Non-Centrifugal Sugar (NCS) and Health: A Review on Functional Components and Health Benefits

Non-centrifugal sugar (NCS) is the scientific term the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) uses to define a solid product, produced by sugarcane juice evaporation, which is unrefined or minimally refined. NCS is referred to in various names globally, the most significant ones are whole cane sugar, panela (Latin America), jaggery (India) and kokuto (Japan). NCS contains minerals, bioactive compounds, flavonoids and phenolic acids, which have therapeutic potentials from time immemorial. Even though the bioactive property is dependent on the composition, which relies mainly on the agronomic conditions and production process, NCS possesses antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Hence, substituting the consumption of refined sugar with NCS might be helpful in the control of chronic diseases generally connected to oxidative stress and inflammation. Experimental facts from in vitro and in vivo models have proven that NCS plays an essential role in weight management, maintaining insulin sensitivity and preventing neurodegenerative diseases. NCS has also shown hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects. This review aims to synopsize the recent literature pertaining to the benefits of NCS in human health. The NCS can be considered a nutraceutical and functional food. However, detailed and regulated studies are important to enhance the beneficial effects in human and animal interventions.

Properties and Kinetics of Selective Zinc Leaching with Choline Chloride and Urea

A choline chloride-urea (ChCl-urea) deep eutectic solvent (DES) was used to experimentally investigate the secondary recovery of zinc from zinc-bearing dust sludge via a leaching process. The effects of varying the liquid–solid ratio, leaching temperature, stirring speed, and leaching time on the zinc leaching efficiency were determined, and the optimum values of these parameters were found to be 15:1, 90 °C, 400 rpm, and 600 min, respectively, at which a leaching efficiency of 86.87% was achieved. XRF and EDS analyses confirmed that the zinc content in the sludge decreased noticeably after leaching, while those of other elements did not, indicating the selective and efficient leaching of zinc. A study of the leaching kinetics showed that the reaction conforms to the nuclear shrinkage model without solid product layer formation, and the calculated apparent activation energy is 22.16 kJ/mol.

Study on Ultrasonically-Enhanced Sulfuric Acid Leaching of Nickel from Nickel-Containing Residue

In this paper, nickel-containing residue, a typical solid waste produced in the battery production process, was used to study the cavitation characteristics of ultrasonic waves in a liquid–solid reaction. The ultrasonically-enhanced leaching technology for multicomponent and complex nickel-containing residue was studied through systematic ultrasonic-conventional comparative experiments. An ultrasonic leaching kinetics model was established which provided reliable technological guidance and basic theory for the comprehensive utilization of nickel-containing residue. In the study, it was found that ultrasonically-enhanced leaching for 40 min obtained the same result as conventional leaching for 80 min, and the Ni extraction degree reached more than 95%. According to the kinetic fitting of the leaching process, it was found that the sulfuric acid leaching process belonged to the diffusion-controlled model of solid product layers under conventional and ultrasonic conditions, and the activation energy of the reaction was Ea1 = 17.74 kJ/mol and Ea2 = 5.04 kJ/mol, respectively.

The Search For Additional Value From Food Waste Using Anaerobic Digestion and Pyrolysis

Rethinking food waste could be an effective means to bridge the gap between local liabilities and finding value from this lost resource. While traditionally biomass has been used as a renewable energy source through combustion, there are more clever solutions. Biomass conversion can undergo both biotechnological (anaerobic digestion) and thermal (pyrolysis) conversion processes to produce end products that could sequester carbon from the environment. To date, both processes are being used independently for a number of energy carriers; however, no research at the moment has focused on converting biomass using anaerobic digestion to produce a fertilizer and extract further value by subjecting the digestate to pyrolysis. In the pyrolysis system, this feedstock is burned creating valuable carbon allotropes used to reshape next-generation energy devices, while removing carbon from the atmosphere. The objectives of this thesis are to determine if the digestate can be a suitable fertilizer as is. Based on N:P:K ratio, the digestate may not be as useful as a fertilizer. The second objective is to use the digestate as a suitable feedstock for pyrolysis in the search of high value nanocarbons. Although, the digestate was successful in being a feedstock, it did not provide insight to high value nanocarbons. Lastly, the solid product from pyrolysis (coke) was exfoliated to retrieve the advanced carbons using electrochemical exfoliation and sonication.

The Search For Additional Value From Food Waste Using Anaerobic Digestion and Pyrolysis

Rethinking food waste could be an effective means to bridge the gap between local liabilities and finding value from this lost resource. While traditionally biomass has been used as a renewable energy source through combustion, there are more clever solutions. Biomass conversion can undergo both biotechnological (anaerobic digestion) and thermal (pyrolysis) conversion processes to produce end products that could sequester carbon from the environment. To date, both processes are being used independently for a number of energy carriers; however, no research at the moment has focused on converting biomass using anaerobic digestion to produce a fertilizer and extract further value by subjecting the digestate to pyrolysis. In the pyrolysis system, this feedstock is burned creating valuable carbon allotropes used to reshape next-generation energy devices, while removing carbon from the atmosphere. The objectives of this thesis are to determine if the digestate can be a suitable fertilizer as is. Based on N:P:K ratio, the digestate may not be as useful as a fertilizer. The second objective is to use the digestate as a suitable feedstock for pyrolysis in the search of high value nanocarbons. Although, the digestate was successful in being a feedstock, it did not provide insight to high value nanocarbons. Lastly, the solid product from pyrolysis (coke) was exfoliated to retrieve the advanced carbons using electrochemical exfoliation and sonication.