Treatment Process Time Research Articles

Aligning monitoring of virus barriers in potable reuse with unit process treatment mechanisms and time scales: A critical review and research needs

AbstractInterest is growing in potable reuse in response to water scarcity and the desire for sustainable supplies. While potable reuse systems must control a variety of physical, chemical, and microbiological contaminants, human enteric viruses are particularly concerning and drive process performance objectives due to their often‐high occurrence in source waters, small size, potential resistance to treatment, and laborious methods to determine infectivity. This paper reviews the alignment of online monitoring practices with the mechanisms and time scales of the various barriers for enteric viruses. While there are numerous studies and reviews of individual barriers, no other review has been identified that covers operational monitoring of the entire potable reuse system. This paper also provides a critical assessment of the efficacy of current practices for operational and verification monitoring of the integrity of barriers to enteric viruses in potable reuse systems. The prevalence of human enteric viruses in wastewater and associated challenges of quantifying them through treatment are discussed within the risk management frameworks currently in use or under development for potable reuse systems. Monitoring approaches are then reviewed throughout the potable reuse water cycle. Current monitoring practices are compared with treatment process mechanisms and time scales, for the treatment barriers of biological wastewater treatment, membrane bioreactors, microfiltration/ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet irradiation/advanced oxidation, ozonation, granular media/biologically active filtration, and chlorination. Monitoring and pathogen removal mechanisms are also reviewed for both environmental and engineered buffers. Implications are then discussed for future areas of research in potable reuse.

Improvement of silicon heterojunction module efficiency using fast illumination post-treatments

Intense illumination treatments on silicon heterojunction cells (SHJ) have recently gained interest to improve the final cell efficiency and are now being implemented into cell manufacturing tools. However, additional efforts are still required to clarify the robustness of such approach. Indeed, it has been reported that the positive effects of the intense illumination treatments applied to cells may be partly lost during module assembly. Therefore, in order to circumvent these potential issues, we reveal herein a broad investigation on the interest of intense illumination treatments directly at module level, using an experimental lab tool provided by Applied Materials, Baccini (Italy). Efficiency gains up to +0.3 %abs have been achieved within a treatment process time compatible with industry requirements. The gains remained stable for two months after a slight decrease during the first days (−0.05 %abs). Moreover, the reliability tests against UV, thermal cycling and damp heat did not reveal any detrimental influence of the post-treatments applied to the modules, further highlighting the fast illumination post-treatment as promising candidate for the next generation of high technologically advanced photovoltaic modules manufacturing production lines.

Research on microwave hydrothermal alkaline leaching defluorination of spent cathode carbon from aluminum electrolysis

Soluble fluoride present in spent cathode carbon (SCC) is a serious concern for both the environment and human health. To address this issue, the microwave hydrothermal alkaline leaching (MHAL) was used to removed the soluble fluoride from SCC. The structural characteristics and elemental distribution of SCC before and after MHAL treatment were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). The effect of the primary parameters, i.e., temperature, time, and alkali concentration in the MHAL process, on the soluble fluoride removal rate was assessed using the Box-Behnken design (BBD) in response surface methodology (RSM), and subsequently optimized. The optimization results illustrate that the soluble fluoride removal rate of SCC could reach up to 98.06% under the optimum reaction conditions of 80 °C, 1.16 mol/L alkali concentration, and 8.4 min of reaction time. Under this condition, the experimental data showed that the average soluble fluoride removal rate was 97.11% and were in good agreement with the model predicted values. Furthermore, the MHAL process reduced the treatment process time by 99.4% and increased the soluble fluoride removal rate by 5.8% compared to the traditional hydrothermal treatment process. The MHAL process ensures rapid and efficient hazardous treatment of SCC while minimizing environmental pollution.

Study of the characteristics of pollutants in rural domestic sewage and the optimal sewage treatment process: a Chengdu Plain case study.

Domestic sewage is an important source of surface water pollution in the rural areas of developing countries, especially in the rural areas of China. In recent years, with the strategy of rural revitalization, China has paid increasing attention to the treatment of rural domestic sewage. Therefore, 16 villages in the Chengdu Plain were selected for the study, and seven indicators were analyzed and evaluated, including pH, five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), total phosphorus (TP), suspended solids (SS) and total nitrogen (TN), in the water samples at the inlet and outlet of the wastewater treatment plant. The concentration of each pollutant in the rural scattered domestic sewage of the Chengdu Plain in Southwest China was obtained, and the concentration of each pollutant in domestic sewage was higher than that in summer. In addition, the preferred process for removing each pollutant was obtained by studying the effects of the treatment process, season and hydraulic retention time on the removal efficiency of each pollutant. The research results provide valuable references for the planning and process selection of rural domestic sewage treatment.

Preoperative advanced cardiology evaluation in adult non-cardiac surgery: A retrospective cohort study

Background/Aim: Advanced cardiology evaluation (ACE) is the most frequently requested consultation during preoperative medical evaluations (PMEs) performed in anesthesia outpatient clinics. However, the efficacy and results of this ACE request are unclear. We aimed to show the frequency of ACE requested during PME of patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery (NCS) and its effect on diagnosis, treatment process, and surgical time planning. Methods: This is a single-center, retrospective cohort study of 300 patients aged 18 years and older who need ACE. Medical charts were reviewed for patient characteristics and diagnosis, planned surgery type, surgical intervention risk, revised cardiac risk index (RCRI), other consultation records, cardiology consultation indication, risk group determined by the cardiologist, metabolic equivalent (METs), and anticoagulant use were recorded. Results: We analyzed the data of 300 patients for whom ACE was requested from 9825 patients who underwent PME. The mean age was 66 (12) years, and the most common age range was 60–79 years (62.7%). The proportion of patients with METs ≤4 was 11% (n=33). The most common additional consultation was chest disease (10%), and the most common co-morbidity was hypertension (61.6%). The most common reason for consultation was a history of ischemic heart disease (50%). According to the revised cardiac risk index, most patients were in class 2, while according to the cardiology consultation outcome grade, most patients were in the intermediate risk group. It was observed that the cardiology consultation process was mostly completed on the same day (255 patients, 85%), and the use of anticoagulant drugs was mostly left to the individual evaluation of the surgeon (143 patients, 47.7%). Conclusion: PME should be given due care to prevent perioperative cardiac complications in patients undergoing NCS. More careful patient assessments are needed during ACEs. This would allow for more accurate risk stratifications and, if necessary, the ordering of additional testing.

Outcome and Impact on Adjuvant Treatment Processing Time after Mastectomy with or without Immediate Breast Reconstruction on a Large Cohort and Determination of a Postoperative Complications Predictive Score

Outcome and Impact on Adjuvant Treatment Processing Time after Mastectomy with or without Immediate Breast Reconstruction on a Large Cohort and Determination of a Postoperative Complications Predictive Score

PM 3/66 (3) Guidelines for the management of plant health risks of biowaste of plant origin

<scp>PM</scp> 3/66 (3) Guidelines for the management of plant health risks of biowaste of plant origin

Single-stage or two-stages bio-electrochemical treatment process of drainage from soilless tomato cultivation with alternating current

This work substantially extends knowledge on the possibilities of treating drainage from full-technical scale soilless tomato cultivation. Experiments were carried out in one stage bio-electrochemical reactor and separate biological and electrochemical reactors connected in series, with using alternating current. The study aimed to determine: the effect of single-stage, two-stages wastewater treatment process and hydraulic retention time (HRT) on the effectiveness of contaminant removal and organic substrate consumption, the contribution of biological and electrochemical processes and on the kinetics of contaminant removal. The use of coupled biological and electrochemical processes in one reactor (R1) showed the highest efficiency nitrogen removal, reaching 62.7 % (HRT = 1d) and 89.8 % (HRT = 7d), respectively. The separation of biological (R2-I) and electrochemical processes (R2-II) demonstrated the first one (R2-I) to be mainly responsible for denitrification (TN removal effectiveness at 51.9 % compared to 54.9 % effectiveness of the whole system). In single R1, the concentration of phosphorus in the effluent reached 2.32 ± 0.47 mg P∙L−1 (97.1 %; HRT = 1d) and 1.16 ± 0.06 mg P∙L−1 (98.3 %; HRT = 7d). In R2 enabled reducing phosphorus concentration in the effluent to 0.18 ± 0.07 mg P∙L−1 (99.8 %). The study showed that using of alternating current proved viable in increasing the rate and effectiveness of denitrification, but only if we apply electric current simultaneously with external source of organic carbon.

The Performance Shift due to Light Irradiation on the Electrode of an All‐Solution‐Processed Semitransparent Polymer Solar Cell

The performance shift of an all‐solution‐processed semitransparent polymer solar cell is investigated under light irradiation. All the devices are fabricated using polyethylene glycol (PEG)‐doped poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) without light treatment (different light intensity and processing time) as transparent electrode. The performance increase is observed with light irradiation for freshly fabricated devices. For the long stored devices in the glove box, their initial performance can be partially restored after light irradiation. The main reason for this performance shift is due to the increase in the conductivity of the transparent electrode PEDOT:PSS. Due to the conformation change of PEDOT chains after light irradiation, the conductivity increase and possible reduction of the contact resistance are beneficial for performance improvement.

Sharing medical data using a blockchain‐based secure EHR system for New Zealand

In New Zealand, the demand for healthcare services has grown gradually in the last decade, and it is likely to increase further. This had led to issues such as increasing treatment costs and processing time for the patients. To address the growing pressure in the healthcare sector, and its fragmented IT landscape that compounds the problems further, the New Zealand Ministry of Health aims to establish a shared Electronic Health Record (EHR) system that integrates all the major healthcare organisations such as hospitals, medical centres, and specialists. Due to its characteristics, blockchain technology could be a potential platform for building such large-scale health systems. Here, MedBloc, a blockchain-based secure EHR system that enables patients and healthcare providers to access and share health records while providing usability, security, and privacy is presented. MedBloc captures a longitudinal view of the patients’ health story and empowers the patients to regulate their own data by allowing them to give or withdraw consent for healthcare providers to access their records. To preserve the patients’ privacy and protect their health data, MedBloc uses an encryption scheme to secure records and smart contracts to enforce access control to prevent unauthorised access.

Eco-Friendly Coagulant versus Industrially Used Coagulants: Identification of Their Coagulation Performance, Mechanism and Optimization in Water Treatment Process.

The evaluation of complex organic and inorganic coagulant’s performances and their relationships could compromise the surface water treatment process time and its efficiency. In this work, process optimization was investigated by comparing an eco-friendly chitosan with the industrially used coagulants namely aluminum sulfate (alum), polyaluminum chloride (PAC), and aluminum chlorohydrate (ACH) in compliance with national drinking water standards. To treat various water samples from different treatment plants with turbidity and pH ranges from 20–826.3 NTU and 5.21–6.80, respectively, 5–20 mg/L coagulant dosages were varied in the presence of aluminum, ferum, and manganese. Among all, 10 mg/L of the respective ACH and chitosan demonstrated 97% and 99% turbidity removal in addition to the removal of the metals that complies with the referred standard. However, chitosan owes fewer sensitive responses (turbidity and residual metal) with the change in its input factors (dosage and pH), especially in acidic conditions. This finding suggested its beneficial role to be used under the non-critical dosage monitoring. Meanwhile, ACH was found to perform better than chitosan only at pH > 7.4 with half dosage required. In summary, chitosan and ACH could perform equally at a different set of optimum conditions. This optimization study offers precise selections of coagulants for a practical water treatment operation.

Clinical and economic benefits of a new paradigm of HCV diagnosis and treatment.

The current paradigm (CP) of hepatitis C virus (HCV) diagnosis and treatment in Italy's National Health Service system has numerous steps. The European Association for the Study of the Liver recommends initiation of a pan-genotypic direct-acting antiviral regimen after a simple diagnostic process. The present study estimated the efficiency gains resulting from two simplified pathways from diagnosis to treatment of chronic hepatitis C patients in Italy over the next 5 years from a societal perspective. The CP, a New Paradigm 1 (NP1), and a New Paradigm 2 (NP2) were evaluated in a Markov model. The NP1 model simplifies monitoring and laboratory test requirements in the diagnosis and treatment phases. The NP2 model also eliminates the primary care referral requirement. Treatment process time for non-cirrhotic patients was 48, 43, and 25 weeks in the CP, NP1, and NP2, respectively, and in cirrhotic patients was 49, 46, and 37 weeks. Under the CP, 19% of patients/year would be lost to follow-up, which decreases by 11% in NP1 and 100% in NP2. Compared with the CP, implementation of NP1 at 5 years would reduce compensated cirrhosis, decompensated cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and liver-related deaths by 12.6%, 12.4%, 8.1%, and 8.8%, respectively; these cases would be reduced by 94.0%, 93.8%, 61.0%, and 58.4% in NP2. Total 5-year costs with the CP, NP1, and NP2 are estimated at 135.6€ million, 110.5€ million, and 80.5€ million, respectively. Simplification of HCV diagnosis and monitoring requirements would allow Italy to move closer to international guidelines with significant health benefits and economic gains.

Introducing an effective iron-based catalyst for heterogeneous electro-Fenton removal of Gemcitabine using three-dimensional graphene as cathode

Five natural iron minerals include hematite, magnetite, siderite, limonite and pyrite as natural sources of iron were investigated to determine the best one which has the highest catalytic ability in the heterogeneous electro-Fenton process. The process has emerged as a simple, green, cost-effective and efficient method for the removal of persistent and pathogenic anti-cancer drug pollutants like Gemcitabine. On the other hand, different effective factors like the initial concentration of Gemcitabine, the amount of pyrite as the chosen efficient iron mineral, applied current intensity, initial pH and time of treatment process were optimized using response surface methodology to represent the best experimental condition. The role of hydroxyl (•OH) and superoxide anion (•O2−) radicals was monitored using scavengers of active radicals. The degradation efficiency of Gemcitabine and total organic carbon analysis reached 98.33% and 78.2% respectively, in the optimum condition after 5 h of electrolysis. The gained high value of coefficient of 0.995 by analysis of variance indicated the reliability of the presented model. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis identified nine by-products like small molecules of acids, amides, amines and esters.

Surface treatment-controlled solvothermal synthesis of highly active reduced 1D titania with heterojunctioned carbon allotrope

One-dimensional (1D) nanowire black titania heterojunctioned with multi-wall carbon nanotube (bTiO2 NW/MWCNT) structures were successfully synthesized via a facile single-step hydrothermal procedure, coupled with succeeding surface treatments and a solid-state physiochemical mode of reduction. Paramagnetic SiO2-coated Fe3O4 microspheres were fabricated and used as cores for the seeding and growth of the bTiO2 NW/MWCNT photocatalyst. The as-prepared photocatalysts were characterized via X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The results of materials characterization confirmed formation of 1D bTiO2 NW structure with chemically bound MWCNT atop the reduced Ti3+ propagated lattice of the predominantly (101) exposed facets of anatase TiO2. Controlling the surface treatment process and NW growth time to maintain the anatase phase and stability of surface morphology upon reduction allowed for superior visible light-driven photoactivity. The visible light-driven photocatalytic degradation of 10 mg/L methylene orange was recorded at 97.4% in 20 min of 0.7 Sun intensity. The apparent reaction rate constant (k) of the as-prepared photocatalyst (0.1439 min−1) is ~ 18 times higher than that of pristine TiO2. Utilization of paramagnetic cores for in situ photocatalyst collection upon water treatment is highly recommended for newly developed materials. Further, performing surface treatment procedures of prepared titania-based photocatalysts has been proven to have a notable advantageous effect on photoactivity and is thus suggested for similar materials.

Flash light sintered SDC cathodic interlayer for enhanced oxygen reduction reaction in LT-SOFCs

To commercialize solid oxide fuel cells, many methods for reducing the production time of manufacturing a fuel cell membrane-electrode-assembly (MEA) using a non-vacuum process have been studied and still the post-heat treatment process is an issue. This paper discusses an alternative sintering method to replace the conventional thermal sintering step for ceramic thin film fabrication, which is time consuming and costly. We fabricated samarium-doped ceria (SDC) thin films, which has high ionic conductivity and high surface exchange coefficient for oxygen reactions at the cathode side. The films were deposited by chemical solution deposition (CSD) method utilizing electrostatic spray deposition (ESD) technique. Thermal decomposition and crystallization steps are required as a post-heat treatment process to obtain desired material properties. For this purpose, the flash light sintering method is adopted and compared with the conventional thermal sintering process using halogen furnace. With this flash light sintering method, the conventional post-heat treatment process time can be significantly reduced from tens of hours to a few seconds. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy analyses were carried out for material characterizations. Additionally, electrochemical impedance analysis and current-voltage behavior measurements were conducted. By successful fabrication of SDC cathodic functional layer utilizing flash light irradiation process, the 2-folds of fuel cell performance enhancement was obtained in terms of the peak power density at the measurement temperature of 450 °C.

Predicting Surface Hardness of Commercially Pure Titanium Under Plasma Nitrocarburizing Based on Experimental Data

One of the techniques to improve the surface hardness of commercially pure titanium is by using plasma nitrocarburizing. This paper presents an equation to predict the surface hardness with the variable of the treatment temperature and process time of plasma nitrocarburizing. Experimental studies were first conducted to collect surface hardness at different elevated temperatures with different process time. The prediction equation was then developed by using Lagrange’s Multivariable Interpolation method. It is found that commercially pure titanium surface hardness can be predicted as a function of time and temperature. This equation is able to predict the surface hardness of the experimental data with high accuracy. The errors of the predicted hardness to the experimental results are less than 1 percent.

PO-1604: Quantitative analysis of treatment process time for MRI-LINAC system gating efficiency optimization

PO-1604: Quantitative analysis of treatment process time for MRI-LINAC system gating efficiency optimization

The Effect of Hold Time Variation in the Annealing Process To Mechanical Properties and Microstructure of Austenitic Manganese Steel

Manganese steel is a special alloy steel which has good mechanical properties, especially high ductility and toughness values. This steel has high work hardening capability so it will be easy to engineer. In industrial applications, this steel is susceptible to a decrease in the value of its mechanical properties such as the hardness value due to continuous loading. From these problems, a steel engineering process is needed in order to significantly improve the mechanical properties of steel so that it has good durability and lifetime. This study aims to determine the effect of holding time of heat annealing treatment process on the microstructure and mechanical properties of austenitic manganese steel. This research was conducted by heating the annealing process at a temperature of 1000 oC with four variations of holding time for 0, 40, 80, and 120 minutes. After the austenitic manganese steel specimen is heated for a certain time, it is then subjected to very high temperature cooling (in the furnace). The steel specimen is then prepared for metallographic testing and mechanical properties (hardness) testing. Metallographic testing is carried out to be able to analyze the microstructure formed in the austenitic manganese steel specimens after undergoing annealing process. From the metallography results, it was found that the effect of holding time on the annealing process affected carbide precipitation at the grain boundaries in the austenite matrix of manganese steel specimens. In the annealing process with a holding time of 80 minutes, the austenitic manganese steel showed a microstructure with perfect carbide precipitation at the grain boundaries so that this would have an effect on a significant increase in the hardness value. From the results of the hardness test, it was also found that the hardness value of steel specimens by annealing process for 80 minutes was 39.5 HRc. Thus, the effect of the optimal holding time of the annealing heat treatment process to improve the microstructure and mechanical properties (hardness value) is 80 minutes.

Quantitative analysis of MRI-guided radiotherapy treatment process time for tumor real-time gating efficiency.

PurposeMagnetic Resonance‐guided radiotherapy (MRgRT) systems allow continuous monitoring of therapy volumes during treatment delivery and personalized respiratory gating approaches. Treatment length may therefore be significantly affected by patient’s compliance and breathing control. We quantitatively analyzed treatment process time efficiency (TE) using data obtained from real‐world patient treatment logs to optimize MRgRT delivery settings.MethodsData corresponding to the first 100 patients treated with a low T hybrid MRI‐Linac system, both in free breathing (FB) and in breath hold inspiration (BHI) were collected. TE has been computed as the percentage difference of the actual single fraction’s total treatment time and the predicted treatment process time, as computed by the TPS during plan optimization.Differences between the scheduled and actual treatment room occupancy time were also evaluated. Finally, possible correlations with planning, delivery and clinical parameters with TE were also investigated.ResultsNine hundred and nineteen treatment fractions were evaluated. TE difference between BHI and FB patients’ groups was statistically significant and the mean TE were 42.4%, and −0.5% respectively.No correlation was found with TE for BHI and FB groups. Planning, delivering and clinical parameters classified BHI and FB groups, but no correlation with TE was found.ConclusionThe use of BHI gating technique can increase the treatment process time significantly. BHI technique could be not always an adequate delivery technique to optimize the treatment process time. Further gating techniques should be considered to improve the use of MRgRT.

Additive Manufacturing Technology in Orthodontic Devices Development

Traditional wires and brackets has been widely used as orthodontic devices for long time. The metal wires and brackets help to correct the position of teeth as well as fix the cavity. However, metal brace wires have quite a lot limitations. Patients wearing metal brace have many food restrictions and feel not comfortable. Brushing and flossing are required to remove the food debris frequently. Hence, clear plastic aligners have popped up recently. Since the metal brace fabrication process has associated with prolonged process time as a result of a long workflow process starting from brace mold presentation to the prosthesis execution. The growing of additive manufacturing technology make it possible to develop complex structures and shapes of dental brace. By combining 3D oral scanning, it is possible to shorten the lead time of orthodontic treatment process. This review, therefore, investigates the use of Digital Light Processing (DLP) Additive Manufacturing Technology for plastic dental brace development as a remedy to the problems associated with the traditional methods. The study reveals that it is feasible to fabricate these plastic braces utilising the DLP technology. DLP technology is affordable and arguably able to produce dental models with high levels of assurance and accuracy.