The March issue of CJCE features four exciting issue highlight articles, all of which are open access!
The Editor’s Choice article of this issue is “Learning hydrocracking reaction dynamics via neural ODEs: A data-driven, gradient-interpretable lumped modelling framework” by Souvik Ta, Lakshminarayanan Samavedham, and Ajay K. Ray from Western University and National University of Singapore. This study “applies neural ordinary differential equations (neural ODEs) to model hydrocracking kinetics, a key process for converting heavy hydrocarbons into lighter products like gasoline and diesel.” Within this study, “two neural ODE models were trained on synthetic hydrocracking data representing different kinetic assumptions: one based on a 2.5-order reaction scheme (Model A) and the other on a first-order scheme (Model B), across varying temperatures and feedstocks” and “the models demonstrated high predictive accuracy when predicting within the range of training data, with RMSE values remaining below 0.5 wt.% under most conditions.” Read this article for more findings from this study.
The next issue highlight is “Enhancing energy recovery from waste through torrefaction: A study on municipal solid waste (MSW) fractions under N2 and CO2 atmospheres” by Fatemeh Salami and Naomi B. Klinghoffer of Western University. In this article, the authors examine “the impact of torrefaction on municipal solid waste (MSW) fractions, focusing on energy recovery, calorific value enhancement, mass yield reduction, and energy densification under both nitrogen (N2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) atmospheres.” The study “demonstrated that torrefaction effectively addresses the low energy content of MSW, achieving an energy densification ratio up to 1.73. The process showed high energy efficiency, with energy recovery ranging from 69.3% to 99.15%, while different waste fractions exhibited varied behaviours during torrefaction.” The article “highlights the importance of waste stream selection, torrefaction atmosphere, and temperature optimization to improve the efficiency of MSW torrefaction, offering insights for the use of flue gas torrefaction in waste-to-energy processes.”
The third issue highlight is from authors Muhammad Badrul Islam Chowdhury, Anton Alvarez-Majmutov, and Jinwen Chen from Natural Resources Canada: “Modelling and simulation of hydrogen production via natural gas plasma pyrolysis”. In this study, the authors utilize a process simulation model in Aspen HYSYS, which they developed, in order to examine the behaviour of commercial-scale plasma pyrolysis: “Plasma pyrolysis is a cutting-edge technology that produces hydrogen and solid carbon from methane without emitting carbon dioxide. In this study, we developed a process simulation model in Aspen HYSYS to analyze the behaviour of this technology at the commercial scale…While analysis of simulation results suggested that the process temperature required to maximize hydrogen yield with minimum by-products like soot should be close to 3000°C, the commercially applicable temperature is known to be lower, around 2000°C.”
The final issue highlight is “Application of a Zn-air battery in water desalination” by Saba Khodadousti and Georgios Kolliopoulos of Université Laval. In their abstract, the authors note that the “development of novel desalination technologies is driven by the global need for efficient, sustainable water treatment solutions amid increasing water and energy demands. Zinc–air desalination batteries (ZADBs) offer a dual advantage by both desalinating brackish water and generating energy, positioning them as promising alternatives to traditional methods.” This study “evaluated a ZADB for brackish water treatment, focusing on its desalination performance under varying salinity, composition, current, and catholyte concentrations.” Access this article for more.
CJCE’s latest virtual issue, Editor’s Choice 2025, is now live and features Editor’s Choice articles from each issue published in 2025. Within this virtual issue, you will find articles exploring a variety of topics from across the chemical engineering field. These articles are either open access or have been set as free-to-read for a limited time. Be sure to check out them out!