INVESTIGATION OF THE PROCESS OF MODIFICATION OF PETROLEUM ROAD BITUMEN BY MALEIC ANHYDRIDE

The possibility of modification of oxidized petroleum bitumen 70/100 produced by JSC "Ukrtatnafta" (Kremenchuk, Ukraine) with maleic anhydride was studied. The influence of maleic anhydride amount, process duration, and temperature on the main physical and mechanical characteristics of modified bitumen was studied. The optimal amount of maleic anhydride introduction to bitumen was established. It is found that 2 wt. % maleic anhydride allows to increase the softening temperature of the modified bitumen (from 46 °C to 52 °C). Adhesion to crushed stone also increases (from 2.5 points to 4.5 points) and other indicators improve. Sufficient time to modify the bitumen with maleic anhydride was 30 minutes. The optimum modification temperature for obtaining the modified bitumen with maleic anhydride is 130 °C. Increasing the temperature of the modification has a negative effect on the final physical and mechanical properties of the binder.

Comparative Analysis of Collagen-Containing Waste Biodegradation, Amino Acid, Peptide and Carbohydrate Composition of Hydrolysis Products

This paper aimed to study the biodegradation of collagen-containing waste (pork skin) induced by collagenase and Neutrase 1.5 MG enzymes and compare the amino acid, peptide, and carbohydrate composition of hydrolysis products. It was found that the degree of biodegradation of collagen-containing raw materials (pork skin) reached 78% when using an enzyme preparation (collagenase with a concentration of 250 U/g of the substrate) at pH 7.0, 40 °C, and a 360 min process duration. It was shown that the content of peptides with a molecular weight of 6.5–14.0 kDa in the hydrolysis products (collagenase) of collagen-containing wastes was 13.4 ± 0.40%, while in the products of hydrolysis (Neutrase 1.5 MG) it was 12.8 ± 0.38%. The study found that the hydrolysis products (Neutrase 1.5 MG) of collagen-containing raw materials contain fewer hexoses, free hexosamines, and hyaluronic acid than the hydrolysis products (collagenase) of collagen-containing raw materials. The content of chondroitin sulfates is practically the same in all samples of hydrolysis products. Proteases with collagenolytic activity are widely used in industry. Recently, they have increasingly been used in pharmaceutical, food, and other industries. Collagenases are promising enzymes for the production of chondroprotectors used for the treatment of osteoarthritis.

Hydrolysis of wheat straw hemicelluloses for maximum xylose extraction

The aim of the study is to select reaction conditions for hydrolysis of wheat straw with dilute sulfuric acid for maximum xylose extraction under mild conditions (at atmospheric pressure and temperature of 100°C). The authors found that maximum glucose yield (72.4-77.1 weight % of the initial content of hemicelluloses in wheat straw) is achieved at a concentration of H2SO4 2-3 weight % and the hydrolysis process duration of 5 hours. Analysis of the obtained hydrolysates showed that they contain cellulose (56.8-70.4 weight %), lignin (19.8-28.8 weight %) and hemicelluloses (2.8-15.3 weight %).

Effect of malting process duration on malting losses and quality of wheat malts

The study assesses impact of malting process duration on malting losses and quality of malts obtained from three varieties of winter wheat, i.e., Elixer, Rockefeller and Gimantis. The findings show that increased duration of the malting process (from 4 to 7 days) corresponded to greater total weight loss, with the most significant differences observed between 5-day and 6-day wheat malts. The qualitative analysis of the malts was carried out in accordance with EBC methodology. The assessments showed that the 5-day long malting process applied to the relevant wheat varieties resulted in production of high-quality malt with optimum malting losses observed in the case of Elixer and Rockefeller varieties. Slightly higher malting losses were identified in the case of Gimantis, and the malt obtained from this variety had very high contents of soluble protein (on average 5.34% d.m.) and Kolbach Index (average of 50.49%), which reflects high proteolytic activity during the grain malting process and a need to modify the malting process for this variety.

Study of influence of micro-arc oxidation process duration on the characteristics of thermal control coatings for space applications

Thermal control coatings were obtained on the AMg6 aluminum alloy with the aid of micro-arc oxidation (MAO) process. The dependences of the thickness, roughness, porosity and thermal control properties of the coating on MAO process duration were studied. The thermal control properties (solar absorbance αs and emissivity ε) were investigated by ultraviolet–visible-near infrared spectrophotometer instrument and solar absorption reflectometer. The analysis of thickness, roughness and MAO process duration influence on the thermal control properties of the coating was carried out.

Evaluation of Lossy Compressed Mosaic for SPOT-6/7 Remote Sensing Data in SPACeMAP

SPACeMAP is a remote-sensing data portal system owned by LAPAN used to distribute mosaic data of Medium-Resolution to Very-High-Resolution for Provincial Governments. The frequently arising problem is that mosaic images have very large data size, especially for SPOT-6/7 mosaic images. The increasing number of data and users may affect the data loading process on the portal so that mosaic data compression can be considered. SPACeMAP has the Image Compressor feature using the Tile and Line algorithms with a compression ratio (target rate) recommended for optics (15 to 20). This study aims to determine the best algorithm and target rate to get compressed mosaic SPOT-6/7 imagery. The comparison method was done qualitatively through visual comparison and quantitatively by using Compression Ratio (CR), Bit per Pixel (BPP), and Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR). Results of the experiment show that, quantitatively, both Tile and Line algorithms give a different performance, depends on the zoom level and land cover characteristics. In terms of the qualitative result, the Tile algorithm gives better overall results compare to the Line algorithm. Quantitatively, both algorithms show good performance in the homogenous area. The target rate difference on the testing range does not affect process duration, nevertheless, the Line algorithm has a long process duration compare to the Tile algorithm. However, compression mosaics with lower or higher resolution remote sensing data may provide different results. Hence, this need be addressed on further studies.

A Reference Model of Reverse Logistics Process for Improving Sustainability in the Supply Chain

The reverse logistics process (RLP) has become a key process for the supply chain (SC) given its importance for treating the increasing quantity of returned or recovered products and its impact on sustainability. However, the RLP is complex and involves a high degree of uncertainty and difficult decisions that affect SC efficiency. One of the aspects that can help the most to reduce this complexity and to improve SC efficiency is to formalize this process. The consulted studies agree on the numerous benefits of RLP formalization, but no tools, methodologies or specific solutions were found that help companies to advance in this matter. This work aims to develop a specific tool for RLP formalization so that its efficiency can be increased, leading to an improvement of SC sustainability. The main results comprise a reference model for RLP (RM-RLP) and an associated methodology so that any company can formalize its RLP by modeling its activities. The proposed tool (RM-RLP and methodology) is applied to a closed loop SC of relaxing chairs as an example of RLP formalization, proving its usefulness and, additionally, the improvements that can be reached in three RLP key indicators: total process duration, customer response time and the perceived autonomy and trust of the workers participating in the process.

Experimental and Mathematical Optimization of the β-Sitosterol extraction from Mechanically Activated Pine Bark

The optimization of the process of β-sitosterol extraction from the original and activated with two different methods (drum mill, explosive autohydrolysis) pine bark was carried out. The effect of the duration of the extraction process and the concentration of NaOH in the saponification solution on the yield of β-sitosterol was explored. The concentration of NaOH in the saponification solution appeared to have the highest effect on the β-sitosterol yields from activated pine bark. Mechanical activation of pine bark significantly increased the yield of β-sitosterol and reduced the duration of the isolation process. The highest yield of β-sitosterol was achieved with the use of pine bark activated by explosive autohydrolysis. According to the proposed mathematical model, the maximum predicted value of the β-sitosterol yield from this sample is 0.078 (wt%). This could be achieved using the process duration 10.3 hours and a 0.5 N solution of NaOH. This yield is close to the content of β-sitosterol in the original pine bark