Experimental study on the washing characteristics of fly ash from municipal solid waste incineration

The disposal of fly ash with high salt content has become an important bottleneck for the further application of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI). In this study, the soluble salt content and composition of fly ash from different MSWI were analysed. The composition of fly ash was affected by incinerator type and flue gas cleaning system, especially the type of deacidification solvent. The soluble salt content in fly ash from MSW grate incinerator can be over 35.16%. Most of the soluble salt was calcium salt and chloride salt. The effect of washing parameters including liquid/solid (L/S) ratio and washing time on salt removal from fly ash were studied. Raw fly ash contained high chlorine (Cl) with the maximum of 19.83% and it can be significantly reduced by washing. Double-washing and secondary-washing had better performance than single-washing on salt removal. The secondary-washing did not only save water, but also reduced the energy cost during evaporation for crystallising soluble salt. Based on the analysis of variance (ANOVA), L/S ratio was the most principal factor for salt and Cl removal of fly ash by washing.

Survey on salt content in selected food products of fast food restaurants and determination of salt intake awareness among fast food consumers in Klang Valley

Introduction: Malaysians are exposed to a high salt diet, which is one of the contributors to the prevalence of hypertension among them. This study aimed to identify the salt content in selected food products of fast food restaurants and to determine the salt intake awareness among fast food consumers. Methods: Salt content data were collected through online survey from the official websites of selected restaurants (Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonald’s, Subway® and Texas Chicken). The food products were classified into eight food categories (chickenbased, potato-based, rice-based, sandwich, salad, bread, dessert, and sauce). The cross-sectional study on salt intake awareness was conducted among 108 Malaysian adults from these restaurants. A knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) questionnaire was disseminated online. The salt content and the consumers’ salt intake awareness were analysed using Statistical Products and Service Solution (SPSS) software version 25.0. Results: A total of 105 food products were surveyed in this study. Sauce products contained the highest salt content (1.9±0.8 g/100g), followed by bread (1.2±0.3 g/100g), potato-based (1.2±0.4 g/100g), chicken-based (1.2±0.3 g/100g), sandwich (1.1±0.6 g/100g), rice-based (0.7±0.3 g/100g), salad (0.4±0.2 g/100g), and dessert (0.3±0.4 g/100g). For the KAP study, a total of 108 consumers had participated and mostly (48.2%) had a fair level of salt intake awareness. Conclusion: Most food products of fast food restaurants contained high salt content and majority of fast food consumers had a fair level of salt intake awareness. More strategic interventions are needed to control the salt intake among adults in Malaysia

Analysis of the physical properties, composition and structure of soot particles

A soot particle consisting of crystallites representing several parallel layers of densely packed hexagons with carbon atoms located at the vertices is considered. Such a crystallite structure is similar to a graphite crystal lattice, but less ordered with large distances between the layers, where individual layers can be arbitrarily rotated relative to each other and relative to their common normal. It is shown that the core of a particle with a high salt content of exhaust gases (EG) of a diesel internal combustion engine (DICE) is discharged more, which allows us to distinguish models of the structure of a spherical nanoscale particle.

Designing capacitive deionization module for water treatment systems at car washers

It is impossible to effectively use water with a high salt content at car washes. In many places, access to water with a high salt content is almost unlimited but its utilization requires deionization. For this purpose, several methods are used, the main of which are reverse osmosis, electrodialysis, ion exchange methods, and distillation. However, they have significant drawbacks. Recently, the technology of capacitive deionization of water has been widely used, based on the removal of salt ions from the solution during the charge/discharge of "double" electric layers of carbon materials with a significant active surface (800‒2,000 m2/g). Theoretically, this process should be more energy efficient by using a low potential voltage (1–2 V). This paper considers the interrelation of physical parameters that affect the process of capacitive deionization of water. The dependences of voltage drop on serial internal resistance on different concentrations of sodium chloride and the distance between electrodes for electrodes based on the material SAUT-1S (Belarus) have been investigated. It is shown that the main contribution to the sequential internal resistance is introduced by the resistance of the electrolyte. As the distance between the electrodes increases, the voltage drop on the serial internal resistance increases linearly. A decrease in the concentration of ions leads to a decrease in the conductivity of the solution, which causes an increase in energy consumption and a decrease in the efficiency of sorption. It has been demonstrated that the voltage drop at the serial internal resistance when the voltage on the electrodes is limited, which is set in order to avoid the transition of the electrode charging mode to the electrolysis of water, causes a significant drop in the efficiency of the capacitive deionization process

Stress survival islets contribute to clonal and serotype-specific differences in L. monocytogenes

Listeria monocytogenes is an important opportunistic foodborne pathogen causing listeriosis, an often fatal infection leading to meningitis, sepsis, or infection of the fetus and abortion in susceptible individuals. Diverse ready-to-eat food (RTE) like dairy, meat, fish, vegetables, and complex foods are often linked with listeriosis outbreaks. L. monocytogenes is capable of surviving in stressful environmental conditions and grow in refrigerated foods. Regarding stress-related genes, SSI-1 contributes to the survival of cells under suboptimal conditions, such as high salt content and acidic environment. At the same time, SSI-2 is responsible for persistence under alkaline and oxidative stresses.

El queso tradicional ranchero Jarocho: un estudio multidisciplinario aplicando un enfoque de la tipicidad

The objective was to integrate the information of the local milk production system, physicochemical and microbiological characteristics of the milk; elaboration process, and physicochemical, microbiological, and sensory characteristics of cheese to establish its typicity. The manufacturing of the cheese in most of the dairies studied has registered the operation of three generations of families. Variability in their chemical composition, microbiological, colour, texture and sensory was related with time and number of turns during the pressing, amount of added salt and vegetal fat. Cheeses with less pressing time had higher moisture content and less protein and fat content. The bacterial counts were related to milk quality tests, training courses and material of containers. These factors also affected the hardness of the cheese. Those with added vegetable fat and with high salt content had the highest hardness. The Hue angle (h°) of the cheeses indicated a tonality close to yellow (90°). Difference in chromaticity (C*) can be related to the use of vegetable fat. Cheeses with higher moisture content were brighter (L*) and had less color saturation. The sensory evaluation showed that the most typical cheeses were perceived in the attributes as salty, milk aroma, and serum and milking smell. Applying sanitation measures of milk collection, good cheese manufacturing practices and avoiding the addition of vegetable fat, it could be possibly getting a legal-commercial protection of the ranchero Jarocho cheese.

Resource-saving Technologies and Some Proposals for the Creation of Automated Reclamation Systems

The results of experimental studies of the local subsurface irrigation method in comparison with drip irrigation carried out in the laboratory, which showed water savings due to a decrease in evaporation from the soil surface by 10–15 percent are presented. The method of irrigation in closed greenhouse farms using water with a high salt content is described. The paper proposes new patented schematic solutions for protecting plants from frost and pests, describes a multifunctional engineering and reclamation system capable of performing various operations depending on the emerging problems during the growing season.