Product Process Research Articles

Acceleration Process of Food Waste Treatment and Higher Quality Product with Innovative Rotary Kiln Composter

Acceleration Process of Food Waste Treatment and Higher Quality Product with Innovative Rotary Kiln Composter

Oligomerization of Fischer-Tropsch Olefins by Radical Initiation Method for Synthesizing Poly Olefin Base Oils

In the present work we have investigated the oligomerization process of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis products – gasoline (C5-C10) and diesel (C11-C18) hydrocarbon fractions with a total olefin content (consisting mainly olefins with a branched isomeric chain) of 79.3 and 31.8 wt.%, respectively. Oligomerization was carried out by radical initiation method using azobisisobutyronitrile, benzoyl peroxide, dicumyl peroxide and methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (Butanox M-50) as initiators. It was established that the yield of the oligomerization process depending on the initiator used decreases in the following order: azobisisobutyronitrile > benzoyl peroxide > dicumyl peroxide > Butanox M-50. It was determined that when the oligomerization is carried out in polar solvents such as acetone and dichloromethane the yield of product increases by ~2.1 and ~1.7 times, respectively, while at the same time adding a non-polar solvent such as tetrachloromethane to the reaction mixture decreases the product yield by ~2.0 times. The optimal technological parameters for carrying out oligomerization process of synthetic gasoline and diesel fractions were determined: where azobisisobutyronitrile, content 0.5 wt.%., is used as an initiator, acetone as solvent, with reaction temperature of 200 °C, and duration of 12 hrs. under inert atmosphere. The product yield from the diesel fraction is 39.5 %, and from the synthetic gasoline fraction – 36.0 %. At the same time, in terms of characteristics, the oligomerization product of the diesel fraction showed properties similar to commercially available Base oil 3cSt (Group III), and the gasoline fraction showed properties on par with the commercially produced PAO-2 (Group IV). Copyright © 2024 by Authors, Published by BCREC Publishing Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).

Analytical justification of the thermochemical interaction between blast reagents and carbon-containing products under the influence of magnetic fields

Purpose. To justify and develop a model that describes the effect of magnetic treatment of blast reagents and carbon-containing products on the gasification process for predicting the intensification of gas formation. Methodology. The study involves theoretical modeling based on experimental data to investigate the influence of magnetic fields on the underground coal gasification process and co-gasification of coal and carbon-containing products. The Arrhenius equation was used to estimate the rate constants of gasification reactions in the temperature range of 800–1,000 °C. The effect of the magnetic field was incorporated by adjusting the activation energy (Ea). The results of analytical and experimental studies were processed using methods of computer and mathematical modeling. Findings. The results show that the application of magnetic fields significantly intensifies the gasification process of carbon containing products. Increasing the reactivity of the blast reagents, particularly water and oxygen, leads to a higher overall yield of combustible gases. The use of magnetic fields in the gasification process substantially increases the reaction rate (k) due to the reduction in activation energy (Ea), improving the overall efficiency of gasification. Originality. For the first time, an analytical model has been developed to describe the effect of magnetic treatment of blast reagents and carbon-containing products on the gasification process in the temperature range of 800–1,000 °C. The obtained reaction rates follow an exponential trend. The established and correlation-validated pattern shows the relationship between changes in the approximation coefficient (F ) and the change in the carbon fraction (C, %) during the magnetic treatment of blast components within the specified temperature range. Practical value. The results of this study can be applied to enhance the efficiency of industrial gasification processes, particularly underground coal gasification and co-gasification of coal and carbon-containing productss.

Miracle in the evening: Explaining the boundary condition of consumer's self-control on purchase intention of near-expired products

Due to consumers' misunderstanding of product expiration dates, huge amounts of food waste and retail losses have been recognized as a worldwide problem. This research explores a solution to mitigate such waste and losses in the consumer purchase decision-making process of near-expiry products. Drawing from the literature on expiration date-based pricing (EDBP) and self-control, we propose that consumers' purchase intention for near-expiry products vary depending on the time of day (morning vs. evening). The results from mixed methodologies, including an analysis of actual sales data from an online retailer (Study 1) and randomized controlled experimental studies (Studies 2 and 3), reveal that consumers are less sensitive to near-expiry products when purchasing EDBP products in the evening compared to the morning. Furthermore, we examine how self-control mediates the interaction effects of the nearness of the expiration date and the time of day on the purchase intention of near-expiry EDBP products. A novel perspective on understanding consumers’ dynamic evaluations of sales promotions over time and managerial implications for promotional strategies to promote products approaching their expiration date are discussed.

Electrification or Hydrogen? The Challenge of Decarbonizing Industrial (High-Temperature) Process Heat

The decarbonization of industrial process heat is one of the bigger challenges of the global energy transition. Process heating accounts for about 20% of final energy demand in Germany, and the situation is similar in other industrialized nations around the globe. Process heating is indispensable in the manufacturing processes of products and materials encountered every day, ranging from food, beverages, paper and textiles, to metals, ceramics, glass and cement. At the same time, process heating is also responsible for significant greenhouse gas emissions, as it is heavily dependent on fossil fuels such as natural gas and coal. Thus, process heating needs to be decarbonized. This review article explores the challenges of decarbonizing industrial process heat and then discusses two of the most promising options, the use of electric heating technologies and the substitution of fossil fuels with low-carbon hydrogen, in more detail. Both energy carriers have their specific benefits and drawbacks that have to be considered in the context of industrial decarbonization, but also in terms of necessary energy infrastructures. The focus is on high-temperature process heat (>400 °C) in energy-intensive basic materials industries, with examples from the metal and glass industries. Given the heterogeneity of industrial process heating, both electricity and hydrogen will likely be the most prominent energy carriers for decarbonized high-temperature process heat, each with their respective advantages and disadvantages.

The Content-Specific Display: Between Medium and Metaphor

This paper examines the current generation of displays, as found primarily in smartphones, laptops and tablet computers, from an interaction design perspective. Today’s displays are multifunctional, versatile devices with a standardized, rectangular shape and a standardized interaction. We distinguish two pitfalls. First, they facilitate an interaction that is isolated and detached from the physical environment in which they are used. Second, their multi-touch interface provides users with few tangible clues and handles. From our background in embodied interaction, we establish an alternate, hypothetical vision of displays: the content-specific display. The content-specific display is defined as a display designed for one specific function and one type of on-screen content. We explore this concept in three student projects from the First Year Master’s program at Product Development, University of Antwerp, and present two key themes that emerge from it: causality and transformation. Both themes reside in the field of coupling, a concept well-known within the field of embodied interaction, and aim at a more seamless integration of on-screen content within the physical world. Finally, we discuss how the content-specific display influences the design process of digital products, and how it fosters collaboration between product designers and designers of graphical user interfaces.

Relationship Between Organisational Innovation and Organisation Performance: A Study of Nigeria Bottling Company

In an increasingly competitive business environment, the role of organisational innovation as a driver of performance is more crucial than ever. This study investigates the relationship between organisational innovation and organisational performance with a specific focus on Nigeria Bottling Company. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study explores how innovations in product development, processes, and management systems contribute to enhanced operational efficiency, market share, and financial outcomes. The study adopts a descriptive cross-sectional survey. The target population for this study consisted of two hundred and forty-five (245) staff members from Nigeria Bottling Company. Data was collected through structured questionnaires with key personnel across various departments within the organisation and analysed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis for the hypotheses. The study revealed that film size innovation is vital for a company's success in today's highly competitive business environment and leads to higher productivity, meaning that the same input generates a greater output. Innovatiocontributeste to firms’ success in terms of better performance in the form of higher profits, lower production costs, more efficient working procedures, and better relationships with customers. Furthermore, finding shows that creativity and innovation helps and improves the work of employees together with improving organisational performance. The study concludes that fostering a culture of continuous innovation is essential for sustaining competitive advantage in the beverage industry. It is therefore recommended that technological innovation be incorporated at all levels. The management of the organisation has to design an effective and timely market innovation strategy and communicate it to all staff members to enhance organisational performance and productivity. Organisations should consider innovation that is either market, product or organisation-based to improve and increase the organisational performance as innovation is significant to new product development, product modification and creation of a new market as experienced in new product lines like increase in online marketing, online purchase of different products and global connection of markets into one.

Subjectivity of visual assessments in FOCUS kinetics and acceptability of first-order fits for regulatory modelling

The degradation half-life (DegT50) of a substance in soil plays an important role in the approval process of a plant protection product and is a sensitive input parameter for regulatory models. It is usually derived through least squares optimizations of mathematical models to measured degradation data according to EU FOCUS degradation kinetics guidance. A strong consensus on degradation parameters provides a solid foundation for parts of the environmental risk assessment. The DegT50 of a substance for regulatory modeling is preferably derived from a single first-order (SFO) model as this is currently the only kinetic model implemented in EU regulatory models of the environmental fate of pesticides. However, kinetic optimisation tools do not always provide a regulatory acceptable SFO fit even though a visual inspection of the data suggests it may be possible. It was therefore hypothesized that more acceptable SFO fits might be achieved by adapting the objective function that is minimized during the optimization.Eight objective functions with varying weightings were tested on 29 laboratory soil degradation datasets. A web-based app was developed to allow experts in environmental safety of plant protection products to visually assess the goodness of fits resulting from different objective functions. The visual assessments and a quantitative metric, newly introduced in the proposed update of the FOCUS guidance, show that the acceptability of SFO fits can be increased, but no single objective function exclusively improves all fits. The assessment reveals that expert judgment is very subjective. Participants tended to change their mind when judging the acceptance of a fit, assumingly caused by a learning curve or a period of calibration.It is concluded that different objective functions could be considered in the kinetic assessment as it can improve the acceptability of SFO fits and hence endpoints for regulatory modeling. This study reveals that various qualitative factors influence the visual judgment of experts when performing a kinetic modeling assessment. The proposed quantitative metric seems to be in alignment with the visual assessment of fits to derive modeling endpoints and a promising step toward less subjective kinetic modeling assessments.

Hydrophobic regulation enhances the filtration and dehydration for coal preparation products, an experimental exploration

To enhance the filtration and dewatering performance while reducing the moisture content of coal preparation products, we conducted an investigation into the dehydration efficacy of various coal preparation products using different filter aids. The study involved examining the dehydration effects of both conventional hydrophobic filter aids and novel alternatives on flotation cleaned coal and coarse fine slime at the Huaibei Linhuan coal preparation plant. Our findings revealed a significantly superior dehydration performance of the new filter aids compared to conventional hydrophobic ones. Subsequently, we explored the dehydration efficacy of a specific new filter aid, designated as 1239, on four types of coal samples sourced from the Huainan mining area. The results demonstrated that filter aid 1239 exhibited remarkable effectiveness on both flotation cleaned coal and coarse fine slime, with a discernible impact on coal slime as well. By modulating the hydrophobicity of particle surfaces, hydrophobic filter aids effectively facilitated the dehydration of coal preparation products. These findings bear substantial significance for improving the dewatering and transportation processes of coal preparation products.

Research on the Mechanism of the Green Innovation of Enterprises Empowered by Digital Technology from the Perspective of Value Co-Creation

To help enterprises utilize digital technologies to increase their green innovation awareness and behavior and further clarify the “black box” of this process, this study first develops a theoretical framework to explain the mechanism of the functional attributes of digital technology, stakeholder value co-creation, and enterprise green innovation. Data are subsequently gathered from 342 manufacturing enterprises, and the meditation and moderation hypotheses are empirically analyzed using hierarchical regression and the bootstrapping method. A robustness test is conducted via data grouping. The findings indicate that digital technology openness and affordance have a positive effect on green product innovation and process innovation through value co-creation between businesses and stakeholders. Additionally, digital technology self-growth positively moderates the indirect effect of digital technology affordance on the green innovation of enterprises through value co-creation.

Impact of surface tension, viscosity, pump settings, and nozzle size on filling process capability and accuracy in high-concentration biopharmaceuticals

Filling is the final critical unit operation in the manufacturing process of liquid biological drug products. This paper thoroughly investigates the influence and mechanisms of peristaltic pump settings, nozzle size, product surface tension and viscosity on the biopharmaceutical filling processes based on the established filling process model of surrogates. Our study highlights the significant role of pump settings in influencing filling process capability indexes, in addition to their primary function of regulating flow rate. Surface tension minimally impacts flow behavior but significantly regulates the final dropʼs behavior, with lower surface tension increasing dripping tendencies. Viscosity proves crucial; higher viscosity intensifies friction and head loss of filling flow in tube/nozzle, causing pressure and flow rate losses, more pronounced dripping, and worse filling accuracy. Furthermore, nozzle size moderates the impact of pump settings, surface tension, and viscosity on filling performance. Larger nozzles help mitigate these effects, contributing to enhanced stability in filling performance under challenging conditions. For high-concentration biopharmaceuticals with elevated viscosity during filling, utilizing larger nozzles and reducing pump speed could achieve enhanced Cpk values and improved filling accuracy. Understanding the complex interactions among these factors is vital for optimizing the biopharmaceutical industry, promoting cost-effective practices, and enhancing production efficiency.

Analysis of Thermal Isotropy of Parallelepiped Shape of Bronze Samples for Mechanical Engineering Applications

Objective: The need to find out whether the specimens are ‘thermally thin’ or not is the basis for applying the law of conservation of energy or the Fourier differential equation of heat conduction in finding the time dependence of the specimen temperature. The aim of this study is to find out the thermal field distribution in a parallelepiped shaped bronze specimen and to verify the Bio number. Methods: A number of external variables make it difficult to maintain a monotonic change in sample temperature during the ‘heating’ stage. These factors led to the use of the cooling method to study tiny samples with low inertia of the thermal process. We used the cooling method to experimentally verify the isotropy of the thermal field in the sample and to study the kinetics of cooling relative to the sample axes over a wide range of temperatures. Results: It was found out that in natural air cooling the main mechanisms are conductive, convective and radiative heat transfer. The contribution of thermal radiation to the cooling process is noticeable at high temperatures. It was found that the typical cooling time increases with sequential radiative, conductive and convective heat transfer. By extending the temperature study area to, for the first time, we were able to observe each component of the heat transfer process independently. The values of the typical cooling time on all axes correspond to the experimental error bounds. It was found that the temperature value of the sample is independent of the coordinates and depends only on time. In this case, the law of conservation of energy can be used to explain the dependence of body temperature on cooling time. Conclusion: It is shown that the sample under study is ‘thermally thin’, i.e. the thermal field is constant in all directions. In this situation, the thermal balance equation should be applied rather than the Fourier differential equation of heat conduction, since the temperature gradient inside the body is practically zero. The results obtained are of great importance for the study of cooling processes of metallic products in thermal power engineering, heat engineering and thermophysics.

Moderating role of technological turbulence between green product innovation, green process innovation and performance of SMEs

Innovation in green technologies is a key factor propelling Jordanian sustainable development in the small and medium enterprises for achieving sustainability. Jordan is considered as a hub of small and medium enterprises, however, despite technological advancements and the efforts of the government, small and medium enterprises in Jordan are scarcely catering the aspect of green activities and researchers have paid less attention towards the same. Green product and green process innovation mode choices have drawn enough attention recently, but limited researchers have thoroughly examined the pathways through which green innovation is transmitted to small and medium enterprises’ performance. Green product and process innovation are the two main streams of green innovation that can enhance small and medium enterprises’ performance. The current research builds the framework for SMEs performance based on green product innovation and green process innovation following earlier research that have been conducted in the context of developed countries. It conducts an empirical analysis using responses of 384 manufacturing sector small and medium enterprises in Jordan. The findings demonstrate that small and medium enterprises can perform better when green products and processes are innovated. One significant moderating variable over the performance paths of small and medium enterprises is technological turbulence. The findings of the research contribute to a better understanding of green innovation and have implications for designing policies that promote green development.

PERANCANGAN USER INTERFACE DAN USER EXPERIENCE APLIKASI MONITORING EXPIRED MENGGUNAKAN METODE DOUBLE DIAMOND

Indomaret is one of the franchise business ventures which is a company owned by PT Indomarco Prismatama. At this time the process of monitoring products that are approaching the expiration date is still inefficient, often there are products whose expiration dates are missed and employees have difficulty finding products that will expire while there is no data and reminders about products that will expire. Therefore, a user interface design is needed before designing an application that can facilitate employees in managing expired products to be more efficient. In designing the user interface, researchers used the Double Diamond method which includes 4 stages, namely discover, define, develop, and deliver. For user experience testing, researchers adopted the User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ) method using 6 aspects with 26 items, including Attractiveness, Perpicuity, Effciency, Depandability, Stimulation, Novelty. The test results showed that t5 UEQ scales were on the "Excellent" assessment, namely on the Attractiveness, Efficiency, Dependability, Stimulation, Novelty scales. While one UEQ scale is at "Above Average", namely the Perspicuity scale.

Automated painting color matching technology based on semantic intelligence understanding

Painting color matching technology is widely used in the production and printing process of products. Traditional painting and color matching have been unable to meet market demands. Based on this, a large-scale corpus under the existing semantic intelligent understanding system is used as the knowledge source. The computer automated painting color matching model is constructed. It is applied in case studies to address issues such as unclear query intentions, mismatched system retrieval terms, and return errors caused by uncertain factors such as synonyms and polysemy. This provides new ideas for the application of semantic intelligence understanding and automated painting color matching technology. The experimental results showed that the precision, recall, and F1 of the method used in the research were 0.8639, 0.8026, and 0.8309, respectively, significantly superior to commonly used methods. This indicates that the proposed automated painting color matching technology based on semantic intelligent understanding has high performance, which can effectively meet the painting color matching requirements.

Redefining chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) regulation: China's responses to address secondary cancer risks of CAR-T therapy.

Since the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy in 2017, it has marked a major breakthrough in cancer treatment, leading to a surge in global research and applications in this field. In recent years, China has made rapid progress, quickly catching up through heavy investment in CAR-T construction, preparation processes, and treatment strategies. China's CAR-T therapy market is driven by substantial pharmaceutical investment targeting its vast population, yet high therapy costs remain uncovered by basic medical insurance. In November 2023, FDA issued a warning about the risk of secondary cancers in patients undergoing CAR-T therapy, sparking global concern. In fact, the China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) preemptively implemented a series of measures to address the safety concerns of CAR-T therapy, emphasizing the risk of secondary cancers and advising lifelong monitoring as part of the approval process for CAR-T products. Nevertheless, additional regulatory measures are needed to address emerging risks, particularly the threat of secondary cancers. The authors believe that raising the standards for Investigational New Drug (IND) approval and establishing a dynamic reporting and feedback system based on real-world data will strengthen regulatory oversight and support the sustainable growth of the CAR-T industry in China.

A dynamic capability perspective on the impact of big data analytics and enterprise architecture on innovation: an empirical study

PurposeThe prevailing conceptualization of information system (IS) capabilities, rooted in the resource-based view (RBV) framework, tends to focus on unique firm resources. In the digital age, as emphasized by dynamic capabilities (DC), resource reconfiguration is critical in maintaining strategic advantage. This paper focuses on big data analytics capabilities (BDAC) from a DC perspective to present a novel conceptualization of BDAC–DC. We examine its effects on product, business model and business process innovation, including the effects of enterprise architecture (EA) on the BDAC business model innovation relationship.Design/methodology/approachThis research presents a novel DC-based BDAC conceptualization, operationalized as a hierarchical construct. A survey-based approach is used for data collection and data analysis is done using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).FindingsThe novel conceptualization and the effects of BDAC DC on BDA sensing-seizing and reconfiguration capacities support BDAC’s functional and evolutionary roleplay. Empirical results confirm the positive effects of BDAC–DC on first-order value targets (innovation) and the moderating effects of EA.Research limitations/implicationsThe novel BDAC–DC conceptualization has several implications for BDAC, DC, EA and business value research. Practicing managers must adopt a multifaceted approach to BDAC development by considering non-technical and organizational factors, collaborate with their business counterparts to explore unique big data ideas, initiate proof-of-concept projects to secure support and allocate resources synchronously, considering a multidimensional view of the process, product and business model innovation.Practical implicationsPracticing managers must adopt a multifaceted approach to BDAC development by considering non-technical and organizational factors, collaborate with their business counterparts to explore unique big data ideas, initiate proof-of-concept projects to secure support and allocate resources synchronously, considering a multidimensional view of the process, product and business model innovation for synergistic outcomes.Originality/valueTo the best of our knowledge, this research is the first attempt toward DC-based BDAC conceptualization, empirical validation of first-order effects on various forms of innovation and the often-overlooked role of critical EA capability.

Thermodynamic Calculations of the Main Characteristics of the Combustion Process of Pyrotechnic Nitrate-Metallized Mixtures with Additives of Organic and Inorganic Substances under External Thermal Influences

The aim of the article is to determine the dependencies of the combustion product temperatures of four-component mixtures, the content of high-temperature condensate, and unoxidized metal on the excess oxidizer coefficient, the number of additives, and external pressure using thermodynamic calculations. Modern methods of physicochemical analysis (such as cinephotography and microcinephotography methods, X-ray analysis methods, non-contact and contact temperature measurement methods), nonlinear thermal conductivity and thermal stability methods, as well as mathematical and experimental-statistical modeling, were employed to investigate the influence of elevated heating temperatures (up to 800 K) and external pressures (up to 107 Pa) on the ignition and combustion processes of pyrotechnic products. Standard pyrotechnic equipment was used to test pyrotechnic product samples under specified conditions. Calculations based on models were conducted in real-time and dialog mode on computer devices that meet modern requirements for the use of specialized software. The results of thermodynamic calculations are presented for the dependencies of combustion product temperatures of multicomponent pyrotechnic mixtures based on powders of metal fuels (magnesium, aluminium), nitrate oxidizer (sodium nitrate), additives of organic and inorganic substances (paraffin, sodium fluoride), and the content of high-temperature condensate and unoxidized metal depending on the excess oxidizer coefficient α = 0.1…4.0, the amount of paraffin additive εp = 0…0.2, sodium fluoride additive εf = 0…0.06, and external pressure P = 105…107 Pa. Based on the obtained results of thermodynamic calculations, statistical models in the form of regression dependencies of the specified combustion characteristics on their technological parameters and external conditions have been developed. These models enable the determination of fire hazardous properties of mixtures in real-time dialog and PC-based scenarios, considering premature initiation of products based on them under external thermal actions.

Analysis of the evolution process of corrosion products of pure magnesium based on the phase angle

The process of immersion corrosion on pure magnesium in 0.1 M NaCl solution was investigated by the phase angle. Results show that the peak value of phase angle and responding frequency of peak can be used to characterize the evolution process of corrosion products. It is before 80 min that corrosion products increase on the surface until film layers formed. The theoretical relation between the phase angle and corrosion products was established and the simulated results had a good agreement with the validation experiment data. Moreover, the evolution mechanism of corrosion products was studied by Scanning Vibrating Electrode Technique.

The TPACK Physics Learning Video: Forming 21st Century Skills in Physics Learning

Abstract The 21st century learning process in schools emphasizes soft skills. To support the learning process in schools, learning videos are needed that present physics content in a learning process. This article publishes the results of research and development of physics learning videos. This physics learning video presents physics learning in stages that train creativity and critical thinking skills. The physics content is a Static Fluid presented with the TPACK framework. This physics learning video uses Lee & Owens research and development stages. Product feasibility is assessed using a questionnaire by experts. The components assessed are the suitability of physics content, the suitability of the learning process, the suitability of physics learning media on static fluid concepts. Sequentially, it received an assessment of 95.0% for physics content, 98.0% for the learning process, 100.0% for video media. The implementation of TPACK for the learning process in learning video products has made it easier for students to practice their critical thinking skills and increase their creativity.