Efficiency of acetic acid and formic acid as a catalyst in catalytical and mechanocatalytical pretreatment of barley straw

In this study, the potential of organic acids (formic acid, acetic acid) in a catalytical and mechanocatalytic conversion of lignocellulosic barley straw to valuable sugars is explored using sulfuric acid as a reference. Acid-catalyzed hydrolysis has been carried out with acid-impregnated samples as well as unmodified barley straw. In the mechanocatalytical approach, pretreatment consists of impregnation with the acid catalyst and mechanical treatment by ball milling following chemical hydrolysis. Straw samples and residues were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR) whereas hydrolysate analysis was based on total reducing sugar (TRS) determination following the DNS method and capillary electrophoresis (CE) analysis. The results indicated that acetic acid and formic acid are rather mild acids yielding low TRS levels compared to the reference acid. Mechanocatalytical pretreatment slightly increased TRS yields, but not significantly. Strikingly, sulfuric acid showed an efficient conversion efficiency yielding almost 45% of TRS. Furthermore, this study provided evidence for the acetylation of straw components when acetic acid was used as catalyst. Alkali hydrolysis induced the de-esterification, but revealed no significant increase of TRS yields.     

Dead end ultra-filtration of sugar beet juice expressed from cold electrically pre-treated slices: Effect of membrane polymer on fouling mechanism and permeate quality

Purification of raw sugar beet juice expressed at ambient temperature (20 °C) from pretreated sugar beet slices by pulsed electric field (E = 600 V·cm^− 1, t_PEF = 10 ms, T = 20 °C) was studied on the laboratory scale by dead-end ultrafiltration tests. Polyethersulfone (PES) and Regenerated Cellulose (RC) membranes with the same nominal molecular weight cut-off of 30 kDa were used. Experiments were carried out in unstirred and stirred (at rotation speed of 500 rpm) mode at constant trans-membrane pressure of 2 bar. The effects of the membrane polymer (Polyethersulfone and Regenerate Cellulose) on the filtration flux and the permeate quality were studied. In order to identify the fouling mechanism, the filtration kinetics was modeled using combined fouling models. Results showed that the filtration productivity (filtration flux) and selectivity (rejection ratio of impurities) depended on the membrane polymer. The juice filterability was better with Regenerated Cellulose (RC) membrane while the polyethersulfone (PES) membrane ensured a better retention of impurities (colorants, proteins and colloids), leading to a higher juice purity. Experimental and models data adjustment showed that combined models were preferable to investigate the fouling mechanism for both unstirred and stirred filtration. The desirable sugar purity (95–96%) of filtrate implies the potential application of a novel process (PEF treatment-cold pressing-ultrafiltration) for sugar industrial production.Industrial relevancePre-treatment by pulsed electric field PEF allowed cold or mild extraction of sucrose from sugar beet roots. The combination of PEF and ultra-filtration allowed high yield sucrose extraction and purification with less energy consumption. Membrane fouling analysis led to better filtration producibility. The obtained data can be useful for optimization of the sucrose production with high yield in industrial extraction processes.     

燕麦β-葡聚糖的凝胶质构性能研究

以我国山西产燕麦为原料,提取并分离纯化燕麦β-葡聚糖,以X-T21型质构仪为主要研究设备,重点研究了β-葡聚糖凝胶性能和相关影响因素。研究结果表明,β-葡聚糖的浓度和分子质量大小会直接影响其凝胶的形成。同时,其凝胶性能受β-葡聚糖浓度、分子质量、pH、溶剂种类和盐等因素的影响。提高β-葡聚糖浓度、分子质量、降低体系pH和添加适量的盐、尿素及硼砂等均有助于其凝胶质构性能的改善;而提高体系pH、增加溶剂种类的极性则会降低其凝胶质构性能。     

Effects of sulfate ions and slightly acidic pH conditions on Cr(VI) adsorption onto silica gelatin composite

The feasibility of utilizing CTAB–silica gelatin composite (C-SGC) to remove hexavalent chromium from aqueous solutions under different conditions was investigated. Removal of chromate was assessed through evaluation of the adsorption kinetics of chromate ions on the composite under equilibrium conditions in the presence of sulfate ions and at a slightly acidic pH condition (pH 5.8). Adsorption competition tests in the presence of sulfate ions showed that Cr(VI) was still effectively adsorbed from aqueous solution regardless of the presence of the competing anions. In fact, the adsorption kinetics performed at different initial chromate concentrations were unaffected by the presence of 100 mg L^?1 sulfate ions (pH 7.5). The equilibrium adsorption data were fitted by Freundlich adsorption isotherms which confirmed that the adsorption efficiency of chromium on the CTAB–silica gelatin composite was unchanged in the presence of sulfate ions. Further, the adsorption process was shown to be pH dependent and more efficient at slightly acidic pH (5.8). These findings demonstrated a high specificity of the CTAB–silica gelatin composite for chromium, and highlight the possibility of using this matrix for efficient removal of chromium from industrial wastewater without the need to eliminate contaminant sulfate ions.     

A new strategy for the preparation of porous zinc ferrite nanorods with subsequently light-driven photocatalytic activity

Porous zinc ferrite (ZnFe₂O₄) nanorods have been synthesized by the thermal decomposition of ZnFe₂(C₂O₄)₃ nanorods precursor, which was prepared by template-, surfactant-free solvothermal method. The morphology and structure of the obtained ZnFe₂(C₂O₄)₃ nanorods precursor and porous ZnFe₂O₄ nanorods were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The results indicated that the as-synthesized ZnFe₂O₄ retained the precursor morphology of 1D nanorods with diameters of 100–200 nm and lengths of several micrometers and plenty of nanoparticles were interconnected to each other to form porous nanorods. The as-prepared ZnFe₂O₄ nanorods as a kind of subsequently light-driven photocatalyst exhibited good photocatalytic decomposition activity for methylene blue (MB).     

Eating quality of raw carrots––correlations between flavour compounds,sensory profiling analysis and consumer liking test

Sensory profiling, analysis of aroma, sugar and dry matter, as well as consumer liking test were used to characterise the quality of six carrot cultivars, grown at two locations in Denmark. The carrot samples were examined at harvest, and after three months of cold storage. Carrot cultivar had an effect on most sensory and flavour compound variables, due particularly to the influence of one cultivar; and also location influenced carrot quality. Storage of carrots was characterised by an increase of a range of aroma components, but the changes in flavour compounds were not correspondingly observed by the sensory analysis. By Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) two thirds of the flavour compound variables was found to correlate significantly with one or more of the nine sensory attributes; and all of the sensory attributes were significantly correlated with one or more of the consumer liking test variables bitterness, sweetness and liking.     

An enhanced proton conductivity and reduced methanol permeability composite membrane prepared by sulfonated covalent organic nanosheets/Nafion

Sulfonated covalent organic nanosheets (SCONs) with a functional group (−SO₃H) are effective at reducing ion channels length and facilitating proton diffusion, indicating the potential advantage of SCONs in application for proton exchange membranes (PEMs). In this study, Nafion-SCONs composite membranes were prepared by introducing SCONs into a Nafion membrane. The incorporation of SCONs not only improved proton conductivity, but also suppressed methanol permeability. This was due to the even distribution of ion channels, formed by strong electrostatic interaction between the well dispersed SCONs and Nafion polymer molecules. Notably, Nafion-SCONs-0.6 was the best choice of composite membranes. It exhibited enhanced performance, such as high conductivity and low methanol permeability. The direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) with Nafion-SCONs-0.6 membrane also showed higher power density (118.2 mW cm⁻²), which was 44% higher than the cell comprised of Nafion membrane (81.9 mW cm⁻²) in 2 M methanol at 60 °C. These results enabled us to work on building composite membranes with enhanced properties, made from nanomaterials and polymer molecules.     

高效液相色谱-质谱串联法检测中餐常见肉类中杂环胺含量

本文通过优化液液萃取和固相萃取,结合高效液相色谱-质谱串联法对肉制品中的杂环胺进行分析测定。该方法对肉制品中六种杂环胺的检出限和定量限分别低至0.0006 ng/g和0.0021 ng/g。应用该方法研究了常见烹饪方式(烘烤和油炸)对大众餐桌上最常见肉品(鸡肉、猪肉、牛肉、草鱼)中杂环胺形成的影响。结果表明,相同烹饪方式处理的肉制品中杂环胺的生成量随烹饪温度的升高而增加;在相近加工温度下,油炸烹制的肉和鱼会产生较烘烤处理更多的杂环胺。烘烤和油炸烹制的肉制品中含量最高的杂环胺分别是2-氨基-1-甲基-6-苯基咪唑并[4,5-b]吡啶(Ph IP)和2-氨基-3,8-二甲基咪唑并[4,5-f]喹喔啉(Me IQx)。相同烘烤烹制条件下(275℃),烤鸡肉中产生的杂环胺总含量最高,其次是烤猪肉,草鱼和牛肉。275℃下烘烤烹制的鸡肉中检出最高含量的Ph IP(341.15ng/g)。在相同的实验用油炸烹制条件下,油炸肉类和鱼类中杂环胺含量处于相对较低的水平,相互之间略有差异;于200℃的油炸牛肉中检测出最高含量Me IQx (7.44 ng/g)。