Happy New Year from the CJCE Editorial Team!
We’re starting off the year with an exciting new issue. The January issue of CJCE features a special issue section on Process System Safety and Risk Engineering in honour of Dr. Faisal Khan of Texas A&M University. As noted by guest editors Abdallah S. Berrouk and K. Nandakumar in the preface, Dr. Khan “is a pioneer in safety and risk engineering” and a “world-renowned researcher, academic, and industry leader in the field of safety and risk engineering. His contributions have significantly advanced the understanding and application of risk management in process industries, offshore energy production, and chemical engineering”. They continue, “Dr. Faisal Khan’s career exemplifies the ideal of a scholar-teacher who bridges the gap between academic research and industrial application. His work in safety and risk engineering has advanced the field’s theoretical understanding and led to practical improvements in industry practices. As he continues pushing the boundaries of safety science, Dr. Khan’s influence on academia and industry is expected to grow, cementing his status as a leading figure in chemical engineering and process safety. His career is perhaps at its most productive stage; hence, one can only draw a glimpse of what is coming from him in this field. A future festschrift can draw a more definitive conclusion on the impact of his body of work in the safety field.” Be sure to read this preface as well as the collection of excellent articles submitted to this special section by Dr. Khan’s peers and colleagues in his honour.
The second issue highlight from the January issue is an open access article titled, “Comparative study of the thermo-catalytic reforming of agricultural and forest residue and advanced characterization of final products in a cold climate” by Bijay Dhakal, Vinoj Kurian, Neelanjan Bhattacharjee, Rajender Gupta, Jason Olfert, Larry Kostiuk, Andreas Hornung, and Amit Kumar of University of Alberta and Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety, and Energy Technology, Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Germany. In this article, the authors note that “Global agricultural and forest residues hold promise for renewable fuel production through thermo-catalytic reforming (TCR)” and “Limited data exists on TCR outcomes for regions known for cold conditions like Canada”. Therefore, “This study used a 2 kg h−1 TCR unit for the intermediate pyrolysis/reforming of agricultural (wheat straw pellet, WSP) and forest (softwood pellet, SWP) residues”. Ultimately, “The study results guide optimal TCR unit operation in cold climates like Canada with local feedstocks, emphasizing its notable hydrogen production over bio-oil and biochar.”
The third issue highlight is a review article titled, “A review of emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities for utilization of metal nanoclusters in CO2 capturing” by Atul Kapoor and Jaspreet Kaur Rajput of the Dr. B. R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, Punjab, India. This article “endeavours to meet the critical requirement for effective CO2 capture through the exploration of novel sorbent materials, with a specific focus on molecularly precise nanoclusters (NCs), aiming to enhance understanding of the catalytic mechanisms in CO2 reduction and design stable, high-performance sorbents with controllable properties. Advancing the field, the study delves into the synthesis and examination of molecularly precise nanoclusters (NCs), an emerging domain in nanoscience, with a particular emphasis on well-defined nanoclusters like thiolate-protected Au, Ag, and Cu NCs.” Explore these topics and more in this extensive review article while it is free-to-read during the month of January.
In the final featured article, an open access article titled, “Simultaneous state-estimator tuning and parameter estimation for systems with nonstationary disturbances, multi-rate data, and measurement delays”, authors Qiujun A. Liu and Kimberley B. McAuley of Queen’s University, state “Model-based monitoring and control of chemical and biochemical processes rely on state estimators such as extended Kalman filters (EKFs) to ensure accurate online model predictions” and “Accurate predictions depend on appropriate model parameters and suitable state-estimator tuning factors.” In this study, the authors build upon their previous work: “Extensions to our previously developed simultaneous parameter estimation and tuning (SPET) method are proposed so that SPET can be used for systems with nonstationary disturbances, time-varying parameters, multi-rate data, and measurement delays.” The authors note, “The SPET approach will also be useful for more-advanced state estimators that require the same tuning information as EKFs.”
Don’t forget: CJCE’s newest virtual issue is currently free-to-read: 2024 in Review: Top Trending Articles. This virtual issue comprises 15 articles that have received the top number of views among all articles published in 2024. Be sure to access this issue and explore recent research on topics important to chemical engineers now.