

Building on manufacturing servitization, midlife equipment upgrade services introduce a value-adding alternative to traditional, capital intensive and time-consuming equipment replacement. Midlife upgrades improve the performance of and add new functional capabilities to an equipment during its middle-of-life to satisfy customers’ evolving preferences. Recent explorative studies report a low adoption of this strategy in industry and attribute this to the limited strategic awareness and readiness of manufacturing firms. This study addresses this gap by, (i) revealing three sets of drivers (strategic, market, financial) that prompt manufacturers to offer equipment upgrade services; (ii) identifying distinctive capabilities and resources that are key to generate successful upgrade offerings leveraging the resource-based view as a theoretical foundation; and (iii) integrating the drivers, capabilities, and resources into a framework that manifests different stages of industrial service development process, namely, market sensing, development, sales, and delivery. Our novel framework provides a foundation for researchers to test, refine, and expand on why manufacturers provide upgrade services and how upgrade service offerings can succeed on the marketplace. Our framework can serve as a benchmarking tool to guide managers to identify capability gaps and prioritize capabilities to develop and offer successful upgrade offerings.

Research on structural health monitoring method based on the inertial inclination sensor array

Abstract With the development of human industrial processes, the infrastructure in different fields has been significantly improved, but potential failure will bring huge security risks. Structural health monitoring (SHM) using cloud computing and IoT technology has become a necessary safeguard to ensure the safe and reliable operation of large structures such as aircraft wings, pipelines, bridges, and dams. This paper innovatively proposes a new fitting method based on space deformation, which uses the inclination sensor array to obtain angle information, calculates the node deflection, and performs rational cubic spline interpolation fitting, invert the state of the measured component. At the same time, the theoretical and measured error analyses are carried out. In the length of 1800mm pipe, the error can be controlled below 5% when the number of sensors is greater than or equal to 5, which has an important engineering value.

Process parameters effect on environmental sustainability of composites FFF technology

ABSTRACT The present study aims at investigating the effect of process parameters on environmental sustainability of 3D printing of short fiber-reinforced polymer composites. A preliminary study allowed defining the printing parameters, in terms of printing speed, extrusion temperature and layer thickness, which guarantee low energy consumption. Then, the environmental behavior of two 3D printable composite materials, glass fiber-reinforced (GlassPA) and carbon fiber-reinforced (CarbonPA) polyamide, was investigated using the Life Cycle Assessment methodology, to provide a comprehensive overview of the considered materials and to support the sustainable development of industrial additive manufacturing processes. The functional unit was chosen taking into account the mechanical properties of the two short fiber-reinforced composites. To this purpose, tensile and flexural tests were performed on specimens produced by Fused Filament Fabrication process to evaluate the mechanical properties of printed materials. Scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the different filament morphology affecting the materials performances. Experimental tests showed that CarbonPA exhibits mechanical performances higher than those of GlassPA. Due to the weight reduction that can be accomplished by means of carbon fibers, CarbonPA results the most environmentally friendly alternative in tensile loads applications. On the contrary, for flexural loads applications, GlassPA exhibits lower environmental footprint.

Biochemical and Elemental Composition of Pelagic Sargassum Biomass Harvested across the Caribbean

Massive and recurrent strandings of pelagic Sargassum biomass have become the new norm in the Caribbean and the Western Africa since 2011, and there is no sign of this abating. These Sargassum events have negative environmental, socioeconomic and health impacts in the affected countries. In the meantime, various processing techniques and applications have been suggested for valorisation of this biomass. However, variability in quantity, quality and location creates substantial uncertainty for the development of reliable and robust industrial processes. As part of ongoing efforts to better characterise seasonal and geographical variations in the biochemical and elemental composition of the pelagic Sargassum biomass across the Caribbean, we analysed samples from Mexico, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic harvested during summer 2020 and winter 2021. Different degrees of variation were observed in the contents of ash, metals and metalloids, vitamins, fatty acids, amino acids and biogenic amines, and monosaccharides. Our results indicate that biomass is of highly variable quality depending on season and location. In this context, we suggest that biorefinery approaches geared towards controlled metal removal and focused on the extraction and purification of amino acids, fatty acids and vitamins should be prioritised to assess the potential valorisation of pelagic Sargassum biomass into standardised and high-value outputs.

Promoting Regional Economic Transformation Forecast Based on Intelligent Computing Technology.

The core of the value of artificial intelligence is to integrate with the real economy and become more dependent on local industries. In the entire artificial intelligence + industry development process, many new changes have appeared. This article mainly studies how to promote regional economy based on smart technology. In the context of rapid economic development, the significance of artificial intelligence and the necessity of regional economic transformation are put forward. The model has designed the national science and technology mechanism framework from the four directions of technology guidance, technology service, technology innovation, and technology balance; following the cultivating ideas from products to innovative industries to innovative intelligent environments, due to the low income elasticity of product demand, technological innovation is mainly based on the dissemination of emerging technologies outside the industry and the lack of coordination between companies under the fiercely competitive market structure; the focus is on promoting the continuous improvement of labor productivity. The experimental results prove that the emerging technology industries of enterprises can promote economic transformation in the era of artificial intelligence, provide a reference for better optimization of industrial innovation and development, and provide methodological support for the government to establish sound emerging technology business models and optimized management methods.

Numerical Simulations of Combined Brine Flooding With Electrical Heating–Assisted Depressurization for Exploitation of Natural Gas Hydrate in the Shenhu Area of the South China Sea

The Shenhu area of the South China Sea (SCS) is one of the most promising fields for natural gas hydrate (NGH) exploitation. However, previous studies conclude that using only depressurization is inefficient for this challenging hydrate deposits surrounded by permeable water zones, which requires assistance by thermal stimulation to promote hydrate decomposition and methane recovery. However, traditional thermal stimulation methods with hot water or steam injection induce massive heat loss along the wellbore. In addition, in situ electrical heating only results in a limited high temperature region due to low thermal conductivity of hydrate deposits. Therefore, we numerically investigate the performance of combined brine flooding with electrical heating–assisted depressurization in horizontal wells for exploitation of natural gas hydrate in the SCS, which simultaneously possesses the merits of low heat loss and enhanced heat transfer by convection. Our simulation results show that thermal stimulation by combined brine flooding with electrical heating can significantly enhance hydrate dissociation and methane recovery. After 20 years of production, the cumulative methane production of combined brine flooding with electrical heating–assisted depressurization is 1.41 times of that conducted by the only depressurization method. Moreover, the energy efficiency can be improved by reducing electrical heating time, and terminating electrical heating with 70% hydrate dissociation achieves the highest net energy gain. In addition, methane recovery and net energy gain increases with electrical heating power and brine injection pressure but with a decreasing rate. Therefore, the selection of electrical heating power and brine injection pressure should be performed carefully and comprehensively considering both the efficiency of gas production and risks of geological hazard. It is hoped that our research results will provide reference and guidance for the development of a similar NGH reservoir in order to promote the industrial development process of NGH.

Research on Human Behavior Modeling of Sports Culture Communication in Industrial 4.0 Intelligent Management.

With the advent of the information age, Internet technology and computer technology are gradually applied in various fields. Human daily life is inseparable from the help of information technology. The progress and development of the times are also changing our industrial environment. The Internet of things, artificial intelligence, and digital production have been widely used in the industrial field. We need to integrate the new intelligent management concept in the industrial 4.0 era into the modern industrial system and media communication. In the communication of sports culture, how to integrate the intelligent technology under the background of industry 4.0 and realize the spatiotemporal modeling and analysis of human behavior and behavior characteristics is the main content of our research. Firstly, this study briefly analyzes the development and historical process of industry 4.0 era and explores the impact of Internet of things and information technology on sports culture communication. This study analyzes the development process of Chinese sports culture communication and probes into the influence and significance of sports culture communication on human behavior. Under the background of industrial 4.0 management, a model of human temporal and spatial behavior change in sports culture communication is established. Human behavior trajectory is analyzed by data mining, human behavior recognition algorithm, behavior quantitative analysis method, and behavior feature model. The results show that under the background of industry 4.0 management, human behavior modeling can clearly describe the basic characteristics and behavior state in the process of sports culture communication and can predict and analyze the human behavior performance of such social activities and phenomena. Through data mining, data preprocessing, and behavior quantitative analysis, human behavior trajectory is studied. It has a positive impact on the behavior trend in human daily life. The main factor affecting behavior change is whether to receive sports culture news.

Industry 4.0: challenges and opportunities in packaging logistics

The fourth industrial revolution opened new opportunities for the development of industrial processes, as it created the opportunity for companies to transform their conventional systems into cyber-physical systems to meet the increasingly dynamic and diversified customers’ demands. Although the primary goal of the development of these cyber-physical systems is to improve the efficiency of operations and increase the quality, but energy efficiency, environmental impact and sustainability also should be taken into consideration. Packaging is a special area of production and service, where due to the significant amount of logistics activity, the design and operation of sustainable processes with low environmental impact are emphasized. Within the frame of this article, the author provides an overview of the opportunities offered by Industry 4.0 technologies in the development of packaging processes of manufacturing and service companies and outlines the challenges to be faced in the implementation of these developments.

Whole-cell biocatalysis using genetically modified Pseudomonas taetrolens for efficient production of maltobionic acid from pure maltose and high-maltose corn syrup.

Maltobionic acid (MBA) can be applied to various fields such as food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries. In this study, whole-cell biocatalysis for MBA production was performed using recombinant Pseudomonas taetrolens homologously expressing quinoprotein glucose dehydrogenase (GDH). Various reaction parameters such as temperature, cell density, and cell harvest time, were optimized for improving MBA production. Under the optimized reaction conditions using pure maltose as a substrate, the MBA production titer, yield, and productivity of whole-cell biocatalyst (WCB) were 200g/L, 95.6%, and 18.18g/L/h, respectively, which were the highest compared to those reported previously. Productivity, a key factor for industrial MBA production, obtained from whole-cell biocatalysis in this study, was enhanced by approximately 1.9-fold compared to that obtained in our previous work (9.52g/L/h) using the fermentation method. Additionally, the WCB could be reused up to six times without a significant reduction in MBA productivity, indicating that the WCB is very robust. Although MBA productivity (8.33g/L/h) obtained from high-maltose corn syrup (HMCS) as a substrate was 45.8% of that using pure maltose, HMCS can be a better substrate for commercial MBA production because its price is only 1.1% of that of pure maltose. The results of this study using a WCB to convert maltose into MBA may support the development of a potential industrial process for more economically effective MBA production in the future.

Xylo-Oligosaccharide Utilization by Engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae to Produce Ethanol.

The engineering of xylo-oligosaccharide-consuming Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains is a promising approach for more effective utilization of lignocellulosic biomass and the development of economic industrial fermentation processes. Extending the sugar consumption range without catabolite repression by including the metabolism of oligomers instead of only monomers would significantly improve second-generation ethanol production This review focuses on different aspects of the action mechanisms of xylan-degrading enzymes from bacteria and fungi, and their insertion in S. cerevisiae strains to obtain microbial cell factories able of consume these complex sugars and convert them to ethanol. Emphasis is given to different strategies for ethanol production from both extracellular and intracellular xylo-oligosaccharide utilization by S. cerevisiae strains. The suitability of S. cerevisiae for ethanol production combined with its genetic tractability indicates that it can play an important role in xylan bioconversion through the heterologous expression of xylanases from other microorganisms.

Biodegradable Polymers for Microencapsulation Systems

Environmentally friendly alternatives have become sought after upon the development of scientific research and industrial processes. Recent trends suggest biodegradable polymers as the most promising solution for synthetic microcapsule systems. Safety, efficiency, biocompatibility, and biodegradability are some of the properties that biodegradable systems in microencapsulation can provide for a broad spectrum of applications. The controlled release of encapsulated active agents is a research field that, over the years, has been constantly innovating due to the promising applications in the areas of pharmaceutical, cosmetic, textile industry, among others. This article presents an overview of different polymers with potential for microcapsule synthesis, namely, biodegradable polymers. First, natural polymers are discussed, which are divided into two categories: polysaccharide-based polymers (cellulose, starch, chitosan, and alginate) and protein polymers (gelatin). Second, synthetic polymers are described, where biodegradable polymers such as polyesters, polyamides, among others appear as examples. For each polymer, this review presents its origin, relevant properties, applications, and examples found in the literature regarding its use in biodegradable microencapsulation systems.

Benefits and Challenges of Virtual-Reality-Based Industrial Usability Testing and Design Reviews: A Patents Landscape and Literature Review

With the introduction of new devices, industries are turning to virtual reality to innovate their product development processes. However, before the technology’s possibilities can be fully harnessed, certain constraints must be overcome. This study identifies the benefits and challenges of virtual-reality-based usability testing and design reviews in industry through a patents and articles review. We searched Derwent Innovation, Scopus, and Web of Science and identified 7 patent filings and 20 articles. We discovered an increase in patent filings since 2016 and strong development in the technology space, offering opportunities to enter an area while it is still young. The most frequently researched field is the automotive industry and the most used device is the HTC VIVE head-mounted display, which is frequently paired with motion capture systems and Unity 3D game engines. Virtual reality benefits design reviews and usability testing by providing the visualization of new angles that stimulate novel insights, increasing team engagement, offering more intuitive interactions for non-CAD specialists, saving redesign cost and time, and increasing participants’ safety. The challenges faced by virtual-reality-based prototypes are a lack of realism due to unnatural tactile and visual interactions, latency and registration issues, communication difficulties between teams, and unpleasant symptoms. While these constraints prevent virtual reality from replacing conventional design reviews and usability testing in the near future, it is already a valuable contribution to the industrial product development process.

Study on the Construction of Landscape Architecture in Residential District Based on Urban Greening Remote Sensing

The garden landscape of urban residential areas has significant environmental benefits, allowing people to get closer to nature and integrate with nature to relax and have some social benefits at the same time. This article is aimed at studying the effect of urban greening remote sensing on residential landscape construction. This paper uses the greening remote sensing image processing algorithm combined with the analysis method of SURF color remote sensing image and conducts the experiment based on the urban greening remote sensing on the residential area landscape architecture research. This article combines sustainable development strategies with innovative design methods to deeply study the role of urban greening remote sensing on the construction of residential landscape architecture. At the same time, the experiment in this article also proposes that the garden landscape of urban residential areas can provide entertainment for people, soothe residents’ mood, and achieve the best use of residential buildings. However, there are still some constraints in the development process of residential industry: insufficient government support, relatively backward technology of residential industrialization, lack of support and input from enterprises, and prejudice of people’s traditional concept towards it. The experimental results of this paper show that the remote sensing image features of buildings in residential areas and public areas are obvious. In the recognition of 46 training features and 34 detection features, the number of correct remote sensing recognition features is 32, and the green building image remote sensing recognition is good. The accuracy is 94%, which can meet the identification requirements of greening in the building. Combined with the specific conditions of urban greening and garden construction in my country, it can meet people’s entertainment needs and, to a certain extent, can also improve people’s life and cultural taste.

Continuous fixed-bed column study and adsorption modeling removal of Ni2+, Cu2+, Zn2+ and Cd2+ ions from synthetic acid mine drainage by nanocomposite cellulose hydrogel

Heavy metal ions are widely recognized for their harmful effects on human health and the environment. Heavy metal ions removal using nanocomposite hydrogel is a promising method for industrial applications and process development owing to their utilization in both kinematic and dynamic adsorption process. There is a need to develop simple, low-cost water purification techniques that use biodegradable bio-based natural polymers like cellulose nanocrystal that have been modified with nanomaterials. These innovative functional cellulose nanocrystals-based nanomaterials have been shown to successfully remove a variety of contaminants from wastewater to acceptable levels. Due to their capacity to hold water in their porous structures, hydrogels are the most commonly used 3D polymer mesh materials for environmental remediation. The application of potential hydrogel for the absorption of Cu2+, Ni2+, Zn2+ and Cd2+ ions from an aqueous solution in a packed bed adsorption column was studied in this work. The adsorbent was studied using FTIR, SEM, XRD and TGA. The influence of breakthrough factors such as bed height (10, 17 and 25 cm) influent concentration (10, 20 and 50 mg/L) and the feed flow rate (10, 20 and 30 mL/min) was assessed. Bed Depth Service Time, Thomas and Yoon–Nelson models were used to fit the experimental data. With an increase in bed height, breakthrough and exhaustion time, the removal efficiency rose to 99.42 ± 0.12 for Cu2+, 99.23 ± 1.16 for Ni2+, 99.36 ± 0.89 for Cd2+ and 98.94 ± 0.48 for Zn2+, but declined with increased flow rate and influent concentration. Better performance was observed at a bed height of 25 cm, an influent metal ion concentration of 10 mg/L and a flow velocity of 10 mL/min. The BDST and Yoon–Nelson models were both successfully used to predict the breakthrough curves of heavy metal ions removal.

Recovery of Salts from Synthetic Erythritol Culture Broth via Electrodialysis: An Alternative Strategy from the Bin to the Loop

Sustainability and circularity are currently two relevant drivers in the development and optimisation of industrial processes. This study assessed the use of electrodialysis (ED) to purify synthetic erythritol culture broth and for the recovery of the salts in solution, for minimising the generation of waste by representing an efficient alternative to remove ions, ensuring their recovery process contributing to reaching cleaner standards in erythritol production. Removal and recovery of ions was evaluated for synthetic erythritol culture broth at three different levels of complexity using a stepwise voltage in the experimental settings. ED was demonstrated to be a potential technology removing between 91.7–99.0% of ions from the synthetic culture broth, with 49–54% current efficiency. Besides this, further recovery of ions into the concentrated fraction was accomplished. The anions and cations were recovered in a second fraction reaching concentration factors between 1.5 to 2.5 times while observing low level of erythritol losses (<2%), with an energy consumption of 4.10 kWh/m3.

The Impact of Urbanization on Water Quality: Case Study on the Alto Atoyac Basin in Puebla, Mexico

Population growth, poorly planned industrial development and uncontrolled production processes have left a significant footprint of environmental deterioration in the Alto Atoyac watershed. In this study, we propose using the integrated pollution index (PI) to characterize the temporary variations in surface water quality during the rapid urbanization process in the municipalities of San Martín Texmelucán (SMT) and Tepetitla de Lardizabal (TL), in the states of Puebla and Tlaxcala, between 1985 and 2020. We assessed the correlation between the population growth rate and the water quality parameters according to the Water Quality Index (ICA). The contribution of each polluting substance to the PI was determined. The industry database was created and the increase in population and industry, and their densities, were estimated. The results indicated that the temporal pattern of surface water quality is determined by the level of urbanization. The water integrated pollution index (WPI) increased with the passage of time in all the localities: SLG 0.0 to 25.0; SMTL 25.0 to 29.0; SRT 4.0 to 29.0; VA 6.0 to 30.0; T 3.5 to 24.0 and SMA 4.0 to 27.0 from 2010 to 2020, respectively. The correlation coefficients between the five parameters (BOD5, COD, CF, TU and TSS) in the six localities were positive with the population. The values that showed a higher correlation with the population were: SLG (FC 0.86), SMTL (BOD5 0.61, COD 0.89, TSS 0.64) and SRT (TU 0.83), corresponding to highly polluted localities, which generates complex and severe environmental implications due to the unsustainable management of water resources. Achieving the sustainability of water in the watershed is a challenge that should be shared between society and state. This type of research can be a useful tool in making environmental management decisions.