Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are widely used in electrical vehicles (EVs), but safety issues with LIBs still occur frequently. State of charge (SOC) and state of health (SOH) are two crucial parameters for describing the state of LIBs. However, due to inconsistencies that may occur among hundreds to thousands of battery cells connected in series and parallel in the battery pack, these parameters can be difficult to estimate accurately. To address this problem, this paper proposes a joint SOC and SOH estimation method based on the nonlinear state space reconstruction (NSSR) and long short-term memory (LSTM) neural network. An experiment testbed was set up to measure the SOC and SOH of battery packs under different criteria and configurations, and thousands of charging/discharging cycles were recorded. The joint estimation algorithms were validated using testbed data, and the errors for SOC and SOH estimation were found to be within 2.5% and 1.3%, respectively, which is smaller than the errors obtained using traditional Ah-Integral and LSTM-only algorithms.

Coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world. Annual coffee consumption continues to increase, but at the same time, it generates a large amount of spent coffee grounds from the brewing process that give rise to environmental problems. An appropriate solution to manage these spent coffee grounds (SCGs) becomes crucial. Our project aims at discussing the feasibility of utilizing SCGs to synthesize polylactic acid (PLA) as a recycling application for SCGs. Producing PLA from SCGs offers the opportunity to contribute to the circular economy and sustainability due to the significant volume of coffee consumption. This approach reduces waste, provides environmental benefits, and promotes the use of renewable resources. Through repurposing SCGs into PLA, we can close the loop, minimize environmental impact, and create a more sustainable alternative to fossil-fuel-based plastics. This paper first discusses the properties and potential recycling applications of spent coffee grounds. The production of PLA from lactic acid and the potential processes for converting SCGs to lactic acid are then briefly discussed. From our review, it is feasible to utilize SCGs as the primary source for lactic acid production via bacteria fermentation and, further, to produce PLA via ring-opening polymerization. Possible ways to improve the yield and a corresponding cost analysis are also discussed.

The earth’s average temperature has risen by approximately 1.2 °C since the 1900s. The COP26 resolution aimed to achieve carbon neutrality before 2050, while China has committed a more aggressive timetable to actually achieve the goal. It requires either that activities must not release any greenhouse gases or the emitted greenhouse gases must be offset. The logistics and transport activities contribute a lot to global greenhouse gas emissions on Earth. There are a no. of challenges of the logistics industry that are discussed, then the paradigmatic solutions such as green procurement, green packaging, green transport, and green warehousing, are respectively discussed. The three contemporary concepts of green solutions (circular economy, carbon neutrality and green cocreation) for logistics and transportation are explored. Subsequently, a detailed case study of CN Logistics’ contemporary green solutions is used to illustrate how to tackle the problems and exemplify the best practices to the other 3PL players. There are expected changes on green directives from the HKSAR Government on logistics green compliances. Finally, this paper concludes with an appeal to the industry to start the green journey immediately.

Plastic waste is spread at an unprecedented speed due to the rapid use of domestic and industrial plastic items. The environmental pollution resulting from the continued disposal of plastic wastes in landfills has not only created land problems but has also heightened the pollution of marine resources. This paper aims to review and investigate the feasibility of utilizing plastic waste in making construction bricks. The use of plastic waste in making the sand-plastic bricks will enhance the protection of the environment from the effects of plastic waste that normally takes several millennials to degrade. Thermostatic plastic waste; that is, those polymers whose recycling may not affect the environment, including polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), is found to implore lightweight, durable, cost-effective, and low thermal conductor bricks. Compressive strength (CS) and water absorption tests are found as the key test methods for measuring the effectiveness of high-volume content of plastic waste in bricks. Notably, a high percentage of plastic waste in proportion to sand is found to improve the compressive strength of the bricks besides allowing negligible water to seep through.

Purpose: In this study, group differences between full-service carriers (FSC) and low-cost carriers (LCC) in loyalty constructs are investigated, revealing the relationship between service quality and loyalty. This work focuses on five dimensions, including tangibility, empathy, assurance, responsiveness, and reliability, constitute service quality. Design/methodology/approach: 248 questionnaires were collected in the first half of 2019. The antecedents of customer loyalty are explored, and the group differences between FSC and LCC are analyzed. For assessing the path model with the consideration of group variance, the Partial Least Squares Multiple Group Analysis (PLS-MGA) was adopted to analyze the differences of the estimated inter-group coefficient.Findings: Our findings suggest that service assurance, service empathy, and service reliability positively impact the value perceived. The impact of service empathy on customer satisfaction in FSC is significantly diverse from LCC. Several suggestions are provided to FSC and LCC on improving their services in view of passengers’ wants and interests.Originality/value: With the data collected at the HKIA, this study examined the relationships among service quality, perceived value, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty and divided service quality into five dimensions. The findings show that assurance, empathy, and reliability of service quality positively affect the value perceived, and the effects of responsiveness and tangibility of service quality on perceived value are insignificant. Among the five aspects of service quality, assurance, reliability, responsiveness, and tangibility of the service quality are the pre-conditions of customer satisfaction. However, only the reliability of service is the antecedent of customer loyalty. Besides, the value perceived positively affects customers to be satisfactory and loyal. Furthermore, satisfaction degree also significantly influences the degree of customers’ loyalty. As to the role of airline types, the sole effect is on customers' satisfaction is service empathy, with a significant difference between FSC and LCC.

Coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world. Annual coffee consumption continues to increase, but at the same time, it generates a large amount of spent coffee grounds from the brewing process, that arises environmental problems. An appropriate solution to manage these spent coffee grounds becomes crucial. Our project aims to discuss the feasibility of utilizing the spent coffee ground to synthesize polylactic acid as a recycling application for spent coffee ground. This paper will discuss the properties and potential recycling applications of spent coffee grounds, the brief production process of polylactic acid, and the potential process for converting spent coffee ground to lactic acid. From our review, it is feasible to utilize spend coffee ground as the primary sources for lactic acid production by bacteria fermentation, and further produce bioplastics, polylactic acids by ring-opening polymerization. Possible ways to improve the yield and corresponding cost analysis are also discussed.