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Found 6327 publications
Retrofit heat exchanger network optimization via graph-theoretical approach: Pinch-bounded N-best solutions allows positional swapping
Publication Name: Energy
Publication Date: 2023-11-15
Volume: 283
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
Retrofit heat exchanger network (HEN) optimization is a fundamentally unique problem which requires the consideration of existing structures, compared to grassroots design problems. The optimization of retrofit HENs is particularly difficult due to the integration of both existing and newly acquired equipment. The re-routing of existing equipment can lead to various network topologies, increasing the complexity of considerations. In this work, we exploit the P-graph framework to solve retrofit HEN problems, guaranteeing to find the topology of optimal solutions within the constrained space of the HEN retrofit problem. The P-graph framework has additional advantages that allows topologically-efficient search space, simplifies additional unit placement, considers unit positional swapping (re-sequencing and re-piping within search constraints), considers stream splitting, and n-best solution visualization. The pinch minimum utility constraint also provides a bound for the maximum number of modifications in the HEN, significantly reducing search space. The proposed P-graph-based approach is demonstrated using a real refinery case study to show its capability in obtaining the topology of the optimal HEN, highlighting the economic and energy benefits. Further extensions to other retrofit process integration problems (e.g. retrofit water network, hydrogen network etc.) will be enabled via the proposed P-graph approach.
Open Access: Yes
Analyzing perspectives on lifestyle m-health apps: User and non-user insights
Publication Name: Effective Digital Marketing for Improving Society Behavior Toward Dei and Sdgs
Publication Date: 2023-11-14
Volume: Unknown
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: 48-67
Description:
The aim of the research is to explore the theoretical background and experiences of using lifestyle (LS) applications from a user perspective. The objective is to identify the reasons for non-usage. To accomplish these research goals, four focus group interviews were conducted with students studying recreation management in the autumn of 2022. The focus group research findings indicated that sports and fitness apps were the participants' most favoured. The evaluation of LS applications identified usefulness, features, accessibility, and accuracy as the most significant factors. More students reported positive effects on their physical and mental health; however, they viewed the applications and smart devices as auxiliary tools. The main reasons for non-use included personal, technical, and usability issues, as discovered by the authors. This chapter provides an in-depth insight into alterations in health practices, incentives and encounters with mobile devices and LS apps, contributing to the field of service literature.
Open Access: Yes
Kornai’s “main line of causality”: The case of socialist Albania and SFR Yugoslavia, with a special focus on their banking sectors’ ownership structure
Publication Name: Acta Oeconomica
Publication Date: 2023-11-03
Volume: 73
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: 173-190
Description:
Based on the structure of János Kornai’s ‘main line of causality’, two unique country cases are compared within the former European socialist bloc: Albania and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The research provides a comparative analysis with an overview of the two countries’ development between World War II and the fall of the socialist regimes. Special attention is paid to the period following the 1970s as the underlying reforms had been implemented in Yugoslavia by then, leading to fundamentally different socialist prototypes. Regarding the differences, the analysis also gives an insight into the structure of the two respective banking systems. Kornai’s ‘main line of causality’ provides the framework for the current research, supplemented by the respective literature. The analysis concludes that despite the fact that all blocks of the causality line differed in the two systems, similar challenges had to be addressed during the transition period. Furthermore, Albania and the successor states of Yugoslavia reflected a range of common characteristics, which implies the relevance of path dependence.
Open Access: Yes
Unraveling Debris-Enhanced Local Scour Patterns around Non-Cylindrical Bridge Piers: Experimental Insights and Innovative Modeling
Publication Name: Sustainability Switzerland
Publication Date: 2023-11-01
Volume: 15
Issue: 22
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
Bridge structures face a critical threat from localized scour-induced damage, prompting urgent attention to civil infrastructure resilience. Prior research has primarily focused on the influence of pier shapes on scour patterns. However, the exploration of the combined effects of various debris shapes, each possessing distinct properties, on predictive scour depth models around the non-cylindrical pier has hitherto remained less researched. This study explored the complex dynamics governing local scour around bridge piers, focusing on the influence of surface and near-surface debris. This research shed light on changes in scour depth by investigating factors like pier geometries, debris arrangements, and submersion depths. The experiments and analysis revealed the effects of various pier shapes—cylindrical, square, rectangular, oblong, oval, and lenticular—on scour patterns. Different geometries influenced primary scour zones and affected areas, with square piers causing the deepest scour and lenticular ones showing shallower instances. Scour depths typically peaked upstream across geometries, but ogival and lenticular shapes exhibited unique patterns. The research also introduced a formula that integrated debris attributes into predictive scour depth modeling, validated with favorable accuracy. Ultimately, this predictive model advances scour prediction, particularly in debris-laden flows, offering valuable insights for engineering and management practices in understanding real-world scour mechanisms and hydraulic dynamics.
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.3390/su152215910
A novel hybrid process design for efficient recovery of hydrophilic ionic liquids from dilute aqueous solutions
Publication Name: Aiche Journal
Publication Date: 2023-11-01
Volume: 69
Issue: 11
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
Ionic liquids (ILs) have received much attention in both academia and industries due to their superior performance in many applications. Efficient recovery/recycling of ILs from their dilute aqueous solutions is essential for the acceptance and implementation of many IL-based technologies by industry. In this work, a practical and cost-effective hybrid process design method that combines aqueous two-phase extraction, membrane separation, and distillation operating at their highest efficiencies is proposed for the recovery of hydrophilic ILs from dilute aqueous solutions. The application of this hybrid process design method is illustrated through case studies of recovering two hydrophilic ILs, n-butylpyridinium trifluoromethanesulfonate ([C4 Py][TfO]) (CAS number: 390423-43-5) and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C4 mIm][Cl]) (CAS number: 79917-90-1), from their dilute aqueous solutions. For the recovery of 10 wt.% [C4 Py][TfO] from aqueous solution, the hybrid process using (NH4 )2 SO4 as the salting-out agent could reduce the total annual cost (TAC) and energy consumption by 57% and 91%, respectively, compared with the pure distillation processes. In the case of recovering 10 wt.% [C4 mIm][Cl] from aqueous solution, the reduction in TAC and energy savings of the hybrid process with salting-out agent (NH4 )2 SO3 could reach 49% and 87%, respectively, compared with the pure distillation process. Furthermore, uncertainty analysis through Monte Carlo simulations show that the proposed hybrid process design is more robust to uncertainties in energy prices and other material (e.g., equipment and solvent) costs.
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.1002/aic.18198
Spatial effects and heterogeneity analysis of the impact of environmental taxes on carbon emissions in China
Publication Name: Heliyon
Publication Date: 2023-11-01
Volume: 9
Issue: 11
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
Environmental taxes are important means by which governments can address environmental pollution problems. Amid increasingly severe global warming, how should environmental taxes be used to better combat pollution and reduce emissions to promote sustainable socioeconomic development? This empirical analysis explores the influence of environmental taxes on CO2 emissions by utilizing a spatial Durbin model constructed with panel data from 2006 to 2020 encompassing 30 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities under the direct jurisdiction of China's central government. First, we found that a strong spatial auto-correlation exists between carbon emission intensity and environmental taxes at the geographic and economic levels in each province. The characteristics of high–high and low–low agglomeration are consistent with the actual situation where each province has a strong regional correlation. Second, the estimation results of environmental taxes' spatial effect on carbon emissions show that under the neighboring space weight matrix, environmental taxes and fees can not only better promote regional carbon emission reduction but also reduce the carbon emissions of neighboring regions. Under the economic distance weight matrix, environmental taxes' impact on reducing carbon emission intensity in the province is not significant, but it can promote the reduction of carbon emissions in the economically neighboring provinces. Additionally, the results of the sub-tax estimation of environmental taxes and carbon emission intensity show that differences exist in the impacts of different environmental taxes on carbon emission intensity under different weight matrices. Among them, environmental protection, resource, vehicle and vessel, and urban land use taxes are basically unfavorable in reducing carbon emission intensity in a region and its neighboring regions, while urban maintenance and construction and cultivated land occupation taxes enhance carbon emission reduction. Our findings suggest that efficiently promoting carbon emissions reduction requires effectively utilizing the spatial effects of environmental taxes and carbon emissions, establishing and improving the regional carbon emissions reduction linkage mechanism, including carbon dioxide in the scope of taxation to further strengthen environmental taxes' positive impact on carbon emission reduction, and focusing on the heterogeneity of environmental tax implementation to achieve emission reduction goals.
Open Access: Yes
Role of economic complexity and technological innovation for ecological footprint in newly industrialized countries: Does geothermal energy consumption matter?
Publication Name: Renewable Energy
Publication Date: 2023-11-01
Volume: 217
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
This research evaluates how energy (geothermal and coal), economic complexity, and technological innovation impact the ecological footprint in newly industrialized countries (NICs), considering the period 1990–2018. The authors employed economic complexity, technological innovation, and ecological footprint as significant considerations instead of standard environmental and economic parameters. The study used cross-sectional augmented distributed lag (CS-ARDL) and the pairwise Dumitrescu-Hurlin (DH) panel causality to consider the dynamic character of the correlation between the Environment and economic activities. The outcomes of the CS-ARDL showed that economic growth and coal energy intensify ecological footprint in both the long and short run. However, CS-ARDL results revealed that geothermal energy consumption, economic complexity, and technological innovation lessen the ecological footprint in NICs in the long and short run. Finally, the DH causality results revealed a unidirectional causality from geothermal, technological innovation, economic complexity, and coal energy use to ecological footprint. This demonstrates that all the exogenous variables have a predicted power on the ecological footprints in NICs. Based on these findings, policy measures to diversify products have the potential to tackle ecological problems.
Open Access: Yes
A systematic design of integrated palm-oil biorefinery networks: Identifying sustainable solutions
Publication Name: Sustainable Production and Consumption
Publication Date: 2023-11-01
Volume: 42
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: 138-157
Description:
This paper presents a comprehensive and systematic analysis of synthesis and design of sustainable palm oil integrated biorefinery networks involving multiple platforms of bioresources for sharing materials, energy, and facilities to obtain a more sustainable solution. There are three main processing platforms consisting of palm oil, palm biomass, and biogas from palm oil mill effluent (POME-biogas). The alternatives are generated from a superstructure of each platform representing different products that can be made and their established processing routes. Utilizations of glycerol, bio-syngas, and CO2 , which are by-products of the palm oil, palm biomass, and POME-biogas platforms, respectively, are also considered as three other platforms. Different scenarios of materials, energy, and facility integration among the platforms are analyzed by considering economic benefits together with CO2 emissions, as well as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which includes climate change impact and other environmental impact categories. Analyses of the design of the palm oil integrated biorefinery network with multiple process networks and heat integration point to the achievement of more sustainable solutions for production and consumption compared to the scenario of business as usual (BAU). The sustainable palm oil integrated biorefinery network corresponds to economic improvement and CO2 reduction potential as well as satisfying environmental impacts. The analysis results show that the palm oil integrated biorefinery network alternatives can provide high economic potential and less environmental impacts compared to without any integration. The best non-tradeoff solution proposes the integration of palm biomass and POME-biogas platforms for bio-methanol production and the integration of palm oil platform with glycerol production to produce 1,2-propanediol as an additional product. It offers 23.5 million dollars per year of economic value-added benefit with 2.9 years of payback period while also reducing the environmental impacts. Wind power and river water are selected to maximize profitability options for electricity and freshwater supplies, respectively.
Open Access: Yes
Comparison of Field and Standard Random Vibration for Small-Sized and Stacked Shipments during Parcel Delivery
Publication Name: Journal of Testing and Evaluation
Publication Date: 2023-11-01
Volume: 51
Issue: 6
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
In recent years, the volume of parcel shipments has increased significantly because of the rise in popularity of online shopping. This article focuses on the last mile segment of the parcel shipment, especially on the vibration behavior of the packages and van platform during transportation and the laboratory simulation of transportation vibration circumstances. The goal of this study is to measure in the field the vibration levels of small, stacked parcels and compare the results with measured vibration levels from the same measuring setup in the laboratory using ASTM D7386-16, Standard Practice for Performance Testing of Packages for Single Parcel Delivery Systems, vibration test method. For the measurements, three-layers of stacked small boxes with data recorder were set up into a delivery van to observe the vibration levels for the boxes inside and on the platform of the van, along different road conditions. The power spectral density spectra and overall Grms values of vibration intensity were presented and compared in four sections of frequency range between 1-200 Hz. The results indicate that the proposed vibration simulation does not correlate well with typical field vibration levels of the van platform and stacked packages. Based on the results, the packaging testing process can be developed as a more realistic preshipment testing process to avoid under-testing or over-testing of small parcels, thereby eliminating unnecessary packaging costs or damages.
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.1520/JTE20220490
