High Aggregated Value Research Articles

Multi-energy calibration for determining critical metals in nickel-metal hydride battery residues by microwave-induced plasma atomic emission spectrometry.

Nickel-metal hydride batteries (NiMH) are a secondary source of high aggregate value elements, such as nickel, manganese, cobalt, and rare earths, for which recycling typically involves acid lixiviation. Designing the recycling process requires accurate determination of the elements in the leachates, which is hindered by the high complexity of the matrix. In the present study, microwave-induced plasma atomic emission spectrometry (MIP-OES) was selected as the quantitative method for elemental analysis because of its environment friendliness and cost-effectiveness. Multi-energy calibration (MEC) was also pioneeringly evaluated to circumvent matrix effects and simplify the determination of Ce, La, Ni, Co, and Mn in sulfuric acid leachates of NiMH batteries by MIP-OES. The method's analytical performance and accuracy were critically compared with external standard calibration and the standard additions method. MEC yielded superior results, with analyte recoveries within 90-110%, precision (coefficients of variation) from 1.8% to 5.8%, and limits of detection of 10, 20, 1, 400, and 60 μg kg-1 for Ni, La, Mn, Ce, and Co, respectively. The results demonstrated the ability of MEC-MIP-OES to minimize matrix effects, as well as simplify and speed up the analysis of NiMH battery leachates, which is compatible with this high-demand analytical application.

Characterization of lipid extracts from the Hermetia illucens larvae and their bioactivities for potential use as pharmaceutical and cosmetic ingredients

There is an increasingly growing demand for the use of natural and sustainable bioactives in the field of the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. The biomass from black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) can be viewed as an innovative source of compounds with high aggregate value and marketing potential due to the sustainable organic matter bioconversion process used as substrate for its development. This insect can be a source of lipid compounds with high added value, mainly due to its high content in fatty acids (FA) with potential applicability in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry. In this context, in this work different extraction methods were tested (decoction, microwaves, maceration and ultrasound), using water, acetone, n-hexane as extraction solvents, to evaluate yields of the BSF larvae lipid extracts, as well as their lipid profile, and a preliminary safety screening was conducted. Results show that despite using different extraction techniques and solvents, similar FA composition profiles were obtained. The lauric acid content (C12: 0) is elevated in all the extracts in relation to the other FA, ranging 37%–62%. The contents in palmitic (C16: 0) and oleic (C18: 1n-9) acids, were also high in all applied extraction methods. The omega-6 FA (ω-6 PUFAs), mainly linoleic acid (C18: 2n6c), were also identified in the lipid fraction of BSF larvae biomass, with a content variation between 4.5% and 17.7%, while the omega-3 group, namely α-Linolenic acid (C18: 3n3), presented values between 0.66% and 1.95%. None of the extracts presented toxicity in preliminary tests with the Artemia salina model. Through this study, it was possible to confirm that BSF larvae oil can be obtained by sustainable methods, containing a broad mixture of FA and being highly rich in lauric acid, with a promising skin care applicability.

Phenology and yield of cape gooseberry cultivated in open field in subtropical environment

Cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana L.) is a plant that presents fruit with high aggregate value and expressive levels of beneficial components to the human health. However, the lack of knowledge of the phenological phases limits the expansion of the crop under subtropical conditions, especially in open field production, despite it is a typical tropical plant. This research aimed to evaluate the phenological stages related the growth and the production of cape gooseberry cultivated under subtropical environment in an open field production system. The phenological stages were determined by the evaluations from the plant’s emerging date until it is senescence. The cape gooseberry cycle comprised 254 days with a total of 3,843.6 °C day. Cape gooseberry reached a maximum of 173 leaves, 193 cm height, and 1.16 cm stem diameter. The plastochron at the vegetative phase was 15.7 °C day node-1 and at the reproductive phase 20.6 °C day node-1. The fruit reached the harvest point with 3,045.3 °C day, corresponding to 179 days from the sowing or 100 days after transplantation, and the production period was extended for 60 days. Under the edaphoclimatic conditions (subtropical region), the production was 151.2 g per plant with estimated yield of 1,007.8 kg ha-1.

Production of cello‐oligosaccharides through the biorefinery concept: A technical‐economic and life‐cycle assessment

AbstractProducers look for co‐products to increase the value chain and production flexibility. With a high market aggregate value, the production of cello‐oligosaccharides (COS) as functional oligosaccharides from cellulosic substrates has been investigated. As COS/cellopentaose production process are rarely described in the literature, this study estimated the cellopentaose production cost and performed a life‐cycle assessment of the cellopentaose production process previously developed using sugarcane straw as a substrate. The results demonstrated that, through the six scenarios studied, it was possible to obtain a cellopentaose unit production cost varying between USD 0.40 and 1.15/mg, and that optimization in the upstream sector can reduce the total plant direct cost and the overall life‐cycle impact. The results also suggested that a better understanding of the hydrolysis solid/liquid proportion is necessary to reduce the bulk material cost. An environmental impact reduction of between 16.2% and 19.9% was also observed. In terms of the integrated biorefinery concept, sugarcane straw fermentation represents a prospective technology for the production of COS. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Neodymium recovery from aqueous solution through adsorption/desorption onto expanded vermiculite

The noble application of the neodymium on the technological field provides its high aggregate value. However, the future supply depends on the recycle, which still needs the improvement of the classical separation methods. In this study, expanded vermiculite was employed as an adsorbent to neodymium recovery from aqueous solution in batch mode. The specific properties of this phyllosilicate such as the lamellar structure were confirmed by different analytical techniques. The equilibrium of adsorption was well explained by Langmuir achieving the maximum adsorption capacity of 0.48 mmol/g at 283 K. The process was exothermic, spontaneous, and classified as physical adsorption. Desorption experimental conditions were optimized using the response surface methodology. The calcium chloride (0.3 mol/L) as eluent guaranteed a high recovery of neodymium and great reusability to the adsorbent material, achieving an uptake efficiency of 94% and a neodymium recovery of 95% in the fifth cycle. Thus, this commercial clay mineral demonstrated a great potential to recover neodymium from aqueous solution, due to the high adsorption and desorption efficiency after successive cycles of reuse.

Bioactive Compounds from Hermetia Illucens Larvae as Natural Ingredients for Cosmetic Application.

Due to the sustainable organic matter bioconversion process used as substrate for its development, the Hermetia illucens (Linnaeus) larvae biomass is considered a source of compounds with high aggregate value and quite a promising market. The materials that can be extracted from H. illucens larvae have opened the door to a diverse new field of ingredients, mainly for the feed and food industry, but also with potential applicability in cosmetics. In this review we succinctly describe the larval development and rearing cycle, the main compounds identified from different types of extractions, their bioactivities and focus on possible applications in cosmetic products. A search was made in the databases PubMed, ScienceDirect and Web of Science with the terms ‘Hermetia illucens’, ‘bioactives’, ‘biochemical composition’ and ‘cosmetics ingredients’, which included 71 articles published since 1994.

Human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (hBMP-2) characterization by physical\u2013chemical, immunological and biological assays

Commercially available preparations of methionyl-human BMP-2 and CHO-derived hBMP-2, which belongs to the transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) superfamily, were used for a complete characterization. This protein is an extremely efficient osteoinductor that plays an important role during bone regeneration and embryonic development. Characterization was carried out via SDS-PAGE and Western blotting, followed by reversed-phase HPLC, size-exclusion HPLC and MALDI-TOF-MS. The classical in vitro bioassay, based on the induction of alkaline phosphatase activity in C2C12 cells, confirmed that hBMP-2 biological activity is mostly related to the dimeric form, being ~ 4-fold higher for the CHO-derived glycosylated form when compared with the E. coli counterpart. The E. coli-derived met-hBMP-2 has shown, by MALDI-TOF-MS, a large presence of the bioactive dimer. A more complex molecular mass (MM) distribution was found for the CHO-derived product, whose exact MM has never been reported because of its variable glycosylation. A method based on RP-HPLC was set up, allowing a quantitative and qualitative hBMP-2 determination even directly on ongoing culture media. Considering that hBMP-2 is highly unstable, presenting moreover an extremely high aggregate value, we believe that these data pave the way to a necessary characterization of this important factor when synthesized by DNA recombinant techniques in different types of hosts.

The MICELI (MICrofluidic, ELectrical, Impedance): Prototyping a Point-of-Care Impedance Platelet Aggregometer.

As key cellular elements of hemostasis, platelets represent a primary target for thrombosis and bleeding management. Currently, therapeutic manipulations of platelet function (antithrombotic drugs) and count (platelet transfusion) are performed with limited or no real-time monitoring of the desired outcome at the point-of-care. To address the need, we have designed and fabricated an easy-to-use, accurate, and portable impedance aggregometer called “MICELI” (MICrofluidic, ELectrical, Impedance). It improves on current platelet aggregation technology by decreasing footprint, assay complexity, and time to obtain results. The current study aimed to optimize the MICELI protocol; validate sensitivity to aggregation agonists and key blood parameters, i.e., platelet count and hematocrit; and verify the MICELI operational performance as compared to commercial impedance aggregometry. We demonstrated that the MICELI aggregometer could detect platelet aggregation in 250 μL of whole blood or platelet-rich plasma, stimulated by ADP, TRAP-6, collagen, epinephrine, and calcium ionophore. Using hirudin as blood anticoagulant allowed higher aggregation values. Aggregation values obtained by the MICELI strongly correlated with platelet count and were not affected by hematocrit. The operational performance comparison of the MICELI and the Multiplate® Analyzer demonstrated strong correlation and similar interdonor distribution of aggregation values obtained between these devices. With the proven reliability of the data obtained by the MICELI aggregometer, it can be further translated into a point-of-care diagnostic device aimed at monitoring platelet function in order to guide pharmacological hemostasis management and platelet transfusions.

Optimization of the collagen extraction from Nile tilapia skin (Oreochromis niloticus) and its hydrogel with hyaluronic acid

Nile tilapia skin, an abundant waste from fish processing, can be used for collagen extraction, which has a high aggregated value for biomedical applications. Collagen extraction was conducted under different reaction conditions (time, temperature, and concentration of acetic acid) in order to optimize the yield without compromising the integrity of the collagen. Temperature and time were responsible for increased yield. The extraction at 4 and 20 °C produced the acid-solubilized collagen (ASC) with the intact triple helix and was analysed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and circular dichroism (CD). The optimized ASC (which used 0.35 mol/L of acetic acid at 20 °C) was consumed to obtain for the first-time fish-based hydrogels with hyaluronic acid (HA) crosslinked with 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropryl carbodiimide (EDC) and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS). The hydrogel was characterized by FT-IR, rheology, swelling, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), confirming that cross-linking was accomplished. It possesses a robust organized network, swells 255 % in PBS and bears interconnected pores with a diameter in the range of 10−100 μm. Until now, col-HA hydrogels crosslinked with EDC/NHS have not been reported in literature with collagen from Nile Tilapia skin. Fish collagen can be a better option than those from land-based animals (cow and pig).

Objective evaluation of physical activity pattern using smart devices

Physical activity session frequency and distribution over time may play a significant role on survival after major cardiovascular events. However, the existing amount-based metrics do not account for these properties, thus the physical activity pattern is not fully evaluated. The aim of this work is to introduce a metric which accounts for the difference between the actual and uniform distribution of physical activity, thus its value depends on physical activity aggregation over time. The practical application is demonstrated on a step data from 40 participants, half of them diagnosed with chronic cardiovascular disease (CVD). The metric is capable of discriminating among different daily patterns, including going to and from work, walking in a park and being active the entire day. Moreover, the results demonstrate the tendency of CVD patients being associated with higher aggregation values, suggesting that CVD patients spend more time in a sedentary behaviour compared to healthy participants. By combining the aggregation with the intensity metric, such common weekly patterns as inactivity, regular activity and “weekend warrior” can be captured. The metric is expected to have clinical relevance since it may provide additional information on the relationship between physical activity pattern and health outcomes.

Production, characterization, and applications of bioemulsifiers (BE) and biosurfactants (BS) produced by Acinetobacter spp.: A review.

Bioemulsifiers (BE) and biosurfactants (BS) are considered as multifunctional biomolecules of 21st century because of their functional abilities and eco-friendly properties. They are produced by various microorganisms under versatile and extreme environmental conditions. They have tremendous applications in various industries such as petroleum, food, medicine, pharmaceutical, chemical, paper & pulp, textile, and cosmetics. Currently, they are also considered as "green molecules" because of their wide applications in bioremediation of soil. Their importance has been increasing day by day in the global market as they are the natural resources with high-aggregate value. Although, there are numerous reports on BE and BS production by different bacteria, Acinetobacter spp. acquired special attention among all. This is because it is the earliest member known for the production of bioemulsifier. Emulsan and Alasan are the best examples of the commercially used BE produced by Acinetobacter spp. These BE are mainly used in microbial enhanced oil recovery and biodegradation of toxic compounds. This review is focused on BE and BS produced by Acinetobacter spp., their characterization and applications in different fields. This is the first review on genus Acinetobacter which defines independently about different types of BE and BS produced by it. It will also address the need of exploration of these molecules from various sources and their applications for the benefit of mankind and sustainable environment.

Variant product configuration of industrial air handling units in a MTO environment

A growing appeal for increased product variety and customization implies low-volume highly flexible production environments, consequently referring to a complex alignment between the organizational functions of production and sales. Considering a context of manufacturing through sales order and mass customization (MTSO + MC), the creation of specific technical lists for products can derail the timely release of a product to the market. This article describes contextual, structural, and procedural aspects associated to the implementation of a MTSO + MC environment to produce commercial air-conditioning equipment known as air handling unit. The equipment is high-aggregated value and has over 30 million different variants, sold in low volumes, generating high complexity for its sale specification and production processing. It becomes, therefore, a propitious scenario to discuss how mass customization and modular production concepts may be used to implement an information support system based on variant configuration, to enable demand and production management. The study was carried out with real data on a multi-national organization of the refrigeration industry. Implications to this organization and others interested in the theme include the following: waste reduction along the productive information management process, increased demand management effectiveness, and compatibility of project and production levels in the MTSO + MC context.

Determination of mango ripening degree by electrical impedance spectroscopy

The kinetics of ripening of fruits, followed by subsequent degradation process represent important biochemical mechanisms with high aggregate value for agribusiness sector. In contrast to the destructive assays for identification of ripening degree of fruits, the development of non-invasive techniques introduces potential advantages concerning to the development of new methods for fruit production control. In this direction, the electrical impedance spectroscopy was used for the identification of the maturation degree of fruits based on variation of bulk resistance dependence with maturation of fruits, due to the variation in the liquid content in fruit fibers. The results revealed the strong correlation between mechanical assays and electrical parameters, characterizing an important advantage in terms of a non-invasive and non-destructive method for ripening identification degree.

Does education influence the value of older persons? Assessing socio-demographic determinants of older persons’ value in Uganda

Although older persons make substantial contribution to their communities, there is paucity of information on determinants of their value in Uganda. This study of 605 older persons from 4 rural districts and one urban centre examines socio-demographic determinants of the value of older persons in the country. The findings from a binary logistic regression indicate that older persons who were aged 60-69, educated to primary and above, owned land, with migrant children, with limb ill-health and lived in the Western, Northern and Kampala urban regions of the country were more likely to have high aggregate value than those who were aged 80+, uneducated, landless, with no migrant children, with no limb ill-health and lived in the Central region. It is recommended that later-life socioeconomic programmes be designed, learner access and retention in education system be increased and a special age fund be established for all .

Evaluation of energy gain from the segregation of organic materials from municipal solid waste in gasification processes

Abstract The energy recovered from increasing amounts of municipal solid waste (MSW) is very advantageous as a source of sustainable energy. An option to convert MSW to useful products is the production of syngas for electric power generation. This strategy is viable with new and emerging technologies based on gasification. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the energy potential of MSW from its segregation. Through the obtained results, it was verified the expressive energy gain with segregation and consequent drying of MSW. It was estimated a production of 368 kW–770 kW, per tonne of processed MSW, in the studied gasification system. Therefore, the pre-treatment of waste through segregation may be a practical mean of achieving a sustainable route of electric power generation from MSW through gasification and combustion, as long as the process of segregation is executed through simple steps and with low cost. With the segregation of organic materials, in addition to doubling the amount of energy produced by the gasifier, it is also possible to make organic matter available for biodigestion and/or processes for production of gases with high aggregate value.

On the Electronic Efffect of the Sn Atoms Towards Noble Metal Adsorption Sites: The Influence of the Structure on the Glycerol Electrooxidation Reaction

The searching for electrode materials with outstanding performance towards organic fuels electrooxidation reactions often is focused on polymetallic materials since they can exhibit a synergetic action resulting from electronic, geometric and/or bifunctional effects. However, as those effects are correlated, it is a difficult task to ascribe the improvement of the performance to a specific property and so to acquire a better understanding of the electrocatalytic process. It well known that Sn atoms exert a beneficial effect towards noble metal adsorption site that, on its turn, enhanced the kinetic of several organic fuels electrooxidation reactions. The enhancement is often suggested because of the electronic donor action of Sn atom; oxophilic action that provides the removal of intermediate species from the surface sites or a combination of these and other effects. The present work aims to elucidate the influence of the Sn atom present in the matrix of ordered intermetallic and alloy PtSn and PdSn (1:1 atomic ratio) nanoparticle materials towards the glycerol electrooxidation reaction in alkaline medium. Ordered intermetallic PtSn/C and PdSn/C nanoparticles were synthesized via modified polyol method and the same materials as alloys were synthesized via microemulsion route. All materials were obtained with similar particles diameters (~2nm) that assures the comparison of the electrode materials performances excluding the influence of the particle sizes. The materials were fully characterized by means of X-Ray Diffraction (XRD); Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS); High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) and X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) techniques. Moreover, the electrochemical evaluation was performed by using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA) techniques and the identification of stable intermediates and products of the reactions were obtained from Mass Spectrometry (MS) technique. The electrochemical experiments were carried out in 0.5 mol.L-1 KOH electrolyte solution and all the potentials cited herein are referred to the Reversible Hydrogen Electrode (RHE). The obtained results have pointed to the best performance of the ordered intermetallic material PtSn/C. This best performance was attributed to the electronic donor effect of the Sn atom towards Pt adsorption site that optimized the adsorption of the glycerol molecule causing the dissociative adsorption of the fuel with the cleavage of the C-C bond. The electronic action of the Sn atom was confirmed by the XAS data. This phenomenon was reinforced by the identification of the following intermediates/products of the electrode reaction: formic acid (higher amount from the reaction taking place at ordered intermetallic PtSn/C); glyceric acid and glyceraldehyde (higher amount from the reaction taking place at alloy PtSn/C); glyceraldehyde/dihydroxyacetone (higher amount for ordered intermetallic PdSn/C) and tartronic acid (higher amount for alloy PdSn/C). The electrode reactions mechanisms were proposed for all systems pointing out to the possibility of using different materials for energy or high aggregate value chemicals production. FAPESP Proc. # 2013/05634-8 Figure 1

Density, thermal expansion coefficient, and rheological behaviour of meat extract under different temperatures and solids concentrations

Meat extract is a product with a high aggregated value obtained by concentrating cooking broth from meat products. To optimize project design and processing, we determined experimental values of the density and rheological behaviour of meat extract. We evaluated the influences of temperature and solids concentration on the studied parameters. Different concentrations and temperatures were selected based on the main processing steps, ranging from 0–60 gsoluble solids/100 gsolution and 2–98 °C. The model best fitted to density was derived and a thermodynamic relation was applied to calculate the thermal expansion coefficient. Meat extract density had a linear dependence on temperature and quadratic dependence on solids content, while the thermal expansion coefficient remained approximately constant at 5.33 × 10−4 m3 · m−3 · K−1. Concerning rheological analyses, meat extract had Newtonian behaviour from 1.5–20 gsoluble solids/100 gsolution at the temperature range studied. From 30–60 gsoluble solids/100 gsolution, the Power‐Law model was better fitted to the data and the consistency coefficient and flow behaviour index could be calculated. Both parameters were sensitive to changes in temperature and concentration. Apparent viscosity increased with increasing the meat extract concentration and lowering the temperature. The dependence of rheological parameters on temperature was expressed through an Arrhenius‐type equation.

Biosurfactants: Multifunctional Biomolecules of the 21st Century.

In the era of global industrialisation, the exploration of natural resources has served as a source of experimentation for science and advanced technologies, giving rise to the manufacturing of products with high aggregate value in the world market, such as biosurfactants. Biosurfactants are amphiphilic microbial molecules with hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties that partition at liquid/liquid, liquid/gas or liquid/solid interfaces. Such characteristics allow these biomolecules to play a key role in emulsification, foam formation, detergency and dispersal, which are desirable qualities in different industries. Biosurfactant production is considered one of the key technologies for development in the 21st century. Besides exerting a strong positive impact on the main global problems, biosurfactant production has considerable importance to the implantation of sustainable industrial processes, such as the use of renewable resources and “green” products. Biodegradability and low toxicity have led to the intensification of scientific studies on a wide range of industrial applications for biosurfactants in the field of bioremediation as well as the petroleum, food processing, health, chemical, agricultural and cosmetic industries. In this paper, we offer an extensive review regarding knowledge accumulated over the years and advances achieved in the incorporation of biomolecules in different industries.

Much ado about… everything: The plight of Southern European economies from a national competitiveness perspective

This paper identifies what are understood to be key drivers of country competitiveness. These are the institutional and structural conditions in an economy that are linked with the attainment of sustainable national competitive advantages through the creation of societal conditions that lead to a collective spirit of healthy competition at the heart of which lay competent organizations. The verification of these institutional and economic conditions of national competitiveness implies the development of a profound understanding of international markets and their aesthetic idiosyncrasies, with clear consequences to the promotion of exported goods and services of high aggregated value and the stimulation of domestic demand as well as the increasing sophistication of domestic business environments.

EDITORIAL

The need for diversification of the global energy grid is present in the speeches of most governments, the motivation of scientists and the perception of a growing segment of the population. Even so, the dependence on non-renewable fuels, such as fossil fuels, has been increasing progressively due to the rapid global growth, rising consumption and increasing purchasing power of the population. Besides searching global solutions to resolve the energy quest, efforts must be directed to short-term actions, taking advantage of the available scientific and technological knowledge to improve the performance of existing systems and in use today. Improving the efficiency of cooling systems, which are responsible for much of the world electricity consumption through intelligent control of compressors can reduce up to 50% electricity consumption, and thus provide economic and strategic advantages to countries that encourage this type of initiative. Likewise, the reduction of electricity for domestic heating or showering can be obtained by waste heat recovery, solar heating or the use of heat pumps with immersed condensers, among others, contributing to the reduction of electric energy consumption. A challenge to be overcome is the popularization of such technologies in the form of final product at affordable costs. Also, for popular use, it is the important the interest of nation leaders in order to drive the use of those technologies through tax incentives and public policies. Other advances could be achieved by the use and improvement of biotechnological processes, coupling the treatment of emissions and effluents to the production of biofuels, as well as high aggregated value products. Through exergy analysis, thermoeconomics, mathematical modeling, simulation and optimization, thermal engineering is able to contribute to the efficient coupling of such different biotechnological processes and contribute to decreasing dependence on fossil fuels.