Methylene blue photocatalytic degradation under visible irradiation of Al doped ZnO powders by hydrothermal synthesis sensitized with octa-iso-pentyloxyphthalocyanine lead

AZO powders were sensitized through chemisorption method by octa-iso-pentyloxy phthalocyanine lead and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results showed that after sensitization process AZO photo physical properties improved greatly in visible regions. Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue was studied under visible irradiation in aqueous solution and the pseudo first order model was used to obtain kinetic information of the photocatalytic degradation. The results indicated that photocatalytic activities of PbPc(iso-PeO)₈-AZO were better than of AZO powders.     

The interlaminar shear failure characteristics of asphalt pavement coupled heating cables

Nowadays, heating cables are used as heat sources for heating pavements in practical engineering. However, there is a contradiction between the snow melting function and the interlaminar stability of heating pavement. In order to solve the contradiction, the interlaminar failure behavior of asphalt mixture coupled heating cables specimen (AMCS) was researched, through experiments and the finite element method. Under the different conditions of heating cables and rolling times, a series of direct shear tests was performed at the interface of AMCS, to compare the interlaminar stability of three different AMCS. Meanwhile, based on the bilinear cohesive zone model and coulomb friction model a 2D finite element model was established, to simulate this shear failure processes and make up for the limitations of the experiment. According to above test and simulation results, the failure mechanism and the weakest interface in AMCS were found, and the influence of the heating cable’s diameter and embedded spacing on the interlaminar shear strength were found. Then, a modified coulomb theorem model was proposed to predict the shear strength of the AMCS. This research enriches the design theory of the heating pavement and it has great significance for its structural design of heating asphalt pavement.     

Rejoinder on: Some recent work on multivariate Gaussian Markov random fields

I thank the discussants, Miguel A. Martinez-Beneito, Fedel Greco, Carlo Trivisano, Stephan R Sain, and Reinhard Furrer, for their insightful and stimulating commentary. The rejoinder is organized in five sections: (1) the M-based models, (2) posterior sensitivity to prior choices for \({\varvec{C}}\) and \({\varvec{\varSigma }}\), (3) stationary and non-stationary (M)GMRFs, (4) various approaches to model formulation and related applications, and (5) statistical computation.     

Spectrophotometric analysis of disintegration mechanisms (abrasion and crushing) of agglomerates during the disc granulation of dolomite

The analysis of mechanisms which affect the formation of agglomerates and determine the granulation process in a broad sense encounters difficulties related to the many ways of the formation of granules. The aim of the study was to perform a qualitative and quantitative analysis of granulation mechanisms with special reference to agglomerates’ disintegration in the disc granulation process. This paper contains an analysis of disintegration mechanisms (abrasion and crushing) of agglomerates during the disc granulation of dolomite. The analysis of the mechanisms taking place during the process concerns the granulation stage after wetting. During the research, each time after the wetting stage, the size fraction 10–12.5 mm was substituted with an analogous fraction wetted by means of an aqueous solution of a coloring agent and the process was continued. After the specified time of granulation, the obtained product was sieved through laboratory sieves and then the content of the provided coloring agent in different size fractions was analyzed by means of a spectrophotometer. Measuring the absorbance of the analyzed samples and granulometric composition of the bed, the level and cause of the migration of material of the tested fraction into other size classes were determined, and at the same time, the occurring granulation mechanisms were analyzed. The proposed model and measurement method consisting of determining the absorbance of the tested granulometric fraction enable the qualitative and quantitative analysis of granulation mechanisms are encountered during the carrying-out of the process after wetting the bed.     

Probabilistic calibration of discrete element simulations using the sequential quasi-Monte Carlo filter

The calibration of discrete element method (DEM) simulations is typically accomplished in a trial-and-error manner. It generally lacks objectivity and is filled with uncertainties. To deal with these issues, the sequential quasi-Monte Carlo (SQMC) filter is employed as a novel approach to calibrating the DEM models of granular materials. Within the sequential Bayesian framework, the posterior probability density functions (PDFs) of micromechanical parameters, conditioned to the experimentally obtained stress–strain behavior of granular soils, are approximated by independent model trajectories. In this work, two different contact laws are employed in DEM simulations and a granular soil specimen is modeled as polydisperse packing using various numbers of spherical grains. Knowing the evolution of physical states of the material, the proposed probabilistic calibration method can recursively update the posterior PDFs in a five-dimensional parameter space based on the Bayes’ rule. Both the identified parameters and posterior PDFs are analyzed to understand the effect of grain configuration and loading conditions. Numerical predictions using parameter sets with the highest posterior probabilities agree well with the experimental results. The advantage of the SQMC filter lies in the estimation of posterior PDFs, from which the robustness of the selected contact laws, the uncertainties of the micromechanical parameters and their interactions are all analyzed. The micro–macro correlations, which are byproducts of the probabilistic calibration, are extracted to provide insights into the multiscale mechanics of dense granular materials.     

Delignification kinetics of empty fruit bunch (EFB): a sustainable and green pretreatment approach using malic acid-based solvents

Recently, the development of efficient and environmentally benign solvents has received great attention to replace current harsh organic solvents. In this context, low-transition-temperature mixtures (LTTMs) have emerged as favorable green solvents for biomass delignification. Palm oil biomass, empty fruit bunch (EFB) was pretreated with commercial l-malic acid and microwave hydrothermally extracted cactus malic acid-derived LTTMs at 60, 80, and 100 °C. The LTTMs applied in this study were derived from malic acid–choline chloride–water and malic acid–monosodium glutamate–water with a molar ratio of 2:4:2 and 3:1:5, respectively. Three first-order reactions were used to express the delignification kinetic model of EFB. The first term was based on the initial stage and assigned as infinite due to the fast rate of delignification which could not be detected. The second and third terms were proportional to bulk and residual delignification stages. A good agreement was obtained between the kinetic model and the experimental data obtained in this study with R²?≥?0.91. The activation energies for the delignification reactions using l-malic acid and cactus malic acid-based LTTMs in the bulk and residual stages were approximated as 36–56 and 19–26 kJ/mol and 34–90 and 47–87 kJ/mol, respectively.     

Valorisation of mango seed via extraction of starch: preliminary techno-economic analysis

Reducing environmental impacts and obtaining economic benefits based on utilisation of waste materials are drivers for the implementation of cleaner production policies and technologies in food processing industries. Starch is a very versatile material with a wide range of applications in the food, pharmaceutical, textile, paper, cosmetic and construction industries. In Ethiopia, starch is widely used in the textile industry. To meet the starch demand, the country imports approximately 45% of the starch used in the country. Consequently, it is imperative to find additional sources of starch that could substitute for the amount of starch that is currently being imported. Mango seeds, a waste material that is disposed of after consumption of mangos, were studied for potential use as an alternative resource for starch production. The results showed that starch extraction from mango seeds was facile and a good quality product was obtained. The present study is concerned with a techno-economic analysis for industrial production of starch from mango seeds. The study shows that extraction of starch from waste mango seeds is feasible: the project is financially viable with an accounting rate of return of 83% and a break-even analysis of 78% with a payback period of 2 years.     

Graphene quantum dots derived from hollow carbon nano-onions

Herein, carbon nano-onions (CNOs) with different structures have been investigated as precursors for the synthesis of graphene quantum dots (GQDs). It was found that hollow CNOs yield GQDs with a uniform size distribution, whereas metal encapsulation in the CNO structure is disadvantageous for the same. Furthermore, the hollow CNOs are also advantageous for the synthesis of GQDs with a yellow-green hybrid luminescence and long-ranged excitation wavelength (λ _ex)-independent photoluminescent (PL) behavior, in which the λ _ex upper limit was 480 nm. These features enable safe sensing and cell tracking applications with a longer excitation wavelength in the visible light region. The potential applications of the synthesized GQDs as fluorescent sensing probes for detecting Cu(II) ions and non-toxic cell imaging under visible light excitation have been demonstrated. This means that sensing and bioimaging can be accomplished in the natural environment with no need for UV excitation. This work provides a reference to researchers in tailoring CNO structures in terms of their inner space to synthesize GQDs with the desired luminescence behavior.

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Numerical and experimental investigations of laser shock forming aluminum alloy sheet with mold

Laser shock forming (LSF) technology employs shock waves to form sheet metal into three-dimensional complex parts, and has application potential in manufacturing sheet metal parts. In this paper, the forming of 2024 aluminum alloy sheet with LSF was investigated through numerical and experimental methods. The numerical model was established with the commercial code ABAQUS/Explicit. The formed conical cup was obtained from the simulation, and validated by the experiment. With the verified numerical model, the deformation behaviors, including deformation velocity, sheet thickness variation and strain distribution, were studied. In addition, the influence of different shock wave pressures on the forming precision was also investigated. The experimental and numerical results show that the metal sheet loaded by shock wave can take the shape of the mold, and the non-uniform thickness is distributed in the formed cup. The investigations also display that there exists reverse deformation at the central region of deforming sheet owing to severe collision during LSF. In order to obtain formed part with better quality, an appropriate pressure of applied shock waves is required.