Showing papers in "Bioprocess Engineering in 2017"
TL;DR: The physical and mechanical properties of the onion crop were determined for the Talaja Red variety as discussed by the authors, and the linear relationship was observed between polar diameter and equatorial diameter and also weight of the bulbs.
Abstract: The physical and mechanical properties of the onion crop were determined for the Talaja Red variety. The linear relationship was observed between polar diameter and equatorial diameter and also weight of the bulbs. The shape of the onion crop may be considered oval to spherical. The mean bulk density onion was observed 548 kg/m 3 . The coefficient of friction for galvanized iron, mild steel, aluminum and plywood was found 0.42, 0.39, 0.45 and 0.32 respectively. Also, the angle of repose for galvanized iron, mild steel, aluminum and plywood was found 23, 21, 24 and 17 respectively.
10 citations
TL;DR: In this article, rice husks were used as corrosion inhibitor in the electrolyte solution of concrete concrete samples, and a quite steady decreasing tendency could be observed in the measured corrosion current densities (I corr ) compared to the case when the rice husk solution did not contain any inhibitor admixture.
Abstract: Due to the high cost of repair of damaged constructions, some preventive measures, namely using, for example, rice husks as corrosion inhibitor admixtures were chosen as a prospective preventive technique. Along this approach, laboratory concrete samples were so prepared and sent to mechanical testing, and concurrently, the inhibitive potential of the rice husks suspended in electrolyte solution (water with dissolved sodium chloride of 3.5 wt.%) was also tested by using a standard electrochemical corrosion testing technique, i.e. the powdered rice husk was added to the electrolyte solution in different dosages (1%, 2% and 3%), then the corrosion currents of the steel samples were recorded by using a three-electrode cell assemblage. In these laboratory tests a quite steady decreasing tendency could be observed in the measured corrosion current densities ( I corr ) compared to the case when the electrolyte solution did not contain any inhibitor admixture ( I corr =41.3 µA/cm 2 ; taken as the reference). For example, a corrosion current of I corr = 28.5 µA/cm 2 was measured at 1% rice husk concentration, and only I corr = 7.8 µA/cm 2 when the solution was mixed with 3% rice husk powder.
9 citations
TL;DR: A new scheme based on Wavelet Networks (WN) is proposed for the feature extraction of MRI brain images for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.
Abstract: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a common form of senile dementia. Although the understanding of key steps underlying neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is incomplete, it is clear that it begins long before symptoms are noticed by patient. Conventional clinical decision making systems are more manual in nature and ultimate conclusion in terms of exact diagnosis is remote. In this case, the employment of advanced Biomedical Engineering Technology will definitely helpful for making diagnosis. Any disease modifying treatments which are developed are most possibly to be achieving success if initiated early in the process, and this needs that we tend to develop reliable, validated and economical ways to diagnose Alzheimer’s kind pathology. However, despite comprehensive searches, no single test has shown adequate sensitivity and specificity, and it is likely that a combination will be needed. Profiling of human body parameter using computers can be utilised for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. There are several imaging techniques used in clinical practice for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s type pathology. There are lot of tests and neuroimaging modalities to be performed for an effective diagnosis of the disease. Prominent of them are Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scan (MRI), Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Single Photon Emission CT Scanning (SPECT), MRI Imaging and Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). In this research we have proposed a new scheme based on Wavelet Networks (WN) for the feature extraction of MRI brain images for the early diagnosis of AD. The database of MRI images were obtained from Sree Gokulam Medical College and Research Foundation (SGMC&RF), Trivandrum, India.
5 citations
TL;DR: The main objective of this research was to focus on enhancing the substrate uptake rate of P. aeruginosa using various biosurfactants as well as carbon sources in the medium culture, and found that the variation in hydrophobicity was a result of fluctuation in the amount of major proteins on the bacteria cell wall.
Abstract: The main objective of this research was to focus on enhancing the substrate uptake rate of P. aeruginosa using various biosurfactants as well as carbon sources in the medium culture. While hexadecane and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) were chosen as hydrophobic carbon sources, the effects of glucose on two strains of P. aeruginosa, MM1011 and TMU56, were evaluated. Two kinds of biosurfactants, including surfactin and rhamnolipid at higher and lower than the critical micelle concentrations were added into the medium. After that, the response of bacterium based on cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH) was measured through the BATH assay. General full factorial technique was used to organize the experiments and analyze the effects of input factors on CSH. Although the both strains showed similar growth trend under conditions of different carbon sources, the order of affinity between the various substrates and the specific growth rates was as PCBs> glucose> nutrient broth> hexadecane. The analysis of variance showed that both type of carbon source and the biosurfactant had a significant effect on the CSH of P. aeruginosa TMU56. However, the P. aeruginosa MM1011 strain had no meaningful reaction in the presence of biosurfactant. High value of coefficient of determination (R2=0.95) indicated a good agreement between experimental data and predicted values by models. Moreover, SDS-PAGE analysis demonstrated that the variation in hydrophobicity was a result of fluctuation in the amount of major proteins on the bacteria cell wall. The significant effect of biosurfactant on the P. aeruginosa TMU56 at concentration under critical micelle point was related to the release of more outer membrane proteins (OMPs).
5 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the chemical composition of reed has been characterized by determining the ash content, α-cellulose, holocelluloses, lignin and their extractables in ethanol, 1% soda and hot water.
Abstract: Due to the global increase in the demand for paper and cardboard, and depletion in some areas of wood resources (main raw material in the paper industry), it has been necessary to investigate new raw materials to substitute the conventional ones. In this work, Phragmites australis, commonly known as reed, has been studied. It has been characterized the chemical composition of the raw material by determining the ash content, α-cellulose, holocellulose, lignin and their extractables in ethanol, 1% soda and hot water. Subsequently three pulping processes have been conducted, using the “soda method" under three different operating conditions. The cellulosic pulps and the papersheets made from the pulps were analysed in order to determine the chemical and physical properties following the relevant TAPPI, UNE and ISO standards. Comparing the results obtained, it can be possible to conclude that the pulp obtained under the following operating conditions: 175°, 90 minutes and 14% of NaOH, presents the best results.
5 citations
TL;DR: The undiluted pineapple juice with 9% (w/v) of sucrose supplementation was found to be suitable for fermentation and the suitable temperature for product storage was 4 – 6°C, and bacterial density of final product was maintained up to 3 weeks.
Abstract: Lactic acid bacteria are used popularly for fruit juice fermentation because they are good sources of probiotics for human. In this study, ten lactic acid bacteria were isolated from 7 samples of naturally fermented pineapple juice. All isolates could grow in the MRS medium pH 1.5 and reach high densities (6.80 – 6.95 log CFU/mL) after 2 h of incubation at 37°C. Moreover, Lactobacillus sp. Y1 produced highest lactic acid concentration (1.20% w/v) and identified as L. acidophilus. The different diluted ratios of pineapple juice (0, 10, 20 and 30% w/v) and different sucrose supplementations (0, 3, 6, and 9% w/v) were used for testing fermenting capacity of L. acidophilus Y1. The undiluted pineapple juice with 9% (w/v) of sucrose supplementation was found to be suitable for fermentation. Based on the results of sensory evaluation and bacterial density determination, the favorable conditions for pineapple fermentation were determined as follow: initial bacterial level at 5.0 log cells/mL, fermentation time for 36 h at 37°C. The results of storage testing showed that the suitable temperature for product storage was 4 – 6°C, bacterial density (8.06 log CFU/mL) of final product was maintained up to 3 weeks.
4 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors proposed an automatic meter reading (AMR) system for the consumption of electricity from house to house and building to building, the measured values are in kilo watt-hours (kWh) by energy meter.
Abstract: A new concept of Power line Communication. Now human operators do the Meter reading for the consumption of Electricity from house to house and building to building. It requires huge number of labor and takes more time to complete the process. Reading error is a common cause of human operator. Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) becomes an executable option to overcome the problems of huge time taking to get the meter readings, the measured values are in kilo watt-hours (kWh) by energy meter. The supply status of the consumer reading unit we identified the disk rotation of the energy meter. The main advantage of this system is a low cost system that produces very encouraging results and it can be implemented upon existing electro-mechanical meters so there is no need to purchasing new meters AMR is the remote collection of consumption data from customer’s utility meters over power line. Power-Line Communication (PLC) carries data on a conductor that is also used simultaneously for AC electric power distribution to consumers. PLC transmitter is responsible for transmission of data from the provider end. At the provider end, there will be the PLC receiver, which is responsible for data receiving, and this module makes an interface with computer, which is responsible for data processing.
4 citations
TL;DR: Particle size distribution of sawdust produced from circular, chain and band sawing machines has been carried out in order to study the influence of different saws on sawdust and its characterization.
Abstract: Particle size distribution (PSD) of sawdust produced from circular, chain and band sawing machines has been carried out in order to study the influence of different saws on sawdust produced and its characterization. The raw materials were collected from the mill sites and screened, then vibrated on mechanical sieves. Four major fractional classification of particle sizes are identified; oversize particles (OS), coarse particle (CPS), pin particle (PSP) and fine (FSP). The particle size distribution in all the three mills shows a similar pattern of distribution on log sieve graph. The proportion of particle size distribution in FPS produced by all the saw showed slight variations with the least (30.0 ± 1.2%) variation in bandsaw, followed in increasing order by chainsaw and circular saw (37.2 ± 1.3%). Analysis of variance revealed that blade type, particle size, wood density, and particle density are significantly affected by porosity.
3 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors evaluated the practical nutrient removal efficiencies of Chlorella sorokiniana and Scenedesmus obtusiusculus on three different media, namely, mixture (mixed treated and untreated urine), untreated urine and control, and their nutrient removal efficacy was investigated.
Abstract: Urine treatment and nutrient removal was studied on a pilot scale in the DESAH building for a period of 3 months. The essence of the study was to evaluate the practical nutrient removal efficiencies of Chlorella sorokiniana and Scenedesmus obtusiusculus . The microalgae were grown on 3 different media― namely; mixture (mixed treated and untreated urine), untreated urine and control, and their nutrient removal efficiencies were investigated. Urine that has passed through the OLAND RBC system served as treated urine, and Bold’s basal medium served as the control. The OLAND RBC system was able to remove 95.7% of total chemical oxygen demand (COD), 27.1% total nitrogen, 99.7% ammonium, 88.6% total phosphorus and 89.3% ortho-phosphate from the influent urine. Low nutrient removal performance at a very high N: P molar ratios were observed in microalgae in the untreated urine. However, the nutrient removal capacities of microalgae were very high at reduced N: P molar ratios in the mixed medium. Chlorella sorokiniana was able to remove 63.2% TN and 55.8% TP at a low N: P molar ratio of 8.5:1, while Scenedesmus obtusiusculus removed 45.9% TN and 76.3% TP at an N: P molar ratio of 6.9:1. The results indicate that nutrient removal by microalgae is most efficient in mixed OLAND RBC treated and untreated urine culture. Therefore, the integration of the OLAND RBC system when designing microalgae induced wastewater treatment technologies for sanitation purposes is advocated.
3 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used fruits from Singapore cherry (Muntingia calabura) as raw material to produce bio-ethanol by using Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast).
Abstract: The need of bio-ethanol is being increased now a days, hence the production of bio-ethanol must be increased using cheaper and eco-friendly raw materials. Based on these criteria, underexploited fruits were considered as cheaper and eco-friendly source for bio-ethanol production. In the present study fruits from Singapore cherry (Muntingia calabura) was used as raw material to produce bio-ethanol by using Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast). The results obtained from this work shows that the higher rate of ethanol production through fermentation at the operating conditions (pH 5.5, temperature 30±2°C, speed 80 rpm, fermentation period 15 days) were feasible. The extracted bio-ethanol tested as a fuel in CI engine. Experimental work on performance and emission characteristics of ethanol blended diesel fuel was conducted on single cylinder four stroke CI engines at operating pressure 210 bar with rated speed of 1500 rpm. The different blends of Singapore cherry fruit fuel with diesel were also conducted. The results of this study suggests that fruits from Singapore cherry contain rich fermentable sugars and those can be converted into useful products like bio-ethanol, that serves as an alternative energy source.
3 citations
TL;DR: A cheap agro-industrial waste was used as the substrate for the production of protease and cellulase from Bacillus cereus KA3 and showed over fourfold increase in enzyme production than unoptimized medium.
Abstract: A cheap agro-industrial waste was used as the substrate for the production of protease and cellulase from Bacillus cereus KA3. The process parameters were optimized by a two level full factorial design and response surface methodology. Two level full factorial designs revealed that the factors namely, pH, peptone and NaH2PO4 were significantly influenced on the production of protease and cellulase. These three significant factors were selected for central composite design and response surface methodology. The maximum protease and cellulase production was 3127 U/g, and 482 U/g, respectively, after statistical approach, which showed over fourfold increase in enzyme production than unoptimized medium.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors presented a study of corrosion resistance of 96% Al, 3.5% Zn and 0.5 % Mg using Veronia Amygdalina leaf extract as the inhibitor.
Abstract: This paper presents a study of corrosion resistance of 96% Al, 3.5% Zn and 0.5% Mg using Veronia Amygdalina leaf extract as the inhibitor. The experiment was conducted in different concentration of Veronia Amygdalina (15, 30, 45, 60ml) at 4M Nacl solution. The experiment was evaluated using the weight or metal loss method. The results obtained were compared against a control experiment without addition of an inhibitor. The highest inhibitive effect was obtained at the corrosion rate of 0.34750mmpy at 240hrs in 30ml of aqueous extract of Veronia Amygdalina in Nacl solution.
TL;DR: In this paper, an oil palm fruit digester was designed, fabricated and tested for throughput capacity and efficiency, achieving an average throughput capacity of 330.91 kg/h and efficiency of 62.35%.
Abstract: An oil palm fruit digester was designed, fabricated and tested. The materials for fabrication were sourced locally. The machine was tested for throughput capacity (Dc) and efficiency (η). Average throughput capacity of 330.91 kg/h and efficiency of 62.35% were obtained. Rate of digestion increased with the increase in mass of the digesting palm fruits while the efficiency of the oil palm fruit digester decreased with increase in mass of the digesting palm fruit in some cases. The machine is simple to operate and maintain.
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of processing parameter affecting quality of cashew kernel oil were investigated using a laboratory screw press in the Auchi Polytechnic, Auchi and the quality analysis of CKO extracted was carried out in the chemistry laboratory of the University of Ilorin, Nigeria.
Abstract: Cashew kernel oil (CKO) is one of the most important edible vegetable oils because of its low cholesterol and monosaccharide nature. In this study, the effects of processing parameter affecting quality of cashew kernel oil were investigated. The extraction analysis was carried out using a laboratory screw press in the Department of Agricultural and Bio-Environmental Engineering, Auchi Polytechnic, Auchi and the quality analysis of CKO extracted was carried out in the chemistry laboratory of the University of Ilorin, Ilorin Nigeria. The study investigated the effects of heating temperature, moisture content, and Pressing time on the iodine value, acid value, peroxide value and free fatty acid of the CKO. The study was considered as a 4×3×3×3 factorial experiment with four levels of heating temperature (80, 90,100 and 110°C), three level of moisture content (7,8 and 9% wb) and three level of pressing time (10, 12 and 15minutes) and in three replication using a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with moisture content as a blocking factor. The data obtained was subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS20.0 software. The study result established that the heating temperature, moisture content and pressing time have significant effects on the iodine value, acid value, peroxide value and free fatty acid of the CKO at 0.05 confidence limit.
TL;DR: In this paper, a review highlights the complexity of biofuels which is a direct product of biomass and the sheer diversity of options already available, hence advocating biofuel as an option to solve the current energy crisis if it is economically, socially and technologically sustained and the public acceptability is maximized.
Abstract: The quest for safe, secure and sustainable energy has posed one of the most critical challenges of this age. Nigeria is blessed with vast biomass resources, yet lacks the wherewithal to harness and develop a sustainable energy framework, this review highlights the complexity of biofuels which is a direct product of biomass and the sheer diversity of options already available, hence advocating biofuel as an option to solve the current energy crisis if it is economically, socially and technologically sustained and the public acceptability is maximized.
TL;DR: In this article, the homotopy perturbation method (HPM) is implemented to show the numerical assumption of the population dynamics model with density-dependent migeration and the Allee effect.
Abstract: Solutions of nonlinear models are of great importance and their significance has increased a lot. In given paper, the homotopy perturbation method (HPM) is implemented to show the numerical assumption of the population dynamics model with density-dependent migeration and the Allee effect. The resemblance of the numerical solutions attained by HPM with exact solution allows the order of this method. The results show applicability, accuracy and efficiency of HPM in solving the parabolic equation. HPM is effective for solving the transitary non-linear advection diffusion reaction equation.
TL;DR: In this paper, sustainable forest management was considered as an alternative to maintains and improves the soil biodiversity, soil productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and potential of the economic values of northern Nigerian forest trees.
Abstract: In recent years, the concern about degradation and deforestation of forest trees has changed from negative consequences and decline of many important natural species, to thinking about ways to improve and manage the remaining plants in northern Nigeria. The benefits of this management has been noted to ensure the sustainable use of woods for fuel, honey for medicine and other human needs, fruits for eating, fodder and grasses for livestock and many other important plant resources for medicinal purposes in local communities. Deforestation and desertification caused serious damage to most of the forest areas in northern Nigeria. Many advices and practices continue to provide favourable environment for better management of the African forests. Sustainable forest management was considered as an alternative to maintains and improves the soil biodiversity, soil productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and potential of the economic values of northern Nigerian forest trees. As part of this sustainable forest management practices, this paper, provides an outline of some key recommendations on how to improve, maintain and manage forest trees and their soil biodiversity in the region.
TL;DR: In this paper, a survey was carried out in three local government in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria; Essien Udim, Ikot Abasi and Uruan local government area.
Abstract: This paper evaluates the methods of fermenting palm sap for bio ethanol production and compares the yield. A survey was carried out in three local government in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria; Essien Udim, Ikot Abasi and Uruan local government area. Personal interviews were conducted with local palm wine dealers and questionnaires distributed. Three types of palm trees were found dominant in these areas; oil, raphia and nypa palm tree. The sap from these three palm trees were used in investigation. Two methods were investigated; natural and yeasted fermentation using saccharomyces cerevisae. 60% respondents of the questionnaires agreed on using additives to speed up fermentation. Experiments were carried out in which the result shows that yeasted fermentation yields more alcohol than natural fermentation and also reduce the period of fermentation.