Universiti Teknologi Petronas

About: Universiti Teknologi Petronas is a education organization based out in Ipoh, Malaysia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Adsorption & Ionic liquid. The organization has 6127 authors who have published 11284 publications receiving 119400 citations.

Industry 4.0 framework for management and operations: a review

Abstract: The evolution of markets and customer requirements with highest level of precision, has been achieved created with technology and information systems, a new way of make the operations in the companies, and just the companies with the ability to adapt faster to technological innovations may remain on the market. The last industrial revolution, known as industry 4.0 perceives the operations as a holistic system, its represents a challenge that must be fulfilled and faced in order to achieve stability and permanence in the market, from the point of view of the world economies. In the organizational and business area all the operations must be linked to computer systems and management of information in the network, which causes greater efficiency in the flow. With this new perception of industry and the business, it involves different analytical tools that aim at bigger efficiency in the service to the consumers, resulting in a greater competitiveness in the market and making the differentiator. This work is one of the first surveys that provides an extensive analysis and review of 110 publications that appear from 1/01/12 to 20/02/17. The purpose of the study is to analyze categorically recent advances through qualitative and segmentation methods allowing to reveal trends and areas of opportunity in the industry sense of 4.0 in order to obtain research gaps that may be executed in organizational systems on the value chain. Another point is to be a reference in future research related to the categories selected in this study.

Insights into the microalgae cultivation technology and harvesting process for biofuel production: A review

Abstract: Derivation of biofuel from microalgae biomass has been widely researched in the past few decades. Microalgae is capable of producing 58,700 litres oil per hectare that can generate 121,104 litres biodiesel per hectare, which seemingly a promising transition over conventional fossil fuels. Nevertheless, economic sustainability of commercial scale production of microalgae biomass is still in shadows of doubt, especially the cultivation and harvesting process. Apparently, the microalgae cultivation system has evolved from traditional open pond to various modern photobioreactor (PBR) designs. However, with regards to tubular and flat panel PBRs as the most ubiquitous systems for biofuel production at commercial level, extensive discussion on reactor configurations and design betterment was presented in this review, along with precise technical comparison on cost and energy requirements for the cultivation systems. This review intended to serve as guideline for long term adoption of these well-established cultivation technologies in biofuel plants given the numerous economic benefits. Besides that, in attempt to lower the harvesting cost, potential use of various waste biomass as bioflocculants to recover microalgae biomass was introduced in this review. This article also deliberates direction on potential policy interventions to produce microalgae biofuel in a more sustainable and cost-effective manners in near future.

Progress in microwave pyrolysis conversion of agricultural waste to value-added biofuels: A batch to continuous approach

Abstract: Microwave pyrolysis (MP) has emerged as a promising technique to valorize agricultural wastes (AW) into biofuels, comprising biochar, bio-oil, and syngas. To fill the research gap, we review the state-of-the-art MP conversion of AW into value-added biofuels, including the influence of feedstock composition, new reactor designs, operating conditions, catalytic applications, and reaction mechanisms. The techno-economic and environmental impacts are discussed together with key implications for future development. Microwave valorization of AW to biofuels represents an economically viable cum environmentally-benign approach by virtue of (i) high availability of AW, (ii) scalable process, (iii) great potentiality for continuous operation, and (iv) thermochemical process with positive energy ratio. For continuous MP, the microwave heating distribution, products yield, and reactor design have not yet fully explored due to the limited understanding on microwave propagation pattern, materials handling, and varying feedstock compositions. The utilization of AW as biofuels feedstock offers several environmental advantages in terms of improved biomass utilization, enhanced carbon sequestration, and lower sulphur emission. The toxicity of bio-oil can be reduced by adding metal oxide catalysts (CaO, CuO, MgO, and NiO) to lessen its content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The process of continuous MP can be optimized by coupling shaftless auger and multiple magnetron to improve the quality of the biofuel, and uniformity of microwave heating. It is envisaged that continuous conversion of AW to biofuels is a sustainable, low carbon footprint, and alternative energy generation route, provided that the appropriate catalyst, effective condenser, and self-purging condition are chosen.