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In tropical fruits such as durian (Durio zibethinus) and jackfruit (Artocarpus
heterophyllus), only one quarter to one third of the fruit is edible. Finding more
ways to industrially use the other components of the fruit can reduce the waste
burned or dumped in landfills. Another fruit tree of interest that can also grow
in Austria is the fig tree (Ficus carica). Currently, the fruits are the main product
of that plant; however, components in the latex of the tree are of interest too.
The latex is known to contain natural rubber, which could potentially be used for
industrial applications. Jackfruit trees also produce latex, which contains natural
rubber. In both cases, the natural rubber has different properties compared to
the conventionally used rubber from the rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis). This
could provide new opportunities in various applications. Therefore, the purpose
of this research is to analyze the properties of the natural rubber obtained from
the jackfruit and fig trees. Additionally, durian fruit also produces a sticky liquid,
so the same experiments were also carried out with durian samples.
The experimental procedure included extraction with acetone and
cyclohexane as well as polymer length determination with gel permeation
chromatography and polymer analysis with differential scanning calorimetry.
The results show that in both jackfruit and fig tree latex, there is natural
rubber of similar polymer length. Durian pulp also contains a polymer; however,
with these experiments, it could not be identified. Further research is required to
identify the durian polymer and to confirm the results of this experiment.
On the surface, the process landscape for fixed income securities trading within most banks has changed only slightly in the past four decades. The value chain remains divided amongst front-, middle-, and back office, with IT in support. Front office negotiates deals with customers and other banks, middle office manages risks and reporting, and back office ensures that payments are made in exchange for a transfer of the bonds that have been traded. Though these processes have gradually migrated to electronic mediums, much of the work in all functional areas remains manual. But the advent of digital technologies, primarily process automation software and data integration in an open software architecture, allows banks to dramatically change how the processes along the value chain are carried out. Repetitive and predictable tasks can be performed by automated software, allowing humans to concentrate on complex activities that require flexibility and discretion. Those tasks that remain in the hands of humans can also be made more efficient by extracting data from software applications along the entire process chain and providing them to the human user at the right point in time in the right system.
Mutual Benefits from Entrepreneurship of Non-business University Graduates for Academia and Founders
(2019)
There is a trend among universities to teach entrepreneurship and support startup initiatives. In this article, the state-ofthe-
art in entrepreneurship higher education and university ecosystems of non-business schools is reviewed, and the example of the University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien, Austria, and one of its startup show cases, Toolsense, is elaborated to understand critical success factors for non-business graduates as founders. The mutual benefits for universities and founders are discussed. In the case of Toolsense and the University of Applied Sciences, narrow band IoT as brought to the University by the startup. Implications on a universities’ innovation and portfolio management are highlighted. Concerning startups, the importance of growth financing after initial success is elaborated.
In an effort to broaden the engineering applications of material extrusion based additive manufacturing (MEAM), new materials are being developed. Adding carbon-fibers (CF) has been one strategy to increase the mechanical performance of different thermoplastics. One challenge is to determine the amount of CF needed to increase the mechanical performance without affecting the “printability” of the compounds. In this paper, different amounts (10, 15, and 20 vol.%) of CF were added to recycled polypropylene (rPP) and polyamide 12 (PA12). A compatibilizer was used for rPP, but not for PA12. Filaments for MEAM were extruded from the different compounds and the viscosity as well as the tensile properties were measured and compared to the processed polymeric matrices. It was observed that the viscosities at the angular frequencies relevant for MEAM (100 to 200 rad/s) were not significantly different for rPP+CF compounds, but it was higher for PA12+CF compounds. As expected, the elongation at break significantly decreased with the addition of CF for all compounds. For the composites with an rPP matrix, the Young’s modulus and the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) continuously increased as the CF content increased to 20 vol.%. For PA12-based materials, the Young’s modulus and the UTS increased with CF content, but adding more than 15 vol.% did not further improve these values. Therefore, it was concluded that for PA12 the maximum amount of CF that should be added was 15 vol.%. Using scanning electron microscopy, it was observed that the CF were homogeneously dispersed in the rPP matrix, but not so well in the PA12 matrix, with fibers being more concentrated towards the rim of the filament. Finally, filaments of rPP, rPP+20CF, PA12 and PA12+15CF were used to print complex geometries by means of MEAM, and it was observed that CF helped to reduce the warpage compared to the unfilled filaments. A potential application of this phenomenon could be the reduction of the bed temperature to develop a more energy efficient MEAM process for semi-crystalline polymers.
This review article summarizes the state of the art in energy efficiency (EE) management in air and rail cargo transportation. After an introduction, explanations and definitions follow around the topic of energy efficiency. The political framework conditions of the European Union (EU) as well as the associated European Union Emissions Trading System are described. In particular, the drive technologies, CO2 emissions, and fuel-saving options are reviewed.