Microwave Synthesis, Characterization and Perspectives of Wood Pencil-Derived Carbon

More than 14 billion pencils are manufactured and used globally every year. On average, a pencil is discarded after 60% of its original length has been depleted. In the present work we propose a simple and affordable way of converting this non-neglectable amount of waste into added value carbon product. In particular, we demonstrate the microwave synthesis of carbon from the wood pencil with and without chemical activation. This could be a process stage before the final recycling of the expensive graphite core. In the latter case, irradiation of the wood pencil in a domestic microwave oven heats up the pencil’s graphite core, thus inducing carbonization of its wood casing. The carbonized product consists of amorphous carbon nanosheets having relatively low surface area. However, if the wood pencil is soaked in 50% KOH aqueous solution prior to microwave irradiation, a significantly higher surface area of carbon is obtained, consisting of irregular-shaped porous particles. Consequently, the obtained carbon can easily decolorize a methylene blue aqueous solution, can be used to make pocket warmers or gunpowder, and lastly, serves as an excellent adsorbent towards Cr(VI) removal from water, showing a maximum adsorption capacity of 70–75 mg/g within 24 h at 23 °C, pH = 3.

A Critical Review of Open Innovation in SMEs: Implementation, Success Factors and Challenges

<p><strong><em>Abstract</em></strong></p><p><em>This literature review explores the Open Innovation of SME companies, their application, success factors, impact, and challenges. The theoretical framework is built starting from the definition, a critical pillar, and Open Innovation in SME companies. The main factor in the Open Innovation process stage is finding innovative ideas and establishing network access with the external environment. Balanced, systematic, and thorough collaboration is the key to this process. Although European scholars have done it quite a lot, the study of literature on Open Innovation in SMEs still could continue to be developed. Several research results were found in studies conducted in developing countries such as China, Taiwan, and Korea, distinguishing them from similar studies in Europe.</em></p><p><strong><em>Keywords:</em></strong><em> <em>innovation; SMEs; technology; entrepreneurship; open innovation</em></em></p>

Analisis pemahaman siswa SMA kelas XI materi program linear berdasarkan teori apos ditinjau dari gaya belajar

The purpose of this study is to describe the understanding of high school students in class XI linear program material based on APOS theory in terms of learning styles. The researcher chose six subjects consisting of two subjects for each learning style. The results of this study indicate the visual group reaches the highest percentage in the stages of action and objects. At the process stage the auditory group is able to reach the highest percentage. As for the stages of the scheme, almost all subjects of the three learning styles are unable to surpass it well. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mendeskripsikan pemahaman siswa SMA kelas XI materi program linear berdasarkan teori APOS ditinjau dari gaya belajar. Peneliti memilih enam subjek yang terdiri dari dua subjek untuk masing-masing gaya belajar. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan kelompok visual mencapai presentase tertinggi pada tahapan aksi dan objek. Pada tahapan proses kelompok auditori mampu mencapai presentase tertinggi. Sedangkan untuk tahapan skema, hampir semua subjek dari ketiga gaya belajar tidak mampu melampauinya dengan baik.

Konsep Desain Taman Makam Umat Kristiani Mumbul Kabupaten Badung Bali

Conceptual Design of Mumbul Christian Cemetery Badung Regency, Bali. Mumbul Christian Park has a land area of 1.6 ha and is located in a residential area. This study aims to identify the characteristics of the Mumbul Christian Cemetery, analyze and synthesize the potential and constraints on the site. This study useda survey method with data collection techniques through observation, interviews, and literature study. This study uses the Simonds (1996) design process stage method. The design process is divided into four stages, namely: Research, Analysis, Syntesis, and Design Plan. The division of space zones on the site is based on a concept that is in accordance with the meaning of death in Christianity, namely the zone of birth, the zone of temporary life and the zone of eternal life. The concept of Paradise of Memorial Park is the concept of a park as a garden of memories as well as a public space. The results of this research design can be used as a reference for thought and consideration in designing the landscape site and in other tomb garden areas.

Klasifikasi Rasa Susu Almond Berdasarkan Minat Pelanggan Menggunakan Algoritma C4.5 di Home Made MamiNia Ice Pematangsiantar

Almond milk is a plant-based milk drink made from almonds. Almond juice has a paler color and a thicker texture than regular milk. As for the benefits of almond milk in the world of health, namely to increase breast milk production, prevent high blood pressure, strengthen immunity, protect bone health, maintain baby's heart health, prevent free radicals, facilitate digestion, make skin bright after childbirth. Data mining is part of the Knowledge Discovery in Database (KDD) process stage. Therefore, the authors provide a classification solution in Data Mining is done using the Algorithm C4.5. With the Algorithm C4.5 you will get a Decision Tree that is easy to understand and easy to understand. Thus, it can help the owner determine the almond milk production plan that is most in demand and without worrying about excess goods or shortages of ingredients.

Heating Performance and Ammonia Removal of a Single-Stage Bioscrubber Pilot Plant with Integrated Heat Exchanger under Field Conditions

In this study, biological exhaust air treatment was combined with a recuperative heat exchanger in one process stage. The aim of this plant development and testing is not only to reduce ammonia from the exhaust air of pig houses but also to recover thermal energy at the same time. This is intended to offset the high operating costs of exhaust air treatment with savings of heating costs in cold seasons and to use the plant more efficiently. This system was tested for the first time under practical conditions in a pig fattening house in southern Germany. Three different assembly situations of the heat exchanger were examined for 13 days each and then compared with each other. The heating performance of the plant is primarily dependent on the outside air temperature and secondarily on the scrubbing water temperature. Depending on the assembly situation of the heat exchanger, an average heating performance of between 6.0 and 10.0 kW was observed; the amount of recovered thermal energy was between 1860 and 3132 kWh. The coefficient of performance (COP) ranked between 7.1 and 11.5. Furthermore, ammonia removal up to 64% was demonstrated. A long-term investigation of the system under practical conditions is recommended to validate the data collected in this study.

Automation of the wet disinfection process during the production of suture threads from natural collagen, catgut

Surgical sutures are the simplest yet most used medical devices in modern healthcare, they are the preferred type because of its biocompatibility and ability to be resorbed. Bovine intestinal fibers are converted into catgut that serves as the starting material of absorbable surgical suture threads. The mechanical and control subsystems of industrial equipment were designed to automate disinfection of bovine intestinal fibers to increase efficiency during the wet process stage of disinfection without altering its fiber quality. A turbulent regime of the water and disinfectant mix was designed, implemented and validated, this automatic aeration system in the disinfection thank increased the process efficiency by reducing the time used to handle a load of fibers by 50%, and the working time of the personnel involved in the process was reduced from 220 to 20 minutes. Tests on the final product showed that LAL levels comply with what is established by the American Pharmacopoeia: USP <85> Bacterial Endotoxin Test and USP <161> Medical Devices - Bacterial and Pyrogen Endotoxin Test. These results indicate that the disinfected catgut using the proposed automated system complies with all mechanical quality control tests.

Quantum Process Semantics

The paper describes a model of subjective goal-oriented semantics extending standard "view-from-nowhere" approach. Generalization is achieved by using a spherical vector structure essentially supplementing the classical bit with circular dimension, organizing contexts according to their subjective causal ordering. This structure, known in quantum theory as qubit, is shown to be universal representation of contextual-situated meaning at the core of human cognition. Subjective semantic dimension, inferred from fundamental oscillation dynamics, is discretized to six process-stage prototypes expressed in common language. Predicted process-semantic map of natural language terms is confirmed by the open-source word2vec data.

Post-process optimization of 3D printed poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) dental implant scaffold for enhanced structure and mechanical properties: effects of sonication duration and power

We described a technique of a post-process stage to partially remove the poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) binder in Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) dental scaffolds. The scaffolds were exposed to ultrasonic waves while immersed in an ethanol/acetone solvent mixture that possessed both polar and nonpolar properties. A factorial experiment was conducted in which the scaffolds were treated to three levels of sonication power (pW): 0, 20% (22 W) and 40% (44 W), and soaking duration (t): 5, 15, and 30 min. The treated scaffolds were characterized by FT-IR, optical microscopy, and mechanical (compressive) testing. FT-IR revealed that the amount of PVA decreased with increasing pW and t. Two-way ANOVA revealed that increasing pW and t, respectively, resulted in increasing scaffold surface area to volume (SVR). Sonication and solvent caused structural damage (i.e., unevenness) on the scaffold surface, but the damage was minimal at 20% pW and 30 min. The optimal values of pW and t resulting in enhanced fracture strength, strain and toughness were 20% and 30 min, respectively, which corroborated the findings of minimal structural damage. However, sonication had no significant effects on the scaffold stiffness. Mechanistic analysis of the effects of sonication predicted that the ultrasonic energy absorbed by the scaffold was sufficient to disrupt the van Der Waals bonds between the PVA and PLGA but not high enough to disrupt the covalent bonds within the PLGA. This technique is promising as it can partially remove the PVA from the scaffold, and mitigate problematic issues down the line, such as thermal degradation during sterilization, and undue delay/variability in biodegradation.