Direct Injection Method Research Articles

Monitoring of ketamine-based emerging contaminants in wastewater: a direct-injection method and fragmentation pathway study

The ketamine (KET) and its analogs consumed by humans are becoming emerging contaminants (ECs), as they at present in surface waters after being carried through wastewater systems. Drugs in wastewater can be analyzed using the direct-injection method, a simple wastewater analysis (WWA) method that can provide objective, continuous and nearly to real-time findings. This article describes an ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS/MS) method for the simultaneous quantification and confirmation of seven KET-based ECs in wastewater by direct injection. After optimization of the UPLC–MS/MS and sample pretreatment conditions, the method was validated and applied to samples (n = 157) collected from several wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in southern China in which KET had the highest detection rate. The established direct-injection method was not only simple to perform but also had better sensitivity, shorter detection times, and analyzed more KET-based ECs than currently published methods, meeting the requirements for the monitoring and high-throughput analysis of common KET-based ECs. We also analyzed the fragmentation pathway of KET-based ECs to obtain product ion information on other unknown substances. Additional studies are needed to establish a comprehensive direct-injection screening method of ECs in wastewater on model-based assessment.

Design and Performance Evaluation of a Specialized Bubbler System for Accurate and Repeatable Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell (SOEC) Testing

Accurate assessment of Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell (SOEC) performance demands standardized testing conditions, particularly in stable steam delivery. Fluctuations in steam concentration and flow rate can significantly impact measured open-circuit voltage (OCV) and polarization behavior. Although direct steam injection is straightforward, it is often hindered by instability resulting from intermittent liquid water flux, pressure fluctuations, and fractional distillation effects. Bubbler humidification systems have the potential to offer consistent steam, but tailored designs for SOEC testing are currently absent.This study introduces a specialized bubbler system designed to deliver stable steam to SOEC test stands accommodating both oxygen-conducting (O-SOEC) and proton-conducting (H-SOEC) cells. The bubbler components include a refill water reservoir, a level control module, heating elements, pressure relief valves, check valves, tubing, and fittings integrated with the test stand. The system humidifies the sweep gas, transporting steam to the cell test fixture situated within a high-temperature furnace.The design process involved meticulous considerations of materials compatibility, hydrogen safety, and overtemperature protection. All wetted components employ stainless steel, glass, or PTFE materials in their construction construction. Redundant thermocouples ensure safe process temperatures with automated overtemperature shut off. The refill reservoir and bubbler headspace operate near ambient pressure, facilitated by an exhaust line vent sized for minimal backpressure.In various executed O-SOEC tests, the bubbler maintained OCV stability within ±5 mV over several hundred hours for each cell operating at 750°C, eliminating spikes caused by steam fluctuations observed with direct injection methods. This facilitates precise electrochemical analysis and determination of area-specific resistance losses. Polarization curves align with expected behavior based on the Nernst equation. The system has demonstrated safe and stable functionality for over thousands of hours across various operating conditions.The bubbler design presents researchers with notable advantages over existing steam supply options for SOEC test stands, addressing performance, safety, and flexibility concerns. Online instrumentation enables closed-loop control of steam conditions, enhancing stability. Standardization of test equipment is crucial for quality results, and this work contributes progress toward reproducible protocols in the international SOEC community. The modular bubbler approach, integrated with safety features, also signifies safer methodology choices for lab-scale experimental research.

High throughput and sensitive quantitation of tobacco-specific alkaloids and nitrosamines in wastewater

Tobacco-specific alkaloids and nitrosamines are important biomarkers for the estimation of tobacco use and human exposure to tobacco-specific nitrosamines that can be monitored by wastewater analysis. Thus far their analysis has used solid phase extraction, which is costly and time-consuming. In this study, we developed a direct injection liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantification of two tobacco-specific alkaloids and five nitrosamines in wastewater. The method achieved excellent linearity (R2 > 0.99) for all analytes, with calibration ranging from 0.10 to 800 ng/L. Method limits of detection and quantification were 0.17 ng/L (N-nitrosonornicotine, NNN) and 1.0 ng/L (N-nitrosoanatabine (NAT) and NNN), with acceptable accuracy (100 % ± 20 %) and precision (± 15 %). Analyte loss during filtration was < 15 %, and the relative matrix effect was < 10 %. The method was applied to 43 pooled wastewater samples collected from three wastewater treatment plants in Australia between 2017 and 2021. Anabasine and anatabine were detected in all samples at concentrations of 5.0 – 33 ng/L and 12 – 41 ng/L, respectively. Three of the five tobacco-specific nitrosamines (NAT, NNN, and (4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol) (NNAL)) were detected, in < 50 % of the wastewater samples, with concentrations nearly ten times lower than the tobacco alkaloids (< 1.0 – 6.2 ng/L). In-sewer stability of the nitrosamines was also assessed in this study, with four (NAT, NNAL, NNN, and N-nitrosoanabasine (NAB)) being stable (i.e. < 20 % transformation over 12 h in both control reactor (CR) and rising main reactor (RM) and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) being moderately stable (< 40 % loss over 12 h in RM). This direct injection method provides a high-throughput approach in simultaneous investigation of tobacco use and assessment of public exposure to tobacco-specific nitrosamines.

Study of Effects on Performances and Emissions of a Large Marine Diesel Engine Partially Fuelled with Biodiesel B20 and Methanol

The impact of fossil fuel utilisation in different combustion systems on climate change due to greenhouse gas accumulation in the atmosphere is rather evident. A part of these gases comes from the large engines used for propulsion in marine applications. In the continuous global effort made by engine manufacturers to mitigate this negative impact, one way is represented by the utilisation of alternative fuels such as biodiesel and methanol, based on dedicated research to fulfil the more stringent regulations concerning pollutant emissions issued by piston heat engines. In this study, a numerical investigation was conducted on a four-stroke large marine diesel engine (ALCO 16V 251C) at several engine speeds and full load conditions. Different blends of diesel–methanol and biodiesel B20–methanol with methanol mass fractions of 10% and 20% were considered for theoretical analysis in two techniques of methanol supply: direct injection mode of a blend of base fuel diesel/biodiesel B20 with methanol and injection of methanol after the intercooler, and direct injection of the base fuel. The results show that, if 10% in power loss can be acceptable, then for diesel–methanol 10%, in the direct injection technology, the NOx emission can be reduced up to 19%, but with a compromise of an 8% increase in SOOT emission, while for biodiesel B20–methanol 10%, with the same direct injection method, the NOx emissions increase by up to 58% with the benefit of reducing SOOT by up to 23% relative to the original diesel fuel operation. For a 20% methanol fraction in blend fuel, the drop in power is more than 10% regardless of the method of methanol supply and the base fuel, diesel, or B20 used.

Dilute-and-shoot approach for the high-throughput LC-MS/MS determination of illicit drugs in the field of wastewater-based epidemiology

The determination of illicit drugs in urban influent wastewater (IWW) enables the monitoring of spatial and temporal drug usage trends and assessment of community lifestyle habits. The increasing number of wastewater surveillance studies has emphasized the necessity for the development of rapid, high-throughput methods that maintain high quality data. This work evaluates the use of a dilute-and-shoot methodology, based on direct injection (DI) of centrifuged samples, as an alternative approach to the widely applied sample pre-treatment based on solid-phase extraction, for the liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry determination of seven widely consumed illicit drugs and their metabolites in IWW (amphetamine; cocaine metabolite, benzoylecgonine; ketamine; 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA); methamphetamine; cannabis metabolite, 11-nor-9-carboxy-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THCCOOH); heroin metabolite, 6-acetylmorphine (6-MAM)). Comparison of both approaches in terms of matrix effects, sensitivity and accuracy, demonstrates the DI method suitability to correctly quantify these analytes in IWW, with a limit of quantification lower than 30 ng L−1 for most compounds. After validation of the method and participation in an interlaboratory exercise, the DI method was applied to the analysis of 54 IWW samples collected from different Spanish wastewater treatment plants. Additionally, quality controls were incorporated in each analysis batch to support the DI method applicability and robustness. The use of a 10 μL-DI reduces time-consuming sample preparation, analysis time and measurement uncertainty. Moreover, it supports green chemistry by reducing the consumption of organic solvents and it facilitates logistics by collecting, transporting, and storing less sample volume. The methodology is therefore especially appropriate for monitoring illicit drugs in large wastewater-based epidemiology sampling campaigns or when fast near real-time results are needed.

Direct injection ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for the high-throughput determination of etomidate and etomidate acid in wastewater.

Etomidate (ET), a hypnotic agent used for the induction of anesthesia, is rapidly metabolized to etomidate acid (ETA) in the liver. Recently, ET has become one of the most serious alternative drugs of abuse in China. Therefore, an urgent need exists to develop a fast and convenient analysis method for monitoring ET. The current work presents a simple, fast, and sensitive direct injection method for the determination of ET and ETA in wastewater. After the optimization of the ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and sample filtration conditions, the method exhibited satisfactory limits of detection (1 ng/L) and good filtration loss. The validated method was successfully applied to determine the concentrations of ET and ETA in wastewater samples (n = 245) from several wastewater treatment plants in China. The concentrations of the targets in positive samples ranged from less than the lower limits of quantitation to 47.71 ng/L. The method can meet ET monitoring and high-throughput analysis requirements.

Enhancing the performance of syngas-diesel dual-fuel engines by optimizing injection regimes: From comparative analysis to control strategy proposal

This study introduced an innovative technology of syngas direct injection through the twinning injector system. This technology can simultaneously adjust the equivalence ratio and the mass of fresh gas, for a syngas-diesel dual-fuel engine converted from a conventional diesel engine. The current work was carried out in two stages, in which the evaluation of engine performance and mixture formation under two various syngas injection strategies such as the port-premixed mixture method and the direct injection method were examined in the first stage. In the second stage, the load control strategy of the syngas-diesel dual-fuel engine, which aims to attain low greenhouse gas emissions and maintain output power, was thoroughly presented. The results revealed that the syngas direct-injection strategy significantly influences the power derating of the dual-fuel engine at a fixed pilot diesel injection. Indeed, when the stop injection angle was held constant at 270°CA, the power derating of the dual-fuel engine increased from 3.78 % to 22.74 % as the start injection angle was increased from 60 °CA to 100°CA, implying that this injection strategy could be suitable for dual-fuel engines with a minor variation in their loading regime. Nonetheless, when the start injection angle was fixed at 60 °CA, the derating power of the dual-fuel engine increased from 7.41 % to 27.84 % as the stop injection angle was advanced from 280 °CA to 220 °CA, showing that this injection strategy was better suited for dual-fuel engines that experienced larger variations in their loading regime. Direct injection of syngas using the twinning injector system at an injection pressure of 6 bar, in conjunction with a suitable start/stop injector strategy, constitutes an appropriate solution for maintaining power derating in syngas-diesel dual-fuel engines below an acceptable threshold of 10 %.

Sensitive quantification of acetochlor and metolachlor in water using Taguchi-optimized DLLME coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography

In this study, we developed a method that is sensitive, simple, and environmentally friendly for quantifying acetochlor and metolachlor. This method combines vortex-assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). HPLC operating parameters and extraction parameters for direct and post-extraction analyses of acetochlor and metolachlor were optimized by employing the Taguchi experimental design method. The optimized HPLC parameters for acetochlor and metolachlor were 1.00 mL/min and 1.2 mL/min flow rate, 40 °C column temperature, and 70/30 (ACN/Water) and 80/20 (ACN/Water) at 210 and 230 nm wavelengths, respectively, for the direct injection method. For the DLLME procedure, 1,2-dichloroethane extraction solvent type, acetonitrile, and methanol dispersive solvent type, 400 µL and 300 µL extraction solvent volumes, and 1.0 mL dispersive solvent volume were the optimized DLLME extraction parameters, respectively. The developed and optimized methods for acetochlor and metolachlor analyses exhibited satisfactory validation results, with excellent linearity, indicated by R2 values greater than 0.99. The limit of detection (LOD) and the limit quantification (LOQ) levels of acetochlor and metolachlor were 28.96 to 31.25 µg/L, and 86.87 to 93.75 µg/L for direct injection, and 1.15 to 1.24 µg/L and 3.47 to 3.75 µg/L for post-extraction, respectively. The DLLME recovery values were within the range of 82.6–99.2 % (relative standard deviations-RSD: 4.47–10.13 %) for acetochlor and 91.1–103.4 % (4.31–7.96 %) for metolachlor. Repeatability and reproducibility results (n = 10) of direct injection and post-extraction methods for fortified acetochlor and metolachlor samples displayed very high precision lower than 2 % RSD.

Direct Analysis of Marine Dissolved Organic Matter Using LC-FT-ICR MS.

Marine dissolved organic matter (DOM) is an important component of the global carbon cycle, yet its intricate composition and the sea salt matrix pose major challenges for chemical analysis. We introduce a direct injection, reversed-phase liquid chromatography ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry approach to analyze marine DOM without the need for solid-phase extraction. Effective separation of salt and DOM is achieved with a large chromatographic column and an extended isocratic aqueous step. Postcolumn dilution of the sample flow with buffer-free solvents and implementing a counter gradient reduced salt buildup in the ion source and resulted in excellent repeatability. With this method, over 5,500 unique molecular formulas were detected from just 5.5 nmol carbon in 100 μL of filtered Arctic Ocean seawater. We observed a highly linear detector response for variable sample carbon concentrations and a high robustness against the salt matrix. Compared to solid-phase extracted DOM, our direct injection method demonstrated superior sensitivity for heteroatom-containing DOM. The direct analysis of seawater offers fast and simple sample preparation and avoids fractionation introduced by extraction. The method facilitates studies in environments, where only minimal sample volume is available e.g. in marine sediment pore water, ice cores, or permafrost soil solution. The small volume requirement also supports higher spatial (e.g., in soils) or temporal sample resolution (e.g., in culture experiments). Chromatographic separation adds further chemical information to molecular formulas, enhancing our understanding of marine biogeochemistry, chemodiversity, and ecological processes.

Solid phase microextraction arrow-ion mobility spectrometry for determination of selected pesticides in water

Ion mobility spectrometry with corona discharge ion source was used for the measurements of selected pesticides cybutryne, terbutryn, dichlorvos, and quinoxyfen in water. The analyses were carried out by (i) direct injection of the aqueous solution of the pesticides and (ii) extraction using solid phase microextraction by commercial SPME arrows. The instrumental and the experimental extraction parameters including the drift tube temperature, injection port temperature, and the SPME fiber type were studied and optimized to achieve the maximum signal intensity. The limit of detections obtained by the direct injection were about 0.1–1.0 mg L−1. Using the SPME arrow-ion mobility spectrometry method, the detection limits were improved 7–50 times and obtained as 0.01, 0.015, 0.05, and 0.1 mg L−1 for terbutryn, dichlorvos, cybutryne, and quinoxyfen, respectively. The recovery rate for analysis in surface water (real samples) was approximately 90–110% for both the direct injection and solid phase microextraction method. The capability of ion mobility spectrometry for the simultaneous detection of a mixture of the studied pesticides was assessed, and it was found that terbutryn, dichlorvos, and quinoxyfen can be detected simultaneously without peak overlapping.

Performance testing of moringa oleifera seed oil biodiesel with additives in diesel engine

Now a day's liquid biodiesel fuels utilization that are produced from renewable natural resources such as moringa oleifera seeds using transesterification method accounts among the best alternative option for substituting conventional fossil fuels. This investigation shows production of biodiesel from moringa oleifera seeds by transesterification process with an additive of diethyl ether (DEE2%). It also finds out the efficiency and emission analysis of three fuels namely pure diesel, B20 (20% moringa blended with 80% diesel), and B20DEE2% (20% Moringa &2%DEE additive blended with 78% diesel) compression ignition engine using single cylinder, 4-stroke direct injection method. The observations of the fuel characterization show that B20 and B20DEE2% biodiesel blended fuels have nearly equal characteristics such as viscosity, density, and calorific values that compared to diesel fuel. Moreover, these fuels have comparable performance such as brake thermal efficiency, brake power, brake torque, and specific fuel consumption compared to clear diesel fuel, and especially B20DEE2% have better emission condition than B20 biodiesel blend fuel.

A thorough analysis of the occurrence, removal and environmental risks of organic micropollutants in a full-scale hybrid membrane bioreactor fed by hospital wastewater

The Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive recent draft issued last October 2022 pays attention to contaminants of emerging concern including organic micropollutants (OMPs) and requires the removal of some of them at large urban wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) calling for their upgrading. Many investigations to date have reported the occurrence of a vast group of OMPs in the influent and many technologies have been tested for their removal at a lab- or pilot-scale. Moreover, it is well-known that hospital wastewater (HWW) contains specific OMPs at high concentration and therefore its management and treatment deserves attention. In this study, a 1-year investigation was carried out at a full-scale membrane bioreactor (MBR) treating mainly HWW. To promote the removal of OMPs, powdered activated carbon (PAC) was added to the bioreactor at 0.1 g/L and 0.2 g/L which resulted in the MBR operating as a hybrid MBR. Its performance was tested for 232 target and 90 non-target OMPs, analyzed by UHPLC-QTOF-MS using a direct injection method. A new methodology was defined to select the key compounds in order to evaluate the performance of the treatments. It was based on their frequency, occurrence, persistence to removal, bioaccumulation and toxicity. Finally, an environmental risk assessment of the OMP residues was conducted by means of the risk quotient approach. The results indicate that PAC addition increased the removal of most of the key OMPs (e.g., sulfamethoxazole, diclofenac, lidocaine) and OMP classes (e.g., antibiotics, psychiatric drugs and stimulants) with the highest loads in the WWTP influent. The hybrid MBR also reduced the risk in the receiving water as the PAC dosage increased mainly for spiramycin, lorazepam, oleandomycin. Finally, uncertainties and issues related to the investigation being carried out at full-scale under real conditions are discussed.

Development of a fluorous trapping reagent for rapid detection of electrophilic reactive metabolites.

A cysteine-based fluorous trapping reagent, Rf8CYS, was developed. Rf8CYS formed adducts with soft and hard electrophilic reactive metabolites. These fluorous-tagged adducts were purified via both fluorous solid-phase extraction and the direct injection method. The highly sensitive mass spectrometric detection of an unprecedented adduct of the ticlopidine metabolite was realized.

External liquid calibration method for iodide chemical ionization mass spectrometry enables quantification of gas-phase per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) dynamics in indoor air.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are manufactured chemicals that have been detected across the globe. Fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs) are one PFAS class commonly found in indoor air due to emissions from consumer products (e.g., textiles and food packaging) and are human metabolic, atmospheric oxidative, and industrial precursors of perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs). We developed a quantitative method for real-time analysis of gas-phase FTOHs, perfluoroalkyl acids (PFCAs and GenX), one perfluorooctane sulfonamide (EtFOSA), one fluorotelomer diol (FTdiOH), and one fluorinated ether (E2) using high-resolution time-of-flight chemical ionization mass spectrometry equipped with iodide reagent ion chemistry (I-HR-ToF-CIMS). Herein, we present a direct liquid injection method for external calibration, providing detection limits of 0.19-3.1 pptv for 3 s averaging and 0.02-0.44 pptv for 120 s averaging, with the exception of E2, which had detection limits of 1700 and 220 pptv for 3- and 120 s averaging, respectively. These calibrations enabled real-time gas-phase quantification of 6 : 2 FTOH in room air while microwaving popcorn, with an average peak air concentration of 31.6 ± 4.5 pptv measured 2 meters from a closed microwave. Additionally, 8 : 2 and 10 : 2 FTOH concentrations in indoor air were measured in the presence and absence of a rain jacket, with observed peak concentrations of 110 and 25 pptv, respectively. Our work demonstrates the ability of I-HR-ToF-CIMS to provide real-time air measurements of PFAS relevant to indoor human exposure settings and allow for PFAS source identification. We expect that real-time quantification of other gas-phase PFAS classes is possible, enabling advances in understanding PFAS sources, chemistry, and partitioning.

Designing a Long Optical Path Direct-Injection-Integrated Cavity for Laser Absorption Spectroscopy

Trace gas measurement has a wide range of applications needed in industrial, medical, and environmental protection. With the evolution of time, the demand for real-time, sensitivity, and accuracy of gas detection has been increasingly heightened. Off-axis integrated cavity output spectroscopy (OA-ICOS) is an effective method for the high-sensitivity detection of trace gases. It uses an integrated cavity with two highly reflective mirrors to provide a long optical path, which guarantees its high sensitivity. However, as the reflectivity of the mirrors increases, the intensity of the output light decreases, and the signal-to-noise ratio decreases. This contradiction makes it difficult to achieve a long optical path and a high signal-to-noise ratio together. To combat this issue, this paper proposes a type of integrated cavity using a direct-injection method. This structure, under equivalent mirror conditions, can maintain an effective absorption optical path very close to the original off-axis integrated cavity while increasing the output light intensity hundreds of times. This enhancement increases the sensitivity of OA-ICOS.

Analysis of wastewater from 2013 to 2021 detected a recent increase in nicotine use in Queensland, Australia

Previous wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) studies have reported decreasing trends of nicotine and tobacco use in Australia before 2017, but there is concern that increasing illicit use of nicotine in vaping products and illicit tobacco could reverse this progress. This study aimed to assess temporal trends of nicotine consumption and specifically tobacco consumption via wastewater analysis in a population in Australia between 2013 and 2021. One week of daily wastewater samples were analyzed every two months from February 2013 to December 2021 in a regional city serving ∼100,000 people. A total of 340 daily samples were analyzed for anabasine (tobacco specific biomarker) and nicotine metabolites, cotinine and hydroxycotinine, using direct injection method by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Daily consumption estimates were calculated from daily flow data, population estimates and previously reported excretion factors. Linear spline regression was performed to identify periods when significant change of slopes occurred and to evaluate the temporal trends. Tobacco use monitored using anabasine as a biomarker, showed a decreasing trend over the whole period with a higher rate of decrease during the first two years (2013-2014, 21 % decrease) compared to the later 7 years (2015-2021, 10 % decrease). Nicotine use, monitored using cotinine and hydroxycotinine, showed a downward trend between 2013 and 2018 (2013‐2014: 18 % decrease, p < 0.05; 2015‐2016: 6 % increase, p = 0.48; Feb-Dec 2017: 15 % decrease, p = 0.39) followed by a significant increase from 2018 to 2021 (40 % increase, p < 0.001). This finding suggests the increasing use of non-tobacco nicotine-based products. Additionally, the tobacco use estimate by wastewater analysis was higher than the tobacco sales data, which suggests the use of illicit tobacco in the catchment.

Assessing the efficacy of jet dispenser versus direct syringe injection for calcium hydroxide paste placement in artificial root canals

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a novel jet dispenser (JD) for filling simulated straight and curved canals with calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) paste by comparing the level of intracanal medicament with traditional direct syringe delivery. The Ca(OH)2 paste was delivered into the canals using either a direct syringe with binding tip and unbinding tip or a JD. The analysis of the ratio of the canal filled area (RCFA) in the coronal, middle, and apical thirds was conducted using the Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney U tests (α = 0.05). The JD resulted in a significantly higher RCFA of 1.00 in the middle and apical thirds in both the straight and curved canals than the direct syringe method (p < 0.001). Voids were frequently observed in the direct syringe group, whereas JD showed no voids within the filled area. In the direct syringe groups, the apical area was more readily filled in both canal types when the tip was bound (p < 0.001). The JD was found to be more effective in filling the entire canal space than the binding and unbinding conditions of the direct injection method, particularly in the apical area.

Ozone-assisted combustion and emission control in RCCI engines: A comprehensive study

This paper presents an investigation into the combustion and emission characteristics of reactivity-controlled compression ignition (RCCI) engines using ozone seeding, which is known as one of the most highly oxidizing chemical species. The study aims to address challenges pertaining to combustion control and emissions deterioration. Therefore, the current work investigates the RCCI mode of operation in a single-cylinder diesel engine with intake air that has been seeded with ozone by introducing conventional diesel fuel as a high-reactivity fuel using a high-pressure direct injection method and iso-octane as a low reactivity fuel using a low-pressure port injection method. In the experimental study, different ozone concentrations up to 300 ppm and three different energy-based premixed ratios of low reactivity fuel from 0% to 45% with a 15% rise rate were examined under various engine loads and constant engine speed. The methodology used in this research provided for simultaneous decreases in unburned hydrocarbon (HC) emissions and smoke opacity for RCCI engines. According to the experimental findings, simultaneous utilization of RCCI mode and ozone seeding led to a decrease of up to 36% in HC emissions and a reduction of up to 98.7% in smoke opacity. Moreover, nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions were reduced by up to 39.5% at 20% engine load, whereas carbon monoxide (CO) emissions exhibited a decrease of up to 46% at 60% load. The RCCI mode also yields significant reductions in pollutant emissions and notable increases in brake thermal efficiency (BTE) when compared to the conventional diesel mode (CDM). In conclusion, this experimental study presents a promising solution for addressing emissions deterioration in RCCI engines while simultaneously achieving reductions in pollutant emissions.

Experimental Investigation on Electromagnetic Immunity and Conduction Immunity of Digital Control Circuit Based on ARM

This paper analyzes the typical functions of digital control circuit and its function modules, and develops a set of digital control circuit equipment based on Advanced RISC Machines (ARM) with typical function modules, including principle design, interference injection trace design, function design, and study the failure mode and threshold of typical function modules. Based on continuous wave (CW) and pulse wave, the direct power injection (DPI) method is used to test the conduction immunity of the digital control circuit, and the failure mode and sensitivity threshold of the digital control circuit are quantitatively obtained. This method can provide experimental verification for the immunity ability of the digital control circuit to different electromagnetic interference.

Targeted and non-targeted screening of flame retardants in rural and urban honey

Flame retardants (FRs) are often added to commercial products to achieve flammability resistance, but they are not chemically bonded to the materials, so, they can be easily released into the environment during the production and disposal processes. When honeybees travel to collect nectar during the pollination process, they are prone to be contaminated by chemicals in the air. Therefore, honey contamination has been proposed as an indicator of the pollution status in a particular region. To date, the occurrence of flame retardants in urban honey has yet to be explored. In this study, a direct injection method was used, coupled with LC-QTOF-MS, to analyze honey samples. This method was applied to urban (n = 100) and rural (n = 100) honey samples from the Quebec province (Canada), and the levels of flame retardants in urban and rural honey samples were not significantly different. In the targeted approach, two of the target FRs, tris(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate (TBOEP) and triphenyl phosphate (TPHP), were detected and confirmed at an average trace concentration (<1 ng mL−1). Additionally, a non-targeted screening workflow with an in-house-built library was developed and validated to screen for flame retardants in honey. Tris (2-chloropropyl) phosphate (TCIPP) was identified in honey using the non-targeted screening workflow and confirmed using a pure analytical standard, but there are other compounds detected in the non-targeted analysis that have yet to be validated. This study was the first to report FR compounds based on a direct injection method, coupled with a non-targeted screening workflow, at a trace level in a honey matrix. It also showed that a non-targeted workflow was effective to detect and identify unknown compounds present in the honey sample; hence, this provided a novel angle for the occurrence of FRs in air, with honey as a bio-indicator.