bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Brewster effect in the broadband light reflectivity
Authors: Nesterenko D V , Kolesnikova M D , Lyubarskaya L V , Soifer V A
Published: April 2020

In this work, we analyze the characteristics of the Brewster effect at the air-glass interface for monochromatic and broadband polarized light. The obtained broadband light reflectivity spectrum demonstrates the modified resonance line shape. The effeciency of the Brewster effect for optical image processing is discussed.
Plasmonic properties of nanostructured graphene with silver nanoparticles
Authors: Novikov S M , Popok V N , Fiutowski J , Arsenin A V , Volkov V S
Published: April 2020

Ensembles of size-selected silver nanoparticles (NPs) deposited on nanostructured graphene using cluster beam technique are studied. Graphene is nanostructured by focused ion beam (FIB) to form arrays of holes. It is found that the deposited NPs are tended to collect in and around the holes in graphene. The graphene with NPs is covered by Rhodamine 6G and examined by Raman spectroscopy. It is shown that amount of so-called hot spots increases dramatically for the nanostructured graphene with Ag NPs in comparison with continuous graphene covered by the NPs at the same conditions. Hereby, combining 2D material, FIB and cluster beam deposition techniques allows to form nanostructured surfaces with advanced plasmonic properties to be applied in sensor technologies and surface enhanced Raman scattering.
MnO2 and TiO2 based Nanocomposites for Macroscopic and Individual Nanodevices in Sensing, Energy Storage and Photocatalysis Applications
Authors: Oo Than Zaw , Min Win Naing , Wint Theint Hay Mar , Koledov Victor , Gratowski Svetlana von
Published: April 2020

The present nanotechnological trend is promising for the devices based on nanocomposites. We focus on three application areas, biosensing, energy storage and photocatalyst. A newer frontier trend is related to individual nano-devices based on individual nano-objects giving the exciting advantages. In the present work, the MnO2 and TiO2 nanocomposites were developed by simple and economical means. The MnO2 and Cu/MnO2 were potentiodynamically deposited on stainless steel sheets and ITO coated glass substrates for energy storage and sensing applications. The electrochemically anodized TiO2 nanotubes and Ag nanoparticles decorated TiO2 nanotubes were fabricated on Ti base for photocatalysis. The MnO2 film electrode, Cu/MnO2 film electrode, Ag/TiO2 nanotubes were preliminarily demonstrated as macroscopic devices in capacitors, glucose sensors and photocatalysis water treatments. The specific capacitance of MnO2 film electrode is as high as 135 Fg−1and the Cu/MnO2 sensor has the low detection limit of 0.986. For the water purification, the photodegradation efficiency of Ag/TiO2 nanotubes is as high as 95% under UV irradiation.
Pyrolyzed 3D compound refractive lens
Authors: Abrashitova K A , Kulagin G E , Petrov A K , Bessonov V O , Fedyanin A A
Published: April 2020

X-ray synchrotron and laboratory source radiation is used to solve a wide range of problems in modern science. Compound refractive lenses (CRLs) technology is a popular solution for focusing x-ray. However weak interaction of X-ray radiation with matter puts extra challenges for microfabrication techniques and materials. Two-photon lithography has been successfully applied for polymer CRL microfabrication. However polymer material is likely to degrade in intense X-ray beams. This article describes pyrolysis (heating in inert atmosphere) as an improvement of two-photon lithography technique. This extra step may produce ultrasmall curvature radii CRLs with extra durability in intense X-ray beams
Topological optics with 3D-tangle laser solitons
Authors: Fedorov S V , Rosanov N N , Veretenov N A
Published: April 2020

We analyse, theoretically and numerically, stable localized 3D- structures with radiation wavefront singularities in lasers or laser media with fast saturable absorption; radiation has a fixed polarization state. These laser solitons’ internal structure is characterized by their skeletons, which consist of vortex lines where the field vanish and radiation phase changes by 2πm with integer m – topological charge – as a result of a round-trip around the line. The vortex lines are oriented according the direction of radiation phase increase; high-order vortex lines (m>1) are unstable and split into m lines with m=1. Complexes of fundamental (without vortices when isolated) laser solitons have unclosed vortex lines. Presented are topological laser solitons with vortex lines, which are unclosed and closed, unknotted and knotted, unlinked and linked. Various types of the solitons are stable in different, but overlapping domains of the scheme parameters; a slow variation of such parameters leads to hysteretic variations of solitons’ characteristics. Such hysteresis is reversible if soliton’s topology does not change during the parameters’ variation, and irreversible in the opposite case. The increased stability of dissipative solitons and the preservation of the topological characteristics of structures under perturbations make topological laser solitons promising for information applications.
Bound states in the continuum supported by two-layered wires structure
Authors: Sadrieva Zarina , Song Mingzhao , Kapitanova Polina , Bogdanov Andrey
Published: April 2020

In this work, we study theoretically and experimentally appearance of bound states in the continuum in a resonator composed of two layers of polycarbonate wires. We show how distance between the wires affects the BICs frequency and quality factor of the eigenmodes.
Miniature Otto configuration implemented by two-photon laser lithography
Authors: Safronov Kirill R. , Akhremenkov Daniil V. , Bessonov Vladimir O. , Fedyanin Andrey A.
Published: April 2020

In this work we develop the concept of miniature Otto configuration. The distinctive feature of the proposed prism configuration is an operation for normal angle of incidence. Polymer microprisms with size of several tens of microns were fabricated by two-photon laser lithography on a surface of one-dimensional photonic crystal. The performance of the prisms was studied in the case of the Bloch surface waves excitation. Design of the prism and its optimal geometrical parameters were obtained from results of calculations. Bloch surface waves excitation with the microprisms was observed by the leakage radiation microscopy. The dependence of coupling efficiency on the angle of incidence was studied. Proposed prism configuration is easily compatible with fibers and is very appealing alternative to diffraction grating coupling for future applications.
The development of double-sided nonreflecting absorber of the terahertz waves on the basis of metamaterials
Authors: Semchenko Igor , Khakhomov Sergei , Samofalov Andrey , Faniayeu Ihar
Published: April 2020

The paper aimed to study the interaction of the THz range electromagnetic waves with metamaterials, consisting of rectangular omega elements, as well as to develop a one-sided and double-sided “ideal” THz wave absorber based on such structures.
Photonic nanojets generated by alumina microstructures with different surface morphology
Authors: Sergeev A A , Sergeeva K A , Leonov A A , Voznesenskiy S S
Published: April 2020

The interaction of optical radiation with dielectric microparticles, leading to the emergence of field spatial localization called the “photonic nanojet” was numerically and experimentally studied within the wide range of environment refractive indexes. It is established that at a certain ratio of the microparticle and the environment refractive indexes, as well as the curvature of the particle profile, the photonic nanojet effect can be used to locally excite the sensitive layer of fluorescent sensors of chemical compounds in liquid and gaseous media.
Metasurfaces with magnetoelectric dipolar coupling near PEC substrate
Authors: Shamkhi H. K. , Shalin A. S.
Published: April 2020

Using metasurfaces, light can be manipulated beyond the limitations of classical optics. For instance, metasurfaces are used to widen the antenna aperture, to tailor light polarization, to be transparent, etc. Here, we study the effective fields in a magnetoelectric dipolar lattice positioned near PEC substrate. We show analytically that in the case of a subwavelength lattice spacing, the coupling between the electric and magnetic dipoles is induced mainly by the substrate reflected fields of dipoles at the coordinate of the perspective centre.
Calculation of the 1D grating scattering matrix frequency derivatives
Authors: Shcherbakov Alexey A. , Pogorelskaya Lydia Yu. , Bogdanov Andrey A.
Published: April 2020

In this contribution we develop methods for calculation of complex poles of scattering matrices which are based on analytically found frequency derivatives of these matrices instead of commonly used finite difference derivation. The analysis is made within the framework of the Fourier Modal Method and the analytical scattering matrix method proposed previously. Usage of analytical formulas may improve the accuracy of numerical algorithms based on the matrix Newton and Householder methods.
Synthesis, characterization, and diffraction study of three-dimensional icosahedral quasicrystals
Authors: Sinelnik A D , Zhukov M V , Samusev K B , Rybin M V , Limonov M F
Published: April 2020

Three-dimensional icosahedral quasicrystals have been fabricated by two-photon polymerization technique. Such quasicrystals have icosahedral symmetry in three dimensions which is forbidden for true periodic crystals. The correspondence of the resulting quasicrystals to the designed structures was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. We investigated the optical interference properties of icosahedral quasicrystals using a laser diffraction technique.
Tuning of far-field and near-field via fs-laser in various hybrid oligomers
Authors: Sun Yali , Ageev Eduard , Zuev Dmitry
Published: April 2020

Oligomers have attracted intense attention due to the mode interference. We have simulated the tuning effect of far- and near-field properties of four different compositions of hybrid metal/dielectric oligomers before and after the gold components modified by femtosecond laser. The achieved results could be applied in optical sensing, field-enhanced nonlinear process as well as biophotonic applications.
Evolution of multipole moments in silicon nanocylinder while varying the refractive index of surrounding medium
Authors: Terekhov P. D. , Shamkhi H. K. , Gurvitz E. A. , Baryshnikova K. V. , Evlyukhin A. B. , Shalin A. S. , Karabchevsky A.
Published: April 2020

Here we use multipole decomposition approach to study optical properties of a silicon nanocylinder in different lossless media. We show that resonant peaks of multipole moments experience red shift, smoothing and broadening. Worth noting that electric multipoles experience bigger red shift than their magnetic counterparts. Our results can be applied to design optical devices within a single framework.
Reactive molecular dynamics simulations and machine learning
Authors: Krishnamoorthy Aravind , Rajak Pankaj , Hong Sungwook , Nomura Ken-ichi , Tiwari Subodh , Kalia Rajiv K , Nakano Aiichiro , Vashishta Priya
Published: April 2020

Machine learning (ML) is revolutionizing scientific and engineering disciplines owing to its ability to capture hidden patterns in large amounts of data. The recent success of ML can be attributed to increasing amount of data, simulation resources, and improving understanding of statistical inference. For these reasons computational materials science is undergoing a paradigm shift. The main reason is that trial-and-error approach to materials design is inefficient: laboratory trials require a lot of time, and the results of previous trials are not utilized in a systematic fashion. A data-driven approach, which draws upon all relevant data from experiments, and reactive and quantum molecular dynamics simulations, can address these issues. The MAGICS (Materials Genome Innovation for Computational Software) Center develops to aid the synthesis of stacked layered materials by chemical vapor deposition, exfoliation, and intercalation. The identification of different phases is a classification problem and can be solved using ML techniques. We have used feed-forward neural network with three hidden layers to identify the different phases present during computational synthesis of MoSe2. Our goal is to carry out exascale MD simulations using forces for multimillion-atom quantum dynamics simulations from neural networks and deep learning using small QMD simulations.
Influence of carbon contamination on transparency of reactive SPSed Nd3+:YAG ceramics
Authors: Kosyanov D Yu , Tikhonov S A , Vornovskikh A A , Yavetskiy R P , Dobrotvorskaya M V , Doroshenko A G , Shichalin O O , Papynov E K , Ustinov A Yu
Published: April 2020

Influence of carbon contamination from the paper and dies on structural-phase state and transparency were studied for SiO2-doped Nd3+:Y3Al5O12 ceramics obtained via reactive spark plasma sintering (SPS). It is shown that the transparency of post-annealed ceramics is sensitive to the SPS temperature. Since the swelling effect is related to the amount of the carbon phases as well as their composition and depth of location, the degradation becomes remarkable with the temperature increasing above critical for SiO2-doped Nd3+:Y3Al5O12 system. Ceramics fabricated at 1500°C contains SiC and SiOC-based impurity phases, which are relatively stable for post-annealing. Removal of generated defects is possible for ceramics fabricated at relatively low temperatures (∼1350°C).
Toroidal dipolar excitations in all-dielectric nanostructures
Authors: Xu Lei , Saadabad Reza Masoudian , Cai Marcus , Miroshnichenko Andrey E.
Published: April 2020

We have numerically investigated toroidal dipolar excitation at optical frequencies in Si nanostructures. Our results show that, through either special structured pump illumination, or by adding an additional layer associated with geometric tuning, we are able to excite strong toroidal dipolar responses with suppressed electric dipolar excitations. These findings may further pave the way to exploit future applications of toroidal resonances including optical nonlinear enhancement, induced transparency for narrow-band filter, etc.
Near-field characterization of ultra-thin metal films
Authors: Yakubovsky D I , Arsenin A V , Kirtaev R V , Ermolaev G A , Stebunov Y S , Volkov V S
Published: April 2020

Ultra-thin metal films will form the basis of next-generation optoelectronics. However, characterization of their performance requires consideration of nanocrystalline structure and analysis of local optical and electrical properties. In present study, we use scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) for nanoscale probing of optical conductivity of ultrathin metal films. We obtained surface maps of scattered near-field signal for gold films grown on monolayer graphene and MoS2 films as well as on a pure Si/SiO2 substrate. These results clearly demonstrate the difference in generated optical responses and can be used in the development of various devices utilizing ultrathin metal films.
Diffusion tensor based forearm nerve tractography in 1.5 T MRI
Authors: Zubkov M. , Efimtcev A. , Trufanov G. , Gulko A. , Popov S. , Orlov I. , Slobozhanyuk A. , Melchakova I.
Published: April 2020

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) method for efficient nerve pathways visualization. DTI, particularly of peripheral nerves, is commonly performed in 3 T scanners. An often more accessible 1.5 T scanners are less likely to be chosen for DTI examinations due to generally lower image quality. Novel radiofrequency (RF) coils can help improve the signal to noise ratio in MRI and thus improve image quality. This study preliminary results of the feasibility and outcomes assessment of DTI-based tractography of the forearm nerves employing a novel coil design in 1.5 T scanners. The proposed scanning protocol includes the use of a metamaterial-inspired RF coil, a common DTI pulse sequence and a 3D T1-weighted morphological reference pulse sequence. The protocol is tested on three healthy volunteers. Two tract bundles corresponding to median and ulnar nerves of the forearm are reliably reconstructed in all subjects. The results show that with an appropriate choice of RF coil and pulse sequence parameters forearm DTI studies can be performed in 1.5 T scanners with sufficient quality making such examination more accessible for clinical use.
Extraction of Calophyllum oil as biodiesel raw material using a binary solvent
Authors: Sailah I , Bernia O T O , Kartika I A
Published: April 2020

The utilization of renewable raw material, low-cost feedstock, and efficient energy are the main parameters in sustainable biodiesel production. Calophyllum seeds are potential as a vegetable oil source for biodiesel production due to their high oil content and productivity. Calophyllum oil extraction is usually conducted by the mechanical press, but the yield and quality of oil produced by this method are very low. Calophyllum oil extraction using a binary solvent (a mixture of n-hexane and alcohol) was thus investigated to meet the aspects of sustainability and to solve the problem of mechanical extraction. The influence of extraction condition was examined to determine optimal oil yield and quality. The mixture of n-hexane and alcohol effectively extracts oil from Calophyllum seeds and simultaneously purified it from resin. The n-Hexane-to-alcohol ratio had a significant effect on oil recovery and its quality. The augmentation of the n-hexane-to-alcohol ratio from 1:1 to 2.5:1 increased oil yield. Acid value and density of oil improved as the n-hexane-to-alcohol ratio declined from 2.5:1 to 1:1. The n-Hexane-to-alcohol ratio of 2.5:1 has provided the best yield (88.0%) of oil extract at 40°C for 5 h. The oil present its best quality at 0.893 g/cm3 of density, 41.0 mPa.s of viscosity, 8.8 mg KOH/g of acid value, 88.3 g/100 g of iodine value, < 1% of moisture content and < 0.04% of ash content.
Effect of kluwak biomass fermentation and storage time on meat quality
Authors: Patriani P , Hafid H , Mirwandhono E , Wahyuni T H
Published: April 2020

Lamb meat is one of the animal protein sources that contains high protein so it is easily damaged. One easy and cheap method to extend the storage time is by using spices, known as kluwak seeds (Pangium edule). This study aimed to determine the effect of fermented kluwak biomass in the storage time of water holding capacity, cooking loss, drip loss, and texture of lamb meat. This study used a factorial complete design with 3 replications. The results showed that the immersion level of fermented kluwak and storage time had a significant effect on water holding capacity, meat texture and drip loss (P<0.05) but had no effect on cooking meat loss (P>0.05). It is concluded that the use of fermented kluwak from 3% to 9% of meat weight can maintain the physical quality of lamb meat for 36 hours.
Improving the accuracy of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy method to predict the oil content of oil palm fresh fruits
Authors: Novianty I , Seminar K B , Irzaman  , Budiastra I W
Published: April 2020

Oil content is an important factor to determine the price of the oil palm fruit. In this study, the NIR Spectroscopy method was conducted to determine the oil content of oil palm fresh fruits. Several studies that related to the NIR spectroscopy method for predicting the oil content of oil palm fruits showed that the accuracy was still optimal yet. This study is the initial stage to develop the optical portable instrument that can predict the oil content of oil palm fresh fruits. Five hundred samples which are divided into ten groups based on maturity levels were prepared for reflectance and oil content chemical measurement. The reflectance of the sample was measured by the FT-NIR spectrometer in the wavelength of 1000-1500 nm. The obtained spectrum of oil palm fresh fruits was transformed to absorbance (Log 1/R) and several spectra data processing was conducted to increase the accuracy of prediction. The calibration and validation of processed NIR spectra and the oil content were conducted using Partial Least Square (PLS) and MLR methods. Generally, PLS and MLR methods can be used to improve the accuracy of the NIR spectroscopy method. Then, the result showed that the MLR method is less accurate than the PLS method to predict the oil content of oil palm fresh fruits. In this study, the best result could be determined by the PLS model using 5 factors and spectra data processing of the first derivative of spectra absorbance (R=0.879; CV=19.8%; RPD= 2.46). A lower accuracy was obtained by MLR model (R=0.677; CV=28.33%; RPD =1.72).
Investigation of eco-friendly plywood bonded with citric acid – starch based adhesive
Authors: Kusumah S S , Jayadi  , Wibowo D T , Pramasari D A , Widyaningrum B A , Darmawan T , Ismadi  , Dwianto W , Umemura K
Published: April 2020

Concerning the environmental issues, the eco-friendly panel product has been developed by using natural based adhesive to ensure safe product application for human health. In this study, Paraserienthes falcataria veneer and citric acid – starch were used in the manufacturing of plywood. The 30 wt% concentration of citric acid – starch-based adhesive was prepared and it was spread to each veneer with 150 g/m2 of glue spread. The plywood was constructed by 3 layers of veneers. The dimension of each veneer was 30 × 30 × 0.2 (cm). The effect of composition ratio between citric acid (CA) and starch (St) as natural sources of adhesive on delamination and shear strength of the plywood was investigated. The plywood was produced under pressing conditions of 180°C for 10 min with 5 MPa of pressure. The variation of compositions ratio (CA:St) were 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40, 50:50. The research results showed that the plywood with 50 wt% additional of starch had the lowest delamination and highest shear strength. The shear strength of plywood satisfied Standard National Indonesia (SNI) of plywood for general use. Infrared (IR) spectral analysis demonstrated the presence of ester linkage, indicating that the carboxyl groups of citric acid reacted with the hydroxyl groups of the wood veneer. Therefore, 50:50 of composition ration between CA and St was effective composition ratio in the manufacturing of eco-friendly plywood.
Degradation quality of reused palm cooking oil during storage: case study in fried shallot industry
Authors: Warsiki E , Iskandar A , Hidayati M
Published: April 2020

Frying process in a fried shallot industry usually is carried out by deep fat frying. This method involves the use of much oil and repeatedly uses and storages. This practice will decrease the quality of oil and even the fried product. The objectives of this research were to measure the quality degradation rate of use cooking oil repeatedly during storage and to calculate the efficiency of zeolite to adsorb the impurities of the reused cooking oil. The Oil quality was based on the National Standard of Indonesia (SNI 7709:2012). The quality parameters observed in this research were water and evaporated material content, free fatty acid value, and peroxide number. Based on the results of this research, it was found that the oil still meets the quality standard until the 5th frying without storage. In this stage, the oil exposed the rate of degradation in water and evaporated material content, free fatty acid value, and peroxide number as 0.0046; 0.0878, and 0.303 respectively. The content of water, moisture and oxygen were the main cause of quality changes in cooking oil. The effort has been done to improve the quality of reused cooking oil by zeolite adsorption. Efficiency values obtained from this process by moisture and evaporated material content, free fatty acid value, and peroxide number was 8.20%; 52.38%; and 30.95% respectively.
An LCA and energy analysis of a biomass integrated-pyrolysis gasification/SOFC system with H2S removal
Authors: Sugihara Hiromu , Kameyama Mitsuo , Dowaki Kiyoshi
Published: April 2020

Fuel cell power systems are considered attractive for their potential for mitigating climate change. Here, the fuel is assumed to be synthesized through an indirect pyrolysis gasification process, and the integrated gasification SOFC system is considered in this study. In the performance of SOFC, the impurities (e.g., H2S) in a fuel affect the system, i.e., the voltage of a cell drops. Regarding the removal of impurities, conditions besides the species of adsorbent, like temperature and pressure, must be considered. Therefore, we compared the following two adsorbents in terms of the operational and environmental performances: non-recyclable CeO2 (high temperature) and recyclable Hydroxyl Aluminum Silicate Clay (HAS-Clay) (low temperature). Moreover, we estimated energy and exergy efficiencies, and life cycle assessment impacts on both adsorbents. The total exergy efficiencies were 35.6 % for CeO2 and 33.0 % for HAS-Clay. This implies that 19 recycling cycles with the use of HAS-Clay are necessary to obtain the advantage for the CeO2 case in terms of abiotic depletion potential which is one of the impact categories.
Investigation of producer gas biomass gasification on reciprocated internal combustion engine
Authors: Naryanto R F , Enomoto H , Anh V C , Fukadu K , Iwai S , Noda R
Published: April 2020

Biomass is sustainable and a source for renewable energy to overcome the limitation of fossil fuel. The research used woody pellet feedstock with 0.79 g/cm3 of bulk density and 6 mm diameter in the syngas production. Therefore, downdraft gasifier reactor with a stainless steel pipe 500 mm length and 120 mm inner diameter produced syngas as producer gas. Reciprocated Internal Combustion Engine (R-ICE) was used to drive the syngas production from biomass gasification process with 1800 rpm ± 20 rpm in constant engine speed. The Indication of Mean Effective Pressure (IMEP) and Excess Air Rate (EAR) were applied as the parameters for analyzing the system. Kawasaki FD750 with single cylinder was implemented to test the effect of syngas instability. Oxidizer and fuel for the engine were mixed in the venture which typed Heinzmann, GM 50 to make homogenous fuel. The laminar flow meter type of Sokken, LFE-25B was adapted to measure the intake air flow rate, and the digital ignition system of Altronic, CD200D was used to control the ignition timing. In conclusion, the synthetic gas (syngas) as the main fuel will not be enough to replicate drive on R-ICE.
Formation of non-oxygenated phase of bio-oil produced by copyrolysis of corn cobs and polypropylene plastic using zeolite catalysts at low heating rate
Authors: Supramono Dijan , Fadhlillah Aisyah , Nasikin Mohammad
Published: April 2020

Thermal co-pyrolysis of corn cobs and polypropylene (PP) at low heating rate (thermal slow co-pyrolysis) has succeeded in separating bio-oil produced between oxygenated and non-oxygenated phases spontaneously. In co-pyrolysis, PP can sequester oxygen from bio-oil to convert part of bio-oil to non-oxygenated phase and can contribute partly non-oxygenated phase by PP carbon chain cracking. Catalytic fast co-pyrolysis has been commonly used to improve bio-oil yield and to improve non-oxygenated fraction of bio-oil. However, the catalytic fast co-pyrolysis is unable to obtain separate non-oxygenated fraction of bio-oil. In present work, zeolite catalyst was introduced in co-pyrolysis of corn cobs and PP at low heating rate to undertake catalytic slow co-pyrolysis in order to obtain synergistic effect of non-oxygenated fraction of bio-oil while obtaining separate non-oxygenated fraction of bio-oil. The present co-pyrolysis work was carried out in a stirred tank reactor at heating rate of 5 °C/min and maximum temperature of 500 °C. The composition of feed was varied at 0, 50 and 100%PP in the mixture of corn cob particles and PP granules. The experiment involved 3 catalytic configurations, i.e., no catalyst, ZSM5-38 and ZSM5-70, in which 38 and 70 represents the mole ratio of SI/Al in the catalysts. The results show that in slow co-pyrolysis of biomass-PP, the use of zeolite catalyst with high acidity suppressed the pyrolysis of PP to form wax and reduced bio-oil yield, and the synergistic effect was obtained as the co-pyrolysis used no catalyst and zeolite catalyst of ZSM5-70, while that using zeolite catalyst of ZSM5-38 reached negative synergistic effect. Utilization of catalyst generated high amount of aliphatic moieties, i.e. methyl, methine and methylene. With ZSM5 catalyst utilization, production of allyl decreased. Most of non-polar bio-oil fractions have similar or slightly higher heating values (HHVs) compared to those of commercial fuels. Branching index (BI) values of non-polar phase of bio-oil generated straight carbon chain with higher branches compared to those commercial fuels.
Potential impact of beekeeping activity on bioenergy supply in West Java, Indonesia
Authors: Bunyamin Anas , Purnomo Dwi
Published: April 2020

Beekeeping activity has been integrally well arranged by the people of West Java area. Many bee-based products are already well developed and become a part of people activities. Most of beekeeping activity considered as an activity to gain income only from bee products. In fact, this activity has a high potential impact to bioenergy resources, especially biomass and biogas. Kaliandra (Calliandra calothyrsus) is one of potential bee forage that also has a good performance to be used as biomass source. On the other hand, this along year flowering plant, also provide their leaves as proteins source for cattle. Through sustainable beekeeping activity, which is involving bee forages planting and pruning, bioenergy sources also will automatically increase in availability. As a part of Java Island, West Java was well known for its green and flowering landscape. Though honey also produced by outer area of Java Island, but beekeeping activity was majority well arranged by Java Island people. The calculation shows that the beekeeping activity with new 450 beehive result in the potential addition of biomass and biogas supply in West Java. The potential addition calculated was 0.043 – 900.732 TJ for biomass and 0.039 TJ for biogas supply.
Production of carotenoids from oil palm empty fruit bunches
Authors: Kresnowati M T A P , Lestari D , Anshori M , Jafar R M
Published: April 2020

Carotenoids are widely used for food colorants to give yellow, orange, or red color in food products. Besides extraction from orange color vegetables/fruits such as carrot, yellow squash, or oil palm, natural carotenoids can also be extracted from microorganisms such as algae or fungi. The processing of oil palm fresh fruit bunches to crude palm oil also produces empty fruit bunches (EFBs) as the biomass waste. This extraction residue still contains traces of oil and thereby also contains carotenoids. The dumped EFBs nearby the palm oil processing plants are also a potential substrate for natural fungal fermentation. This paper explores the potential of EFBs and fungal fermented EFBs as the raw materials for carotenoid extraction. The soxhlet extraction method was applied, using hexane as the solvent. Carotenes were analysed by using spectrophotometer. The obtained results showed that carotene can be extracted from EFBs and fungal fermentation increased the carotene content of EFBs.
Performance improvement of palm oil foaming agent concentrates as fire extinguishment materials in peatlands
Authors: Rivai M , Hambali E , Suryani A , Pramuhadi G , Subekti P
Published: April 2020

Foaming agent concentrate made from palm oil produced as a fire extinguishing material in peatlands at a laboratory-scale test were able to extinguish a fire within 3.16 to 4.49 hours. Fire extinguishing ability of this foaming agent concentrate resulted in a lower solution use and shorter extinguishing time than water. However, when compared to commercial products, fire extinguishing time was still longer although the amount of solution needed to extinguish the fire was lower. Therefore, it was necessary to improve the formula to produce a foaming agent concentrate that was able to extinguish the fire in a shorter time with a lower amount of fire extinguishing solution. This study aims to improve the performance of palm oil foaming agent concentrate on extinguishing the fire in peatlands. Efforts to improve the performance were made by reformulation and the addition of chemical fire retardants. Results showed that the addition of fire retardant reduced foaming ability, increased surface tension, lowered viscosity, lowered contact angle, and reduced fire extinguishing time to about 13.08-69.21%.
Effect citronella oil against bacteria strains: Escherichia coli ATCC 10536, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 and Salmonella typhimurium ATCC 14028
Authors: Saputra Nur Adi , Trisatya Deazy Rachmi , Darmawan Saptadi , Wibisono Heru Satrio , Pari Gustan
Published: April 2020

A bactericidal property of Cymbopogon nardus oil (CNO) has been investigated in the previous study. This study aimed to confirm the bactericidal activity of Cymbopogon nardus against different bacteria strains. CNO with the concentration of 1%, 3% and 8% were injected into 100 mL canned tubes. Each sample was diluted by hard water and added with a bacterial suspension test in the presence of interfering substance. The mixture was maintained at 20 °C for 5 min. Water shall be new distilled water-not demineralized water. At the end of contact time, an aliquot was taken, and bactericidal activity was immediately neutralized by the diluted-neutralization method. Neutralizers used in this study were: peptone 10 gL−1, beef extract 5 gL−1, NaCl 5 gL−1, soy lecithin 1 gL−1 and polysorbate 80 20 gL−1; while the interfering substance was 0.3 gL−1 bovine albumin for clean conditions. The number of cells in the bacterial suspension test per treatment was 1.54 x 108 cfu mL−1. It was verified that there was no toxic active chemical compounds found after the application of neutralizer and dilution-neutralization method. The output of this study was a bactericidal against strains: Escherichia coli (ATCC®10536™), Staphylococcus aureus subsp. Aureus (ATCC®6538™) and Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium (ATCC®14028™).
Analysis of the electrical impedance and functional group of silicon dioxide (SiO2) from rice straw
Authors: Har Nazopatul P. , Palupi E K , Irmansyah  , Irzaman
Published: April 2020

Research on silicon oxide (SiO2) from biomass was studied. This study used the biomass of rice straw which is one of the rice agricultural wastes. Rice straw was treated with acid using hydrochloric acid (HCl) before burning. Rice straw charcoal was burned in the furnace at a temperature of 400 °C to 900 °C with a heating rate of 1.7 °C/min for 2 h. The increase in heating temperature was varied at 800 °C, 850 °C, and 900 °C. Silicon dioxide samples were characterized and analyzed based on its electrical properties and functional groups using LCR-meter and FTIR. The extraction of silicon dioxide from rice straw was successfully carried out using a modified method in previous studies. Based on functional group analysis and electrical impedance properties of silicon dioxide rice straw samples, the best result was obtained at 800 °C ignition temperature treatment.
Potential of Gracilaria sp. as single-or co-digestion feedstock for biogas production
Authors: Suhartini S , Nurika I , Rahmah N L , Paul R , Melville L
Published: April 2020

High consumption of fossil fuels in Indonesia needs to be reduced by using renewable energy, such as from biomass. In Indonesia, as one of the largest maritime countries, macroalgae (i.e. seaweed) are also considered as potential renewable biomass feedstocks for substituting any land biomass. This study aimed to investigate biodegradability and biogas potential of macroalgae (Gracilaria sp.) as single-or co-digestion feedstock using anaerobic digestion technology. The biochemical methane potential (BMP) test was carried out for 28 days at temperature of 37 °C to investigate the specific methane potential. All samples were in triplicate. Combinations of Gracilaria sp. with various biomass feedstocks (i.e. food waste, tofu dregs) were also tested. The findings indicated a potential valorisation of macroalgae for biogas production either as single or co-digestion feedstock, as well as a potential for electricity generation. However, further optimisation process is required for better and higher degradation process.
The potential of bioactives as biosensors for detection of pH
Authors: Wulandari Anting , Sunarti Titi Candra , Fahma Farah , Enomae Toshiharu
Published: April 2020

In the field of food safety, pH measurement is very important because pH can be an indicator of freshness of a food product. In general, the pH measurement is performed using a sensor from synthetic chemicals. The use of chemicals as pH sensors has several disadvantages that are toxic and threaten human health. Therefore, pH biosensors should be developed from bioactive compound. Bioactives such as curcumin, anthocyanin, chlorophyll, and Angkak pigments are indigeneous natural resources that produce color with specific specificity. Curcumin was extracted from turmeric (Curcuma longa L.), anthocyanin from purple sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L), chlorophyll from suji leaf (Pleomele angustifolia), and reddish pigment from rice fermented by Monascus sp. The type of color of each bioactive can give different responses to certain pH so that it is potential to be developed as a pH biosensor. However, bioactives have sensitivity to certain pH, so it is necessary to test the sensitivity and selection of bioactives to various pH (2-’3). The results of the sensitivity of the bioactives to pH 2-‘3 showed that anthocyanin and curcumin were the best bioactive as pH biosensor because they provide a unique and significant color change compared to angkak pigment and chlorophyll which did not show clear discoloration. The anthocyanin was sensitive to pH 5-13 and curcumin was sensitive to pH 7-13 and both were stable at acidic pH.
Thermoplastic starch-PVA-cellulose nanocomposite film for extending the shelf life of red chili
Authors: Fahma Farah , Wening Opal Priya , Lisdayana Nurmalisa , Purwoko  , Sugiarto
Published: April 2020

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of TPS-PVA-cellulose nanocomposite film for extending the shelf-life of fresh red chili. In this study, cellulose nanofibers were isolated from oil palm empty bunches by combination of ultrafine grinding and ultrasonification. Thermoplastic starch-PVA-cellulose nanocomposites were produced by solvent evaporation casting method. The resulting nanocomposite films were applied for packaging of red chili at chilled and ambient temperatures. The different storage temperature generated different physical and mechanical properties of the obtained nanocomposite films. The red chili packed in nanocomposite films and stored at ambient temperature was able to maintain its quality for 12 days, while at chilled temperature the red chili looked fresh up to 15 days.
The effect of solvent type and temperature on mono-diacylglycerol purification
Authors: Setyaningsih Dwi , Suwarna Maulana Ardi , Muna Neli
Published: April 2020

Mono-diacyl glycerol (M-DAG) resulted from esterification reaction between palm fatty acid distillates (PFAD) and glycerol with catalyst of methyl ester sulfonic acid, has low purity caused by the remaining catalyst, free fatty acids, free glycerol and triacylglycerol. Purification can be carried out by saponification and crystallization. The purpose of this study was to determine the most suitable solvent (96% ethanol, 70% ethanol, 95% isopropyl alcohol), and followed by determination of temperature level (2 °C, 5 °C, 10 °C) in crystallization step to obtain pure and high yield of M-DAG. Analyses that were carried out included yield, visual appearance, free fatty acid (FFA) content, and emulsion stability. The results showed that the type of solvent had an effect on the yield and free fatty acids, but did not affect the emulsion stability. Temperature also affected the yield and free fatty acids content, but did not affect the emulsion stability. The most suitable solvent was 96% ethanol with a yield of 24.2%, FFA content of 29.6%, and emulsion stability of 49.5%. The best temperature for crystallization was at 2 °C with a yield of 16.23%, FFA content of 3.80%, and emulsion stability of 100%.
Study on functional group, oil adsorption process, and the effect of chemical wash on lignite and sub-bituminous coal
Authors: Rahmadian A , Nikmatin S , Hardhienata H , Darmawan S
Published: April 2020

This study was to determine the characteristics of Indonesia’s low-grade coal, which was sub-bituminous taken from Samarinda coal mine and lignite taken from Palembang coal mine. Experiment was conducted using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to analyze the functional group of the coal. Inherent moisture was 2. 16 g in 5 g lignite coal, and 1. 42 g in 5 g sub-bituminous coal. Soaking coal with liquid smoke reduced the percentage of residual (volatile matter and ash content) combustion and increased fixed carbon. Adsorption of oil by coal was measured by the change of free fatty acid (FFA) in the oil, in which lignite coal was decreased about 0.1 % and sub-bituminous coal was decreased about 0.07 %. In contrast, by heating adsorption 100 °C, FFA change in the oil was increased about 0.28 % for lignite coal and increased about 0.46 % for sub-bituminous coal, by heating adsorption 125 °C, the increase was about 0.44 %for lignite coal and was about 0.59 % for sub-bituminous coal, and by heating adsorption 150 °C, FFA was increased about 0.41 % for lignite coal and about 0.46 % for sub-bituminous coal.
Research of morphology evolution of precipitation during aging and the effects of precipitation on creep property of 617B superalloy
Authors: Zhang Shiyu
Published: April 2020

617B alloy is one of the alternative materials for ultra-supercritical power generating units, its microstructure will change during service under extremely harsh conditions. The research of precipitation behavior of 617B superalloy and other similar nickel-based superalloy during aging is summarized. It is concluded that the main phases of 617B superalloy during aging include γ’ phase, μ phase and M23C6 carbide. The precipitation behavior of the three phases is affected by aging temperature and aging time. The microstructure of materials has a direct influence on the properties of materials. Therefore, in the aging process of 617B superalloy, the creep property of the alloy will be affected by these phases. This paper summarizes the effect of these phases on the creep behavior of 617B superalloy. It is found that γ’ phase has a positive effect on the creep behavior of 617B superalloy, while μ phase has a negative effect. M23C6 has two-sided effects depending on its size.
Analysis of the Impact of Engineering Construction on the near Built Seawalls Based on PLAXIS
Authors: Tang Mingli , Yao Yongxin , Shi Yannan , Yu Jiongqi
Published: April 2020

The article analyzes the impact of a constructing sewage treatment plant on the built seawall nearly by PLAXIS finite element software, located on the coast eastern Zhejiang. As the construction carrying on, the settlement and horizontal displacement are gradually increasing on the top and backwater slope of the seawall. The settlement on the top of Seawalls is 35.91 cm, the horizontal displacement is 50.76 cm; the settlement on the back slope is 71.45 cm, the horizontal displacement is 48.54cm. During the construction process, settlement increase rate at the foot of the backwater slope was significantly larger than that at the top of the seawalls. The horizontal displacement increase rate at the top of the seawalls was slightly larger than that at the foot of the backwater slope. The settlement and horizontal displacement of the seawall exceed the normal allowable deformation, which threatens the safety of the seawall. It is necessary to take reinforcement measures for the seawall to ensure safe operation.
Study on the treatment materials of urban rail transit water-containing caves
Authors: Zhou Lin , Qin Lei
Published: April 2020

With the sustained and rapid development of the national economy and the accelerating urbanization process, the contradiction between urban basic design, especially urban transportation facilities and urbanization, has become increasingly prominent. Rail transit has become the main public transport in major cities with its advantages of large capacity, fast speed, safety and reliability, and on-time comfort. Most of the rail transit lines are underground tunnels. When the tunnel crosses the karst area, it may encounters caves with different sizes, different locations, different filling levels and different water content. The existence of these caves will seriously affect the surrounding rock in tunnel construction. To carry out research on the typical disaster of water-filled caves, different types of filling materials were compared and analysed. And the applicable scope, advantages and disadvantages of various filling materials were also analyzed. Aiming at the treatment method of cement-water glass as filling material for the water-soluble cave, the relationship between the setting time of cement-water glass and the water inflow time was studied. The research shows that the effect of injecting the cave near the cement-water glass is the best.
Construction and Application Practice of Early Warning Model for Investment Progress of Electricity Grid Construction Projects
Authors: Gao Qian , Yang Junyi , Liu Kai , Jin Cheng , Wang Jing , Huang He , Tang Jie , Li Shaoqiang , Dai Keli
Published: April 2020

As the reform of transmission and distribution prices moves from the “construction mechanism” to the “strong supervision” stage, the authenticity and effectiveness of the grid investment plan implementation during the supervision cycle will definitely be the focus of external supervision. This will also directly affect the approval of the permitted revenue of grid companies in the next regulatory period. This paper takes the 110kV and above electricity grid construction projects as the research object, and constructs an early warning model for the progress of investment in electricity grid construction projects to identify and quantify the management and data problems existing in the project construction process, promote collaborative management of electricity grid construction projects and improve the authenticity and reliability of investment completion statistics.
Forced flowering of pineapple (Ananas comosus cv. Tainon 16) in response to ethephon with or without calcium carbonate
Authors: Liu Shenghui , Zhang Xiumei , Zhang Yumei , Li Yunhe , Zhu Zhuying
Published: April 2020

As a gaseous plant hormone, ethylene is responsible for inducing the initiation of reproductive development in pineapple. Reproductive development can be forced in pineapple (Ananas comosus) throughout the year with ethylene. Ethephon is the most common agent applied in pineapple forcing with high uniformity and convenience. We studied the effect of additive added to the ethephon solution on the plant and fruit of pineapple. Shoot apices of pineapple treated twice to evaluate the effect. Results showed that t 800mg/L ethephon could induce flowering successfully, addition of calcium carbonate could reduce the dose of ethephon significantly from 800 to 50. Furthermore, the addition of calcium carbonate not only caused the prolongation of the peduncle and increasing of slip number, but also increased fruilet numbers and fruit weight with a highly significant difference. 100mg/L ethephon with 0.04% calcium carbonate was the optimum forcing treatment for Tainon 16 cultivar.