Amination of glycidyl methacrylate-grafted polystyrene particles and their adsorption capacity for Nd3+ and Cd2+

A new chelating adsorbent was prepared by grafting glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) onto polystyrene (PS) particles using simultaneous radiation technique and amination of graft copolymers by reacting with diethylenetriamine. The effects of various parameters such as, irradiation doses, inhibitor concentrations, amination temperature, and reaction time were investigated. The grafting yield increased with irradiation dose to reach its maximum value at 15 kGy. The accelerative effect of solvent medium on the grafting yield was higher in THF than DMF. The addition of 0.001 % (wt) inhibitor to the reaction medium led to a sharp increase of grafting yield. The best conversion ratio was obtained at 115 °C during 24 h. By using a column separation technique, the adsorption behaviors of the adsorbent toward Cd²⁺ and Nd³⁺ in aqueous solution were examined. The adsorption amount of both Cd²⁺ and Nd³⁺ increased with initial ions concentration. The maximum equilibrium of Cd²⁺ and Nd³⁺ adsorbed ions were 18.1 and 17.58 mg/g, respectively. It was observed that the functionalized GMA-g-PS was reusable by desorbing with 0.1 M nitric acid almost without losing their adsorption capacity. FTIR test indicates that epoxide and amine groups were introduced onto GMA-g-PS and aminated GMA-g-PS, respectively. The T _g of graft copolymer slightly decreased, and that of aminated GMA-g-PS was higher than graft copolymer.     

Synergism of α-Linolenic Acid, Conjugated Linoleic Acid and Calcium in Decreasing Adipocyte and Increasing Osteoblast Cell Growth

Whole fat milk and dairy products (although providing more energy compared to low- or non-fat products), are good sources of α-linolenic acid (ALA), conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and calcium, which may be favorable in modulating bone and adipose tissue metabolism. We examined individual and/or synergistic effects of ALA, CLA and calcium (at levels similar to those in whole milk/dairy products) in regulating bone and adipose cell growth. ST2 stromal, MC3T3-L1 adipocyte-like and MC3T3-E1 osteoblast-like cells were treated with: (a) linoleic acid (LNA):ALA ratios = 1–5:1; (b) individual/combined 80–90 % c9, t11 (9,11) and 5–10 % t10, c12 (10,12) CLA isomers; (c) 0.5–3.0 mM calcium; (d) combinations of (a), (b), (c); and (e) control. Local mediators, including eicosanoids and growth factors, were measured. (a) The optimal effect was found at the 4:1 LNA:ALA ratio where insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) production was the lowest in MC3T3-L1 cells. (b) All CLA isomer blends decreased MC3T3-L1 and increased MC3T3-E1 cell differentiation. (c) 1.5–2.5 mM calcium increased ST2 and MC3T3-E1, and decreased MC3T3-L1 cell proliferation. (d) Combination of 4:1 LNA:ALA + 90:10 % CLA + 2.0 mM calcium lowered MC3T3-L1 and increased MC3T3-E1 cell differentiation. Overall, the optimal LNA:ALA ratio to enhance osteoblastogenesis and inhibit adipogenesis was 4:1. This effect was enhanced by 90:10 % CLA + 2.0 mM calcium, indicating possible synergism of these dietary factors in promoting osteoblast and inhibiting adipocyte differentiation in cell cultures.     

Synthesis and characterization of maleylated cellulose-<Emphasis Type="Italic">g</Emphasis>-polyacrylamide hydrogel using TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanoparticles under sunlight

Graft polymerization onto the cellulose is one way to produce semisynthetic copolymers and semiconductors were hardly used as initiators. Maleylated cellulose (MC) with different degree of carboxyl groups was synthesized and degree of carboxyl groups was determined using titration method. Then the graft copolymers of acrylamide (AM) on MC were synthesized by titanium dioxide semiconductor photoinitiator in aqueous suspension under sunlight. The effect of different parameters, such as the degree of carboxyl groups, degassing of atmosphere, reactor type, light source, MC/AM ratio, and initiator concentration, was evaluated in the synthesis of graft copolymers. MC with a high degree of carboxyl groups about 2.8 mmol g^?1 was selected for graft photopolymerization. Maximum monomer conversion (55%) for Maleylated cellulose-g-polyacrylamide (MC-g-PAM) was achieved with 0.5 mg TiO₂, MC/AM = 0.056, argon atmosphere, sunlight source, and double quartz tube reactor. The maximum amount of equilibrium swelling (41 g g^?1) was achieved for MC-g-PAM with 34% monomer conversion. The resulting graft copolymers were characterized by FT-IR, SEM, and TGA. Synthesis of MC-g-PAM using TiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) as the initiator was done successfully that shows the TiO₂ NPs are useable in graft polymerization of acrylamide monomers onto the MC under sunlight.     

Synthesis, thermal properties, and specific interactions of high Tg increase in poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide)-block-polystyrene copolymers

We have synthesized a series of block copolymers of poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) and polystyrene (PPO-b-PS copolymer) by atom transfer radical polymerization. The PS content in these copolymer systems was determined by using infrared spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, and solution and solid-state NMR spectroscopy; good correlations exist between these characterization methods. DSC analyses indicated that the PPO-b-PS copolymers have higher glass transition temperatures than do their corresponding PPO/PS blends. Our FTIR and solid-state NMR spectroscopic analyses suggest that the PPO-b-PS copolymers possess stronger specific interactions that are responsible for the observed relatively higher values of T_g. We found one single dynamic relaxation from the dynamic mechanical analysis, which implies dynamic homogeneity exists in the PPO-b-PS copolymer; this result is consistent with the one single proton spin-lattice relaxation time observed in the rotating frame [T_1ρ(H)] during solid state NMR spectroscopic analysis. In addition, the 2D FTIR spectroscopy reveals evidence for the stronger interactions between segments of PPO and PS through the formation of π-cation complexes.     

Isotactic polypropylene/polystyrene blends: Effects of the addition of a graft copolymer of propylene with styrene

A novel graft copolymer of unsaturated propylene with styrene (uPP-g-PS) was added to binary blends of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) and atactic polystyrene (aPS) with a view to using such a copolymer as compatibilizer for iPP/aPS materials. Differential scanning calorimetry, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), wide angle X-ray scattering, and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) techniques have been carried out to investigate the phase morphology and structure developed in solution-cast samples of iPP/aPS/uPP-g-PS ternary blends. It was found that the uPP-g-PS addition can provide iPP/aPS-compatibilized materials and that the extent of the achieved compatibilization is composition-dependent. Blends of iPP and aPS exhibited a coarse domain morphology that is characteristic of immiscible polymer systems. By adding 2% (wt/wt) of uPP-g-PS copolymer a very broad particle-size distribution was obtained, even though the particles appeared coated by a smooth interfacial layer, as expected according to a core–shell interfacial model. With increasing uPP-g-PS content (5% wt/wt), a finer dispersion degree of particles, together with morphological evidence of interfacial adhesion, was found. With further increase of uPP-g-PS amount (10% wt/wt) the material showed such a homogeneous texture that neither domains of dispersed phase nor holes could be clearly detected by SEM. The type of interface developed in such iPP/aPS/uPP-g-PS blends was accounted for by an interfacial interpenetration model. The iPP crystalline texture, size, neatness, and regularity of iPP spherulites crystallized from iPP/aPS/uPP-g-PS blends were found to decrease when the copolymer content was slightly increased. Assuming, for the iPP spherulite fibrillae, a two-phase model constituted by alternating parallel crystalline lamellae and amorphous layers, it was shown by SAXS that the phase structure generated in iPP/aPS/uPP-g-PS blends is characterized by crystalline lamellar thickness (L_c) and interlamellar amorphous layer thickness (L_a) higher than that shown by plain iPP; the higher the copolymer content, the higher the L_c and L_a. It should be remarked that considerably larger increases have been found in L_a values. Such SAXS results have been accounted for by assuming that a cocrystallization phenomenon between propylenic sequences of the uPP-g-PS copolymer and iPP occurs and that during such a process PS chains grafted into copolymer sequences remain entrapped in iPP interlamellar amorphous layers, where they form their own separate domains. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 65:1539–1553, 1997     

Physicochemical Properties and Minor Lipid Components of Soybean Germ

This study aimed to determine and to compare the main phytochemicals from soybean and soybean germ of different Chinese varieties. The results indicate that the soybean germ contains low protein (38.19 %), lipids (10.98 %), and crude fiber (7.47 %) compared with soybean. Specific gravity, refractive index, and saponification values of soybean germ oil were comparable to those of soybean oil. However, unsaponifiable matter of the germ oil was significantly higher (6.982 %) than soybean oil (1.072 %). The tocopherol contents in soybean germ oil ranged as follows: γ-tocopherol, 176.39 mg/100 g oil; δ-tocopherol, 57.29 mg/100 g oil; α-tocopherol, 50.67 mg/100 g oil; and β-tocopherol, 8.15 mg/100 g oil. The main sterols in soy germ oil were β-sitosterol (1,681.90 mg/100 g oil), crevesterol (358.02 mg/100 g oil), stigmasterol (189.62 mg/100 g oil), and brassicasterol (3.70 mg/100 g oil). Furthermore, soybean germ oil seemed to be an important source of triglyceride, fatty acids, and particularly the fatty acids in the sn-2 position of triacylglycerol. The important nutritional value of all these phytochemicals makes soybean germ and particularly germ oil sources of functional molecules and additives for the food industry.     

Effect of hydrophobic polystyrene microphases on temperature-responsive behavior of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) hydrogels

Reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization was employed to prepare the crosslinked poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-graft-polystyrene networks (PNIPAAm-g-PS). Due to the immiscibility of PNIPAAm with PS, the crosslinked PNIPAAm-g-PS copolymers displayed the microphase-separated morphology. While the PNIPAAm-g-PS copolymer networks were subjected to the swelling experiments, it is found that the PS block-containing PNIPAAm hydrogels significantly exhibited faster response to the external temperature changes according to swelling, deswelling, and reswelling experiments than the conventional PNIPAAm hydrogels. The improved thermo-responsive properties of hydrogels have been interpreted on the basis of the formation of the specific microphase-separated morphology in the hydrogels, i.e., the PS blocks pendent from the crosslinked PNIPAAm networks were self-assembled into the highly hydrophobic nanodomains, which behave as the microporogens and thus promote the contact of PNIPAAm chains and water. The self-organized morphology in the hydrogels was further confirmed by photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS). The PCS shows that the linear model block copolymers of PNIPAAm-g-PS networks were self-organized into micelle structures, i.e., the PS domains constitute the hydrophobic nanodomains in PNIPAAm-g-PS networks.     

Foaming behavior of isotactic polypropylene in supercritical CO2 influenced by phase morphology via chain grafting

Polystyrene (PS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) grafted isotactic polypropylene copolymers (iPP-g-PS and iPP-g-PMMA) with well-defined chain structure were synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization using a branched iPP (iPP-B) as polymerization precursor. The branched and grafted iPP were foamed by using supercritical CO₂ as the blowing agent with a batch method. Compared to linear iPP foam, the iPP-B foams had well-defined close cell structure and increased cell density resulted from increased melt strength. Further incorporating PS and PMMA graft chains into iPP-B decreased the crystal size and increased the crystal density of grafted copolymers. In iPP-g-PS foaming, the enhanced heterogeneous nucleation by crystalline/amorphous interface further decreased the cell size, increased the cell density, and uniformized the cell size distribution. In contrast to this, the iPP-g-PMMA foams exhibited the poor cell morphology, i.e., large amount of unfoamed regions and just a few cells distributed among those unfoamed regions, although the crystal size and crystal density of iPP-g-PMMA were similar to those of iPP-g-PS. It was found that the iPP-g-PMMA exhibited PMMA-rich dispersed phase, which had higher CO₂ solubility and lower nucleation energy barrier than copolymer matrix did. The preferential cell nucleation within the PMMA-rich phase or at its interface with the matrix accounted for the poor cell morphology. The different effect of phase morphology on the foaming behavior of PS and PMMA grafted copolymers is discussed with the classical nucleation theory.     

Typoselectivity of Crude Geobacillus sp. T1 Lipase Fused with a Cellulose-Binding Domain and Its Use in the Synthesis of Structured Lipids

Typoselectivity of crude CBD-T1 lipase (Geobacillus sp. T1 lipase fused with a cellulose binding domain) was investigated. Multi-competitive reaction mixtures including a set of n-chain fatty acids (C8:0, C10:0, C12:0, C14:0, C18:1 n-9, C18:2 n-6 and C18:3 n-3) and tripalmitin-enriched triacylglycerols were studied in hexane. The crude CBD-T1 lipase discriminated strongly against C18:1 n-9 [competitive factor (α) = 0.23] and showed the highest preference for C8:0 (α = 1). Utilizing the catalytic properties of crude CBD-T1 lipase, acidolysis of soybean oil with C8:0 was selected as a model reaction to investigate the ability of the lipase to produce MLM-type (medium-long-medium) structured lipids. Several reaction parameters (added water amount, reaction temperature, substrate molar ratio and reaction time) examined for incorporating C8:0 into soybean oil, the optimum conditions were: 1:3 (soybean oil/C8:0) of molar ratio, 3 mL of hexane, 50 °C of temperature, 48 h of reaction time, 20 % of crude CBD-T1 lipase (w/w total substrates), and 7.5 % of water (w/w enzyme). Under these conditions, the incorporation of C8:0 was 29.6 mol%. The results suggest that crude CBD-T1 lipase, which showed different fatty acid specificity profiles, is a potential biocatalyst for the modification of fats and oils.     

Atomic force microscopy study of comb-like vs. arborescent graft copolymers in thin films

This work deals with the study of comb-like vs. arborescent grafted copolymers made of poly(chloroethyl vinyl ether)-g-polystyrene (PCEVE-g-PS). We describe how the molecular architecture of the branched polymers affects their nanoscale organization in thin films, as observed using atomic force microscopy. The results indicate that modifying the molecular architecture from a ‘generation-zero’ comb-like (PCEVE-g-PS) to a ‘first-generation’ hyperbranched (PCEVE-g-(PS-b-PCEVE-g-PS)) architecture strongly modifies the observed geometrical parameters of the molecules, in good agreement with the expected evolution of the molecular dimensions and the corresponding data obtained in solution.The surface organization of the (PCEVE-g-PS) copolymer molecules is also strongly conditioned by the interplay between the molecule-substrate interactions and the molecule-molecule interactions, leading to different possible orientations of the lateral branches with respect to the surface and thus to different final morphologies.     

Compatibilization effect of graft copolymer on immiscible polymer blends. II. LLDPE/PS/LLDPE-g-PS systems

The compatibilizing effect of graft copolymer, linear low density polyethylene-g-polystyrene (LLDPE-g-PS), on immiscible LLDPE/PS blends has been studied by means of ¹³C CPMAS NMR and DSC techniques. The results indicate that LLDPE-g-PS is an effective compatibilizer for LLDPE/PS blends, and the compatibilizing effect of LLDPE-g-PS on LLDPE/PS blends depends on the PS grafting yield and molecular structure of the compatibilizers and also on the composition of the blends. It was found that LLDPE-g-PS chains connect two immiscible components, LLDPE and PS, through solubilization of chemically identical segments of LLDPE-g-PS into the noncrystalline region of the LLDPE and PS domain, respectively. Mean while, LLDPE-g-PS chains connect the crystalline region of LLDPE by isomorphism, resulting in an obvious change in the crystallization behavior of LLDPE. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Self-assembly of ethyl cellulose-graft-polystyrene copolymers in acetone

The self-assembly of the dense graft copolymers ethyl cellulose-graft-polystyrene (EC-g-PS) in acetone was investigated by using dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that EC-g-PS copolymers can self-assemble into spherical micelles in acetone. The micelles' size increases with increasing the copolymer concentration and the PS side-chain length. Moreover, the copolymers can self-assemble into multimolecular micelles at relatively high polymer concentration while unimolecular micelles can be formed at low concentration. The micelles have a core-shell structure with the ethyl cellulose main chains in the shell and the side polystyrene chains in the core of the micelles.     

Synthesis of poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(methyl methacrylate)-block-polystyrene triblock copolymers by two-step atom transfer radical polymerization

The synthesis of ABC triblock copolymer poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(methyl methacrylate)-block-polystyrene (PEO-b-PMMA-b-PS) via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) is reported. First, a PEO-Br macroinitiator was synthesized by esterification of PEO with 2-bromoisobutyryl bromide, which was subsequently used in the preparation of halo-terminated poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PEO-b-PMMA) diblock copolymers under ATRP conditions. Then PEO-b-PMMA-b-PS triblock copolymer was synthesized by ATRP of styrene using PEO-b-PMMA as a macroinitiator. The structures and molecular characteristics of the PEO-b-PMMA-b-PS triblock copolymers were studied by FT-IR, GPC and ¹H NMR.     

Electrochemical copolymerization of carbazole and 2,2′:5′-2″ terthiophene: characterization and micro-capacitor application

In this paper, a copolymer of carbazole (Cz) and 2,2′:5′,2″-terthiophene (TTh) was electropolymerized in 0.1 M sodium perchlorate (NaClO₄)/acetonitrile (CH₃CN) on glassy carbon electrode. The optimum conditions of resulting homopolymers of Cz, TTh and copolymer of Cz and TTh in the initial feed ratio of [Cz]₀/[TTh]₀ = 1/10 were characterized by cyclic voltammetry, Fourier-transform infrared-attenuated total reflectance, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Morphological analysis of copolymer shows that a micro-spherical and web-like morphology was formed for copolymer at different initial feed ratios of [Cz]₀/[TTh]₀ = 1/2, 1/5 and 1/10. The capacitive behavior of the modified electrodes was defined via Nyquist, Bode-magnitude, and Bode-phase plots. The highest low-frequency capacitance (C _LF) was obtained as 4.11 mFcm^?2 in the initial feed ratio of [Cz]₀/[TTh]₀ = 1/10. Double-layer capacitance (C _dl) and phase angles (θ) were obtained for homopolymer and copolymer systems. The highest C _dl was obtained as 2.01 mFcm^?2 for the copolymer in the initial feed ratio of [Cz]₀/[TTh]₀ = 1/2. The highest phase angle of copolymer was obtained as θ = ~75° in the initial feed ratio of [Cz]₀/[TTh]₀ = 1/1. These capacitance results confirmed that films of copolymer Cz/TTh are promising materials for micro-capacitor applications.     

Molecularly Imprinted Membranes with Affinity Properties for Folic Acid

The extraction of folic acid from aqueous solutions was proposed through a novel procedure based on the membrane separation process using the approach of molecular imprinting. Molecularly imprinted membranes were prepared via the phase inversion technique using poly(acrylonitrile-co-acrylamide) copolymer as the membrane material and folic acid as the template molecule. Poly(acrylonitrile)-based membranes were also prepared as the reference material. Polymer composition, membrane preparation method, and the pH used in the binding experiments were the parameters which mostly influenced the recognition properties of the imprinted membranes. In particular, the solvent evaporation method allowed to obtain poly(acrylonitrile-co-acrylamide) imprinted membranes which at pH 5.0 showed a specific binding capacity of 5.3 µmol/g_memb. Corresponding blank membranes (prepared in absence of the template molecule), only showed a poor non-specific binding of 1.0 µmol/g_memb. Polyacrylonitrile-based membranes showed lower folic acid retention (1.5 µmol/g_memb. when prepared in the presence of the template and 0.9 µmol/g_memb. when prepared in the absence of the template).     

Synthesis and characterization of some new aromatic polytriazoles as proton conductive membranes

A series of new poly(1,2,4-triazole)s (PTAs) containing pyridine heterocyclic ring, bearing bulky aromatic pendent groups, were synthesized from the reaction of the corresponding polyhydrazides with aniline or 4-aminobenzenesulfonic acid in polyphosphoric acid (PPA) at 175 °C. The non-sulfonated PTAs showed glass transition temperatures (T _gs) of 220–250 °C and inherent viscosities (η _inh) equal to 0.48–0.78 dL/g, and the sulfonated poly(1,2,4-triazole)s (S-PTAs) exhibited T _gs of 235–265 °C and inherent viscosities equal to 0.50–0.83 dL/g. The former polymers were soluble in conc. H₂SO₄ and partially soluble in hot N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), dimethylacetamide (DMAc), and 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), and the latter were soluble in DMF, NMP, DMSO and DMAc at room temperature. All polymers had useful levels of thermal stability and were stable up to 450 °C in nitrogen. The proton conductivities of undoped sulfonated polytriazole membranes and the acid-doped sulfonated polytriazole membranes lie in the range of 5 × 10^?4–8.1 × 10^?3 and 5 × 10^?3–2.3 × 10^?2 S/cm, respectively, at 90 °C and 100 % relative humidity.     

Preparation of proton exchange membranes by radiation-induced grafting of alpha methyl styrene–butyl acrylate mixture onto polyetheretherketone (PEEK) films

Radiation-induced graft copolymerization of alpha methyl styrene (AMS)–butyl acrylate (BA) mixture onto poly(etheretherketone) (PEEK) was carried out to produce copolymer films which were subsequently sulfonated to develop proton exchange membranes. The characterization of membranes was carried out with infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), contact angle and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA). The presence of sulfonic acid groups within the polymer matrix was confirmed by FTIR. The crystallinity of membranes decreased significantly upon sulfonation process. The melting temperature of the membranes also decreased as compared to the virgin and the grafted films. At the same time, glass transition temperature (T _g) of membranes increased as the grafting increased. Virgin film showed stable thermogram up to ~500 °C while the grafted film had two-step degradation pattern. Sulfonation introduced one additional decomposition range in the membrane. Contact angle images showed the hydrophilic nature of the membrane surface. The EPMA showed the presence of the sulphur across the membrane matrix in a homogenous manner. The membranes showed low resistivity of 62 Ω cm for the graft level of 27 %.     

Reactively formed block and graft copolymers as compatibilizers for polyamide 66/PS blends

Phthalic anhydride terminated polystyrene (PS-An) and styrene-maleic anhydride copolymer (SMA) were compared as a compatibilizer at low loadings (<10 wt%) in 70/30 polyamide 66 (PA66)/polystyrene (PS) blends. Compatibilization efficiency was judged by morphology of the blends and the extent of interfacial coupling to copolymer. Fluorescent labels of functional PS's (anthracene and pyrene for PS-An and SMA, respectively) allowed the detection of small amounts of reactively formed block (PA66-b-PS) or graft copolymer (SMA-g-PA66) in the blends via gel permeation chromatography with a fluorescence detector. Extremely fast reactions giving >60% conversion in 0.5 min mixing were observed regardless of the molecular weight, the structure, and the amount of the functional PS's. Interfacial stability of the reactively formed copolymers was estimated by micelle formation in the bulk phases and the interfacial coverage, Σ. PS-An with higher molecular weight (37 kg/mol) was most effective as a compatibilizer at the interface, showing less tendency to form microemulsions by suppressing interfacial roughening. However, a large portion of PA66-b-PS from low molecular weight PS-An (10 kg/mol) and SMA-g-PA66 from random functional SMA (16 kg/mol) migrated to the bulk phase to form micelles even at <2 wt% loadings. Blends of PA66 with syndiotactic PS compatibilized with PS-An gave very similar morphology to the PA66/PS blends indicating that these conclusions apply also to PA66/sPS blends.     

Non-destructive Determination of High Oleic Acid Content in Single Soybean Seeds by Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr] with increased oleic acid is desirable to improve oxidative stability and functionality of soybean seed oil. Recently, soybean genotypes with high oleic acid (≥70 %) were developed by breeding programs. Efficient and effective identification of high oleic acid soybean genotypes using non-destructive near infrared reflectance (NIR) on whole seeds would greatly enhance progress in breeding programs. The objective of this study was to develop a calibration equation for NIR determination of high oleic acid from single soybean seeds. A total of 600 intact, single F₂ seeds were scanned by NIR. Spectral data were collected between 400 and 2,500 nm at 2 nm intervals. The relationship between NIR spectral patterns of each soybean seed and its oleic acid content was examined. The best predicted equations for oleic acid were selected on the basis of minimizing the standard error of cross-validation and increasing the coefficient of determination. Validation demonstrated that the equations for determining total oleic acid and over 50 % oleic acid content had high predictive ability (r ² = 0.91 and r ² = 0.99, respectively). To validate the newly developed equation, F₂ seeds from a different genetic background were tested. Again, high oleic acid from single soybean seeds was accurately predicted from various genetic backgrounds. Therefore, applying the calibration equations to NIR will be useful to rapidly and efficiently select high oleic acid soybean genotypes in breeding programs.     

Optimization of Food Waste Bioevaporation Process Using Response Surface Methodology

A proven bioevaporation process was used to treat food waste (FW) by mixing ground FW with biodried sludge (BS). Organic loading (OL), moisture content (MC), and air flow rate (Q_g) showed significant influences on FW bioevaporation performance. Single-parameter experiments for MC and Q_g were conducted and ranges were determined to be 55–67 wt% and 0.04–0.14 m³/kg TS_mixture · h, respectively. In order to optimize the FW bioevaporation process, a central composite design (CCD) and response surface method (RSM) were applied over the preselected ranges of OL (0.00–0.16 kg VS_FW/kg TS_BS), MC (50.91–71.09 wt%), and Q_g (0.01–0.17 m³/kg TS_mixture · h). The results indicated that OL of 0.06 kg VS_FW/kg TS_BS, MC of 59.2 wt%, and Q_g of 0.09 m³/kg TS_mixture · h were the optimal conditions for the FW bioevaporation process. Water evaporation of 123.1% and VS degradation of 108.4% were obtained under these estimated optimal conditions.