Air Products Research Articles

Data-driven predictive maintenance framework for railway systems

The emergence of the Industry 4.0 trend brings automation and data exchange to industrial manufacturing. Using computational systems and IoT devices allows businesses to collect and deal with vast volumes of sensorial and business process data. The growing and proliferation of big data and machine learning technologies enable strategic decisions based on the analyzed data. This study suggests a data-driven predictive maintenance framework for the air production unit (APU) system of a train of Metro do Porto. The proposed method assists in detecting failures and errors in machinery before they reach critical stages. We present an anomaly detection model following an unsupervised approach, combining the Half-Space-trees method with One Class K Nearest Neighbor, adapted to deal with data streams. We evaluate and compare our approach with the Half-Space-Trees method applied without the One Class K Nearest Neighbor combination. Our model produced few type-I errors, significantly increasing the value of precision when compared to the Half-Space-Trees model. Our proposal achieved high anomaly detection performance, predicting most of the catastrophic failures of the APU train system.

Nutrition paves the way to environmental toxicants and influences fetal development during pregnancy.

Nutrition plays a major role in the healthy pregnancy and development of the fetus. In addition, nutrition can expose humans to a wide range of potentially hazardous environmental constituents, such as organic pollutants and heavy metals from marine or agricultural food products while processing, producing, and packaging. Humans constantly face these constituents through air, water, soil, food, and domestic products. During pregnancy, the rate of cellular division and differentiation is higher; exposure to any of these environmental toxicants can lead to developmental defects as they cross the placental barrier and, in some cases, can harm the successive generation too, as some contaminants can act on the reproductive cells of the fetus (Diethylstilbestrol). Pregnant women are considered a vulnerable population to food contaminant exposure and require a proper dietary chart and conscious food choices. Food is a source of both essential nutrients and environmental toxicants. Here, we have researched the possible toxicants of the food industry and their influence on the fetus's in-utero development, along with the importance of dietary interventions and the need to balance a healthy diet to overcome the harms. The cumulative exposure to environmental toxicants can influence the mother's prenatal environment and affect the fetus's development.

Assessment of the state of the ecosystem of the Lipetsk region

The characteristics of the state of the ecosystem of the Lipetsk Region are presented on the basis of official statistical reporting by the Office of Rospotrebnadzor for the Lipetsk Region, the Lipetsk Center for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring - a branch of the Central Chernozem UGMS, the Department of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Lipetsk Region. Environmental problems of the Lipetsk region are associated with pollution of atmospheric air,drinking water, soil, and food products by toxic substances. Sources of environmental pollution are ferrous metallurgy, chemical industry, motor vehicles, agricultural production, including livestock. Anthropogenic anomalies of the habitat are becoming one of the main causes of veterinary problems in modern animal husbandry. The purpose of the study: to assess the state of the ecosystem of the territory of the Lipetsk region, including monitoring of surface watercourses in the area of the city of Lipetsk: the rivers Matyra, Voronezh, Lipovka and the Matyr reservoir. For the analysis of water sources for heavy metal contamination with an atomic absorption spectrometer with electrothermal authorization "MGA-1000". Sampling of natural water was carried out according to GOST 17.1.5.05-85. The volume of the sample taken was 250 ml, the filtrate was preserved with nitric acid. Statistical processing of analytical data was carried out by conventional methods.Up to 90% of emissions of harmful substances from stationary and mobile sources of pollution are accumulated by soil, from where toxins migrate into water and plants. The content of zinc slightly exceeded the maximum permissible level in 35% of the selected samples, %, manganese - in 32% and aluminum - in 34% of the selected samples. So the highest content of iron and lead was recorded in the river. Voronezh and in the region of Lipetsk, exceeding the MPC by 1.5 times. To a lesser extent, increases in MPC r. Matyr and Matyr-sky reservoir.

The Non-Linear Relationship between Air Pollution, Labor Insurance and Productivity: Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines Approach

This study explores the non-linear relationship between air pollution, socio-economic factors, labor insurance, and labor productivity in the industrial sector in Taiwan. Using machine learning, specifically multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS), provides an alternative approach to examining the impact of air pollution on labor productivity, apart from the traditional linear relationships and parametric methods employed in previous studies. Examining this topic is imperative for advancing the knowledge on the effects of air pollution on labor productivity and its association with labor insurance, employing a machine learning framework. The results reveal that air pollution, particularly PM10, has a negative impact on labor productivity. Lowering the PM10 level below 36.2 μg/m3 leads to an increase in marginal labor productivity. Additionally, the study identifies labor insurance as a significant factor in improving productivity, with a 9% increase in the total number of labor insurance holders resulting in a substantial 42.9% increase in productivity. Notably, a link between air pollution and insurance is observed, indicating that lower air pollution levels tend to be associated with higher labor insurance coverage. This research holds valuable implications for policymakers, businesses, and industries as it offers insights into improving labor productivity and promoting sustainable economic development.

Physical, Chemical, and Biological Pollution in Water, Air and Soil Industrial Products From PT. Torabika Eka Universe in Cikupa Tangerang

Technological developments certainly provide big changes in human life, starting from infrastructure management to the food industry, and the drug industry, everything is very easy to do by utilizing current technological sophistication. Many bad impacts arise from these technological advances, the most prominent of which is pollution due to waste generated from the industry. The impact that occurs from failure in waste treatment is the occurrence of air, soil, and water pollution. This research method is a qualitative descriptive research, where the researcher directly becomes the instrument and the company is the respondent. Based on research results Pollution of water, air, and soil due to the industrial products of PT. Torabika Eka Semesta found that Torabika is a well-known coffee drink brand in Indonesia. To maintain a healthy environment, the Torabika company can do several things, including 1) Companies reduce their use of single-use plastic packaging; 2) Use environmentally friendly raw materials; 3) Optimizing energy use; 4) Improve recycling programs; 5) Build environmental awareness among employees and customers; 6) Improve recycling programs; 7) Build environmental awareness among employees and customers; 8) Improve recycling programs; and 9) Build environmental awareness among employees and customers.

Insights into oxidation and nitridation of alumina-forming FeCrAl alloy after supercritical water exposure: Effect of pre-corrosion on high-temperature damage behavior

This work investigated the corrosion characteristics of FeCrAl alloy in supercritical water (SCW), and focused on the effect of SCW pre-corrosion on the alloy oxidation and nitridation at 900 °C. FeCrAl alloy formed outer Fe-rich oxides (mainly Fe2O3) and inner Fe-Cr-Al oxides during SCW exposure. SCW pre-corrosion made FeCrAl alloy exhibit different morphologies and phase compositions in the same medium. SCW pre-corrosion promoted the deposition of Ni and Mo elements from the autoclave, filling the gaps in flaky oxides by forming Ni- and/or Mo-rich products in air and N2. Moreover, SCW pre-corrosion avoided the appearance of accelerated nitridation zones in N2. However, pre-corrosion caused the preferential diffusion of N2 and air. Outward-diffused Cr ions during SCW exposure reacted with O impurities in N2 to form Cr2O3 that easily dissociated N2, leading to the development of nitridation towards the alloy interior.

Uzbekistan to get olefins complex

The Uzbek firm Gas Chemical Complex MTO Central Asia is teaming up with Air Products to build a methanol-to-olefins complex in the Karakul Free Economic Zone in Uzbekistan’s Bukhara region. The plant will convert natural gas into methanol, which will then be used to make downstream chemicals. The complex will also have plants for making polypropylene, polyethylene, ethylene vinyl acetate, and polyethylene terephthalate. Separately, Air Products has agreed to purchase a synthesis gas processing unit, which makes carbon monoxide and hydrogen from natural gas, in Qashqadaryo Province, Uzbekistan, from Uzbekneftegaz JSC for $1 billion. The syngas will be used to make synthetic fuels.

Application of human biomonitoring data to support policy development, raise awareness and environmental public health protection among countries within the HBM4EU project

Most countries have acknowledged the importance of assessing and quantifying their population's internal exposure from chemicals in air, water, soil, food and other consumer products due to the potential health and economic impact. Human biomonitoring (HBM) is a valuable tool which can be used to quantify such exposures and effects. Results from HBM studies can also contribute to improving public health by providing evidence of individuals' internal chemical exposure as well as data to understand the burden of disease and associated costs thereby stimulating the development and implementation of evidence-based policy. To have a holistic view on HBM data utilisation, a multi-case research approach was used to explore the use of HBM data to support national chemical regulations, protect public health and raise awareness among countries participating in the HBM4EU project. The Human Biomonitoring for Europe (HBM4EU) Initiative (https://www.hbm4eu.eu/) is a collaborative effort involving 30 countries, the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Commission (contracting authority) to harmonise procedures across Europe and advance research into the understanding of the health impacts of environmental chemical exposure. One of the aims of the project was to use HBM data to support evidence based chemical policy and make this information timely and directly available for policy makers and all partners. The main data source for this article was the narratives collected from 27 countries within the HBM4EU project. The countries (self-selection) were grouped into 3 categories in terms of HBM data usage either for public awareness, policy support or for the establishment HBM programme. Narratives were analysed/summarised using guidelines and templates that focused on ministries involved in or advocating for HBM; steps required to engage policy makers; barriers, drivers and opportunities in developing a HBM programme. The narratives reported the use of HBM data either for raising awareness or addressing environmental/public health issues and policy development. The ministries of Health and Environment were reported to be the most prominent entities advocating for HBM, the involvement of several authorities/institutions in the national hubs was also cited to create an avenue to interact, discuss and gain the attention of policy makers. Participating in European projects and the general population interest in HBM studies were seen as drivers and opportunities in developing HBM programmes. A key barrier that was cited by countries for establishing and sustaining national HBM programmes was funding which is mainly due to the high costs associated with the collection and chemical analysis of human samples. Although challenges and barriers still exist, most countries within Europe were already conversant with the benefits and opportunities of HBM. This article offers important insights into factors associated with the utilisation of HBM data for policy support and public awareness.

Responsive photonic hydrogel for colorimetric detection of formaldehyde

Formaldehyde (FA) can damage DNA, cause liver and kidney dysfunction, and ultimately lead to malignant tumors. Therefore, it is essential to develop a method that can conveniently detect FA with high detection sensitivity. Here, a responsive photonic hydrogel was prepared by embedding three-dimensional photonic crystal (PC) into amino-functionalized hydrogel to construct a colorimetric sensing film for FA. The amino groups on the polymer chains of the photonic hydrogel reacts with FA to increase the crosslinking density of the hydrogel, resulting in its volume shrinkage and a decrease in microsphere spacing of the PC. That causes the reflectance spectra blue-shift of more than 160 nm and color change from red to cyan for the optimized photonic hydrogel, achieving the sensitive, selective and colorimetric detection of FA. The constructed photonic hydrogel shows good accuracy and reliability for practical determination of FA in air and aquatic products, providing a new strategy for designing other target analytes responsive photonic hydrogels.

Air Products’ Saudi green ammonia project gets financing

Air Products, the Saudi infrastructure firm ACWA Power, and the Saudi special economic zone Neom have secured the financing they need for their Neom Green Hydrogen joint venture. The project, under construction in Oxagon, Saudi Arabia, will cost $8.4 billion. It will use 4 GW of solar and wind energy to produce 600 metric tons (t) per day of hydrogen via water electrolysis. The venture will use that hydrogen to make about 1.2 million t of ammonia per year. Air Products will export the ammonia as a fuel, mostly for the transportation market. The companies expect to complete the project in 2026. Neom Green Hydrogen has already awarded $6.7 billion in engineering, procurement, and construction agreements to Air Products, which is managing the construction. When the project was unveiled in 2020, the partners expected it to cost $5 billion.

Direct evidence of pyrogenic aerosol iron by intrusions of continental polluted air into the Eastern China Seas

Atmospheric iron (Fe) is an important micronutrient controlling marine primary productivity, which affects marine ecosystems and biogeochemistry. However, few studies have reported the abundance of aerosol Fe and its associated mixing state and solubility in marine environments. Here, aerosol samples were collected over the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea near East China during a research cruise. The results show that anthropogenic Fe-containing particles accounted for 9.3% of the total observed marine particles with diameters from 0.1 to 7 μm. Almost all of the Fe-containing particles (94%) were internal mixtures of FeOx particles (i.e., Fe-rich/fly ash) and secondary aerosols (e.g., nitrate, sulfate, and organics). During their aging process, the FeOx particles grew approximately tenfold in size from 100 nm to 1 μm by acquiring a thick secondary aerosol coating after one to two days of transport. The elemental mapping on a per-particle basis showed that the secondary aerosol coating likely homogeneously contained little Fe, suggesting that the acidic coating solubilized Fe via an acid dissolution process in the marine air. Therefore, acid dissolution of metal aerosols in anthropogenic smog should be considered in studies on the biogeochemical cycle between coastal marine air and ocean productivity.

Pengembangan produk BUMDes Makmur Jetiskapuan melalui pengenalan potensi desa berbasis folklore

Jetis Kapuan Village is a village in Undaan District, Kudus Regency which has a natural water resource called the pennant well. The lack of knowledge of the village government in developing the advantages of natural resources moved the team to provide assistance in developing natural resources with an approach based on the introduction of folklore so that historical products from cultural stories appear as the goal of excess air products in the hope of being able to penetrate market competition. This community service activity for Jetis Kapuan Village, Undaan District, took place on 28-30 September 2022 through a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) as the main activity event. The result of this community service activity is to provide knowledge to the community about the role of Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDes) which seek to improve community welfare, besides that the community will better understand the principles in BUMDes management. In order for the village to become more advanced and developed, the community is more actively involved in BUMDes development efforts by understanding the village character and understanding the village program in the formation of BUMDes, if it continues to be carried out it will improve the welfare of the Jetis Kapuan village community.

LyondellBasell is getting green bonds

LyondellBasell Industries is launching a public offering of green bonds. The principal of the bonds will be $500 million and will bear a 5.625% interest rate. The proceeds from the bonds will go toward circular economy, renewable energy, pollution prevention, and energy efficiency projects. Green bonds have become popular as a way to connect chemical companies with investors interested in backing sustainability. In March, Air Products raised more than $1.3 billion in two bond offerings that it intends to use for low-carbon ammonia and sustainable aviation fuels, and Eastman Chemical closed a $500 million green bond offering.

Air Products green ammonia project gets financing

Air Products green ammonia project gets financing

Podcast: The battle for Lake Maurepas

Carbon capture and sequestration is the process of trapping carbon dioxide emitted by industrial processes and depositing it beneath Earth’s surface. Spurred on by tax credits offered by recent federal legislation, companies are racing to implement the technology in geologically suitable locations. However, the community around Lake Maurepas, Louisiana, has resisted efforts by Air Products and Chemicals to green-light such a project under the lake. In this episode of Stereo Chemistry , C&EN reporters Rick Mullin and Craig Bettenhausen discuss the community’s fears about the implementation of carbon capture and sequestration around Lake Maurepas and the response from Air Products. This conversation is part of C&EN Uncovered, a podcast project in which reporters take listeners behind the scenes of their cover stories. Mullin’s cover story about the battle for Lake Maurepas appeared in the April 3, 2023, issue of C&EN. Listen at cenm.ag/uncovered-lakemaurepas .

Thermodynamic analysis of the apci skikda liquefaction process

In this paper, the mixed refrigeration cycle of Skikda APCI (Air Products and Chemicals Inc.) process in Algeria was studied thermodynamically in order to determine the optimal operat-ing conditions. The energy and exergy balance equations for each process component were es-tablished. The distribution of the exergy destruction of the basic cycle equipment revealed that the compressors had the highest exergy destruction rate. The effects of operating conditions on performance coefficient of the cycle (COP) and exergy efficiency of the APCI process were evaluated; mainly the inlet temperature of the compressors, natural gas (NG) temperature af-ter cooling in the main cryogenic heat exchanger (MCHE) and inlet temperature of the mixed refrigerant (MR) expansion valve. The results of the numerical simulation validated using Aspen HYSYS software indicate that the COP and exergy efficiency of the basic cycle are 2.66 and 59.99% respectively. These results can be improved by reducing the inlet temperature of the compressor and the expander as well as that of the NG after cooling in the MCHE. Finally, the results of the optimization performed using the genetic algorithms (GA) are in agreement with those of the literature. They show signs of improvement in the COP and exergy efficiency of the APCI process by 1.48% and 3.64% respectively compared to the basic cycle.

Effect of non-uniform magnetic field on combustion products of aluminum nanopowder in mixture with titanium and zirconium dioxides

The morphology and phase composition of the combustion products in air of Al nanopowder mixed with diamagnetic TiO2 and ZrO2 was studied. The influence of non-uniform magnetic field on the combustion process of the oxide-metal powdery mixtures led to the stabilization of TiN and ZrN in the final products. The two-level whiskers of AlN formed at the combustion of Al-TiO2 mixture, while the agglomerated structures covering the large particles of ZrN formed at the combustion of Al-ZrO2 mixture. During combustion of oxide-metal mixtures in non-uniform magnetic field, diamagnetic metal dioxides are reduced to metals or their suboxides and then interact with atmospheric nitrogen.

Strategic and flexible LNG production under uncertain future demand and natural gas prices

The expectation in global demand for liquified natural gas (LNG) remains bullish in the coming years. Despite the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the oil price wars between OPEC and Russia in 2020, causing oversupply and falling prices, the LNG markets continue to demonstrate flexibility and resilience in delivering the needs of different sectors, whilst helping achieve the emissions targets. This is attributed to the high competitiveness amongst LNG producers and suppliers, providing greater confidence for medium-to-long term demand. However, the uncertainties in the current outlook for the return of demand and price growth in the post-COVID period pose difficulty for new liquefaction project investment decisions in the pre-Investment Decision Phase (pre-FID). Accordingly, the consideration of new production and selling strategies is needed in the early design stages of projects to cope with the shift in buyers' sentiments favouring increased reliance on spot and short-term uncontracted volumes, as well as incorporating additional flexibility into long-term contracts. In this study, the economic valuation of the flexible Air Product's AP-X liquefaction technology was investigated considering the modelling of price volatilities, using the mean-reverting jump-diffusion pricing model and Monte Carlo simulation, assuming different demand level scenarios in the high-income Asia Pacific markets based on historical trends. The results clearly demonstrate that embedding flexibility within an LNG production system allows producers and suppliers to diversify selling strategies, and take advantage of the lucrative market conditions when demand and prices increase, and hedge against market risks when demand and prices are low.

Improving production and prediction of the flow regimes, pressure drop, and void fraction in the perforated horizontal wellbore

This study aimed to investigate how oil production could be improved by experimenting with different distribution methods across multiple profiles. The authors tested five different profiles that included uniform radial airflow (explained in profile 1) and variable radial airflow (explained in profiles 2, 3, 4 and 5) in a perforated horizontal wellbore. In addition, the study predicted the behavior of total pressure drop, superficial mixture velocity and void fraction encountered in different flow patterns (bubble, slug, stratum and stratum wave flow). Flow patterns were predicted using ANSYS Fluent R3 with a borehole length of 3 m and an ID of 0.0381 m. This was designed with 12 perforations opening vertically at the wellbore with a phase angle of 180 and a perforation density of 4 shots per foot to simulate the complex flow in a horizontal wellbore. In the perforated section, there was a fluctuation in the behavior of the parameters, while in the non-perforated section, the behavior remained constant. The behavior of the total pressure drop, the superficial velocity mixtures and the void fraction were also reasonably uniform in profile 1 in the perforated section.In contrast, they were irregular in the other profiles. In profiles 2, 3, 4 and 5, the behavior of the mixture superficial velocity and void fraction was inverse to the total pressure drop. Note that all theoretically calculated pressure drop modes increased as the Reynolds number of the mixture increased. The liquid and air product increased with increasing Reynolds number of mixture flow in the profiles. In contrast, in profile 1, lower production was obtained through all flow patterns due to the influence of the mixture pressure and the friction factor. The Vogels method was used to calculate maximum production from the horizontal wellbore. The convergence between experimental and numerical results was good during all cases (flow patterns), with some difference in the static pressure drop behaviuor occurring during flow patterns (bubble, dispersed bubble and slug flow).

A universal method of preparing high yield and N riched porous carbon by carbonizing coal tar pitch in air for supercapacitor

A universal method for the preparation of high-yield and high N content porous carbide is reported. Nine type composite salts are assisted to carbonize coal tar pitch (CTP) in muffle furnace in air atmosphere. The mechanism of composite salt assisted carbonization of CTP is studied systematically. The composite salt is consist of heat labile ammonium salts component that can decompose producing gas at low temperature and stalbe inorganic salts component that can generate molten salt at high carbonization temperature. The two components can protect CTP in the whole carbonization process in air. These composite salts play the triple role of protection CTP from oxidation and combustion, activator and heteroatom source. The carbon yield is up to 50 wt%, and the scale-up experiment can also get high yield. The porous carbide prepared by NH4Cl/(NH4PO3)n has a high N content (10.39 at%) and high yield (56.0 wt%), and it exhibits an excellent specific capacitance (374.3 F g−1). In addition, the assembled ammonium ion supercapacitor with the prepared porous carbide and (NH4)3PO4 electrolyte shows high energy density (24.1 Wh kg−1). The work uncovers a universal and feasible way to prepare high carbon yield porous carbon materials with large scale industrial production in air.