Scale Manufacturing Research Articles

Influence of manufacturing system scale for commercial Japanese green tea (Sencha) production on biochemical characteristics of tea leaf and infusion

AbstractDried green tea leaves (Sencha) were manufactured using various scale manufacturing systems, which processed batch‐wise for 15 kg (15 K), 60 kg (60 K), and 120 kg (120 K) fresh leaves. Total polyphenol content (TPC) and antioxidant activity (FRAP and DPPH) of dried tea leaves and infusions were evaluated. The values of TPC, FRAP, and DPPH of dried tea leaves processed by the larger systems (120 K and 60 K) were significantly higher than the values by the smaller system (15 K). In contrast, with the larger system scale, some of the leaves were not fully rolled and were not mechanically damaged during processing. These incomplete processing conditions led to the extraction of significantly fewer polyphenols in hot water, which might influence the health benefits of green tea infusions. This study indicated that there could be an optimal system scale that considers the balance between economic and health benefits, involving the optimization of production quality/amount.Practical ApplicationsAfter harvest, Japanese green tea leaves are gradually dried using batch‐wise processing systems. The processing system scale is permanently fixed by the size of one batch, which is selected according to the circumstances of the production area and demand for tea production. However, tea leaf producers have experientially been aware of the quality variations in the final tea products, depending on the system scale. In this study, the impact of the scale of the manufacturing system on the functional properties of green tea was investigated. The results revealed that the hot water extract of dried tea leaves processed by a larger system scale tended to have less functional properties than those by a smaller system. This was due to the comparatively incomplete rolling conditions of tea leaves processed by larger manufacturing systems. These differences influence the preservability and extractability of the chemical components of the green tea leaves. Our findings provide beneficial information regarding processing conditions for better functional green tea infusions.

(Energy Technology Division Walter van Schalkwijk Award in Sustainable Energy Technology Address) Low Temperature Water Electrolysis as a Near Term Enabler in Climate Change Mitigation

Generating hydrogen from renewable production methods such as water electrolysis is fundamental to meeting decarbonization goals and mitigating climate change. Regardless of the end market split for hydrogen in ground transportation applications, hydrogen is the major feedstock for industrial chemicals such as ammonia and methanol. The only way to make these processes sustainable is to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions from production of the hydrogen feedstock. Currently, over 95% of this hydrogen is generated from natural gas and other fossil fuels, producing roughly 9 g CO2/g H2. A combination of technologies such as natural gas reforming with carbon capture, utilization and sequestration (CCUS) and water splitting via electrolysis therefore need to be deployed as quickly as possible. In addition, any scheme to convert carbon dioxide to useful chemicals requires a renewable source of hydrogen atoms. So to address both curtailment of ongoing emissions and mitigation of existing CO2 waste streams, renewable hydrogen is a lynchpin for success.Low temperature electrolysis has commercially deployed for decades, making it one of the only water splitting technologies likely to make an impact in the next 5-10 years. Both liquid alkaline electrolyzers (or alkaline water electrolyzers, AWE) and proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWE) have been deployed at >10 MW scale, and many companies are actively working to scale manufacturing to gigawatt capacity. While 2050 goals will likely involve implementation of a broader portfolio of technologies, scaling deployment of existing carbon neutral hydrogen technologies provides the greatest long term benefit by reducing overall emissions earlier. We therefore cannot let “perfect [become] the enemy of good”[1] in terms of waiting for the most efficient, lowest cost solution. At the same time, there are significant improvements that can be made in both AWE and PEMWE products, through advanced materials, processes, and automation. The PEMWE technology in particular can leverage much of the investment in PEM fuel cell research and development, although understanding of electrolysis specific materials and processes in ongoing. This talk will focus on the relationships between material research, process development, and understanding of degradation mechanisms in commercializing reliable technology, and the importance of academia, national labs, and industry to work together in this effort. [1] Commonly attributed to Voltaire, and others.

Realtime Calibration of an Industrial Robot

In large scale, complex and low volume manufacturing systems, robotics are now considered unavoidable for automating the factory operations. The aerospace industry focuses on a high variety and quality but extremely low volume. The precision it requires for numerous tasks is unique and distinct from any other manufacturing industry. This can comprise accurate position, module assembly, inspection, fastening, etc. The scale of the robot invites different types of errors during operation, which can be either because of the kinematics of the robot or because of the environment (noise, temperature, load, etc.). There are packages available from robot manufacturers for the correction and compensation of errors on the robot to achieve accuracy. There are two associated problems: 1. cost and 2. static nature. They are very costly and they do not provide correction in realtime fashion (dynamic); the robot stops, waits for the correction, and then moves to the next position. The external tool to monitor the accuracy also requires attaching with the robot permanently. These are dedicated resources. These tools for accurate measurement are expensive and attached permanently to a robot, which means wastage of resources. These measuring tools are called metrology devices and attaching these devices and the robot to the network means that other robots/machines can also use these expensive tools for measurement. Our aim was to address two problems in this project: 1. calibration (error correction and compensation of robot) and 2. dynamic and realtime processing. It helped to perform the dynamic error correction and the compensation of an industrial robot. The results showed the error correction was achieved in the region of 0.02 mm.

Spectrally-switchable infrared selective emitters for adaptive camouflage

Infrared (IR) camouflage can conceal and disguise weapons, equipment, and installations in infrared regions to minimize the detection or identification. Current researches focus mainly on statical IR camouflage and cannot readily adapt complex application scenes. Herein, we proposed two adaptive IR camouflage emitters, for which the radiation can be changed to adapt various scenes through switching emissivity spectra. The first emitter based on multilayer film is fabricated and demonstrated of possessing two modes 0 and 1. At mode 0, the emitter can achieve IR camouflage and radiative cooling in 5–8 μm (non-atmosphere window). This mode is valuable for improving operation stability between individual and equipment in low-temperature (below 68 °C) environment. At mode 1, the emitter possesses low emissivity in 3–14 μm, which assures thermally-robust IR camouflage in broad temperature range above 68 °C. This emitter is free from ion etching and simple in fabrication, which is prominent for large scale manufacture. To further improve the radiative cooling effect of mode 0 in 5–8 μm, an enhancement emitter is proposed based on metamaterial design. The propagating surface plasmon resonance (PSPR) is utilized to improve maximum emissivity from 0.69 to 0.92 and average emissivity from 0.52 to 0.78 in 5–8 μm at mode 0. The proposed emitters can facilitate development in adaptive IR camouflage, smart skin, and intelligent compatible camouflage device.

Molecular-scale investigation on relationship between thermal conductivity and the structure of crosslinked epoxy resin

Epoxy resins are widely used as matrix resins in many fields due to their excellent physical and mechanical properties. However, their low thermal conductivities restrict their applications, especially in electronic packaging. In this work, nonequilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) simulations were used to investigate the relationship between thermal conductivity and epoxy resin structure. Three systems, diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA)/4,4’-diamino diphenyl sulfone (4,4’-DDS), DGEBA/diethylene triamine (DETA), and tetraglycidyl diamino diphenyl methane (TGDDM)/4,4’-DDS, were simulated based on our previous crosslinking algorithm. The thermal conductivity of DGEBA/4,4’-DDS increased with the degree of crosslinking, which is due to increases in new thermal pathways through crosslinking bonds. The sequence of thermal conductivities was found to be TGDDM/4,4’-DDS > DGEBA/DETA > DGEBA/4,4’-DDS which was quantitatively validated with our experimental measurements, consistent with the sequence of crosslink density. To explore the microscopic mechanism governing thermal conductivity, separate heat transfer modes were investigated, revealing that the thermal conductivity contribution of bonded interactions dominates over that of non-bonded interactions for all three systems. This finding verifies that introducing crosslinking bonds dominantly contributes to higher thermal conductivity in epoxy materials. Our research provides suggestions for large scale manufacture of higher thermal conductive epoxy resins.

Demonstration of molded glass primary optics for high-efficiency micro-concentrator photovoltaics

Micro-concentrator photovoltaics (micro-CPV) is a branch of the CPV technology where the size of the solar cell is reduced below the millimeter range to permit novel manufacturing methods for cost reductions and maintaining high efficiencies by using high performance optical materials. The reduction in size of all the components demands a very good optical quality of the primary lenses to achieve high concentrations and high optical efficiencies. PMMA or silicon-on-glass are the most used materials for CPV primary optics, but PMMA reliability against UV weathering is questionable and silicone has a large coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch with respect to glass, which introduces a large thermal sensitivity in the optical efficiency. In contrast, direct glass molding is a promising alternative due to benefits such as a high Abbe number (lower dispersion losses), great mechanical properties, low CTE, low thermal coefficient of the refractive index (dn/dT), and a proven outdoor reliability with very little degradation. Furthermore, glass can generally be manufactured with high throughput, straightforward, and cost-effective compression or roller molding processes. In this work we present a collaboration with the company Holophane S.A.S. in France that resulted in the manufacturing of several micro-CPV lens arrays of plano-convex lenses with a design tailored to the requirements imposed by the manual compression molding process. A comprehensive experimental characterization has been carried out based on surface metrology and functional measurements with a collimated-light solar simulator, and the results are compared with ray-tracing simulations. The measured optical efficiency at the design concentration of 178X is 79.2 ± 2.5% for the whole array with a best lens efficiency of 82.2%. Furthermore, the best performing array has been used to assemble a demonstrator mono-module, which has been characterized outdoors. The outdoor characterization shows very good thermal and spectral stability of the lens array with an I–V curve fill factor of 84.8 ± 1.9% and an electrical efficiency of 27.2 ± 1.8%. The experience gained with these prototypes will lead to further optimization in the manufacturing process to increase the optical performance, and to a larger scale manufacturing for micro-CPV modules. This works paves the way for the development of high-efficiency robust glass-based micro-CPV modules able to generate maximum energy yield per area in space-constrained applications. • Moldable glass lens arrays for micro-CPV with a 178X geometrical concentration. • Small material volume in micro-CPV allow for more expensive materials with high optical performance. • 5 × 5 lens arrays with optical efficiencies for single lenses up to 82.2%. • A single cell module reached an electrical efficiency of 27.2% measured outdoors. • Stable performance during over 10 °C temperature variations.

Facile co-electrodeposition of amorphous silicon anode with embedded nickel nanoparticles for enhancing rate capability in lithium-ion batteries

• Potentiostatic co-electrodeposition enables incorporation of Ni nanoparticles into Si matrix. • Crystalline Ni nanoparticles enhances total electrical conductivity of Si anode. • Ni particles effectively buffers the volume change of Si matrix during charge/discharge. • A high discharge capacity of 1633 mA h g −1 is retained after 100 charge-discharge cycles. Many efforts have been invested to improve the electrical conductivity and stability of Si anode, such as alloying and adding conductive additives, which unfortunately, are difficult for large scale manufacturing due to the complicated and expensive preparation techniques. In this work, a Si–Ni composite anode is prepared by a facile potentiostatic co-electrodeposition approach from organic solution. Correspondingly, it exhibits a capacity as high as 1633 mA h g − 1 after 100 charge-discharge cycles, whereas, Si–Ni composite anodes synthetized by previous approaches show specific capacity less than 1200 mA h g − 1 . It is believed that Ni nanoparticles with a diameter from 3 to 10 nm embedded in amorphous Si not only result in a lower resistance of Si–Ni anode compared with pristine Si anode, thus enhancing the rate performance, but also stabilize the integrity of the amorphous Si matrix, and buffer the volume change of Si anode during the lithiation–delithiation processes, thus improving the cycling performance.

Evaluation of Fatigue Life of Recycled Opaque PET from Household Milk Bottle Wastes.

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is among the most used thermoplastic polymers in large scale manufacturing. Opaque PET is increasingly used in milk bottles to save weight and to bring a glossy white aspect due to TiO2 nanoparticles. The recyclability of opaque PET is an issue: whereas the recycling channels are well established for transparent PET, the presence of opaque PET in household wastes weakens those channels: opaque bottles cannot be mixed with transparent ones because the resulting blend is not transparent anymore. Many research efforts focus on the possibility to turn opaque PET into resources, as one key to a more circular economy. A recent study has demonstrated the improvement of the mechanical properties of recycled PET through reactive extrusion. In the present work, the lifespan of recycled opaque PET has been evaluated throughout tensile–tensile fatigue loading cycles at various steps of the recycling process: The specimens are obtained from flakes after grinding PET wastes (F-r-OPET), from a subsequent homogenization step (r-OPET-hom) and after reactive extrusion (Rex-r-OPET). Virgin PET is also considered as a comparison. First, tensile tests monitored by digital image correlation have been carried out to obtain the elastic modulus and ultimate tensile stress of each type of PET. The fatigue properties of reactive REx-r-OPET increase, probably associated with the rise of cross-linking and branching rates. The fatigue lifespan increases with the macromolecular weight. The fracture surface analysis of specimens brings new insight regarding the factors governing the fatigue behavior and the damaging mode of recycled PET. TiO2 nanoparticles act as stress concentrators, contributing to void formation at multiple sites and thus promoting the fracture process. Finally, the fatigue life of REx-r-OPET is comparable to those of virgin PET. Upcycling opaque PET by reactive extrusion may be a relevant new route to absorb some of the growing amounts of PET worldwide.

The design and techno economic analysis of a succinic acid production facility

Succinic acid is an industrially important commodity chemical that acts as a precursor to numerous other chemicals. This article explores an alternative biochemical route (as opposed to the traditional route from petroleum), by modeling a succinic acid production plant using Actinobacillus succinogenes, to convert the renewable sugars of corn stover feedstock. The model developed with SuperPro Designer v9.0 was used to evaluate the feasibility of this approach. This design is on par with the throughput of currentlarge scale manufacturers, by achieving an annual production rate of 11.5 US kilotons of succinic acid. The plant's economic standing is very attractive with a payback time of just under 5 years and return on investment of 20.4%. This article shows a facility design that maximizes profitability for a feasible and sustainable solution for bio-based succinic acid production.

Evaluating the efficacy of transdermal patches of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride after their formulation and administration

Aim: To formulate and evaluate of transdermal patches of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride. Materials and Methods: To maximise bioavailability by avoiding pre-systemic hepatic metabolism, an effort was made to design a transdermal treatment system for Ciprofloxacin hydrochloride employing polymers such as HPMC, EC, and ERS100. Physical and chemical characteristics, in vitro drug release investigations and stability experiments were carried out on the prepared patches. Results: T1, T8, and T15 formulations were chosen for stability experiments at room temperature and 40 °C for a period of 45 days, respectively. The findings of the stability experiments indicated that the prepared patches may be stored for up to 45 days. The T8 formulation has shown promising results, thus the correct method should be used for commercial and scale manufacturing. Conclusion: The effectiveness of these patches will need to be studied over the course of many years in pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic investigations.

Copper-incorporated dendritic mesoporous silica nanospheres and enhanced chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) performance via Cu2+/H2O2 heterogeneous Fenton-like system

The structure-dependent properties of abrasive particles play an extremely important role in atomic and close-to-atomic scale manufacturing. In this work, copper-incorporated dendritic mesoporous silica (D-mSiO2) nanoparticles were fabricated via a simple synthesis strategy of solvothermal post-treatment approach. As revealed by XRD, FTIR, HAADF-STEM and the corresponding EDX elemental mapping, some Cu ions were converted into CuO nanocrystals, and others were incorporated into D-mSiO2 frameworks. High-resolution AFM confirmed that the Cu- modified D-mSiO2 abrasives afforded nearly defect-free and atomically planarized dielectric film surfaces with angstrom-level roughness, and at the same time, enabled a significant improvement in removal efficiency. The involved Cu2+-catalyzed heterogeneous Fenton-like reaction in the presence of H2O2 might be responsible for the productions of highly reactive species in polishing slurries, thus contributing to the hydration layer formation and the material removal enhancement. The developed Cu-modified D-mSiO2 material is an efficient candidate for functional abrasive systems with better surface planarization capacity and superior material removal rate. Furthermore, the Cu2+/H2O2 heterogeneous Fenton-like system can be expected to a promising method to supplement in existing free radical-assisted polishing.

Domestic Private Investment, and Export on Output Growth of Large-Scale Manufacturing Sector in Pakistan: An Application of Bound Tests to Cointegration Approach

The goal of this analysis is to explore the impact of domestic private investment in large-scale manufacturing sector on the output growth of the large-scale manufacturing in Pakistan. The investigation utilized yearly data for the year 1973-2020. By applying the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) technique, the study examines both short-term and long-run effects of domestic private investment (DPI) on output growth in large-scale manufacturing.However, the study affirms a positive and significant relationship among domestic private investment, exports and value-added, large-scale manufacturing (VAL) in both short-and long-run, while market size and inflation also have a negatively and significantly influence on the value-added, large-scale manufacturing sector. It is also confirmed that domestic private investment, export, inflation have a bidirectional causal relationships with large-scale manufacturing, value-added. Moreover, findings also implies that unidirectional causality is running between employment (EMP), market size (MS), and large-scale manufacturing growth output growth (VAL). Hence, numerous incentives with tax cuts or subsidizations must be sponsored by the supervision of government in a direction to foster private investment. Provided that political stability, better infrastructure, and management in industrial manufacturing zones empowers to attract transnational exports by improving law and order conditions in Pakistan.
 Keywords: Domestic private investment, value-added, large scale manufacturing, export, Pakistan.

Points to Consider for Continuous Manufacturing of Biotechnological Drug Products

Continuous Manufacturing is a manufacturing method in which raw materials enter the manufacturing process continuously, and products are discharged continuously throughout the duration of the process including multiple unit operations. Continuous Manufacturing includes various options: Those with all stages of processing from charging raw materials to discharging final products that are continuous, and those with only certain parts of the manufacturing process that are continuous. It can be introduced in an appropriate range in consideration of the characteristics of products, manufacturing processes, robustness of processes, etc. Continuous Manufacturing is expected to have the following advantages: A wide range of manufacturing scales are available by adjusting the continuous operation time of the process; it is possible to use the same manufacturing equipment from the development stage to commercial production, eliminating the need to change to large scale manufacturing equipment; and it is possible to reduce the equipment installation area (footprint). While Continuous Manufacturing can be a major manufacturing technique of the pharmaceutical industry in the future, official documents such as guidelines for Continuous Manufacturing are limited. In particular, no official documents such as guidelines specialized in manufacturing of biotechnological drug products have been issued yet. In Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) research project, we summarized the key points to consider for investigation of the control strategy for Continuous Manufacturing of biotechnological products as a document. In this paper, we introduce the document.

Cutting characteristics of monocrystalline silicon in elliptical vibration nano-cutting using molecular dynamics method

Based on the molecular dynamics method, the model of monocrystalline silicon in elliptical vibration nano cutting (EVNC) is established. The effects of amplitude ratio (ratio of amplitude in parallel cutting direction to amplitude in vertical cutting direction) on the mechanical properties, thermal properties, crystal phase transition and morphology are systematically investigated. The results show that with the amplitude ratio increasing from 0.0 to 3.0, the hydrostatic compressive stress during cutting in the contact area decreases from 12.31 GPa to 8.31 GPa, and the tensile stress on the machined surface decreases from 5.23 GPa to 3.07 GPa. The depth of tensile stress layer after cutting is reduced from 12.02 Å to 4.8 Å. During cutting the maximum temperature of the machined surface decreases from 1419 K to 1236 K, and the chip maximum temperature increases from 1730 K to 2994 K. The number of diamond structures (bond length is 2.35 Å) is reduced during the cutting process, and the moderately increasing in the amplitude ratio can inhibit the formation of the bct-5 phase. After cutting, the number of diamond structures (bond length 2.35 Å) on the workpiece surface increases. The scratch morphology quality is effectively improved. With increasing amplitude ratio, the extrusion impact of the tool increases, resulting in the length and direction of the atomic displacement vector in the cutting area changing periodically, and the atomic kinetic energy and potential energy also change periodically, which may be the reason for EVNC to obtain better surface integrity. The research results provide theoretical reference for the application of ultrasound vibration assisted process in the field of atomic or near-atomic scale manufacturing.

Low-noise frequency-agile photonic integrated lasers for coherent ranging

Frequency modulated continuous wave laser ranging (FMCW LiDAR) enables distance mapping with simultaneous position and velocity information, is immune to stray light, can achieve long range, operate in the eye-safe region of 1550 nm and achieve high sensitivity. Despite its advantages, it is compounded by the simultaneous requirement of both narrow linewidth low noise lasers that can be precisely chirped. While integrated silicon-based lasers, compatible with wafer scale manufacturing in large volumes at low cost, have experienced major advances and are now employed on a commercial scale in data centers, and impressive progress has led to integrated lasers with (ultra) narrow sub-100 Hz-level intrinsic linewidth based on optical feedback from photonic circuits, these lasers presently lack fast nonthermal tuning, i.e. frequency agility as required for coherent ranging. Here, we demonstrate a hybrid photonic integrated laser that exhibits very narrow intrinsic linewidth of 25 Hz while offering linear, hysteresis-free, and mode-hop-free-tuning beyond 1 GHz with up to megahertz actuation bandwidth constituting 1.6 × 1015 Hz/s tuning speed. Our approach uses foundry-based technologies - ultralow-loss (1 dB/m) Si3N4 photonic microresonators, combined with aluminium nitride (AlN) or lead zirconium titanate (PZT) microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) based stress-optic actuation. Electrically driven low-phase-noise lasing is attained by self-injection locking of an Indium Phosphide (InP) laser chip and only limited by fundamental thermo-refractive noise at mid-range offsets. By utilizing difference-drive and apodization of the photonic chip to suppress mechanical vibrations of the chip, a flat actuation response up to 10 MHz is achieved. We leverage this capability to demonstrate a compact coherent LiDAR engine that can generate up to 800 kHz FMCW triangular optical chirp signals, requiring neither any active linearization nor predistortion compensation, and perform a 10 m optical ranging experiment, with a resolution of 12.5 cm. Our results constitute a photonic integrated laser system for scenarios where high compactness, fast frequency actuation, and high spectral purity are required.

Oxidation of U3Si2: The role of exothermic energy

Uranium silicide (U3Si2) is one of the candidate accident tolerant fuel materials under consideration for adoption in power producing nuclear reactors. The development of this fuel material including the bulk scale manufacturing route, and factors which may affect this route, are still under investigation. One such factor is the influence of oxygen on the material and the consequent release of exothermic energy. This work uses combined thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) methods to study oxidation of arc melted U3Si2 material, including ramp tests, isothermal experiments and varying particle sizes. It is found that there is a difference in mass gain profile between fragments and small powder samples, with fragments delivering the same heat load (∼4.6 ± 0.5 kJ.g−1) over a significantly shorter period of time. The measured exothermic heat output is in agreement with thermodynamic modelling once corrections have been made for the presence of elemental silicon in the reaction product. The onset temperature of rapid oxidation also reduces with particle size. Initial reactivities of freshly prepared powder samples during isothermal experiments give appropriate reaction constants, which are used to construct an Arrhenius plot. Supporting DSC data indicate that one of the higher temperature data points (275 °C in this instance) had exhibited exothermic energy-induced self-heating and an accelerated rate of reaction. The resultant calculated activation energy from oxidation of freshly prepared U3Si2 powder is approximately 36 kJ.mol−1.

STUDY OF IMPACT OF COVID 19 ON SMALL SCALE INDUSTRIES IN INDIA

India has been combating the corona virus disease also known as COVID - 19 pandemic for two years. This pandemic has affected not only India but also the entire world around. Several measures were imposed by the Government in order to stop the spread of this pandemic. During the first , second and third wave of COVID – 19 pandemic, strict lockdown was imposed in India. In order to stop the spread of the covid 19 many small scale industries were shut down.This protocol had a very bad impact on small scale Industries. This research paper highlights the impact of the corona virus disease pandemic on the small scale manufacturing industries in India. The present paper starts with the introduction followed by research objectives, research type and the method of data collection have been stated. The analysis of challenges faced by the small businesses has also been discussed followed by the conclusion.

Atomic surface manufacturing based on plasma-induced atom-selective etching

<p indent="0mm">Manufacturing is developing from Manufacturing I, based on empirical skills, and Manufacturing II, based on classical theory, to Manufacturing III, based on quantum theory. Although these three manufacturing paradigms appear at different historical stages, they will coexist, and Manufacturing II will still play a leading role for the foreseeable future. The core area of Manufacturing III will be atomic and close-to-atomic scale manufacturing (ACSM), covering manufacturing accuracy, feature dimensions, and the scale of material removal, migration, and addition. The manufacturing of atomic surfaces is an important area for the development of ACSM. This article will introduce a novel atomic surface fabrication technique named plasma-induced atom-selective etching (PASE). The atoms on the rough surface of a single-crystal material have different bonding states and therefore have different priorities during plasma etching. These reaction priorities can be modulated by changing the radicals, concentration, and temperature of the plasma. Hence, PASE could selectively remove the excess atoms on the single-crystal material surface and eventually achieve an atomic surface. PASE has been successfully applied to many hard and brittle materials, including Si, SiC, and Al₂O₃. Using CF₄-O₂ based plasma, a lapped surface with a surface roughness of over <sc>100 nm</sc> can be directly polished to an angstrom level (<italic>S</italic>_a&lt;<sc>0.5 nm),</sc> and the atomic surface can be achieved.

The The Production of Roasted Peanuts Using the Semi-Mechanical Roaster in Keranggan Village

Roasted peanuts typically have a unique taste with a distinctive roasted aroma and a savory flavor different from peanuts processed using an oven. To make roasted peanuts, two critical stages should be observed: the sanitation during washing and the roasting technology. The current study focuses on the application of roasting technology in the production of roasted peanuts among the households in Keranggan Village, Setu District, South Tangerang City. It was an issue that the household scale manufacturing of roasted peanuts there did not meet the standard process, relying on manpower to monitor when the roasting process should end even though fatigued workers may produce burnt peanuts up to 19%. Therefore, to reduce the percentage of burnt peanuts, a semi-mechanical roasted fryer was developed for the roasted peanut entrepreneurs in Keranggan Village, Setu District, South Tangerang City. The research team conducted socialization of effective roasting technology, provided assistance, and delivered the semi-mechanical roasters to the community. The team also performed a direct test on the semi-mechanical roaster at both the Indonesian Institute of Technology laboratory and Keranggan Village, in addition to providing assistance on how to use the tool. The semi-mechanical roaster itself is made of stainless steel with a diameter of 100 cm, equipped with a stirrer powered by an electric motor capable of roasting automatically within a certain time limit. This will produce a homogeneous heat transfer with the sand media, which is not changed in line with the original roasting method. The lab and field trials showed that the burnt yield decreased to 5%. Furthermore, when compared to those produced through manual roasting, the sensory test of the products, showed results that were not significantly different even with a sensory value of appearance (i.e., the color) higher than that of manual roasting.

Facile fabrication of HfO2/nanocomposite vanadium oxide bilayer film with enhanced thermochromic properties and excellent durability

Monoclinic vanadium dioxide (VO2(M)) can smartly regulate solar irradiation through its reversible semiconductor to metal transition, which has been widely investigated for the application in thermochromic smart windows. The poor durability, low solar modulation ability (ΔTsol), and luminous transmittance (Tlum) of high-purity VO2(M) film are the main obstacle for its commercial application. Nanocompositing can significantly improve the ΔTsol and Tlum, but the process is complex, expensive, and incompatible with large scale manufacturing procedures. We develop a facile way to fabricate HfO2/nanocomposite vanadium oxide bilayer films through room temperature magnetron sputtering and air environment rapid thermal annealing process. The nanocomposite vanadium oxide layer makes up of VO2, V2O5, and V3O7. The V2O5 and V3O7 components have a lower refractive index than VO2 function as antireflection. The HfO2 layer can act as a protective layer and antireflective layer at the same time. Meanwhile, the HfO2 can avoid contact with hazardous V2O5 from coming in touch with the environment. The bilayer structure presents Tlum of 51.6% and ΔTsol of 15.4%. The accelerated test suggested that the expected service life of this film is 21 years. This work provides a facile strategy to fabricate good thermochromic performance, excellent durability, and environment-friendly thermochromic smart windows.