Sorting Unit Research Articles

УСОВЕРШЕНСТВОВАНИЕ ТРАЛОВОГО ПРОМЫСЛА ТЮЛЬКИ В АЗОВСКОМ МОРЕ В СОВРЕМЕННЫХ УСЛОВИЯХ ВОССТАНОВЛЕНИЯ ПОПУЛЯЦИЙ ОСЕТРОВЫХ РЫБ

Background. At present, the Black and Caspian Sea sprat (tyulka) is the least exploited species of the aquatic biological resources in the Azov and Black Sea Fishery Basin, although it has always been a valuable fishing target and a possible reserve pool for the increase of fish catches in the Basin. In the recent years, with the increasing number of midwater trawls allowed for using in the Black and Caspian Sea sprat (tyulka) fishery, all vessels transitioned to its trawl fishing; however, its total catch is decreasing, and the fishing results of these vessels are on the decline. Relevance. Taking into consideration the stock restoration occurring to the sturgeon fish species in the Azov Sea Basin in the recent years, it is necessary to take measures for maintaining this trend, as the Black and Caspian Sea sprat trawl fishing can result in increased mortality or injury of sturgeon fish and considerably damage their population. With a substantial decrease in the Black and Caspian Sea sprat fishing stock, the matter of stock restoration of the sturgeon fish species in the Azov Sea can induce the prohibition of the trawl operations in this water body, including the complete ban of the insufficiently profitable trawl fishing of the Black and Caspian Sea sprat in its current form. The aim of this article is to examine the design of the midwater trawls used in the Black and Caspian Sea sprat fishing in the Azov Sea, to investigate the global best practices in the trawl selectivity improvement, and to substantiate the main design characteristics for the specialized tyulka midwater trawls and means of their selectivity improvement. Methods. The standard methods of sample collection and data processing that could characterize fishing methods, gears and techniques for harvesting aquatic bioresources have been used. Results. The designs for the specialized trawls for the Black and Caspian Sea sprat fishing (exploitation) and methods for their selectivity improvement have been developed. Conclusion. These specialized trawls with the sorting units and a new principle of using otter boards (trawl doors) can increase fishing selectivity and mitigate possible damage inflicted by trawling to the populations of sturgeon fish species in the Azov Sea.

Technical landfills sites are an effective tool for waste valorization, recovery and disposal

Projects such as technical landfill centers, waste conversion and sorting units, and inert landfills play a crucial role as significant solutions, especially in the absence of alternative projects or during their establishment, such as waste valorization initiatives, including the innovative project in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme. These initiatives have objectives in line with the principles of sustainable development, promoting the circular economy, generating financial returns, combating climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. They achieve this by involving citizens and associations in management, allocating a dedicated budget for funding, and creating ample space to address the challenge of unplanned landfills. This approach aims to solve the problem of unplanned landfills, create wealth and employment opportunities while preserving the environment. Activating such projects can solve the waste problem that has burdened the specific case of Constantine by addressing the issue of unplanned landfills. This initiative is facilitated by the fact that a significant portion of the waste is organic and recyclable, which bodes well for the region.

Towards digital twins of waste sorting plants: Developing data-driven process models of industrial-scale sensor-based sorting units by combining machine learning with near-infrared-based process monitoring

Sorting plants are crucial for effective recycling, but their optimization can be challenging due to the heterogeneity of waste streams. We introduce a novel approach to holistically optimize sorting plants using digital twins containing data-driven process models. To demonstrate their technical feasibility, we developed a data-driven process model for industrial-scale sensor-based sorting (SBS) units by combining near-infrared process monitoring with machine learning. Our results indicate a sorting performance change (F1-score) in the SBS unit by 0.22 a% for +1% occupation density and +0.19 a% for +1 wt% target material share. An artificial neural network predicted the SBS behavior with a 3.0% mean absolute error. Our case study demonstrates the potential of data-driven process models for digital twins by clarifying the influence of throughput fluctuations on SBS performance and simulating different SBS cascade designs, thus paving the way towards improved design and operation of sorting plants and a more circular future.

Retuning the disordered periodic structures by sorting unit cells: Numerical analyses and experimental studies

Periodic structures feature frequency band gaps in which the propagation of certain waves will be attenuated. Therefore, they are widely applied in the vibration control of structures. The premise of this theory is that the structure should be perfectly periodic. However, this must be broken more or less due to inevitable deviations, leading structures to disorder. The vibration reduction performance can be significantly altered by the disorder, as reported by various authors. Moreover, the disorder pattern plays an important role in such a performance change. In this paper, we study the influence of the disorder patterns and explore a general permutation to retune the disordered periodic structures which means to reduce the deviation of the dynamic characteristics between the nominal and disordered structures. This research is conducted through three stages. In the first stage, a diatomic lumped-mass model is used. We study the implication of the disorder and propose a sorting strategy inspired by global sensitivity analysis (GSA). In the second stage, the sorting strategy is corroborated with numerical simulations by a finite element (FE) model of beam. We use the wave finite element method (WFEM) to calculate the band gaps. A thousand samples are generated randomly to test the sorting strategy and the contrarian strategy. In the third stage, the sorting strategy is verified by an experimental structure of beam. We set up an experimental system and scheme to measure and analyze the effects of the strategy for 5 groups of experiments. We show that vibration suppression may deteriorate statistically due to disorder for periodic structures. Specifically, vibration mitigation is most sensitive to the deviation in the first unit cell from the excitation. Inspired by this finding, a retuning strategy is proposed for the first time, i.e. the unit cell with the smallest deviation should be arranged in the position nearest to the excitation. The results in all stages show that the strategy can significantly improve the similarity of the dynamic characteristics between the nominal and disordered structures.

Sky-Sorter: A Processing-in-Memory Architecture for Large-Scale Sorting

Sorting is one of the most important algorithms in computer science. Conventional CPUs, GPUs, FPGAs, and ASICs running sorting are fundamentally bottlenecked by the off-chip memory bandwidth, because of their von-Neumann architecture. Processing-near-memory (PNM) designs integrate a CPU, a GPU or an ASIC upon an HBM for sorting, but their sorting throughput are still limited by the HBM bandwidth and capacity. In this paper, we propose a skyrmion racetrack memory (SRM) -based PIM accelerator, <i>Sky-Sorter</i> , to enhance the sorting performance of large-scale datasets. Sky-Sorter implements samplesort which involves four steps, sampling, splitting marker sorting, partitioning, and bucket sorting. An SRM-based random number generator (TRNG) is used in Sky-Sorter to randomly sample records from the dataset. Sky-Sorter divides the large dataset into many buckets based on sampled splitting markers by our proposed SRM-based partitioner. Its partitioning throughput matches the off-chip memory bandwidth. We further designed an SRM-based sorting unit (SU) to sort all records of a bucket without introducing extra CMOS logic. Our SU uses the fast in-cell insertion characteristics of SRMs to implement and perform insertsort within a bucket. Sky-Sorter employs SUs to sort all buckets simultaneously by fully utilizing large internal array bandwidth. Compared to state-of-the-art accelerators, Sky-Sorter improves the throughput per Watt by <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sim 4\times$</tex-math></inline-formula> .

Dispersive phase microscopy incorporated with droplet-based microfluidics for biofactory-on-a-chip.

Biomolecular imaging of intracellular structures of a single cell and subsequent screening of the cells are of high demand in metabolic engineering to develop strains with the desired phenotype. However, the capability of current methods is limited to population-scale identification of cell phenotyping. To address this challenge, we propose to utilize dispersive phase microscopy incorporated with a droplet-based microfluidic system that combines droplet volume-on-demand generation, biomolecular imaging, and droplet-on-demand sorting, to achieve high-throughput screening of cells with an identified phenotype. Particularly, cells are encapsulated in homogeneous environments with microfluidic droplet formation, and the biomolecule-induced dispersive phase can be investigated to indicate the biomass of a specific metabolite in a single cell. The retrieved biomass information consequently guides the on-chip droplet sorting unit to screen cells with the desired phenotype. To demonstrate the proof of concept, we showcase the method by promoting the evolution of the Haematococcus lacustris strain toward a high production of natural antioxidant astaxanthin. The validation of the proposed system with on-chip single-cell imaging and droplet manipulation functionalities reveals the high-throughput single-cell phenotyping and selection potential that applies to many other biofactory scenarios, such as biofuel production, critical quality attribute control in cell therapy, etc.

Projeto e implementação de uma máquina sequencial de classificação por tamanho de frutas

ABSTRACT This study aimed to develop a simple and easy to construct fruits size sorting machine. The sorting machine was designed to sort oranges, apples, and yellow plums in small, medium, large, and extra-large size groups based on physical and mechanical properties including axial dimensions, arithmetic mean diameter, sphericity, mass, volume, projected area, and frictional characteristics (coefficient of static friction) against two structural surfaces of the sorting machine (galvanized iron and rubber). The maximum sorting efficiency of the machine was 98% at 20 rpm for plums. Whereas the minimum fruit sorting efficiency of the machine at 25 rpm was 76% for apple fruits. The sorting efficiency of the machine increased with increasing sphericity ratio of fruits. The sorting machine productivity was 280, 250, and 212 kg h-1 for sorting oranges, apples, and plums, respectively. It is recommended that the machine should be operated at three slope angles of the sorting unit 20º, 15º, and 10º for oranges, apples, and plums, respectively. These angles correspond to the coefficient of static friction of the tested fruit.

CREATION OF A MOBILE INSTALLATION FOR SORTING GRAIN IMPURITIES

The problem of the imperfection of the process of cleaning grain masses in time for refinement to basic quality indicators is considered. It is shown that grain waste contains a significant amount of grain and oilseed admixture. The state of waste generation at the enterprises of the elevator, grain processing and oil and fat industries is described. An analysis was made of the prospects for their processing as raw materials for the production of food products – cereals, vegetable oils and others. It is emphasized that in the conditions of the declared state of war in Ukraine, the allocation of "valuable fractions" from grain waste is financially relevant. A mobile plant for sorting grain waste has been developed and its production tests have been carried out. The rational productivity of such a machine is noted - no more than 48 tons per day (for grain waste). This will ensure the processing of sunflower waste up to 1000 tons of sunflower seeds per day, and the processing of grain crop waste – up to 800 tons of grain per day. It is shown that the developed sorting machine is advisable to use in small farms, where the volume of grain waste is 140-150 kg per hour, and sunflower waste and husks – 100-120 kg per hour. In the conditions of the Limited Liability Company Scientific and Production Enterprise "Sorting Machines" in the city of Dnipro, a study was made of the process of sorting grain waste on a developed mobile unit. The test results confirmed the productivity of the sorting machine. The design of the main unit of a mobile unit for sorting grain masses – a channel for sorting – is described. Improvements in the design of the sorting machine have been proposed and a package of computer programs has been developed for sorting sunflower, wheat, soybean, amaranth, hemp, and rapeseed waste. In the course of research, the necessity of using an anti-adhesive coating and a special form of a vibrating feeder of the developed machine was proved. This allows you to reduce the cleaning time of the feeder, eliminate the compaction of raw materials and eliminate areas of accumulation of grain material. In the program of the sorting unit, a separation channel cleaning module has been developed, which has two modes - the frequency and duration of the channel purge. The description and technical characteristics of the developed mobile machine for sorting grain waste are given.

A method for assessing the performance of sorting unit operations in a material recovery facility based on waste characterizations

AbstractThe determination of the separation efficiencies of mechanical sorting equipment is essential to improve the performance of material recovery facilities (MRFs). However, it is often a challenge to obtain these efficiencies due to the high complexity of MRFs, which often comprise several recirculation streams. In this paper, a methodology to determine the equipment separation efficiencies of a complex MRF is described and applied to an actual sorting centre located in the province of Quebec, Canada. Transfer coefficients for every unit operation and several material types, together with all material flows within the facility, have been determined for an MRF processing a stream of commingled recyclable materials. This work also provides a rare dataset of separation efficiencies for several mechanical sorting unit operations. The methodology is validated by comparing experimental data and model predictions for the recovery and purity of all main output streams. The results contribute to identify several avenues for process performance improvement, like adding a magnetic separation at the beginning of the sorting sequence or improving the separation of the 2D‐type materials collected from the second ballistic separator by changing the operation conditions or adding a quality control step. Moreover, the results also provide valuable information about material recovery and purity to help managers improve the process performance. Finally, a scenario analysis demonstrates that the performance of a second ballistic separator has an important impact on the sorting process's global efficiency and that recirculating a fraction of the rejects output stream has a negligible impact on the global performance.

Damage-Free and Time-Saving Platform Integrated by a Flow Membrane Separation Device and a Dual-Target Biofuel Cell-Based Biosensor for Continuous Sorting and Detection of Exosomes and Host Cells in Human Serum.

The growth relationship between exosomes (EXOs) and the host cells is highly desired for tumor evaluations, which puts forward high demand on the accurate and convenient acquisition of their individual quantitative information. However, the tedious and destructive separation process and the requirement of dual-channel detection make it become an extremely challenging task. Herein, we integrated an enzymatic biofuel cell (EBFC)-powered biosensor with a flow cell-supported membrane separation device (FMSC) to develop a continuous separation and detection platform for EXOs and host cancer cells in human serum. The FMSC equipped with an aluminum oxide membrane served as a size-dependent sorting unit to nondestructively extract EXOs from human serum within 5 min, representing a 99.3% reduction in isolating time compared to ultracentrifugation. The EBFC-powered biosensors modified with different aptamers on anodes and cathodes were used as a dual-channel sensing unit. By regulating the controlling valves of different fluid passages, the extracted EXOs and residual host cells could be successively inputted into EBFC-powered biosensors, which generated a segmental degradation in output performance due to the EXO-and host cell-caused increase in the steric hindrance of anodes and cathodes, respectively. Based on these degradations, we obtained the quantitative information of EXOs and host cells with a record-breaking sensitivity (EXOs: 5.59 × 103 particles/mL and host cells: 25 cells/mL). Moreover, the growth relationship between EXOs and host cells was also built, which would be beneficial for the disclosure of the growth state or even more detailed biology information of tumor.

Physical properties of recyclable materials and implications for resource recovery.

Mechanical sorting plays a pivotal role in current municipal solid waste management systems for resource recovery. However, material recovery facilities, generally face several challenges in meeting quality standards for multiple waste fractions. Improving these facilities requires a better understanding of municipal solid waste physical characteristics, since they are directly targeted by mechanical sorting unit operations. Three waste physical properties (bulk density, particle size and shape factor) were characterized for several recyclable materials. Narrow ranges of densities were observed for similar waste materials, while the particle size distributions were found to vary widely. Statistical parameters were determined for these two properties. A novel approach, based on the void fraction of a waste item, is proposed to quantify the shape factor. Potential applications of the characterization results for improving mechanical sorting are demonstrated through the analysis of the recovery of corrugated cardboards and multilayer cardboards in a material recovery facility.

Development and Assessment of Cracking and Sorting Processes of Palm Kernel Nut Machine

This paper presents a research on the Development and Assessment of the cracking and sorting processes of palm kernels nuts in a mechanical cracking machine. The palm kernel oil is an important agricultural produce, it has a wide range of usage aside from cooking. In attempt to reduce energy exploitation, in conjunction with the regular high rate of demand for products been extracted from palm kernel nut, the need to improve on the manual method of cracking and sorting became eminent. The mechanical cracker was made up of two units: the cracking and sorting unit. Experimental studies of properties of machine components were considered with the purpose of avoiding fatigue failure and fracture on the palm nuts during the processing duration. The mechanical cracker was designed, fabricated and performance evaluation carried out using locally sourced materials. It was developed with a 5hp electric motor to drive the machine coupled with belts and pulleys. The average data assessment shows a 2.01% of un-cracked nuts, 2.36% of partially cracked nuts, 93.58% of un-cracked nut and 2.05% broken nuts. The cracking-sorting efficiency was estimated at 94% and throughput capacity was determined to be 80kg/h while the overall palm kernel recovery efficiency was 85%. These suggest that the machine is very suitable for separating the palm kernel nuts from the cracked shells clearly and completely.

Development and Assessment of Cracking and Sorting Processes of Palm Kernel Nut Machine

This paper presents a research on the Development and Assessment of the cracking and sorting processes of palm kernels nuts in a mechanical cracking machine. The palm kernel oil is an important agricultural produce, it has a wide range of usage aside from cooking. In attempt to reduce energy exploitation, in conjunction with the regular high rate of demand for products been extracted from palm kernel nut, the need to improve on the manual method of cracking and sorting became eminent. The mechanical cracker was made up of two units: the cracking and sorting unit. Experimental studies of properties of machine components were considered with the purpose of avoiding fatigue failure and fracture on the palm nuts during the processing duration. The mechanical cracker was designed, fabricated and performance evaluation carried out using locally sourced materials. It was developed with a 5hp electric motor to drive the machine coupled with belts and pulleys. The average data assessment shows a 2.01% of un-cracked nuts, 2.36% of partially cracked nuts, 93.58% of un-cracked nut and 2.05% broken nuts. The cracking-sorting efficiency was estimated at 94% and throughput capacity was determined to be 80kg/h while the overall palm kernel recovery efficiency was 85%. These suggest that the machine is very suitable for separating the palm kernel nuts from the cracked shells clearly and completely.

Azole-Resistant Aspergillus fumigatus Harboring the TR34/L98H Mutation: First Report in Portugal in Environmental Samples.

Introduction: The frequency in detection of azole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus isolates has increased since 2010. In Portugal, the section Fumigati is one of the most frequent, and resistant strains to have been found in clinical and environmental contexts. Although several cryptic species within the Fumigati section show intrinsic resistance to azoles, one factor driving (acquired) resistance is selective pressure deriving from the extensive use of azoles. This is particularly problematic in occupational environments where high fungal loads are expected, and where there is an increased risk of human exposure and infection, with impact on treatment success and disease outcome. The mechanisms of resistance are diverse, but mainly associated with mutations in the cyp51A gene. Despite TR34/L98H being the most frequent mutation described, it has only been detected in clinical specimens in Portugal. Methods: We analyzed 99 A. fumigatus isolates from indoor environments (healthcare facilities, spas, one dairy and one waste sorting unit) collected from January 2018 to February 2019 in different regions of Portugal. Isolates were screened for resistance to itraconazole, voriconazole and posaconazole by culture, and resistance was confirmed by broth microdilution. Sequencing of the cyp51A gene and its promoter was performed to detect mutations associated with resistance. Results: Overall, 8.1% of isolates were able to grow in the presence of at least one azole, and 3% (isolated from the air in a dairy and from filtering respiratory protective devices in a waste sorting industry) were pan-azole-resistant, bearing the TR34/L98H mutation. Conclusion: For the first time in Portugal, we report environmental isolates bearing the TR34/L98H mutation, isolated from occupational environments. Environmental surveillance of the emergence of azole-resistant A. fumigatus sensu stricto strains is needed, to ensure proper and timely implementation of control policies that may have a positive impact on public and occupational health.

Development and application of a predictive modelling approach for household packaging waste flows in sorting facilities

Household packaging waste sorting facilities consist of complex networks of processes to separate diverse waste streams. These facilities are a key first step to re-enter materials into the recycling chain. However, so far there are no general methods to predict the performance of such sorting facilities, i.e. how efficiently the heterogeneous packaging waste is sorted into fractions with value for further recycling. In this paper, a model of the material flow in a sorting facility is presented, which allows changing the incoming waste composition, split factors on the sorting units as well as the setup of the sorting facility. The performance of the sorting facility is judged based on the purity of the output material (grade) and the recovery of the input material. A validation of the model was performed via a case study on Belgian post-consumer packaging waste with a selection of typical waste items that can be found in this stream. Moreover, the model was used to predict the possible sorting qualities of future Belgian post-consumer packaging waste after an extension of the allowed waste packaging items in the waste stream. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was performed on the split factors, which are a key data source in the model. Overall, the developed model is flexible and able to predict the performance of packaging waste sorting facilities as well as support waste management and design for recycling decisions, including future design of packaging, to ensure proper sorting and separation.

Política nacional de resíduos sólidos

Este trabalho tem como objetivo analisar como a Política Nacional de Resíduos Sólidos (PNRS), instituída na publicação da Lei 12.305 em 02 de agosto de 2010, contribui para o impulsionamento do desenvolvimento sustentável. Neste sentido, discute os temas PNRS e desenvolvimento sustentável, apresenta as interferências positivas nas áreas econômica social e ambiental, o que aponta para um desenvolvimento sustentável. Com base em uma revisão bibliográfica em torno dos temas colocados, discute as informações e índices em torno da gestão de resíduos sólidos, tendo em vista a evolução nos índices de reciclagem, do aumento no número de unidades de triagem e de cooperativas de catadores de material reciclável e de outros índices que demonstram uma melhor gestão dos resíduos sólidos urbanos (RSU) nos municípios brasileiros nos últimos anos. A análise mostrou que há uma significativa evolução em vários pontos da gestão de resíduos, que resultou em maior geração de renda, redução da poluição e dos impactos negativos no meio ambiente, bem como na redução da desigualdade social, sendo, portanto, evidenciado que a gestão de resíduos municipal, sob a orientação da PNRS, impulsionou o desenvolvimento sustentável. Palavras-chave: Desenvolvimento Sustentável. Gestão de Resíduos Sólidos Urbanos. Reciclagem.

Simulation and case study on residential stochastic energy use behaviors based on human dynamics

Simulating the stochastic energy use behaviors of occupants plays an important role in the accurate prediction and operational optimization of building energy consumption. There are many types of energy use behaviors in residential buildings with strong randomicity and complex driving forces. A set of reasonable stochastic energy use behaviors simulation method with improved operability and prediction accuracy is required for the stochastic energy use behaviors. Therefore, a description method for residential energy use behaviors is proposed based on the theory of human dynamics. The residential energy use behaviors are divided into persistent behaviors and transient ones according to the method. The characteristics and regularity of these behaviors are described from the inherent decision-making mechanisms, which lays a theoretical foundation for modelling residential stochastic energy use behaviors in residential buildings. Consequently, a simulation model and algorithm for stochastic energy use behaviors are established based on “subject and event mechanism”. The model focuses on the entire generation process from occupants’ movement to energy use behaviors. The occupants’ movement sequences and persistent event sorting units are generated according to the BARABASI priority queue model and the highest priority decision. Also, based on the various control logic, the occurrence of transient behaviors is predicted. Finally, a household is selected for the annual measurement of stochastic energy use behaviors. Based on the above simulation method, MATLAB and NETLOGO are utilized with algorithm programming to realize the dynamic simulation of stochastic energy use behaviors in this household. The accuracy of the model is verified after comparing with the measured data. The research results suggest that the simulation method can accurately predict residential stochastic energy use behaviors and realize the simulation visualization.

An Extended Nonstrict Partially Ordered Set-Based Configurable Linear Sorter on FPGAs

Sorting is essential for many scientific and data processing problems. It is significant to improve the efficiency of sorting. Taking advantage of specialized hardware, parallel sorting, e.g., sorting networks and linear sorters, implements sorting in lower time complexity. However, most of them are designed based on the parallelization of algorithms, lacking consideration of specialized hardware structures. In this article, we propose an extended nonstrict partially ordered set-based configurable linear sorter on field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). First, we extend nonstrict partial order to the binary tuple and n -tuple nonstrict partial orders. Then, the linear sorting algorithm is defined based on them, with the consideration of hardware performance. It has 4 N/n time complexity varying from 4 to 2 N as the tuple size varies. The number of comparisons reduces to N /2 in binary tuple-based sorting, which is half of the state-of-the-art insertion linear sorting. Finally, we implement the linear sorter on FPGAs. It consists of multiple customizable micro-cores, named sorting units (SUs). The SU packages the storage and comparison of the tuple. All the SUs are connected into a chain with simple communication, which makes the sorter fully configurable in length, bandwidth, and throughput. They also act the same in each clock cycle, so that the achieved frequency of the sorter improves. In our experiment, the sorter achieves at most 660-MHz frequency, 5.6 Gb/s throughput, and 87 times speed-up compared with the quick sort algorithm on general processors.

A MILP model for the selective solid waste collection routing problem

Nowadays, in the European Union selective solid waste management be-longs to important responsibilities of municipalities. In Solid Waste Management (SWM) the main operational task is to set a schedule for solid waste collection and to find optimal routes for garbage trucks so that the total costs of solid waste collection service can be minimized subject to a series of constraints which guarantee not only fulfillment of SWM’s obligations but also desirable level of quality of that service. Optimization problem of garbage trucks routing is a special case of rich Vehicle Routing Problem as it has to cover following constraints: pickup nodes (clients) must be visited during their predefined time windows; the number and capacity of depots and specialized sorting units can-not be exceeded; each garbage truck can be assigned to at most one depot; each route should be dedicated to collecting one type of segregated solid waste, and the route must be served by a garbage truck which can collect that type of solid waste; availability of garbage trucks and their drivers must be respected; each garbage truck must be drained at a specialized sorting unit before going back to the depot. This paper contributes with a new Mixed-Integer Programming (MIP) model for the Selective Solid Waste Collection Routing Problem (SS-WCRP) with time windows, limited heterogeneous fleet, and different types of segregated solid waste to be collected separately. Utilization of MIP for solving small-sized instance of the Fleet Optimization Problem for Selective Solid Waste Collection (FOPSSWC) is and obtained results are reported.

Fluorescence-based sorting of Caenorhabditis elegans via acoustofluidics.

Effectively isolating and categorizing large quantities of Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) based on different phenotypes is important for most worm research, especially genetics. Here we present an integrated acoustofluidic chip capable of identifying worms of interest based on expression of a fluorescent protein in a continuous flow and then separate them accordingly in a high-throughput manner. Utilizing planar fiber optics as the detection unit, our acoustofluidic device requires no temporary immobilization of worms for interrogation/detection, thereby improving the throughput. Implementing surface acoustic waves (SAW) as the sorting unit, our device provides a contact-free method to move worms of interest to the desired outlet, thus ensuring the biocompatibility for our chip. Our device can sort worms of different developmental stages (L3 and L4 stage worms) at high throughput and accuracy. For example, L3 worms can be processed at a throughput of around 70 worms per min with a sample purity over 99%, which remains over 90% when the throughput is increased to around 115 worms per min. In our acoustofluidic chip, the time period to complete the detection and sorting of one worm is only 50 ms, which outperforms nearly all existing microfluidics-based worm sorting devices and may be further reduced to achieve higher throughput.