scholarly journals Novel Affordable, Reliable and Efficient Technologies to Help Addressing the Water-Energy-Food Nexus

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Meneguzzo ◽  
Federica Zabini ◽  
Lorenzo Albanese ◽  
Alfonso Crisci

Improving the food system sustainability and security is becoming an urgent global challenge. In this regard, one of the most effective routes is the shift of the human diet toward healthier and more sustainable consumption, involving in particular the prevalence of plant-based raw food materials. Controlled hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) technologies could help considerably in this transition. HC techniques are gaining increased scientific interest, and are quickly spreading across a wide range of technical fields, recently showing surprising performances with biological raw materials related to the food, agricultural and forestry sectors and resources. HC processes enjoy recognized advantages in the acceleration of the processing steps of plant-based food, the extraction of valuable bioactive compounds, the reduction and the valorization of waste streams, as well as the superior efficiency in resource use, energy consumption, process yield, and exergy balance than competing processes. Thus, HC is very promising candidate to help addressing the water-energy-food nexus, and, ultimately, sustainability. Findings obtained from direct experimental trials and recent literature concerning the applications of HC to food processing, provide a strong basis for novel investigation aimed at standardization, starting from the identification of the most suitable devices and the optimal processing parameters, eventually oriented to further spreading of HC applications.

Author(s):  
E. S. Popov ◽  
E. A. Pozhidaeva ◽  
E. S. Pevtsova ◽  
A. V. Sokolova ◽  
A. S. Kolmakova

Optimization of thermochemical and biological transformations occurring during the heat treatment of food products can be carried out only taking into account the dynamics of the formation of temperature fields inside the processed products. A mathematical model of the Sous-Vide processing process has been developed, which provides the determination of the dynamics of changes in the temperature field of Sous-Vide processed functional food products based on animal and vegetable raw materials. To calculate the process of Sous-Vide processing of functional products, we used the differential equation of unsteady heat conduction taking into account the Bio criterion. When solving a system of partial differential equations, the mathematical package flexPDE is used. In calculations, a spatial grid with the number of nodes 20000 was used, the accuracy of calculations was 10E-4. Experimentally determined values of thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, density and thermal diffusivity of each of the components of the food system are used in calculations. The results of the calculated experiment in mathematical modeling of the Sous-Vide processing process show the evolution of temperature fields in different sections of the food system and on its upper surface, having the shape of an ellipsoid of rotation. The dependences of the change in the thermophysical characteristics of the longitudinal and transverse flow of the food system coolant. The results of the computational experiment show a good convergence of the mathematical model and the results obtained, which is 94%, which indicates the adequacy of the developed mathematical model of the Sous-Vide processing process. The obtained mathematical model allows, by means of a computational experiment, to analyze and optimize the Sous-Vide processing modes of a wide range of food raw materials, of various geometric shapes and sizes, with different physicochemical and thermal properties, taking into account their non-stationarity under thermal influence.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1105
Author(s):  
Maryna SAMILYK ◽  
Svitlana LUKASH ◽  
Natalia BOLGOVA ◽  
Anna HELIKH ◽  
Nataliia MASLAK ◽  
...  

Bio economics can use a range of raw materials and use various processes to transform these raw materials into a wide range of different products. Examples of a wide range of commodities, products and processes are given. The present study focuses on developed countries to propose some marketing actions that could help in reducing food waste. The main contribution of this study is the proposal of marketing actions that help in tacking food waste, as one of the main perspective approaches in bioeconomy. The benefits of vegetable and fruit processing in the context of bio economics are generalized. Based on the analysis, a model of waste-free technologies was developed. Considering the advantages of applying the principle of non-waste production, the author's technology of integrated processing of vegetables was developed, taking into account the improvement of existing methods. The main advantages of the proposed method of non-waste processing of vegetables directed to the sustainable consumption identified in the areas: social, economic and natural.


Author(s):  
C. J. Chan ◽  
K. R. Venkatachari ◽  
W. M. Kriven ◽  
J. F. Young

Dicalcium silicate (Ca2SiO4) is a major component of Portland cement. It has also been investigated as a potential transformation toughener alternative to zirconia. It has five polymorphs: α, α'H, α'L, β and γ. Of interest is the β-to-γ transformation on cooling at about 490°C. This transformation, accompanied by a 12% volume increase and a 4.6° unit cell shape change, is analogous to the tetragonal-to-monoclinic transformation in zirconia. Due to the processing methods used, previous studies into the particle size effect were limited by a wide range of particle size distribution. In an attempt to obtain a more uniform size, a fast quench rate involving a laser-melting/roller-quenching technique was investigated.The laser-melting/roller-quenching experiment used precompacted bars of stoichiometric γ-Ca2SiO4 powder, which were synthesized from AR grade CaCO3 and SiO2xH2O. The raw materials were mixed by conventional ceramic processing techniques, and sintered at 1450°C. The dusted γ-Ca2SiO4 powder was uniaxially pressed into 0.4 cm x 0.4 cm x 4 cm bars under 34 MPa and cold isostatically pressed under 172 MPa. The γ-Ca2SiO4 bars were melted by a 10 KW-CO2 laser.


Food Industry ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-31
Author(s):  
Sergey Urubkov ◽  
Svetlana Khovanskaya ◽  
Ekaterina Pyrieva ◽  
Olga Georgieva ◽  
Stanislav Smirnov

Diet therapy is one of the main approaches to the treatment of a wide range of diseases of the digestive system. The treatment effectiveness of celiac disease depends on how strictly the patient adheres to a gluten-free diet. It is often disrupted due to the limited range of recommended foods and dishes, especially for children who are particularly sensitive to dietary restrictions. In this case, the development of new types of specialized gluten-free products is relevant, allowing to expand the diet both in terms of nutritional value and taste diversity. This study concerns the recipe developments of dry gluten-free mixtures using rice and amaranth with the inclusion of fruit and vegetable and berry raw materials intended for the nutrition of children over three years old suffering from celiac disease. When developing the recipes, researchers used various combinations of rice and amaranth flour, as well as fruit and vegetable powders. The rice flour composition varied in the range from 15 to 75%; amaranth – from 15 to 45%; fruit and vegetable and berry powders – up to 10%. The finished product was gluten-free cookies, muffins, pancakes made of rice and amaranth. Organoleptic evaluation showed that the studied samples of gluten-free cookies have high quality characteristics, have a pleasant taste and aroma. According to the calculated data, specialized gluten-free dry mixtures intended for children over three years with celiac disease can serve as an important source of: vegetable carbohydrates – from 26.81 to 55.19 g / 100g of finished products; protein – from 4.06 to 11.82 g/100g of finished products; dietary fiber – from 3.82 to 6.36 g/100g of finished products; and energy – from 158.12 to 333.96 kcal/100g of finished products) The developed recipess of gluten-free products can help to provide children with an adequate amount of nutrients and energy.


2020 ◽  
pp. 63-72
Author(s):  
Yu. Olefir ◽  
E. Sakanyan ◽  
I. Osipova ◽  
V. Dobrynin ◽  
M. Smirnova ◽  
...  

The entry of a wide range of biotechnological products into the pharmaceutical market calls for rein-forcement of the quality, efficacy and safety standards at the state level. The following general monographs have been elaborated for the first time to be included into the State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation, XIV edition: "Viral safety" and "Reduction of the risk of transmitting animal spongiform encephalopathy via medicinal products". These general monographs were elaborated taking into account the requirements of foreign pharmacopoeias and the WHO recommendations. The present paper summarises the key aspects of the monographs.


Polymers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 2237 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. R. Sarika ◽  
Paul Nancarrow ◽  
Abdulrahman Khansaheb ◽  
Taleb Ibrahim

Phenol–formaldehyde (PF) resin continues to dominate the resin industry more than 100 years after its first synthesis. Its versatile properties such as thermal stability, chemical resistance, fire resistance, and dimensional stability make it a suitable material for a wide range of applications. PF resins have been used in the wood industry as adhesives, in paints and coatings, and in the aerospace, construction, and building industries as composites and foams. Currently, petroleum is the key source of raw materials used in manufacturing PF resin. However, increasing environmental pollution and fossil fuel depletion have driven industries to seek sustainable alternatives to petroleum based raw materials. Over the past decade, researchers have replaced phenol and formaldehyde with sustainable materials such as lignin, tannin, cardanol, hydroxymethylfurfural, and glyoxal to produce bio-based PF resin. Several synthesis modifications are currently under investigation towards improving the properties of bio-based phenolic resin. This review discusses recent developments in the synthesis of PF resins, particularly those created from sustainable raw material substitutes, and modifications applied to the synthetic route in order to improve the mechanical properties.


Author(s):  
Yingchun Xia ◽  
Zhiqiang Xie ◽  
Yu Xin ◽  
Xiaowei Zhang

The customized products such as electromechanical prototype products are a type of product with research and trial manufacturing characteristics. The BOM structures and processing parameters of the products vary greatly, making it difficult for a single shop to meet such a wide range of processing parameters. For the dynamic and fuzzy manufacturing characteristics of the products, not only the coordinated transport time of multiple shops but also the fact that the product has a designated output shop should be considered. In order to solve such Multi-shop Integrated Scheduling Problem with Fixed Output Constraint (MISP-FOC), a constraint programming model is developed to minimize the total tardiness, and then a Multi-shop Integrated Scheduling Algorithm (MISA) based on EGA (Enhanced Genetic Algorithm) and B&B (Branch and Bound) is proposed. MISA is a hybrid optimization method and consists of four parts. Firstly, to deal with the dynamic and fuzzy manufacturing characteristics, the dynamic production process is transformed into a series of time-continuous static scheduling problem according to the proposed dynamic rescheduling mechanism. Secondly, the pre-scheduling scheme is generated by the EGA at each event moment. Thirdly, the jobs in the pre-scheduling scheme are divided into three parts, namely, dispatched jobs, jobs to be dispatched, and jobs available for rescheduling, and at last, the B&B method is used to optimize the jobs available for rescheduling by utilizing the period when the dispatched jobs are in execution. Google OR-Tools is used to verify the proposed constraint programming model, and the experiment results show that the proposed algorithm is effective and feasible.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 2
Author(s):  
Liliana Anchidin-Norocel ◽  
Sonia Amariei ◽  
Gheorghe Gutt

The aim of this paper is the development of a sensor for the quantification of nickel ions in food raw materials and foods. It is believed that about 15% of the human population suffers from nickel allergy. In addition to digestive manifestations, food intolerance to nickel may also have systemic manifestations, such as diffuse dermatitis, diffuse itching, fever, rhinitis, headache, altered general condition. Therefore, it is necessary to control this content of nickel ions for the health of the human population by developing a new method that offers the advantages of a fast, not expensive, in situ, and accurate analysis. For this purpose, bismuth oxide-screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) and graphene-modified SPEs were used with a very small amount of dimethylglyoxime and amino acid L-histidine that were deposited. A potentiostat that displays the response in the form of a cyclic voltammogram was used to study the electrochemical properties of nickel standard solution with different concentrations. The results were compared and the most sensitive sensor proved to be bismuth oxide-SPEs with dimethylglyoxime (Bi2O3/C-dmgH2) with a linear response over a wide range (0.1–10 ppm) of nickel concentrations. Furthermore, the sensor shows excellent selectivity in the presence of common interfering species. The Bi2O3/C-dmgH2 sensor showed good viability for nickel analysis in food samples (cocoa, spinach, cabbage, and red wine) and demonstrated significant advancement in sensor technology for practical applications.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (14) ◽  
pp. 6445
Author(s):  
David Ibarra ◽  
Raquel Martín-Sampedro ◽  
Bernd Wicklein ◽  
Úrsula Fillat ◽  
María E. Eugenio

Motivated by the negative impact of fossil fuel consumption on the environment, the need arises to produce materials and energy from renewable sources. Cellulose, the main biopolymer on Earth, plays a key role in this context, serving as a platform for the development of biofuels, chemicals and novel materials. Among the latter, micro- and nanocellulose have been receiving increasing attention in the last few years. Their many attractive properties, i.e., thermal stability, high mechanical resistance, barrier properties, lightweight, optical transparency and ease of chemical modification, allow their use in a wide range of applications, such as paper or polymer reinforcement, packaging, construction, membranes, bioplastics, bioengineering, optics and electronics. In view of the increasing demand for traditional wood pulp (e.g., obtained from eucalypt, birch, pine, spruce) for micro/nanocellulose production, dedicated crops and agricultural residues can be interesting as raw materials for this purpose. This work aims at achieving microfibrillated cellulose production from fast-growing poplar and olive tree pruning using physical pretreatment (PFI refining) before the microfibrillation stage. Both raw materials yielded microfibrillated cellulose with similar properties to that obtained from a commercial industrial eucalypt pulp, producing films with high mechanical properties and low wettability. According to these properties, different applications for cellulose microfibers suspensions and films are discussed.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document