NANOSCALE PROCESS ENGINEERING

The research of nanoscale process engineering (NPE) is based on the interdisciplinary nature of nano-scale science and technology. It mainly deals with transformation of materials and energy into nanostructured materials and nanodevices, and synergizes the multidisciplinary convergence between materials science and technology, bio-technology, and information technology. The core technologies of NPE concern all aspects of nanodevice construction and operation, such as manufacture of nanomaterials by design? concepts and design of nanoarchitectures, and manufacture and control of customizable nanodevices. Two main targets of NPE at present are focused on nanoscale manufacture and concept design of nanodevices. The research progress of nanoscale manufacturing processes focused on creating nanostructures and assembling them into nanosystems and larger scale architectures has built the interdis-cipline of NPE. The concepts and design of smart, multi-functional, environmentally compatible and customizable nan-odevice prototypes built from the nanostructured systems of nanocrystalline, nanoporous and microemulsion systems are most challenging tasks of NPE. The development of NPE may also impel us to consider the curriculum and educa-tional reform of chemical engineering in universities.

Developing socio-hydrology:Research progress,opportunities and challenges

The development of industrialization and urbanization has intensified the coupling of human activities and hydrological processes and promoted the emergence of socio-hydrology.This paper addresses the issue of socio-hydrology due to new development and social demand for hydrological sciences and sustainable development.Four key scientific issues are identified through systematic analysis and summary of the relative research and international progress,i.e.,(1)the long-term dynamic process of socio-hydrological system evolution;(2)quantitative description and driving mechanism analysis of socio-hydrological coupling system;(3)prediction of the trajectories of socio-hydrological system co-evolution,and(4)integrated water resource management from the perspective of water systems.Moreover,opportunities and challenges for developing socio-hydrology are emphasized,including(1)strengthening the research of interdisciplinary theoretical systems;(2)improving and broadening socio-hydrological research technical methods,and(3)supporting integrated water resources management(IWRM)for sustainable utilization goals(SDGs).The review is expected to provide a reference for the future development of socio-hydrology discipline.

Evaluation and optimization of air-based precooling for higher postharvest quality: literature review and interdisciplinary perspective

Precooling is of significant importance for postharvest fruits and vegetables to control the quality degradation and prolong the shelf-life.Current precooling methods include room cooling,forced-air cooling,hydrocooling,vacuum cooling,contact or package icing,and cryogenic cooling,all of which have their advantages and disadvantages.The first two methods with the cooling medium of air are extensively used because of the wide applicable range of fruits and vegetables.Numerous studies have been devoted to cope with the drawbacks of these two air-based precooling methods with various evaluation criteria and optimization methods.A systematic literature review on these studies is firstly conducted with respect to experimental and numerical investigations respectively for the two methods.The main contributions from the previous studies are also summarized respectively with the research objectives and performance metrics.The literature review indicates that the current performance evaluation is limited to apparent parameters and the optimal design is only proposed based on the performance evaluation and comparison.Furthermore,with inspiration from the research in other domains,a scheme of advanced evaluation and optimization for air-based precooling methods is proposed with thermodynamic evaluation metrics and constructal optimization methods from the interdisciplinary perspective.