Methanol steam reforming in a microchannel reactor by Zn-, Ce- and Zr- modified mesoporous Cu/SBA-15 nanocatalyst

Hydrogen production by steam reforming of methanol was studied over several Cu/SAB-15-based nanocatalysts in a parallel-type microchannel reactor. The catalysts were prepared through impregnation method and XRD, BET, FT-IR, FE-SEM, TEM, H₂-TPR and TGA techniques were used to characterize surface and structural properties of the synthesized catalysts. The effects of reaction temperature, WHSV and S/C molar ratio on the methanol conversion and selectivities of the gaseous products were studied. Then, effects of the metallic promoters were investigated to improve performance of the catalysts. It was revealed that ZnO and CeO₂ promoters have positive effects on decreasing CO selectivity and ZrO₂ promotes methanol conversion. Furthermore, ZrO₂ and CeO₂ were declared to improve stability of the catalyst. Among the evaluated catalysts, Cu/ZnO/CeO₂/ZrO₂/SBA-15 can provide optimal methanol conversion with low CO concentration in the gaseous products. For this catalyst, the methanol conversion and hydrogen selectivity reached 95.2% and 94.6%, respectively.     

Studying effect of cell wall's carboxyl-carboxylate ratio change of Lemna minor to remove heavy metals from aqueous solution

The pre-treated Lemna minor can remove Hg(II), Cr(III), Cr(VI) and Cu(II) from the aqueous solution. The concentration determination of carboxyl and carboxylate groups and its rule to change the metal ions uptake was done by the curves of the potentiometric titration. It was shown that the removal percent of the heavy metal ions (Co=1.00 mM) increased 25.1, 26.0, 17.2 and 24.1% for these ions, respectively, with increasing the carboxylate from 0.92 to 2.42 mmol/g L. minor and then activating by the activator chloride salts. The removal percent of these ions was decreased 33.1, 27.5, 20.7 and 15.01%, respectively, with increasing the carboxyl from 1.50 to 2.41 mmol/g L. minor, inspite of activating by the chloride salts. The enthalpy change (DeltaH) was -27.43, -25.94, -28.12 and -22.27 kJ/mol and the entropy change (DeltaS) was 81.3, 79.9, 86.1 and 67.7 J/mol K, by activated biomass, respectively. L. minor removed these heavy metals corresponding to pseudo-second-order kinetic model that the activation energy (E(a)) was obtained 18.59, 15.93, 20.36 and 21.12 kJ/mol by the activated and 23.02, 22.27, 23.98 and 24.46 kJ/mol by the reference biomass to uptake Hg(II), Cr(III), Cr(VI) and Cu(II), respectively.     

Asymmetry in retail gasoline and crude oil price movements in the United States: An application of hidden cointegration technique

There is a common belief that gasoline prices respond more quickly to crude oil price increases than decreases. Some economists and politicians believe that asymmetry in oil and gasoline price movements is the outcome of a non-competitive gasoline market requiring that governments take policy action to address “unfair pricing”. There is no consensus as to the existence, or nature, of the asymmetric relationship between prices of gasoline and crude oil. Much of this literature specifies asymmetry in the speed of adjustment and short-run adjustment coefficients. In contrast, Granger and Yoon's [Granger, C.W. and Yoon, G. “Hidden Cointegration”, University of California, San Diego, Department of Economics Working Paper, (2002).] Crouching Error Correction Model (CECM) identifies asymmetry of the cointegrating vectors between components (cumulative positive and negative changes) of the series. Applying the CECM to retail gasoline and crude oil prices for the U.S., we find that there is only evidence of cointegration between positive components of crude oil prices and negative components of gasoline prices. In contrast to the literature which attributes asymmetric price movements to market power of refiners, these findings suggest that gasoline prices –in the long run– are more influenced by the technological changes on the demand side than crude oil price movements on the supply side.     

CFD design and simulation of ethylene dichloride (EDC) thermal cracking reactor

At high temperature, ethylene dichloride decomposes into vinyl chloride monomer and HCl by a complex reaction mechanism. Due to chemical reaction type and heat transfer mechanism, design and simulation of cracking reactors are complicated. This process is very important from either chemical reaction or transport phenomena’s point of view. In this study, 2D simulation of cracking reactor is performed with FLUENT software. Simulation results were compared with the experimental data. Then, we investigate the simulation results and effect of various parameters on the process. Results show that with process progress and temperature increase during reactor length, conversion and coke formation amount are increased. At the end of the process, conversion is 52.69 that has good agreement with industrial data. Addition of promoter to the process fluid and fluid behavior in different coil outlet temperatures was studied; finally, the effects of these factors are described in detail.     

Alcalase-generated proteolysates of stone fish (Actinopyga lecanora) flesh as a new source of antioxidant peptides

In the present study, the alcalase-generated proteolysates obtained after 8 h of proteolysis of stone fish flesh showed the most potent antioxidant activity in terms of DPPH^? radical scavenging activity (77.43%, IC₅₀ of 0.5 mg/mL), ABTS^? radical scavenging activity (92.73%, IC₅₀ of 0.33 mg/mL) and FRAP value (39.2 mmol/100 mL FeSO₄). These proteolysates profiled and characterized as antioxidative peptides. The proteolysates were initially subjected to ultrafiltration using MWCO Spin-X UF. Potent fractions were further characterized based on hydrophobicity using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) and isoelectric point using an OFFGEL isoelectric focusing fractionator. Results indicated that most of the antioxidative peptides found in fractions with a molecular weight (MW) of less than 2 kDa, hydrophilic (hydrophilicity >80%) and basic (pI = 9.7). The final purified fraction with the highest antioxidant activity was selected for peptide identification and sequencing using Q-TOF mass spectrometry. A total of four peptides were identified, from which Peptide 1 (GVSGLHID) showed the highest antioxidant activity and this has potential as a novel bioingredient of nutraceuticals and functional foods to promote human health.     

Following ergonomics guidelines decreases physical and cardiovascular workload during cleaning tasks

The aim was to investigate the effect of ergonomics guidelines on muscular activity, postural and cardiovascular load during cleaning. Eighteen cleaners performed 10 min of cleaning tasks in two locations; three min in a laboratory and seven min in a lecture room. All participants performed the task with or without focusing on ergonomics guidelines (ergonomics/non-ergonomics session). Bipolar surface electromyography was recorded bilaterally from upper trapezius and erector spinae muscles. A tri-axial accelerometer package was mounted on the low back (L5-S1) to measure postural changes, and the cardiovascular load was estimated by electrocardiogram. Ergonomics sessions resulted in lower muscular load, a more complex pattern of muscular activity, lower range of motion and angular velocity of the trunk as well as lower cardiovascular load compared with non-ergonomics sessions (p < 0.05). The study highlighted the multiple musculoskeletal and cardiovascular benefits of following ergonomics guidelines during cleaning tasks. PRACTITIONER SUMMARY: This study investigated the effects of following instructive ergonomics guidelines during cleaning tasks (daily curriculum of cleaning including mopping, sweeping, changing trash bins and cleaning of desks and blackboards). Following the ergonomics guidelines reduces the general workload and induces a more complex pattern of muscular activity. The study contributes with novel knowledge concerning ergonomics guidelines and work techniques.     

Application of partial least squares and radial basis function neural networks in multivariate imaging analysis-quantitative structure activity relationship: study of cyclin dependent kinase 4 inhibitors

The detailed application of multivariate image analysis (MIA) method for the evaluation of quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) of some cyclin dependent kinase 4 inhibitors is demonstrated. MIA is a type of data mining methods that is based on data sets obtained from 2D images. The purpose of this study is to construct a relationship between pixels of images of investigated compounds as independent and their bioactivities as a dependent variable. Partial least square (PLS) and principal components-radial basis function neural networks (PC-RBFNNs) were developed to obtain a statistical explanation of the activity of the molecules. The performance of developed models were tested by several validation methods such as external and internal tests and also criteria recommended by Tropsha and Roy. The resulted PLS model had a high statistical quality (R2 = 0.991 and R2(CV) = 0.993) for predicting the activity of the compounds. Because of high correlation between values of predicted and experimental activities, MIA-QSAR proved to be a highly predictive approach.     

Unconfined compressive strength of loose sandy soils grouted with zeolite and cement

Cement production requires a lot of energy and is also one of the most important sources of carbon dioxide emissions. Consequently, the replacement of part of the cement with a more environmentally friendly material, such as zeolite, is of great importance. The present research involves the conducting of a series of laboratory tests on loose sand specimens ($D_r\approx 30\%$) grouted with cementitious materials (cement and zeolite) to investigate the effect of different parameters, such as the size of the sand particles, the ratio of water to cementitious materials (W/CM) and the replacement of a certain percentage of the cement in the grout with zeolite (Z), on the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of the grouted sand specimens. The results indicate that for all the grout W/CM and sand grain sizes, when Z is increased from zero zeolite (Z₀), the UCS initially increases. Then, after reaching an optimal amount (Z₃₀), it decreases. Moreover, increasing both the size of the sand particles and the W/CM of the grout is seen to reduce the UCS of the grouted specimens. The UCS of the grouted sand specimens increases with the equilibrium of SiO₂ and Al₂O₃ with CaO elements in the grouting suspension. Finally, equations with a high performance are proposed to predict the UCS of sands grouted with zeolite-cement using a multiple regression model (MRM) and a group method of data handling (GMDH)-type neural network.     

钢管混凝土柱中的新型钢截面

在现代工程建设中,钢管混凝土（CFT）柱已逐渐成为高层建筑、桥梁等结构系统中的核心构件。在钢管混凝土的承载能力分析中有效参数有：钢与混凝土之间的粘结、钢管局部屈曲强度、混凝土徐变和连接处柱的负荷状态。考虑到这些有效参数,提议一种新截面,可用于高层建筑及大跨度桥梁。所提议钢截面的主要特点是内部纵向对称加劲肋。对此种截面（圆形和八角形）和钢管混凝土柱的常用截面进行轴向和循环荷载作用下的对比分析。同时采用有限元建模进行多种不同的分析。结果表明：新型截面在轴向和循环荷载下的强度和延性均有所增强,因此建议在施工中可采用此种截面。