Wei-Ting Chen

Exhaust gases from industrial activities are major sources of air pollution following fuel combustion. The principal air pollutants include volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter (PM), which can enter the human lung and cause health damage if proper protective measures are not taken. Accordingly, this study successfully synthesized a fiber membrane composed of a metal-organic framework containing NH ₂ -MIL-125 (NH2-Matériaux de l’Institut Lavoisier-125, NM125), carbon quantum dots (CQD), titanium dioxide (TiO ₂ ), Polyimide (PI), and Polyetherimide (PEI). The synthesized material was designated as CNP@PI/PEI. CNP@PI/PEI exhibited photocatalytic activity, filtration efficiency, and thermal resistance, enabling it to filter high-temperature exhaust gases from industrial activities and to decompose methylene blue and acetone. The highest photocatalytic degradation rates were 68.00% for methylene blue and 82% for 20 ppm acetone. The CNP@PI/PEI fiber membrane was produced under the following conditions: operating voltage (17.0 kV), collection time (2 h), catalyst addition (5 wt%), and CNP ratio (1.25). The resulting filtration efficiency and quality were 97.92% and 1.185 Pa ^-1 , respectively. Based on the TG and DSC results, the CNP@PI/PEI fiber membrane demonstrated thermal resistance that is suitable for potential application in high-temperature exhaust treatment in industrial systems such as servers, steel mills, and ironworks. Consequently, the CNP@PI/PEI membrane effectively captured nanoparticles and provided multifunctional environmental remediation through the photocatalytic degradation of various contaminants.

The high demand for polyurethane (PU) material has led to the generation of waste PU, prompting the need for effective recycling methods. This study developed a waste recycling method that utilizes thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and PU as a substrate. Thermo‐compression was utilized to generate TPU/PU blend material. Various PU additions were set as ratio wt% of a sample piece, and the optimal PU additions were determined after a series of thermal and mechanical tests. Within the range of 20% PU addition, the density of TPU/PU blend material remained relatively stable, with no significant change observed. The density consistently hovered around 1.185 kg/m ³ . The optimal elasticity coefficient was identified at 12.5% PU addition, reaching a value of 3.365 MPa. This enhancement in the coefficient of elasticity increased the rigidity of TPU/PU blend material. Meanwhile, the maximum shore hardness was recorded at 10% PU addition, reaching a value of 44.33 A. Scanning electron microscope and Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy analyses revealed an improved degree of phase mixture within the TPU/PU blend material, particularly notable within 20% PU addition. Thermal conductivity reached its maximum value of 0.318 W/mK with a 15% PU addition. This indicates that adding PU contributed to improved thermal conductivity, which can be crucial in certain applications. This study demonstrates a sustainable mechanical recycling approach to produce TPU/PU blend material with enhanced thermal and mechanical performance, directly contributing to UN SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) through green material development and circular economy practices.

There has been a rapid increase in the standard of living and economic development, contributing to the rise of various environmental pollutants, such as PM, NO ₂ , O ₃ , CO, CO ₂ , SO ₂ , and VOCs. Particulate matter is primarily categorized into PM 2.5 and PM10. Prolonged exposure to high concentrations of air pollution and pathogens increases the risk of respiratory diseases. If air pollutants in hospitals can be filtered, indoor air quality can be improved. Therefore, electrospinning technology is used to blend polyimide (PI) and polyetherimide (PEI) to fabricate a polymer fiber membrane under varying operational factors, such as the PI/PEI ratio, flow rate, voltage, and spinning time, for air pollutant filtration testing. The optimal conditions—20 % of PI/PEI, a flow rate of 0.9 mL h ^-1 , voltage of 23 kV, and spinning time of 6 h-yielded a filtration efficiency of 91.86 % and a filtration quality of 0.0273 Pa ^-1 .

Curcumin is utilized extensively as Chinese medicine in Asia due to its antioxidant, antimicrobial, and inflammatory activities. However, its use has the challenges of low oral bioavailability and high heat sensitivity. The aim of this research was to produce flexible nano-liposomes containing curcumin using an innovative approach of ethanol injection and Tween 80 to enhance the stability and preservation of curcumin. The mean particle size, encapsulation efficiency, thermal degradation, storage stability, and curcumin release in flexible nano-liposomes were also investigated. We found that the mean particle size of curcumin-loaded flexible nano-liposome decreased from 278 nm to 27.6 nm. At the same time, the Tween 80 concentration increased from 0 to 0.15 wt%, which corresponded with the results of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) morphology analyses, and particle size decreased with an enhancement in Tween 80 concentration. Further, pure curcumin was quickly released within one hour at 37 °C, and first-order kinetics matched with its release curve. However, curcumin encapsulated in flexible nano-liposomes showed a slow release of 71.24% within 12 h, and a slower release pattern matched with the Higuchi model over 24 h, ultimately reaching 84.63% release. Hence, flexible nano-liposomes of curcumin made by a combination of ethanol injection and Tween 80 addition prevented the thermal degradation of curcumin, and enhanced its storage stability and preservation for future drug delivery applications.

Planning of sewer systems typically involves limitations and problems, regardless of whether traditional planning methods or optimization models are used. Such problems include non-quantifiability, fuzzy objectives, and uncertainties in decision-making variables which are commonly applied in the planning of any process. Particularly, uncertainties have prevented the inclusion of these variables in models. Consequently, the theoretical optional solution of the mathematical models is not the true optimum solution to practical problems. In this study, to solve the above problems for regional sewer system planning, multi-objective programming (MOP), nonlinear programming, mixed-integer programming, and compromise fuzzy programming were used. The objectives of this study were two-fold: (1) determination of the necessary decision-making variables or parameters, such as the optimum number of plants, piping layout, size of the plant, and extent of treatment; (2) establishment of a framework and methodology for optimal planning for designing a regional sewer system, matching demanded targets with the lowest cost, which would achieve the aim of lower space and energy requirements as well as consumption and high treatment efficiency for the purpose of meeting effluent standards. The findings of this study revealed that individual regional sewage treatment plants could be merged to form a centralized system. Land acquisition was difficult; thus, reducing the number of plants was required. Therefore, the compromise-fuzzy-based MOP method could effectively be used to build a regional sewer system plan, and the amount of in-plant establishment reached its maximized value with a minimized cost.

Copper in the international market has been priced by copper futures contracts from the London Metal Exchange (LME) and the New York Commodity Exchange (COMEX). Copper prices initially showed a downward trend until March 2020, but after the outbreak of COVID-19, they continued to rise and reached a record high in May 2021. The rise in copper demand also stimulated the continuous growth of copper production. However, a significant amount of smelting flue gas is produced in the copper smelting process. The main component of the flue gas is SO₂ and other acid gases, which pollute the environmental atmosphere. At the same time, due to the Chinese government’s effective control of the pandemic, China’s economy continued to grow. Therefore, as one of the world’s largest copper consumers and producers, China’s futures market has attracted attention for its influence on copper pricing and the pollution caused by copper smelting. In this paper, we used the grey entropy method to compare the influence of copper prices on the three futures markets and changes in China’s air pollution in recent years. Our results show that before the pandemic, the influence of the LME futures copper price was the same as the COMEX but greater than the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE). After the outbreak of the pandemic, the influence of the SHFE copper futures price significantly improved and slightly exceeded the LME and COMEX. This result echoes our finding that SO₂ has caused serious air pollution in recent years.