{"title":"MgAl ‐layered double hydroxide/activated carbon catalyst enabling fast CO 2 absorption in tertiary amine solutions","authors":"Xiaowen Zhang, Yuan Wei, Feiying Tang, Fangfang Zhao, Kuiyi You, He'an Luo, Paitoon Tontiwachwuthikul, Zhiwu Liang","doi":"10.1002/aic.70659","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.70659","url":null,"abstract":"The practical utilization of tertiary amine solvents in CO <jats:sub>2</jats:sub> capture is restricted because of their slow kinetics of CO <jats:sub>2</jats:sub> absorption. Herein, this study designed an innovative solid base catalyst, a layered double hydroxide/activated carbon (LDH/AC) composite catalyst, that greatly accelerates CO <jats:sub>2</jats:sub> absorption. LDH/AC utilizes high surface area, strong basic sites, and abundant oxygen vacancies to boost CO <jats:sub>2</jats:sub> absorption in N‐methyldiethanolamine solution (MDEA) via a base‐catalyzed mechanism. Only 0.1 wt% dosage of LDH/AC <jats:sub>1:1</jats:sub> increases the CO <jats:sub>2</jats:sub> absorption rate by 256% as compared to the non‐catalyzed MDEA system, and keeps excellent stability after 10 cycles. Online FT‐IR provided additional evidence of the LDH/AC <jats:sub>1:1</jats:sub> catalyst's synergistic enhancing impact. Furthermore, theoretical calculations reveal a 47% reduction in the reaction energy barrier of the rate‐limiting step, providing molecular‐level proof for the catalytic absorption enhancement. This study offers a promising route for developing high‐efficiency and sustainable CO <jats:sub>2</jats:sub> capture technologies using solid base catalysts.","PeriodicalId":120,"journal":{"name":"AIChE Journal","volume":"226 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149048884","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AIChE JournalPub Date : 2026-09-24DOI: 10.1002/aic.70657
Hongxuan Wang, Andrew Allman
{"title":"Machine learning driven many‐objective moving horizon scheduling optimization","authors":"Hongxuan Wang, Andrew Allman","doi":"10.1002/aic.70657","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.70657","url":null,"abstract":"Industrial electrification can decarbonize chemical manufacturing, but it exposes operations to volatile electricity prices and carbon intensities. This work develops a machine learning‐enhanced many‐objective moving horizon scheduling framework that predicts objective correlation groupings from 48‐hour price and emission‐intensity profiles, avoiding repeated online dimensionality reduction and unnecessary Pareto frontier generation. Historical grid scenarios labeled by an objective dimensionality reduction algorithm are used to train classifiers, achieving 94% accuracy for five‐class grouping identification and nearly 99% accuracy for binary cost‐emission relationship classification. In flexible ammonia production, the random forest model enables efficient scheduling on unseen ISO New England data by identifying when compromise solutions are needed and when objectives are sufficiently correlated. The framework is also tested on chlor‐alkali electrolysis. Cross‐process results show that objective relationships depend on process constraints and operating flexibility, while transfer learning improves LSTM performance only under limited target‐process data.","PeriodicalId":120,"journal":{"name":"AIChE Journal","volume":"51 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149048882","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AIChE JournalPub Date : 2026-09-24DOI: 10.1002/aic.70656
Yirang Park, David E. Bernal Neira
{"title":"A computational study of Ising‐based solvers for discrete landscape exploration in process optimization","authors":"Yirang Park, David E. Bernal Neira","doi":"10.1002/aic.70656","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.70656","url":null,"abstract":"Conceptual process design combines discrete configuration choices with continuous operating decisions, often yielding difficult mixed‐integer nonlinear or simulation‐based optimization problems. This work presents an exploratory computational assessment of Ising‐based solvers, simulated annealing, quantum annealing, and entropy computing, as candidate methods for discrete process design subproblems within a sequential process systems engineering workflow. Two case studies, an ionic‐liquid reactor‐separator network and a drug‐substance manufacturing process, compare these methods with deterministic branch‐and‐bound strategies. Deterministic methods rapidly recover optimal discrete solutions, whereas Ising‐based solvers generate distributions of feasible candidate configurations. Downstream evaluation further shows that discrete‐subproblem objective rankings may differ from rankings based on the integrated process objective, revealing limitations of sequential decomposition when discrete and continuous decisions are strongly coupled. The study characterizes current solver behavior, practical QUBO/Ising reformulation requirements, and implementation considerations for applying emerging Ising‐based optimization tools in process systems engineering.","PeriodicalId":120,"journal":{"name":"AIChE Journal","volume":"269 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149048881","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AIChE JournalPub Date : 2026-09-24DOI: 10.1002/aic.70654
Jianjing Shen, Min Zhou, Mengjiao Zhu, Xueli Yuan, Shuo Xue, Wei Zhang, Yu Liu, Tao Liu, Guangru Zhang, Zhenyu Chu
{"title":"Hierarchically structured core–shell nanofibrous membrane for one‐step blood separation and liver biomarkers detection","authors":"Jianjing Shen, Min Zhou, Mengjiao Zhu, Xueli Yuan, Shuo Xue, Wei Zhang, Yu Liu, Tao Liu, Guangru Zhang, Zhenyu Chu","doi":"10.1002/aic.70654","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.70654","url":null,"abstract":"Chronic liver disease (CLD) affects over 844 million people and causes more than 2 million deaths annually worldwide. Current blood tests, though convenient and low‐cost, require plasma separation using bulky instruments with lengthy turnaround times. Herein, we have proposed a permeation‐biosensing membrane integrating membrane separation with electrochemical biosensor for on‐site quantification of lactate and alpha‐fetoprotein (AFP). This membrane is one‐step weaved by core‐shell nanofibers through potential‐regulated electrospinning. Its top side is featured by a biocompatible porous structure to effectively reject blood cells to allow plasma permeation. The bottom side immobilized the bio‐recognizer (enzyme or antibody) to capture liver biomarkers (lactate or AFP). Using finger‐prick blood from clinical patients, the membrane achieves total analysis times of 140 s for lactate and 22 min for AFP, including the blood separation and analysis periods. This facile and onsite whole‐blood‐test membrane enables a portable device for home‐in daily monitoring of long‐term liver disease.","PeriodicalId":120,"journal":{"name":"AIChE Journal","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149048883","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Interface‐regulated Co‐doped Pd/\u0000 ZSM\u0000 ‐5 toward efficient selective hydrogenation of phenol to cyclohexanone","authors":"Diancong Guo, Yutong Wang, Xin Yu, Hao Yang, Qian Li, Bofeng Zhang, Yajie Tian","doi":"10.1002/aic.70666","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.70666","url":null,"abstract":"Cyclohexanone serves as a crucial precursor in the chemical industry and can be produced via selective hydrogenation of phenol, a process that suffers from sluggish reaction kinetics and over‐hydrogenation to cyclohexanol. This study develops a hierarchical ZSM‐5 zeolite‐supported Pd–Co bimetallic catalyst (Pd–Co/DZ) that addresses this dichotomy through a synergistic dual‐function design. Compared with monometallic Pd, the formation of highly dispersed Pd–Co alloy substantially enhances the adsorption and activation rate of H <jats:sub>2</jats:sub> , thereby accelerating the phenol hydrogenation. The hierarchical zeolite exploits its abundant surface defect sites to chelate Co species, generating Co–O–Si bonds. This configuration promotes the tilted adsorption of phenol while suppressing the deep hydrogenation of cyclohexanone to cyclohexanol. Leveraging the dual role of Co in the Pd/ZSM‐5 under a phenol‐to‐Pd molar ratio of 1132, a turnover frequency of 268.9 h <jats:sup>−1</jats:sup> for phenol‐to‐cyclohexanone with 93.1% yield is achieved. This work provides valuable insights for the design of catalysts in the hydrogenation of phenolics.","PeriodicalId":120,"journal":{"name":"AIChE Journal","volume":"195 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149022173","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}