The global shift toward renewable fuels and the reduction in anthropogenic environmental impact have become increasingly critical. However, the current challenges in fully transitioning to environmentally friendly fuels necessitate the use of transitional fuel mixtures. While many alternatives have been explored, the combination of hydrogen and LPG appears to be the most practical under the conditions specific to Kazakhstan. This study presents experimental findings on a novel burner system that utilizes the airflow swirl and hydrogen enrichment of LPG. It evaluates the effects of hydrogen addition, fuel supply methods, and swirl intensity—achieved by adjusting the outlet vanes—on flame stabilization as well as NOx and CO emissions. The results show that the minimum NOx concentration achieved was 12.08 ppm, while the minimum CO concentration was 101 ppm. Flame stabilization studies indicate that supplying the fuel at the center of the burner, rather than at the base, improves stabilization by 23%. Additionally, increasing the proportion of hydrogen positively affects stabilization. However, the analysis also reveals that, as the hydrogen content in the fuel rises, NOx concentrations increase. These findings highlight the importance of balancing the hydrogen enrichment, airflow swirl, and fuel supply methods to achieve optimal combustion performance. While hydrogen-enriched LPG offers enhanced flame stabilization, the associated rise in NOx emissions presents a challenge that requires careful management to maintain both efficiency and environmental compliance. © 2024 by the authors.

Universities are increasingly recognized as key actors in regional innovation ecosystems, yet their role as “innovation agents” for the creative industries remains underexplored. While previous scholarship highlights universities’ contributions through research, skills provision, and technology transfer, little empirical evidence exists on how they amplify the innovation capacity of creative firms. This article addresses this gap through an exploratory quantitative study of 385 firms in Wales, drawing on data from the Clwstwr programme (2019–2021), a university-led initiative. We develop an analytical framework focusing on four major innovation drivers - skills and knowledge, networking, training, and funding - and examine whether university engagement enhances their effect on firm innovativeness. Employing econometric modelling, we find that firms engaged with the university exhibit significantly stronger relationships between each driver and overall innovativeness than firms outside the university-programme. Notably, university engagement magnifies the marginal effects of networking, training, and funding on innovativeness, with funding showing particularly large gains. These results provide novel evidence that universities can act as effective innovation agents, going beyond traditional roles of knowledge creation to actively shape firm-level innovation processes in the creative industries. The findings have implications for firms, which can leverage university partnerships to strengthen innovation outcomes; for universities, which can expand their role in local creative economies; and for policymakers, who can design targeted support mechanisms to embed universities within regional innovation strategies. By situating the Welsh case within broader debates on creative clusters and university–industry collaboration, this study contributes to understanding how universities drive innovation in under-researched sectors such as the creative industries.

Prolonged development of ore deposits, ore beneficiation and metallurgical smelting of concentrates result in the accumulation of wastes, forming large-scale dumps and sludge ponds negatively affecting the environment and human health. The creation and introduction of industrial waste treatment technologies will make it possible to dispose of them with the production of valuable commercial products and improve the environmental situation. In a research article on chemical beneficiation with the subsequent gravitational beneficiation of chrome-containing slurry tailings of Donskoy Ore-Mining and Beneficiation Plant (DOMBP), which processes chrome ore of the Kempirsay deposit in the Republic of Kazakhstan, Aktobe region, having considerable stocks of such waste is presented. The chromium-containing slurry tailings were heat-treated at 1100 °C, sintered with ammonium sulfate, water and sulfuric acid in a defined ratio at 300 °C, and then the resulting sinter was leached with water at 90 °C. The cake was washed to separate the liquid part from the solid part. The solid precipitate is the chromium-containing cake, which is upgraded by gravity concentration to a grade concentrate for ferroalloy production. When the solution is evaporated, magnesium sulfate with ammonium sulfate forms the Tutton’s salt ammoshenite. High-throughput chromium oxide extraction of 93.9% was achieved as a result of the research, and three products were obtained: (1) standard chromium concentrate with 49.48% Cr2O3 content, (2) ammoshenite used as a nitrogen–magnesium fertilizer and (3) forsterite, which is concentrated in gravity concentration tailings and can be used in the production of refractory minerals. © 2023 by the authors.

In Kazakhstan, in connection with the development of new highly reliable products and technologies to increase the industrial and technological level in such areas as space, aviation, transport, etc., it is necessary to master new methods for analyzing and controlling the current technical characteristics of parts and assemblies, both in the manufacturing process and during operation. This is due to the requirements that are imposed on special equipment operated in extreme conditions. The use of integrated micromechanical and fiber-optic multifunctional measuring transducers (MT) is extremely attractive for use in special equipment. In addition, the use of sensors that have increased reliability, reduced size and weight, versatility, and also allow their operation to be diagnosed without dismantling from the measurement object, expands the scope of applications in extreme areas.

Microfluidic organs-on-chips or microphysiological systems (MPS) are promising tools that can potentially replace animal testing in drug development. MPS are platforms with microchannels seeded with certain organ cells used to emulate in vivo environments in laboratory conditions. Among them, platforms seeded with lung cells called lung-on-chip devices can evaluate the influence of toxic particles, gases, and chemicals on lung tissue in vitro. Lung-on-chip devices allow the mimicry of healthy lung conditions and a wide range of diseases (asthma, cancer, autoimmune, infections). This review focuses on the use of electrospun nanofiber membranes as a functional basement membrane which plays a central role in the development of lung-on-a-chip platforms. Here, we briefly introduce microfluidic devices, MPS, and lung-on-chip devices. Existing basement membrane models, such as thin-film and gel-based membranes, and their challenges/disadvantages are discussed. Next, the concepts of electrospinning and nanofiber membranes are introduced. Finally, the nanofiber membranes used in lung-on-chip devices are reviewed. Implementation of different polymer materials used to synthesize the nanofiber membranes and different methods for incorporation of the membrane inside the device are discussed. Electrospun nanofiber membranes provide good mechanical properties, allow transmigration of the immune cells, and withstand the physiological strain without affecting the cell viability.

This study explores the intensification of molybdenite concentrate processing through a synergistic hydrometallurgical approach using sulfuric acid, nitric acid, and their combination to enhance leaching efficiency while minimizing environmental impact. Molybdenum, a strategic metal widely used in advanced engineering and catalytic systems, presents extraction challenges due to the refractory nature of molybdenite (MoS2). The experimental approach incorporated oxygen sparging and mechanoactivation to improve dissolution kinetics and molybdenum availability. A central composite design (CCD) of response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to develop a predictive model for optimizing the leaching parameters. Acid concentration, temperature, and leaching time were systematically varied, allowing for the identification of statistically significant factor interactions and optimal operating conditions. The model demonstrated strong predictive capability with high adjusted and predicted R2 values, validating its suitability for process optimization. Optimal leaching conditions were identified as 50 g/dm3 HNO3 + 200 g/dm3 H2SO4, a temperature of 95 °C, a leaching time of 240 min, and a solid-to-liquid ratio of 1:6, resulting in a maximum molybdenum extraction efficiency of 72.6%. This performance was attributed to enhanced oxidative decomposition and stable complexation of molybdenum species. This study provides a scalable and environmentally conscious framework for molybdenum extraction, with implications for sustainable metallurgy and industrial applications. © 2025 by the authors.

Freshwater scarcity driven by pollution and climate change necessitates the development of effective water purification methods. There is an urgent need for innovative solutions that can efficiently remove contaminants from water sources. A effective material for the photocatalytic degradation of organic sulfonamide antibiotics from water was developed in this study. A composite of electrospun strontium titanate (SrTiO3) and carbon fibers polyacrylonitrile/strontium titanate (PAN/SrTiO3) was employed for the photocatalytic degradation of sulfamethoxazole (SMX). Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to characterise the composite. The fibers had a thickness of ~250 nm and uniformly dispersed PAN and SrTiO3 particles. A PAN/SrTiO3 composite with a 1:1 mass ratio (20 mg) demonstrated excellent performance, achieving over 90 % degradation at pH 7 and a contaminant concentration of 5 mg/L under ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation during 60 min. The composite was tested for the photodegradation of the major organic pollutant (SMX) in distilled and river water. In river water, the degradation efficiency exceeded 80 % at pH 7 because of the formation of secondary radicals involved in antibiotic degradation. SMX degradation was described using a pseudo-first order kinetic equation using the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model. These results underscore the novelty and significance of the PAN/SrTiO3 composite and demonstrate its high efficiency and potential for large-scale water purification applications. © 2024 Elsevier Ltd

Cross-border cooperation (CBC) projects are essential for both sustainable development and creating an environment for entrepreneurship and investment. There is a strong correlation between the successfulness of implemented projects and the sustainable development of border regions. Because of the One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative, the management of cross-border projects is becoming increasingly important, as Kazakhstan is located at the intersection of transcontinental corridors between Europe and China. A feature of cross-border interaction is that projects are implemented by different countries together, increasing the risks of cross-border projects. In this regard, it was essential to analyze successful examples of CBC projects to understand better how they affect and contribute to regional development and, based on the information collected, build a successful model of the cross-border and infrastructure projects. This paper explores the issues to build the model to manage cross-border projects successfully. In so doing, the study contributes to the search for critical success factors that underpin the model. There are two contributions to cross-border project management knowledge. The first contribution is in revealing the critical success factors. The second contribution demonstrates how the success model has been built. Our findings are a call for more research connecting the OBOR and project management issues. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

In this study, the authors conducted a comprehensive review of the scientific and technical literature in the field of heat transfer in outdoor enclosures with an air layer of composite material, reviewing the effect of solar radiation on these areas. The review of the problem was carried out both at the national scale in the Republic of Kazakhstan and at the international level. It was found that an impressive number of scientists are involved in this topic, which is confirmed by the recent reviews, which analyzed more than 2700 relevant scientific and technical reports. The authors also reviewed the chronology of the development of hinged facade systems made of composite material on an international scale. Following the comprehensive review, a critical analysis was carried out on the most appropriate works, where a number of contradictions and discrepancies in the results were found. Taking into account these circumstances, the authors proposed to investigate the effects of climatic parameters considering barometric pressure. Using the regularity of the ideal gas equation, the dependences on the change in the volume of gas (air) when exposed to temperature loads and the influence of barometric pressure were determined. The results obtained will elucidate future research directions and can be taken into account in further studies of outdoor fences with an air layer considering solar radiation and territorial terrain.

This article presents a digital twin of hot pumping waxy oil through a main pipeline. Digital copies of the original object data were identified through sensor measurements from SCADA and ECMAS, forming the basis of the SmartTranPro 1.7.1 Software. The mathematical model of the software describes the process of hot pumping waxy oil regarding heat exchange with the environment. The intelligent algorithms of the SmartTranPro 1.7.1 Software were used to determine the actual dependencies of the digital twins of the objects, hydraulic parameters, and heat transfer for the Kassymov–Bolshoi Chagan hot main pipeline, which has a length of 450 km. The results of the thermal–hydraulic calculations for the hot pumping of waxy oil are in good agreement with the actual sensor data from SCADA and ECASM. The optimization calculations of the heating temperature for waxy oil show an economic efficiency of 38.9% for the hot pumping method. © 2025 by the authors.