A granular soil conditioner with several millimeter diameters was prepared using scallop shell powder by pan granulator. The scallop shell powder was classified using a vibrating sieve to adjust the angle of repose for the granulation. As a result, the scallop shell granules with controlled size were prepared by adjusting the process parameters of the granulation such as the pan angle and the rotational speed. In addition, the amount of lignin (binder for the granulation) was adjusted to be 4 wt.% to attain the enough strength for the assumed compressive stress during the storage. Lastly the acidity correction of the obtained scallop shell granules had a low immediate effect and a high persistence compared with that of the scallop shell powder.

This paper describes separation performance of newly developed forward cyclones with 7 kinds of size and structure. The forward cyclones have 2 or 4 tangential-air-inlets, a dust pot and a flow receiver for fine particles. Our previous study showed that the cyclones had sharp size separation performance for PM_2.5 but did not clarify the mechanism. Size separation characteristics of the cyclones were evaluated using a pair of optical particle counters with test aerosols of standard polystyrene latex particles ranging from 1 to 6 μm in diameter. Also swirling flow in the cyclone was observed by tracer powder. Measured data, such as 50% cut-off aerodynamic diameter at flow conditions of each cyclone, were used to estimate the flowrate branching off the dust pot. Ranging from 3 to 30 percent of total flowrate were passed to the dust pot before flow throughout the cyclone. The flow caused sharp centrifugal separation to the aerosol particles introduced into the cyclone. Smallest the cyclone (bore diameter was 10 mm) covered samplings for PM_2.5 fraction of ambient aerosols at 3 L/min and respirable particle faction (PM₄) at work environments at 1.7 L/‍min. Largest the cyclone (bore diameter was 90 mm) fitted to a high-volume air sampler of which flowrate ranged from 150 to 600 L/min, showed the same performance as the smallest one.

The sustained-release formulations consist of many components, such as the active pharmaceutical ingredient, excipient, binder, lubricant, and polymer, leading to the complex dissolution process. The objective of this study is the elucidation of the rate-determining step in the dissolution process by direct optical observation. The composite particles of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and brilliant blue FCF (model drug) were prepared, and the direct observation of the dissolution process and image analysis were conducted. The decrease in particle size and the penetration of solvent into the particles during the dissolution process had little impact on the sustained-release performance. On the other hand, the diffusion rate of the model drug in the HPMC gel strongly depended on the type of HPMC, suggesting that the rate-determining step in the dissolution process of the sustained-release formulations using HPMC would be the drug diffusion process in the polymer gel in the particles.

In the field of non-equilibrium science, the Liesegang phenomenon is well-known as a particle formation process involving the diffusion of precursor chemicals. From a chemical engineering perspective, our research group had previously applied this method to synthesize metal nanoparticles and found that when Au ions diffuse unidirectionally into a gel containing a reductant, bands of Au nanoparticles are formed in a striped pattern. However, metal species other than Au have not yet been investigated. In this study, we synthesized nanoparticles of other metal species (Pt and Pd) using a similar process and compared the results with those of the Au nanoparticles to clarify the particle formation mechanism. The findings showed that the band patterns that were formed vary according to the metal species. Furthermore, the bands formed in each metal species were reproduced by using a mathematical model capable of representing the diffusion of ions and the formation of particles.

Currently, slurry coating is used in the manufacturing process of various products such as electrode films for batteries, electronic materials, and optical materials. However, it is well known that the distribution of material composition in the electrode film has a significant impact on the performance of the device. A slurry is a mixture of powders, binders, and additives dispersed in a liquid, and when this mixture is coated and deposited, the mixed materials are randomly distributed. Furthermore, in the process of drying and removing the dispersant, the binder moves with the dispersant and segregates, while the particulate additives tend to aggregate. Segregation of the binder and agglomeration of the conductive agents may result in poor battery characteristics. To solve these problems, we thought it would be effective to make the base material and the additive material bonded together to form composite particles.

NCM-PEI-GO composite particles were synthesized by forming an ionic complex consisting of polyethyleneimine (PEI) and graphene oxide (GO) on the surface of lithium transition metal oxide (NCM), a cathode active material. In this study, composite particles were synthesized by adding different amounts of PEI and GO, and the effect of the amount of PEI added on the size and thickness of the ionic complexes and the aggregation state of the composite particles was investigated, and the effect of the amount of GO added on the conductivity was discussed. The amount of GO added had no effect on the thickness of the ionic complexes, but had a significant effect on the aggregation of the composite particles.

The conductivity of the NCM-PEI-GO composite particles increased with increasing GO content. This may be due not only to the increase of conductive graphene species in the electrode film, but also to the enhanced conductive path due to the linkage and aggregation of composite particles by ionic complexes.

It is desired for the pharmaceutical intermediate products to form as powder, considering versatility of storage, transportation, and the production schedule adjustment. In this study, aqueous suspension composed of nano- and submicron sized poorly water-soluble drug particles ground by a wet milling was spray dried to produce dry particles. Crystallinity of indomethacin particles was maintained after the spray drying. It was found that mannitol prevented indomethacin particles from cohesion during the spray drying; when indomethacin particles and mannitol in the four times amount of indomethacin were spray dried, mannitol absolutely prevented indomethacin particles from cohesion during the spray drying and the dissolution profiles of the spray dried powder were maintained at the same value as the suspension of indomethacin particles.

The plant-based meat substitutes have been actively developed for the sustainable food production. In this study, we attempted to fabricate the soy protein-based fibers imitating the meat fiber texture by wet spinning technique. The precursor solution containing soy protein isolate and sodium alginate was continuously injected into a calcium chloride solution, resulting in the formation of fibers due to the gelation of alginate cross-linked by calcium ion. The fiber diameter was a few times larger than those of meat muscle fibers and controllable by the speed of rotating collector. The protein content of fiber was close to those of meats, and slightly increased by increasing the soy protein concentration of precursor solution. The mechanical strength of assembled fiber block was almost independent of the soy protein concentration, and was controllable by the sodium alginate concentration of precursor solution. The grilled fiber block had the mechanical strength between those of grilled pork and beef, demonstrating its potential applicability to the meat substitute with simulated nutrition and texture.

In recent years, new thermal insulation materials with lower thermal conductivity and lightweight have been fabricated. However, due to the problems such as heat resistance, their practical use is limited to only below 1000°C. In this paper, the thermal insulation performance of fibrous fumed alumina compacts was evaluated by repeatedly measuring the thermal conductivity at temperatures up to 1200°C. As a result, it revealed that the compacts have low thermal conductivity of 0.040–0.065 W/(m·K) between 200°C and 1000°C. After receiving the heat processing up to 1200°C, its thermal conductivity rapidly increased. However, it was less than half of that of existing ceramic fiber insulation. The compressive strength and flexural strength also increased by the repeated heat processing. The increase of thermal conductivity by the repeated heat processing was explained by the increase of solid thermal flux due to the sintering of particles in the compact and the increase in thermal radiation flux due to the surface oxidation of SiC particles.

The dispersed state of the conductive additives and the binders, which is a fluorine polymer, in the positive electrode material of the lithium ion battery electrode was evaluated by using an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer attached to scanning electron microscope with a low accelerating voltage. By applying a low accelerating voltage, it is possible to reduce the penetration depth of electron beam into the target material and improve the energy resolution of light elements such as carbon and fluorine. Therefore, it was clarified that the dispersion state of the conductive additives and the binders around one particle of the active material could be observed as element distribution images, and the dispersion state could be quantitatively evaluated as the coverage by image processing. By estimating the coverage of conductive additives and binders on the surface of active materials depending on the dry mixing conditions, it was suggested that this technique could be used for structural design and process optimization of electrodes for improving battery performance.

The platter of hard disk drives contains valuable metals such as the Ruthenium and Platinum. However, these metals were not recycled from the disk for a long time because the low-cost separation and concentration technologies have not been established. In this study, we applied the electrical pulsed discharge method to the separation of the metal layer from the glass substrate in the platter. The relationship between the input voltage and the exfoliating rate by the pulsed discharge was investigated. The discharge plasma was generated between the electrodes placed at the center and the outer boundary of the platter. The metal layer along the path of discharge plasma was separated from the substrate. The exfoliating rate was increased by increasing the charging voltage. The exfoliating mechanism was discussed through by the surface observation and the evaluation of plasma temperature caused by the plasma using an electronic microscope and a spectroscope, respectively.

In this study, a neural network (NN) was applied to a continuous manufacturing process of tablets to predict the tablet physical properties based on a twin-screw granulation operating conditions and tableting pressure. The hyperparameters in the NN model were optimized to accurately predict the tablet physical properties. The constructed NN model successfully demonstrated the predictive capability with the R² of ca. 0.9 in both training and validation. The effects of the granulation operating conditions and the tableting pressure on the tablet physical properties were investigated. It was found that the tableting pressure was the most dominant factor for the tablet hardness and disintegration time. Among the granulation operating conditions, liquid solid ratio had the strongest impact on the tablet physical properties. Focusing on the tableting pressure and liquid solid ratio, the contour maps for the relationships between the operating conditions and the tablet physical properties were obtained by the NN model. It was suggested that the obtained contour maps can be helpful to predict the continuous manufacturing of tablets with the desired tablet physical properties.

An adhesion model in Distinct Element Method (DEM) for mixing of food powders having different adhesive forces was developed. It is necessary to determine which adhesive force should be applied in the DEM simulation when the particles having high adhesive force and particles having low adhesive force during mixing come in contact with each other. The simulations of mixing behavior of particles having high, low and their average adhesive forces were performed to discuss the effects of adhesive forces on mixing behavior. While, in order to compare to the mixing behavior simulated, two types of mixing experiments of salt and potato starch, and wheat flour and potato starch which have different adhesive forces were carried out. As a result, it was found that when the particles having different adhesive forces contact, the mixing behavior and mixing index of the simulation using the values of high adhesive force would be in agreement with those of the experiment.

Recently, for the pharmacokinetic control of target materials, interest has been dedicated toward polymeric nanocarrier systems with surface modifications, since these systems enables efficient drug delivery that could not be achieved by conventional formulation strategies. In this review, our latest outcomes on preparation and biopharmaceutical evaluations of surface-modified polymeric nanocarriers for pharmacokinetic control, especially oral absorption behavior, are presented. For designing the functional nanocarriers like mucoadhesive/penetrative nanoparticles, Flash nanoprecipitation (FNP) approach, a technique for promoting the nucleation over growth of precipitated particles by controlling thermodynamic and kinetic conditions, was strategically applied with combination use of polystyrene (PS)-block-polyethylene glycol or PS-block-polyacrylic acid. As the results from physicochemical, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacodynamic evaluations, either functional nanocarriers could highlight desirable characteristics to control the oral absorption behavior of model drug, cyclosporine A, possibly contributing to enhancing the biopharmaceutical properties.

Flowability of powder and granular materials is an important property to design and control the manufacturing process. A simple and low-cost technique was developed to evaluate the flowability of wet powder and granulate materials. In the proposed technique, the flowability can be evaluated by the torque for stirring wet powder with a pitched-blade paddle. In order to confirm the performance of our technique, the torques to stir the wet beads with varying moisture contents were measured. The effects of additive liquid viscosity on the torque for stirring were investigated, and the correlation between the moisture content corresponding to maximum steady torque for stirring and the additive liquid viscosity was presented.

Mechanochemistry offers sustainable synthesis of the functionalized cellulose nanofiber (CNF). In this study, changes in the microstructure of the CNF aqueous sol by planetary ball milling were investigated in terms of its rheological behavior, crystallinity, and diameter distribution. The surface activity of the CNF was additionally characterized by a pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). A decreased thixotropy hysteresis loop observed in the 100 min⁻¹-treated CNFs indicated a weaker interaction among the fibers, but still having a three-dimensional structure. 300 min⁻¹ could collapse them. A decreased x-ray diffraction peak intensity observed in the 500-min⁻¹-treated CNF could indicate a split in the fiber’s bundle as well as shredding. An increase in the wet surface area (S_NMR) could indicate surface activity in the 500-min⁻¹ milled CNF sol. Such newly formed hydroxyl groups can serve as effective reaction sites with, for example, the TiO₂ precursor and perhaps favorably works to improve the photocatalytic performance.

Dynamic fields visualization method of carbon-black (CB) volume fraction Φ_CB distribution in Lithium-ion battery (LIB) cathode slurry has been proposed based on electrical resistance tomography (ERT) during the manufacturing process. The proposed method consists of an impedance analyzer, a switching circuit, and Φ_CB distribution imaging algorism, archiving to the measurement speed of 5 frames per second. In experiments, Φ_CB distribution was visualized by the proposed method in lab-scale LIB cathode manufacturing equipment. To qualitatively evaluate the Φ_CB distribution images, those images are compared with scanning electron microscope (SEM) images. This comparison shows that the Φ_CB distribution images are qualitatively consistent with SEM images. In addition, in order to quantitatively evaluate the proposed method, the accuracy of reconstructed Φ_CB distribution is evaluated by electromagnetic field simulations. As a result, the root mean square errors RMSE between the known Φ_CB distribution and that obtained by the proposed method was less than 0.56%.

Powdery-type foundation, one of the typical makeup cosmetics, is required to form even and smooth powdered layer on the skin. Such layer is achieved by well-dispersion of foundation particles. However, particles of titanium-dioxide and iron-oxide, both of which are vital foundation components, easily aggregate on the skin. In order to solve this problem, this study aimed to develop novel low-aggregation titanium-iron oxide particle. Experiments showed that our developed particle, in which titanium dioxide is coated with iron oxide, achieved well-dispersion due to its unique structure and shape. The experiments also showed that such a particle property results in an effective coverage of color-unevenness and pores of the facial skin.

We synthesized the phosphors of (Ba_1−xEu_x)_0.79(Al_1−yZn_y)_10.9O_17.14−δ (0.05 ≤ x ≤ 0.15, 0 ≤ y ≤ 0.25) by a solid-state reaction. To obtain a single phase of the phosphor, various processing conditions were investigated: particle sizes, sintering times, and optimal composition of Ba. Thus, we succeeded in synthesizing the single phase, and the brightest emission was observed at x = 0.1 for Eu. Moreover, the color changed from green to blue with the addition of the Zn²⁺ ion in the Al³⁺ site, and with an increase in the Zn content, the photoluminescence intensity increased. The color change was closely related to the crystal structure of the phosphor.

In this study, the rapid debinding of zirconia molded bodies was carried out using a superheated steam treatment. The superheated steam treatment was performed with the heating rate of 10°C/min to a holding temperature range of 500°C to 800°C. The molded body after superheated steam treatment to 800°C resulted in the residual carbon content of 0.3%. No cracking occurred in sintered bodies obtained by debinding in the superheated steam and then firing at 1500°C in air, although many large cracks occurred in sintered bodies that had been treated in air or nitrogen under similar temperature conditions. To understand the debinding behavior under the superheated steam, thermal analyses were performed with thermogravimetric. These results suggested that the debinding in superheated steam suppressed thermal runaway and the generation of pyrolysis gas caused by the chain of exothermic reactions derived from the oxidation of the forming aid. Thus, it was suggested that superheated steam treatment is highly effective for rapid debinding of molded bodies.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of tableting speed on the compression behavior of pharmaceutical powders using an R&D rotary tablet press. Cilostazol, probucol and ibuprofen were selected as model drugs, and they were mixed at a mass concentration of 20% into two base formulations composed of different excipients. The tablets were prepared at two levels of turret rotation speeds of 20 rpm and 60 rpm, and the physical properties of the tablets were evaluated. As a result, placebo tablets and cilostazol tablets had no effect on the tableting speed. However, the compressibility of probucol and ibuprofen tablets decreased and the capping tendency was observed, although the compactibility was not affected. The strain rate sensitivity (SRS) index was obtained from an out-of-die Heckel analysis, which was used to quantitatively evaluate the effect of tableting speed on the compressibility. It was found that the R&D rotary tablet press was possible to evaluate the compressibility and capping tendency by the SRS index.