The encapsulation within nanostructures of lipophilic bioactive molecules, such as carotenoids, can be a solution to improve their bioaccessibility in foods and beverages. Among vegetables/fruits rich in carotenoids, pumpkin can be considered a functional food with interesting healthy effects. The aim of this work was to optimize the production of Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (SLN) for the encapsulation of carotenoid-rich extracts obtained from pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) pulp by ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) at 45°C for 30 min, using hexane:isopropanol (60:40, v/v). The extracts were characterized by in vitro spectrophotometric assays and chromatographic analysis. Hot high-pressure homogenization (HPH) was the method of choice for SLN production because it is easily scalable and it does not involve the use of organic solvents. To optimize the encapsulation conditions, β-carotene was used as model molecule. This choice was supported by the chemical-analytical characterization, which identified β-carotene as the main carotenoid of the pumpkin extracts. SLN loaded with 1% β-carotene have dimensions (~350 nm) compatible with increased intestinal absorption. Furthermore, ABTS assay showed that the technological process did not change the antioxidant capacity of β-carotene.

The Group Contribution (GC) approach is meanwhile old and was developed for many molecular properties. These quick and easy to use methods, in particular when a Graphical Interface is provided, and very beneficial to chemical process developers. One of these properties is the heat of formation ΔH_f or organic molecules. To appropriately describe chemical transformations and equilibria, the accuracy of the heat of formation must have chemical accuracy, i.e. 1 kcal/mol or better. Moreover, a method must be reliable which means there should be no or really very few outliers. So not only the absolute averaged deviation of the model values should be small, but each individual value should be within chemical accuracy. Up till recently GC methods for the heat of formation of organic molecules did not achieve this.

We have revised the GC approach for ΔH_f and have been able to achieve chemical accuracy. This was the result of a number of specific actions, mostly different from other implementations. First of all, in the procedure to determine the numerical values for the Group Contribution parameters we almost exclusively used reliable and consistent experimental data selected after consulting top-experts on experimental thermodynamics, which is crucial because of the 1 kcal/mol requirement. Secondly, the parameters were determined step-by-step, in fact by hand, so we could identify specific deviations which could, in a series of cases, be attributed to nearest or next-nearest neighbour interactions which were well understood based on concrete physico-chemical background. This resulted in an absolute minimum number (also compared to previous methods) of GC parameters which avoids overfitting and therefore improves predictability. A further aspect is that it is crucial to define the relevant size of the chemical Groups, rather than using the smallest possible entities. This enabled very good results which could not be obtained otherwise.

Finally, it is important to realize and to make explicit that certain effects, i.e. certain molecules, cannot be treated by a simple linear additive method as the GC method. Suggestions how to treat such molecules will be presented. More specifically, high level quantum calculations reveal useful data to close the gap.

Groundwater contamination is a rising worldwide issue and it must be treated well as most of the world relies on it. Groundwater pollution occurs when undesirable substances in groundwater rises. Understanding and predicting solute mobility in groundwater simulations helps create pollution treatment. MT3DMS was used to model contaminant movement with non-linear sorption for varied adsorption capacities and intensities. MT3DMS stands for “The modular three-dimensional multispecies Transport model”. It is USEPA-financed development and available opensource. MT3DMS is unique in that it includes three major classes of transport solution techniques (the standard finite-difference method, the particle-tracking-based Eulerian-Lagrangian methods, and the higher-order finite-volume TVD method) in a single code. The combination of these solution techniques is believed to offer the best approach for solving the most wide-ranging transport problems with efficiency and accuracy hence widely used by USGS. In this work, the benchmark problem P2 of MT3DMS package was taken and the chemical reaction package was modified accordingly to our problem and Multiple simulations were run with different adsorption capacities and intensities incorporating nonlinear Freundlich sorption isotherm to analyze BTC trends at a position 8 cm from the source where the pulse input of contamination was discharged for 160 seconds. The simulation lasted 1500 seconds. The observation output files were imported to plot BTCs for trend analysis and visualize simulation results. After comparing the various BTCs, it was found that the adsorption capability of porous medium enhances retention capacity, so contaminants are sorbed and retarded by solid phase more, slowing contaminant movement and delaying BTC peak. For similar adsorption capacity at lower Freundlich exponent, the solid retains more contaminant and the peak is delayed, but as the exponent increases, concentration in aqueous phase increases and peak occurs early as the solid retains less contaminant.

Digestate (anaerobic ferment) is an organic substance remaining after anaerobic processing (fermentation, fermentation) of organic matter or biodegradable waste - biogas extraction or anaerobic alcoholic fermentation - bioethanol extraction. Biogas production waste digestate is a valuable fertilizer in agriculture, but there are issues with odor emissions. Therefore, in order to reduce environmental air pollution, the efficiency of integrating a homogenized bio-additive - an activator of rotting residues into the digestate for ammonia emission was evaluated by scientific studies of ammonia gas emission. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effect of homogenized bioadditive in the digestate on reducing ammonia emissions. Biosolution is rotting residue activator (carrier molasses without GMO, calcium carbonate, dolomite, sodium hydrogen carbonate, magnesium sulphate) complies with EC Eco-BasisVO 834/2007 and 889/2008, has ECOCERT approval, is listed in FiBL Switzerland, manufactured by Roland With Plocher integral technik technology, the physical and chemical structure of molasses does not change after processing. It is recommended to add 1.5 - 2 l/100 m³ of biosolution to the liquid part of the digestate. The assessment of ammonia gas emission was performed by measuring the average ammonia concentration values fixed in time intervals every 15 min by automatic switching of the analyzer channels, in order to first assess the sudden immediate effect of the bioadditive and the regular gradual long-term effect. After evaluating the average concentration and emission of ammonia gas from the control and digestate with bio-additives depending on the duration of digestate storage, the correlation of the values compared with each other was established and the effect of the allocation of the bio-additive - rotting residue activator in the digestate on the reduction of ammonia concentration and emission was recorded. The highest efficiency of the bioadditive in reducing ammonia emissions ranged from 3 to 43% in the period from 1 to 100 h, which reached up to 450,000 mg m^-2h^-1. After evaluating the overall average reduction of ammonia emissions from digestate with bio-additive over the entire period, the essential effect of the use of bio-additives was proven and the highest effect was recorded in the first 24 hours. after the allocation of the bio-additive - the activator of rotting residues in the digestate. Thus, supplementing the digestate with various nutrients and specialized bio-additives provides an even better fertilizing value and prospects for reducing odour emissions.

It is a great technique to use iron and steel slags as feedstock for a mineral carbonation reaction to use carbon dioxide gas because they are easily accessible, contribute to land pollution, and have a reasonable quantity of lime and magnesia. The rate at which ironmaking blast furnace ironmaking slag dissolves in an aqueous solution of ammonium acetate was investigated in relation to pH, stirring speed, solvent concentration, and temperature. A one-factor-at-a-time experiment was conducted, and pH was monitored to the maximum value of 13, stirring speed ranged from 100 to 200 rpm, solvent concentration was between 0.01 and 1M, whereas the reaction temperature was maintained between 25 and 80°C. The dissolution kinetics of ironmaking slag was calculated by fitting experimental data to a model of a diminishing core. Using BET, XRF, XRD, and FTIR, the leaching residue was characterized under various experimental conditions. The formation of the aluminoakermanite phase was ascribed to the residue slag, which had an average specific surface area of 19.58 m²g^-1. In addition, FTIR analysis revealed that the residue mainly consists of Si-O-Si and Si-O-Al bonds. The results of the trial revealed that this reaction is driven by chemical reaction model equation. A semi-empirical model was also developed from the experimental data to better describe the dissolution kinetics.

The prilling technique is frequently used to make granular urea and ammonium nitrate. This basic procedure involves spraying a liquid flow from the top of a tower. At the same time, a stream of cooling air collected from the surrounding is fed from the bottom. The generated droplets fall counter-currently and become solid due to the heat removal by the cooling air. The process produces spherical particles with a nearly uniform size. In practice, prilling towers easily suffer operating issues due to incomplete solidification. Because of the poor efficiency of the solidification, a low-quality structure is generated, resulting in productivity and profit losses. Despite of the importance of the process, only a few studies have been conducted on the modeling of a prilling tower. In the study of Wu et al. (2007), a simple shrinking core model was used to design a new prilling tower. The model is based on a lumped technique in which the temperature is uniform over the entire particle. Alamdari et al. (2000) developed a distributed model. The temperature distribution within the particle was described by a heat transfer equation. Rahmanian et al. (2013) also applied this model to a local industrial tower with a rectangular cross-sectional area. Mehrez et al. (2014) also employed simultaneous mass, heat, and momentum transfers between the two phases to simulate the process. However, in these models, the same three sequential thermal intervals for the solidification of urea droplets are considered: cooling of liquid drops, solidification at freezing temperature of the liquid phase, and cooling of complete solid particles. In this approach, the solidification interval is classified as a Stefan one-phase problem, in which the temperature of the liquid phase is assumed to be constant. This assumption is not natural because the temperature distribution within the particle should change gradually with time. Therefore, in this report, the solidification of urea particle is considered as a two-phase Stefan problem, in which the heat fluxes occur in both two phases, liquid and solid. The cooling and solidification are treated as one process from liquid droplets to complete solid particles instead of dividing into three intervals. The model also considers the hydrodynamic of falling particles, mass transfer of the moisture. This velocity is used to estimate the convective heat transfer coefficient. Boundary condition is the convection cooling with air. The variation of the air temperature along the tower is also considered in this study.

Inspired by the principles of circular economy, harvest waste is being engineered to be reintroduced into the economical chain to manufacture new added-value materials, such as cellulose. In this regard, the purpose of this study was to assess the extraction of cellulose from micronized stalks of vines and characterize the effects of the granulometric fractions (500, 300, 250, 150 µm, and Retain (>150 µm). The cellulose collected from different fractions of micronized stalks vines underwent acid hydrolysis (acid sulfuric), alkaline hydrolysis (NaOH), and finally bleached (H₂O₂ adjusted pH to 11.5 with NaOH). The efficiency of the fiber bleaching of cellulose from each granulometric fraction (500, 300, 250, 150 µm and Retain (>150 µm)) for each fraction was evaluated from the color through a colorimeter (CM 700d Konica Minolta). Moreover, the extraction of cellulose fibers was assessed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), to evaluate the efficiency to remove lignin and hemicellulose. The size and shape m)) were measured by Dino-lite^® (AM7915MZT) microcopy. As results obtained from this study, the colorimeter readings, displayed a final yellow color of the fiber, demonstrating that the bleaching process was insufficient and that multiple bleaching processes might be required. According to the FTIR data, the stretching and deformation vibrations of the C-H group in the glucose unit are responsible for the intense bands at 2988 cm^-1 and 1394 cm^-1. Moreover, the signal at 1066 cm^-1 is attributed to the functions of the -C-O- group of secondary alcohols and ethers found in the cellulose chain backbone. Although lignin and hemicellulose were successfully removed according to the FTIR. Direct measurements reveal linear cellulose fibers with lengths between 0,100 and 6 mm long. The granulometric fractions obtained from the micronation of stalks vines (harvest waste) are intended to understand the influence of extraction procedures on the produced fibers. As a result, distinct cellulose yields were achieved for each fraction, including fractions 500, 300, 250, 150 µm, and retain, with values of 21.98, 12.70, 7.20, 5.74, and 3.11 %, respectively. In sum, we were able to extract cellulose from the stalk vine using this approach, although the last step still needs to be optimized for better whitening.

The hollow fiber membrane is frequently used to remove CO₂ gas in gas sweetening process due to its advantages such as cost-effiency, simplicity of operation and maintenance, compact size. Permeate flux behavior, which is governed by various factors such as membrane features, and operating conditions, has a significant impact on the performance of membrane separation. The majority of current research focuses on enhancing the permeability and selectivity of membranes. The configuration and operation of the membrane module have received scant attention in investigations. The geometrical layout and operational parameters of a membrane module are taken into account as multivariable optimization problem in this study. The annual cost serves as the objective function. A construction expenditure based on the size of the plant plus an operational expense related to energy usage make up the cost. The module dimensions (fiber diameter, fiber length, packing density) and operating conditions (inlet pressure) were taken into consideration as design factors in the optimization problem. The membrane area and energy consumption, which are directly related to the overall cost, are calculated using the model to simulate the membrane plant. To simulate multicomponent gas transport through hollow fiber modules, a membrane model with high prediction accuracy is adapted and solved numerically using collocation methods. The optimization is carried out using the genetic algorithm. It is also discussed how different parameters affect the overall cost.

The accuracy of the self-developed computation program was checked with the results obtained from ChemBrane. The relative difference between our program and ChemBrane is less than 1%. It suggests the applicability of our model and program. The optimization problem is finding the condition of the module that meet the requirement of CO₂ concentration of the effluent while minimizing the cost. The results suggest that the use of polyamide consumes lower cost than cellulose acetate membrane.

One of the main causes of climate change is greenhouse gases, which are dominated by an increased amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. The agricultural sector is one of the most important sources of greenhouse gas emissions. The goal is to prepare the calculation models-system of "Ūkio ŠESD" at the farm level. When reducing GHG emissions, it is important to accurately determine gas emissions at the farm level, while applying the GHG emissions accounting model, it is aimed to assess emission sources and apply effective measures to reduce gas emissions. According to the IPCC methodology, based on the experience of other countries, a spectrum of GHG emission sources has been determined at the farm level, including criteria defining the sustainability of the farm, and a methodology and system for accounting for GHG emissions at the farm level has been created. The developed model-system for calculating GHG emissions is calculated in three stages. The animal population is divided into subgroups and each of them is described. The emission coefficients of each subgroup in kilograms per animal per year and the number of animals in the subgroup are evaluated. Three (Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3) detail and complexity methods were used for calculation. The accounting system for GHG emissions at the farm level is created according to specially prepared GHG calculation methodologies, adapted formulas with selected variables and parameters. The prototype of the created accounting system is intended for use in the accounting of national greenhouse gas emissions and in "green" certification, for providing consulting services. By applying the GHG emissions accounting system, the main aspects of the mixed, livestock and crop farming activities influencing GHG were evaluated. In animal husbandry, the most GHG emission into the environment is CH4 gas, which accounts for as much as 91% of GHG emissions in animal husbandry: 79.0% evaporates from animal digestion processes and 11.6% from manure management systems. Most methane evaporates from the digestive systems of cows (55.6%), from other cattle - 39.2%, and from sheep - 3.0%. In order to determine GHG emissions in animal husbandry, it is necessary to estimate emissions of the following gases: methane (CH4); nitrous oxide (N2O). Methane gas emissions are determined from animal digestion processes and manure management technologies, nitrous oxide - direct and indirect emissions from manure. When calculating or experimentally determining the emission coefficients of methane and nitrous oxide gases, it is necessary to evaluate the conditions of keeping animals, the applied modern manure management technologies (manure removal from the barn, manure pits, manure incorporation into the soil), applied biomeasures to optimize fermentation and microbiological processes, and temperature changes. A methodically based GHG accounting system, which will record more accurate data collection in specific farms, would enable the state to know problem areas to which support measures aimed at reducing GHG emissions could be directed more appropriately, to carry out monitoring and to analyze the benefits provided by the support.