scholarly journals Characterization of the Physical Properties of the Coconut Fiber Residue With a View to its Agroindustrial Use

Author(s):  
M. L. Vaca-Cardenas ◽  
M. González ◽  
P. Vaca

Ecuador is a multi-climatic country with the capacity to host a large number of plant species; one example is the coconut (Cocos nucifera), an ancestral food of tropical areas and warm climates, which is considered as raw material for various industrial processes, such as obtaining fats, oils, candies, etc. However, the external part of the coconut constituted by the bast or mesocarp has not been properly exploited. Coconut bast, which has high fiber content (coir fiber), from which three main types can be distinguished: long and thin, coarse, and shorter type, can become an agroindustrial alternative due to its mechanical properties. These properties are as good or better than synthetic fibers or polyester. This research therefore aims to characterize the physical parameters that determine the functionality of coconut fiber, such as its length, softness, brightness, color, diameter, and its appearance or slenderness, which is the relationship between length and diameter. This research also contributes to solving the environmental problem of waste generated by coconut production, moving towards a sustainable economy from an environmental point of view. This work determines that coconut fiber is composed of cellulose and wood that has low heat conductivity and impact resistance, and that its resistance and durability make it an adequate raw material in several production sectors. Keywords: coconut fiber, characterization, properties, agribusiness. Resumen El Ecuador es un país multi climático con la capacidad de alojar una gran cantidad de especies vegetales, un ejemplo de ello es el coco (Cocos nucifera) un alimento ancestral de zonas tropicales y climas cálidos, este es considerado como materia prima de diversos procesos industriales como obtención de grasas, aceites, confites, etc., sin embargo, la parte externa del coco constituida por la estopa o mesocarpio no ha sido correctamente explotada. La estopa del coco por su alto contenido de fibra (fibra bonote), de la cual se pueden distinguir tres tipos principales: una larga y fina, una tosca y una más corta, se convertir en una alternativa agroindustrial debido a sus propiedades físico - mecánicas que son tan buenas o mejores que fibras sintéticas o el poliéster. Esta investigación tuvo por objeto caracterizar los parámetros físicos que describan la funcionalidad de la fibra de coco como son su longitud, suavidad, brillo, color. Para lo cual se realizó un estadística descriptiva de medidas de tendencia central como la media, se analizaron un total de 10 muestras de fibra de coco tomadas al azar de los 15 Kg de fibra obtenida de 50 cocos, teniéndose como resultado que para la suavidad el 80% de los participantes la ubican en el octavo lugar y el restante 20% en el noveno, lo que permite inferir que se tara de una fibra gruesa, rígida y áspera, para el brillo y luminosidad el 90% de los observadores determinaron que la fibra no posee esta característica. El 70% de las panelistas delimitaron que el color característico de la fibra fue el café claro y el restante 30% la considera de color beige. Palabras clave: fibra de coco, caracterización, propiedades, agroindustria.

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 106
Author(s):  
Adam Maulana ◽  
Udiantoro Udiantoro ◽  
Lya Agustina

The utilization of coconut fiber that has not been optimal is one of the opportunities so that the waste has added value, one of which is to process it into particle board.  Objective research is to best composition particle board making from coconut coir waste material and TKKS to produce qualified particle board. The method used was a complete randomized design (RAL) with 3 treatment, single factor treatment ie the composition of raw materials in the form of coconut husk and TKKS. Comparison of the particle-making composition of particle board P0: 100% coco fiber: 0% of oil palm empty bunch fibers, P1: 75% : 25%, P2: 50% : 50%, P3: 25% : 75%, P4: 0% : 100%. Best results the combination of raw material composition of particle board is in the treatment of P0 (100% coco fiber: 0% of oil palm empty bunch fiber) with a density value of 0.43 g / cm³, moisture content 7.0%, Modulus of Elasticity - MoE 2.037.45 kg / cm2 and the Modulus of Rupture - MoR 46.14 kg / cm².


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 42-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Neklesa ◽  
Yvgennia Yarantseva ◽  
Yevgen Pyvovarov ◽  
Olga Grinchenko

The effectiveness of fundamental and applied research is realized in the field of technological and hardware solutions, it allows creating a new generation of food products whose quality indicators go beyond those typical of the traditional assortment. This to a certain extent applies to the fat and oil industry. An important scientific and at the same time practical result is the proposal to consider the encapsulation process not only from the technological point of view. This requires a scientific approach both in the choice of the components of the food system, and in the realization of their properties under the prevailing conditions. From a practical point of view, this determines the given technical and constructive solutions. To date, there is no theory and practice of extrusion of two fluids through the "air" technological medium, one of which is flowable oil content, and the other is a solution of the ionotropic polysaccharide. There are no scientific and technical principles for the formation of the physical form of the capsule, as well as industrial devices for their production. Food technologies with the use of fat-and-oil raw materials encapsulated are not revealed, and information on the effect of a new food form of fat-and-oil raw materials on the formation of product quality indicators in the technological flow and during storage is not generalized. To obtain a controlled technological process for the production of fat-and-oil encapsulated raw material, it is important to provide laminar flow of ionotropic shell-maker and fat-and-oil raw materials along the product line of the encapsulation device. This is possible under the condition of special constructive maintenance of the process of capsule formation of the "fat-and-oil raw materials - ionotropic shell-maker" system. This served as the basis for determining the physical parameters of the formation of a thermostable capsule. It is proved that the formation of a final capsule with internal contents of fat-and-oil raw material is possible under the condition of an individual design of an extrusion head and a capsulation device that ensure the circumferential rotation of the capsule in the laminar flow of the receiving medium. This allows to form capsules with given organoleptic, commodity, technological properties and the like.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 177-189
Author(s):  
Irwan Suriaman ◽  
Jooned Hendrarsakti ◽  
Yati Mardiyati ◽  
Ari Darmawan Pasek

In line with economic growth, material requirements in the industrial sector will increase. Industries are required to use materials that are safe for human health, environmentally friendly and utilize local raw materials. Currently, industries in general still use synthetic materials based on petroleum residues that contain many hazardous chemicals. Therefore, natural fiber has the potential to be used as a substitute for synthetic materials, especially in Indonesia which is rich in natural fibers resources. This will have an impact on the socio-economy of the local community so that it can grow the rural economic sector. Natural fibers have high economic value that can be used for various raw material needs for strategic industries. A good natural fiber processing mechanism will produce products that can be marketed globally with guaranteed product quality. This research analyzes the effect of alkali treatment of ramie, sugar palm and coir fiber on the increase in mechanical properties of the fiber. The mechanical properties were analyzed through tensile strength testing of single fiber according to ASTM D3822 standard using a textechno favigraph machine. In addition, this research is supported by data from thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the fibers that had been given an alkali treatment had better mechanical properties compared to untreated fibers. Increased tensile strength of fibers was observec after being treated with alkali for ramie 81%, sugar palm 52% and coir 56%. The advantage of this alkaline treatment method is that no heating is involved and the treatment procedures are more practical compared to other methods.


2008 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-134
Author(s):  
Ion Teoreanu ◽  
Roxana Lucia Dumitrache ◽  
Stefania Stoleriu

Any change of the raw material sources for glazes, economically, ecologically motivated, and also from the glaze quality point of view, is conditioned by the molecular formula rationalization and by the variation limits of the molecular formula, respectively. The proper glaze compositions are placed within their limit variation intervals with optimized processing and utilization properties. For this purpose, the rationalization criteria and procedures of molecular formulas are summarized in the present paper, as well as the results referring to their rationalization obtained in the authors� previous work. Thus, one starts from a base of raw materials that are selected, usable and also accessible for the design and producing of the glazes. On these bases the groundwork and the design equation for the glaze recipes are developed, exemplified for a single glaze. For an easy access to results, computer programs are used for an easy access to results.


Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 792
Author(s):  
Kati Väkeväinen ◽  
Noora Rinkinen ◽  
Roosa-Maria Willman ◽  
Jenni Lappi ◽  
Kaisa Raninen ◽  
...  

Blackcurrant is a healthy, affordable, and traditionally gardened berry that, thus far, has been underused in food applications. From the consumers’ point of view, the acidic taste of blackcurrants is a challenge; therefore, these berries have mainly been utilized for sugary juice production. This research study aimed to develop a frozen vegan blackcurrant product with pleasant sensory properties and potential probiotic function. A candidate probiotic, Lactoplantibacillus plantarum Q823, was used in the manufacturing process. The physicochemical properties, nutritional composition, and consumer preference for the developed product were assessed, as was the viability of L. plantarum Q823 during storage time and in an in vitro gastrointestinal model. Consumers (n = 71) perceived the developed product to be pleasant. L. plantarum Q823 had high viability counts (log colony forming units (cfu) g−1 7.0 ± 0.38) in the final product, although the viability of L. plantarum Q823 during storage time needs to be enhanced to obtain a probiotic product. Thus, within an optimized formulation, blackcurrant berries represent a potential raw material for functional frozen food products.


Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 2012
Author(s):  
Samantha Jo Grimes ◽  
Filippo Capezzone ◽  
Peteh Mehdi Nkebiwe ◽  
Simone Graeff-Hönninger

Rising consumer attraction towards superfoods and the steadily increasing demand for healthy, environmentally sustainable, and regionally produced food products has sharpened the demand for chia. Over the course of 4 years, two early flowering chia varieties belonging to Salvia hispanica L., and Salvia columbariae Benth. Species were identified to complete their phenological development and, therefore, able to reach maturity under a photoperiod >12 h, thus enabling the cultivation of chia in central Europe—more specifically, in southwestern Germany—consistently for the first time. Results obtained by the conducted field trial in 2018 showed that chia seed yields and thousand-seed mass ranged from 284.13 to 643.99 kg ha−1 and 0.92 to 1.36 g, respectively. Further, the statistical analyses showed that the protein content of the cultivated chia varieties ranged from 22.14 to 27.78%, the mucilage content varied from 10.35 to 20.66%, and the crude oil content amounted up to 28.00 and 31.73%. Fatty acid profiles were similar to previously reported data with α-Linolenic acid being the most prominent one, ranging from 60.40 to 65.87%, and we obtained ω6:ω3 ratios between 0.2 and 0.3. In conclusion, chia could represent a promising raw material from a nutritional point of view, while being able to diversify the local food basis of southwestern Germany.


Author(s):  
Doriana Landi ◽  
Marta Ponzano ◽  
Carolina Gabri Nicoletti ◽  
Gaia Cola ◽  
Gianluca Cecchi ◽  
...  

AbstractRestrictions in the access to healthcare facilities during COVID-19 pandemic have raised the need for remote monitoring of chronic medical conditions, including multiple sclerosis (MS). In order to enable the continuity of care in these circumstances, many telemedicine applications are currently tested. While physicians’ preferences are commonly investigated, data regarding the patients’ point of view are still lacking. We built a 37 items web-based survey exploring patients’ propensity, awareness, and opinions on telemedicine with the aim to evaluate the sustainability of this approach in MS. Analysing 613 questionnaires out of 1093 that were sent to persons with MS followed at the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Tor Vergata University, Rome, we found that more than half of respondents (54%) were open to having a televisit. Propensity toward telemedicine significantly depended on having a higher income (p = 0.037), living farther from the center (p = 0.038), using computer and tablet (p = 0.010) and using the Internet for other remote activities (p < 0.001), conversely it was not influenced by any specific disease characteristics (i.e. degree of disability). The main advantages and disadvantages of televisit reported by participants were respectively saving time (70%) and impossibility to measure physical parameters (71%). Although the majority of respondents are in favour of televisit, so far this approach is restricted to those displaying better socioeconomic conditions and higher familiarity with technology. Implications of the study are that telemedicine platforms should be better tailored to patients’ demands in order to spread the use of telemedicine, to enhance usability and to increase patients’ adherence.


Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 238
Author(s):  
Pablo Contreras ◽  
Johanna Orellana-Alvear ◽  
Paul Muñoz ◽  
Jörg Bendix ◽  
Rolando Célleri

The Random Forest (RF) algorithm, a decision-tree-based technique, has become a promising approach for applications addressing runoff forecasting in remote areas. This machine learning approach can overcome the limitations of scarce spatio-temporal data and physical parameters needed for process-based hydrological models. However, the influence of RF hyperparameters is still uncertain and needs to be explored. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyze the sensitivity of RF runoff forecasting models of varying lead time to the hyperparameters of the algorithm. For this, models were trained by using (a) default and (b) extensive hyperparameter combinations through a grid-search approach that allow reaching the optimal set. Model performances were assessed based on the R2, %Bias, and RMSE metrics. We found that: (i) The most influencing hyperparameter is the number of trees in the forest, however the combination of the depth of the tree and the number of features hyperparameters produced the highest variability-instability on the models. (ii) Hyperparameter optimization significantly improved model performance for higher lead times (12- and 24-h). For instance, the performance of the 12-h forecasting model under default RF hyperparameters improved to R2 = 0.41 after optimization (gain of 0.17). However, for short lead times (4-h) there was no significant model improvement (0.69 < R2 < 0.70). (iii) There is a range of values for each hyperparameter in which the performance of the model is not significantly affected but remains close to the optimal. Thus, a compromise between hyperparameter interactions (i.e., their values) can produce similar high model performances. Model improvements after optimization can be explained from a hydrological point of view, the generalization ability for lead times larger than the concentration time of the catchment tend to rely more on hyperparameterization than in what they can learn from the input data. This insight can help in the development of operational early warning systems.


2018 ◽  
Vol 174 ◽  
pp. 01006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Břetislav Teplý ◽  
Tomáš Vymazal ◽  
Pavla Rovnaníková

Efficient sustainability management requires the use of tools which allow material, technological and construction variants to be quantified, measured or compared. These tools can be used as a powerful marketing aid and as support for the transition to “circular economy”. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) procedures are also used, aside from other approaches. LCA is a method that evaluates the life cycle of a structure from the point of view of its impact on the environment. Consideration is given also to energy and raw material costs, as well as to environmental impact throughout the life cycle - e.g. due to emissions. The paper focuses on the quantification of sustainability connected with the use of various types of concrete with regard to their resistance to degradation. Sustainability coefficients are determined using information regarding service life and "eco-costs". The aim is to propose a suitable methodology which can simplify decision-making in the design and choice of concrete mixes from a wider perspective, i.e. not only with regard to load-bearing capacity or durability.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (10) ◽  
pp. 167-173
Author(s):  
Nurida Аlish Gasimova ◽  

The increase in citrus production is of particular economic importance both from the point of view of meeting the demand of the population for these products, and from the point of view of its use as an industrial raw material. The article studies and analyzes the current state of citrus cultivation in Azerbaijan, the possibilities of increasing their production; relevant suggestions and recommendations are made.


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