Processes for the Clarification of the Crude Oil of Baobab Seeds Extracted by Pressing on Activated Carbon Elaborated from the Capsules of the Fruit (Adansonia digitata L.)

The baobab, Adansonia digitata L. plays an important role in the economy of local populations. The oil from the seeds of the baobab fruit is nowadays highly prized because of its numerous cosmetic and therapeutic applications and its composition of unsaturated fatty acids, sterols and tocopherols. However, unlike refined oils, locally extracted baobab oil has not undergone purification operations to ensure its quality. Only a filtration on special cloths is carried out after decantation. Indeed, the oil obtained after pressing is cloudy because of the presence of various impurities. It therefore requires treatment operations to make it more attractive and of higher quality. Therefore, in order to provide innovative solutions to local companies to improve the quality of vegetable oils, a study of clarification (treatment) of crude oil is necessary. An experimental device has been developed in the laboratory. It includes a glass column and a filter bed of dune sand and activated carbon. This study has shown the efficiency of the experimental device. Indeed, the activated carbon, thanks to its adsorbing power, has allowed a significant decrease in turbidity at the 5% threshold, from 14.61 NTU for the raw oil to 0.08 NTU for the oil filtered on 3% carbon and 0.033 NTU for the oil filtered on 5% carbon. That is to say an abatement higher than 95%. This decrease in turbidity could be correlated with the decrease in brown index from 187.39a for the initial crude oil to 128.53d for the oil treated with 3% activated carbon versus 187.59a for the oil filtered on cloths. The lowest brown index was observed with the filtration using 5% activated carbon (35.99b). Thus, for the yellowness index, only the filtration on 5% charcoal allowed to obtain a significant decrease in yellowness. The yellowing index of the oil with 5% was 44.67b against 79.04a for the oil filtered with 3% activated carbon, 86.33a for the crude oil and 86.46a for the oil filtered on cloths. Finally, the oil sample treated with 5% activated carbon had the clearest clarity than the other samples with a clarity (L) equal to 97.98c against 95.63d for the oil treated with 3% carbon and 94.99b for the oil filtered on filter cloths. According to the results obtained, the experimental device made it possible to obtain a clearer baobab oil with a low brown index, thus improving the sensory quality of the oil.

Clarification Effects of Chitosan on Apple Fruit Juice

Chitosan is a good flocculant. The paper deals with the clarification of apple juice by means of chitosan. The results showed that the transmittance was over 97 % and soluble solid content was stable basically , under the technological condition of chitosan of 0. 5 -1. 2 g L-1, temperature of 45 - 55℃ and pH 4.5. After the orthogonal trial, the optimum technological conditions of apple juice clarification by using chitosan were 0.3 g L-1 chitosan, 45℃ and pH 4. 5. The research of the apple juice clarification with chitosan made a basis of the application of chitosan and provided the theoretical basis for the clarification of apple juice with chitosan.

Seismic Signature Analysis for Clarification of Mud Volcanoes from the New Mud Diapirs Discovered at the NE-SW Moroccan Atlantic Margin

Our aim is to clarify mud volcanoes from the new mud diapirs resulting from the seismic attributes analysis applied to the low resolution Burmah oil “1973-1974” seismic data. The latter was carried out on the Larache and Tanger-Larache offshores from the NE-SW Atlantic margin. The high resolution seismic data was essential for this evaluation. In this case, we applied seismic signature analysis to four seismic profiles from the map of the seismic data set, which includes all new mud diapirs. This helped us to classify different types of mud diapirs within the seismic profiles. And as a result, six deep mud diapirs from the Prerifaine Nappe of Morocco, a shallow mud diapir, and four seafloor-piercing mud diapirs have been observed. Furthermore, the seafloor-piercing mud diapirs show a mushroom-shaped and conical-shaped cone. As they break through the seafloor, these kinds of cones characterize mud volcanoes. In this case, we may conclude that the resultant seafloor-piercing mud diapirs are likely to be mud volcanoes. However, more geological sampling and seafloor observation are still required.

Controversy about the Origin of the Grain Boundary Internal Friction Peak and Its Clarification

In the seventies some scientific workers from France and Italy suggested that the grain boundary internal friction peak (named the K (e) over cap peak in the literature) widely accepted as a grain boundary process, is originated from the motion of lattice dislocations. Since this problem is one of fundamental importance, this controversy has drawn much international attention. Started from 1982, the Hefei research group made a critical analysis of the large amount of literature concerning this problem and,performed a series of crucial experiments to clarify the controversy. It is concluded that the irrelevant evidence suggested by the controverters comes from the farfetched interpretation and the mis-identification of the internal friction peaks appeared under various experimental conditions and different states of the specimens.

Wash water in waterworks:contaminants and process options for reclamation

Reclamation of clean water from filter backwash water was studied through pilot-scale experiments.The pilot plant consisted of clarification,sand-filtration,and ultrafiltration modules in sequence,with a provision to bypass the sand filter.Clean water that conformed to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on Potable Quality was reclaimed.Turbidity,aluminum and iron were found to be critical contaminants in process selection and design.Clarification,followed by sand filtration,was found to be the minim...

Efficient elimination and detection of phenolic compounds in juice using laccase mimicking nanozymes

Residual phenols in the juice can cause turbidity and affect its sensory quality.Laccase is used to remove phenolic compounds from fruit juice s.In order to overcome the shortcomings of natural laccase instability and high cost,in this work,we prepared a laccase mimic enzyme based on copper ion and adenosine monophosphate(AMP-Cu nanozymes).At the same mass concentration(1 mg·ml^(-1)), the catalytic activity of the nanozyme is about 15 times that of laccase.The AMP-Cu nanozymes had a higher V_(max) and a lower Km than laccase.The laccase mimic enzyme had a good stability under the condition of 30-90 ℃ and pH> 6.It also maintained high catalytic activity at high salt concentrations and 9 days storage time.Furthermore,the AMP-Cu nanozyme s maintained an initial catalytic activity of about 80% after six consecutive cycles of reaction.The linear range of detection of phenolic compounds by AMP-Cu nanozymes was 0.1-100 μmol·L^(-1) with a detection limit of 0.033 μmol·L^(-1).The phenol removal rate of AMP-Cu nanozymes was much higher than that of laccase under different reaction times.When the reaction was performed for 5 h,the phenol removal rate of the fruit juice by AMP-Cu nanozymes was about 65%.The efficient removal of phenolic compounds from different juices by AMP-Cu nanozymes indicate s that they have good application prospect in the food juice industry.

磁性纳米粒子负载木瓜蛋白酶的制备、表征及用于果汁澄清(英文)

The preparation,characterization,and application of silica-coated magnetic nanoparticles for papain immobilization is reported.Papain was covalently attached onto the(3-chloropropyl) trimethoxysilane-modified silica-coated magnetic nanoparticles. The enzyme-immobilized nanoparticles were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy,X-ray powder diffraction,scanning electron microscopy,and vibrating sample magnetometry techniques.Response surface methodology combined with statistical analyses using Minitab were employed to evaluate optimum operating conditions to immobilize papain on the magnetic nanoparticles.The optimum conditions were: temperature = 27.3℃,pH of the enzyme solution = 7.1,concentration of papain = 3.3 mg/mL,and immobilization time = 10 h.Compared with the free papain,the immobilized papain displayed enhanced enzyme activity,better tolerance to variations in the medium pH and temperature,improved storage stability,and good reusability.Both the free and immobilized enzymes were effective for the clarification of pomegranate juice.

STUDY ON THE COLORED GLASSES AND ITS PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES

The composition design and melting technique of colored glasses based on wollastonite was studied. The density, expansion coefficient, thermostability, durability and some optical properties of glasses were measured. The results show: These glasses have low melting temperature and short clarifying time. Their physicochemical properties were improved res- pectively to a certain degree.

Application and optimization of solid-state fermentation process for enhancing polygalacturonase production by Penicillium expansum

Penicillium expansum 3.5425 was applied in solid-state fermentation(SSF)of agricultural wastes for polygalacturonase biosynthesis.Among various carbon additives,apple pomace was most suitable for the biosynthesis of polygalacturonase(1440.57 U/g).Optimization of medium parameters using rotational orthogonal design(ROD)experiment combined with optimal fermentation conditions resulted in a 2.72-fold increase in the polygalacturonase production.By using ammonium sulphate precipitation,ion-exchange and gel-permeation chromatography,the polygalacturonase produced by P.expansum 3.5425 was finally purified which had specific activity of 19269 U/mg and molecular weight of 30 kDa.The enzyme was remarkably active in the pH range of 3-5 and at 50℃,which makes it more acceptable in the industrial application.Besides,partially purified polygalacturonase(875.15 U/mL)was used for apple juice clarification and the clarity at 0.4 mL/kg was maximum,which reveals a great potential of polygalacturonase in food industry.

Stormwater treatment： examples of computational fluid dynamics modeling

Control of rainfall-runoff particulate matter （PM） and PM-bound chemical loads is challenging; in part due to the wide gradation of PM complex geometries of many unit operations and variable flow rates. Such challenges and the expense associated with resolving such challenges have led to the relatively common examination of a spectrum of unit operations and processes. This study applies the principles of computa- tional fluid dynamics （CFD） to predict the particle and pollutant clarification behavior of these systems subject to dilute multiphase flows, typical of rainfall-runoff, within computationally reasonable limits, to a scientifically acceptable degree of accuracy. The Navier-Stokes （NS） system of nonlinear partial differential equations for multi- phase hydrodynamics and separation of entrained particles are solved numerically over the unit operation control volume with the boundary and initial conditions defined and then solved numerically until the desired convergence criteria are met. Flow rates examined are scaled based on sizing of common unit operations such as hydrodynamic separators （HS）, wet basins, or filters, and are examined from 1 to 100 percent of the system maximum hydraulic operating flow rate. A standard turbulence model is used to resolve flow, and a discrete phase model （DPM） is utilized to examine the particle clarification response. CFD results closely follow physical model results across the entire range of flow rates. Post-processing the CFD predictions provides an in-depth insight into the mechanistic behavior of unit operations by means of three dimensional （3-D） hydraulic profiles and particle trajectories. Results demon- strate the role of scour in the rapid degradation of unit operations that are not maintained. Comparisons are provided between measured and CFD modeled results and a mass balance error is identified. CFD is arguably the most powerful tool available for our profession since continuous simulation modeling.