Differences in chemical composition and physical properties imprinted by industrial storage on sugarcane bagasse result in its efficient enzymatic hydrolysis

Sugarcane bagasse (SCB) is a promising feedstock for second-generation ethanol production. Bioconversion of lignocellulose into fermentable sugars involve several technological steps, with biomass pretreatment being among the most expensive ones....

Changes in the technological properties of sugar beet root crops during industrial storage in ventilated piles

When storing sugar beets in natural conditions, transformations of the chemical composition occur in it, leading to the accumulation of non-sugars, which reduces the processing efficiency and sugar yield. The use of the technology of forced ventilation of the air environment of the kagats is aimed at reducing the negative impact of the ongoing processes. This study presents the results of changes in the technological properties of sugar beets during industrial storage of two types: in a ventilated rack, in a rack without ventilation. It was shown that forced ventilation of the air in the stagger led to slower development of diseases of root crops with stag rot, the processes proceeded 2 times slower. Changes in the chemical composition of sugar beets after 45 and 60 days of storage are shown. When sugar beets were stored in a ventilated stagger for 60 days, the daily decrease in sugar content was 1.6 times lower than when stored in a staggered rack without ventilation; the increase in the content of reducing substances is 3.5 times lower, α-amino nitrogen, potassium, sodium - on average 1.2 times lower. The calculated sugar yield for the storage conditions of sugar beets in a ventilated trough was 1.1 times higher than when stored in a trough without ventilation. It has been established that the creation of more favorable conditions for the air environment of the sugar beet pile through forced ventilation reduces the intensity of natural biochemical and microbiological processes in root crops, extends the shelf life of their technological properties, and ensures the economic efficiency of sugar production.

High strain rate and low temperature effects on the compressive behaviour of concrete

Temperature and strain rate are important factors when considering the mechanical properties of engineering materials, as they can greatly influence the material behaviour. The research presented here is an experimental investigation to determine the effects of low temperatures and high strain rates on the compressive behaviour of concrete. The primary purpose of the research is the development of experimental stress–strain relationships under these conditions, as this is a largely unexplored research topic. Thirty-five 101.6 mm × 203.2 mm concrete cylinders were tested in uniaxial compression at the University of New Brunswick. The specimens were loaded either under static conditions or dynamically with an average strain rate of approximately 1 s−1, while being exposed to temperatures from 20°C to −70°C to simulate extreme climatic temperature and those attainable within industrial storage facilities. The compression strain of the specimens was obtained using digital image correlation. The mechanical properties studied were the compressive strength, strain associated with the peak stress and general stress–strain behaviour due to the increased strain rate and temperature variations.

Analysis of solar radiation heat transfer of architectural fabric membrane material

In recent years, the application of membrane structures in industrial storage buildings has been widely praised due to its light weight, high transparency, self-cleaning, and other advantages. The textile membranes consist of polyester fiber substrate and polyvinyl chloride or polyvinylidene fluoride flame-retardant coatings. It occupies the main market of architectural membrane materials in China. However, the fabric membrane material has high heat transfer coefficient, poor thermal insulation, and high light transmittance performance, being affected significantly by solar radiation intensity. These thermal optical properties are lead to a poor indoor thermal environment of industrial storage buildings. This article aims to overcome the difficulties in analyzing the fabric membrane materials solar radiation heat transfer. The complexity of heat transfer is mainly caused by the hourly solar radiation and the curved roofing of fabric membrane structure industrial storage building. Therefore, a solar radiation heat transfer model was established using MATLAB program. In this article, the different directions hourly heat gained of an actual membrane structures storage building located at Wuhan in China was calculated. The calculation results of solar radiation heat gained between the grid generation method with MATLAB and the projection method were compared. This study may provide a reference for analyze the solar radiation heat transfer and design of the practical fabric membrane structures building application.

Heat distribution under microwave heating treatment

This paper presents the process of microwave heating treatment to kill the rice weevil to improve the quality and quantity of rice for industrial storage purpose. Since many years ago, heat uniformity has been a major drawback of microwave heating application. The heat distribution in rice after undergoing four treatments with a microwave frequency of 2.4 GHz at the different power level of 540 and 900W with different time treatment of 50 and 80 seconds are shown in this paper. The samples are placed inside a square container, 8.5 cm x 8.5 cm x 2 cm. Each sample contains 15 adults of rice weevil of Sitophilus Oryzae placed randomly in the container and the mortality of the rice weevil for adult stages from each treatment are observed and interpreted in Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) technique.