Comparative Analysis of Statistical Thickness Models for the Determination of the External Specific Surface and the Surface of the Micropores of Materials: The Case of a Clay Concrete Stabilized Using Sugar Cane Molasses

In this work, four empirical models of statistical thickness, namely the models of Harkins and Jura, Hasley, Carbon Black and Jaroniec, were compared in order to determine the textural properties (external surface and surface of micropores) of a clay concrete without molasses and clay concretes stabilized with 8%, 12% and 16% molasses. The results obtained show that Hasley’s model can be used to obtain the external surfaces. However, it does not allow the surface of the micropores to be obtained, and is not suitable for the case of simple clay concrete (without molasses) and for clay concretes stabilized with molasses. The Carbon Black, Jaroniec and Harkins and Jura models can be used for clay concrete and stabilized clay concrete. However, the Carbon Black model is the most relevant for clay concrete and the Harkins and Jura model is for molasses-stabilized clay concrete. These last two models augur well for future research.

Composite Panels from the Combination of Rice Husk and Wood Chips with a Natural Resin Based on Tannins Reinforced with Sugar Cane Molasses Intended for Building Insulation: Physico-Mechanical and Thermal Properties

The objective of this work is to develop new biosourced insulating composites from rice husks and wood chips that can be used in the building sector. It appears from the properties of the precursors that rice chips and husks are materials which can have good thermal conductivity and therefore the combination of these precursors could make it possible to obtain panels with good insulating properties. With regard to environmental and climatic constraints, the composite panels formulated at various rates were tested and the physico-mechanical and thermal properties showed that it was essential to add a crosslinker in order to increase certain solicitation. an incorporation rate of 12% to 30% made it possible to obtain panels with low thermal conductivity, a low surface water absorption capacity and which gives the composite good thermal insulation and will find many applications in the construction and real estate sector. Finally, new solutions to improve the fire reaction of the insulation panels are tested which allows to identify suitable solutions for the developed composites. In view of the flame tests, the panels obtained are good and can effectively combat fire safety in public buildings.

Viscosity reduction of tapioca starch by incorporating with molasses hydrocolloids

As a low cost non-staple food resource,the high-viscosity paste and poor gel-forming ability of tapioca starch limit its industrial application.Herein,molasses hydrocolloids that is a by-product of the sugar refining process was applied as a blending modifier to reduce the viscosity of tapioca starch paste.The test results of paste and rheological properties show that molasses hydrocolloids exhibited a good physical viscosity-reducing effect on tapioca starch paste.The irregular network structure and high K^(+)/Ca^(2+)ion contents of molasses hydrocolloids exerted wrapping,adhesion,barrier,and hydration effects on starch,leading to the reduction of viscosity.The scanning electron microscope images and textural analysis demonstrated that this strategy also improve the structure of tapioca starch gel and enhanced its puncture strength by 75.46%.This work shows the great potential of molasses hydrocolloids as a lowcost and desirable material for the viscosity reduction of tapioca starch.

Thermo-Mechanical Properties Study of Stabilized Soil Bricks to Sugar Cane Molasses and Cassava Starch Binders

The current study deals Swith thermo-mechanical properties of stabilized soil small bricks with the help of organic binders of sugar cane molasses and cassava starch. Different formulations of soil concrete have been suggested after the geotechnical characterization of samples of soil was taken. From these, it arises that the studied soil is the most plastically clay (of type A3) according to GTR classification. Samples made of small bricks and measured out at 4%, 6% and 8% of binders (molasses, starch or molasses + starch) have been warmed up to different temperatures (100°C, 150°C, 200°C and 250°C) for the rising of the thermic behavior under different conditions and submitted to crushing testings for the estimation of characteristic resistances to the compression. According to the mechanical behavior, we note an improvement of resistances for small bricks measured 4%, 6% and 8%, of molasses respectively of 32.44%, 32.06% and 23.43% against the value of reference for small bricks without molasses. In the same way, the binder (molasses + starch) also reveals an improvement of resistance to the compression of 13.27%, 26.17% and 26.17%. On the contrary, the stabilization with the starch binder did not bring a significative improvement. According to the thermic influence, the heating at 100°C of stabilized small bricks at 4%, 6% and 8% of molasses, reveals a significative improvement of resistances. Moreover, the stabilization with the starch reveals on the contrary a good behavior for heatings at 150°C and 250°C. In short, for the binder (molasses + starch), it is the heating at 200°C that shows some improvements of remarkable resistances. Different analyses of realized statistics also show the effectivity of obtained results. For all realized formulations, the measuring out at 6% of binders (molasses, or molasses + starch) seems as optimal in front of the best thermo-mechanical revealed properties.

Effects of molasses on the fermentation characteristics of mixed silage prepared with rice straw, local vegetable by-products and alfalfa in Southeast China

This experiment was conducted to study the effect of molasses on the fermentation characteristics of mixed silage ensiled rice straw and vegetable by-products with alfalfa.Mixture（202 g kg^-1 dry matter（DM））consisting of rice straw,broccoli residue and alfalfa at the ratio of 5：4：1 was ensiled with three experimental treatments：（1）no additives（control）;（2）molasses at 2.5%（M1）;（3）molasses at 5%（M2）on a fresh matter basis of mixture,respectively.All treatments were packed into laboratory-scale silos,and three silos per treatment were sampled on days 1,3,5,14 and 30.The result showed that the p H value of all mixed silages decreased gradually with the time of ensiling except for the control silage,in which a significant increase（P〈0.05）on day 30 occurred.The lactic acid content increased gradually with the time of ensiling and reached the highest value on day 14,and a marked decrease（P〈0.05）was found in the control silage on day 30.The changes of acetic acid content showed similar pattern with lactic acid content.A trace amount of propionic and butyric acid contents were found in the three mixed silages during the fermentation period.Comparing to the control,M1 and M2 treatments improved the fermentation quality of mixed silages as indicated by higher（P〈0.05）lactic acid contents and lower（P〈0.05）p H and ammonia-N contents.The Flieg points also showed that M1 and M2 silages were well preserved,whereas the control silage had a bad quality.Overall,the findings of this study suggested that adding molasses could improve fermentation quality of mixed silage,and M1 was more suitable for practical application.

From Flysch to Molasse—Sedimentary and Tectonic Evolution of Late Caledonian -Early Hercynian Foreland Basin in North Qilian Mountains

The Late Caledonian to Early Hercynian North Qilian orogenic belt in no rthwestern China is an elongate tectonic unit situated between the North China p late in the north and the Qaidam plate in the south. North Qilian started in the latest Proterozoic to Cambrian as a rift basin on the southern margin of North China, and evolved later to an archipelagic ocean and active continental margin during the Ordovician and a foreland basin from Silurian to the Early and Middle Devonian. The Early Silurian flysch and submarine alluvial fan, the Middle to L ate Silurian shallow marine to tidal flat deposits and the Early and Middle Devo nian terrestrial molasse are developed along the corridor Nanshan. The shallowin g upward succession from subabyssal flysch, shallow marine, tidal flat to terre strial molasse and its gradually narrowed regional distribution demonstrate that the foreland basin experienced the transition from flysch stage to molasse stag e during the Silurian and Devonian time.

Effect of molasses binder on the physical and mechanical properties

Molasses was used as an alternative binder to the bentonite binder. The change in moisture absorption by pellets prepared with different iron ores and different molasses contents were investigated. Iron ore properties exerted the major effect on pellet behavior and final pellet quality. The absorbed moisture content of pellets prepared without binder, bentonite-added pellets, and molasses-added pellets were in the range of 7.72%–9.95%, 9.62%–10.84%, and 6.14%-6.69%, respectively. The wet pellet compressive strength of molasses-added pellets(43–230 N/pellet) was superior to that of bentonite-added pellets(9.47–11.92 N/pellet). The compressive strength of dried molasses-modified pellets increased to 222–394 N/pellet, which is currently the highest value achieved for dried pellets.

In vitro Ruminal Gas Production Kinetics of Four Fodder Trees Ensiled With or Without Molasses and Urea

This study investigated if the addition of urea （U）, molasses （M） or their 1：1 （v/v） mixture during ensiling increases the nutritional value of forage from four fodder trees （Prunus persica, Leucaena esculenta, Acacia farnesiana, and Prunus domestica）. Forage samples of fodder trees were collected in triplicate （three individual samples of each species） and subjected to an in vitro gas production （GP） procedure. Fermentation at 24 h （GP 24）, short-chain volatile fatty acids （SCFA）, and microbial crude protein production （MCP）, in vitro organic matter digestibility （OMD）, metabolizable energy （ME） and dry matter degradability （DMD） were estimated. Forage samples were incubated for 72 h in an incubator at 39oC and the volume of GP was recorded at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h of incubation using the reading pressure technique. The rumen fermentation profiles were highest for P. persica, which showed the highest （P〈0.0001） DMD, ME, OMD, SCFA, GP 24 and MCP. On the other hand L. esculenta had the lowest （P〈0.0001） DMD, SCFA, MCP; P. domestica had the lowest （P〈0.0001） OMD. The addition of M to silage increased （P〈0.0001） ME and OMD, as well as GP. However, the addition of U and the mixture of U and M reduced （P〈0.0001） DMD, ME, OMD, SCFA, GY 24 and MCP. These results show that P. persica has the highest nutritive value and L. esculenta the lowest for ruminants. Additionally, the addition of M to forage from fodder trees increases rumen GP and fermentation, which may improve nutrient utilization in ruminants.

Systematically investigating the polarization gradient cooling in an optical molasses of ultracold cesium atoms

We systematically investigate the polarization gradient cooling （PGC） process in an optical molasses of ultracold cesium atoms. The SR mode for changing the cooling laser, which means that the cooling laser frequency is stepped to the setting value while its intensity is ramped, is found to be the best for the PGC, compared with other modes studied. We verify that the heating effect of the cold atoms, which appears when the cooling laser intensity is lower than the saturation intensity, arises from insufficient polarization gradient cooling. Finally, an exponential decay function with a statistical explanation is introduced to explain the dependence of the cold atom temperature on the PGC interaction time.

Bioethanol Production from Molasses by Yeasts with Stress-Tolerance Isolated from Aquatic Environments in Japan

Bioethanol is a safe and renewable source of energy that continues to be a research focus, since fossil fuels have been linked to global warming and nuclear energy sources are affected by the increased safety concerns following the 2011 nuclear power plant accident in Japan. In general, bioethanol is converted from a biomass by yeast fermentation. The production efficiency of this bioethanol is not sufficiently high, and its practical use as a substitute for fossil fuels and nuclear energy is thus limited. For the industrial production of bioethanol, the yeast fermentation of biomass cultures containing high concentration sugar, NaCl, and ethanol is necessary, but this might induce phenomena in which the stresses arising in the yeasts weaken their cells during fermentation. As described herein, we isolated 1028 strains of yeasts from natural aquatic environments: Japan’s Tama River and Lake Kasumigaura. Among them, 412 strains were fermentative yeasts and 31 strains showed high fermentation ability under a 30% sorbitol + 10% ethanol condition. These strains were identified as Torulaspola delbrueckii, Wickerhamomyces anomalus, Candida glabrata, Pichia kudriavzevii, Saccharomyces cf. cerevisiae/paradoxus, and Lachancea kluyveri. The strains T. delbrueckii, W. anomalus, and C. glabrata also showed tolerance against 15% NaCl. Most importantly, S. cf. cerevisiae/paradoxus H28 and L. kluyveri F2-67 produced 57.4 g/L and 53.9 g/L ethanol from molasses (sucrose 104.0 g/L, fructose 33.4 g/L, and glucose 24.8 g/L) within 48 hrs at 25°C, respectively.

Enhanced optical molasses cooling for Cs atoms with largely detuned cooling lasers

We report a detailed study of the enhanced optical molasses cooling of Cs atoms,whose large hyperfine structure allows to use the largely red-detuned cooling lasers.We find that the combination of a large frequency detuning of about-110 MHz for the cooling laser and a suitable control for the powers of the cooling and repumping lasers allows to reach a cold temperature of^5.5μK.We obtain 5.1×10^7 atoms with the number density around 1×10^12 cm^-3.Our result gains a lower temperature than that got in other experiments,in which the cold Cs atoms with the temperature of^10μK have been achieved by the optical molasses cooling.

Adsorption Isotherm of BET Nitrogen of Concretes with Consolidated Soil by Sugar Cane Molasses

Sugar cane molasses is often poured out on roads with soil in the city of Nkayi,Republic of Congo in order to reduce the dust.Nitrogen physical adsorption has allowed us to collect information on the state of the accessible total area according to the quantity of sugar cane molasses.The adsorption isotherms,the specific area,the adsorbed quantity of nitrogen on a Qm mono layer,the number of molecules constituting the adsorbed sugar cane molasses(n′)have been examined.The obtained results show that the quantity of sugar cane molasses in the material does not modify the adsorption isotherm of nitrogen of type IV that remains and a hysteria loop of type H4 in all samples,this justifies the monocoat-multicoat adsorption mechanism with capillary condensation and mesopores presence in the structure of materials.Materials with elaborated raw soil by clayey fine soil used are mesoporous materials.More of 50×1018 molecules constituting sugar cane molasses occupy the extreme area accessible to soil clay,without occupying on accessible sites.

Microstructure of Fine Clay Soils Stabilized with Sugarcane Molasses

Sugar cane molasses has proved cohesive and excellent performance on soil aggregates (fine particles). However, the microstructure of consolidated soil by the molasses is not yet subjected to research. The analysis results of sample without molasses (0%) and consolidated samples at 8%, 12%, and 16% show that the molasses acts on the structure of clayey fine soil developing its microstructure of airy matrix type (sample without molasses (0%) to a microstructure of a qualified type, more solid. Consolidated samples to 8%, 12%, 16% of molasses). We also observe the presence of inter-aggregate pores (mesopores) of similar size in all samples. The results of porosimetrical analyses (BJH) of the sample without molasses and consolidated samples to 8%, 12%, and 16% show that simultaneous porous volumes of samples are reduced with the increasing of molasses quantity. This latter, therefore, acts on the porous volume (micropore 2 nm and mesopore 9 nm) by reducing them which really means, molasses occupies the porous volume of the sample. However, this sample seems not to have any effect on the size of mesopores 9 nm. Thus, this product induces the evolution of the soil structure towards the highly dense and condensed structure. Consequently, materials in consolidated soil by molasses will have mechanical properties far superior to those of materials consolidated soil without molasses.

Experimental investigation of the impact of sugarcane molasses on the properties of colloidal gas aphron(CGA)drilling fluid

Colloidal gas aphron(CGA)based fluid has become very popular in drilling in the last two decades,as it reduces formation damages significantly.In this study,sugarcane molasses(Mls)was used for the first time as a polymer in CGA-based to investigate its ability to improve the role of aphronized fluid as a drilling fluid.The results showed that increasing the concentration of Mls to 12%(v/v)in CGA-based fluid reduces the drainage rate and increases half-life to 10.6 min,resulting in enhanced stability of the aphronized fluid.Also,because of increasing Mls concentration from 1%to 12%(v/v),the yield and the initial gas hold-up decrease to 74%and 299.4 mL,respectively,indicating that the presence of Mls allows less air into the aphron system.Although the rheological properties were improved in this study,the gel strength did not change considerably.Furthermore,the results showed that by increasing the concentration of Mls,the average size of the bubbles decreases,and the particle-size distribution becomes more uniform.Finally,the API filtration test revealed that the higher the Mls concentration in the aphronized fluid,the lower the fluid loss,and at the Mls concentration of 12%(v/v),the fluid loss was estimated at 19.54 mL.A natural polysaccharide with high molecular weight,Mls can be used as a polymer in CGAbased fluid and,thus,improve its performance.

Hyperproduction of Alcohol Using Yeast Fermentation in Highly Concentrated Molasses Medium

Cane molasses, a major byproduct in the sugar industry, is generally consumed for alcohol production. However, the alcohol production process needs to overcome three major challenges including increasing the productivity of alcohol fermentation, lowering the energy consumption for alcohol conversion and decreasing the environmental pollution caused by the alcoholic yeast fermentation process. To meet these challenges, a screening process was conducted using 13 high osmotic tolerant yeast strains. Among the strains, a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain 1912 was found to produce high alcohol concentrations during fermentation with high starting molasses concentrations such as 50% (W/V) molasses. In the test, 13.6% (V/V) alcohol was produced in the molasses fermentation broth after 72 h of incubation with an initial Yunnan molasses concentration of 50% in a 5 L fermentor. 15.0% (V/V) alcohol was obtained after 48 h of fermentation in shaking flasks containing 30% (W/V) initial total sugar concentration in diluted molasses. The performance of this strain in the shaking flasks was successfully scaled up to a 5 L fermentor vessel. Strain 1912 seems to be a better alcohol producer than the currently used alcohol production strain 2.1190.

Decolorization of molasses melanoidins and palm oil mill effluent phenolic compounds by fermentative lactic acid bacteria

Lactobacillus plantarum SF5.6 is one of the lactic acid bacteria （LAB） that has the highest ability of molasses melanoidin （MM） decolorization among the 2114 strains of LAB. The strains were isolated from spoilage, pickle fruit and vegetable, soil and sludge from the wastewater treatment system by using technical step of enrichment, primary screening and secondary screening. This LAB strain SF5.6 was identified by 16S rDNA analysis and carbohydrate fermentation （API 50 CH）. The top five LAB strains having high MM decolorization （ 55%）, namely TBSF5.8-1, TBSF2.1-1, TBSF2.1, FF4A and SF5.6 were selected to determine the optimal condition. It was found that the temperature at 30°C under facultative conditions in GPY-MM medium （0.5% glucose, 0.1% peptone, 0.1% yeast extract, 0.1% sodium acetate, 0.05% MgSO4 and 0.005% MnCl2 in MM solution at pH 6） giving a high microbial growth and MM decolorization for all five strains. It was noticed that the decolorization of MM by LAB strains might be cell growth associated. L. plantarum SF5.6 grew rapidly within one day while the other strains took 2–3 days. This L. plantarum SF5.6 could rapidly decolorize MM to 60.91% without any lag phase, and it also had the ability to remove 34.00% phenolic compounds and 15.88% color from treated palm oil mill effluent.

Conversion of soy molasses,soy solubles,and dried soybean carbohydrates into ethanol

Soy molasses and soy solubles are byproducts of the conventional soy protein concentrate and soy protein isolate manufacturing processes,respectively.Conversion of the carbohydrates in these byproducts into ethanol was examined.Standardized amounts of commercial cellulase enzymes(Novozyme cellulase,β-glucosidase,and pectinase)were added to soy molasses and soy solubles solutions prepared at various solid loading rates(33%,50%,60%,75%,and 80%)to hydrolyze oligosaccharides,followed by fermentation for 96 h using Saccharomyces cerevisiae NRRL Y-2034 and Scheffersomyces stipitis NRRL Y-7124.Ethanol-extracted soybean meal(SBM)carbohydrates were also fermented for 96 h without enzymes.S.cerevisiae and S.stipitis produced about 12.5-45.0 g/L and 6.0-28.0 g/L ethanol,respectively,on molasses and solubles across these solid loading rates.The S.stipitis produced about 6.5-17 g/L ethanol and S.cerevisiae produced about 6.5-22 g/L ethanol on ethanol-extracted carbohydrates.

Preparation of InYO_3 catalyst and its application in photodegradation of molasses fermentation wastewater

An InYO 3 photocatalyst was prepared through a precipitation method and used for the degradation of molasses fermentation wastewater. The InYO 3 photocatalyst characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, surface area and porosimetry. Energy band structures and density of states were achieved using the Cambridge Serial Total Energy package （CASTEP）. The results indicated that the photodegradation of molasses fermentation wastewater was significantly enhanced in the presence of InYO 3 when compared with PbWO 4 . The calcination temperature was found to have a significant effect on the photocatalytic activity of InYO 3 . Specifically, InYO 3 calcined at 700°C had a considerably larger surface area and lower reflectance intensity and showed higher photocatalytic activity. The mathematical simulation results indicated that InYO 3 is a direct band gap semiconductor, and its conduction band is composed of In 5p and Y 4d orbitals, whereas its valence band is composed of O 2p and In 5s orbitals.

Enhanced production of laccase by Coriolus hirsutus using molasses distillery wastewater

The effect of physical parameters of cultivation （load volume, temperature, pH, agitation, inoculum size, and incubation period） in the production of laccase by wood-rotting basidiomycete Coriolus hirsutus were stu- died using diluted molasses distillery wastewater （MDW） as a major composition. Using fractional factorial design, our study first identified load volume, agitation, and inoculum size as statistically significant factors. Optimal preferences and mutual interactions of the factors were then determined by the response surface method, which is based on the center composite design. A quadratic model was used to fit the experimental data. The optimized operational parameters for laccase production were determined to be the following： culture temperature of 25~C, pH 4, load volume of 40 mL diluted MDW in 150 mL flask, agitation rate of 183 r-m in-~, inoculation of 11.5% v/v, and cultivation time of 6 d. The experimental validation under these conditions （the maximum laccase production of 2198.2U.mL-1 was within the confidence interval） subsequently verified the accuracy of the constructed model. Moreover, the removal of chemical oxygen demand and nitrogen of MDW reached 62.85% and 48.00% respectively, and the decolorization ratio under the optimal condition was 41.85%. The enhanced production of laccase by C. hirsutus is a new recovery strategy for MDW.

Biodegradation of beet molasses vinasse by a mixed culture of micro organisms:Effect of aeration conditions and pH control

The effect of aeration conditions and pH control on the progress and efficiency of beet molasses vinasse biodegradation was investigated during four batch processes at 38°C with the mixed microbial culture composed of Bifidobacterium,Lactobacillus,Lactococcus,Streptococcus,Bacillus,Rhodopseudomonas,and Saccharomyces.The four processes were carried out in a shake flask with no pH control,an aerobic bioreactor without mixing with no pH control,and a stirred-tank reactor （STR） with aeration with and without pH control,respectively.All experiments were started with an initial pH 8.0.The highest efficiency of biodegradation was achieved through the processes conducted in the STR,where betaine （an organic pollutant occurring in beet molasses in very large quantities） was completely degraded by the microorganisms.The process with no pH control carried out in the STR produced the highest reduction in the following pollution measures：organic matter expressed as chemical oxygen demand determined by the dichromatic method ＋ theoretical COD of betaine （COD sum,85.5%）,total organic carbon （TOC,78.8%） and five-day biological oxygen demand （BOD 5,98.6%）.The process conditions applied in the shake flask experiments,as well as those used in the aerobic bioreactor without mixing,failed to provide complete betaine assimilation.As a consequence,reduction in COD sum,TOC and BOD 5 was approximately half that obtained with STR.