IMPORT SUBSTITUTION IN THE INDUSTRY OF WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION

Import substitution in the industry of water supply and sanitation (WSS) in the context of the current economic crisis is a rather attractive operation. The problem of import substitution in the water supply and sanitation industry is complex being characterized by features such as production conditions, the availability of scientific and technical developments, the intensity of relations with foreign colleagues. Many WSS sector participants focus on implementing measures to reduce their dependence on foreign suppliers and shifting to products of domestic manufacturers within the framework of import substitution. The overall goal of this paper is to assess the feasibility of import substitution in the sector of water supply and sanitation in Russia. In addition, the article offers a choice of equipment in the field of water treatment, which can be produced in Russia in order to create products that are competitive on the world market. This article provides a review and analysis of the nomenclature of the main and auxiliary equipment for the water supply sector. The article offers an overview of patents for useful models in the field of water treatment which are feasible to produce in the domestic industrial market, however, they are currently imported from abroad. The review investigates the extent of import substitution demanded by the industry of water supply and sanitation in Russia. It also describes types of water treatment equipment to be produced in Russia. The structure of the paper is as follows: - the history of the development of water supply and sanitation industry; - the analysis of the current status of water supply and sanitation industry of Russia and review of basic technological equipment for natural water treatment plants and for wastewater treatment; - the review of utility model patents in the field of water treatment; - the conclusion.

A Home Efficacy Multi-Modal Intelligent Evaluation System for Wearable Treatment Equipment of Insomnia Through Integration Between Traditional Chinese Medicine and Modern Medicine

Wearable treatment equipment has become a hot topic among traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) researchers. The wearable instrument for transcutaneous electrical stimulation therapy (TEST) developed by our research team has unique advantages in treating insomnia induced by the heart disorder due to phlegm and fire (HDPF). However, the treatment efficacy of the instrument has not been verified by multi-modal data, which limits its application at home. In fact, there is no intelligent efficacy evaluation system for the home treatment of insomnia with the instrument. To make up the gap, this paper attempts to build a home efficacy multi-modal intelligent evaluation system (HEMIES) for this wearable TEST instrument, drawing on the latest technologies of medicine and informatics. Taking HDPF-induced insomnia as an example, the authors firstly set up an index system of the HEMIES for HDPF-induced insomnia, and constructed a conceptual model of the HEMIES. Next, the syndrome images of TCM were fused with the text data of modern medicine, and used to evaluate the treatment efficacy and complete the HEMIES. Finally, 33 patients with HDPF-induced insomnia were recruited to treat the disease with the wearable TEST instrument at home. The observed results show that the prediction accuracy rate of the HEMIES was as high as 90.63%, indicating that the system boasts a good prediction ability and a high value for home application. Our HEMIES realizes the objective evaluation of the home treatment efficacy of the wearable TEST instrument in the absence of TCM practitioners, and provides a reference for the efficacy research of other TCM treatment equipment in home treatment.

A Non-dominated Genetic Algorithm Based on Decoding Rule of Heat Treatment Equipment Volume and Job Delivery Date

This paper investigated the flexible job-shop scheduling problem with the heat treatment process. To solve this problem, we built an unified mathematical model of the heat treatment process and machining process. Up to now, this problem has not been investigated much. Based on the features of this problem, we are intended to minimize Cmax, maximize the space utilization rate of heat treatment equipment, and minimize the total delay penalty to optimize the scheduling. By taking the dynamic process arrival under consideration, this paper proposed a set of decoding rules based on the heat treatment equipment volume and job delivery date to achieve a hybrid dynamic scheduling solution during one scheduling procedure. When the utilization rate of heat treatment equipment volume is maximized, and the job delivery date is taken under consideration, it is preferred to minimize the number of workpiece batches in the same job, and reduce the waiting time of the pending job. In combination with the improved adaptive non-dominated genetic algorithm, we worked out the solution. Furthermore, we verified the effectiveness of the proposed decoding rules and improved algorithm through algorithm comparison and calculation results. Finally, a software system for algorithm verification and algorithm comparison was developed to verify the validity of our proposed algorithm.

Gas-to-aqueous Phase Transfer for Three Paint Solvents Injected into an Abiotic, Industrial Biotrickling Filter Measured with a Flame Ionization Detector

This is a knowledge contribution to the unsatisfactory biodegradation problem, when biotrickling filters are purifying mixed paint solvents. A biotrickling filter manufacturer reported low biodegradation rates during the purification of a hydrocarbon pollutant mix from an industrial paint spraying floor. From a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer analysis both hydrophilic and hydrophobic solvents were found in the polluted air. It is known that biodegradation is retarded, if the pollutant does not transfer from gas to liquid into the biofilm and it was therefore suspected that hydrophobic pollutants do not sufficiently migrate into the water/biofilm. To test this hypothesis, pure, rather than mixed pollutants, were injected into the abiotic biotrickling filter. When hydrophobic paint solvent (xylene) was sprayed into the biotrickling filter, the solvent load at the outlet of the filter was almost as high as at the inlet. But when pure, hydrophilic paint solvent (PGME) was sprayed into the abiotic biotrickling filter, the solvent load measured at the outlet of the filter was zero, indicating complete dissolution into the circulation water. Carbon/solvent loads at the filter outlet and inlet were measured with a portable flame ionization detector instrument. The experiment confirms that the hydrophobic solvent does not migrate into the liquid phase. This poor mass transfer of hydrophobic solvents is likely to be the reason for the low biodegradation rate. The result is highly relevant to the paint spraying industry and manufacturers of exhaust gas treatment equipment alike, who spend millions in non-sustainable incineration of exhaust gases.

Analysis and Predicting the Energy Consumption of Low-Pressure Carburising Processes

The monitoring of the performance of heat treatment equipment has been the subject of a number of studies. This paper proposes and explores a new study on the models—and the monitoring thereof—for predicting the energy intensity of low-pressure carburisation processes using the DeepCaseMaster Evolution soaking furnace. For research purposes, 18 carburising experiments were performed with different carbon layers, at different input parameters, such as the number of cycles, time, temperature and average carburising pressure. Based on the research experiments conducted and statistical analysis, the influence of individual parameters on the energy consumption of the pump and heating systems was determined. Moreover, the models were verified on real data of low-pressure carburising processes. The innovativeness of the proposed solution is a combination of two areas: (1) defining and measurement of the parameters of the low-pressure carburising process; and (2) predicting the energy consumption of low-pressure carburising processes using correlation and regression analyses. The possibilities of using the results of this research in practice are demonstrated convincingly.

Development of a new suspension electrolyte based on methane-sulphonic acid for the electrodeposition of Cu–TiO2 composites

Electrodeposition of composite coatings based on copper is a promising direction in the creation of advanced materials for multifunctional purposes. An important area of composites application is to use them in the treatment systems for gas emissions and wastewater. It is advisable to use semiconductor oxide materials, in particular titanium dioxide, as the photocatalysts in the photo destruction of organic pollutants of wastewater. The structural features of wastewater treatment equipment require that titanium dioxide particles should be fixed in a rigid matrix. Resolving the task of fixing photosensitive elements at the surface of a certain configuration implies the electrodeposition of coatings by composites, in particular Cu–TiO2. An important factor affecting the functional characteristics of composites and their manufacturing technology is the nature of the electrolyte. It has been shown that the electrodeposition of Cu–TiO2 composites from methane-sulfonate electrolytes makes it possible to reduce the coagulation of the dispersed phase and to obtain coatings with a high content of titanium dioxide from a suspension solution containing no more than 4 g/l of TiO2. It was established that the content of the dispersed phase in the composite made at a current density of 2 A/dm2 and the concentration of titanium dioxide in the electrolyte at the level of 4 g/l is 1.3 % by weight, which is twice as much as when using a sulfate electrolyte. It has been shown that the increase in the content of the dispersed phase in the coatings from 0.1 to 1.3 % by weight is accompanied by an increase in the degree of photo destruction of the colorant from 6 to 15.5 %. The micro-hardness of coatings increases, in this case, by 30 %. The proposed electrolyte to make the Cu–TiO2 composites is an important contribution to the development of the synthesis of wear-resistant high-performance photocatalysts for treating wastewater from organic pollutants