Industrial Prospects Research Articles

Enhanced anti-biochemical fouling properties of the polyacrylonitrile membranes assisted by the d-amino acid surface-modified halloysite nanotubes

Membrane fouling has always been one of the key problems to be solved in the liquid–liquid separation process of biomacromolecules, proteins, bacteria, etc. Here, halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) surface-modified with D-Amino acid (D-Aa) is synthesized in one step and introduced into the polyacrylonitrile (PAN) ultrafiltration membrane matrix to obtain a PAN mixed matrix membrane (MMM). D-Aas with three different R groups are selected to modify the HNTs. The results show that the carboxyl and amino groups of the D-Aa molecules interact with the surface of HNTs through hydrogen bonds, while the R groups are oriented towards the outside of the tube, thereby becoming the main factor affecting the surface chemical structure of the HNTs. Therefore, due to the low polarity of isobutyl and the good affinity with PAN and DMAc molecules, D-leucine-modified halloysite nanotubes (D-Leu@HNTs) can be evenly dispersed in the PAN membrane matrix and segregate to the membrane top-surface and pore wall during the non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) process with the solvent exchange between water and DMAc, thereby significantly improving the pore structure and hydrophilicity of the polyacrylonitrile membrane, and ultimately giving the PAN/D-Leu membrane ultra-high pure water permeability (PWP) of 1334 L·m−2·h−1·bar−1, rejection of 100 %, and excellent anti-biochemical fouling performances. The prepared PAN/D-Leu membrane maintains stable and efficient filtration performances in the 300-hour cross-flow experiment, and the membrane after testing still has excellent anti-biofilm fouling performance, showing a promising industrial application prospect.

Synergy of alloy and ligand for CO2 hydrogenation to formic acid on PdAu/HPC-AP

Formic acid (FA) is of great significance given its extensive applications in various industrial fields. At present, methanol carbonylation is the main industrial production process of FA. However, this process uses two kinds of raw materials from fossil fuels and emits a large amount of CO2. Alternatively, converting CO2 into FA can not only achieve the production of value-added chemicals but also effectively address environmental issues caused by CO2 emission. To improve the low reactivity of CO2, homogeneous and heterogeneous catalytic systems have been widely evaluated, among which heterogeneous catalytic systems are attracting ever-increasing attention owing to their great industrialization prospects. However, some of these heterogeneous catalysts suffer from low catalytic performance. Herein, PdAu alloy nanoparticles anchored on amine-functionalized hierarchical porous carbon (PdAu/HPC-AP) were constructed to drive efficient converting of CO2 into FA. Characterization and testing results demonstrated that the introduced Au atoms caused lattice distortion and charge redistribution on the surface of the bimetallic catalyst, facilitating the adsorption and activation of reaction molecules. Furthermore, the modification of HPC with an appropriate amount of amine ligands was found important to the chemical adsorption of CO2 and the dispersion of PdAu NPs. The Pd60Au40/HPC-AP catalyst with the optimum synergy of alloy and ligand demonstrated excellent activity for the target reaction with a TOF value of 486 h–1 at 100 °C. Moreover, it can even catalyze the reaction at room temperature with a TOF value of 13 h–1.

Design of dual-channel Swiss-roll reactor for high-performance hydrogen production from ethanol steam reforming through waste heat valorization

Steam reforming is one of the most economical and efficient methods for hydrogen production. However, one of its glaring issues is the heat supply, which is used to maintain the reactions. Among reactors for hydrogen production, Swiss-roll reactors have exhibited exceptional performance in sustaining the heat required for reactions. Furthermore, heat supply via waste heat recovery has been an attractive industrial prospect for improving the sustainability of hydrogen production. This study proposes a design of a novel Swiss-roll reactor with dual channels to harvest waste heat from the flue gas to sustain the steam reforming reactions. Ethanol is used as a feedstock due to its environmentally benign properties. Numerical simulations are conducted to establish the reactor's catalytic reactions and heat transfer phenomena under the variations of gas hourly space velocity (GHSV), steam-to-ethanol (S/E) ratio, and inlet flue gas temperature. Heat recovery improves at higher GHSVs and lower S/E ratios at the cost of less efficient hydrogen production, while high inlet flue gas temperature improves heat recovery and hydrogen production. The novel reactor design can fulfill complete ethanol conversion maintained by heat recovered from waste flue gas, achieving 86.6 % hydrogen production efficiency and 72.7 % heat recovery under optimal operating conditions.

Natural shellac-based microcapsules as lipase carriers for recyclable efficient Pickering interfacial biocatalysis

Enzyme is an important class of catalyst. However, the efficiency of enzyme-catalyzed reactions is constrained by the limited contact between the enzyme and its substrate. In this study, to overcome this challenge, lipase-loaded microcapsules were prepared from natural shellac and nanoparticles using the emulsion template method. These microcapsules can perform dual roles as stabilizers and enzyme carriers to construct a water-in-oil Pickering interfacial biocatalytic system. The results showed that the hydrolytic conversion of the microcapsules could reach 90% within 20 min, which was significantly higher than that of the traditional biphasic system. The catalytic activity was influenced by the oil-to-water volume ratio and the microcapsule content. The microcapsules remained highly catalytic efficiency even after storage for three months or seven cycles of reuse. These microcapsules were prepared without the use of any cross-linkers or harsh solvents. This green and efficient catalytic system has great application prospects in the food industry.

Pyrolysis char from waste tyres its characteristics, upgrading and application

The pyrolysis of waste tyres can recycle energy and produce reusable products (oil, char and gas). Although there are many reviews in the literature in regard to the pyrolysis characteristics of waste tyres, but this paper critically looked as pyrolysis char as one of the useful product. Its physical characteristics include pore diameter, pore volume, specific surface area, and composition. The common detection techniques of the physical characteristics include elemental analysis, proximate analysis, SEM, EDS, TGA, XRF, BET, and Raman spectroscopy. The chemical characteristics of tyre char mainly include calorific value, the surface functional groups (i.e phenols, alcohols, carboxylic acid and C-O/C-O-C chemical structures) which can be determined by FT-IR, XRD. The higher sulfur retention on the surface of tyre char is obtained at low temperature compared with that obtained at high temperature. Tyre char could also be directly used as a catalyst material to decrease the operational cost, and improve the quality of pyrolysis oil and gas. The modified tyre char with high specific surface area and lower ash content could be used as an activated carbon adsorbent material, catalyst and catalyst support, capacitor electrode to create higher commercial value, as an adsorbent, in batteries and so on. It is suggested that the recycling applications of tyre char should be developed, which can create a high level of potential economic prospects for the waste tyre pyrolysis industry.

The role of creative industries in the regional economy

Aim. To analyze the role of creative industries in regional economic development with a focus on St. Petersburg. Objectives. To study theoretical approaches to the study of creative industries; to examine the existing concepts of creative industries; to analyze various methods of assessing creative industries and their impact on the regions; to evaluate the contribution of creative industries to the economy of St. Petersburg, to study their dynamics and impact on the socio-economic development of the city.Methods. The authors used general scientific research methods such as deduction, analysis, synthesis and logical analysis. Classical research methods were applied to collect and process data on creative industries.Results. The study determined the role of creative industries in the socio-economic development of regions. The understanding of further prospects of creative industries was formed. The fac[1]tors influencing the economic growth of the region were analyzed. The degree of development of creative industries in St. Petersburg is assessed and their contribution to the structure of gross regional product (GRP) of the region due to the available technical, logistical, digital, cultural and leisure infrastructure is presented. It is concluded that it is the synergetic development of creative industries and related services sector (wholesale and retail trade, catering, tourism, logistics) that can lead to an increase in the quality of life of the population in a particular region, which is the stated goal of socio-economic development of the Russian Federation (RF). Conclusions. Creative industries play a significant role in the regional economy, which is due to their ability to generate creative product and stimulate economic activity. The results of the study showed that the key indicators for assessing the contribution of creative industries are the volume of creative product in the regional GRP, the share of employment in creative sectors and the proportion of creative organizations from the total number of enterprises in the region. The research contributes to the understanding of the mechanisms of creative industries’ influence on the socio-economic condition of a large Russian city, and provides a basis for the development of strategies to support and develop them

General negative pressure annealing approach for creating ultra-high-loading single atom catalyst libraries

Catalyst systems populated by high-density single atoms are crucial for improving catalytic activity and selectivity, which can potentially maximize the industrial prospects of heterogeneous single-atom catalysts (SACs). However, achieving high-loading SACs with metal contents above 10 wt% remains challenging. Here we describe a general negative pressure annealing strategy to fabricate ultrahigh-loading SACs with metal contents up to 27.3–44.8 wt% for 13 different metals on a typical carbon nitride matrix. Furthermore, our approach enables the synthesis of high-entropy single-atom catalysts (HESACs) that exhibit the coexistence of multiple metal single atoms with high metal contents. In-situ aberration-corrected HAADF-STEM (AC-STEM) combined with ex-situ X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) demonstrate that the negative pressure annealing treatment accelerates the removal of anionic ligand in metal precursors and boosts the bonding of metal species with N defective sites, enabling the formation of dense N-coordinated metal sites. Increasing metal loading on a platinum (Pt) SAC to 41.8 wt% significantly enhances the activity of propane oxidation towards liquid products, including acetone, methanol, and acetic acid et al. This work presents a straightforward and universal approach for achieving many low-cost and high-density SACs for efficient catalytic transformations.

Recycling and Reuse of Spent LIBs: Technological Advances and Future Directions.

Recovering valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), a kind of solid waste with high pollution and high-value potential, is very important. In recent years, the extraction of valuable metals from the cathodes of spent LIBs and cathode regeneration technology are still rapidly developing (such as flash Joule heating technology to regenerate cathodes). This review summarized the studies published in the recent ten years to catch the rapid pace of development in this field. The development, structure, and working principle of LIBs were firstly introduced. Subsequently, the recent developments in mechanisms and processes of pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy for extracting valuable metals and cathode regeneration were summarized. The commonly used processes, products, and efficiencies for the recycling of nickel-cobalt-manganese cathodes (NCM/LCO/LMO/NCA) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathodes were analyzed and compared. Compared with pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy, the regeneration method was a method with a higher resource utilization rate, which has more industrial application prospects. Finally, this paper pointed out the shortcomings of the current research and put forward some suggestions for the recovery and reuse of spent lithium-ion battery cathodes in the future.

Improving interface performance between the fibers and rubber using metal cations synergistic polydopamine to modify carbon fibers

AbstractCF‐PDA‐M hybrid fillers are prepared by three metal cations (M) assisting polydopamine (PDA) through Fe3+, Ni2+, and Al3+. The metal cations promote the polymerization of PDA on the fiber surface, shorten the modification time of the fibers, and ensure that the short‐cut carbon fibers (CF) do not agglomerate during water bath stirring while keeping the structure of the CF undamaged, which is a green and efficient method. After PDA modification, the roughness and surface activity of the fiber surface increase. Finally, CF‐PDA‐M is used as a filler and added to neoprene latex and natural latex, which are prepared into composites by wet blending, and the CF are characterized by different techniques. The results show that the hydroxyl and amino groups on the surface of CF‐PDA‐M increase the cross‐linking density of the composites, establish a good stress cross‐linking network, shorten the vulcanization time, effectively prevent the agglomeration phenomenon of the CF in the rubber, and improve the dispersion of the CF in the composite. After modification, the tensile strength and 300% constant tensile strength of CF‐PDA‐M increase by more than 10% and 30%, respectively, over CF composites, and the rolling resistance is reduced. This study provides a new and effective strategy for CF surface functionalization, which improves the processing efficiency and mechanical properties of rubber products and has a broad application prospect in the rubber industry.

Production Cost of Biocarbon and Biocomposite, and Their Prospects in Sustainable Biobased Industries

This study evaluated the economic prospects of biocarbon and biocomposite in the automotive industry and bioeconomy. The production cost of biocarbon produced from Miscanthus (a perennial grass), biocarbon-reinforced polypropylene (PP) composite (hereafter referred to as biocomposite), and automotive components are determined. The production cost of biocomposite was compared with inorganic filler-reinforced polymer composite (a conventional composite, i.e., talc reinforced PP composite). The production cost of biocarbon and biocomposite is estimated to be $513.1/ton and between $3536.7–$3647.3/ton, respectively (all dollar figures are in Canadian dollars). On the other hand, the cost of the conventional composite is likely to be $3544.8/ton. However, the production cost of an automotive component can be reduced by 9–11% compared with the conventional component if the components are produced from biocomposite. Further, this study determined the net present values (NPV) of a biocarbon plant and a composite manufacturing plant. The NPV of a biocarbon plant ($42.9 million) and a composite manufacturing plant ($34.0–$34.8 million for biocomposite and $34.7 million for conventional composite) showed that both the biocarbon and composite manufacturing phases are economically attractive. We concluded that by taking an industrial symbiosis approach, the biocomposite industry can be financially more attractive and contribute more to the bioeconomy.

AHP와 IPA 기법을 활용한 서비스 표준화 전략에 관한 연구

The service industry is undergoing changes such as digital transformation, and it is expected that the number of employees in all types of service industries will increase in the future. Therefore, service certification and standardization is essential to secure the competitiveness of the domestic service industry along with the leap to high-value-added industries. Existing research has focused on certification and standardization strategies to revitalize specific service sectors, but there is a lack of research on the service industry as a whole. Therefore, this study aims to develop the importance and priority of domestic service standardization strategies using AHP and IPA analysis to secure the competitiveness of the domestic service industry. Prior to the analysis, we first reviewed service standards, the current status of the domestic service industry, the current status of domestic service standards, and the current status of international service standards. Through the literature study, three large categories (pure service standards, service delivery infrastructure standardization, and service-applicable management service standardization) and eight medium categories (logistics and distribution, finance, safety, basic IT, education, telecommunications, tourism, and environment) were identified for AHP analysis. The analysis result of the 100 core service standards strategy showed that the development of standards in the fields of ‘social safety services’ and ‘promising services’ was evaluated as a high priority. The AHP analysis shows that ‘safety’ is the most important and urgent among ‘service delivery infrastructure standardization’, reflecting that safety is a top consideration in the service industry, suggesting that safety-related standards should be given top priority when establishing service standardization strategies. This study is expected to be used as a basis for the development of the domestic service industry and the development of certification by suggesting priorities for policies that reflect the problems of the domestic service industry, changes in the service industry, and prospects for the service industry, and to derive service strategies.

Pomegranate (punica granatum): a comprehensive review of its medicinal properties and traditional uses and prospect in wellness industry

Pomegranate (Punica granatum) is a fruit-bearing shrub with a rich history of traditional use in various medicinal systems. This review paper aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the botanical profile, medicinal properties, and applications of pomegranate. Additionally, it explores its significance in traditional medicine systems, including Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, American Indian medicine, and the Usadha Taru Premana palm manuscript—a revered Balinese medicinal palm manuscript, and The Holy Quran. The review highlights the active compounds, therapeutic potential, regional variations, cultivation, culinary uses, and its emerging role in the tourism and wellness industry.

Neural Network Signal Integration from Thermogas-Dynamic Parameter Sensors for Helicopters Turboshaft Engines at Flight Operation Conditions.

The article's main provisions are the development and application of a neural network method for helicopter turboshaft engine thermogas-dynamic parameter integrating signals. This allows you to effectively correct sensor data in real time, ensuring high accuracy and reliability of readings. A neural network has been developed that integrates closed loops for the helicopter turboshaft engine parameters, which are regulated based on the filtering method. This made achieving almost 100% (0.995 or 99.5%) accuracy possible and reduced the loss function to 0.005 (0.5%) after 280 training epochs. An algorithm has been developed for neural network training based on the errors in backpropagation for closed loops, integrating the helicopter turboshaft engine parameters regulated based on the filtering method. It combines increasing the validation set accuracy and controlling overfitting, considering error dynamics, which preserves the model generalization ability. The adaptive training rate improves adaptation to the data changes and training conditions, improving performance. It has been mathematically proven that the helicopter turboshaft engine parameters regulating neural network closed-loop integration using the filtering method, in comparison with traditional filters (median-recursive, recursive and median), significantly improve efficiency. Moreover, that enables reduction of the errors of the 1st and 2nd types: 2.11 times compared to the median-recursive filter, 2.89 times compared to the recursive filter, and 4.18 times compared to the median filter. The achieved results significantly increase the helicopter turboshaft engine sensor readings accuracy (up to 99.5%) and reliability, ensuring aircraft efficient and safe operations thanks to improved filtering methods and neural network data integration. These advances open up new prospects for the aviation industry, improving operational efficiency and overall helicopter flight safety through advanced data processing technologies.

A novel magnesium reduction technique for the separation of ytterbium from non-aqueous solutions

The separation of heavy rare earth elements, particularly Tm, Yb, and Lu, poses significant challenges due to their small differences in ionic radii and close chemical properties. Utilizing the variable valence properties of ytterbium can simplify the separation from adjacent elements. Therefore, a novel magnesium reduction technique was proposed, offering selective reduction and separation of ytterbium. In comparison to traditional methods such as sodium amalgam reduction and mercury cathode reduction, this approach achieves efficient separation of ytterbium and lutetium without the need for mercury, rendering it more environmentally friendly and safe. Under a non-oxidizing nitrogen atmosphere, utilizing magnesium powder as the reducing agent and a mixed solution of 1,4-dioxane and ethanol as the reaction solvent, only 20 min are required to complete one reduction-precipitation operation for simulated solutions. This yields a recovery of 70.89% and a purity of 97.5% for ytterbium (II) chloride. The optimal experimental conditions obtained are applied to natural heavy rare earth mixed solutions, resulting in the recovery of over 90% of ytterbium after three reduction-precipitation processes. Post-ytterbium separation, the residual solution is enriched with approximately three times the amount of thulium and lutetium, greatly facilitating subsequent separation processes. This method liberates ytterbium reduction-separation from dependence on mercury, offering not only rapid and efficient processing but also significant industrial prospects.

Amphiphilic polymeric particles based on gradient and block copoly(2-oxazoline)s: Interplay between structure and Pickering emulsion properties

Pickering emulsions (PEs) offer enhanced stability and reduced toxicity compared to conventional emulsions. Recent advances in polymer chemistry have introduced poly(2-alkyl/aryl-2-oxazoline)s (PAOx) as promising alternative emulsifying materials. Known for their biocompatibility, tunability, and stability, PAOx can be rapidly synthesized via microwave-assisted methods. This study explores the use of amphiphilic and non-water-soluble PAOx to stabilize PEs through the formation of polymeric particles (PPs) via nanoprecipitation. Preliminary screening identified HLB5.0 PAOx as effective in forming well-defined PPs. We then investigated the effects of chain length and monomer distribution on the properties of PPs and PEs. Unlike block-based particles, the use of gradient PAOx allowed modulation of the particles’ glass transition temperature while maintaining their size and wettability. In Pickering emulsion formulations, PPs demonstrated effective surface coverage at low concentrations (≈ 0.9 wt%), with DP100-based particles providing enhanced stability and tunable viscosities. The formation of high internal phase PEs further highlights the applicative potential of PAOx, offering broad application prospects in various industries, including biomedicine, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics.

Leaf-like networks consisting of TiO2/biochar composite for enhanced adsorptive-photocatalytic treatment of antibiotic and dye

The problematic solid-liquid separation and low light utilization of traditional powder composites have hindered the industrial application prospect of adsorptive-photocatalytic technology. In this work, a Sycamore leaf-like hierarchically porous structured TiO2/biochar composite (LBT) was synthesized via a sol-hydrothermal method. The distinctive leaf structure effectively addressed the issue of transparency while simultaneously facilitating recyclability. LBT exhibited a high removal efficiency of 95.65 % for MO under simulated sunlight, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 284.06 mg/g. The synergistic action of adsorption-photocatalysis resulted in the degradation of 74.17 % adhered MO on LBT, enabling the recyclability and reusability of the composite material. Furthermore, employing LBT achieved removal efficiency of 80.78 % and degradation of 50.21 % for CIP, respectively. This work provides a practical approach for the efficient removal of organic pollutants from water by utilizing multifunctional materials with adsorptive-photocatalytic properties.

Research Progress and Production Status of Edible Insects as Food in China.

Based on the background of the exacerbating food shortage in the world, it is particularly important to diversify food resources in every possible direction. Among the choices available, edible insects have become an important alternative source of animal food with their high nutritional and functional (pharmacological) values, partially replacing normally consumed animal and livestock protein food sources. The utilization of edible insects has been an ancient custom since the dawn of civilization, attributed to their rich nutrition, alternate protein source, medicinal values, and presence of diverse secondary metabolites and alkaloids. This review provides an introduction to three key aspects of edible insects as food: freshness, long-term preservation, and medicinal value. It also provides details on the food source and products of edible insect species, their detailed nutritional composition and medicinal values, and their potential in producing alternative protein sources. Additionally, the review also encompasses rearing and producing technologies, resource utilization, and industrial development in China. Simultaneously, the problems and challenges faced in the artificial rearing and production development of edible insects, the production advantages over traditional livestock, and the farming evaluation and prospects of edible insects, as well as the lack of specific legislation on edible insects in China, are discussed. This review will be helpful in scientific knowledge propagation regarding edible insects for the public, guiding consumers to establish a diverse perception of sustainable agriculture and food sources in the world that has, as yet, been thwarted by food insecurity. Moreover, though edible insects could potentially serve as part of a commercial and industrial agri-enterprise that could generate a huge income, artificial rearing technology and edible insect product manufacturing and processing have not received sufficient attention from the government on a policy level, thereby leaving an open space for extensive research on edible insects as an alternate food source as well as an examination of the industrial prospects of edible insect products.

Highly efficient hydrogenation of carbonate to methanol for boosting CO2 mitigation

The massive CO2 emissions from the energy-intensive industrial sectors can trace to the thermal decomposition of raw mineral carbonates during high-temperature manufactories. To mitigate CO2 emissions, we propose a novel strategy of carbonate-to-methanol through a highly efficient hydrogenation, where the carbon in mineral magnesite is used as a precious resource to unleash its tremendous value. More significantly, we break the trade-off between the excessive H2 for the complete magnesite conversion and the utilization efficiency of H2 by the recycle usage of H2 through the convenient gas–liquid separation of H2/CH3OH. Guided by the thermodynamic predictions, without any catalysts, the excessive H2 accelerates the direct hydrogenation of magnesite in a twin tower at a relatively low temperature of 550 °C, almost approaching thermodynamic limit of 67 % CO selectivity at a complete magnesite decomposition. The outlet syngas with an extremely high molar ratio of H2 to CO of 8 is further used for subsequent methanol production, achieving an outperformed 70 % CO conversion efficiency and over 99 % CH3OH selectivity. Comprehensive scale-up process simulations indicate that the proposed strategy could increase the H2 utilization efficiency by over 80 %, where the carbon footprint assessment illustrates when the green H2 from wind energy is supplied, the negative net CO2 emissions of −5.6 kgCO2/kgmethanol at a low energy consumption of 10 MJ/kgmethanol can be achieved, which highlights its promising industrialization prospects.

Trends and Prospects of the Fashion Production Industry

Trends and Prospects of the Fashion Production Industry

Luxurious Locks: Harnessing the Power of Lipids for Transformative Hair Care Solutions

Abstract: The hair is a distinguishing feature of animals that has several functions, such as providing warmth, providing protection, facilitating sweating and pheromone evaporation, providing sensory stimulation, and, in certain situations, acting as color-based camouflage. Hair grooming and styling have progressed significantly over the years, and modern hair treatments primarily focus on enhancing hair quality. However, standard active ingredients in formulations display suboptimal performance, and some may present toxicity issues, demanding a stronger formulation design that is appropriate for performance and safety. The need for natural ingredients, such as macromolecules and biomolecules sourced from plants, animals, and marine environments, is increasing among consumers. The favorable benefits induced by including lipid-rich components in Personal Care Products (PCP) formulations are regarded as valuable elements. A lipid-based preparation is specifically employed for innovative medicine-targeted distribution of bioactive substances among all medication administration strategies. The distribution of LBDDS transdermally and topically is exciting since the lipid bilayer might enter the uppermost layer of skin with ease and release medicine in a regulated way. It offers benefits in terms of stability, bioacceptability, and biodegradability, as well as receptor-mediated fast absorption by the particular site. Various lipid-based formulations for hair care therapy have been created, showing some improvement in hair care. This review focuses on several lipid-based formulations for hair care therapy, including their thorough mechanism of action, efficacy on hair care, patents, obstacles, and future prospects, along with the challenges and future prospects in the hair care industry