Top News of Last Week with ANA
Azad News Agency (ANA) published a number of scientific and technological news during the past week whose top ones are as follows:
Iranian Researcher Makes Solar Desalination System with Heat Pump
An Iranian researchers at Sharif University of Technology succeeded in designing and building a new solar water desalination system by using the humidification-dehumidification method which is equipped with a heat pump.
“Desalination by humidification-dehumidification method is one of the most practical small-scale desalination processes. This method has outstanding advantages like low operating temperature, the ability to use solar energy, simple structure and no need for skilled personnel,” said Mohammad Behshad Shafiyee, a professor of Sharif University of Technology and a PhD graduate in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan.
“At present, this method has been industrialized in the European countries and South Africa. On the other hand, with the increase in energy cost, the importance of its optimal use also increases. Today, in order to use energy optimally, the combination of different types of desalination systems with heat pumps has attracted the attention of many researchers,” he added.
Noting that heat pumps are suitable alternatives for heat recovery from various sources for industrial, commercial and domestic applications, Shafiyee said, “The purpose of this research is to experimentally study a new integrated system of desalination, humidification, dehumidification, and solar heat pump. Due to the importance of water in the economic development of Iran and its key role in production processes, it was necessary to conduct such a research.”
Iranian Knowledge-Based Firm Produces Feed for Rainbow Trout
Experts of a knowledge-based company succeeded in producing special feed for rainbow trout used in the fisheries industry.
“We started this project with the aim of meeting the serious need of the agricultural sector to high-quality feed for all types of farmed aquatic animals, and after years of continuous efforts, the company succeeded in producing diverse and high-quality products which resulted in gaining a significant share of the domestic market and making the company known to aqua farmers,” said Mohammad Reza Heydari, the managing director of the knowledge-based company.
He added that feed for the rainbow trout has been produced by his company with research and development and with the help of the Iranian and foreign experts.
“High-quality raw materials are used with exclusive supplements and additives by using the extrusion technology for making this product,” Heydari said.
“Domestically produced feed has improved the production and quality of farmed trout and it can supply over 60% of the country's needs,” he added.
Iranian Company Produces Nano Polishing Liquid for Auto Parts Makers
A manager of a technological company in Iran said that their company has sold their nano polishing liquid to one of the car parts manufacturers in the country, expressing hope for gaining more share of the market.
“We also negotiated with several paint companies so that this polishing liquid is included in the product portfolio of paint producing companies and later enters the market through them,” Mahmoud Khorrami, the managing director of a technological company in Iran that has produced nano polishing liquid said in an interview with the local Iranian media.
“Our current production capacity is 100 kg per day, and we are currently working based on the orders we receive, but we hope that we will be able to use our full potential for production after doing the marketing,” he also said.
“One of our goals is to offer to the market the polishing liquid in 100-gram containers for small consumers(clients) whereby everyone who owns a car has a bottle of this product to easily polish the car body,” he added.
“This product is a composite material produced from water and oil emulsion along with alumina abrasive nanoparticles, which is added to the formula to create a suitable gloss for the car body. Controlling the distribution of particle size and crystal size on the nano scale and the chemical properties of the emulsion are greatly important in the final result,” he added.
“We succeeded in developing this technology and now the mass production of the product has begun. The nanoparticles used in this product are produced by an Iranian company. However, the design of the nanoparticle production process is done by the researchers in our company,” he said.
“In addition to auto manufacturers, this product can be used by refrigerator manufacturers, home appliance producers, and other professions such as car smoothing,” Khorrami said.
Iranian Company Develops Artificial Light Technology for Growing Plants Instead of Sunlight
A knowledge-based company in Iran has developed a technology to use artificial lights instead of sunlight to grow plants indoor.
Zamani, the managing director of the knowledge-based company considered producing hydroponic grow baskets, hydroponics grow beds, the plant factory manufacturer and an expert in the manufacture of artificial plant growth lights to be among the achievements of their company, a report by the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy said.
"Years ago we realized that there is great need in the agricultural sector in the country for a technology to use artificial lights instead of sunlight to grow plants. This technology was spreading all over the world at a high pace, but in our country, not much attention had been paid to it. Therefore, by bringing together experts and top students in physics, agricultural sciences, horticulture and electronics, we decided to form a research group and locally develop the technology in our country," the managing director went on to say.
"Plant growth lights and vertical farming using artificial lights are some of our important achievements. In artificial light technology, to meet the needs of plant photosynthesis, nanometers from the sun that have a positive and greater impact on the plant's photosynthesis are filtered from the sun's spectrum and placed next to each other by LED technology, depending on the type of plant variety to meet the needs of the plant," Zamani added.
Iran-Made Anti-Sediment Product Increases Life of Vehicle, Reduces Gas Consumption
Specialists of an Iranian knowledge-based company succeeded in producing an anti-sediment product that can reduce the costs of corrosion, sediment and rust in all types of cars, facilities and power plants and prevent environmental pollution.
The product is an anti-sediment and anti-corrosion preservative which can be a permanent solution to remove the sediment and rust in water without the need for draining.
Reducing the cost of repairs, increasing the efficiency and productivity of the engine of all types of cars, maintaining the health of the parts of the facilities, eliminating acid washing and reducing the cost of fuel and energy by 40% to 60% in the facilities are among the advantaged of this product.
“The anti-fouling and anti-corrosion product is used in all types of vehicles, facilities and power plants and can prevent failure in their systems,” said Abdolhamid Mosaddeq, the managing-director of the knowledge-based company.
“An instance of these failures can be seen in car radiator and water and oil mixing in combination boilers in houses,” he added.
Noting that failure to use this material causes huge national costs and environmental pollution, Mosaddeq said, “By using this product the car and systems will be rejuvenated and gas consumption will decrease by 60%.”
Iranian Company Makes ‘Coageight’ Drug for Hemophilia Patients
A knowledge-based company in Iran has succeeded in producing ‘Coageight’ drug which contains the active substance efmoroctocog alfa, a recombinant coagulation factor VIII, Fc fusion protein for hemophilia patients.
“Recently, a knowledge-based company has succeeded in producing the Coageight drug for hemophilia patients which is the second source of production of factor 8 medicine and can settle part of the problems of medicine shortage in Iran,” Ahmad Qavidel, an advisor to the managing-director of Iran’s hemophilia center, told ANA.
He added that the Iranian Food and Drug Organization has promised to import 10% to 15% of the hemophilia patients' needs in order to supply the factor VIII drug, so that the country does not face an acute medicine problem when in need.
Iranian Researchers Develop Environmentally-Friendly, Safe Method to Dispose Fluorescent Lamps
Researchers at a knowledge-based company based in the Technology Park of Tarbiat Modares University in Tehran have offered a method for the disposal of fluorescent tubes or bulbs that contain mercury.
When products containing mercury are placed in the trash, the mercury doesn't disappear, it finds its way into the environment. That's why mercury-containing products cannot be disposed with regular trash. Mercury products and compounds must be recycled or managed as a hazardous waste.
“The disposal of energy-efficient and fluorescent lamps is done by looking at the recycling of electronic waste such as batteries and mercury sponge, etc., which exist as specific trash among other wastes and can come with risks; therefore, our main activity is on the disposal of fluorescent, energy-efficient mercury-containing lamps and gas-discharge lamps that contain amounts of mercury,” said Mahmoud Alizadeh, the managing director of the knowledge-based company said.
“After these lamps become trash, their disposing process begins, but that has to be done in a controlled way so that the resulting mercury vapors are not released into the environment,” he stressed.
“In the machine that we produced in this company, we have created an isolated space so that the air inside the lamp does not leak out after it is crushed in the machine,” continued Alizadeh.
Iranian Company Produces Sole Scanner to Diagnose, Treat Foot Injuries, Disorders
Researchers at a knowledge-based company in Iran have designed and produced a foot scanner device known as “Foot Medicines” to diagnose, assess and treat imbalances in the feet's biomechanics.
“This device is used to measure the amount of stress distributed on the soles of the feet in both dynamic and static forms,” said Mojtaba Gohari, the managing director of the knowledge-based company, according to a report by the Iranian Vice Presidency for Science and Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy.
“By drawing and showing graphs relating to the position and amount of pressure put on any point in the sole of the foot, this device identifies the exact origin of additional stress on the sole and shows the results of the body's pressure centers. The device collects accurate and reliable information to analyze the function of the foot, how the foot sole looks and the abnormalities in its functions. It has the capability to synchronize with the camera to identify the bony alignment of the foot and the heels. Also, this device could be connected to a precision lathe to produce medical insoles,” said Gohari.
He added that the device gives a correct analysis of the foot for the doctor to examine to deduce the correct diagnosis.
“The application of the Foot Medicines device has been expanded in technical orthopedic clinics and movement clinics. With the help of this laboratory instrument, not only the origin and extent of foot and movement abnormalities is diagnosed, but also it paves the way for taking treatment measures,” he continued.
Oil Spill Clean Up in Dehloran Oilfield with Iranian Researchers’ Method
University graduates in Iran conducted a research on how to clean up oil spill in Dehloran Oilfield in the Western part of the country and achieved valuable results.
According to a report by the Iranian Vice Presidency for Science and Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy, Saman Hosseini in cooperation with a research team conducted a research on how to clean up oil spills in the oilfields of Naft Shahr, Kermanshah Province and Dehloran in Ilam province in the Western part of Iran. The research was supported by Biotech Development Council.
The previous project done by the same research team was carried out in Naft Shahr District and under the supervision of Iranian Central Oilfields Company, which successfully cleaned up oil spills in Naft Shahr District at the right time. Later, West Oil Company requested that the achievement of the project be used in coordination with the Department of Environment in the Dehloran oil region too. The Dehlran oil rich region had been affected by severe oil pollution and was highly contaminated.
Preliminary studies by the research team showed that the Dehloran Oilfield was in a different condition than Naft Shahr's, then it was decided a new research to be done there to obtain new bacerial isolates compatible with the new conditions.
Iranian Bioengineers Produce Novel Kit for Gene Delivery
A knowledge-based company, consisting of researchers from Iran University of Medical Sciences (IUMS), produced carbon-based kits for gene delivery after three years of studies and research.
“This kit was previously produced only in the United States, but by indigenously producing it, we ended the US monopoly,” Morteza Karimi, the managing director of the knowledge-based company, said.
He said that the domestically-produced kit's price comes out at a one-third of its foreign-made equivalents while at the same quality.
“This knowledge-based company started its activity in the field of providing laboratory services in 2013. In 2021, the management of the group focused its studies on producing gene transfer kits and was able to locally produce this product in the country in 2022 to break the US monopoly. After six months, with the efforts of the research department of the company, this kit reached the commercialization stage and became ready to be distributed in the domestic market,” Karimi added.
Pointing out that the gene delivery kit is used to introduce genes and biomolecules into cells in the laboratory, Karimi added, "This kit is used in two fields of cell culture or tissue culture and nanotechnology. It is used in research centers and institutes that work in the field of gene transfer."
"The corresponding American kit is lipofectamine, which is lipid-based. But our kit is carbon-based. It comes out with a specific feature: it can be tracked because it reflects light."
Iranian Researchers Use Engine Oil Waste for Production of Asphalt in Road Paving
Iranian researchers produced an asphalt mixture by using the waste remaining from the consumed engine oil.
“Nearly 20,000 tons of waste material is produced from engine oil refining every year, and this waste is known as acid sludge and consists of sulfuric acid, vehicle engine chips, burnt polymers and some used engine oil,” said Alireza Aliakbari, a PhD student of the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Amirkabir University of Technology.
Noting that the simple and efficient method settles the problem of the engine oil refining industry and the obtained product can replace a part of the asphalt mixture production materials, he said that it improves the properties of asphalt mixture against rutting damage, and the humidity sensitivity and temperature cracking will reduce.
“In the final step, in order to ensure the sanitary disposal of this waste in the road structure, pollutant emission environmental tests were made, and the emission factors were lower than the maximum permissible limits with a significant confidence interval,” Aliakbari said.
He described choosing a simple and accessible method of acid waste neutralization by lime and the use of the obtained neutralized product as a substitute for stone materials in the production of asphalt mixture as achievements of this research.
Iran-Made Single-Layer, Double-Layer Skins Obtain Permission for Clinical Trial
Iranian researchers at Royan Research Institute succeeded in making single-layer and double-layer skin products which have obtained the necessary permissions for the clinical trial phase one.
“Rouyin Graf product (double-layer skin) and Royan Sheet (single-layer skin), which have recently been developed by Royan stem cell researchers have received the necessary permissions for the initial stages of clinical trial,” Marzieh Ebrahimi, a faculty member and professor at Royan Stem Cell Research Institute, told ANA.
Noting that the skins are used for patients with severe burns and severe skin wounds, she said, “They are more similar to the dermis and epidermis, which has successfully passed the clinical trial phase one and is currently undergoing the phase two.”
Ebrahimi stated that few countries in the world have produced single- and double-layer skins, adding, “Skin simulation technology exists in only one or two countries in the world. At present, only the US and two European countries have been able to widely use this technology.”
Iranian researchers at the Medical Sciences Department of Islamic Azad University’s Saveh branch used artificial intelligence (AI) to make a device which helps rapid monitoring and healing of different wounds.
“We succeeded in building an efficient device for analyzing electrical signals in skin, muscle and nerve layers to detect the healing process of a wound based on machine learning algorithms,” Amirhossein Nazari, a medical engineering expert, researcher and supervisor of the student team, told ANA.
He explained that the device starts sampling of the wound without the slightest side effects and completely non-invasively by putting its electrodes around the wound and pressing the start button.
“Then the received data is analyzed and finally the healing process of the patient's wound is displayed with three LEDs on the device with green (excellent healing process), yellow (borderline healing process) and red (regressive healing process) colors. Next, the received wound data is sent to the PC through the USB protocol,” Nazari said.
“The frequency and resistance of biological tissues are measured by surface or needle electrode connection, and by using algorithms like FFT, DFS, and KNN, and implementation on signals and data, the rate of healing or regression of the wound in a certain period of time is displayed as a percentage,” he added.
Iran-Made Eco-Friendly Bicycle Works with Multiple Energies
Iranian researchers at Islamic Azad University’s Isfahan branch succeeded in designing and building a hybrid-electric-gas-mechanical bicycle with multiple energy management capabilities.
“This hybrid-electric-gas-mechanical engine with multiple energy management capabilities can be installed on any bicycle and turn it into an electric and automatic bike,” Shahin Mamouriani, one of the researchers, told ANA.
“This bike has a hybrid mode, that is, the cyclist moves, pedals, and when you are on the downhill, you can put the bike in charging and production mode and charge the bike while generating electricity. If you get tired of pedaling, you can put the bike in electric mode,” he added.
Noting that if the bike's battery has run out and the cyclist is tired of pedaling and is not going downhill, he/she can put the bike in ‘Move Hybrid Gas’ mode, Mamouriani added, “In this case, a 100-gram PR gas capsule that is mounted at the back of the bike is automatically turned on and by creating a spark in the housing, it ignites the gas and starts the Stirling engine.”
“This device is able to return nearly 60% of the energy and its Stirling cycle efficiency is about 28%,” he said.
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