Top News of Last Week with ANA
8:59 - January 15, 2024

Top News of Last Week with ANA

TEHRAN (ANA)- Find the news, features, articles, videos and more about the latest scientific and technological advances in Iran and other world countries in the past week (January 8-14) on ANA.
News ID : 4841

Azad News Agency (ANA) published a number of scientific and technological news during the past week whose top ones are as follows:

Researchers Decode Aqueous Amino Acid's Potential for Direct Air Capture of CO2

Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have made a significant stride toward understanding a viable process for direct air capture, or DAC, of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

This DAC process is in early development with the aim of achieving negative emissions, where the amount of carbon dioxide removed from the envelope of gases surrounding Earth exceeds the amount emitted, the journal Cell Reports Physical Science reported.

The recently published research focused on the foundational steps of carbon dioxide sequestration using aqueous glycine, an amino acid known for its absorbent qualities. By combining a series of advanced computational methods, the scientists probed less-explored dynamic phenomena in liquid solutions related to the rate at which carbon dioxide can be captured.

"Chemical reactions in water are complicated, especially when the motion of water molecules plays a big role," said Santanu Roy, who designed the computational investigation with colleague Vyacheslav Bryantsev. "Water molecules and chemicals engage in something similar to a coupled dance that can marginally or significantly slow the reaction. Understanding these dynamic interactions, known as nonequilibrium solvent effects, is essential to getting the full picture of how reactions work and how fast they happen."

The researchers discovered that when examining the rate at which carbon dioxide is absorbed, focusing solely on the free energy barrier -- the energy threshold that must be overcome for a system to transition from one state to another -- is an oversimplification that does not provide the full picture. This incomplete approach can lead to an inaccurate understanding of reaction kinetics, the factors that influence the speed at which a reaction occurs.

"We employed a more complete approach that considers the influence of water on the motion along the reaction path, and the outcome was intriguing," Bryantsev said. "The initial step, where glycine interacts with carbon dioxide, is nearly 800 times slower compared with the next step, where a proton is released to ultimately form a mixture of product state for holding the absorbed carbon dioxide. Strikingly, the free energy barrier remains constant for both steps, and so this different perspective truly sets the speed of these two critical stages apart and offers a pathway to boost the efficiency of carbon dioxide absorption and separation."

Pioneer Women of Iranian Descent in World’s Science, Technology

Female Iranian scientists have taken long strides in the development of science and technology in the world.

There is a long list of Iranian women who have helped the advancement of science and technology. Here we have introduced seven of the most influential female scientists who have an Iranian descent:

Iranian Knowledge-Based Firm Makes Device for Desolvation of Samples with Inert Gases

Specialists of an Iranian knowledge-based company which produces pharmaceutical, petrochemical, agricultural and oil and gas equipment succeeded in making a nitrogen evaporator for desolvating samples with the help of inert gases.

“This device is special for blowing inert gases to the sample under controlled temperature, which somehow desolvates it for sample preparation. First, the sample in the form of vials is placed inside the spaces built into the device, and the device starts to heat up from the bottom, and its temperature can be adjusted with the thermometer mounted on the device,” said Ayyoub Khoshnamvand, the director of the company’s design and production department.

“After heating, an inert gas inlet like nitrogen and air enters the outlet. Any type of inert gas that does not affect the sample can be used in this device; then, these inert gases are blown into the sample with steel needles that can be washed with all solvents, and desolvation is completed, and the solvent is either dried or thrown out,” he explained.

Noting that the samples which are placed inside the device are subjected to desolvation depending on their specialized and applied field, Khoshnamvand said, “For instance, in forensic medicine, if they are going to separate the biological sample of blood and determine what drug the person has used, they can use this device.”

Iranian Knowledge-Based Firms Save 9 Million Euros by Domestically Producing Oil Industry Laboratory Equipment

An official with the National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC) said that since 2019 their firm has not purchased any laboratory equipment from overseas and instead has purchased necessary equipment from knowledge-based firms inside the country.

Shaheen Parchekhwari, the director of "chemical studies and quality control laboratories" department of NISOC,  made the remarks on the sidelines of the 11th exhibition of laboratory equipment in Tehran.

“Our company is one of the producers and developers in the oil and gas industry in the oil-rich areas in the South, where 80% of the country's oil is produced,” he said.

He said that their company attaches great importance to knowledge-based firms, adding, "That is why, about 15,000 billion rials (Iranian currency) has been allocated for the first construction research project.”

He considered the need for laboratory equipment and raw materials to be a continuous need, adding, “We have taken a step in this direction with this strategy, and in this direction, 10 projects have been defined for the first time.”

“We have seven contracts for the first time at the stage of obtaining permission from the Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology. Moreover, we are planning three more,” Parchekhwari said.

“Through cooperating with knowledge-based companies, we seek to achieve self-sufficiency” he said, adding, “Since 2011, we have not purchased any laboratory equipment from other countries.”

Iran National Copper Company Records 57% Income Increase in First 9 Months

National Iranian Copper Industries Company (NICICO) has reported 57% increase in its income in the first nine months of the year 1402 in the Iranian calendar.

According to the statistics released by the NICICO itself, the company’s domestic and foreign sales increased during the first three quarters of this year or the first nine months (March 21-December 21, 2023). The NICICO domestic sales of products in the first 9 months of this year were recorded to be 695,000 billion Rials while the company’s exports recorded to be 212,000 billion Rials.

The NICICO total income in the exchange market was registered to be more than 907,000 billion rials, showing an increase of more than 57% compared to 575,000 billion rials in the same period last year.

In the meantime, the production of copper concentrate and sulfuric acid was 3% and the production of sulfuric ore was 2% more than the planned volumes until the end of month of Azar (December 21).

Also, from the beginning of the year 1402 to the end of Azar, the total amount of extraction, oxide and tailings, anodic sludge, wire and molybdenum concentrate grew by 11%, 14%, 11%, 43% and 56%, respectively.

Iranian Researchers Manufacture Strong Recycled Concrete from Construction Waste

An industrial engineering students of Islamic Azad University’s Tehran North branch and his research team succeeded in producing recycled concrete with high strength which is also a complete insulation against cold, heat and humidity.

“The purpose of this innovative project was to reuse and recycle various materials remaining from the demolition of buildings, concrete factory waste and construction waste to prevent the wastage of cement and its destructive impacts (on the environment),” Ali Salar Keyhani said.

“For the first time, we succeeded in making and producing recycled concrete with high strength which is also a complete insulation of cold, heat and humidity, and is highly important from the environmental point of view and prevents the loss of capital,” he added.

Keyhani said that the recycled concrete has no foreign counterparts and is made with fully Iranian technical know-how.

Iran, Uzbekistan Discuss Expansion of Agricultural Cooperation

A delegation of Iranian Knowledge-based firms has recently visited Uzbekistan concluding several agreements in the field of agriculture and agricultural drones, an Iranian official at the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology said.

Amir-Hossein Mirabadi, the head of the Center for International Science and Technology Interactions which is part of the Iranian Vice Presidency for Science, Technology and Knowledge-based Economy made the remarks while accompanying a delegation from Uzbekistan visiting the "Made in Iran" Exhibition in Tehran.

“With the participation of knowledge-based companies in the Uzbekistan-hosted International Week of Innovative Ideas, agreements were made in the field of agriculture and agricultural drones, and it was decided that Iranian knowledge-based companies to carry out projects in Uzbekistan, and a delegation has traveled to Iran in this regard, and we are currently negotiating over common interests,” Mirabadi said.

“One of the recent agreements we had with Uzbekistan was about participation in the important technological events of the two countries,” Mirabadi added.

“On the same trip, it was agreed that a delegation including a number of presidents of Uzbek universities would travel to Iran to visit the "Made in Iran" exhibition in order to be able to supply laboratory equipment needed by Uzbek laboratories and scientific and research centers from Iranian knowledge-based companies,” he added.

Iran-Made System Treats Most Hazardous Wastewater of Petrochemical Industry, Refineries

Specialists of a knowledge-based company in Iran took an important step towards protecting the environment by producing a system for neutralizing and treating hazardous industrial wastewater.

“This product is a system for purifying and neutralizing used caustic which has an important and vital application in the oil and petrochemical industries,” said Ali Pour Khalil, the managing director of the knowledge-based company.

Noting that his company is active in manufacturing membrane systems for degassing and water gasification with the aim of producing high-quality water and wastewater treatment for various industries in Iran, he said that in its latest research, the company has succeeded in making the caustic wastewater neutralization system.

Pour Khalil stated that the used caustic is one of the most hazardous parts of the effluents of the refining and petrochemical industries with the highest degree of pollution, adding, “In this treatment method, nanocomposite membranes are used. The input of this device is wastewater that has a strong base, and when this wastewater enters the device, first the neutralization process is implemented and its pH reaches the pH of pollution-free water, and then the process of removing pollutants dissolved in the wastewater like TDS and COD starts.”

Iran-Made Vibration Meter Measures Displacements with High Precision

Researchers of an Iranian knowledge-based company succeeded in producing a remote-sensing vibration device by using the ‘Miore’ technique which measures displacements with micron accuracy.

“The advantages of this vibration meter are measuring small displacements (up to micron accuracy), measuring angular changes (thousandths of degrees), measuring stress and strain, the possibility of measuring point displacements (vertical and horizontal), vibrations, oscillating and damping modes of the structure, possibility of discrete and continuous (advanced) studying, simplicity of the method and no need to use multiple devices and computers (compared to similar methods), etc.,” said Ali Salehpour, the managing director of the company.

He added that measurement of bridge vibrations, vibrations of sensitive devices like press, atmospheric turbulence, size of displacement changes and vibrometry of large structures (dam, tower, etc.), stress, strain and deformation of structures from a distance, etc. are other applications of this vibration meter.

Vibration meter is an ideal measuring device for fast and precise checking of vibrating parts, machines and systems. 

Iranian Scientists Produce Biocompatible Nanocomposite to Stop Bleeding in 1 Minute

Researchers of an Iranian accelerator succeeded in producing a biocompatible nanocomposite that can stop severe bleeding in one minute.

“One of the products of the subsidiary companies of our accelerator is a nanocomposite which stops bleeding in bone and orthopedic surgeries,” Mandana Asgari, the executive director of the accelerator, told ANA.

“We have used peptide nanofibers to make this product which enjoys the capability to stop bleeding one minute after being placed on the wound,” she added.

Asgari stated that the product, with its ability to connect to blood components like red blood cells and platelets, accelerates the blood coagulation process, adding, “The most important feature of the product is the ease of use and removal from the wound site and the use of biocompatible items.”

“Effective stopping of bleeding, effective reduction of bleeding volume, easy removal of the product from the wound site, no infection, no interference in wound healing, and lack of any sensitivity and side effects are among the advantages of this product,” she noted.

Iranian Knowledge-Based Company Begins Mass Production of "Flow Assurance" Device for Oil Industry

Researchers at a knowledge-based company have begun mass production of a device to simulate fluid transmission inside an oil well as well as transmission pipes called flow assurance machine.

Flow assurance is the process by which fuel production is guaranteed through the minimizing of restrictions on physical fuel flow.

​The flow assurance device is one of the new achievements of an Iranian knowledge-based firm, which is designed to simulate the conditions of fluid transmission inside an oil well as well as transmission lines and measure the amount of solid particles deposition in the oil wells.

The components of the flow assurance system include an injection pump, a transmission cylinder, an end pressure controller system and a cooling system.

The working principle of the system is based on the Taylor–Couette flow, in the way that in the center of a fixed cylindrical container, there is a rotating shaft rotation, speed of which can be adjusted. This shaft acts as a pump that creates the necessary energy to move the fluid that is in the annulus space of the container. This system is capable of laboratory simulation of high pressure up to 10,000 pam and temperature of up to 150 degrees Celsius.

In simulating well conditions, this system basically adjusts the rotation speed of the shaft in a way that the stress on the container wall is equivalent to the stress caused by the specific flow rate inside the well on the inner wall, and it is in two states, closed and flowing, which according to the purpose of the experiment If wax or asphaltene is deposited, or if the amount of asphaltene is less than a certain amount, one of these two states is selected.

Iran-Made Herbal Supplement Speeds Up Recovery from Drug Addiction

A knowledge-based company in Iran has succeeded in making a herbal product that can accelerate recovery in patients who suffer from narcotics addiction.

“The main idea behind the product is the effect of the tar of herbal plants in the process of de-addiction on complications and problems that patients face during de-addiction and its consecuences,” Leyla Qodrati, the head of the research and development (R&D) center of the knowledge-based ‘Avish Gol Sepahan’ company, told ANA.

“It will treat mood and nervous disorders, insomnia, emotional dreams, delusions, muscle pains, etc.,” she added.

“The herbal product of the company is considered a therapeutic supplement and will greatly increase the patient's desire to quit drugs and continue the treatment process,” Qodrati noted.

Iran-Made Faultless Scale Helps Poultry Health by Determining Weight Coefficient of Birds

The research center for the development of new technologies in electrical industries of Islamic Azad University’s Bojnourd branch succeeded in building a device that in addition to the momentary weight, records the average weight of poultry every 24 hours.

“This system was invented by a veterinarian to settle the technical problems in the poultry industry, including the processes which are time consuming, user fatigue, low efficiency and high rate of error in traditional methods by using a scale and checking standard tables,” Mazdak Teymourtashlo, the head of the research center for the development of new technologies in electrical industries of Islamic Azad University’s Bojnourd branch, told ANA.

He said that the project named ‘growth measurement and comparison with poultry standard with the ability to remove the dynamic load caused by the movement of poultry’ is used to measure the weight of different poultry like broiler chickens, mother hens, ducks and turkeys automatically and without the need for human intervention, adding that it can be programmed to assess the growth of five different types of birds concurrently.

Noting that the smart scale can be hanged from the ceiling, Teymourtashlou said that at least one device is needed in a poultry house and the basis of measurement is to register the initial weight of the chickens and their age along with their breed.

“One of the features of the smart scale is that no mistake or measurement error happens when two or more birds climb up at the same time, chicken manure is poured on the bottom, or birds lean on the bottom of the scale,” he said.

Researchers Produce Colloidal Gold for 1st Time in Iran

A knowledge-based company based at Amirkabir University of Technology (AUT) has produced colloidal gold for the first time in Iran.

Colloidal gold is a suspension consisting of sub-micron gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) suspended within a solvent, most often water. AuNPs have unique optical, electronic, and thermal properties and are being incorporated in a wide variety of technologies including microscopy, electronics, diagnostics, and therapeutics.

Mustafa Bahmanabadi, the chairman of the board of directors of a knowledge-based company based at highly prestigious Iranian university in Tehran that has produced the colloidal gold for the first time in Iran, said that the initial research and researches for the production of colloidal gold were conducted at the AUT Health Technology Research Institute and then it was commercialized in the AUT-based FAST Accelerator.

Talking about the unappareled properties of colloidal gold, he said, “This effective substance is not only used in the cosmetics and health industry, it is also used in the diagnosis and treatment of some diseases such as digestive diseases, joint diseases, and arthritis.”

Bahmanabadi, who is also the vice chairman if the AUT Health Technology Research Institute, further said, “This is the first time that colloidal gold technology is used in the field of health and cosmetics in Iran, although a similar work has been done in the world, the technology used in this project is absolutely new in the world.”

4155/v

 

 

 

 

 

Send comment