Nutritional Contribution of an Undervalued Ancestral Cucurbita, Study of Sicana sp. Endocarp, Epicarp and Seeds Composition

Native to South America, the Sicana sp. fruits, known in Paraguay as “kurugua”, belongs to the Cucurbit family and is almost extinct in the region. The aim of this study was to determine the physicochemical characteristics, composition and antioxidant activity of “kurugua” with reddish peel color. The determinations were made by official and regional standardized methodologies on fresh weight (FW). The pulp has an alkaline pH (7.41 ± 0.11), and its main components are carbohydrates (9.44 ± 0.45 g·100 g−1), followed by dietary fiber (1.74 ± 0, 04 g·100 g−1), as minor proteins (0.53 ± 0.05 g·100 g−1) and lipids (0.08 ± 0.01 g·100 g−1). On the evaluated antioxidants compounds, they were higher in peel than in pulp as; total phenols (279.2 ± 12.1, 55.7 ± 10.3 mg of GAE·100 g−1), Vitamin C (9.67 ± 0.09, 7.84 ± 1.71 mg·100 g−1) and beta-carotene (0.37 ± 0.03, 0.19 ± 0.01 mg·100 g−1), respectively. Fresh seeds have a high moisture content (38.8%), dietary fiber (40.2%) and lipids (11.74%), they mineral composition showed a high content of Mg and Ca and a high content of micronutrients such as Cu, Mn, Fe and Zn, which can represent a great contribution to the daily requirements of the diet. The red kurugua fruits are a natural source of nutritious and bioactive compounds beneficial to health, with multiple potential applications in foodstuff, which should be promoted in healthy dietary guidelines for the benefit of the populations.

Improving the environmental friendliness of a solid fuel boiler house using SHF energy

To reduce harmful emissions, solid fuel consumption and increase the efficiency of the boiler plant, an automated system with a combined heating device and a condensing air heater connected in series was designed. In a combined heating device (SHF + flue gases) equipped with a magnetron, quality control and additional preparation of solid fuel with a high moisture content (up to 80%) for combustion are carried out. In the condensing air heater, the heat of the flue gases coming into it from the combined heating deviceand the latent heat of vaporization are extracted. The use of this system allows reducing the moisture content and temperature of flue gases, the volume of harmful emissions from the boiler plant in the form of nitrogen oxides and dioxides (NOx), carbon oxides (CO), ash, volatile coke residues. By increasing the volume and reducing the corrosiveness of the condensate formed from the flue gases in the condensation air heater during the drying process of fuel with a high moisture content, it can be subsequently used as process and make-up water. Practical application of the system makes it possible to reduce the cost of generating heat energy by the boiler house by increasing the use of low-calorie fuel with a high moisture content in the form of waste from logging, wood processing, low-grade coal and peat, which also has a positive environmental effect.

The influence of the timing and methods of harvesting the seed grass of the eastern goat’s rue (Galega orientales Lam.) on the yield and sowing quality of seeds

Eastern goat’s rue (Galega orientales Lam.) possesses high fodder productivity and accumulates a large amount of vegetative mass with high humidity for harvesting for seeds. This greatly complicates the harvesting of grass stand for seeds. One of the ways to solve this problem is to carry out desiccation of the grass stand. A complicating factor in choosing the optimal harvesting period is the extended flowering and ripening period of goat’s rue beans, the duration of which reaches 25-35 days. The use of the drug Reglon Super based on diquat is a highly effective agrotechnical method that allows increasing the collection of seeds by 24%. The desiccation of the herbage contributes to the production of seeds with high sowing qualities. The seeds with the best sowing qualities are found in beans with yellow, brown, brown or dark brown color of the beans. In light green beans, the seeds are fully formed, but have a high moisture content. Goat’s rue beans do not crack or crumble at the onset of the full ripeness phase. This allows the seed to be harvested when most of the beans are ripe. A comparative assessment of the timing and method of harvesting the seed herbage of the goat’s rue showed that with a ripening of 39% and the presence of 47% of light green and yellow beans, the yield losses ranged from 26 to 56%. The highest seed yield in one confidence interval of 422-453 kg / ha and 444 kg / ha was obtained, respectively, by direct threshing with preliminary desiccation of the grass stand in the ripening phase of 74-97% of beans or by separate harvesting when mowing into swaths during ripening 74 % beans.

Update on waste reduction performance by waste-to-energy incineration pilot plant PLTSa Bantargebang operations

Many big cities in Indonesia are facing the problem of municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal. PLTSa Merah Putih, a waste-to-energy incineration pilot plant, was built as an alternative solution to reduce waste. This study aims to evaluate the performance of PLTSa Merah Putih Bantargebang in reducing volume of waste. During the first semester of 2021, the pilot plant has been running for 174 days and a total of 5647.1 ton of waste was burned generating around 1000 ton of ash. Based on the feeding waste and generated ash, the pilot plant can reduce over 79% of waste, even with high moisture content. The furnace and grate temperature can be maintained at 800°C and 1000°C, respectively, to minimize harmful gases generation. This study showed that the waste reduction of PLTSa was comparable with the performance of other waste-to-energy pilot plants, which is in the range of 70-90%.

Reducing energy costs with active ventilation of grain mass

Currently, small peasant farms (PFs) play an important role in preserving the country's food security. In the Amur region, they account for about 25 ... 30% of the total received agricultural products. At the same time, an important task in these farms is to preserve the harvested crop. This is due to the fact that during the harvesting period about 65 ... 70% of the annual precipitation falls, in connection with which the harvested grain mass has a high moisture content. The main way to preserve the received grain products is their timely drying. At the same time, it should be noted that peasant farms do not always dry the obtained agricultural products in full due to the high financial costs of this process, and in particular where electric energy is used as an energy carrier for drying, given that it’s cost for the consumer rises every year. This article presents the results of research on reducing energy consumption for drying agricultural products by optimizing the consumption of electricity. Keywords: DRYING, VENTILATION, FAN, ELECTRICAL ENERGY, GRAIN MASS

Microbial Inoculation to High Moisture Plant By-Product Silage: A Review

Use of microbial inoculants during silage making have drawn interest to silage producers including those who are feeding their livestock on silage produced from by-products (e.g. pulps). Many farmers in the developing countries rely on agro-industrial by-products to feed their livestock, which is limited by the high moisture content of the by-products. This review pertains to issues related to silage production from high moisture plant by-products (e.g. pulps or pomaces), challenges involved in the ensiling of these resources, the use of additives (e.g. microbial additives), and growth performance of the animals that are fed silage from these resources. This information will be helpful to better understand the key roles of silage production from these resources.