Influence of the Hydriding Cycles on U-IOMo Alloy Comminution Process

Hydriding-dehydriding process has been widely employed to comminute uranium alloys. Developments have been made to improve this process because it is a cheaper way to obtain powder of uranium alloys compared to the other methods, such as atomization. This work presented an innovative comminution process of U-10Mo alloy in laboratory scale where a Sievert type equipment was utilized and only hydriding cycles were employed without repetition of the dehydriding procedure. Experiments of comminution of the U-10Mo alloy were carried out by employing alloy samples which were submitted to different heat treatment conditions and, subsequently, to different hydriding cycles. The heat treatments considered were hot rolled at 800 ℃, homogenization at 900 ℃ or 1,000 ℃ and aging at 520℃. It was observed that the number of hydriding cycles and heat treatment conditions have influenced the particle size distributions. Samples that were hot-rolled, homogenized at 1,000 ℃ and aged, and comminuted with five cycles of hydriding have produced powders with particle size distribution more uniform with the major quantity of particles in the range from 50μm to 200 μm while the other conditions have obtained a great quantity above 200 μm.     

Incorporation of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) Fed Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) Bran

This study evaluated the effect of the inclusion of chia bran in the diet of Nile tilapia on the composition of n‐3 fatty acids (FA). Omega‐3 fatty acids provide health benefits such as reducing the risks of coronary heart disease, hypertension and inflammation, and the precursor alpha‐linolenic acid is considered strictly essential because it cannot be synthesized by humans, therefore must be ingested. Tilapias grown in tanks for a period of 45 days were treated with diets supplemented with either soybean oil (TI) or chia bran (TII). Proximal composition analysis of the feeds showed no significant difference. Feed FA quantification showed that the chia diet (TII) had a higher alpha‐linolenic acid (LNA) content. A significant increase was observed in the concentrations of LNA (8.38–81.31 mg 100 g^?1 fillets), eicosapentaenoic acid (1.12–1.56 mg 100 g^?1 fillets) and docosahexaenoic acid (19.55–26.55 mg 100 g^?1 fillets) in tilapia fillets between 0 and 45 days for TII. Total lipids at 45 days under TII were fractionated into neutral lipids (67.66 %) and polar lipids (18.90 %). Thus, dietary supplementation with chia bran contributed to raising the nutritional quality of Nile tilapia fillets.     

Concentration of biologically active compounds extracted from Ilex paraguariensis St. Hil. by nanofiltration

The aim of this study was to characterise the bioactive compounds in mate (Ilex paraguariensis St. Hil) extract and in concentrated mate extract obtained by nanofiltration (NF). Also, the impact of NF on the antioxidant activity of both mate extracts was evaluated in vitro and using eukaryotic cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast assay). The results showed a significant increase in the contents of total phenolics (338%), chlorogenic acid (483%), theobromine (323%), caffeine (251%), chlorophyll (321%), condensed tannins (278%) and saponins (211%) in the concentrated mate extract. The concentrated mate extract showed higher in vitro antioxidant activity than the mate extract. According to the results obtained, it can be stated that the use of nanofiltration membrane is a valid approach for the concentration of biologically active compounds in aqueous extract of mate.     

Occurrence of histamine in Brazilian fresh and canned tuna

Histamine was investigated in fresh and canned tuna in Brazil. Histamine was detected in fresh tuna (3.4%) from the wholesale market, as well as fresh (46.7%) and canned tuna (46.3%) from the retail market. The mean levels were 0.19, 1.30 and 4.41 mg/kg, respectively. Grated canned tuna contained higher levels compared to solid; canned tuna in oil contained more than in water and salt; grated tuna with tomato sauce contained the highest levels. Every sample was in compliance with world legislation. The post catching and commercialization practices of tuna are adequate, warranting good quality tuna.     

Effect of process conditions on particle growth for spouted bed coating of urea

The aim of this work was to analyze the influences of operational variables on particle growth for urea coating in a conventional spouted bed (CSB). An aqueous polymeric suspension was the coating liquid sprayed on the spouted particles. The effects of inlet air temperature, coating suspension flow rate and atomizing air pressure on particle growth were analyzed by a central composite rotatable design (CCRD) of experiments. The results showed particle growth in the range of 1.1–2.6%, therefore, some results below the expected for a film coating (2–8%). A second-order polynomial model was obtained for estimating particle growth as a function of the statistically significant variables: air temperature, suspension flow rate and atomizing air pressure, with percentage of explained variation R² = 90.72%. The urea growth kinetics during coating was analyzed for the optimal operating condition and a linear growth coefficient of 1.13 × 10⁻³ min⁻¹ was obtained. The volatilization analyses showed that the polymer film coating provided a decrease of the nitrogen loss in the range of 3–57%. And, SEM analyses demonstrated a total, uniform and homogeneous covering of the urea particles surface.     

Laboratory evaluation of recycled construction and demolition waste for pavements

The wide production of construction and demolition waste and its illegal deposition are serious current problems in Brazil. This research proposes to evaluate the feasibility of using aggregate from recycled construction and demolition waste (RCDW) in pavement applications. A laboratory program was conducted by geotechnical characterization, bearing capacity and repeated load triaxial tests. The results show that the composition and the compactive effort influence on the physical characteristics of the RCDW aggregate. The compaction process has promoted a partial crushing and breakage of RCDW particles, changing the grain-size distribution and increasing the percentage of cubic grains. This physical change contributes to a better densification of the RCDW aggregate and consequently an improvement in bearing capacity, resilient modulus and resistance to permanent deformation. The results have shown that the RCDW aggregate may be utilized as coarse base and sub-base layer for low-volume roads.     

Enzymatic hydrolysis of sugarcane bagasse for bioethanol production: determining optimal enzyme loading using neural networks

BACKGROUND: The efficient production of a fermentable hydrolyzate is an immensely important requirement in the utilization of lignocellulosic biomass as a feedstock in bioethanol production processes. The identification of the optimal enzyme loading is of particular importance to maximize the amount of glucose produced from lignocellulosic materials while maintaining low costs. This requirement can only be achieved by incorporating reliable methodologies to properly address the optimization problem. RESULTS: In this work, a data‐driven technique based on artificial neural networks and design of experiments have been integrated in order to identify the optimal enzyme combination. The enzymatic hydrolysis of sugarcane bagasse was used as a case study. This technique was used to build up a model of the combined effects of cellulase (FPU/L) and β‐glucosidase (CBU/L) loads on glucose yield (%) after enzymatic hydrolysis. The optimal glucose yield, above 99%, was achieved with cellulase and β‐glucosidase concentrations in the ranges of 460.0 to 580.0 FPU L^?1 (15.3–19.3 FPU g^?1 bagasse) and 750.0 to 1140.0 CBU L^?1 (2–38 CBU g^?1 bagasse), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The dynamic model developed can be used not only to the prediction of glucose concentration profiles for different enzymatic loadings, but also to obtain the optimum enzymes loading that leads to high glucose yield. It can promote both a successful hydrolysis process control and a more effective employment of enzymes. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Physicochemical and rheological properties of passion fruit oil and its polyol

Vegetable oils are excellent renewable sources for chemical and oleochemistry industries, since they can be functionalized to be used in various applications. Here we present some physical and physicochemical properties of passion fruit oil and polyol derivatives obtained from this oil. The polyols were obtained by hydroxylation with in situ generation of the performic acid. Physicochemical properties, such as chromatographic analysis, iodine value, index of acidity, peroxide index, fixation index, unsaponifiables, and hydroxyl index were determined according to standard methods. Furthermore, ¹H NMR was examined and physical properties including liquid density and rheometry were characterized as well. The results revealed a wide variation of the physicochemical characteristics among the oils and respective polyols. The NMR analyses demonstrated polyol structures practically without unsaturation. The liquid rheology showed that the viscosity of polyols is at least two orders of magnitude larger than the viscosity of the original oil, confirming that the hydroxylation reaction occurred successfully. The shear viscosity of the polyols did not exhibit a systematic dependence on the shear rate or significant time dependence for the examined samples. The results indicate that the polyol viscosity decreases with the drying time increasing. Practical applications : The use of renewable resources is growing and is attracting great interest in the academic and industrial fields. Vegetable oils have attracted a special attention because of their potential to replace petrochemical derivatives and to contribute to minimizing environmental impacts; vegetable oils are promising candidates for base fluids in environment‐friendly lubricants. Polyols obtained from oils open new possibilities of use as monomers for polyurethanes, which exhibit excellent properties beyond reactivity.