Process and Chemical Engineering - Journal Articles
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- ItemThe structural modification and rehydration behaviours of milk protein isolate powders: The effect of granule growth in the high shear granulation process(Elsevier Ltd., 2016-05-30) Ji, Junfu; Cronin, Kevin; Fitzpatrick, John; Maguire, Pierce; Zhang, Hongzhou; Miao, Song; Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, IrelandThe effects of granule growth in high shear granulation on the structures and rehydration abilities of milk protein powders were investigated. In this study, milk protein isolate, as a model powder, was agglomerated in a high shear granulator. The formed granules with different sizes were used to compare the densities, granule shapes and subsequently the wettability, dispersibility and solubility. It is found that the small nuclei showed the most compacted structures. Then the primary agglomerates coalesced to create irregular secondary structures with lower density and higher porosity until the final agglomerates formed. The densely packed structures allowed the granules to be more easily wetted by water. The large granules showed quicker release of materials into water until reaching a critical size, where more mechanical energy is potentially required for further granule break down. All the agglomerated MPI granules solubilised much more slowly than the standard MPI powder.
- ItemReduced-order modeling of solid-liquid mixing in a stirred tank using data-driven singular value decomposition(Elsevier Ltd., 2023-07-01) Jiang, Yu; Byrne, Edmond P.; Glassey, Jarka; Chen, Xizhong; National Natural Science Foundation of China; University College CorkStirred tanks are widely used across the (bio)chemical and process industries for solid-liquid mixing. Predicting solid suspension behavior under varying agitation speeds is critical for process control and optimization. However, inherent turbulence and multiphase interactions challenges the simulation in terms of accuracy and speed. In response, increasing attention has been paid to machine learning algorithms to enhance fluid dynamics simulations. In this work, a reduced-order model (ROM) to simulate solid-liquid flows in a stirred tank was developed, which uses singular value decomposition (SVD) to learn the flow patterns from computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The impact of mode numbers and design points were further investigated. The results show that the use of the ROM can result in a reduction of computation time of up to three orders of magnitude with reasonable accuracy. This study contributes by offering an exploration into extending ROM to multiphase flows, with a particular focus on solid-liquid mixing processes.
- ItemInvestigating the energy, environmental, and economic challenges and opportunities associated with steam sterilisation autoclaves(De Gruyter, 2023-05-17) O’Callaghan, Jordan; Fitzpatrick , John; Lalor , Fergal; Byrne, Edmond P.Despite steam sterilisation in autoclaves being a common industrial method of sterilisation, very little research has been conducted into quantifying the resources these processes demand and their associated environmental impacts. This paper aims to investigate industrial steam sterilisation in autoclaves with particular application to the biopharmaceutical industry. A mathematical model of a steam autoclave was developed to examine relationships between load size, load material properties and autoclave capacity with energy consumption, environmental impact and cost of sterilisation. The two main energy requirements are thermal energy to produce the clean steam for sterilising, and electrical energy for the vacuum pump. The study showed that thermal energy is dominant, particularly as load increases. The percentage of the maximum load at which the autoclave is operated has a major impact on the specific energy requirement or the energy required to sterilise per unit mass of load. For a given autoclave, the energy requirement increases with increased load but the specific energy requirement decreases. This in turn impacts on the emissions and the energy cost. It is thus shown that it is much more energy efficient to operate at higher loads, making the autoclave much more energy and cost effective, and with less environmental impact. There is potential for applying the analysis presented in this work for conducting optimisation studies for determining the sizes of autoclaves that could minimise the energy requirement, environmental impact and economic cost (3E) of investments for specified load versus time profiles.
- ItemThe evolving engineer; professional accreditation sustainability criteria and societal imperatives and norms(Elsevier B.V., 2023-01-18) Byrne, Edmond P.Professional accreditation criteria around sustainability are an important consideration in the delivery of accredited (chemical) engineering programmes. This paper looks at the sustainability related criteria required by a number of professional bodies, while considering the evolution of such criteria over the past decades. It is seen that the scope and breadth of sustainability criteria has expanded among many accreditation bodies, including the Institution of Chemical Engineers, in line with institutional and professional imperatives. This has promoted the incorporation of a far broader range of sustainability related attributes than was previously envisaged. There are nevertheless large differences between the requirements of the various professional bodies considered, and in programmes across the world. The impact of societal imperatives and norms, including those of employers is reflected upon, as is the awareness and concerns of young people, who as graduates will be working through mid-century, directly engaging with sustainability related imperatives. IChemE accredited programmes are increasingly obliged to actively engage with contemporary sustainability related requirements more broadly, requiring increased integration of sustainability attributes across the curriculum, in terms of knowledge, skills and values. This evolution is important in remaining relevant as a profession, and in playing a key role in addressing societal challenges.
- ItemParticipatory methods in energy system modelling and planning – a review(Elsevier, 2021) McGookin, Connor; Ó Gallachóir, Brian P.; Byrne, Edmond P.; Science Foundation Ireland; ESB Networks; National Science FoundationThis paper presents a systematic review of participatory methods used in energy system modelling and planning. It draws on a compiled database of fifty-nine studies at a local, regional, and national level detailing analysis on full energy systems down to sectors, modes, and single technologies. The initial aim of the paper is to consolidate and present this growing body of literature, providing a clear understanding of which stakeholder groups have been engaged and what methods have been used to link stakeholder engagement with quantitative analysis. On from this, the progress to date in democratising key decision-making processes is discussed, reflecting on the benefits and challenges of a participatory approach, as well as highlighting gaps within the current body of literature. During the review, two differing spatial levels at subnational (cities, municipalities, or regions) and national scale emerged as separate groups for analysis. A clear distinction between the two groups was the motivation for involving stakeholders. At a subnational level, researchers hoping to build local capacity to bring about real-world change engaged with community representatives, whereas national level studies concerned with generating more impactful energy policy measures involved industry, policymaking, and academic experts. One key finding from the review was that only ten out of the fifty-nine studies reviewed noted some form of collaboration with non-academic stakeholders, and moreover 36% of studies involved just a single interaction with participants. This indicates a lack of progress to date in process democratisation within energy system modelling and planning research.