Each of the Issue Highlight articles from CJCE’s September issue is open access.
First, the Editor’s Choice article is titled “Safety soft sensor development for pilot-scale ilmenite electric arc furnace using long short-term memory-based architecture” and is from Antony Gareau-Lajoie, Djogap F. Chrysler J., Daniel Rodrigues, Marie-Ève Gosselin, and Moncef Chioua of Polytechnique Montréal and Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium Quebec Operations. In this article the authors note “ilmenite electric arc furnaces (EAFs) are used for smelting titanium-iron oxide ore at high temperatures generated by electrical arcs to produce titanium slag and pig iron”, and safe operation is challenging. The “main risk is molten material leaking out of the unit, known as a run-out” and “knowledge of sidewall temperature prediction and estimation of the thickness of solid material protecting the sidewall between tapping cycles can support operators’ decision-making process and help avoid run-outs”. This article “proposes two data-driven models: (1) a sidewall temperature prediction model and (2) a bath size estimation model.”
Next, is a research article by Darius Klassen, William Simon, Olivier Ngoy, Mikaël Larose, Catherine Pouchet, Gérald Chouinard, Marie-Josée Dumont, and Jason R. Tavares of Polytechnique Montréal, Research and Development Institute for the Agri-environment (IRDA), and Université Laval titled “Release of multicomponent pheromones from porous fibres”. Within this paper, the authors note “surface engineering empowers a polymer exclusion net to serve dual functions: physical exclusion and pheromonal release, allowing for pest control in agricultural crops.” Previously, “a net woven from porous fibres releasing simple, single-component alarm pheromones showed promising results in field tests”; therefore, this research “is extended to release more complex pheromone mixtures, since many relevant insect reproduction pheromones are multicomponent mixtures” and here “a novel in-situ method was developed to measure release of multicomponent pheromones using ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–Vis).”
The third Issue Highlight is “In-situ asphaltene capture with iron oxide nanoparticles in steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) for improved recovery and partial upgrading of bitumen” from Luis Prada, Saleh S. Baakeem, Mabkhot BinDahbag, M. Daniela Contreras-Mateus, Jesus Botett, Afif Hethnawi, and Nashaat N. Nassar of University of Calgary. Here, the authors note “nanoparticles have emerged as promising additives to enhance steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) efficiency by improving heat transfer, reducing viscosity, and promoting asphaltene adsorption and catalytic upgrading.” This study “integrates iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles into the SAGD process to simultaneously improve oil recovery and partially upgrade bitumen via in-situ asphaltene capture” and “four nanoparticle-assisted SAGD experiments were conducted, varying nanoparticle concentrations (1000, 3000, and 5000 mg/kg of porous media) and spatial distribution, and were compared against a baseline SAGD scenario”.
The final Issue Highlight is titled “Performance comparison of pressure swing adsorption and amine-based absorption for synthesis gas purification” by Magno Fonseca Santos, Antonio Esio Bresciani, and Rita Maria Brito Alves from Universidade de São Paulo. This study “focuses on the simulation, evaluation and comparison of the separation performance of the pressure swing adsorption (PSA) and amine-based absorption (ABS) processes in synthesis gas (syngas)/carbon dioxide (CO2) separation” with the goal of producing “a syngas stream with purity and composition suitable for feeding a Fischer–Tropsch reactor for synthetic fuel production.”