Active Machine Learning for Chemical Engineers:A Bright Future Lies Ahead!

By combining machine learning with the design of experiments,thereby achieving so-called active machine learning,more efficient and cheaper research can be conducted.Machine learning algorithms are more flexible and are better than traditional design of experiment algorithms at investigating processes spanning all length scales of chemical engineering.While active machine learning algorithms are maturing,their applications are falling behind.In this article,three types of challenges presented by active machine learning—namely,convincing the experimental researcher,the flexibility of data creation,and the robustness of active machine learning algorithms—are identified,and ways to overcome them are discussed.A bright future lies ahead for active machine learning in chemical engineering,thanks to increasing automation and more efficient algorithms that can drive novel discoveries.

An Overview of Metal-Organic Frameworks for Green Chemical Engineering

Given the current global energy and environmental issues resulting from the fast pace of industrialization,the discovery of new functional materials has become increasingly imperative in order to advance science and technology and address the associated challenges.The boom in metal–organic frameworks(MOFs)and MOF-derived materials in recent years has stimulated profound interest in exploring their structures and applications.The preparation,characterization,and processing of MOF materials are the basis of their full engagement in industrial implementation.With intensive research in these topics,it is time to promote the practical utilization of MOFs on an industrial scale,such as for green chemical engineering,by taking advantage of their superior functions.Many famous MOFs have already demonstrated superiority over traditional materials in solving real-world problems.This review starts with the basic concept of MOF chemistry and ends with a discussion of the industrial production and exploitation of MOFs in several fields.Its goal is to provide a general scope of application to inspire MOF researchers to convert their focus on academic research to one on practical applications.After the obstacles of cost,scale-up preparation,processability,and stability have been overcome,MOFs and MOF-based devices will gradually enter the factory,become a part of our daily lives,and help to create a future based on green production and green living.

Microinterfacial technology enhancing mass transfer in chemical engineering

The microbubble and microinterface play key roles in the development and progress of the technology in the field of chemical engineering,which has attracted broad attention from the scientific and industrial community.Recently,Zhang et al.published a book about microinterfacial mass transfer intensification technology,where they systematically introduced scientific essence,reaction mechanism,equipment structure,and influence law of multiphase reaction process strengthened by microinterface.I believe this book can promote the technological innovation of microbubble-related processes,and also the development of the green chemical industry!

Process-oriented knowledge-sharing platform for chemical engineering design projects

A process-oriented knowledge-sharing platform is studied to improve knowledge sharing and project management of chemical engineering design enterprises. First, problems and characteristics of knowledge sharing in multi-projects of chemical engineering design are analyzed. Then based on theories of project management, process management, and knowledge management, a process-oriented knowledge-sharing platform is proposed. The platform has three characteristics: knowledge is divided into professional knowledge and project management knowledge; knowledge sharing is integrated with the project process, which makes knowledge sharing a necessary part of the project process and ensures the quantity of knowledge shared; the platform provides quantitative measurements of incentive mechanisms for knowledge providers and users which ensures the quality of knowledge shared. This knowledge-sharing platform uses two knowledge management tools, a knowledge map and a knowledge base, to support the platform.

Applying chemical engineering concepts to non-thermal plasma reactors

Process scale-up remains a considerable challenge for environmental applications of non-thermal plasmas.Undersanding the impact of reactor hydrodynamics in the performance of the process is a key step to overcome this challenge.In this work,we apply chemical engineering concepts to analyse the impact that different non-thermal plasma reactor configurations and regimes,such as laminar or plug flow,may have on the reactor performance.We do this in the particular context of the removal of pollutants by non-thermal plasmas,for which a simplified model is available.We generalise this model to different reactor configurations and,under certain hypotheses,we show that a reactor in the laminar regime may have a behaviour significantly different from one in the plug flow regime,often assumed in the non-thermal plasma literature.On the other hand,we show that a packed-bed reactor behaves very similarly to one in the plug flow regime.Beyond those results,the reader will find in this work a quick introduction to chemical reaction engineering concepts.

Ethical Standards for Publication in Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering

Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering (CJChE) is a publication of the Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China (CIESC) dedicated to present the original contributions of knowledge with permanent value from chemical engineering researchers and technical staff of process industries in China and the world. The editors-in-chief, associate editors-in-chief

China's Chemical Engineering Design Capability

During the early days of New China, to support the domestic construction of those projects aided by the former Soviet Union, the design institution formed a chemical engineering production installation design team. During the 1950s, this team designed an ammonia synthesis unit with an annual capacity of 75000 tons, set up the Sichuan Chemical Plant and worked out a

A PROPOSAL FOR DEVELOPING CHEMISTRY AND CHEMICAL ENGINEERING OF CHINA'S SALT LAKES

The author puts forward a proposal for developing chemistry and chemical engineering of China’s salt lakes on the basis of an investigation into exploitation and utilization of salt lake resources all over the world. It contains the subjects of setting up an engineering research center, mainly developing leading products, giving priority to the development of a chemical industry by using Qinghai salt lake resources, actively popularizing results, stressing basic research and systematic management.

Emerging chemical engineering of exosomes as“bioscaffolds”in diagnostics and therapeutics

All cells release extracellular vesicles(EVs)as part of their normal physiology.As one of the subtypes,exosomes(EXOs)have an average size range of approximately 40 nm e160 nm in diameter.Benefiting from their inherent immunogenicity and biocompatibility,the utility of autologous EXOs has the potential for both disease diagnosis/treatment.EXOs are generally employed as“bioscaffolds”and the whole diagnostic and therapeutic effects are mainly ascribed to exogenous cargos on the EXOs,such as proteins,nucleic acids,and chemotherapeutic agents and fluorophores delivered into specific cells or tissues.Surface en-gineering of EXOs for cargo loadings is one of the prerequisites for EXO-mediated diagnosis/treatment.After revisiting EXO-mediated diagnosis/treatment,the most popular strategies to directly undertake loadings of exogenous cargos on EXOs include genetic and chemical en-gineering.Generally,genetically-engineered EXOs can be merely produced by living organisms and intrinsically face some drawbacks.However,chemical methodologies for engineered EXOs diversify cargos and extend the functions of EXOs in the diagnosis/treatment.In this review,we would like to elucidate different chemical advances on the molecular level of EXOs along with the critical design required for diagnosis/treatment.Besides,the prospects of chemical engineering on the EXOs were critically addressed.Nevertheless,the superiority of EXO-medi-ated diagnosis/treatment via chemical engineering remains a challenge in clinical translation and trials.Furthermore,more chemical crosslinking on the EXOs is expected to be explored.Despite substantial claims in the literature,there is currently no review to exclusively summa-rize the chemical engineering to EXOs for diagnosis/treatment.We envision chemical engi-neering of EXOs will encourage more scientists to explore more novel technologies for a wider range of biomedical applications and accelerate the successful translation of EXO-based drug“bioscaffolds”from bench to bedside.

新创英文科技期刊国际影响力提升的实践举措——以Green Chemical Engineering为例

【目的】探讨我国英文科技期刊提升国际影响力的举措,为我国科技期刊特别是新创英文科技期刊提供一些思路和借鉴。【方法】以新创期刊Green Chemical Engineering(《绿色化学工程(英文)》,以下简称GreenChE)为例,总结GreenChE在国际化发展过程中的实践和举措,重点从人才队伍、稿件质量、多维度传播等方面进行探索讨论。【结果】从筹备至今,经过近两年的探索发展,GreenChE已取得一定的建设成效,学术质量与国际影响力逐步提升,先后被DOAJ、Scopus、CSCD等数据库收录。【结论】新创英文科技期刊在筹办与发展过程中会面临很多困难与挑战,在借鉴成功办刊经验的基础上,结合GreenChE的实际,进一步探索出设置编委分类名单、打造期刊品牌效应、细化邮件推送策略等特色举措,从而实现新创期刊国际影响力的快速提升。

EXTENDING THE KNOWLEDGE BASE OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

The obvious current reversion to micro-scale investigations in basic chemicalengineering, combined with the need, of a quite different nature, in the rapid growth of highadded-value and small-lot functional materials, have been pointing to an area not yet sufficientlycovered by the unit operations, transport phenomena and chemical reaction engineering. Although itis difficult to define accurately this area, a cursory scan of the activities already in progresshas revealed a few common attributes: multi-phased (structured), multi-scaled, multi-disciplined,nonlinear, needs for resolution to reductionism-solvable subsystems, and pervasive in the processindustry. From these activities, the present paper drafts a tentative scheme for studying therelated problems: first to dissect a problem into various scales — spatial, temporal or otherwiseas best suits the case in hand — in order to identify pertinent parameters which are then organizedinto model formulations. Together with inter-scale model formulations, a zoom-in/zoom-out processis carried out between the scales, by trial-and-error and through reasoning, to arrive at a globalformulation of a quantitative solution, in order to derive, eventually, the general from theparticular.

Industry-compatible covalent organic frameworks for green chemical engineering

In order to move towards sustainable development, the discovery of energy-efficient and environmentally friendly materials has become increasingly imperative. Covalent organic frameworks(COFs) as emerging designable crystalline porous materials have captured increasing attention for a wide array of clean-energy and environmental applications, attributed to their attractive advantages of low density, high surface area, adjustable and periodic pores, and functional skeletons. This review attempts to highlight the key advancements made in the green synthesis of COFs, processing of COFs, energy and environment-related applications, including gas storage, water treatment, the separation of gas mixture and organic molecules, catalysis, supercapacitors, fuel cell, and rechargeable batteries. Finally, a perspective regarding the remaining challenges and future directions on the synthesis and promising application for green chemical engineering of COFs has also been presented based on current achievements.

Fifth Sino-US Joint Conference of Chemical Engineering

The fifth Sino-US Joint Conference of Chemical Engineering of Chemical Industry ＆ Engineering Society of China and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, was held at the Fragrant Hill Hotel in Beijing, from October 13 to 16, organized by the Institute of Process Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the School of Chemical Engineering Technology of Tianjin University,

Intercalation Assembly and Chemical Product Engineering of Layered Intercalated Functional Materials Based on Efficient Utilization of Magnesium Resources in Salt Lakes

1 Introduction Magnesium salts are very important by-product of salt lake industry in West China.Nearly 200 million cubic meters of waste brine are released to the environment

Status and Perspectives of Process Systems Engineering

The definitions, methodology, applications, and perspectives of process system engineering are discussed from a strategic point of view. The focal points in future development of process systems engineering are to break through in methodology, to expand application fields, and to develop a new generation of process simulation systems.

Surface chemical microenvironment engineering of catalysts by organic molecules for boosting electrocatalytic reaction

Electrocatalysis is a surface-sensitive process,in which the catalytic activity of electrocatalyst highly re-lates to the surface adsorption/desorption behaviors of the reactants/intermediates/products on the cat-alytically active sites.Surface chemical microenvironment engineering via organic molecules functional-ization is a promising strategy to tune the electrocatalytic activity since it can well modify the elec-trode/electrolyte interface and alter the reaction pathways.In this review,we summarize the recent progress of surface microenvironment engineering of electrocatalysts induced by organic molecules func-tionalization,with the special focus on the organic molecule-assisted growth mechanism and unique electronic effect.More importantly,the applications of organic molecule functionalized catalysts in var-ious electrocatalytic reactions are also systematically summarized,along with a deep discussion on the conclusion and perspective.This work will open a new avenue for the construction and modification of advanced electrocatalysts based on organic molecule-mediated interface engineering.

Preparation and characterization of neodymium hydroxide powder via the hydration method

The preparation of Nd(OH)3 powder by the direct hydration method using Nd2O3 as a raw material was studied,and the effects of stirring mode,H2O and Nd2O3 molar ratio,stirring rate,and reaction time on temperature change and conversion rate in a hydration system were analyzed.The reasonable process conditions for the direct hydration of Nd(OH)3 by Nd2O3 were then determined.Process,morphology,and structure were considered in the preparation of neodymium hydroxide powder,and its composition was investigated by X-ray powder diffraction,scanning electron microscopy,laser particle size analysis,thermogravimetric differential thermal analysis,and chemical analysis.It has been proved that the process is simple and feasible,in line with the concept of modern green chemistry,and the products also meet the market requirements.