| 3. |
- Alhajri, Ibrahim H., et al.
(författare)
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Retrofit of heat exchanger networks by graphical Pinch Analysis - A case study of a crude oil refinery in Kuwait
- 2021
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Ingår i: Case Studies in Thermal Engineering. - : Elsevier BV. - 2214-157X. ; 26
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Energy integration of the existing chemical and petrochemical facilities is regarded as a keystone for sustainable energy systems. It is widely known that a considerable number of the petrochemical industries are not applying efficient heat exchanger network (HEN) systems to minimise the use of external utilities. In the present study, a Pinch Analysis-based graphical approach is used to retrofit an existing HEN for optimising a crude oil distillation operation. The existing HEN is represented using Thot-Tcold diagram, where the cold stream temperatures are plotted on the x-axis and the hot stream temperatures are plotted on the y-axis, for each exchanger unit. The graphical approach is applied to a real case study of a petroleum refinery plant located in Kuwait with the objective of performing energy analysis and retrofitting the existing HEN. Retrofit modifications are extracted from the graphical representation to enable scenarios for energy and emission reduction. The application of the proposed approach resulted in substantial energy savings of about 10.4 MW compared to the current operation, leading to annual operating cost savings of about MM$2 and less than one-year payback time. Overall, this study provides tools to address the energy traits in crude preheat trains of industrial feature, which can improve the overall economic-environmental sustainability of existing refineries.
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| 4. |
- Shahid, Ahosanul H., et al.
(författare)
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Molecular detection of vancomycin and methicillin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus isolated from food processing environments
- 2021
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Ingår i: One Health. - : Elsevier. - 2352-7714. ; 13
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Staphylococcus aureus is a well-known foodborne pathogen. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of S. aureus isolated from serving utensils in food processing environments in Mymensingh city, Bangladesh and to determine their antibiogram and resistance determinants. A total of 120 environmental samples were collected from different food settings. Isolation and identification were conducted using conventional biochemical tests. Molecular identification of isolates and detection of methicillin and vancomycin resistance were done using primer-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting Tuf, nuc, mecA, and mecC genes. Antibiotic sensitivity tests were performed, and resistance genes were also detected by amplifying blaTEM, vanA, vanB, and vanC genes. Among the 120 samples, 81 (67.5%) were positive for Staphylococcus spp. and 41 (50.62%) were positive for the nuc-gene. Among the 41 isolates, 5 (12.20%) were positive for mecA, but none were positive for the mecC gene. A total of 12.2% of the isolates were vanC-positive, of which 4 isolates (9.76%) were also positive for the mecA gene. Antibiotic sensitivity testing revealed that all S. aureus isolates (100%) from hotel samples were sensitive to ciprofloxacin and chloramphenicol, 90.32% were sensitive to doxycycline, and 80.65% were sensitive to streptomycin. Conversely, all isolates (100%) were resistant to ampicillin, and 29.03% were resistant to vancomycin. All S. aureus isolates obtained from non-hotel samples were susceptible to chloramphenicol, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, meropenem, and vancomycin; however, 40% of isolates were resistant to novobiocin. Among the hotel isolates, 29 (93.55%) of the ampicillin-resistant isolates harbored the blaTEM gene while 5 (55.55%) of the vancomycin-resistant isolates harbored the vanC gene. Four of the five vanC positive isolates were also positive for the mecA gene. The presence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) which is also vancomycin-resistant in food processing environments is a threat to public health. This is the first report on the molecular detection of methicillin and vancomycin-resistant S. aureus isolated from food processing environments in Bangladesh.
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