The 50 most-cited articles in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2023

The present work gives an overview of the approaches for green synthesis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and 2,5 furan dicarboxylic acid (FDCA) focusing on reduction in the byproduct formation such as levulinic acid and humins. It was elucidated that the use of highly polar and aqueous solvents, high Brønsted acidity, high pH, reaction time, and temperature increases the levulinic acid formation in the reaction. In contrast, humin formation is increased by high basicity, temperature, and initial substrate concentration. Specific catalytic and solvent systems for minimizing the byproduct formation during HMF synthesis are also discussed along with options for use of microwave, ultrasound, and continuous processes. In terms of intensification, safety, and ease of scale-up, the use of ultrasound for HMF synthesis is promising; however, microreactors are currently a better choice for higher substrate concentration usage and higher yields. Effect of parameters like reaction time, temperature, oxidizing source, solvent, and base on FDCA synthesis is also analyzed. Depending on the…

Most synthetic materials used in water treatment and energy storage are nonbiodegradable and nonrenewable, causing the generation of massive electronic wastes and discarded separation materials. Sodium alginate (SA) has the features of abundant sources, low cost, renewability, and biodegradability. To achieve sustainable development and minimize environmental impact, SA is well designed into high-performance hydrogels, aerogels/foams, films, and binders used in water treatment and energy storage components via low-energy, low-toxicity, and low-cost ways. This review summarizes the preparation methods of SA composites and highlights the advantages of composites applied in water treatment and energy storage. In water treatment, challenges and solutions to the separation, regeneration, and waste disposal process of SA composites are introduced, aiming to simplify the separation process, reduce secondary pollutants, and achieve high-value utilization of waste. Conventional and nonbiodegradable components in energy storage materials were replaced with renewable SA to improve…

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide This work investigates three types of biochar (bamboo charcoal, wood pellet, and coconut shell) for postcombustion carbon capture. Each biochar is structurally modified through physical (H 2 O, CO 2 ) and chemical (ZnCl 2, KOH, H 3 PO 4 ) activation to improve carbon capture performance. Three methods (CO 2 adsorption isotherms, CO 2 fixed-bed adsorption, and thermogravimetric analysis) are used to determine the CO 2 adsorption capacity. The results show that a more than 2.35 mmol·g –1 (1 bar, 298 K) CO 2 capture capacity was achieved using the activated biochar samples. It is also demonstrated that the CO 2 capture performance by biochar depends on multiple surface and textural properties. A high surface area and pore volume of biochar resulted in an enhanced CO 2 capture capacity. Furthermore, the O*/C ratio and pore width show a negative correlation with the CO 2 capture capacity of biochars.

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have attracted significant interest in dissolving lignocellulosic components. However, revealing the relationship between the solvation properties of DESs and their ability to dissolve lignocellulosic components remains a significant challenge. Herein, 56 DESs were prepared and applied to dissolve lignocellulosic components. This revealed that the Kamlet–Taft parameters (i.e., α, β, and π*) were significantly affected by the structures of DESs. More notably, the correlation between Kamlet–Taft parameters and solubility varied with DESs and lignocellulosic components. Concretely, DESs have greater values of β and β–α (net basicity), are expected to dissolve cellulose efficiently, have greater net basicity, and are favorable to dissolve lignin, and the solubility of xylan was linearly correlated with the β value. These findings provided valuable information and necessary theoretical guidance on designing robust DESs to dissolve lignocellulosic components based on Kamlet–Taft solvatochromic parameters.

Heavy metal pollution results in enormous environmental impacts and significant human health problems. Because of their extreme toxicity and lack of biodegradability, heavy metal ions in water are considered problematic. Although the removal of various heavy metal ions from wastewater has been widely investigated, heavy metal contamination still requires effective and suitable remediation. With special attention on heavy metal removal, this study reviews recent advances, breakthroughs, and potential applications of various physical, chemical, and biological methods. Each treatment method has specific mechanisms of interaction with metal ions, which are described in this review. The discussion in this review leads to the conclusion that adsorption has the best potential which leads to the sustainable remediation of heavy metals. In summary, the review provides a new perspective on heavy metal reduction and encourages the development of innovative strategies for heavy metal removal. The main current problems and prospects in this field are highlighted in this review.

Stainless steel is a common material for high-pressured hydrogen storage. However, the extreme pressure reached in these storage systems accelerates the embrittlement of stainless steel caused by hydrogen, thus reducing its lifetime and seriously limiting the development of the hydrogen industry. Adding hydrogen permeation barrier coatings to the surface of stainless steel is one of the most effective approaches to delay or prevent the permeation of hydrogen and its isotopes through the substrate. Despite the relevance of the issue, studies on hydrogen permeation barrier coating materials have not so far been as popular as those on hydrogen storage materials. In this review, the mechanism of hydrogen permeation and the working principle of hydrogen barriers were investigated. On the basis of this, the hydrogen barring coatings were classified, the influence factors and defects of the coatings were analyzed, and the preparation technologies along with the methods of evaluation were summarized. Polymer composites strengthened by graphene and other materials were considered more…

The pulp and paper industry generates vast amounts of wastewater, and its character heavily depends on various factors (raw material, the undertaken process, the final product, etc.). The wastewater from this sector, which originates from several sources in each mill and are mostly combined, is polluting and hazardous. This paper presents a state-of-the-art review of the physical, chemical, biological, and advanced hybrid treatment techniques, concerning their effectiveness in removing specific pollutants, namely, chemical oxygen demand, lignin, color, and adsorbable organo-halogens. Throughout the manuscript, at the end of each section, a conclusive comparison has been presented and the proper method is introduced. Furthermore, numeric data regarding the effectiveness of each technique toward each pollutant are gathered from the literature and are available in the Supporting Information of the paper. Biological treatment processes using anaerobic–aerobic treatment mostly cure organic biodegradable contaminants (75–90% COD removal). Moreover, biological treatment using a consortium…

This comprehensive review focuses on modified biochar and its applications as highly efficient adsorbent for the removal of contaminants from aqueous solutions. Biochar possesses favorable properties like numerous functional groups, large surface area, and charged surfaces, making it an appealing and environmentally friendly sorbent. However, designing biochar for precise pollutant removal necessitates evaluating variables like pyrolysis temperature, nature of biomass, biochar dosage, solution pH, composition, residence time, and physicochemical characteristics. Addressing these factors can amplify the adsorbent capacity of biochar. Various mechanisms, including pore filling, electron donor–acceptor (EDA) interactions, precipitation, electrostatic interactions, hydrophobic attractions, and ion exchange, contribute to pollutants’ adsorption. The current modification methods are often expensive and may lead to secondary pollution. Hence, the present review emphasizes methods of preparing environmentally friendly and financially affordable modified biochars for industrial and practical…

Physics-Informed Machine Learning (PIML) is an emerging computing paradigm that offers a new approach to tackle multiphysics modeling problems prevalent in the field of chemical engineering. These problems often involve complex transport processes, nonlinear reaction kinetics, and multiphysics coupling. This Review provides a detailed account of the main contributions of PIML with a specific emphasis on modeling momentum transfer, heat transfer, mass transfer, and chemical reactions. The progress in method development (e.g., algorithm and architecture), software libraries, and specific applications (e.g., multiphysics coupling and surrogate modeling) are detailed. On this basis, future challenges highlight the importance of developing more practical solutions and strategies for PIML, including turbulence models, domain decomposition, training acceleration, surrogate modeling, hybrid modeling, and geometry module creation.

Steel slag is a solid waste of the steel industry, produced during steel production. Three types of slag, namely electric arc furnace (EAF), basic oxygen furnace (BOF), and Linz-Donawitz processed slag (LD-slag) are the steel industry byproducts. That slag comprises precious elements including zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), silicon (Si), aluminum (Al), and vanadium (V) and is considered a secondary source of many metals. These metal constituents can be recovered from slags by employing mineral processing techniques like crushing, grinding, magnetic separation, eddy current separation, flotation, leaching, and/or roasting. Metal extraction from steelmaking slag and slag utilization is essential not only for conserving metal supplies but also for environmental protection. This review article evaluated and summarized various extraction methods including magnetic separation, roasting, pyrometallurgical method, hydrometallurgical and bio hydrometallurgical technique to recover precious metal constituents from obtained slag. The state-of-the-art of metal recovery from…

The rapid development of 5G communication technology has led to serious electromagnetic wave pollution, and as a result, it is urgent to develop high-performance microwave absorption materials (MAMs) conducive to reducing electromagnetic pollution, which has great use in both the military and civilian fields. In this review article, we first introduce the absorption theory of microwave absorption materials. Then, the recent research progress in microwave absorption materials categorized as dielectric loss MAMs, magnetic loss MAMs, and electromagnetic synergistic loss MAMs are profoundly reviewed according to absorption mechanism. Subsequently, we proceed to review recent achievements in combining wave absorption with other functions including hydrophobicity, infrared stealth, and self-healing, aiming at developing advanced multifunctional MAMs adapted to various extreme environments during practical applications. Finally, the challenges are presented, and prospects for potential opportunities in this rapidly blossoming field are discussed accordingly. We hope this critical review is…

Today, the development of green nanocatalysts is among the popular topics due to the need for energy production and the cleaning of organic pollutants. In this approach, Bacillus thuringiensis, a bacterium, was used as a biosupport of ruthenium/nickel co-doped zinc nanoparticles ( bt RNZn NPs) to release hydrogen from the methanolysis of sodium borohydride (NaBH 4 ). In addition, their photocatalytic activity was reported against Methyl Orange (MO) organic dye. This study focused on the preparation, characterization, and catalytic and photocatalytic activity of the bt RNZn biocatalyst for the release of hydrogen from the methanolysis of NaBH 4 and removal of MO dye. According to TEM analysis, the average size of bt RNZn NPs was found to be 11.78 nm; in addition, bt RNZn NPs showed a photodegradation effect of 68.2% against MO dye at 90 min, and its photocatalytic mechanism was discussed. The effects of the catalyst, substrate, and temperature in the methanolysis reaction of NaBH 4 in the presence of the catalyst were investigated extensively. The reaction kinetics was calculated,…

In the pursuit of novel catalyst development to address pressing environmental concerns and energy demand, conventional design and optimization methods often fall short due to the complexity and vastness of the catalyst parameter space. The advent of Machine Learning (ML) has ushered in a new era in the field of catalyst optimization, offering potential solutions to the shortcomings of traditional techniques. However, existing methods fail to effectively harness the vast information contained within the expanding body of scientific literature on catalyst synthesis. To address this gap, this study proposes an innovative Artificial Intelligence (AI) workflow that integrates large-language models (LLMs), Bayesian optimization, and an active learning loop to expedite and enhance catalyst optimization. Our methodology combines advanced language understanding with robust optimization strategies, effectively translating knowledge extracted from the diverse literature into actionable parameters for practical experimentation and optimization. In this article, we demonstrate the application…

The industrial application of epoxidized vegetable oil is being diversified and commercialized at a rapid pace. It is attributed to its environment friendly nature compared to the synthetic Bisphenol A epoxides which are deemed toxic. However, there are concerns that the incorporation of such epoxidized vegetable oil has an undesirable impact on the main performance properties of tires due to its inherent flexible polymer chain. At the same time, new product innovations and synthesis capabilities can help us develop polymer products in a more sustainable fashion. This review first outlines the inherent challenges, the progress made thus far, and future opportunities for epoxidized vegetable oil derivatives. Next, the main application areas of these epoxides, such as plasticizers, coatings, and composites, are discussed in-depth. Possible design guidelines for surpassing the challenges to equivalent performance are also examined. A meticulous overview of the existing literature is conducted to summarize the recent approaches to epoxidized vegetable oil derivative products with a…

Given the hesitance surrounding the direct implementation of black-box tools due to safety and operational concerns, fully data-driven deep-neural-network (DNN)-based digital twins are facing an implementation hurdle. To address this, hybrid models combining physics-based, first-principles with machine learning models have gained traction. These models are perceived as the “best of both worlds” solution. However, existing simplistic DNN models fall short of predicting the long-term evolution of process data. Recently, time-series transformers (TSTs), which utilize a multiheaded attention mechanism to capture both long and short-term process dynamics, have demonstrated superior performance. Consequently, a first-of-a-kind, TST-based hybrid modeling framework for batch crystallization has been developed, offering improved accuracy and interpretability when compared to conventional black-box models. Particularly, two different configurations, series and parallel, of TST-based hybrid models were constructed and compared. They demonstrated a normalized-mean-square-error within the range…

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) is a hydrophilic polymer with good chemical resistance, low price, and excellent processability for fabricating membranes, especially for electrospun nanofiber-based membranes. In this review, the recent developments in the application and modification of PAN membranes are discussed, focusing on some applications such as pervaporation (PV), ion exchange, hemodialysis, membrane distillation, adsorption membrane, and water and wastewater treatment. First, the physicochemical characteristics and the synthesis techniques of the PAN are discussed, and next, the PAN application in the fabrication of membrane is reviewed. Different PAN membranes with their fabrication techniques are reviewed with detailed studies focused on the modification methods. By using different modifiers especially nanomaterial blending, the physicochemical properties and performance (membrane structure, permeability, mechanical strength, hydrophilicity, porosity, and surface charge) of the PAN membranes are improved. Finally, the challenges and future perspective of these membranes are…

Hydrolysis of waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) into terephthalic acid (TPA) is a promising recycling method to manage this waste and can also serve as a feedstock for the re-production of PET. However, the drawbacks of this recycling method are the low degradation efficiency, complex/ecounfriendly separation of products, and low TPA purity. In this work, waste PET bottles were completely depolymerized using an uncatalyzed neutral hydrolysis, which was accompanied by a very simple solid product separation with no purification step. The influences of experimental parameters, such as hydrolysis time, the addition of ethylene glycol cosolvent, and the PET/water ratio on the TPA yield and purity, were investigated. Qualitative analyses showed that the solid product from the hydrolysis process was TPA, which was consistent with commercial purified TPA. The results showed that a long hydrolysis time, in the absence of any catalyst and a very high PET/water ratio, favored increased TPA yield, selectivity, and purity. The TPA yield increased from ∼86 to ∼98% as the hydrolysis time…

In this work, we present an open-source software package, referred to as FeO s ─Framework for Equations of State and Classical Density Functional Theory. FeO s is a collection of interfaces and data types that can be used (1) to implement thermodynamic equations of state and Helmholtz energy functionals for classical density functional theory, and (2) to compute thermodynamic properties of pure substances and mixtures, phase equilibria, and interfacial properties such as surface tensions and adsorption isotherms. The framework is written in the Rust programming language with a complete Python interface and is designed with a focus on usability and extensibility. It is openly available on GitHub ( https://github.com/feos-org/feos ). Equations of state can be implemented in Rust, yielding performant code, or as a Python class, which is useful for prototyping and with less emphasis on execution speed. In both cases, the user has to implement a single function: the Helmholtz energy. FeO s then uses generalized (hyper-) dual numbers to evaluate the Helmholtz energy as well as the…

Developing olivine-type lithium ferromanganese phosphates with high ionic/electronic conductivity is vital to promote their practical application in long-life and high-rate lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Herein, we propose a dual modification strategy combining C-coating and Nb-doping and apply it to enhance LiFe 0.5 Mn 0.5 PO 4 cathode materials. The uniform and compact C-coating layer successfully fabricates the high-speed conductive network among primary particles and meantime prevents the attack of electrolytes. The strong Nb–O coordination can effectively accelerate ion diffusion and electron transport within the nanoparticles while suppressing the Jahn–Teller effect of Mn 3+ . The dual modifications synergistically improve the LiFe 0.5 Mn 0.5 PO 4 cathode materials with superior lithium-storage capacities of 152 and 115 mAh g –1 at 0.1 and 5 C, respectively. Furthermore, it exhibits an impressive cycling performance with an ultrahigh capacity retention of 95.4% after 1000 cycles at 1 C. These findings extend the application of surface-to-bulk co-modification in developing novel…

Optimization for multiple objectives (multi-objective optimization) has attracted significant attention from academia, particularly in the last 2 decades. It provides a set of optimal solutions (known as Pareto-optimal solutions). Multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) is necessary to rank and choose one of the optimal solutions for implementation. The overall purpose of this paper is to investigate extensively the sensitivity of MCDM methods including the phenomenon of rank reversal. The research evaluates the effect of three modifications, namely, linear transformation of objectives (LTO), reciprocal objective reformulation (ROR), and removal of alternatives (RA) in the decision or objective matrix (DOM) of alternatives, on the ranking of Pareto-optimal solutions. The basic design of the study includes the use of 8 MCDM methods, 2 weighting methods (namely, entropy method and Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation, CRITIC method), and DOM datasets of 16 diverse applications from engineering. The major findings of the study are as follows. First, certain MCDM methods…

The polyanion sodium vanadium phosphate Na 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 3 (NVP) belongs to the sodium superionic conductors (NASICON) material. Its NASICON structural backbone forms a stable sodium accommodation site, and the open three-dimensional ion transport channel is conducive to the rapid intercalation/deintercalation of Na ions. As a cathode material for batteries, Na 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 3 has an extremely high specific capacity, voltage plateau, and cycle stability, meeting the requirements of low cost and high safety. It is a large-scale energy storage material with ideal potential and has received extensive attention. However, the low electronic conductivity of Na 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 3 material hinders its further application. Based on the current demand for large-scale application of sodium-ion batteries, this paper re-examines the effect of existing research progress on promoting practical applications and the problems that need to be solved in the future from the perspective of raw material cost system and process complexity. The paper first introduces the structural characteristics of Na 3 V 2…

In this work, we present a physics-informed recurrent neural network (PIRNN)-based modeling approach for nonlinear dynamic systems with parameter uncertainty. Physics-informed modeling approaches can improve the generalization performance of machine learning models by embedding the knowledge of physical laws in the learning process. Based on the standard PIRNN modeling approach for the nominal system without model uncertainties, we develop a novel PIRNN-enhanced modeling method that integrates online estimation of uncertain process parameters into the training process using the latest process data. The PIRNN-enhanced modeling approach is incorporated into the design of model predictive control (MPC), where an error-triggered mechanism is employed to trigger the quantification of modeling uncertainties and update of PIRNN models accordingly. Finally, a chemical process example is used to demonstrate the superiority of the proposed PIRNN-enhanced online learning mechanism in comparison to the conventional purely data-driven online update strategy for nonlinear systems subject to…

The current study reports the utilization of tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA)-modified hierarchical silica particles having bimodal meso/macroporosity for CO 2 capture under simulated direct air capture (DAC) conditions (400 ppm CO 2 in He). Results infer a typical relation between TEPA loading and CO 2 capture, where TEPA-impregnated HS (HS-TEPA-70) exhibits exceptionally high CO 2 uptake (5.20 mmol/g), shorter adsorption half time (110 min), and excellent amine efficiency (0.32 mmol of CO 2 /mmol of N) with moderate CO 2 /N 2 selectivity at 30 °C under DAC conditions. HS-TEPA-70 also showed appreciable CO 2 adsorption performance (5.88 mmol/g) under humid conditions (50 ± 3% RH) with 400 ppm CO 2 in He at 30 °C. TEPA-impregnated HS even displays better thermal stability up to 10 consecutive adsorption–desorption cycles with minimal amine leaching and moderate CO 2 regeneration energy. Moreover, the pelletized form of HS-TEPA-70 also demonstrates better CO 2 adsorption performance (3.34 mmol/g), which makes it a promising candidate for CO 2 capture from ambient air by temperature…

This paper presents recent developments in electrically conducting nanocarbon-containing polymer composite foams for advanced applications and introduces the knowledge gaps and potential solutions. Various materials have been used for electromagnetic interference shielding, energy storage, and piezoresistive applications. Among these, nanocarbon-containing polymer composite foams score high because of their superior performance and lightweight. By offering a holistic overview of the fundamentals of electromagnetic interference shielding, piezoresistivity, the processing of polymer nanocomposites and foams, and the critical aspects related to the development of electrically conducting polymer nanocomposite foams for advanced applications, this paper provides insight into future advances in this area. Furthermore, the selective localization of nanofiller particles in polymer blends and the consequent effects on the foamability and electrical properties of foams, an area seldom discussed in the literature, is critically reviewed in the present work. In summary, this paper offers new…

The deleterious impact of erosion due to high-velocity particle impingement adversely affects a variety of engineering and industrial systems, resulting in irreversible mechanical wear of materials/components. Brute force computational fluid dynamics (CFD) calculations are commonly used to predict surface erosion by directly solving the Navier-Stokes equations for fluid and particle dynamics; however, these numerical approaches often require significant computational resources. In contrast, recent data-driven approaches using machine learning (ML) have shown immense promise for more efficient and accurate predictions to sidestep computationally demanding CFD calculations. To this end, we have developed FLUID-GPT (Fast Learning to Understand and Investigate Dynamics with a Generative Pre-Trained Transformer), a new hybrid ML architecture for accurately predicting particle trajectories and erosion on an industrial-scale steam header geometry. Our FLUID-GPT approach utilizes a Generative Pre-Trained Transformer 2 (GPT-2) with a convolutional neural network (CNN) for the first time to…

Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) to useful products is an emerging power-to-X concept, which aims to produce chemicals and fuels with renewable electricity instead of fossil fuels.Depending on the catalyst, a range of chemicals can be produced from CO 2 electrolysis at industrial-scale current densities, high Faraday efficiencies, and relatively low cell voltages.One of the main challenges for up-scaling the process is related to (bi)carbonate formation (carbonation), which is a consequence of performing the reaction in alkaline media to suppress the competing hydrogen evolution reaction.The parasitic reactions of CO 2 with the alkaline electrolytes result in (bi)carbonate precipitation and flooding in gas diffusion electrodes, CO 2 crossover to the anode, low carbon utilization efficiencies, electrolyte carbonation, pH-drift in time, and additional cost for CO 2 and electrolyte recycling.We present a critical review of the causes, consequences, and possible solutions for the carbonation effect in CO 2 electrolyzers.The mechanism of (bi)carbonate crossover in…

Lignin is a highly abundant biopolymer with a complex polyphenolic structure, making it a potential source of aromatic precursors, polymers, and energy. However, its thermal stability limits its economic potential, with less than 3 wt % of waste lignin transformed into commodity products. This review focuses on the chemical and biological extraction methods for lignin to promote its valorization, which involves extraction, depolymerization, and fermentation or derivatization. As there is no universal method for extraction due to the heterogeneity of lignin, a range of methods each with their advantages and disadvantages are discussed, including sulfite pulping, Kraft, Organosolv, ozonolysis, steam-explosion, ionic-liquids and supercritical CO 2 extraction, and microwave- and ultrasound-assisted extraction. Biological methods, such as bacterial, fungal, and enzymatic delignification, are also explored. The review aims to provide insights to tailor extraction methods to individual needs and promote the sustainable utilization of lignocellulosic biomass.

Municipal sludge is an inevitable byproduct during the treatment of wastewater, which is produced by sewage treatment plants in urban residential areas, and it contains pathogens, heavy metals, and other pollutants. Municipal sludge is suitable for application in energy utilization because of its high organic content and relatively low toxic matter. The high moisture content of municipal sludge brings huge difficulties to its harmless disposal and resource utilization. At present, the main method used for sludge dehydration is mechanical dewatering. However, the mud cake produced by this method still has a water content of up to 80%, which does not meet the current rigorous requirements. Therefore, the development of deep dehydration technology for sludge is imperative. In this paper, the basic properties and structure of sludge were summarized. As a key component of sludge flocs, extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) has received much attention in sludge dewatering conditioning. Meanwhile, the influencing factors of sludge dewatering were also fully elaborated, including sludge…

Faults in the process industry can be diagnosed using various data-driven methods, but the intrinsic relationships between inputs and outputs, particularly the physical consistency of model prediction logic, have received little attention. To address this issue, we propose a topology-guided graph learning fault diagnosis framework that combines the concept of graphs with process physics. Our framework focuses on knowledge embedding and explanation and includes several key components: a topology graph based on the flowchart, a self-attention mechanism to discover distinctive knowledge from data, graph convolution to capture variable relationships, graph pooling to coarsen graph data, and a gating mechanism to establish long-term dependencies. We also use a graph explainer to assess the physical consistency of the model’s prediction logic. We demonstrate the feasibility of our method using the Tennessee Eastman process and show that it is not a black-box model but rather has natural advantages in terms of effectiveness and explanation.

Cancer is a major global health burden and poor survival rates can be attributed to lack of early diagnosis and limited access to timely and standard treatments. Significant progress has been made in recent years to establish reliable, cost-effective, and powerful cancer diagnostics. This review presents the recent advances (mostly after 2018) in cancer diagnostic technologies with a prime focus on the various types of biomarkers investigated, such as nucleic acids, proteins, enzymes, and even entire cancer cells, typically known as circulating tumor cells (CTCs). It elucidates several seminal works that utilize a multidisciplinary approach to cancer diagnostics as an alternative to traditional screening methods. Different detection techniques used for each biomarker type have been comprehensively reviewed and our goal is to provide the reader with a critical overview of the current sense and sensibility in the field of cancer biosensing. Furthermore, we discuss emerging trends in cancer biomarker detection using novel multiplexed and integrated platforms for accurate and easy…

The recycling of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is an important issue for environmental protection and resource conservation. Methanol alcoholysis is the main chemical method commonly used today to degrade PET into high-value monomers. However, conventional methanolysis of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) has problems such as high temperature and high pressure. To further reduce the temperature of methanolysis, in this work, cosolvent-enhanced methanol alcoholysis of PET polyesters was employed and systematically compared with the common methanol alcoholysis process. The results showed that the addition of a cosolvent could significantly lower the reaction temperature and shorten the reaction time compared with conventional methanol alcoholysis. The 100% conversion of PET can be achieved at 120 °C and 2 h. Meanwhile, the mechanisms for choosing acetonitrile as the best cosolvent for the reaction were investigated by combining experimental characterization and DFT simulation calculations and proposed the relevant basis for selecting a cosolvent. The experimental results showed…

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide The optimization of the air–solid contactor is critical to improve the efficiency of the direct air capture (DAC) process. To enable comparison of contactors and therefore a step toward optimization, two contactors are prepared in the form of pellets and wash-coated honeycomb monoliths. The desired amine functionalities are successfully incorporated onto these industrially relevant pellets by means of a procedure developed for powders, providing materials with a CO 2 uptake not influenced by the morphology and the structure of the materials according to the sorption measurements. Furthermore, the amine functionalities are incorporated onto alumina wash-coated monoliths that provide a similar CO 2 uptake compared to the pellets. Using breakthrough measurements, dry CO 2 uptakes of 0.44 and 0.4 mmol g sorbent –1 are measured for pellets and for a monolith, respectively. NMR and IR studies of CO 2 uptake show that the CO 2 adsorbs mainly in the form of ammonium carbamate. Both contactors are characterized by estimated Toth isotherm…

With the energy transition looming, the search for carbon-free fuels is imperative. Hydrogen is an excellent alternative to fossil fuels, but there are significant challenges in transport and production. Ammonia is an excellent hydrogen carrier with 17.6 wt % hydrogen content and zero carbon, and the infrastructure for its production, storage, and transport is already well-established. Currently, ammonia decomposition for hydrogen only reacts at high temperatures; therefore, the challenge is to optimize highly active catalysts for ammonia decomposition at low temperatures. This review will start from the background of ammonia decomposition for hydrogen, thoroughly introduce the ammonia catalytic decomposition systems, mainly covering ruthenium-based, iron-based, cobalt-based, nickel-based, metal nitride, metal carbide, and new alkali metal amide-imide systems, analyze in detail the influence of different catalyst preparation methods, supports, promoters, and other methods on the catalytic activity, and discuss the general rules for optimizing the efficiency of catalysts. Moreover,…

The efficient separation of CO 2 from air remains an important and challenging goal for direct air capture (DAC). Herein, iron-containing 13X zeolite (Fe@13X) with an efficient separation of CO 2 from the air was synthesized via a simple one-step in situ crystallization method. The results demonstrate that Fe@13X exhibited outstanding DAC performance (the CO 2 capacity of Fe@13X was 0.64 mmol/g, much higher than the 13X zeolite under simulated air), which was attributed to the introduction of Fe atoms, effectively narrowing the 13X micropore channel. Moreover, the DAC adsorption performance of Fe@13X in the temperature range from 25 to 75 °C was explored by combined thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. The results revealed that low temperatures were more favorable for the adsorption of CO 2 with a high adsorption rate but less selectivity. Furthermore, Fe@13X showed a 3 times higher CO 2 production (0.003 kg CO2 /kg ads ·h) and 3.6 times lower desorption energy (0.005 kW h/kg CO 2 ) than 13X zeolite in 400 ppm CO 2 in N 2 . Finally, Fe@13X exhibited…

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide The primary purpose of this investigation is to assess the nitrate removal efficiency of the two diverse synthesized beads from natural clinoptilolite modified with iron cations (Fe/Clin). Beads were prepared utilizing nanoporous Fe/Clin by employing alginate (A) and chitosan (Ch). X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller methods were operated to scrutinize the clinoptilolite, Fe/Clin, Fe/Clin-A-bead, and Fe/Clin-Ch-bead. A comprehensive batch adsorption investigation was performed using both synthesized specimens to determine the effective parameters. The effects of pH, bead dosage, and time were assessed. The optimum removal rates of 86.13 and 88.79% were computed for Fe/Clin-A-bead and Fe/Clin-Ch-bead at the optimized dosage and pH. Moreover, the best nitrate removal performance was at 4 and 3 g/L for Fe/Clin-A-bead and Fe/Clin-Ch-bead, respectively. The removal rates of 2, 3, 4, and 5 g/L of Fe/Clin-A-beads were…

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Forward osmosis (FO) is a promising membrane technology to promote water sustainability. However, the concentration polarization (CP) effects, including external (ECP) and internal concentration polarization (ICP), are critical issues reducing FO efficiency. In this study, a solution diffusion model was built to investigate the effects of different draw solutions (NaCl, KCl, Na 2 SO 4, and MgCl 2 ) on the intrinsic CP effects, and results were experimentally validated in a laboratory-scale FO system. The modeling results showed a significant loss of a draw solution’s theoretical osmotic pressure (OP) (up to 50–90%) in the CP effects, especially ICP (up to 40–72%). Among the various draw solutes, the solute with fewer ions dissociated (NaCl and KCl), a higher diffusion coefficient, and a low viscosity allowed solutes to diffuse more freely and maintain a higher effective OP with much lower CP. The ECP effects could be mitigated by increasing the flow rate, which improves mixing and reduces the boundary layer. The CP effects, ICP…

Removal of heavy metals in wastewater treatment is crucial to protect the environment, wildlife, and human health. Various techniques have been developed focusing on removal of heavy metal ions, pharmaceuticals, and other contaminants from different wastewater sources. The main methods include adsorption, filtration, ion exchange, electrochemical, reverse osmosis, precipitation, flotation/coagulation/flocculation, and photocatalytic-based treatments. This paper comprehensively assesses the sustainability of those common technologies used for wastewater process treatment. The sustainability profile depends mostly on the exact approach followed for each technology, including its energy consumption, type of radiation (where appropriate), auxiliary materials used (e.g., catalysts, adsorbents), and further specific experimental process settings. Thus, while sustainability inevitably provides a multifaceted answer, the review finally aims for sustainability benchmarking of all technologies, by compressing the manifold outcomes toward a compact information set, such as a table and radar…

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), successfully commercialized energy storage systems, are now the most advanced power sources for various electronic devices and the most potential option for power storage in e-vehicle applications. The usage of Li-ion batteries is rising proportionately to the significant growth in the global demand of LIBs. Given the present circumstances, recycling of used LIBs is essential for the recovery of less abundant resources and also to conserve the environment. Although the complete recovery of metal values from the black mass is still a major constraint in the recycling process, there have been various methodologies adopted for the efficient recycling of LIBs which mostly include pyrometallurgical and/or hydrometallurgical techniques. The major focus of this work, lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO 4, LFP), has grabbed massive attention with its increasing demand in e-vehicle industries owing to its safety and less use of nonabundantly available metals. Due to their high lithium content, spent LiFePO 4 batteries have garnered a lot of research interest for…

Phase change is a phenomenon that has been extensively utilized in chemical engineering, energy, electronics, vehicle, and space exploration. From both the science and engineering perspectives, gaining a profound understanding of the intricacies of multiphase flow processes accompanied by heat and mass transfer due to phase change is of fundamental importance. Indeed, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been increasingly applied as an effective tool to give an in-depth and efficient analysis of the phase change processes, thereby enhancing our understanding and capacity to control and optimize the phase change effects in these processes. This paper seeks to provide a comprehensive review of the utilization of CFD methodologies in the simulations of phase change flows across various applications, including temperature management, drying, separation and purification, and others. First, the CFD models at various scales that are developed to elucidate the phase change processes are summarized. Second, the noteworthy advances in the recent CFD simulation work on various phase…

With the development of industry and agriculture, the increasingly serious problems of environmental pollution and water quality deterioration that affect human health need to be solved. Materials containing both Fe and Mn, the two most abundant metal elements, have been widely used for wastewater decontamination since they are nontoxic, low-cost, easy to prepare, and highly efficient. This review systematically summarizes the synthesis methods of Fe–Mn-based unloaded materials (such as spinel-type, perovskite-type, layered double hydroxides, metal–organic framework, and its derivatives) and loaded materials (carbon materials, oxides, and other loaded materials). Furthermore, the progress and problems of the application of Fe–Mn-based materials in the fields of Fenton, photo-Fenton, electro-Fenton, persulfate, and sulfite catalysis processes are analyzed. Different activation mechanisms of Fe–Mn-based materials, such as radical pathways and nonradical pathways (like direct electron transfer pathways, singlet oxygen, and high valence metals, etc.) are described. Finally, the…

Nickel-based catalysts are the most promising selection for CO 2 methanation. But, it is challenging for monometallic Ni to achieve high CO 2 conversion at low temperature. This study develops ceria-supported bimetallic Ni–Ru catalysts that are highly efficient for low-temperature methanation. A small amount of Ru (0.2 wt %) addition to Ni enables the intermetal interaction, and enhances the dispersion of Ni particles with a more active surface, consequently boosting the catalytic capacity for hydrogen activation and CO adsorption. The bimetallic Ni–Ru catalysts exhibit a more than 3-fold rate enhancement at low temperature for selective methanation of CO 2 relative to the monometallic Ni/CeO 2 . Operando IR spectroscopy identifies the formate route as the major reaction mechanism over the monometallic Ni, and the presence of Ru in the bimetallic catalysts can induce the *CO-intermediate mechanistic pathway, contributing to the enhanced production of methane.

Nowadays, any industrial process must not only respond to market requirements but also be sustainable. Process intensification (PI) offers promising opportunities toward enhancing the process performance while addressing sustainability objectives. Intensified process design and technologies take various forms including reduction in consumption of natural resources, increase in efficiency, decrease in physical size, increase in throughput, and reduction in environmental emissions. Thus, PI offers new opportunities for more sustainable processes. In this perspective article, the background, challenges, and opportunities of PI are presented to help identify options that lead to enhanced sustainability. The paper will also discuss emerging tools that can help intensify conventional processes and achieve a more sustainable performance.

Membrane biofouling is a major stumbling block in membrane technology and particularly in the water treatment industry. Biofouling, in particular, is a serious concern because it is irreversible and thus cuts the lifespan of the polymeric membranes. This review, therefore, explores the fundamentals of biofouling development and the factors that promote biofilm growth in polymeric membrane systems. In this pursuit, we discuss avenues through which antibiofouling polymeric membranes have been fabricated using inorganic and carbon-based nanomaterials as membrane nanofillers to enhance the hydrophilicity and antibiofilm properties of the resultant composite membranes without significantly compromising the membrane filtering abilities. We further elucidate the chemistry by which the membrane nanofillers mitigate or inhibit the formation and growth of the undesirable biofilms on the surface and pores of the membranes. In achieving this, recent works on polymeric membrane biofouling are reviewed, with a particular focus on the correlation between the membrane performance and the…

Glycerol is a valuable feedstock, produced in biorefineries as a byproduct of biodiesel production. Esterification of glycerol with acetic acid yields a mixture of mono-, di-, and triacetins. The acetins are commercially important value-added products with a wide range of industrial applications as fuel additives and fine chemicals. Esterification of glycerol to acetins substantially increases the environmental sustainability and economic viability of the biorefinery concept. Among the acetins, diacetin (DA) and triacetin (TA) are considered high-energy-density fuel additives. Herein, we have studied the economic feasibility of a facility producing DA and TA by a two-stage process using 100,000 tons of glycerol per year using Aspen Plus. The capital costs were estimated by Aspen Process Economic Analyzer software. The analysis indicates that the capital costs are 71 M$, while the operating costs are 303 M$/year. The gross profit is 60.5 M$/year, while the NPV of the project is 235 M$ with a payback period of 1.7 years. Sensitivity analysis has indicated that the product price has…

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Dry reforming of methane (DRM) is a promising method to utilize two greenhouse gases, such as CH 4 and CO 2, to produce synthesis gas. In the current work, both monometallic Ni and bimetallic Ni–Fe catalysts with different Fe/Ni molar ratios, synthesized by solution combustion synthesis (SCS) in DRM, were investigated using a feed ratio of CH 4 /CO 2 /Ar of 1:1:1 at 600–900 °C. The catalysts were characterized by several physicochemical techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy energy-dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), CHNS, N 2 physisorption, H 2 -TPR, O 2 -TPO, NH 3 -TPD, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). One of the highest hydrogen yields of 81% was obtained at 93% conversion of CH 4 and 94% conversion of CO 2 for the bimetallic 15Ni–5Fe–30Al catalyst, which contained, according to XRD, NiAl 2 O 4 spinel and metallic Ni phases. The spinel phase was decomposed during the reaction, while the Ni 3 Fe alloy was formed. Catalysts with a higher Fe/Ni ratio…

Designing a hybrid photocatalyst with multichannel charge separation could address the issue of rapid recombination of photo-induced electron–hole pairs from a single semiconductor and assist photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. In this work, the Ni(OH) 2 -TiO 2 -Cu 2 O ternary hybrid has been successfully prepared with a combination of hydrothermal-calcination-chemical reduction methods. Particularly, Ni(OH) 2 species and Cu 2 O nanoparticles are anchored on a TiO 2 nanoflake assembly. Upon light illumination, photocatalytically splitting water to hydrogen is achieved by the as-synthesized ternary hybrids. Among them, the 0.83% Ni(OH) 2 -TiO 2 –4.5% Cu 2 O hybrid exhibits the highest photocatalytic performance. Particularly, the hydrogen generation rate (8384.84 μmol g –1 h –1 ) of 0.83% Ni(OH) 2 -TiO 2 –4.5% Cu 2 O is 3.5 times higher than that of pristine TiO 2 (2369.94 μmol g –1 h –1 ). It is also superior to the binary 0.83% Ni(OH) 2 -TiO 2 and TiO 2 –4.5% Cu 2 O samples. It is demonstrated that the formed p–n junction in the interface of TiO 2 and Cu 2 O as well as the…

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide This work introduces the principles and supplies the first key parameters for replacing the conventional ammonia-soda (Solvay) process with a new environmentally friendly and sustainable process. For this, the absorption of diluted CO 2 (0.0153–1.2 vol %) in carbonated NaOH solutions was experimentally studied in a temperature range relevant for direct air capture (DAC) in the middle Europe (5–20 °C). A dynamic process model was formulated and solved based on the literature parameters. It was found that by refitting the parameters, the average error was reduced from 9.49 to 7.8%. The absorption performance was evaluated using the mass transfer coefficient ( K G,CO 2 ), which is considered as a useful parameter for the future process design. The mass transfer coefficient reaches a maximum amount of about 3 mm/s at around 6 wt % NaOH, 0 wt % Na 2 CO 3, 20 °C, and 500 ppm CO 2 . The effects of NaOH and Na 2 CO 3 concentrations and temperature on the mass transfer coefficient were experimentally and theoretically studied. Considering…

The disposal of multifarious contaminants in water resources poses a grave threat to the environment and health. Effective methods of treating and detecting these contaminants are crucial for ensuring access to clean and safe water. MXenes and MXene-derived materials have emerged as promising candidates for the design and development of novel techniques for water purification and sensing applications, by virtue of their unique characteristics. These nanomaterials offer highly versatile features such as amenability for surface functionalization, tunability of interlayer spacing, good electrical conductivity, favorable ion transport properties, and large specific surface area. Considering their immense potential, research on MXene-based technologies for combating the water pollution problem is still in its early phase. This review provides a critical overview and evaluation of the recent advances in MXenes and MXene-based composites for the remediation and detection of water contaminants. The progress in the application of MXene-based materials in water treatment techniques such as…

In this work, we for the first time use a supramolecular compound ( p -tetrasulfonato calix[4]arene) as a functionalizing agent to modify graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets and prepare a unique class of GO/ p -TSC4 lamellar membranes, which are then successfully applied for removal of toxic environmental contaminants from wastewater. The GO/ p -TSC4 membrane (320 ± 20 nm) exhibits outstanding separation efficiency for different organic dyes, e.g., crystal violet, rhodamine B, eosin Y, congo red, and methylene blue, with superfast permeability. Furthermore, such membranes are employed for separating heavy metal ions, e.g., lead (Pb 2+ ), cadmium (Cd 2+ ), and arsenic (As 3+ ), and show an outstanding rejection of up to 94 ± 1%. In addition, these membranes also show good rejection of MgCl 2 (72 ± 1%) and NaCl (68 ± 1%) salts. Moreover, the as-prepared GO/ p -TSC4 membranes remain stable for up to ∼40 days in different aquatic conditions. This study provides an alternative approach to design cost-effective, eco-friendly, and high-performance separation membranes for ultrafast desalination.

Ordinary differential equations (ODEs) are extremely important in modeling dynamic systems, such as chemical reaction networks. However, many challenges exist for building ODEs to describe such systems accurately, which often requires careful experimentation and domain expertise. Recent advances for solving so-called inverse kinetic modeling problems have focused on the use of new data-driven methods that account for the physical structure of the governing equations, including physics-informed neural networks (PINNs), sparse identification of nonlinear dynamical systems (SINDy), and neural ODEs (NODEs). This work focuses on the NODE framework due to its ability to straightforwardly account for parameter dependencies, partial state observations, and sparse and nonuniform measurements over time. Specifically, we introduce a framework referred to as “physics-enhanced NODEs” that enables a combination of partially known mechanistic models with universal surrogate approximators, which enables scientific-based learning from limited datasets. We further specialize this framework for…