DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF SOIL IMPURITIES REMOVING APPARATUS FOR POTATO

Aiming at the problem that contain more soil impurities of potato post-harvest, which affects subsequent deep processing, an apparatus for removing soil impurities from potato was developed. The whole structure is mainly composed of frame, feeding port, flexible rubber finger conveying mechanism, slender filament rotary brushing mechanism, discharging port and the like. The research and analysis determined that the main parameters influencing the soil impurities removal performance were the movement speed of conveying mechanism, the movement speed of brushing mechanism and the clearance between conveying mechanism and brushing mechanism (hereinafter referred to as the mechanism clearance). Taking the main influencing parameters as test factors, and the soil impurities removal rate and potato damage rate as indexes, the orthogonal test with three factors and three levels was carried out. The optimal parameter combination was obtained as follows: the movement speed of conveying mechanism was 0.35m/s, the movement speed of brushing mechanism was 0.40m/s, and the mechanism clearance was 55mm. At this time, the average soil impurities removal rate was 87.18%, and the potato average damage rate was 1.95%, which met the requirements of potato cleaning operation.

Enhanced Stability of Detergent-Free Human Native STEAP1 Protein from Neoplastic Prostate Cancer Cells upon an Innovative Isolation Procedure

Background: The STEAP1 is a cell-surface antigen over-expressed in prostate cancer, which contributes to tumor progression and aggressiveness. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying STEAP1 and its structural determinants remain elusive. Methods: The fraction capacity of Butyl- and Octyl-Sepharose matrices on LNCaP lysates was evaluated by manipulating the ionic strength of binding and elution phases, followed by a Co-Immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) polishing. Several potential stabilizing additives were assessed, and the melting temperature (Tm) values ranked the best/worst compounds. The secondary structure of STEAP1 was identified by circular dichroism. Results: The STEAP1 was not fully captured with 1.375 M (Butyl), in contrast with interfering heterologous proteins, which were strongly retained and mostly eluted with water. This single step demonstrated higher selectivity of Butyl-Sepharose for host impurities removal from injected crude samples. Co-IP allowed recovering a purified fraction of STEAP1 and contributed to unveil potential physiologically interacting counterparts with the target. A Tm of ~55 °C was determined, confirming STEAP1 stability in the purification buffer. A predominant α-helical structure was identified, ensuring the protein’s structural stability. Conclusions: A method for successfully isolating human STEAP1 from LNCaP cells was provided, avoiding the use of detergents to achieve stability, even outside a membrane-mimicking environment.

Effect of partially reduced highly fluxed DRI pellets on impurities removal during steelmaking using a laboratory scale EAF

The present work represents a comparative study on the impurities removal from pig iron melt by addition of partially reduced highly fluxed direct reduced iron (DRI) to make steel in a 2 kg capacity electric arc furnace (EAF). Three types of fluxed DRI (30, 50, 80% Reduction (%R) with similar basicity-8) were used to maintain different level of oxidizing potential on the bath for studying the kinetic behaviour of impurities removal from melt. Results showed that the rate of removal of impurities (i.e. C, Si, Mn, P, S etc.) was increased initially up to 5 minutes of reaction time then decreased afterwards. Phosphorus (~64%), sulfur (~16%) and carbon (~94%) were removed simultaneously up to 25 minutes of reaction time using 30%R fluxed DRI. Similarly, phosphorus (~33%), sulfur (~50%) and carbon (~62%) were removed simultaneously using 50%R fluxed DRI while highly reduced (80%R) flux DRI removed sulfur (~58%), carbon (~56%) with a small fraction of phosphorus (~18%) from pig iron. It was observed in all the cases that silicon (>99%) and manganese (>80%) were removed. From the present study, it can be concluded that ~30%R DRI is favorable for effective phosphorus removal whereas ~80%R is favorable for sulfur removal. The significant removal of impurities could be achieved by charging ~50%R fluxed DRI in the pig iron melt.

Modeling of Washing Effectiveness in a High-Pressure Washing Device Obtained for Crushed-Stone and Gravel Aggregates

This article concerns research on washing effectiveness of a high-pressure washing device. Three types of investigations were carried out: Laboratory tests on washing of crushed-stone and gravel aggregate, as well as pilot-scale tests on crushed-stone aggregate. Laboratory tests were conducted for four changeable parameters and pilot-scale investigations for three parameters. All tests were performed based on factorial experiment procedure. For each type of material there was built a model based on multiple regression method. Results of investigations showed that operating pressure in the washer has the highest effect on obtained washing effectiveness, measured as a degree of dust impurities’ removal from feed. The second parameter with the highest impact on washing process effectiveness was the maximum particle of feed, and its relationship to the obtained washing effectiveness appeared inversely proportional. For the crushed-stone aggregate the susceptibility of washing also appeared significant in models.

Using biochemical agents to intensify the treatment of highly concentrated drilling wastewater

Introduction. The co-authors have developed a new approach to the treatment of highly concentrated drilling wastewater (DWW). The approach is based on the enzymic degradation of polysaccharides that drilling wastewater contains. The research objective is to perform an experimental evaluation of the ability of this biochemical agent to intensify the process of removal of solid impurities from highly concentrated polysaccharide-containing DWW. Materials and methods. The research was performed using standardized test solutions of polysaccharides (carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), xanthane gum, guar gum), highly concentrated DWW-containing polysaccharides. The reliability of results is ensured by certified methods of analysis, included into the Federal Register of Measurement Procedures and performed by an accredited laboratory, as well as multiple series of experiments. Results. The ability of the biochemical agents (brewing waste (BW) and an enzymatic agent (EP)) to intensify the process of removal of solid impurities from highly concentrated DWW-containing polysaccharides is identified experimentally. The efficiency of biochemical agents used in the process of treatment is determined. The biological degradation of CMC and guar gum solutions is faster than the natural biological degradation that involves BW. Depolymerization time is detected for CMC and guar gum solutions that contain EP. Conclusions. The co-authors have developed a cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternative to existing solutions. It represents a biological method of solid impurities removal from highly concentrated BWW-containing polysaccharides. The use of brewing waste products (BW) as a source of microorganisms, that trigger the polysaccharide hydrolysis, is theoretically substantiated and experimentally proven as a method of treatment of highly concentrated BWW-containing polysaccharides. The expediency of using biochemical agents (BW and EP in isolation) to accelerate the settling rate of solid components of highly concentrated BWW is proven experimentally.