Liquor Research Articles

A Review of Lithium-Ion Battery Failure Hazards: Test Standards, Accident Analysis, and Safety Suggestions

The frequent safety accidents involving lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have aroused widespread concern around the world. The safety standards of LIBs are of great significance in promoting usage safety, but they need to be constantly upgraded with the advancements in battery technology and the extension of the application scenarios. This study comprehensively reviews the global safety standards and regulations of LIBs, including the status, characteristics, and application scope of each standard. A standardized test for thermal runaway triggering is also introduced. The recent fire accidents in electric vehicles and energy storage power stations are discussed in relation to the upgrading of the rational test standards. Finally, the following four suggestions for improving battery safety are proposed to optimize the safety standards: (1) early warning and cloud alarms for the battery’s thermal runaway; (2) an innovative structural design for a no-fire battery pack; (3) the design of a fire water injection interface for the battery pack; (4) the design of an immersive energy storage power station. This study provides insights for promoting the effectiveness of relevant safety standards for LIBs, thereby reducing the failure hazards.

Characterization of a new Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolated from banana stems and its mutant with l-leucine accumulation for awamori brewing.

We isolated a new strain of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, 35a14, from banana stems in Okinawa. This strain did not belong to any industrial yeast groups in a phylogenetic tree and produced high levels of alcohol. Furthermore, awamori, an Okinawa's traditional distilled alcoholic beverage, brewed with an l-leucine overproducing mutant derived from 35a14 showed a high concentration of isoamyl acetate.

Fabrication and application of chitosan-based biomass composites with fire safety, water treatment and antibacterial properties

In this work, a biomass composite material (CS@NC@PA-Na) was prepared from chitosan (CS), nano-cellulose (NC) and sodium phytate (PA-Na). The prepared products were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The fire/water safety and antimicrobial properties of the CS@NC@PA-Na were fully studied. The results indicated CS@NC@PA-Na (50 mg) could effectively reduce the concentration of methyl orange by 85 % under 30 min adsorption. Meanwhile, only 5 wt% CS@NC@PA-Na could increase the limiting oxygen index (LOI) value of epoxy resin composite from 24.5 to 30.1 %, and decrease the peak heat/smoke release rate by 29.5 and 33.3 %, respectively. Moreover, CS@NC@PA-Na also exhibited excellent antibacterial effect. This work provides an efficient, feasible and eco-friendly route for large-scale production of multi-functional CS-based biomass materials that could be used in the fields of fire safety and environmental conservation.

Full scale experimental and numerical simulation of outside transformer fire

To study the real scale transformer fire and fire control process, this paper uses FDS to simulate the transformer fire combustion process and analyzes the data of transformer fire temperature and flow field. Through data analysis, this paper establishes a fire visualization system based on the unity3d engine and uses modeling software to complete the Substation Scene Modeling, the visualization process of fire particles and fire water jet in the whole process of transformer fire occurrence and fighting is realized. The research results are of great significance for substation fire construction and emergency rescue.

Study on the Improvement of Fire-Fighting Tactics for the Stable Supply of Fire Extinguishing Water

The connected water pipe facility is an important fire extinguishing facility for supplying fire water to firefighters on the fire floor. However, there are cases where fire water is not supplied quickly, which is also caused by the inability to find the connection water pipe inlet owing to unclear regulations on the installation location of the connection water pipe facility fire safety standards. If the connected water pipe facility is not found, fire-fighting tactics involving ropes are used, which takes a lot of time. To improve this problem, we confirmed experimentally that fire extinguishing water can be quickly and stably delivered to fire suppression personnel using a water outlet (40 A) installed in an indoor fire extinguishing tank on the first floor of an apartment. Through the experimental results, the Fire Safety Standards (NFSC 502) for Connected Water Pipeline Facilities (NFSC 502) proposed a plan to improve the fire safety standards (new) that require installation of water outlets (65 A, rotating) in the indoor firebox on the first floor of the apartment. If the revised fire safety standards are applied to the new building, firefighters who arrive at the site can quickly and stably supply fire water through the connecting water pipe connection port (65 A, rotary type) installed in the indoor fire extinguishing tank.

Alcohol Drinking Patterns and Laboratory Indices of Health: Does Type of Alcohol Preferred Make a Difference?

Although excessive alcohol consumption is a highly prevalent public health problem the data on the associations between alcohol consumption and health outcomes in individuals preferring different types of alcoholic beverages has remained unclear. We examined the relationships between the amounts and patterns of drinking with the data on laboratory indices of liver function, lipid status and inflammation in a national population-based health survey (FINRISK). Data on health status, alcohol drinking, types of alcoholic beverages preferred, body weight, smoking, coffee consumption and physical activity were recorded from 22,432 subjects (10,626 men, 11,806 women), age range 25-74 years. The participants were divided to subgroups based on the amounts of regular alcohol intake (abstainers, moderate and heavy drinkers), patterns of drinking (binge or regular) and the type of alcoholic beverage preferred (wine, beer, cider or long drink, hard liquor or mixed). Regular drinking was found to be more typical in wine drinkers whereas the subjects preferring beer or hard liquor were more often binge-type drinkers and cigarette smokers. Alcohol use in all forms was associated with increased frequencies of abnormalities in the markers of liver function, lipid status and inflammation even at rather low levels of consumption. The highest rates of abnormalities occurred, however, in the subgroups of binge-type drinkers preferring beer or hard liquor. These results demonstrate that adverse consequences of alcohol occur even at moderate average drinking levels especially in individuals who engage in binge drinking and in those preferring beer or hard liquor. Further emphasis should be placed on such patterns of drinking in policies aimed at preventing alcohol-induced adverse health outcomes.

Effect of surface stiffness in initial adhesion of oral microorganisms under various environmental conditions

Biofilms are three-dimensional structures formed as a result of microorganism's adhesion on a biotic or abiotic surface. Once a biofilm is established, it is onerous to eradicate it or kill the pathogens therein. Thus, targeting the microbial adhesion process, the initial stage of biofilm formation, is a reasonable approach to avoid challenges associated with subsequently formed biofilms. While many properties of interacting material that play significant roles in initial bacterial adhesion have been widely studied, the effect of surface stiffness on bacterial adhesion was relatively underexplored. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of surface stiffness on the adhesion of microbial species found in the oral cavity by employing representative oral bacteria, Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus oralis, and the fungus, Candida albicans. We compared the adhesion behavior of these species alone or in combination toward various surface stiffness (0.06 – 3.01 MPa) by assessing the adhered and planktonic cell numbers at an early (4 h) adhesion stage under various carbon sources and the presence of conditioning film. Our data revealed that in general, a higher amount of microbial cells adhered to softer PDMS surfaces than stiffer ones, which indicates that surface stiffness plays a role in the adhesion of tested species (either single or co-cultured). This pattern was more obvious under sucrose conditions than glucose + fructose conditions. Interestingly, in monospecies, saliva coating did not alter the effect of surface stiffness on S. mutans adhesion while it diminished S. oralis and C. albicans adhesion. However, in the multispecies model, saliva coating rendered the percentage of all adhered microbes to varied PDMS not distinct. The data provide new insights into the role of surface stiffness on microbial mechanosensing and their initial adhesion behavior which may set a scientific foundation for future anti-adhesion strategies.

Differentiation of Transylvanian fruit distillates using supervised statistical tools based on isotopic and elemental fingerprint.

The spirit drinks industry is one of the largest in the world. Fruit distillates require adequate analysis methods combined with statistical tools to build differentiation models, according to distinct criteria (geographical and botanical origin, producer's fingerprint, respectively). Over time a database of alcoholic beverage fingerprints can be generated, being very important for product safety and authenticity control. To control the distillates' geographical origin, linear discriminant analysis (LDA) revealed that the cross-validation classification was correct for 88.2% of samples, but partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was slightly better suited for this purpose, with a correct classification rate of 91.2%. LDA effectiveness was proven for the trademark fingerprint differentiation, which was achieved at 93.5%, compared to 89.1% for PLS-DA. The principal predictors obtained by LDA were the same both for geographical origin and producer differentiation: B, δ13 C, Na, Cu, Ca and Be; highlighting the fact that in the production process of distillates each producer used fruits coming from the respective specific region. Through PLS-DA, some of the discrimination markers were the same for geographical origin and producer's identification, but others were completely specific: the rare earth elements Eu and Er only for geographical origin differentiation, and Cu solely as predictor for producer's identification. Regarding distillates' fruit variety, the correct discrimination rates of plum spirits from the rest were 84.2% for PLS-DA and 63% for LDA. LDA and PLS-DA were suitable for differentiation models development of fruits spirits according to geographical region, producer and fruit variety based on isotopic and elemental fingerprint. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Growth of Plasmonic Nanoparticles for Aging Cask-Matured Whisky.

The maturation of spirit in wooden casks is key to the production of whisky, a hugely popular and valuable product, with the transfer and reaction of molecules from the wooden cask with the alcoholic spirit imparting color and flavor. However, time in the cask adds significant cost to the final product, requiring expensive barrels and decades of careful storage. Thus, many producers are concerned with what "age" means in terms of the chemistry and flavor profiles of whisky. We demonstrate here a colorimetric test for spirit "agedness" based on the formation of gold nanoparticles (NPs) by whisky. Gold salts were reduced by barrel-aged spirit and produce colored gold NPs with distinct optical properties. Information from an extinction profile, such as peak position, growth rate, or profile shape, was analyzed, and our assay output was correlated with measurements of the whisky sample makeup, assays for key functional groups, and spiking experiments to explore the mechanism in more detail. We conclude that age is not just a number, that the chemical fingerprint of key flavor compounds is a useful marker for determining whisky "age", and that our simple reduction assay could assist in defining the aged character of a whisky and become a useful future tool on the warehouse floor.

Predicting soil moisture conditions across a heterogeneous boreal catchment using terrain indices

Abstract. Soil moisture has important implications for drought and flooding forecasting, forest fire prediction and water supply management. However, mapping soil moisture has remained a scientific challenge due to forest canopy cover and small-scale variations in soil moisture conditions. When accurately scaled, terrain indices constitute a good candidate for modelling the spatial variation of soil moisture conditions in many landscapes. In this study, we evaluated seven different terrain indices at varying digital elevation model (DEM) resolutions and user-defined thresholds as well as two available soil moisture maps, using an extensive field dataset (398 plots) of soil moisture conditions registered in five classes from a survey covering a (68 km2) boreal landscape. We found that the variation in soil moisture conditions could be explained by terrain indices, and the best predictors within the studied landscape were the depth to water index (DTW) and a machine-learning-generated map. Furthermore, this study showed a large difference between terrain indices in the effects of changing DEM resolution and user-defined thresholds, which severely affected the performance of the predictions. For example, the commonly used topographic wetness index (TWI) performed best on a resolution of 16 m, while TWI calculated on DEM resolutions higher than 4 m gave inaccurate results. In contrast, depth to water (DTW) and elevation above stream (EAS) were more stable and performed best on 1–2 m DEM resolution. None of the terrain indices performed best on the highest DEM resolution of 0.5 m. In addition, this study highlights the challenges caused by heterogeneous soil types within the study area and shows the need of local knowledge when interpreting the modelled results. The results from this study clearly demonstrate that when using terrain indices to represent soil moisture conditions, modelled results need to be validated, as selecting an unsuitable DEM resolution or user-defined threshold can give ambiguous and even incorrect results.

Chloride ion transport behavior of concrete containing insulating glazed hollow beads exposed to high temperature

• GHBs are beneficial to improve impermeability of concrete after fire. • GHBs have great significance for improving the concrete resistance to thermal damage. • The chloride ion diffusion and remaining service life of GIC after fire was calculated. • A thermal damage permeability model was established. Concrete building structures often suffer serious damage after fire, which poses a great threat to the durability of structures. Due to the high thermal stability and pressure relief mechanism of glazed hollow beads (GHBs), GHBs are of positive significance in improving the concrete’s resistance against high temperature. In this paper, the electric flux test was utilized to investigate the chloride ion transport behaviors of concrete containing insulating GHBs (GIC) after high temperature exposure. The electron probe micro-analysis (EPMA) combined with chemical titration method was adopted as a supplement to carry out a more in-depth analysis on concrete’s permeability. The results show that the anti-chloride ion transport performance of GIC was significantly improved compared to normal concrete. Experimental permeation data were further used to prepare a thermal damage permeability model. That is then used to discuss the impact of including glazed hollow beads on concrete’s residual service life after a fire. These data provide technical guidance for the engineering design and safe operation of undersea tunnels and other structures at risk of fire and subsequent saline water intrusion.

Distillations of authenticity: a comparative global value chain analysis of pisco

ABSTRACT Place-centred branding is increasingly perceived as a mode of product differentiation and a rural development strategy that emphasizes the singularities of production regions and methods to meet global market demands for quality and authenticity. We use a global value chain (GVC) analysis to compare the trajectories of Peruvian and Chilean pisco – a distilled spirit like brandy – finding that each country’s efforts to claim its authenticity are grounded in different cultural–economic imperatives as well as vexed historical bilateral relations. Our analysis suggests that antagonism can compromise the authenticity premium. A GVC lens offers important analytic leverage for locating pisco producers’ market strategies as nested within the larger GVC for alcoholic spirits, and we suggest this perspective would benefit from more robust considerations of local–global trade-offs therein.

Alcohol Consumption and Adiposity: A Longitudinal Analysis of 45,399 UK Biobank Participants.

The evidence on the association between alcohol consumption and adiposity is inconsistent and fragmented. We investigated the longitudinal association between alcohol consumption pattern and four different adiposity markers with repeated measures of adiposity and obesity incidence. We categorized current drinkers based on the sex-specific quartiles of their weekly alcohol consumption and the UK alcohol drinking guidelines. We used multivariable adjusted generalised linear models. With the exception of a direct association between alcohol volume and body fat percentage (BF%) in women (B = 0.42%; 95%CI: 0.04, 0.80% for women in the top quartile), we found no associations between alcohol consumption and adiposity markers for either sex. Red wine and champagne/white wine consumption were inversely associated with waist circumference (WC) for both sexes (B = −0.58 cm, 95%CI: −0.77, −0.38 cm and B= −0.49 cm, 95%CI: −0.68, −0.29 cm, respectively, for women; B = −0.28 cm, 95%CI: −0.47, −0.08 cm and B = −0.23 cm, 95%CI: −0.42, −0.04 cm, respectively, for men). Female and male spirit drinkers had higher WC than non-spirit drinkers. Alcohol consumption was associated with a lower risk of obesity incidence in women (OR:0.60, 95%CI:0.45, 0.80 for the 2nd quartile, OR:0.53, 95%CI: 0.40, 0.70 for the 3rd quartile and OR:0.61, 95%CI:0.46, 0.80 for the 4th quartile). We found limited evidence of longitudinal associations between alcohol intake and adiposity. The few statistically significant associations we observed are unlikely to be of clinical importance.

Failure analysis of a fire water jockey pump shaft

This work presents failure investigation of a fire water jockey pump shaft that is installed in the fire-station of a petrochemical plant. The jockey pump is driven by a 130 kW motor at about 1480 RPM whose shaft and the coupling key are made of 40C8 steel and 55C8 steel respectively. The drive-shaft of one of the pumps fractured after running for approximately 110 h, while its twin remained functional. The failure analysis involves visual inspection, hardness measurements, metallography, fractography, analytical design calculations, and numerical stress analysis. The analysis concludes that usage of square-ended key in the round-ended keyway is the primary cause, and usage of dissimilar materials for the shaft and the key is the secondary cause for the premature failure. The present work recommends a modified key design and use of the same grade of steel for both the shaft and the key to avoid such failures in the future.

Fire Rated Enclosures—A Case Study

This article is a case study from the Hebron Offshore Oil Platform located in Atlantic Canada focusing on fire-resistant medium-voltage enclosures that were supplied for the seawater lift pumps and fire water pumps. The purpose of this article is to show where fire-resistant enclosures may be utilized and to detail the testing involved in achieving fire resistance with the enclosures for the Hebron Platform.

PENILAIAN VITALITAS DAN KUALITAS TAPAK DENGAN FOREST HEALTH MONITORING (FHM) DIBAWAH TEGAKAN JAMBU METE (ANACARDIUM OCCIDENTALE L.) DI DESA NUSANIPA, KECAMATAN TANJUNG BUNGA, KABUPATEN FLORES TIMUR.

This research was conducted in Tanjung Bunga District, East Flores Regency. This study aims to assess the vitality and quality of the cashew nut. The indicators observed were tree damage, canopy condition, cation exchange capacity and soil pH. The aims of this study were (1) to determine the health condition of the cashew tree and (2) to find out what factors influence it. The samples used were tree stands and soil samples, the technique of determining the sample was using cluster plots. Analysis of the data used is to calculate the index value of tree damage and canopy conditions and perform soil analysis to assess soil conditions. The results of this study showed that the health condition of the cashew stand at the tree level was in the poor category and the canopy condition in the medium category. The value of the quality of the site shows the cation exchange capacity (CEC) has a high value and the pH of the soil has a slightly acidic value. The influencing factors are Livestock, Plant Pest Organisms (OPT), environment, fire and limited water.

Durability and fire-resistance performance of slag-based geopolymer composites

The fresh and durability properties of alkali-activated mortar were investigated in this study. Ground granulated blast-furnace slag was used as a binder material. Both carbon fibres (CFs) and polypropylene fibres (PPs) were added at ratios of 0, 0.75, 1.00 and 1.25% by weight of the binder. Simultaneously, hybrid fibres were also used (CF 1.0% and PP 0.25%, CF 0.5% and PP 0.5%, and CF 0.25% and PP 1.0%). The fresh properties of the composite were investigated by performing a flow test. Durability properties such as fire resistance, water sorptivity, water absorption, density, porosity, efflorescence and sulfate attack were also investigated. According to the findings, increasing the fibre content reduces the flowability of the mixture. Simultaneously, the best fibre content studied was 1%, which significantly enhanced durability properties. Also, both fibres achieved excellent improvement. However, CF had more influence than PP on durability properties.

Common Problems in Building Fire Water Supply and Drainage Construction and Prevention Countermeasures

Common Problems in Building Fire Water Supply and Drainage Construction and Prevention Countermeasures

Brief Discussion on Some Problems in Fire Water Supply Design of Large Urban Complex

Brief Discussion on Some Problems in Fire Water Supply Design of Large Urban Complex

Volatile and semi-volatile compounds in flavoured hard seltzer beverages: Comparison of high-capacity sorptive extraction (HiSorb) methods

The change in consumer behaviour towards healthier lifestyles since the Covid-19 pandemic has seen a steep rise in popularity of low-calorie, low-sugar food and beverage alternatives, like flavoured hard seltzers. In this study, a fully automated, high-capacity sorptive extraction (HiSorb) technique, coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), was developed to investigate volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds (VOCs and SVOCs) used for flavouring of hard seltzers. As part of method optimisation we trialled various sample preparation protocols and compared extraction via direct immersion vs. extraction from the headspace. The best headspace and immersive techniques were then further analysed in a ‘stacked’ extraction, whereby extracts from both were collected onto a focusing trap and fired to the GC to produce a single chromatogram. HiSorb probes with 4 alternate phases were compared: Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), divinylbenzene/PDMS (DVB/PDMS), carbon wide range/ PDMS (CWR/PDMS) and a triple phase (DVB/CWR/PDMS), with the DVB/PDMS phase proving to extract the highest number of compounds. The DVB/PDMS probe was further applied to a study of four berry/cherry flavour hard seltzer drinks, produced by 4 different leading commercial brands, with 64 compounds extracted and identified. Chemometrics were able to distinguish each brand's flavour profile by detection of unique compounds, these having potential for use as quality and authenticity markers.