Thermal Characterization of a New Bio-Based Insulation Material Containing Puffed Rice

Although many advanced insulation materials have been recently developed, very few are eco-friendly and their production requires a substantial amount of energy and complex manufacturing processes. To address this issue, a bio-based thermal insulation material was developed using short- and long-grained puffed rice. A set of experiments was subsequently carried out to identify the best rice type and the optimal range for the most influential parameters (sample amount, temperature, and moisture level). Our findings revealed that short-grained rice exhibited greater puffing ability and was thus adopted in further material optimization experiments. These assessments indicated that the most optimal thermal conductivity of the insulation material and the highest puffing ratio was attained at 12–15% moisture, 260–270 °C temperature, and 15–18 g sample weight. The thermal properties, including thermal conductivity and fire reaction, and thermal performance of samples obtained using these parameters were similar to those of common insulation materials.

Identification of frequently consumed commercially prepared ready-to-eat foods and beverages in Bangladesh

Ready-to-eat processed foods and beverages are eaten without further cooking or processing. These are generally energy-dense and contain a high amount of saturated fat, sodium, and added sugar. The consumption pattern of these foods varies regionally, seasonally, and agewise. The present study aims to identify commercially prepared ready-to-eat processed foods and beverages frequently consumed by different age groups in rural and urban areas of Bangladesh during the month of Ramadan and the non-Ramadan period. In this cross-sectional study, 948 individuals from 480 households in all eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh were interviewed during the month of Ramadan and the Non- Ramadan period. We identified puffed rice, peyaju, chanachur, chips, unbranded ice cream to be the overall highly consumed foods, consumed by 46.3, 40.1, 39.6 38.0, and 33.1 percent respondents, respectively. Consumption of foods other than puffed rice was significantly different across the age groups (p<0.05). A significantly higher number of respondents consumed puffed rice, deep-fried foods (peyaju, beguni, jilapi), and branded ice cream during Ramadan as compared to the non-Ramadan period (p<0.05). It was also found that the overall consumption rate of packaged items was higher among the urban population as compared to the respondent living in rural areas. When the foods were scored according to their consumption rate stratified by age, fasting, and regions, puffed rice, chips, chanachur, unbranded ice cream, peyaju were found to be top foods. Considering frequent intake of processed foods their nutrient composition should be analyzed to know their healthiness. Bioresearch Commu. 7(2): 1019-1030, 2021 (June)

Effects of soy flour types and extrusion-cooking conditions on physicochemical, microstructural and sensory characteristics of puffed rice snack base

The physicochemical properties of puffed rice snack base (PRSB) prepared via extrusion cooking under various feed moisture contents and screw speeds were investigated. The moisture content, screw speed, and soy flour type significantly (p < 0.05) affected the physicochemical properties of PRSB viz; size, density, porosity, color, breaking strength, crystallinity, water absorption index (WAI) and water solubility index (WSI). While, a slight effect on pasting properties was observed between PRSB added with defatted and full-fat soy flour, respectively. Soy flour lipids significantly (p < 0.05) influenced extrusion cooking conditions especially at high screw speed and feed moisture content. The result revealed that extrusion cooking with addition of full-fatty soy flour can be exploited as a viable method to produce PRS with a high expansion ratio and low breaking strength at recommended extrusion conditions of feed moisture content of 19 % and screw speed of 300 rpm.

3 (2) Factorial Design Assisted Crushed Puffed Rice-HPMC-Chitosan based Hydrodynamically Balanced System of Metoprolol Succinate

Introduction: Hydrodynamically balanced system (HBS) possesses prolonged and continuous delivery of the drug to the gastrointestinal tract which improves the rate and extent of medications that have a narrow absorption window. The objective of this work was to develop a Hydrodynamically Balanced System (HBS) of Metoprolol Succinate (MS) as a model drug for sustained stomach specific delivery. Materials and Methods: Experimental batches were designed according to 3(2) Taguchi factorial design. A total of 9 batches were prepared for batch size 100 capsules each. Formulations were prepared by physically blending MS with polymers followed by encapsulation into hard gelatin capsule shell of size 0. Polymers used were Low Molecular Weight Chitosan (LMWCH), Crushed Puffed Rice (CPR), and Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose K15 M (HPMC K15M). Two factors used were buoyancy time (Y1) and time taken for 60% drug release (T60%; Y2). Results: The drug excipient interaction studies were performed by the thermal analysis method which depicts that no drug excipient interaction occurs. In vitro buoyancy studies and drug release studies revealed the efficacy of HBS to remain gastro retentive for a prolonged period and concurrently sustained the release of MS in highly acidic medium. All formulations followed zero-order kinetics. Conclusion: Developed HBS of MS with hydrogel-forming polymers could be an ideal delivery system for sustained stomach specific delivery and would be useful for the cardiac patients where the prolonged therapeutic action is required.

Puffed Rice Inspired Porous Carbon Co-MOFs Derived Composite Electrode for Lithium Ion Batteries

Carbon matrix metal organic frameworks (MOFs) hybrid is often used as electrode materials for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). Herein, we report three dimensional (3D) puffed rice inspired porous carbon (3DPRC) supported Co-MOFs derived composite by facile method. Co/C nanoparticles are uniformly dispersed on porous carbon sheets surface, forming unique 3D structures. As anode of LIBs, the prepared Co/C-3DPRC electrode shows excellent electrochemical properties when compared with the pristine Co/C electrode. With capacity of 430 mAh g−1 at 1C and 300 mAh g−1 at 10C is obtained in the composite electrode, respectively. The excellent properties can attribute to the Co/C-3DPRC interconnected porous framework with a high electrical conductivity and large surface area. Our developed design strategies can be extended for fabrication of other heteroatom doped carbon matrix hybrid for environmental energy fields.