Article
Engineering, Environmental
Alexander John, Irene Carra, Bruce Jefferson, Monika Jodkowska, Adam Brookes, Peter Jarvis
Summary: The application of microbubbles in water treatment has shown to enhance gas-liquid contacting processes and compound removal compared to conventional bubbling techniques. However, this study found that there was no significant difference in hydroxyl radical generation between microbubble and conventional bubble ozonation systems.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Oladayo Ogunyinka, Felipe Iza, Benjamin Buckley, H. C. Hemaka Bandulasena
Summary: A novel microfluidic plasma reactor has been developed for trans-stilbene epoxidation with optimized operating conditions, achieving high epoxide yield and selectivity.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Ju-hoon Park, Jeong-sook Park, Jae-hyeouk Lee, Byeong-ho Jeong
Summary: Atmospheric pressure plasma ozone can be utilized for effective sterilization in complex structures. Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) devices can distribute plasma evenly and limit the charge supplied. A high-density plasma ozone generator using DBD achieved 99.9% sterilization in a short time.
JOURNAL OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Jiabao Sun, Yanbin Xin, Tianyu Sun, Bing Sun, Xinfei Fan
Summary: Biomass materials obtained from plasma carbonized film (PCF) prepared by dielectric barrier discharge plasma have significant advantages in solar-driven desalination. The PCF can efficiently convert solar energy into heat energy and continuously obtain fresh water from salt water. PCF has abundant micron-sized holes and low-distortion channels forming a 3D interconnection structure, resulting in a solar-steam conversion efficiency as high as 91%.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Gabriela N. Pereira, Karina Cesca, Anelise Leal Vieira Cubas, Debora de Oliveira
Summary: Non-thermal plasma technology has been extensively studied and applied as an environmentally friendly technique for the clean treatment of lignocellulosic materials. Compared to traditional chemical pre-treatments, non-thermal plasma technology can reduce environmental pollution effectively, and is expected to be an efficient pretreatment method for producing high value-added products from large quantities of residues in the future.
TRENDS IN FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Physics, Applied
Alina Begley, Giovanni Luca Bartolomeo, Daniel F. Abbott, Victor Mougel, Renato Zenobi
Summary: In this study, nitrogen was doped into monolayer graphene using reactive nitrogen species from a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD). The treated graphene monolayer showed a moderate degree of damage and an increase in N-atom (pyrrolic) and O-atom (mixed) content after 30 seconds of treatment. However, longer treatment times led to radial expansion of the treated area and destruction of the graphene. The N-atom content increased with increasing operating voltage of the DBD source. When only neutral reactive nitrogen species were used, the N-atom content and type remained unchanged. Based on these findings, it is hypothesized that neutrals such as N(S-4) and possibly N(P-2) are the primary reactive species resulting in pyrrolic N-doping from the DBD.
PLASMA PROCESSES AND POLYMERS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Yanhui Sun, Ming Li, Mohammad Hassan Hadizadeh, Fei Xu
Summary: In this study, the aquatic transformation mechanisms, kinetics, and ecotoxicity of Primidone (PMD) induced by OH/O3 were investigated. The vulnerability of the H atom in the -CH2- group (H8) on the pyrimidine ring to be abstracted by OH radicals was found, resulting in the formation of the dominant intermediate IM8. The cycloaddition and subsequent degradation pathway of PMD with O3 also generated the main ozonation compound P35. The findings provide valuable insights into the behavior of PMD mineralization.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Qiancheng Wang, Ai Zhang, Pan Li, Paul H. Heroux, Han Zhang, Xin Yu, Yanan Liu
Summary: The study demonstrates that PS activated by DBD in combination with MBs can efficiently degrade ATZ in aqueous solutions, with a degradation efficiency of up to 89%. The heat generated by DBD benefits the removal of ATZ, while factors such as PS dosage, discharge power, and initial pH values have an impact on the effectiveness of ATZ removal. Furthermore, the presence of different ions can have varying effects on the degradation efficiency.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2021)
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Baorong Duan, Xuefeng Shao, Yan Han, Yi Li, Yuanjun Zhao
Summary: This article details the latest research progress on ultrasound-enhanced bacteriostasis methods, analyzing the mechanisms of each method and pointing out the existing problems and challenges in the development of the technology.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Zhancong Liang, Liyuan Zhou, Xinyue Li, Rosemarie Ann Infante Cuevas, Rongzhi Tang, Mei Li, Chunlei Cheng, Yangxi Chu, Patrick K. H. Lee, Alvin C. K. Lai, Chak K. Chan
Summary: Incense burning is a religious activity that emits pollutants into the atmosphere. We found that nitrogen-containing organic compounds in incense burning particles can react with ozone to form nitrate, and this reaction is significantly enhanced in the presence of UV light. Our study provides insights into the air pollution caused by religious activities.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Slawomir Jodzis, Klaudia Baran
Summary: The study found that gas temperature has no significant effect on ozone concentration drop, but the appearance of electrical discharges leads to intensive ozone decomposition even at low temperatures and low powers. Ozone decomposition is mainly caused by momentary increase in gas temperature in microdischarge channels, hindering the removal of heat and affecting ozone concentration achieved.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Valentina Pidlisnyuk, Robert Ato Newton, Aigerim Mamirova
Summary: Completing the loop of the Miscanthus value chain requires returning waste to the production cycle for sustainable use and a zero-waste approach. Utilizing Miscanthus feedstock to produce biochar and biogas, and incorporating biochar into phytoremediation and crop production cycles can improve soil characteristics and biodiversity.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Thermodynamics
Jangam Ashok, Sibudjing Kawi
Summary: Efficient conversion of biomass tar was achieved using Co-containing La8Ce2-Co5Ti5Ox catalyst in an integrated catalytic-DBD plasma process, leading to high catalytic performance and gas yield of H-2 and CO, which are essential for achieving high calorific values of the product.
ENERGY CONVERSION AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Mei-Hui Pian, Lu Dong, Zhen-Ting Yu, Fan Wei, Chun-Yang Li, Dan-Cai Fan, Shi-Jie Li, Yan Zhang, Shuo Wang
Summary: This study compared the effects of ozone-microbubble-washing (OM) and conventional water-washing (CW) on the quality of muscle foods. The results showed that OM treatment did not damage muscle microstructure and did not accelerate protein oxidation.
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Marta Babicka, Magdalena Wozniak, Monika Bartkowiak, Barbara Peplinska, Hanna Waliszewska, Magdalena Zborowska, Slawomir Borysiak, Izabela Ratajczak
Summary: This paper presents a method for obtaining cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) from agricultural residues and evaluates the influence of different ionic liquids in the solvolysis process. The CNC obtained from Miscanthus and Sorghum biomass showed viable nanometric size and lower crystallinity.
INDUSTRIAL CROPS AND PRODUCTS
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Pratik D. Desai, Michael Turley, Richard Robinson, William B. Zimmerman
Summary: With 2% of the world's total energy output used for ammonia production, the remediation and recovery problem is a daunting task. However, hot microbubble stripping has shown to be more effective in removing ammonia from dilute solutions, with higher separation efficiency and mass transfer coefficients than conventional methods.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AND PROCESSING-PROCESS INTENSIFICATION
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
William B. Zimmerman
Summary: Zimmerman developed a theory on additional convection of latent heat by microbubbles, and explored systematic errors and uncertainties concerning the Mpemba effect. The study found that under certain conditions, the endogenous source of microbubbles is reasonable.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Tito Francisco Ianda, Ricardo de Araujo Kalid, Lucas Bonfim Rocha, Antonio Domingos Padula, William B. Zimmerman
Summary: This research examines the feasibility of microalgae biodiesel production in Guinea-Bissau through technoeconomic analysis. The simulations show that the cost of producing microalgae biodiesel is competitive and has potential for scaling up.
BIOMASS & BIOENERGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Matthieu Fauvel, Anna Trybala, Dmitri Tseluiko, Victor Mikhilovich Starov, Himiyage Chaminda Hemaka Bandulasena
Summary: This study found that external electric fields can affect the stability of liquid foams, with different impacts on different types of surfactants and solid materials. Numerical simulations revealed the influence of electric potentials at different interfaces on fluid flow in the foam structure under external electric fields.
Article
Mechanics
Richard Hodgkinson, Stephen T. Chaffin, William B. J. Zimmerman, Chris Holland, Jonathan R. Howse
Summary: The effect of extensional flow on the apparent shear viscosity of a viscoelastic polymer solution is studied in this work. By using a novel flow configuration, the researchers directly measure the effect and find that shear thinning is enhanced by parallel extensional flow and reduced by perpendicular extensional flow. The commonly used models show different levels of agreement with the experimental data, with the Giesekus model providing a better qualitative description.
JOURNAL OF RHEOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Thermodynamics
William B. Zimmerman
Summary: A theory for additional heat convection by microbubbles has been proposed. This paper tests the proposition that the additional heat flux is controlled by the phase fraction of microbubbles through simulations of the canonical hot wall / cold wall buoyant convection problem. The simulations show that the range of additional heat transfer varies monotonically with the length scale of the cavity, and the stable stratification resultant at higher characteristic lengths suppresses the additional heat flux due to microbubble mediation.
APPLIED THERMAL ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Matthieu Fauvel, Anna Trybala, Dmitri Tseluiko, Victor Mikhilovich Starov, Himiyage Chaminda Hemaka Bandulasena
Summary: This study investigates the electrophoretic separation of fluorescent dye mixtures in liquid foams using a custom-designed foam separation device. The effects of external electric field and initial pH of the solution on separation effectiveness are examined. The results suggest that fluid motion, back pressure, and local pH changes have complex effects on the separation process, while the charge state of the dye molecules plays a critical role.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Fahed Javed, William B. Zimmerman, Tahir Fazal, Ainy Hafeez, Maria Mustafa, Naim Rashid, Fahad Rehman
Summary: A new heterogeneous catalyst was developed by modifying a metal-organic framework with biomaterials and integrating it with microbubble mediated mass transfer technology. The catalyst achieved high conversion and reaction rate, and showed good stability.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH & DESIGN
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Fahed Javed, Muhammad Waqas Saif-ul-Allah, Faisal Ahmed, Naim Rashid, Arif Hussain, William B. Zimmerman, Fahad Rehman
Summary: Biodiesel, as an alternative to fossil fuels, has the potential to be a clean and environmentally friendly energy source. However, its commercial application is hindered by expensive feedstock and slow pretreatment process. Recent lab-scale experiments using microbubble technology have demonstrated its potential for commercial use. This study focuses on analyzing the feasibility of microbubble technology at an intermediate scale and establishes a robust model for up-scaling the process.
BIOENGINEERING-BASEL
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Talha Istkhar, Ainy Hafeez, Fahad Javed, Tahir Fazal, Faisal Ahmad, Arif Hussain, William B. J. Zimmerman, Fahad Rehman
Summary: The current study explores microbubble mediated reactive distillation to improve mass transfer, conversion, and reaction rate. Methyl acetate production was investigated as a case study, showing significantly higher conversion compared to previous studies. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) models were used to analyze parameter correlations and predict responses, with GRU proving to be more robust and reliable than RSM.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AND PROCESSING-PROCESS INTENSIFICATION
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Pratik D. Desai, William B. Zimmerman
Summary: Microbubble dispersions are commonly used in industrial applications, and the wetting properties of microbubble generation devices have a significant influence on bubble size distribution. Recent studies have shown that wetting is an important factor in microbubble performance. It is recommended to assess the influence of wetting based on mechanisms/devices where wetting effects have been demonstrated.
CURRENT OPINION IN COLLOID & INTERFACE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Thomas D. Holmes, Bryony C. Moody, William B. J. Zimmerman
Summary: A plasma chemical reaction system can be accurately represented using a directed bipartite variable-relationship graph to analyze node influence and determine improved condition sequencing for a target outcome. A novel graph algorithm (OCARINA) was adapted for this graph and two conventional node-influence measures were also tested. The evaluation of the electron energy node influence using three different methods showed that OCARINA closely matched the simulation results for O-3 concentrations.
PLASMA CHEMISTRY AND PLASMA PROCESSING
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Fahed Javed, William B. Zimmerman, Tahir Fazal, Ainy Hafeez, Maria Mustafa, Naim Rashid, Fahad Rehman
Summary: A new heterogeneous catalyst, Bio-MOF complexed with an ionic liquid ([HMIM][HSO4]/Bio-MOF), has been synthesized and integrated with microbubble-mediated mass transfer technology to achieve a high conversion rate of biodiesel production. The catalyst demonstrates superior reactivity and stability.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH & DESIGN
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Fahed Javed, Muhammad Rizwan, Maryam Asif, Shahzad Ali, Rabya Aslam, Muhammad Sarfraz Akram, William B. Zimmerman, Fahad Rehman
Summary: This study focuses on the conversion of waste resources into biodiesel using a bifunctional catalyst and microbubble-mediated mass transfer technology. The results demonstrate a high conversion rate and stability using the 7% Sr/ZrO2 catalyst. Additionally, the one-step process reduces energy consumption, improves cost-efficiency, and simplifies the production process.
BIOENGINEERING-BASEL
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Atheer M. G. Al-Yaqoobi, William B. Zimmerman
Summary: Controlling the size of bubbles is crucial for enhancing transport performance in gas-liquid systems. This study investigates the role of surface wettability on bubble size using the Washburn method. The results show that liquids with small contact angles produce smaller bubbles compared to liquids with higher contact angles. The study demonstrates the viability of the Washburn method in characterizing wettability and suggests that carefully choosing a diffuser material with better wettability can significantly reduce bubble size.
CHEMICAL AND PROCESS ENGINEERING-INZYNIERIA CHEMICZNA I PROCESOWA
(2022)