Influence of Sorbent Type on Drying Efficiency, Production Costs and Nutritional Values of Mango By-Products Feeds for Livestock

The aim of the study was to determine the best food absorbents between wheat, rice and maize bran and palm kernel cake, from a technical and economic point of view, in order to make a better recommandation for their use in the production process of food based on mango by-products (peels, peels + pulp). To this end, series of 18 kg of fresh feed were prepared and spread out in a stall for sun-drying using a randomized Fisher system. Preparations were made using either mango peels (75%) + absorbent (25%) or pulp + mango peels (67%) + sorbent (33%). The results show that mango Peel feed loses more water (WL) with lover production yields (PY), higher mango incorporation rates into dry feed (MRI), longer drying times (UDT) and lower production costs (CPkgPD) than mango peel + pulp. The average DM, MAT, ADF and NDF fiber contents were almost equal to those of mango peels + pulp feed. The average Crude Fiber (CF) (25.13%) and DEp (2839 kcal/kgDM) contents were higher for mango skin feed than for mango skin + pulp feed, at 8.59% and 2536 for MAT and DEp respectively. Mango peels + wheat bran (PSB25) and whole mango (MESB33) feeds recorded the highest and almost equal levels of TCP, NDF and MM. Production costs per kg of feed dry mater (CPkgDM) for feed produced at 25% were on average 33% higher than for whole mango (WM) feed. Excluding mango raw material, palm kernel meal (PK), rice bran (RB), maize bran (MB) and wheat bran (WB) can be ranked 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th in terms of cumulative performance of production parameters. Producers can then choose the type of sorbent they wish to use according to this ranking and the local availability of the sorbent. These feeds can be used for both ruminants and monogastrics, but are better suited to ruminant feeding due to their high fiber content.

Field performance of alternate wetting and drying furrow irrigation on tomato crop growth, yield, water use efficiency, quality and profitability

Sustainable irrigation method is now essential for adaptation and adoption in the areas where water resources are limited. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted to test the performance of alternate wetting and drying furrow irrigation（AWDFI） on crop growth, yield, water use efficiency（WUE）, fruit quality and profitability analysis of tomato. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with six treatments replicated thrice during the dry seasons of 2013-2014 and 2014-2015. Irrigation water was applied through three ways of furrow： AWDFI, fixed wetting and drying furrow irrigation（FWDFI） and traditional（every） furrow irrigation（TFI）. Each irrigation method was divided into two levels： irrigation up to 100 and 80% field capacity（FC）. Results showed that plant biomass（dry matter） and marketable fruit yield of tomato did not differ significantly between the treatments of AWDFI and TFI, but significant difference was observed in AWDFI and in TFI compared to FWDFI at same irrigation level. AWDFI saved irrigation water by 35 to 38% for the irrigation levels up to 80 and 100% FC, compared to the TFI, respectively. AWDFI improved WUE by around 37 to 40% compared to TFI when irrigated with 100 and 80% FC, respectively. Fruit quality（total soluble solids and pulp） was found greater in AWDFI than in TFI. Net return from AWDFI technique was found nearly similar compared to TFI and more than FWDFI. The benefit cost ratio was viewed higher in AWDFI than in TFI and FWDFI by 2.8, 8.7 and 11, 10.4% when irrigation water was applied up to 100 and 80% FC, respectively. Unit production cost was obtained lower in AWDFI compared to TFI and FWDFI. However, AWDFI is a useful water-saving furrow irrigation technique which may resolve as an alternative choice compared with TFI in the areas where available water and supply methods are limited to irrigation.

Performance Analysis and Drying Kinetics of Maize in an AflaSTOP Dryer

The performance of an AflaSTOP dryer which utilises biomass energy for drying maize was investigated. The drying behaviour of maize grains in the dryer was also investigated using ten (10) thin-layer mathematical models. The models were compared based on coefficient of determination (R2) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) values between experimental and predicted moisture ratios. At an average drying air temperature of 50°C and drying air velocity of 2.5 m/s, maize at average moisture content (MC) of 17.5% (wb) was dried to an average MC of 11.5% (wb) in three (3) hours. The drying and thermal efficiency were calculated as 81.1% and 29.6% respectively. Overall, drying took place in the falling rate period. The Logistics model was best to describe the thin-layer drying kinetics of maize in the dryer with R2 value of 0.9902 and RMSE value of 0.04908.

Amenability to dry processing of high ash thermal coal using a pneumatic table

High ash thermal coal from India was used to conduct the dry processing of fine coal using a pneumatic table to evolve a techno-economically novel technique. The fine as-received sample having 55.2g ash was subjected to washability studies at variant densities from 1.4 to 2.2 to assess the amenability to separa- tion. The experiments were conducted using a central composite design for assessing the interactive effects of the variable parameters of a pneumatic table on the product yield and ash content. The performance of the pneumatic table was analyzed in terms of clean coal yield, recovery of combustibles, separation efficiency （Esp） and useful heat value of clean coal. The combustibles of clean coal obtained through a single stage operation at 35% and 38.7% ash were 40% and 63% respectively. However, the two stage processing was more effective in reducing the ash content in the clean coal. The rougher concentrate generated at higher ash level was subsequently processed in different conditions at 35% ash level, and 58g combustibles could be recovered. Hence, two stage processing increases the combustibles by 18 units and the useful heat value of clean coal increases from 1190 kcal/kg to 3750 kcal/kg.

Comparison of mixed-mode forced-convection solar dryer with and without stainless wire mesh in solar collector

A mixed-mode forced-convection solar dryer(MMFCSD)is a device that utilizes both direct and indirect solar energy.The solar col-lector,which stores thermal energy for indirect solar uses,is an essential component of the dryer.Unfortunately,the thermal effi-ciency of this device is generally low.In this study,a technique was employed to improve the heat transfer of the solar collector in a MMFCSD.The technique involved adjusting the air flow pattern into a swirling flow to disturb the thermal boundary layer on the absorber plate under forced convection by using stainless wire mesh.The experiment was conducted under actual conditions and bananas were used as the drying sample.The experimental results of the thermal efficiency of the solar collector(ƞ_(solar))and the drying efficiency(ƞ_(drying))are presented.The results indicated that the air outlet temperature andƞsolar of the solar collector with stainless wire mesh were higher than the case without stainless wire mesh,reaching a maximum temperature of 46.22°C and 37.97°C,and average ƞ_(solar) of 0.26±0.02 and 0.14±0.01,respectively.The MMFCSD with stainless wire mesh had a higher ƞ_(drying) than the case without stain-less wire mesh,with values of 0.048±0.004 and 0.039±0.003,respectively,resulting in an~23.07%increase.This was attributed to the air swirling flow through the stainless wire mesh and the heat accumulation in the drying chamber,which led to an increase in the drying chamber temperature from 54.03°C to 63.60°C,an increase in the effective moisture diffusivity from 7.28×10^(-7) to 1.19×10^(-6) m^(2)/s and a decrease in the drying time of 5 h 30 min.However,further research is needed to investigate the quality of the dried sam-ples and their economic value.