Granular fertilizer caking: A research on the performance evaluation of coating agents

Caking formation in fertilizer products during handling and storage is a frequently encountered problem. Caked fertilizers become together as lumps, lose their free- flowing properties, and create inefficient applications. Several parameters such as relative humidity and temperature of the environment, pressure by pile height, and physicochemical properties of fertilizer product such as moisture content, presence of fines and chemical composition, etc. cause or accelerate caking mechanism. Internal or external anticaking products have been proved to be effective in preventing the caking of fertilizer particles. Liquid or wax anticaking agents are applied externally as coatings on the fertilizer surface. This study focuses on the performance evaluation of commercially available liquid- wax anticaking agents coated on NP 20-20-0 fertilizer, classified as three main groups: petroleum-derived, alkyl amine-fatty acid containing mixtures and bio- based composition. Caking performance of coating products are evaluated via small-bag storage test in 4 sets, according to the results, petroleum derived and alkyl amine- fatty acid containing anticaking products show similar performance, whereas bio-based products’ performance is moderate. This study focuses on a practical approach that will help fertilizer industry about which type of coating product will be effective on the anticaking properties of nitrogenous fertilizers and gives brief results of the effect of commercially available products with various ranges of chemical composition on the caking process.

Design of Shock Wave Storage and Test System with Variable Parameters Based on the Sensor of Piezoelectric Circuit

With the wide application of science and technology in the field of weapons, shock wave is an important breakthrough point in weapon research, and the storage and testing system of shock wave is a breakthrough point that people pay most attention to at present. Shock wave data storage has the characteristics of large scale, complex structure, low cost efficiency, and strong timeliness. This paper mainly studies the design of shock wave storage test system with variable parameters based on numerical piezoelectric circuit sensor. Based on fluid dynamics simulation theory and numerical simulation method, the normal and concave-convex three-dimensional models of two pressure measuring devices are constructed by using the flow waveform of calculator, and then, the network is divided. The results show that, under the same inlet pressure, the larger the bulge or depression value, the greater the influence on the experimental results. The influence of disk is 10% higher than that of pen, and the change rate of relative difference is increased by 1.5% with the increase of concave-convex value. Finally, experiments are carried out in different environments to verify the reliability, survivability, and flexibility. The shock wave storage test system is optimized when the parameters of the digital voltage circuit sensor are variable.

Blending of Sunflower Oil with Pomegranate Seed Oil from Blanched Seeds: Impact on Functionality, Oxidative Stability, and Antioxidant Properties

Seed oil blending is a novel approach that may enhance the oil antioxidant capacity. The study evaluated the effect of blending sunflower oil (SO) with pomegranate seed oil (BPSO) from blanched seeds (95 °C/ 3 min) on oxidative stability and antioxidant properties of the oil blends. SO and pomegranate seed oil from unblanched seeds (PSO) were used as controls. Blending SO with BPSO and PSO was assessed in the following respective proportions: 90:10, 85:15, and 80:20 (w/w) with respect to total phenolic content, total carotenoids content, tocopherols content, and fatty acid composition to establish the best blending ratio. An accelerated storage test was conducted using the best blending ratio (85:15) at 60 ± 2 °C for 20 days. The evolution of peroxide value, ρ-anisidine value and, total oxidation value, together with the depletion of the oils’ 2.2-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) and 2.2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) and radicals scavenging capacity were evaluated. Volatile oxidation compounds (VOCs) were assessed at the end of the accelerated storage test. Blended oils exhibited better oxidative stability than SO. Nevertheless, the oxidative stability of SO:PSO and SO:BPSO blends did not significantly vary. Additionally, blended oils showed a lower rate of DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging capacity depletion than SO, although this did not significantly vary between the oil blends. The concentration of VOCs was significantly higher in SO than blended oils. No significant difference in the content of VOCs was observed between SO:PSO and SO:BPSO blends. The findings of this study are valuable to the food industry, which is presently interested in nonconventional oils and functional foods to improve health and human nutrition.

Stability studies of mefenamic acid Self-Nanoemulsifying Drug Delivery System (SNEEDS) preparation with oleic acid as the oil phase

Background: Mefenamic acid is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) with low solubility in water. Self-Nanoemulsifying Drug Delivery Systems (SNEDDS) play a role to improve the solubility and bioavailability of mefenamic acid. Objective: This study aimed to determine the stability of mefenamic acid in SNEDDS formulation through various stability studies. Methods: The stability studies conducted consisted of centrifugation test, heating-cooling cycle test, freezethaw cycle test, robustness to dilution, accelerated storage test, and determination of drug content. Results: The centrifugation test, heating-cooling cycle test, and freeze-thaw cycle test showed no phase separation in the samples. The robustness to dilution and accelerated storage test resulted in 2 formulas of mefenamic acid loaded SNEDDS having good stability with 10% oleic acid, 80% tween 80, 10% PEG 400 and 10% oleic acid, 70% tween 80, 20% PEG 400. The determination of drug content in both of these formulations showed 98.20 ± 0.04% and 90.98 ± 0.06%. Conclusion: The SNEDDS formulation of mefenamic acid in this study had good stability. Keywords: SNEDDS, mefenamic acid, stability study, oleic acid