Large-scale Industry Research Articles

Precision compensation method for large-scale measurements based on full-space refractive index field reconstruction with vibratory mirror background oriented schlieren (VMBOS)

With the development of the large-scale equipment manufacturing industry, such as aircraft component assembly, wind turbine rotor blade measurement and large ship assembly the demand for optical measurement accuracy in large-dimensional spaces within industrial environments has become increasingly stringent. However, due to the presence of internal interference sources, light will no longer propagate in a straight line, thereby introducing measurement errors that cannot be ignored. To compensate for the measurement error, the refractive index field distribution within the large-dimensional measurement space must be reconstructed. Therefore, this paper proposed a vibratory mirror background oriented schlieren (VMBOS) based on vibratory scanning. This method scans the measurement space through the rotation of vibratory mirror to obtain light deflection angles at different directions. Subsequently, the refractive index field of the large-dimensional space is reconstructed by using the tomographic reconstruction algorithm. Then the optical path of the light in the optical measurement can be corrected through the Hamiltonian ray tracing algorithm, thereby achieving compensation for the measurement error. Finally, the VMBOS method has been verified through both simulation and experimental methods. The experimental results demonstrated that the method proposed in this paper can be applied to optical path correction and error compensation in large scale spaces.

TVT-Based New Building Block with Enhanced π-Electron Delocalization for Efficient Non-Fused Photovoltaic Acceptor.

To address the high-cost issue that impedes the large-scale fabrication and industrialization of organic solar cells (OSCs), it is crucial to design low-cost photovoltaic materials with simplified synthesis procedures. In this study, a novel fully non-fused acceptor, ATVT-BO, featuring a triisopropylbenzene-substituted (E)-1,2-di(thiophen-2-yl)ethene (TVT) unit as the central core is designed and synthesized. A control acceptor, A4T-BO, with the same alkyl chains but a bithiophene central core, is also synthesized for comparison. Theoretical calculations and practical measurements reveal that compared to A4T-BO, the insertion of an ethylene bond in ATVT-BO enhances the molecular planarity and reduces the aromaticity, leading to enhanced π-electron delocalization and thus improved electron mobility and a red-shifted optical absorption spectrum. The 3D molecular packing mode of ATVT-BO, characterized by tight intermolecular interactions, also promotes efficient charge transport in OSCs. Consequently, when paired with the low-cost polymer PTVT-T, featuring an ester-substituted TVT structure, as the photoactive layer, the PTVT-T:ATVT-BO-based device achieves a remarkable power conversion efficiency of 14.8%, distinctly higher than that of PTVT-T:A4T-BO-based cell. The result highlights the significant potential of TVT units in creating both low-cost polymer donors and fully non-fused acceptors, which opens up new possibilities for designing low-cost photoactive materials in OSCs.

Nondestructive Identification of Internal Potato Defects Using Visible and Short-Wavelength Near-Infrared Spectral Analysis

Potatoes are a staple food crop consumed worldwide, with their significance extending from household kitchens to large-scale food processing industries. Their market value and quality are often compromised by various internal defects such as pythium, bruising, internal browning, hollow heart, gangrene, blackheart, internal sprouting, and dry rot. This study aimed to classify internal-based defects and investigate the quantification of internal defective areas in potatoes using visible and short-wavelength near-infrared spectroscopy. The acquisition of the spectral data of potato tubers was performed using a spectrometer with a wavelength range of 400–1100 nm. The classification of internal-based defects was performed using partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), while the quantification of the internal defective area was based on partial least squares regression (PLSR). The PLS-DA double cross-validation accuracy for the distinction between non-defective and all internally defective potatoes was 90.78%. The double cross-validation classification accuracy achieved for pythium, bruising, and non-defective categories was 91.03%. The internal defective area model based on PLSR achieved a correlation coefficient of double cross-validation of 0.91 and a root mean square error of double cross-validation of 0.85 cm2. This study makes a valuable contribution to advancing nondestructive techniques for evaluating internal defects in potatoes.

Valence electronic engineering of hollow-nanocube-structured CoFeNi-layered double hydroxides for highly efficient oxygen evolution

The sluggish kinetics of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and the high-cost of catalysts currently limit the large-scale industrialization of hydrogen production through water electrolysis, so developing efficient and inexpensive catalysts is a top priority. Herein, we employed a facile solvent method to synthesize a well-defined hollow nanocube-structured CoFeNi layered double hydroxide (LDH) with an optimized valence electronic structure of metal sites as an efficient electrocatalyst for accelerating the kinetics of OER. The optimal catalyst with the regulated valence electronic structure exhibited a strong synergistic catalytic effect and an excellent activity and stability. It achieved a lower overpotential of 294 mV at 100 mA cm−2, and high durability exceeding 100 h at 1 A cm−2, surpassing the performance of commercial Ir-/Ru-based catalysts. The optimized the coordination environment and valence electronic structure of metal sites can definitely serve as active centers for triggering OER, thereby improving the intrinsic electrocatalytic performance.

Transforming Nanocrystals into Superhard Boron Carbide Nanostructures.

Boron carbide (B4+δC) possesses a large potential as a structural material owing to its lightness, refractory character, and outstanding mechanical properties. However, its large-scale industrialization is set back by its tendency to amorphize when subjected to an external stress. In the present work, we design a path toward nanostructured boron carbide with greatly enhanced hardness and resistance to amorphization. The reaction pathway consists of triggering an isomorphic transformation of covalent nanocrystals of Na1-xB5-xC1+x (x = 0.18) produced in molten salts. The resulting 10 nm B4.1C nanocrystals exhibit a 4-fold decrease of size compared to previous works. Solid-state 11B and 13C NMR coupled to density functional theory (DFT) reveal that the boron carbide nanocrystals are made of a complex mixture of atomic configurations, which are located at the covalent structural chains between B11C icosahedral building units. These nanocrystals are combined with a spark plasma-sintering-derived method operated at high pressure. This yields full densification while maintaining the particle size. The nanoscaled grains and high density of grain boundaries provide the resulting nanostructured bodies with significantly enhanced hardness and resistance to amorphization, thus delivering a superhard material.

Inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in tomato juice by combined treatment of ethanolic clove extract and mild heat

The combination of plant extracts with mild heat treatment is a promising strategy for obtaining microbiologically and chemically safe food products. In this study, we evaluated the antimicrobial activity of ethanolic clove extract against Escherichia coli O157: H7 in nutrient broth, buffer, and tomato juice. Clove extract at 0.4% concentration showed significant E. coli O157: H7 population reduction in all media tested. E. coli O157: H7 was most sensitive to the ethanolic clove extract in nutrient-deficient media but demonstrated relative resistance in nutrient-rich media and tomato juice. Moreover, we evaluated the potential of clove extract as a preservative in tomato juice stored at cold storage temperatures of 4 °C and 15 °C. The clove extract exhibited stronger inhibitory effects against the pathogen in tomato juice stored at 15 °C than at 4 °C. Additionally, we assessed the antimicrobial efficacy of clove extract in combination with mild heat treatment against E. coli O157: H7 in tomato juice. The combined treatment of 0.05% clove extract with mild heat at 60 °C for 30 min achieved a 5-log reduction in the E. coli population in tomato juice. Our findings present a potential hurdle technology against E. coli O157: H7 in tomato juice processing by employing a combination of naturally sourced antimicrobial agents from clove and mild heat treatment. This approach can be effectively adopted by large-scale industries and small-scale local juice vendors to ensure the safety of tomato juice products.

Developing low-lactose milk powder: A multi-enzyme approach to reduce Maillard browning

Preparation of low lactose milk and milk products have attracted the attention of consumers due to increasing prevalence of lactose intolerance. However, the physico-chemical properties of product prepared from the single enzyme application (β-galactosidase) possess a significant concern of Maillard browning. While previous studies adjusted spray drying conditions to address Maillard browning in low lactose powder, our research introduces a multi-enzyme system for lactose hydrolysis in concentrated skim milk to produce a spray-dried powder with reduced browning. Glucose oxidase (GOX) converts glucose into gluconic acid that lowers down the concentration of Maillard reaction products (MRP's) formed during manufacture of lactose hydrolysed milk products. The activity of GOX was enhanced when used along with catalase (CAT). Use of GOX + CAT in buffer solution (containing 9 % glucose) exhibited 61.44 % glucose reduction after 22 h of reaction. GOX (70 U/ml) along with CAT (25 U/ml) when added to milk after 5 h of β-galactosidase (9.53 U/ml) action resulted in significantly higher reduction of glucose (53.95 %) after 20 h with final milk pH of 6.5. Spray dried powder prepared using optimised multi-enzymes (β-galactosidase and GOX + CAT) treated milk revealed reduced browning characteristics i.e., 12.85 browning index as compared to the powder prepared from milk treated with β-galactosidase alone (16.37).Industrial relevance: The use of GOX + CAT during lactose hydrolysis could serve as a potential approach for mitigating browning characteristics in low-lactose milk and milk products. The multi-enzymatic system used to produce low-lactose milk can be easily adapted by large-scale industries to produce a powder with physico-chemical properties similar to traditional skim milk powder.

Frozen dough steamed products: Deterioration mechanism, processing technology, and improvement strategies.

Fresh dough products lead to instability in product quality, high production costs, and more production time, which seriously affects the industrial production of the food industry. The frozen dough technology mitigates the problems of short shelf-life and easy deterioration of quality during storage and transportation. It has shown a series of advantages in large-scale industrialization, high-quality standardization, and chain operation. However, the further development of frozen dough is restricted by the deterioration of the main components (gluten, starch, and yeast) caused by freezing. This review summarizes the main production process of frozen steamed bread and buns, and the deterioration reasons for the main component of frozen dough. The improvement mechanisms of raw ingredients, processing technology, processing equipment, and additives on frozen dough quality were analyzed from the perspective of improving gluten network integrity and yeast freeze tolerance. From prefermented frozen raw to steamed products without thawing has become the preferred production process to improve production efficiency. Wheat flour mixed with other flour can maintain the gluten network continuity of frozen dough. The freeze tolerance of yeast was improved by treatment with yeast suspension, yeast cell encapsulation, screening hybridization, and genetic engineering. Process optimization and new technology-assisted fermentation and freezing effectively reduce freezing damage. Various additives improve the freeze resistance of the gluten-starch matrix by promoting protein cross-linking and inhibiting water migration. In addition, ice structural proteins and ice nucleating agents have been proven to change the growth morphology and formation temperature of ice crystals. More new technologies and additive synergies need to be further explored.

Nectar and pollen source of natural honey produced by Apis cerana skorikovi Engel (= himalaya): Palynological analysis from tropical to sub-tropical forests of eastern Himalaya

This study deals with the palynological analysis of natural “Himalayan cerana” honey collected from the tropical to sub-tropical forests of the eastern Himalaya (West Sikkim, Ziro valley of Arunachal Pradesh and sub-Himalayan region of West Bengal). A total of 12 honey samples were analysed. Among the six samples from Sikkim, one is found unifloral and remaining five samples are found to be multifloral. Similarly, the Kolakham (West Bengal) sample is found multifloral, whereas both the honey samples of Alipurduar (West Bengal) are found to be unifloral. All the three Arunachal Pradesh samples are found multifloral. Absolute pollen count (APC) reveals that the unifloral winter honeys are poor in APC compared to the multifloral ones. Significant occurrence of anemophilous pollen grains in honey samples points towards theirr entrapment either during long distance flight of the bees or on the sticky hive surfaces. The nectar calendars show that winter season is the honey dearth period in the study areas of the eastern Himalaya. Finally, the diversity and richness of the pollen grains in the honey samples also reflect the bee plant diversity of the surroundings. The study may further be useful to assess the potentiality for establishing a moderate to large-scale bee-keeping industry which may provide an alternate source of livelihood to improve the socio-economic set up of the local economically backward ethnic communities.

Assessment of harmful gases emission and its impact using IoT and geospatial technology

Numerous industries in our daily lives use a variety of dangerous chemical gases, and workers are frequently exposed to these gases. The losses due to harmful gases can be reduced by developing an automatic harmful gases detection and alerting system. This study aims to design, develop, and implement an automatic warning system using series of gas sensors to deduct. The designed system is implemented to monitor 3 locations to detect the hazardous pollutions parameters, namely Large-Scale industries, wood burning sites and residential housings and analysed to understand the pollution level. This study observed elevated temperatures (35–45 °C) and heat index (30–50 °C) in large-scale industries, along with higher harmful gases compared to wood-burning sites and homes. Interestingly, wood-burning sites exhibited higher humidity (60–70 %) and peak ozone and methane levels compared to other locations. These variations underscore the unique environmental characteristics of each site, emphasizing the need for tailored monitoring and safety measures.

Towards decarbonizing large-scale industries: A decision support framework for optimizing grid-connected PV-battery energy systems planning – Case study of an OCP mining site, Morocco, North Africa

Incorporating renewable energy into forthcoming grid-connected or decentralized energy systems assumes an escalating significance and can potentially enhance endeavors toward accomplishing Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7). Nevertheless, deploying sustainable renewable energy-intensive systems may present challenges related to their intermittency and cost instability. This paper proposes the development of a decision support model aimed at planning an optimal on-grid PV battery system. The model builds upon the Open Energy Modeling Framework (OEMOF) and defines asset capacities, energy dispatch, operational strategies, and optimal costs for the designated system. Key factors considered include energy demand profile, photovoltaic potential, electricity tariffs, and the availability of the National Grid. Furthermore, the model evaluation incorporates the computation of pertinent performance, feasibility, and viability indicators, notably the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE). To validate the framework, the article conducts a case study to determine the optimal sizing and planning of a grid-connected PV battery energy system. The objective is to cater to the electricity needs of an OCP (Office Chérifien des Phosphates) mining site in Morocco. The study considers the characteristics of the national power grid, incorporating time-varying electricity tariffs based on a Demand-Response program taking into account various rates according to the time of use (ToU). The case study includes a sensitivity analysis that examines different factors, namely the proportion of renewable energy, the investment costs of photovoltaic systems and batteries, and the financial parameter known as the weighted average cost of capital (WACC). Through this analysis, the study assesses the impact of these variables on the calculated cost of energy. Experimental results revealed a range of LCOE values from $0.07111/kWh to $0.11847/kWh for high renewable energies integration.

Empowering Innovators: Accelerating Entrepreneurial Growth Through the Mudra Scheme

India is a developing country with a large population and ranks eighth in terms of size. Its vast population indicates a sizable potential market and highlights the increasing need for employment. In the current decade, India is making significant strides toward implementing laws that encourage start-ups and create a business-friendly environment. Globalization and technological advancements have fostered a competitive atmosphere that necessitates the development of innovative systems. As competition grows, more people are recognizing the benefits of self-employment. In India, entrepreneurship has the potential to serve as a solution for urgent issues such as homelessness and unemployment. In light of these benefits, the government has periodically launched several initiatives to support the growth of entrepreneurship in the country. These initiatives include industrial policies, five-year plans that prioritize the development of the small-scale sector, the creation of Special Economic Zones (SEZs), the establishment of institutions dedicated to entrepreneurship, the organization of Entrepreneurship Development Programs (EDPs), and other government initiatives. Currently, there are fewer job opportunities in India's public and large-scale industries. However, globalization has created numerous opportunities that are waiting to be seized. Entrepreneurs in India could potentially propel the country to the brink of becoming an economic superpower. This paper provides an overview of the government scheme, namely the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), aimed at promoting new-generation entrepreneurs in India.

The role of green ammonia in meeting challenges towards a sustainable development in China

The shift to a sustainable development has become an important issue in China. This paper discusses the role of green ammonia in promoting China's energy, environmental and economic sustainability which has not drawn enough attention. First, key challenges in China's energy transition, decarbonisation and regional sustainable development are explored. The coal-dominated energy consumption has placed great obstacles in achieving energy transition and led to massive CO2 emission since the large-scale industrialization. The high dependency on oil and gas import has threatened China's energy security. Imbalanced and unsustainable regional development is identified with data envelopment analysis. Second, the potential of green ammonia in meeting these challenges is analysed. Ammonia is examined to be a flexible and economic option for large-scale hydrogen transport and storage. Co-firing ammonia in coal power generation at 3 % rate is evaluated as an option for achieving low-carbon transition by 2030. Benefits of developing a green ammonia economy is discussed from energy, environmental and economic aspects. The practice can decline fossil energy consumption, enhance energy security, and facilitate renewable energy delivery and storage, industry decarbonisation, and regional development. We assume the findings and results contribute to addressing sustainability challenges and realizing a hydrogen economy in China.

Enabling modern bioenergy deployment in Nigeria to support industry and local communities

Nigeria intends to rank among the top 20 global economies by 2030 by focusing on industrialisation. However, limiting energy access may slow the rate of industrialisation. Bioenergy integration into Nigeria's energy mix can accelerate the industrialisation agenda due to the co-benefits it offers. We used a disaggregated approach to map agri-residue availability and identify knowledge gaps in agri-residue application to support modern and sustainable bioenergy integration into Nigeria's energy mix. Expert interviews with stakeholders from government departments, small- and large-scale industries, and feedstock producers were used to validate the biomass mapping. The output of the biomass mapping shows that residues from yam, sorghum, wheat, palm, cassava, rice, sugarcane, etc, have knowledge gaps in agri-residue application and they could support the industrialisation agenda of Nigeria. The output of the stakeholder engagement shows that fossil fuels are the main energy source for productive uses in Nigeria. Current waste management practices involve onsite burning and disposal on land. Bioenergy technologies currently deployed in Nigeria are predominantly anaerobic digestion and combustion. Stakeholders have a strong preference for electricity to be the predominant energy vector. However, awareness of modern bioenergy applications and technologies was limited even though Nigeria's Energy Masterplan supports the efficient use of biomass to generate clean heat, electricity and biofuel for industrial, transport and household applications. Based on these findings, we have developed a suite of novel bioenergy case studies to support biomass integration into Nigeria's energy system.

Investigation of the regulatory mechanism of monolayer colloidal crystals prepared by gas-liquid-solid three-phase interfacial self-assembly method

In recent years, the gas-liquid interface self-assembly method has emerged as a recognized and efficient technique for preparing two-dimensional monolayer colloidal crystals. However, challenges such as limited preparation area, dependence on complex equipment, and high costs persist in the conventional preparation process. This paper proposes a straightforward, rapid, and cost-effective method to implement a gas-liquid-solid three-phase interfacial self-assembly strategy. This approach enhances the gas-liquid interfacial self-assembly method, allowing for the preparation of large-area, high-quality single-layer colloidal crystals (>10 cm2) without using any surfactant. The gas-liquid-solid three-phase interfacial self-assembly process was analyzed in detail, and it was found that the main factors affecting the quality of the monolayer colloidal crystals were the volume ratio of PS colloidal solution to ethanol and the self-assembly temperature. It was shown that the optimal self-assembly conditions were achieved after dispersion by ultrasonic dispersion in a water bath at 32 °C–30 °C at a volume ratio of 1:2.5 of PS colloidal solution to ethanol. In addition, particles of various sizes can be prepared by this method to produce tightly arranged monolayer films that can be transferred to a variety of different substrates with great versatility. The demonstrated efficiency of this self-assembly method underscores its significant potential for application in large-scale manufacturing and practical industrialization.

Exploring land system reform for demographic transition in rural China

Rural population in China has undergone dramatic changes driven by large-scale industrialization and urbanization. However, under the current land system, it is difficult to adjust rural land resource allocation according to population changes, resulting in an imbalance in the human-land relationship of rural China and restricting the sustainable development of agriculture and rural areas. Therefore, there is an urgent need to further promote land system reform to cope with rural demographic transition and the challenges it brings to rural human-land relationship and provide institutional support for rural revitalization in the new era. The results show that population contraction, population aging, and below-replacement fertility are the main features of China's rural population transition in 1990–2020, which brings about problems such as the aging and weaking of social actors and non-grain farming. Meanwhile, the disconnect between land-use transition and demographic transition determines that inefficient land use, mainly characterized by cropland abandonment and homestead idle, is prevalent in rural China. Focusing on the trend of demographic transition in rural China, deepening the reform of contracted land, steadily advancing the reform of homesteads, and strengthening the provision of supporting policies are needed. These measures aim to promote the capitalization and assetization of land resources through the introduction of market mechanisms and empowerment, thus enhancing land resource allocation efficiency and optimizing rural human-land relationship.

Energy efficiency characteristics analysis for process diagnosis under anomaly using self-adaptive-based SHAP guided optimization

Understanding energy efficiency patterns is crucial for developing more effective energy management strategies. However, disruptions from physical characteristics, such as particle accumulation, inhibit the construction of energy efficiency models, pose diagnostic challenges, and require additional fault detection models to isolate this uncertainty. Therefore, this study introduces a self-adaptive, long short-term memory-based energy efficiency model with adaptive moment estimation fine-tuning enhanced by Shapley additive explanation guided optimization. The model adapts its learnable parameters in real-time according to changes in process behavior, which helps in revealing energy inefficiency and particle accumulation through Shapley benchmarking under current operations and energy efficiency characteristics. Validated using a benchmark dataset and applied in a large-scale detergent industry, the model outperforms conventional methods, achieving testing r-squared values of 0.9895 and 0.9859, respectively. Moreover, the proposed model avoided formulating the relationship with faulty variables and demonstrated robust fault detection through energy efficiency patterns without needing fault labels, offering a novel approach to monitoring and optimizing energy efficiency. The adaptive weight analysis emphasized how energy efficiency is influenced by various input variables, leading to an hourly energy saving of 0.0271 GJ/t, equivalent to cost savings of USD 34,408 and a reduction of 115.44 t of carbon emissions.

Pengukuran Kinerja Supply Chain Otak-Otak Bandeng Menggunakan Supply Chain Operation Reference (SCOR) dan Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)

The supply chain is one of the things that plays a role in business continuity. Not only in large-scale industries, a small and medium SME also needs to pay attention to the supply chain so that the business can develop and be sustainable. Supply chain performance measurement needs to be done to measure and evaluate supply chain performance that is currently ongoing. Supply chain operation reference and Analytical Hierarchy Process are used in creating performance measurement models. There are 29 validated Key peformance Indicators to create hierarchical models which are then normalized snorm de boer and AHP in determining weights with Expert choice 11. The measurement of supply chain performance in milkfish SMEs bu afifah obtained 64 meaning average or average with an indicator range between 50-70. In addition, the attribute that has the greatest influence weight is plan with a value of 0.302, then source with a value of 0.246, make with a value of 0.168, deliver with a value of 0.119, return with a value of 0.084 and enable with a value of 0.080

Identifying the pollution risk pattern from industrial production to rural settlements and its countermeasures in China

Impacted by large-scale and rapid rural industrialization in the past few decades, China's rural settlements are confronted with the risk of heavy metal pollution stemming from industrial production, which might pose a significant threat to the rural habitat and the well-beings. This study devised a relative risk model for industrial heavy metal pollution to the rural settlements based on the source-pathway-receptor risk theory. Using this model, we assessed the risk magnitudes of heavy metal pollution from industrial production at a 10 km × 10 km grid scale and identified the characteristics of the risk pattern in China. Our finding reveals: (1) the relative risk values of wastewater, waste gas and total heavy metal pollution are notably concentrated within a confined spectrum, with only a small number of units are characterized by high-risk level; (2) Approximately 21.57 % of China's rural settlements contend with heavy metal pollution, with 4.17 %, 9.84 % and 7.55 % being subjected to high, medium and low risks, respectively; (3) The high-risk units mainly is concentrated in the developed areas such as Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and the Beijing-Tianjin metropolitan area, also dispersed in the plain areas with high rural population density. Guided by these insights, this study puts forth regionally tailored prevention and control strategies, as well as distinct process prevention and control strategies.

Revolution of Electrode Design Toward Oxygen Evolution Reaction for Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis

Anion exchange membrane water electrolyzer (AEMWE) is a promising next-generation technology for producing green hydrogen coupling with cost-effective, platinum group metal-free (PGM-free) catalysts. In AEMWE, oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at the anode plays a more vital role compared with the cathodic reaction of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). While tremendous attention has been devoted to enhancing the activity of OER catalysts, the long-term stability and cost of OER catalysts, which may play an even more important role in large-scale electrolysis industrialization, have been much less emphasized. Herein, we designed electrodes toward OER from cheap and abundant stainless-steel (SS) foam via a green approach, and the obtained electrode shows excellent activity and stability under an alkaline medium. This work can address all three bottlenecks of activity, stability, and cost, thereby revolutionizing the electrode design for AEMWE.