Search results for "Process Chemistry and Technology"
showing 10 items of 716 documents
Occurrence of Microplastics in Waste Sludge of Wastewater Treatment Plants: Comparison between Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) and Conventional Activated S…
2022
In this study, the presence of microplastics in the sludge of three wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) was examined. The investigated WWTPs operated based on a conventional activated sludge (CAS) process, with (W1) or without (W2) primary clarification, and a membrane bioreactor process (MBR) (W3). The microplastics (MPs) concentration in the samples of W3 was approximately 81.1 ± 4.2 × 103 particles/kg dry sludge, whereas MPs concentrations in W1 and W2 were 46.0 ± 14.8 × 103 particles/kg dry sludge and 36.0 ± 5.2 × 103 particles/kg dry sludge, respectively. Moreover, MPs mainly consisted of fragments (66–68%) in the CAS plants, whereas the fra…
Effects of Minimalist Footwear and Foot Strike Patterns on Plantar Pressure during a Prolonged Running
2022
The use of minimalist shoes (MS) in running involves changes in running mechanics compared to conventional shoes (CS), but there is still little research analysing the effects of this footwear on plantar pressure, which could help to understand some risk injury factors. Moreover, there are no studies examining the effects of a prolonged running and foot strike patterns on baropodometric variables in MS. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyse the changes produced using MS on plantar pressure during a prolonged running, as well as its interaction with the time and foot strike pattern. Twenty-one experienced minimalist runners (age 38 ± 10 years, MS running experience 2 ± 1 years) ran…
On the Finite Element Modeling of the Lumbar Spine: A Schematic Review
2023
Finite element modelling of the lumbar spine is a challenging problem. Lower back pain is among the most common pathologies in the global populations, owing to which the patient may need to undergo surgery. The latter may differ in nature and complexity because of spinal disease and patient contraindications (i.e., aging). Today, the understanding of spinal column biomechanics may lead to better comprehension of the disease progression as well as to the development of innovative therapeutic strategies. Better insight into the spine’s biomechanics would certainly guarantee an evolution of current device-based treatments. In this setting, the computational approach appears to be a remarkable …
Influence of the Screw Positioning on the Stability of Locking Plate for Proximal Tibial Fractures: A Numerical Approach
2020
Tibial fractures are common injuries in people. The proper treatment of these fractures is important in order to recover complete mobility. The aim of this work was to investigate if screw positioning in plates for proximal tibial fractures can affect the stability of the system, and if it can consequently influence the patient healing time. In fact, a more stable construct could allow the reduction of the non-weight-bearing period and consequently speed up the healing process. For that purpose, virtual models of fractured bone/plate assemblies were created, and numerical simulations were performed to evaluate the reaction forces and the maximum value of the contact pressure at the screw/bo…
Tetragonal tungsten bronzes Nb8−xW9+xO47−δ: optimization strategies and transport properties of a new n-type thermoelectric oxide
2015
Engineering of nanoscaled structures may help controlling the electrical and thermal transport in solids, in particular for thermoelectric applications that require the combination of low thermal conductivity and low electrical resistivity. The tetragonal tungsten bronzes Nb8−xW9+xO47 (TTB) allow a continuous variation of the charge carrier concentration while fulfilling at the same time the concept of a “phonon-glass electron-crystal” through a layered nanostructure defined by intrinsic crystallographic shear planes. The thermoelectric properties of the tetragonal tungsten bronzes Nb8−xW9+xO47−δ (0 < x < 2) were studied in the temperature range from 373 to 973 K. Structural defects and the…
A critical re-examination of the academic literature on venture capital networks
2020
This paper proposes a critical re-examination of the recent trends of the literature on venture capital networks. This brief review thoroughly scrutinises three papers that are representative of the recent academic literature in this field of study. I identify their points of strength and limitations, in order to pave the way for future research. This paper shows that the study of network weak and informal ties and the role of risk management strategies are promising areas for pushing the frontiers of research on venture capital networks. Extending our knowledge on this topic is crucial to understand the best strategic decisions venture capital firms should take, as parts of an inter-organi…
Performance Evaluation for a Sustainable Supply Chain Management System in the Automotive Industry Using Artificial Intelligence
2020
Increasing the sustainability of a system can be achieved by evaluating the system, identifying the issues and their root cause and solving them. Performance evaluation translates into key performance indicators (KPIs) with a high impact on increasing overall efficacy and efficiency. As the pool of KPIs has increased over time in the context of evaluating the supply chain management (SCM) system&rsquo
Generalized Noise Study of Solid-State Nanopores at Low Frequencies.
2017
Nanopore technology has been extensively investigated for analysis of biomolecules, and a success story in this field concerns DNA sequencing using a nanopore chip featuring an array of hundreds of biological nanopores (BioNs). Solid-state nanopores (SSNs) have been explored to attain longer lifetime and higher integration density than what BioNs can offer, but SSNs are generally considered to generate higher noise whose origin remains to be confirmed. Here, we systematically study low-frequency (including thermal and flicker) noise characteristics of SSNs measuring 7 to 200 nm in diameter drilled through a 20-nm-thick SiNx membrane by focused ion milling. Both bulk and surface ionic curren…
Recent progress in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for CO2 capture at different pressures
2022
Global climate change ensued by the rise in atmospheric CO2 levels is one of the greatest challenges our planet is facing today. This worldwide distress demands technologies that can contribute to our society toward “negative carbon emissions”. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies are in in important role for capturing CO2 from existing emission sources, such as industrial and energy production point sources, before new more prominent modifications to the energy infrastructure can be implemented. Recently, alongside point source capture, direct air capture (DAC) processes have emerged as highly sought-after technologies that are able to capture CO2 from the ambient air. Alongside t…
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Finite Element Analysis (FEM) of a Customized Stent-Graft for Endovascular (EVAR) Treatment of Abdominal Aorti…
2023
Background: The treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is today commonly treated by inserting a stent-graft by the endovascular route, without resorting to open surgery. However, some clinical cases do not allow this less invasive approach, meaning that the stent-graft cannot be inserted and open surgery is used. Methods: In the study, we propose a fluid–structure interaction (FSI) analysis of an aneurysmatic aorta that could not be treated with Endovascular Aneurysm Repair (EVAR). The vessel is reconstructed through segmentation from CT scans and subsequently modeled on CAD software to create the surface and thickness of the vessel itself. Subsequently, we proceeded to carry out Comp…