Bacteria in Indian Food Packaging Papers and Paperboards with Various Contents of Pulp Fiber

The food packaging industry generally uses papers and paperboards (PPBs) especially for disposable products. According to the Framework Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004 of the European Union, no transfer of contamination should occur from food packaging material to the food items. The aim of this study was to determine the presence, numbers, source and different kinds of bacteria present in food packaging PPBs with various contents of pulp fiber. The samples were randomly collected from popular confectioners and fast food restaurants in Saharanpur, India. The results indicated the presence of bacteria in all the samples, ranging from 1.3 × 102 to 6.1 × 103 cfu/g. Most of the samples contained bacteria in more than the permitted concentration of 2.5 × 102 cfu/g as set by Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The detected bacteria were from genera Bacillacea, Staphylococcus and Pseudomonas. According to the FDA declaration, pathogenic bacteria such as B. cereus and S. aureus have been associated with food borne diseases (FBD). Some contaminants in food packaging PPBs were found to be B. subtilis and P. aeroginosa, which produce enzymes like peroxidases and lipoxygenases that are odor generating enzymes.

Remediation of Pulp and Paper Industry Effluent Using Electrocoagulation Process

Electrocoagulation of pulp and paper industry effluent with SS-304 electrode has been carried out under varying process variable such as pH, current density, time and dose of electrolyte to find out the optimum conditions. Maximum reduction efficiency of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) 82% and color more than 99% from pulp and paper industry wastewater at the following conditions pH = 7, current density = 24.80 mA/cm2 time = 40 min and dose of electrolytes = 1.0 g/L. Moreover, effects of electrolytes dosage on electricity consumption were observed and found to be that NaCl is better in comparison of Na2SO4 in respect of lower down the electricity consumption. But application of NaCl causes the formation of hazardous compounds as secondary pollutants within treated water. Therefore, Na2SO4 could be a potent replacement of NaCl to enhance the conductivity of paper industry effluent treated by EC process. The treated water has been compared with standard of Central Pollution control board (CPCB) and World Health organization, and found to be suitable for the reuse in irrigation.

Ecofriendly Remediation of Pulp and Paper Industry Wastewater by Electrocoagulation and Its Application in Agriculture

In the present study pulp and paper industry effluent was treated with the help of aluminum electrode using electrocoagulation (EC) process with feasible sludge management. The influences of pH, time, current density and electrolytes dose were investigated and optimum conditions were established to reduce the maximum amount of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and color. At optimum conditions 70% of COD and 98% of color were removed. Additionally, the behavior of electrolytes (NaCl and Na2SO4) was determined;it has shown that Na2SO4 results in the generation of less secondary pollutants than that NaCl and thereby could be used as better replacement in paper industries for electrocoagulation mediated treatment of wastewater. The residual amount of operational parameters in EC treated water was compared to the World Health Organization (WHO) and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India. It was found to be safe for utilization in irrigation. Furthermore, sludge produced during the EC process has been analyzed for physicochemical characteristics. To understand the physical and elemental phases of sludge, the analytical technique such as field emission electron microscope coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy has been used to find out the possible management alternative.

Effects of Ethanol Addition and Biological Pretreatment on Soda Pulping of Eulaliopsis binata

Morphological characteristics and proximate chemical analysis of E. binata showed it as a suitable raw material for writing and printing grade paper. Maximum pulp yield (43.58%) of kappa number 17.38 with 0.9% screening rejects was obtained at 12% of active alkali (as Na2O) pulping temperature 130&degC, cooking time 120 min and solid to liquor ratio 1:4. During bio-soda pulping of E. binata, pulp yield decreased slightly while pulp brightness, tensile index, burst index and double fold numbers were improved by 4.1%, 24.94%, 14.03% and 48.45% respectively compared to soda pulping. During ethanol-soda pulping of E. binata, pulp yield, pulp brightness, tensile index, burst index and double fold numbers were improved by 3.9%, 6.6%, 32.18%, 35.40% and 77.31% respectively compared to soda pulping.

Levels of Selected Heavy Metals in Food Packaging Papers and Paperboards Used in India

In the present study, the varieties of papers and paperboards (PPBs) used in India for food packaging were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed for the heavy metal contamination with the help of ICP-OES (Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry). Total 10 different types of food packaging PPBs were procured from local market and analyzed for 14 heavy metals (Al, As, B, Ba, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Te, Ti and V). Quantities of heavy metals in the samples were compared with permitted values published by the European Council. Heavy metals like Al, As, Ba, Cr, Co, Ni, Pb and V were observed in more than the permitted concentration in some of the samples. Heavy metals toxicity in food packaging material is a serious concern as the edible items get exposed to these metals and also generate volatile odorous compounds which considerably impact the quality of food and affect consumer's health.

Biotechnological Transformation of Lignocellulosic Biomass in to Industrial Products: An Overview

Lignocellulose—a major component of biomass available on earth is a renewable and abundantly available with great potential for bioconversion to value-added bio-products. The review aims at physio-chemical features of lignocellulosic biomass and composition of different lignocellulosic materials. This work is an overview about the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into bio-energy products such as bio-ethanol, 1-butanol, bio-methane, bio-hydrogen, organic acids including citric acid, succinic acid and lactic acid, microbial polysaccharides, single cell protein and xylitol. The biotechnological aspect of bio-transformation of lignocelluloses research and its future prospects are also discussed.

Gold Nanoparticles: Synthesis and Effect on Viability of Human Non-Small Lung Cancer Cells

Gold nanoparticles recently showed great interest for many uses including food, drug and medical applications. The algae Undaria sp. well known as wakame in South Asia are considered to be large edible brown algae. It provides nutritious source of dietary fiber, vitamin Bs and mineral. The present study aimed to investigate the use of Undaria sp. for green synthesis of metallic gold nanoparticles. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized for physicochemical properties including size measurement and tested in vitro for their effect on viability of human non-small lung cancer H-460 cell line using the MTT assay. From the results, brown algae were able to chemically form nanoparticles with chloroauric acid solution possibly due to the sulphated polysaccharides found in algae. The particle sizes were found to be approximately 10 nm. The gold nanoparticles stabilized by the algae could decrease the cancer cell viability. However, the properties and biological activity of nanoparticles seemed to depend upon reaction time and temperature. Conclusively, gold nanoparticles synthesized and stabilized by the algae could decrease the cancer cell viability, thus indicating the potential of such nanoparticles for further study for anticancer activity.

汽车工业领域的新材料:竹纤维增强聚丙烯基复合材料

由于环保和节能的需要,汽车轻量化已经成为世界汽车发展的趋势。汽车轻量化亦即在保证汽车的强度和安全性能的前提下,尽可能地降低汽车的整备质量,从而提高汽车的动力性,减少燃料消耗,降低排气污染。因此,汽车工业领域一直致力于开发质量轻、强调高的聚合物基复合材料。天然纤维由于其环境友好性和可再生性,且可以增强聚合物基复合材料的各项性能,在汽车和建筑材料领域引起了广泛关注。

Utility of starchy,lignocellulosics and cellulosics hydrolysates on cellulase production under liquid state fermentation

Starch is one of the most abundant renewable carbohydrate reserves of higher plants.It can be used to produce many valuable food products in the food processing industry.Furthermore,starch is also used as an important feedstock in the fermentation industry to produce value-added products.Lignocellulosic materials such as agriculture and forestry wastes are considered as a renewable feedstock for bioenergy production through a biochemical conversion process.Converting lignocellulosic biomass into fuels and chemicals entail a physicochemical pretreatment of the biomass,followed by enzymatic hydrolysis of the polysaccharide components such as cellulose and hemicellulose into monomeric sugars.These sugars can then be further fermented into other desired compounds of interest.During the deconstruction processes,various inhibitory compounds are released due to the partial over-degradation of lignocellulose biomass,which inhibits the cell growth and metabolic capacity of fermenting strains.Cellulosic materials such as waste paper in large quantities can also be used as potentially cheap feedstock for sustainable production of value-added products.The present investigation is mainly focused on the utility of starchy hydrolysates(wheat,potato,and rice)and lignocellulosics hydrolysates(bagasse and wheat straw)in cellulase production under liquid state fermentation.It also depicts the potential of cellulosic hydrolysate(waste newspaper)in product formation.