Effect of complexation of oxidised corn starch with mineral elements on physicochemical properties

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of complexation of oxidised starch with mineral elements on its physicochemical properties. Corn starch was oxidised with sodium hypochlorite and, afterwards, modified with ions of potassium, magnesium and iron. Thus, native and modified starches were analysed for: contents of mineral elements, colour parameters (L*a*b*), water binding capacity and solubility in water at temperature of 60 and 80 °C. Thermodynamic characteristics of gelatinisation by DSC, molecular weight distribution by GPC, intrinsic viscosity and pasting properties by RVA were studied. The efficiency of incorporation of metal ions into oxidised corn starch was about 30%, 20% and 20% for potassium, magnesium and iron ions, respectively. The complexation with potassium ions caused the greatest changes in the molecular weight distribution and the intrinsic viscosity of starches and viscosity of starch pastes. Only modification of starch with iron ions affected the colour parameters of the starch. Incorporation of metal ions into starch resulted also in changes in its water binding capacity and solubility in water.     

褐煤、小麦秸秆和废塑料在亚临界水液化制液体燃油中硫的变迁行为研究

The distribution and transformation of sulfur in products during hydrothermal liquefaction of lignite, wheat straw and plastic waste in sub-critical water were investigated in an autoclave. The influence of blending ratio, temperature, initial nitrogen pressure, residence time and additives on sulfur distribution was studied systematically. The results showed that most of sulfur existed as organic sulfur and transferred into the residue, and only a small part of sulfur transferred into oil and gas during hydrothermal liquefaction of lignite, wheat straw and plastic waste in sub-critical water. The results also showed that lower temperature(less than 300 ℃) was favorable for obtaining oil with low sulfur content. It can be also seen from the results that the best condition to obtain the oil with low sulfur content should be implemented at a lignite/wheat straw/plastic waste blending ratio of 5:4:1, an initial nitrogen pressure of 3 MPa and a residence time of 30 minutes. Furthermore, the results indicated that adding tourmaline during hydrothermal liquefaction of lignite, wheat straw and plastic waste was beneficial to production of oil with low sulfur content.     

Insights into biological delignification of rice straw by Trametes hirsuta and Myrothecium roridum and comparison of saccharification yields with dilute acid pretreatment

Rice straw is the most abundant agricultural residue on a global scale and is widely available as feedstock for cellulosic fuel production. However, it is highly recalcitrant to biochemical deconstruction and also generates inhibitors that affect enzymatic saccharification. Rice straw from eastern Arkansas was subjected to dilute acid pretreatment (160 °C, 48 min and 1.0% sulfuric acid) and solid-state fermentation with two lignocellulolytic fungi, Trametes hirsuta and Myrothecium roridum, and their saccharification efficacies were compared. T. hirsuta and M. roridum were tested separately; pretreatment of rice straw with either strain for seven days resulted in 19 and 70% enrichment of its holocellulose content, respectively. However, liquid chromatography analysis of the alkali extracts showed significant differences in cell wall degradation by T. hirsuta and M. roridum. T. hirsuta removed 15% more phenolic compounds and 38% more glucan than M. roridum, while M. roridum removed 77% more xylan than T. hirsuta. Fungal and dilute acid pretreated biomass was then hydrolyzed using Accellerase^® 1500, a saccharification cocktail. Saccharification efficiency of M. roridum was 37% higher than that of dilute acid pretreatment of rice straw, requiring 8% lower enzyme loading and 50% shorter enzymatic hydrolysis duration. Alkali extraction of fungal pretreated biomass also yielded 10–15 g kg⁻¹ of acid precipitable polymeric lignin (APPL), which is a valuable co-product for biorefineries. In comparison to dilute acid pretreatment, fungal pretreatment could be a cost-effective alternative for the degradation of recalcitrant biomass, such as rice straw.     

物理发泡水稻秸秆基聚氨酯泡沫研究

将水稻秸秆粉碎为粒径250~590 μm的粉末，利用成熟的催化常压加热液化技术将水稻秸秆粉末液化制得液化物，以其为原料，五甲基二乙烯三胺（PC5）和N，N-二甲基环己胺（PC8）为复合催化剂，正戊烷为发泡剂，与多苯基甲烷多异氰酸酯（PAPI）反应通过物理发泡法制备硬质聚氨酯泡沫（PURF）。另外采用全水发泡法制备了聚氨酯泡沫作为对比。对物理发泡制备PURF的条件进行了优化，较优的制备条件为催化剂中PC5和PC8的质量比4:5，泡沫稳定剂硅油B8462用量（以液化物质量计，下同）4%，发泡剂用量15%，该条件下制备的PURF的拉伸强度为347 kPa，压缩强度为181 kPa。采用傅里叶变换红外光谱（FT-IR）和扫描电镜（SEM）对比了物理发泡和全水发泡制得的泡沫，结果显示，通过物理发泡制得的水稻秸秆基聚氨酯泡沫相比于全水发泡聚氨酯泡沫，体系中异氰酸根浓度低，泡沫泡孔开孔率低，制得的泡沫力学性能略优。     

A Simple and Effective Mass Spectrometric Approach to Identify the Adulteration of the Mediterranean Diet Component Extra-Virgin Olive Oil with Corn Oil

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) with its nutraceutical characteristics substantially contributes as a major nutrient to the health benefit of the Mediterranean diet. Unfortunately, the adulteration of EVOO with less expensive oils (e.g., peanut and corn oils), has become one of the biggest source of agricultural fraud in the European Union, with important health implications for consumers, mainly due to the introduction of seed oil-derived allergens causing, especially in children, severe food allergy phenomena. In this regard, revealing adulterations of EVOO is of fundamental importance for health care and prevention reasons, especially in children. To this aim, effective analytical methods to assess EVOO purity are necessary. Here, we propose a simple, rapid, robust and very sensitive method for non-specialized mass spectrometric laboratory, based on the matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) coupled to unsupervised hierarchical clustering (UHC), principal component (PCA) and Pearson’s correlation analyses, to reveal corn oil (CO) adulterations in EVOO at very low levels (down to 0.5%).     

Comparison of two Analytical Methods (ELISA and LC-MS/MS) for Determination of Aflatoxin B1 in Corn and Aflatoxin M1 in Milk

The aim of this paper is to assess the closeness of agreement between results of ELISA and LC-MS/MS methods for determination of aflatoxin B₁ in corn and aflatoxin M₁ in milk. Samples of corn (n=100) and milk (n=250) were simultaneously analyzed using ELISA and LC-MS/MS methods, after the severe drought that affected Serbia in summer 2012 resulting in occurrence of aflatoxin B1 in corn and aflatoxin M₁ in milk. Regression analysis showed higher level of agreement between aflatoxin B₁ samples (R²=0.994), compared to aflatoxin M₁ samples (R²=0.920). However, both techniques were satisfactory in meeting the requirements for official control purposes.     

Improving the performance of asphalt mixture by addition of short-thin wheat straw pieces

To reduce costs and prevent environmental pollution in the fabrication process of straws fibrosis, a simple and efficient method of straw-reinforced asphalt concrete is proposed, which adds short-thin wheat straw pieces (SWSPs) into asphalt mixture directly. The road performances of wheat straw asphalt mixture (WSAM) are evaluated by means of three-point flexural test, rutting test, freeze thaw split test and the test of fracture toughness. The results show that when the SWSPs content is between 0.1% and 0.2%, the flexural strength of asphalt mixture increases by 23%, the dynamic stability by 48% (reaching 1592 times), fracture toughness by 27% while the rut depth decreases by 44%. It is indicated that high temperature stability of the asphalt mixture and low temperature crack resistance are intensified by adding an appropriate amount of SWSPs, and the results of freeze thaw split test manifest that the moisture susceptibility of WSAM is weaker.     

Assessment of the structural factors controlling the enzymatic saccharification of rice straw cellulose

In this study, the structural factors controlling the enzymatic saccharification of rice straw cellulose were examined by preparing structure-modified rice straw samples such as dewaxed, alkali-treated, oxidized, and swollen rice straw. It was found that the initial enzymatic saccharification rate of the various structure-modified samples was largely controlled by the initial cellulose surface area of the cellulose unit. Although the presence of lignin limited the cellulose surface area, there was no strong relationship between the lignin content and the initial reaction. On the other hand, the long-term enzymatic saccharification of rice straw cellulose highly depended on the lignin removal rate (lignin content). It was also found that silica is not a crucial factor in controlling the enzymatic saccharification.     

Electrical energy production and operational strategies from a farm-scale anaerobic batch reactor loaded with rice straw and piggery wastewater

A farm-scale biogas plant loaded with untreated rice straw and co-digested with raw pig wastewater was operated and monitored during a complete digestion cycle. One active anaerobic digester cell (6600 m³) containing 727 tons of rice straw, 285 tons of pig wastewater and approximately 1300 tons of water was operated for a total of 422 days. Cumulative energy production of 295 MWh and an estimated specific methane yield of 181 LCH₄/kgVS added was achieved. A direct correlation between daily power production and digester temperature was observed, with a maximum power production of 2.74 MWh/d. Mesophilic conditions were reached inside the digester during the summer months by recovering waste heat from the engine and recycling it through the leachate recirculation process.A slow start-up period of approximately 200 days was observed, but increased leachate recirculation rates (from 0.04 to >0.14 m³/m³straw-d) resulted in increased gas production that initiated the microbial growth phase in the digestion cycle. Although sufficient buffering capacity as well as macro- and micronutrients were supplied to the system by the pig wastewater, an overall straw (dry wt.) to wastewater ratio (wet wt.) of 1 to 1.4 is recommended to improve gas production and decrease the acclimation period. A raw economic assessment of the system shows an investment recovery time of 8.3 years. Improvements such as continuous leachate recirculation, a more efficient heat exchange system to maintain mesophilic conditions year round, and periodic addition of fresh wastewater and sludge acclimated to lignocellulosic material are recommended to achieve a more sustainable and profitable system.     

Mesophilic biohydrogen production from calcium hydroxide treated wheat straw

The use of Ca(OH)₂ pre-treatment to improve fermentative biohydrogen yields, from wheat straw was investigated. Wheat straw was pre-treated with 7.4% (w/w) Ca(OH)₂ at ambient temperature (20 °C) for 2, 5, 8, and 12 days, prior to 35 °C fermentation with sewage sludge inoculum. Biohydrogen yields were evaluated during dark fermentation and simultaneous saccharification fermentation (SSF) of total pre-treated straw material and compared to those from separated solid and hydrolysate fractions. Ca(OH)₂ pre-treatment followed by SSF, exhibited a synergetic relationship. On average, 58.78 mL-H₂ g-VS⁻¹ was produced from SSF of pre-treated and filtered solids. This was accompanied by approximately a 10-fold increase in volatile fatty acid production, compared to the untreated control. By omitting pre-treatment hydrolysate liquors from SSF, H₂ production increased on average by 35.8%, per VS of harvested straw. Additional inhibition studies indicated that CaCO₃, formed as a result of pre-treatment pH control, could promote homoacetogenesis and reduce biohydrogen yields.