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Found 6383 publications

Investigation of the Effects of Biodegradable and Compostable Polymers as Sources of Microplastics on the Water-Soil Continuum: A Review

Publication Name: Chemical Engineering Transactions

Publication Date: 2023-01-01

Volume: 107

Issue: Unknown

Page Range: 307-312

Description:

The amount of research and publications related to microplastic pollution has been steadily increasing in recent years, but at the same time, our current knowledge on the topic is still based on occasional point measurements. As a result of these point measurements, it becomes obvious that new research areas and disciplines are also connected to the topic of microplastics. Various biotic and abiotic processes can cause microplastics to enter the environment and spread within it. All of these mechanisms can arise from the moisture conditions of the tested medium, temperature differences, or even from the decomposing and transforming activities of microorganisms. The rise of biodegradable and compostable plastic bags can also be considered a source of this kind since polymer products labelled as environmentally friendly can be identified as secondary sources during their decomposition processes. Therefore, both industrial and household compost can contain microscopic polymer residues, the application of which involves a potential risk of environmental pollution. In recent years, several international studies have dealt with various aspects of the degradation of these products, including the use of problems caused by residual microplastics and their environmental effects. The focus of our paper is not on the development of a new scientific methodology but a summary of the current situation formed through research results dealing with the current environmental safety and environmental health risks of microplastic pollution caused by biodegradable polymers.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.3303/CET23107052

Advantages and limitations of using foamed bitumen

Publication Name: Acta Technica Jaurinensis

Publication Date: 2021-08-25

Volume: 14

Issue: 3

Page Range: 300-314

Description:

Foamed asphalt refers to a bituminous mixture of road-building aggregates and foamed bitumen, produced by a cold mix process. There are a lot of related issue that has not been sufficiently investigated so far. It is worthwhile to overview the main theoretical and practical results in the field in several countries including those of the authors of the paper. It is clear that the foamed asphalt is usually characterized by high quality and reasonable cost, can be used in cold road pavement rehabilitation, in addition to it the technique is environ-mentally friendly preserving natural resources. Using foamed bitumen reduces the emissions of carbon dioxide and gases resulting from combustion, especially when it is used as a cold rehabilitation binder and mixed with re-claimed asphalt pavement materials.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.14513/actatechjaur.00587

Using multiple populations of memetic algorithms for fuzzy rule-base optimization

Publication Name: 11th IEEE International Symposium on Computational Intelligence and Informatics Cinti 2010 Proceedings

Publication Date: 2010-12-01

Volume: Unknown

Issue: Unknown

Page Range: 113-118

Description:

Evolutionary algorithms are an important branch of soft computing, being able to provide approximate solutions to problems in a reasonable amount of time. The underlying principle can be realized in an almost unlimited number of ways. This paper presents four main variants of evolutionary algorithms, and a method of running them in a topology consisting of multiple populations. The resources given to each population and migration are altered dynamically throughout the test, based on the effectiveness they show. Along with evolutionary methods, the solutions are also adjusted by gradient-based numerical optimization, in our case the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm. These steps are added to the evolutionary processes as an extension, resulting in what are called memetic algorithms. The specific application for these methods here is optimizing fuzzy rule-bases, thereby making inference systems better at emulating a desired behavior, such as modeling a certain objective function. ©2010 IEEE.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.1109/CINTI.2010.5672264

Evaluating the effect of a brewery by-product as feed supplementation on the quality of eggs by means of a human panel and e-tongue and e-nose analysis

Publication Name: Chemosensors

Publication Date: 2021-08-01

Volume: 9

Issue: 8

Page Range: Unknown

Description:

The objective of our research was to evaluate the possible alteration of the organoleptic properties of eggs produced by hens (Lohmann Brown-Classic) fed with diets containing different doses of an industrial by-product enriched with organic zinc (Zincoppyeast, ZP): Control 0%, ZP 2.5%, and ZP 5.0%. Eggs were collected after 30 days (batch 1) and 60 days (batch 2) of feeding with the experimental diets and subjected to chemical, microbiological, human sensory, e-nose, and e-tongue analyses. There was no significant difference among the microbiological status of eggs of the three groups, but there were significant differences (p < 0.05) in the fat (9.5% vs. 9.3%) and protein contents (12.7% vs. 13.4%) of the Control and ZP 5.0% groups, respectively. Human sensory analysis showed no clear change in the organoleptic characteristics of the eggs. Using linear discriminant analysis (LDA), the e-tongue could recognize the three groups of eggs in batch 1 and batch 2 with 95.9% and 100% accuracy and had a prediction accuracy of 64.8% and 56.2%, respectively. When the eggs were incubating at 50 °C or 80 °C before the e-nose analysis, the groups of eggs could be recognized with 98.0% and 82.7% accuracy, and predicted with 68.5% and 62.2% accuracy, respectively, using principal component analysis-based discriminant analysis (PCA–DA). The aroma compounds and respective sensory descriptors showing changes among the different groups of eggs (batch, storage, and feeding) were identified based on the e-nose analysis. The sup-plementation of laying hens’ feed with the investigated industrial by-product can be applied without any substantial effect on egg quality, which can, however, be detected with advanced analytical methods.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.3390/chemosensors9080213

Design of Flat Loop Reactor with Bubble Column Circulation, Algae Growing Equipment

Publication Name: Strojnicky Casopis Journal of Mechanical Engineering

Publication Date: 2024-11-01

Volume: 74

Issue: 2

Page Range: 35-42

Description:

Based on the flow modeling and operational experience of the previous cylindrical loop reactor, we designed a sheet reactor combined with a loop reactor. The design with a cylindrical cross-section was applied to an equivalent cross-section (sheet) of several squares arranged next to each other. In accordance with the sedimentation processes experienced in the outlet branch, we created an algae trap, thereby reducing the flow to the level necessary for sedimentation. With this, I would like to achieve the already experienced, nearly 10-fold increase in algae concentration compared to the one in the mainstream.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.2478/scjme-2024-0023

Processing systems design considering resilience

Publication Name: Computer Aided Chemical Engineering

Publication Date: 2021-01-01

Volume: 50

Issue: Unknown

Page Range: 807-812

Description:

The resilience of a system is defined as the system's capability of recovering from failures. Traditionally, only predictable aspects are considered when designing processing systems. Evaluation of these aspects is performed via assessment of exact indicators and enumeration of all cause-effect options. However, such evaluation is not appropriate for determining the resilience of processing systems, since resilience is based on unexpected events in addition to the expected ones. Consequently, the cause part of the cause-effect relation is not known or not effective. In the current work, the general formula for determining resilience of a system is embedded into a P-graph based process synthesis algorithm. Thus, the resilience can be considered when selecting the most preferred process during its synthesis. The result is illustrated by synthesizing a process of adipic acid production by nitric acid oxidation of KA oil.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-323-88506-5.50126-1

Performance Analysis of Position Estimation and Correction Methods †

Publication Name: Engineering Proceedings

Publication Date: 2024-01-01

Volume: 79

Issue: 1

Page Range: Unknown

Description:

There are several global and local position estimation and refinement techniques based on the GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) and environmental monitoring (e.g., LIDAR, Light Detection and Ranging). These are usually based on a combination of multiple sensors using some form of sensor fusion, together with a filtering or observation technique. The behavior of these algorithms may vary depending on the applied sensor signals and on their accuracy under different environmental conditions and for different vehicle types. In the case of systems that also use GNSS signals, different procedures must also be prepared for signal dropouts and, in the worst case, drastic fluctuations in accuracy. The aim of this research is to present and compare the performance of different estimation procedures for different vehicles and environmental conditions.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.3390/engproc2024079061

Taxonomic contribution to knowledge of the oribatid mite genus Achipteria (Acari, Oribatida, Achipteriidae)

Publication Name: International Journal of Acarology

Publication Date: 2025-01-01

Volume: 51

Issue: 2

Page Range: 81-87

Description:

The oribatid mite family Achipteriidae is recorded in the Dominican Republic for the first time. A new species of the genus Achipteria—A. (Izuachipteria) dominicanensissp. nov.—is described, based on adults collected from leaf litter in a mixed forest. The species is characterized by the morphology of the lamella (triangular distally, without strong lateral tooth), the location of the lamellar seta (on ventral side of the lamella), the length of the bothridial seta (long), the ornamentation and morphology of the pteromorph (partially striate, with lateral tooth), the number of the leg claws (one), and the absence of the notogastral saccules. The taxonomic status of the subgenera Achipteria (Cubachipteria), A. (Hokkachipteria), and A. (Izuachipteria) is discussed. An identification key, distribution, and habitat of the known representatives of Achipteria (Izuachipteria) are presented.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.1080/01647954.2024.2439799

Multiple-solution heat exchanger network synthesis for enabling the best industrial implementation

Publication Name: Energy

Publication Date: 2020-10-01

Volume: 208

Issue: Unknown

Page Range: Unknown

Description:

The synthesis of heat recovery networks traditionally results in an optimal or suboptimal solution for the supplied set of streams and simplifying assumptions. In the current work, the assumption of a single optimal solution is replaced by the goal of generating an ordered set of optimal or quasi-optimal networks. This enables industrial engineers to further select the solution most suitable for detailed design and practical implementation. The problem is formulated for and solved by an extension of the P-graph framework for combinatorial process network optimization. The presented method for HEN synthesis generates a list of solutions ranked by the Total Annualized Cost. In addition to the feasibility, all list elements also feature a degree of heat recovery ranging from the thermodynamic maximum, down to a specified margin allowing accounting for the energy-capital trade-off. The current method is illustrated with three case studies. The obtained results demonstrate optimal solutions that cannot be generated by the Pinch-based methods or the stage-wise superstructure approaches. The proposed parameters, an upper limit on the number of heat exchangers per process stream and a maximum relaxation of utility demand compared to the Pinch targets, allow performing parametric evaluations of the resulting solutions.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2020.118330