Large scale industry mill: effect of extraction rate of flour on the dough rheological properties

Consumption of whole wheat flour is increasing worldwide because of its nutritional value. However, the flour rheological properties are affected by a high extraction rate (ER), that have been mentioned for many studies done on a laboratory scale. In the present study, a high ER flour produced by using a large-scale industrial mill was used to determine the effect of high ER on the dough rheological properties. The three studied extraction rates (80%, 85%, and 92%) were achieved by changing the roll adjustments and adding fine bran. The rheological properties (farinogram, extensiogram, and amylogram parameters) of the produced flour were determined in addition to some chemical and physical attributes. The result showed that there were no significant differences between farinogram parameters except for water absorption, which was increased with increasing ER. Also, there were no significant differences for extensiogram parameters and amylogram parameters, as well as for wet gluten and gluten index, protein, and moisture content. Conversely, for ash content, there were significant differences between the three flours. For PSD, there were no significant differences between produced flour related to the large particle size (above 720 and 354 µm). In conclusion, increasing ER of produced flour up to 92% with adding fine particle size bran had no significant effect on the rheological properties of the produced flour compared to 80% ER.

Selective Complex Precipitation for Ferro-Chrome Separation From Electroplating Sludge Leaching Solution

In this paper, aiming at the problem of chrome-iron separation in electroplating sludge, the separation of ferrochrome by complexation and precipitation with benzoic acid as complexing agent is achieved. The optimal conditions consisted of a 1: 3 molar ratio of Fe3+: C6H5COOH, a reaction temperature of 30°C, a final pH of 2.5 and a reaction time of 2 min. The separation rate of the iron was 97.38% and the rate of loss of chromium was only 3.59%. The ferrochromium separation products were analyzed by XRD, fluorescence spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy and H NMR Spectroscopy in order to study the mechanism of precipitation. The results showed that benzoic acid preferentially forms a complex with iron and iron benzoate precipitates with an increase pH. The iron benzoate crystals have a fine particle size, settle rapidly and are easy to filter. The separation of Cr 3+/Fe3+ was successful using our methodology.

Effects of carbon nano-additives on characteristics of TiC ceramics prepared by field-assisted sintering

Five carbonaceous nano-additives (graphite, graphene, carbon black, carbon nanotubes, and diamond) had different impacts on the sinterability, microstructural evolution, and properties of titanium carbide. In this research, the sintering by spark plasma was employed to produce the monolithic TiC and carbon-doped ceramics under the sintering parameters of 1900 ºC, 10 min, 40 MPa. The carbon black additive had the best performance in densifying the TiC, thanks to its fine particle size, as well as its high chemical reactivity with TiO2 surface oxide. By contrast, the incorporation of nano-diamonds resulted in a considerable decline in the relative density of TiC owing to the graphitization phenomenon, together with the gas production at high temperatures. Although carbon precipitation from the TiC matrix occurred in all samples, some of the added carbonaceous phases promoted this phenomenon, while the others hindered it to some extent. Amongst the introduced additives, carbon black had the most contribution to grain refining, so that a roughly halved average grain size was attained in comparison with the undoped specimen. The highest values of hardness (3233 HV0.1 kg), thermal conductivity (25.1 W/mK), and flexural strength (658 MPa) secured for the ceramic incorporated by 5 wt% nano carbon black.

Using Landscape Evolution Models to assess the long-term erosional stability of tailings dams

<p>Tailings are a by product of mining and the processing of minerals. Tailings are generally highly erodible as they have a fine particle size. They can also contain elevated concentrations of unwanted minerals and process chemicals. Consequently, if released to the environment they can be a significant environmental problem. There have been several high profile cases which have highlighted the human and environmental risk of tailings. A common way to manage tailings is to store them in ‘tailings dams’ where they will remain in perpetuity. There has been little investigation of the long-term erosional behaviour of a tailings dams. Computer based Landscape Evolution Models (LEMs) can provide insight into these new geomorphological entities. LEMS provide information on erosion rates, type of erosion and where erosion is likely to occur and can provide guidance on long-term behaviour. Here a LEM is used to assess tailings dam designs using a range of different surface covers and climates. The modelling and methods here provide a template for tailings dam assessment at other sites globally. The methods here will improve tailings dam design and reduce environmental risk.</p>

Study on a Three-Step Rapid Assembly of Zolpidem and Its Fluorinated Analogues Employing Microwave-Assisted Chemistry

We developed an efficient microwave-assisted three-step synthesis of zolpidem and its fluorinated analogues 1–3. The procedure relays on the utilization of easily accessible and inexpensive starting materials. Our protocol shows superior performance in terms of yield and purity of products, compared to conventional heating systems. Notably, the total time needed for reaction accomplishment is significantly lower comparing to oil bath heating systems. Finally, we have performed a detailed study on the preparation of zolpidem tartrate salt I, and we assessed its particle-sizes using a polarizing microscope. Our goal was to select the appropriate method that generates the acceptable particle-size, since the solid-size directly influences solubility in biological fluids and further bioavailability. We believe that the disclosed procedure will help to produce a lab-scale quantity of zolpidem and its fluorinated derivatives 1–3, as well as zolpidem tartrate salt I, with suitable fine-particle size for further biological experimentation.

One-, Two-, and Three-Dimensional Self-Assembly of Atomically Precise Metal Nanoclusters

Metal nanoclusters (NCs), which consist of several, to about one hundred, metal atoms, have attracted much attention as functional nanomaterials for use in nanotechnology. Because of their fine particle size, metal NCs exhibit physical/chemical properties and functions different from those of the corresponding bulk metal. In recent years, many techniques to precisely synthesize metal NCs have been developed. However, to apply these metal NCs in devices and as next-generation materials, it is necessary to assemble metal NCs to a size that is easy to handle. Recently, multiple techniques have been developed to form one-, two-, and three-dimensional connected structures (CSs) of metal NCs through self-assembly. Further progress of these techniques will promote the development of nanomaterials that take advantage of the characteristics of metal NCs. This review summarizes previous research on the CSs of metal NCs. We hope that this review will allow readers to obtain a general understanding of the formation and functions of CSs and that the obtained knowledge will help to establish clear design guidelines for fabricating new CSs with desired functions in the future.

Methods for the analysis of asbestos in incoherent soils

<p>Soils contaminated with asbestos, whether of natural origin or deriving from anthropogenic pollution, can have very different dimensional, chemical and humidity characteristics.</p><p>The legal limit that allows to define an asbestos contaminated soil is a concentration of 1000 mg / kg of asbestos fibers, as per DLGS 152/2006. The analytical methods suggested in Italy by regulation (DM 6/09/94) for the determination of asbestos content are Diffrattometry (XRD) and  Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), methods that do not allow to distinguish the fibrous material and secondly Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The Phase Contrast Optical Microscopy (PCOM) is considered a methodology only useful for a qualitative analysis for it low rilevability index (0,1 mm in respect of   for SEM and    for XRD and FTIR).</p><p>The goal of this study is to describe the cheap and quick soil analysis methodology used in the Asbestos laboratory of DIATI Politecnico di Torino where also the representativeness of the analysed quantity of material is considered.</p><p>When the sample is an incoherent soil, sieving (at 0.6 - 0.3 – 0.150-0.075 mm) after drying is carried out. The asbestos fibers eventually present in the classes >0.6 mm and 0.6-0.3 mm, that are visible with a low magnification (5-10 x), can be recovered by flotation and weighted after drying. The quantitative analysis of the classes 0.3-0.075 is perfomed by means of PCOM, measuring the dimensions of the fibers, hipotyzing the third dimension equal to the width and calculating the weight knowing the density of the asbestos fiber observed.  .The presence of asbestos in the finer particle size class can be verified by SEM, but is the asbestos content in the other particle size classes is high the value obtained for the finer class is generally found to be irrelevant to the final result.If the initial sample has a very fine particle size, it is homogenized by grinding and is prepared for reading under the SEM by depositing a known quantity on a polycarbonate membrane. The results thus obtained are referred to the analysis of at least 100 g of material.</p><p>The reliability of the technique has been verified by participating in interlaboratory circuits.</p><p> </p>