A Model for Through Drying of Tissue Paper at Constant Pressure Drop and High Drying Intensity

A mathematical model for through drying of paper at constant pressure drop was developed. The model is based on physical properties; hence, basis weight, pressure drop, drying air temperature, pore size distribution, initial gas fraction, and tortuosity are important input parameters to the model. The model was solved for different combinations of the variables basis weight, drying air temperature, and pressure drop corresponding to industrial conditions and the results were compared with data from bench-scale experiments. The simulations show that the drying rate curve is very sensitive to the air flow rate and that correctly modeling the correlation between pressure drop and air flow rate is the most important factor for a successful model for through drying. The model was tuned by adjusting the parameters initial gas fraction and tortuosity in order to give the best possible fit to experimental data. For a given basis weight and pressure drop, different drying air temperatures resulted in relatively constant values of the fitted parameters. This means that the model can well predict the effects of changes in drying air temperature based on a tuning of the model performed at the same basis weight and pressure drop. However, for a given basis weight, an increase in pressure drop yielded fitted parameters that were somewhat different; i.e., a lower initial gas fraction and a higher tortuosity, a change that increases the resistance to air flow. This implies that the correlation between pressure drop and air flow rate in the model does not quite capture the nonlinear relationship shown by the experiments.     

Phase structural analyses of polyethylene coatings on high‐density papers. III. Determination of the crystallite thicknesses by T1 measurements

Two different extrusion‐coating qualities of polyethylene, namely LDPE and HDPE, were coated on high‐density papers. Differences were observed with respect to their response to storage and low temperature heat treatment. HDPE does not respond to storage at ambient temperature and heat treatment in the same way as LDPE. The LDPE‐coating exhibits an increase in the monoclinic crystalline fraction at the paper surface as a result of heat treatment. The nature of this response appears to be a result of adhesion to a paper surface, the properties of this surface, orientation of polymer chains, and chain mobility differences. The increase of the monoclinic fraction is shown to relate to an increase of the mean crystallite thickness and initiation of new crystallites at the paper surface. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91: 235–241, 2004     

Design,development, construction and operation of a novel metal hydride compressor

Metal Hydride Compressors (MHC) is a promising technology for thermal compression of hydrogen. Besides the absence of a necessity for significant mechanical or electrical energy input, this type of compressor has the advantage that no moving parts are involved. A brief review on the reported experimental set ups of metal hydride compressors is carried out and compared to the metal hydride compressor developed and constructed by HYSTORE Technologies Ltd in Cyprus. The compressor built by HYSTORE consists of 6 stages using AB₂ and AB₅ – type metal hydride alloys. The MHC is operated between 10 C and 80 °C, which is a temperature range that can be supplied by solar thermal collectors. Furthermore, the experimental results showed, that even lower temperatures of 17 C are sufficient thus reducing the demand for cooling capacity. During the operation, the compressor achieved stable compression of hydrogen from 7 bar more than 220 bar. The specific productivity of the compressor achieved values up to 67.2 l_H2 kg^?1 h^?1.     

Online short-term solar power forecasting

This paper describes a new approach to online forecasting of power production from PV systems. The method is suited to online forecasting in many applications and in this paper it is used to predict hourly values of solar power for horizons of up to 36 h. The data used is 15-min observations of solar power from 21 PV systems located on rooftops in a small village in Denmark. The suggested method is a two-stage method where first a statistical normalization of the solar power is obtained using a clear sky model. The clear sky model is found using statistical smoothing techniques. Then forecasts of the normalized solar power are calculated using adaptive linear time series models. Both autoregressive (AR) and AR with exogenous input (ARX) models are evaluated, where the latter takes numerical weather predictions (NWPs) as input. The results indicate that for forecasts up to 2 h ahead the most important input is the available observations of solar power, while for longer horizons NWPs are the most important input. A root mean square error improvement of around 35% is achieved by the ARX model compared to a proposed reference model.     

Reinforcing cycles involving inter- and intraorganizational paradoxical tensions when managing large construction projects

In recent years, scholars have shown a growing interest in combining control and flexibility when organizing and managing large construction projects, in contrast with the traditional focus on control. Prior research recognizes that there is a paradoxical tension between control and flexibility, meaning that, while both approaches make sense individually, they appear impossible to combine. Large construction projects are interorganizational, which means that tensions between interorganizational control/flexibility coexist with tensions between intraorganizational direction/empowerment, but the interplay and possible reinforcing cycles involving the two tensions have rarely been investigated in prior research. A multiple case study of four large construction projects with three rounds of interviews show how intraorganizational direction/empowerment can influence interorganizational control/flexibility and vice versa, and demonstrate both vicious and virtuous reinforcing cycles that involve the two types of tensions. Therefore, contributing to the project management and construction management literature, it is argued that employing a systemic approach when studying interorganizational projects is essential. A systemic paradox perspective can reveal interdependencies between tensions at different organizational interfaces, improve the understanding of how individuals in all managerial positions interplay, and explain how reinforcing cycles emerge and develop; this is important to recognize when organizing, staffing and managing large construction projects.     

Towards impedance-based temperature estimation for Li-ion battery packs

In order to meet the required power and energy demand of battery-powered applications, battery packs are constructed from a multitude of battery cells. For safety and control purposes, an accurate estimate of the temperature of each battery cell is of vital importance. Using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), the battery temperature can be inferred from the impedance. However, performing EIS measurements simultaneously at the same frequency on each cell in a battery pack introduces crosstalk interference in surrounding cells, which may cause EIS measurements in battery packs to be inaccurate. Also, currents flowing through the pack interfere with impedance measurements on the cell level. In this paper, we propose, analyse, and validate a method for estimating the battery temperature in a battery pack in the presence of these disturbances. First, we extend an existing and effective estimation framework for impedance-based temperature estimation towards estimating the temperature of each cell in a pack in the presence of crosstalk and (dis)charge currents. Second, the proposed method is analysed and validated on a two-cell battery pack, which is the first step towards development of this method for a full-size battery pack. Monte Carlo simulations are used to find suitable measurement settings that yield small estimation errors and it is demonstrated experimentally that, over a range of temperatures, the method yields an accuracy of ±1°C in terms of bias, in the presence of both disturbances.     

Alternating Cationic-Hydrophobic Peptide/Peptoid Hybrids: Influence of Hydrophobicity on Antibacterial Activity and Cell Selectivity

The influence of hydrophobicity on antibacterial activity versus the effect on the viability of mammalian cells for peptide/peptoid hybrids was examined for oligomers based on the cationic Lys-like peptoid residue combined with each of 28 hydrophobic amino acids in an alternating sequence. Their relative hydrophobicity was correlated to activity against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive species, human red blood cells, and HepG2 cells. This identified hydrophobic side chains that confer potent antibacterial activity (e. g., MICs of 2–8 μg/mL against E. coli) and low toxicity toward mammalian cells (<10 % hemolysis at 400 μg/mL and IC₅₀>800 μg/mL for HepG2 viability). Most peptidomimetics retained activity against drug-resistant strains. These findings corroborate the hypothesis that for related peptidomimetics two hydrophobicity thresholds may be identified: i) it should exceed a certain level in order to confer antibacterial activity, and ii) there is an upper limit, beyond which cell selectivity is lost. It is envisioned that once identified for a given subclass of peptide-like antibacterials such thresholds can guide further optimisation.     

Bark as feedstock for dual fluidized bed gasifiers—Operability,efficiency, and economics

The demand for biofuels and biochemicals is expected to increase in the future, which will in turn increase the demand for biomass feedstock. Large gasification plants fueled with biomass feedstock are likely to be a key enabling technology in a resource‐efficient, bio‐based economy. Furthermore, the costs for producing biofuels and biochemicals in such plants could potentially be decreased by utilizing inexpensive low‐grade residual biomass as feedstock. This study investigates the usage of shredded tree bark as a feedstock for the production of biomethane in the GoBiGas demonstration plant in Gothenburg, Sweden, based on a 32 MW_th industrial dual fluidized bed gasification unit. The plant was operated with bark feedstock for 12 000 hours during the period 2014 to 2018. Data from the measurement campaign were processed using a stochastic approach to establish the plant's mass and energy balances, which were then compared with operation of the plant with wood pellets. For this comparison, an extrapolation algorithm was developed to predict plant performance using bark dried to the same moisture content as wood pellets, ie, 8%_w.b. Plant operation with bark feedstock was evaluated for operability, efficiency, and feedstock‐related cost. The gas quality achieved during the test period was similar to that obtained for operation with wood pellets. Furthermore, no significant ash sintering or agglomeration problems were observed more than 750 hours of operation. The calculated biomass‐to‐biomethane efficiency is 43% to 47% (lower heating value basis) for operation with wet bark. However, the predicted biomass‐to‐biomethane efficiency can be increased to 55%–65% for operation with bark feedstock dried to 8% moisture content, with corresponding feedstock costs in the range of 24.2 to 32.7 EUR/MWh; ie, a cost reduction of about 40% compared with wood pellets.     

Dietary differences among commercially important fishes in Lake Tanganyika assessed using stable isotope analysis

The pelagic fishery of Lake Tanganyika, which is largely made up of the three species Lates stappersii, Limnothrissa miodon, and Stolothrissa tanganicae, has been in decline, and there is no clear understanding of the primary underlying causes. It has been suggested that climate change has altered the primary productivity of the system, but detailed knowledge of the system's food web is required to elucidate the effect on higher trophic levels. The aim of this study is to determine the diet of the three commercially important fish species. Muscle tissue samples for stable isotope analysis were taken from February through April 2017, supplemented with stomach samples from L. stappersii for use in stomach content analysis. The stomach analysis showed an ontogenetic change in the diet composition of L. stappersii, shifting from copepods to fish larvae, supplemented with shrimp, to whole fish prey as the fish grew larger. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values from fish muscle were consistent with this observation, and also seemed to indicate that fish of similar sizes had similar diets, irrespective of species. This suggests that the diet of the pelagic fish species might be better explained by size, rather than species. The isotope data revealed a short range of δ¹⁵N values from primary consumers to fish, which may help explain the high fisheries productivity of Lake Tanganyika, and the strong impact of primary productivity changes on fisheries yield.