Mixture Experimental Design Research Articles

Prediction of Physical and Mechanical Properties of Al2O3–TiB2–TiC Composites Using Design of Mixture Experiments

Prediction of Physical and Mechanical Properties of Al2O3–TiB2–TiC Composites Using Design of Mixture Experiments

A Novel Hydrogel Sponge for Three-Dimensional Cell Culture

Background/Objectives: Three-dimensional (3D) cell culture technologies allow us to overcome the constraints of two-dimensional methods in different fields like biochemistry and cell biology and in pharmaceutical in vitro tests. In this study, a novel 3D hydrogel sponge scaffold, composed of a crosslinked polyacrylic acid forming a porous matrix, has been developed and characterized. Methods: The scaffold was obtained via an innovative procedure involving thermal treatment followed by a salt-leaching step on a matrix-containing polymer along with a gas-forming agent. Based on experimental design for mixtures, a series of formulations were prepared to study the effect of the three components (polyacrylic acid, NaHCO3 and NaCl) on the scaffold mechanical properties, density, swelling behavior and morphological changes. Physical appearance, surface morphology, porosity, molecular diffusion, transparency, biocompatibility and cytocompatibility were also evaluated. Results: The hydrogel scaffolds obtained show high porosity and good optical transparency and mechanical resistance. The scaffolds were successfully employed to culture several cell lines for more than 20 days. Conclusions: The developed scaffolds could be an important tool, as such or with a specific coating, to obtain a more predictive cellular response to evaluate drugs in preclinical studies or for testing chemical compounds, biocides and cosmetics, thus reducing animal testing.

Shell Materials for Chewable Capsules, From Design of Experiments to Optimal Dosage Form Manufacturing

AbstractInnovations in chewable dosage forms provide solutions for swallowing difficulties faced by certain patient populations. Chewable softgel capsules (SGC) offer opportunities to expand the benefits of SGC, excelling in the delivery of lipid‐based formulations by optimizing the mechanical properties of the shell material without compromising industrial‐scale manufacturing. This study employs an original approach, with a target product profile that aims to combine processability and chewability, to develop optimized chewable dosage forms. Through a mixture design of experiments, key factors such as plasticizer content and the addition of acid‐modified thin‐boiling corn starch are explored, focusing on response parameters critical to achieving the desired properties of the capsule shell material. Optimal shell compositions—one starch‐free and another containing 9% w/w starch, with respective gelatin/non‐volatile plasticizer ratios of 0.81 and 0.67 are determined and evaluated by manufacturing chewable SGC at pilot scale using rotary die technology. The successful manufacturing and resulting capsules, which exhibit the intended properties, highlight the efficiency of this approach in striking the right balance between processability, soft texture, and quick disintegration time.

Performance-Based Design of Ferronickel Slag Alkali-Activated Concrete for High Thermal Load Applications.

This study aimed to develop optimized alkali-activated concrete using ferronickel slag for high-temperature applications, focusing on minimizing environmental impact while maintaining high compressive strength and slump. A response surface methodology, specifically the mixture design of experiments, was employed to optimize five components: water, FNS-based alkali-activated binder, and three aggregate sizes. Twenty concrete mixes were tested for slump and compressive strength before and after exposure to 600 °C for two hours. The optimal mix achieved 88 MPa compressive strength before heat exposure and 34 MPa after, with a slump of 140 mm. An upscaled version with improved workability (210 mm slump) maintained similar unheated strength but showed reduced post-heating strength (23.5 MPa). Replacing limestone with olivine aggregates in the upscaled mix resulted in 65 MPa unheated and 32 MPa post-heating strengths. Life Cycle Analysis revealed that the optimized ferronickel slag alkali-activated concrete's CO2 emissions were 77% lower than those of ordinary Portland cement concrete of equivalent strength. This approach demonstrated the applicability of mixture design of experiments as an alternative design methodology for alkali activated concrete, providing a valuable performance-based design tool to advance the application of alkali-activated concrete in the construction industry, where no prescriptive standards for alkali-activated ferronickel concrete mix design exist. The study concluded that the developed ferronickel slag alkali-activated concrete, obtained through a performance-based mixture design methodology, offers a promising, environmentally friendly alternative for high-strength, high-temperature applications in construction.

Experimental Mixture Design for Optimization of CeO2/TiO2/Biochar Composite Catalyst for Enhanced Brewery Wastewater Treatment Using an Integrated Adsorption–Photocatalytic Process

Experimental Mixture Design for Optimization of CeO2/TiO2/Biochar Composite Catalyst for Enhanced Brewery Wastewater Treatment Using an Integrated Adsorption–Photocatalytic Process

Optimizing the polar phase transformation in PVDF-HFP/BaTiO3-activated carbon composite films with the mixture design of experiments

ABSTRACT A salient bottleneck to driving the wider use of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and its copolymers in smart applications is the requirement for a high-voltage poling process required to activate their β -phase crystal structure before the realisation of the piezoelectricity response. In pursuit of enhancing the β-phase content of PVDF-based films, various approaches have been employed in recent years. Yet, a perfect solution to the challenge remains elusive. Here, we report a preliminary investigation into the production of unpoled poly(vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) films reinforced with barium titanate (BaTiO3) and activated carbon (AC) to improve the piezoelectric property. Employing the mixture design of experiments (MDOE) method, various formulations of the composite’s constituents weight fractions were determined. Afterwards, series of composite films were produced via a toxic-free solution casting method and characterised by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrum (FTIR) to determine the β-phase content. A non-linear polynomial regression model was established from the experimental FTIR data, and the adequacy of the model was confirmed using ANOVA. Subsequently, an MDOE-enabled optimisation was undertaken, generating a formulation of the composite to obtain the highest β-phase content to be 15 wt.% BaTiO3 and 0.74 wt.% AC. This combination produces a theoretically predicted β-phase content of 72.7 %. A further experimental test employing the optimal formulation produced a β-phase content of 71.90 %, achieved with neither mechanical stretching, thermal annealing, nor electrical poling.

An Ideal Four-factor Components Mixture Experiment Design Based on Prominent Optimality Criteria at Level Two

Aim: Mixture experiment designs are essential tools that need to be determined prior to conducting any mixture experiment in any field of study. The primary goal of these types of experiments are optimization that is either maximizing the profit/produce or minimizing the cost of production. Study Design: Any researcher anticipating to do any research work on the mixture experiment will not evade to talk about the design that he or she is likely to use. The common of such designs being either Simplex Lattice Design (SLD) or Simplex Centroid Design (SCD). Methodology: The choice of such design is wholly based on the optimality criteria employed. The classical of these criteria include on D-Determinant criterion, A-Average variance criterion, E- Eigen value criterion and T- Trace optimality criterion usually denoted as D-, A-, E- T- criteria. They are also known as prominent criteria. Results: This paper considered four-factor components at order two. The penalized moment matrices obtained from the information matrices whose primary source was the design points gave the values of the criteria aforementioned. These values were ranked independently with the least average rank termed as the best design. Conclusion: The {4,4} Simplex Lattice Design had the lowest rank value of 1.0 as compared to the other designs. This design is therefore to be used in any research work considering four factors when only two of factors are to be employed.

Evaluating the Efficacy of <i>Dieffenbachia picta</i> (Araceae) Leaves Insecticidal Activity Against <i>Cimex lectularius </i>in Arba Minch Town

The common bed bug, Cimex lectularius, is an age-old human parasite. Recognizing bed bugs as a significant public health concern, the Environmental Protection Agency highlights the need for effective strategies to address infestations and protect people's well-being. Therefore, the aim of this investigation was to evaluate the efficacy of <i>Dieffenbachia picta</i> leaf extracts against bedbugs under laboratory conditions. Insecticidal bio-assay and phytochemical analysis were performed using topical methods and a qualitative analytical protocol. This study demonstrated that extracts obtained from the dumb cane plant using various solvents (methanol, ethanol, distilled water, and acetone) exhibited significant insecticidal activity against bedbugs. Among the solvent extracts, the methanol extract showed a 100% mortality rate, the ethanol extract showed 80%, the acetone extract showed 80%, and the distilled water extract showed 70% mortality at a concentration of 1g/l. A mixture experimental design was used to investigate how the formulation components of the solvent extracts (methanol, ethanol, acetone, and distilled water) affected the synergistic effect and mortality rate. It was found that a combination of 25% methanol, 30% ethanol, 25% acetone, and 20% distilled water effectively demonstrated the optimal synergistic effect of the extracts against bedbug spp. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that extracts from <i>Dieffenbachia picta</i> have the potential to serve as a natural solution for controlling bedbugs.

Spray-drying microencapsulation of plum peel bioactives using Arabic gum and maltodextrin as coating matrix

The goal of the current study is to develop a microencapsulation formulation of plum peel bioactives in Arabic gum and/or maltodextrin through spray-drying. A mixture design of experiments was used with 2 coating materials (Arabic gum and maltodextrin) and 1 process factor (inlet temperature) to find the optimum conditions for maximizing the encapsulation efficiency (EE) in terms of total phenolic content (TPC), encapsulation yield (EY), antioxidant activity and total anthocyanin content (TAC). The systems for the selected 4 responses were modeled satisfactorily (p < 0.0001) with non-significant lack of fit (p > 0.05). The optimum conditions (5% maltodextrin and 5% Arabic gum at 160 °C) to obtain the maximum yields (85% EE, 81.50% EY, 5.78 mg trolox equivalents of antioxidant activity per g dried microcapsule and 0.65 TAC as mg cyaniding-3-glucoside per g dried microcapsule) were tested to confirm the proposed method. The difference between the actual and the predicted values were less than 2%. Moreover, morphological and physicochemical properties of the microparticles were also performed. Release behaviour of the TPC was also investigated based on the in vitro digestion test. TPC release in the gastric fluid was higher than in the intestinal fluid (78.92% versus 69.37%).

Optimization of physical and mechanical properties of PC/ABS/PMMA blends by mixture design approach

AbstractThis study aims to investigate the recycling of end‐of‐life computer plastics, focusing on polycarbonate (PC) and acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) copolymer, which constitute a significant portion of collected computers. Through differential scanning calorimetry and infrared spectroscopy analyses, the properties of raw PC, ABS and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) were evaluated. Various blends of PC and ABS were prepared, incorporating different percentages of recycled PMMA as a cost‐effective coupling agent. These blends were processed through melt compounding using a contra‐rotating twin‐screw extruder and subsequently shaped by injection molding. An experimental mixture design was applied to evaluate the mechanical and physical properties of the composite materials, including melt flow index, hardness, flexural strain at break and Charpy impact strength. The results of the desirability analysis indicated that the optimal blend for achieving a balance between mechanical and physical properties consists of a high PC content (approximately 80% or more), a low ABS content (less than 20%) and less than 5% recycled PMMA. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Influence of Water Immersion Time on Optimal Composition of Wood-Plastic Composites Using Mixture Experiment Design and Response Surface Methodology

Influence of Water Immersion Time on Optimal Composition of Wood-Plastic Composites Using Mixture Experiment Design and Response Surface Methodology

Production and evaluation of the physicochemical and antioxidant properties of fruit jam from star fruit, hog plum and black plum

Tropical fruits such as black plum, star fruit, and hog plum are excellent sources of phytochemicals which are essential for human health but the back drop of these fruits is their perishability, leading to tones of postharvest losses. To address these concerns, these fruits could be utilized in jam processing to further extend their shelf lives. This research work on production and quality evaluation of mixed-fruit jam produced from star fruit, hog plum, and black plum using mixture experimental design of response surface methodology was undertaken to improve the utilization of these underutilized fruits in jam processing. The produced mixed fruit jams were assessed for physicochemical and antioxidant properties using standard methods. Statistical analysis and optimization of mixture variables were carried out using Design-Expert software version 6.0.8 while means were separated using ANOVA and significance accepted for p≤0.05 using Duncan ranged multivariate test using the IBM SPSS Statistics software version 22. Result of analysis for physicochemical properties showed that pH of the fruit jams ranged from 3.41 to 4.46, titratable acidity 0.33 to 0.48 %, total solids 44.35 to 75.07 %, while the range of 53.22–74.65°Brix was recorded for total sugar and 19.94 to 25.64 mPas for viscosity. Antioxidant properties of the fruit jams ranged from 310.34 to 471.57 mg/ml for DPPH and ranged from 526.64 to 650.26 mmol.AAE/g for FRAP. The result of mixture variable optimization showed that optimal responses, jam should be produced from fruit combination comprising 8.43 %-star fruit, 91.57 % black plum and 0 % hog plum with 60 % desirability or experimental run comprising 5.08 %-star fruit, 90.39 % hog plum and 4.53 % black plum with 58 % desirability

Optimization of silty soil solidification agent ratio and mechanism of strength change based on design-expert

ABSTRACT In order to achieve the resource utilization of silty soil, based on the solidification mechanism of existing inorganic solidification agents, coal gangue and fly ash were selected as substrates, and quicklime and sodium silicate were used as activators to study a new type of muddy soil solidification agent. This project adopts mixture experimental design and unconfined compressive strength testing methods, and uses design expert software to analyze each component to obtain independent variable relationship strength prediction formulas. By using scanning electron microscope, Particles (Pores) and Cracks Analysis System, the changes in micro pore structure characteristics of Reinforced soil were obtained. The research results indicate that the relationship between the influence of various variable factors on strength gain is as follows: sodium silicate>calcium oxide>fly ash>coal gangue. As the age increases, the porosity shows a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. It has been revealed that the strength growth of Reinforced soil with curing agents is mainly due to the compaction and filling effects of hydrated calcium silicate, hydrated calcium aluminate, and a small amount of ettringite. This study is expected to provide reference for the solidification of high moisture content muddy soil.

Investigation of The Potentials of Sisal-Palm Slag Composites as Materials for Asbestos-Free Brake Pad

Asbestos conventionally used as frictional materials in brake pads causes environmental pollution and is unsafe for human health. This study’s goal was to assess alternative brake pads made from sisal-palm slag. Ten composite brake pads were produced by combining sisal-palm slag with epoxy resin, silica and steel slag using formulations obtained from the rule of mixture experimental design method. The produced brake pad composites physical properties (density (ρ), porosity (φ) and tribo-mechanical properties (wear rate (Ŵ), hardness (HB), compressive strength (σ) were evaluated. From the results, the control sample (Auto-boss brake pad) recorded values of 1.7800 g/cm3, 18%, 1.127 mg/min, 110BHN and 43.204N/mm2 for ρ, φ, Ŵ, HB and σ respectively. The best performing sample was sample 5 with recorded values of 1.3329 g/cm3, 23.40%, 1.143mg/min, 102.28BHN and 39.642 N/mm2 respectively, while sample 9 was the least performing samples with recorded values of 1.3123 g/cm3, 30.43%, 1.571mg/min, 76.77BHN and 26.74 N/mm2 for the above parameters respectively. The study showed that the produced samples offered comparable performance to that of asbestos-based and hence could serve as possible replacement for them.Keywords: Brake Pad, Asbestos, Pin on Disc Wear Tester, Hardness, Sisal, Palm Slag, Porosity

Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Fish Sludge Originating from a Recirculating Aquaculture System

Anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) of fish sludge (FS) with food waste (FW), and fruit and vegetable waste (FVW) for biogas and methane production was optimised in small-scale bioreactors, and batch and semi-continuous pilot-scale digesters, under mesophilic (37 ℃) conditions. An experimental mixture design was first applied to small-scale biomethane potential (BMP) tests, to determine the optimal mixture proportions of the AcoD of FS, FW, and FVW that maximise the specific methane yield (SMY in NmLCH4 gVS−1). The optimal mixture proportion was 67%FS:18%FW:19%FVW (w/w), producing 401 mLCH4 gVS−1, which was 8 times higher than the SMY when FS was mono-digested (48 mLCH4 gVS−1). The SMY achieved in batch pilot-scale digesters were 70–82% of methane yields obtained in BMP tests under the same operating conditions, with stable biogas production and no apparent inhibition during the batch run. Semi-continuous operation of the pilot-scale digester was undertaken with organic loading rates (OLRs) of 1, 2, and 3 gVSL-1d-1\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$gVS{L}^{-1}{d}^{-1}$$\\end{document}, provided intermittently. However, the digester did not achieve stable biogas production at all of the evaluated OLRs, due to the intermittent feeding and accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs): Improved process stability was achieved at an OLR of 2 gVSL-1d-1\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$gVS{L}^{-1}{d}^{-1}$$\\end{document}, compared to OLRs of 1 and 3 gVSL-1d-1\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$gVS{L}^{-1}{d}^{-1}$$\\end{document}. Optimisation of the AcoD process resulted in attractive biomethane yields from FS with FW and FVW co-feeds, indicating that producing biogas from co-digestion of FS with relevant substrates is a valuable managing tool for FS, while simultaneously providing renewable energy. The work provides novel data that elucidated optimal proportions in which to combine FS, FW and FVW to obtain optimal biogas production, and provided important new information relevant for the scale up and continuous operation of an AD process for treating FS.Graphical

Preparation of oyster peptide and Pfaffia glomerata pressed candy and its ameliorative effect on sexual dysfunction in male mice.

Oyster peptide (OP) and Pfaffia glomerata extract (PGE) were used as raw materials. The optimal formulation of the pressed candy (PC) was optimized by one-way experiment and D-optimal mixture experiment design, and animal experiment was used to evaluate the effect of PC on male sexual dysfunction. The results showed that PC intervention significantly improved the sexual behavior of male mice with sexual dysfunction, including a significant shortening of the mount latency (ML) and intromission latency, and a significant increase in the mount frequency (MF) and intromission frequency (IF). At the same time, the concentrations of serum testosterone (T) and luteinizing hormone (LH) in mice were restored, and the erectile parameters and pathological changes of penile tissue were improved. Further studies found that PC intervention increased the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and reduced the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in testicular tissue. In addition, PC intervention improved testicular tissue morphology. In conclusion, the obtained PC has good taste quality, and the relevant quality indicators are qualified. It has a good ameliorative effect on male sexual dysfunction and may be a potential dietary supplement.

Robust design for mixture experiments: an efficient class of exchangeable designs for Scheffé polynomials

Modern industry, engineering, and science seek to explore new methods to determine the composition that optimally describes certain product features. The goal of mixture design is to determine the proportions that optimize some property of the response. Most practitioners adopt a classical design approach since they vaguely know the model form prior to running their experiments. This work is focused on finding optimal designs for Scheffé polynomials where the parametric description of the response function may be inadequate. Our purpose is to obtain an analytical solution to the continuous problem (when possible) and to otherwise provide a numerical alternative. Theoretical results are proven for binary blends, while other strategies based on imposing restrictions and numerical approaches are provided for ternary blends. A real example illustrates the favorability of the results for a three-salt mixture setup. The geometrical properties observed in the designs encouraged the investigation of a class of exchangeable designs. The results reveal that this class of restricted designs may be widely recommended for their simplicity, high performance, and computational efficiency.

Nejayote and Food Waste Leachate as a Medium for Scenedesmus acutus and Haematococcus pluvialis Production: A Mixture Experimental Design

The wastewaters of nejayote and food waste leachate are polluting effluents with a high load of organic matter that cause great problems when discharged to water receptors. In this work, we investigated the treatment of nejayote wastewaters and food waste leachate for the production of microalgae Scenedesmus acutus and Haematococcus pluvialis. For Scenedesmus acutus, treatment with 10% food waste leachate and 90% growth medium resulted in a concentration of 5.34 g/L in 20 days (μmax = 0.16/day). Meanwhile, 10% nejayote and 90% medium growth produced 4.45 g/L at 20 days (μmax = 0.13/d). A significant reduction of up to 82.6% ammonium, 84.1% orthophosphate, and 87.25% COD was also observed between the different treatments. For Haematococcus pluvialis, the treatment of 90% food waste leachate and 10% growth medium produced a concentration of 4.73 g/L at 6 days (μmax = 0.71/day), while the mixture of 25% najayote, 25% food waste leachate, and 50% growth medium produced a concentration of 5.5 g/L at 20 days (μmax = 0.25/dat). A reduction of up to 97.8% ammonia, 97.4% orthophosphate, and 73.19% COD was also recorded. These findings demonstrated the potential to cultivate microalgae and extract biomolecules for commercial purposes.

Novel use of agro-industrial waste and residues for bioencapsulation and its application in petroleum hydrocarbons bioremediation

The use of agro-industrial waste from Haden mango (Mangifera indica L.) and red bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) residues was explored for bioencapsulation with bioremediation purposes. Pectin and protein were extracted from mango and red bean, respectively, and used in addition to sodium alginate as materials for the formulation, through an augmented mixture design experiment with a variable process (pH), of a soluble ternary biopolymer system for encapsulation of microorganisms. The capsules were physically and thermally characterized and evaluated with a bacteria consortium for hydrocarbon bioremediation. The bioremediation assays, one with hexadecane and the other with diesel resulted in a hydrocarbon uptake increase (5% for hexadecane, 10% for diesel) and shorter consumption times (4 days less for hexadecane and 3 days less for diesel) compared to their respective control without encapsulation. The novelty of this work lies in the interdisciplinary approach to the utilization of materials from cheap sources for bioencapsulation with applications in different areas. Insights into the mass transfer of the capsules were also obtained as the first step into further studies.

UTILIZING EXPERIMENTAL COMBINATION DESIGN: OPTIMIZATION OF FOOD BAR RECIPE BASED ON PURPLE SWEET POTATO

Modern food technology can create nutritious goods that are useful and simple to consume. Food bars are convenient, calorie-dense, and healthy items. It is usually made from a variety of culinary ingredients combined and then molded into a sturdy, handy product. The goal of this study is to create a food bar using a blend of dried strawberries (DS), moringa flour (MF), mung bean flour (MBF), and purple sweet potato paste (PSPP). The formulation of DS, MBF, MF, and PSPP was improved by utilizing a mixture design of experiments with Minitab software. The predicted outcomes of this formulation are maximal antioxidant activity, maximum total flavonoids, and maximum total phenolic. Using 54.84% purple sweet potato paste (PSPP), 6.21% moringa flour (MF), 33.95% mung bean flour (MBF), and 5.00% dried strawberries (DS) allowed for an ideal maximal antioxidant activity. The antioxidant activity was 16.44 mg TE/g; the total flavonoid was 11.35 mg QE/g; and the total phenolic was 10.70 mg GAE/g.