Farmers' preferences for adopting on-farm concentration of raw milk: Results from a discrete choice experiment in Germany

Milk concentrates are used in the manufacturing of dairy products such as yogurt and cheese or are processed into milk powder. Processes for the nonthermal separation of water and valuable milk ingredients are becoming increasingly widespread at farm level. The technical barriers to using farm-manufactured milk concentrate in dairies are minimal, hence the suspicion that the practice of on-farm raw milk concentration is still fairly uncommon for economic reasons. This study, therefore, set out to investigate farmers' potential willingness to adopt a raw milk concentration plant. The empirical analysis was based on discrete choice experiments with 75 German dairy farmers to identify preferences and the possible adoption of on-farm raw milk concentration. The results showed that, in particular, farmers who deemed the current milk price to be insufficient viewed on-farm concentration using membrane technology as an option for diversifying their milk sales. We found no indication that adoption would be impeded by a lack of trustworthy information on milk processing technologies or capital.     

Flow distribution and mass removal in floating treatment wetlands arranged in series and spanning the channel width

Floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) use plants’ roots for water quality improvement. The plants are supported by a buoyant structure deployed at the water surface. The roots form a porous zone beneath the structure and remove pollutants carried in suspension through filtering, absorption and uptake. This paper used CFD simulation to model FTWs arranged in series and spanning the channel width and to study the effects of root length and spacing between FTWs on flow distribution and mass removal. The root zone was modelled as a porous media, and removal was computed using first-order decay, for which a range of removal constants was tested. Longer roots increased the reactive volume of the root zone, which increased the fraction of pollutant inflow entering the FTWs. Increasing the distance between FTWs allowed greater mixing between water that went through and beneath the upstream FTW. This increased the concentration entering each FTW, which enhanced mass removal per FTW. However, a larger distance between FTWs reduced the number of FTWs in the channel, reducing the reactive volume. In the tradeoff between mixing and reactive volume, the reactive volume was more important, such that total removal in the channel increased with longer roots and more units of FTW (shorter gap distance). However, removing the gap entirely was detrimental, as FTWs in series removed more mass than a continuous FTW of same volume. This study points to two design recommendations for FTWs in series. First, if resources for building FTWs are not limiting, but the channel length is, it is preferable to prioritize higher reactive volume (shorter gap distance) to achieve maximum removal per channel length. Second, if resources for FTWs are limiting, but channel length is not, it is better to place the FTWs with a longer gap distance, preferably along enough to allow mixing over the full depth between FTWs, as this will achieve maximum removal per FTW.     

Concentration dependence of physical properties of low temperature processed ZnO quantum dots thin films on polyethylene terephthalate as potential electron transport material for perovskite solar cell

Colloidal Zinc oxide quantum dots (ZnO QDs) prepared with varying concentrations through precipitation method were deposited on flexible ITO/PET substrates using spin-coating technique. Various characterization tools were utilized to investigate the morphological, structural, electrical and optical properties of the films. The crystallinity of the films was found to improve with increasing ZnO QD concentration (ZQ_C) as evident from the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) studies. Crystallographic and optical parameters were evaluated and explained in depth. The average nanograin size and bandgap were increased and decreased respectively, from ～5 nm to ～8 nm and 3.29 eV–3.24 eV with an increase in ZQ_C from 10 mg/mL to 70 mg/mL. Columnar structure growth of the films is revealed by AFM results. The films showed decent optical transparency up to 81%. All the ZnO films exhibited n-type semiconducting property as indicated by the electrical measurements with carrier mobility and low resistivity of 12.21–26.63 cm²/Vs and 11.84 × 10^?3 to 13.16 × 10^?3 Ω cm respectively. Based on the experimental findings, ZnO QD nanostructure film grown at 50 mg/mL is envisaged to be a potential candidate for flexible perovskite photovoltaic application.     

Thermal transport and chemical conversion in single reacting sorbent particles

The effects of particle size and carbon dioxide concentration on chemical conversion in engineered spherical particles undergoing calcium oxide looping are investigated. Particles are thermochemically cycled in a furnace under different carbon dioxide concentrations. Changes in composition due to chemical reactions are measured using thermogravimetric analysis. Gas composition at the furnace exit is evaluated with mass spectroscopy. A numerical model of thermal transport phenomena developed previously is adapted to match the physical system investigated in the present study. The model is used to elucidate effects of reacting medium characteristics on particle temperature and reaction extent. Experimental and numerical results show that (1) an increase in particle size results in a decrease in carbonation extent, and (2) the carbonation step consists of fast and slow reaction regimes. The reaction rates in the fast and slow carbonation regimes increase with increasing carbon dioxide concentration. The effect of carbon dioxide concentration and the distinction between the fast and slow regimes become more pronounced with increasing particle size.     

Extraction and characterization of hydroxyapatite-based materials from grey triggerfish skin and black scabbardfish bones

The conversion of food industry by-products to compounds with high added value is nowadays a significant topic, for social, environmental, and economic reasons. In this paper, calcium phosphate-based materials were obtained from black scabbardfish (Aphanopus carbo) bones and grey triggerfish (Balistes capriscus) skin, which are two of the most abundant fish by-products of Madeira Island. Different calcination temperatures between 400 and 1000°C were employed. Materials obtained from calcination of bones of black scabbard fish were composed by homogeneous mixtures of hydroxyapatite (Ca₁₀(PO4)₆(OH)₂, HAp) and β-tricalcium phosphate (β-Ca₃(PO₄)₂, β-TCP). Because of the high biocompatibility of HAp and the good resorbability of β-TCP, these natural biphasic materials could be very relevant in the field of biomaterials, as bone grafts. The ratio between HAp and β-TCP in the biphasic compound was dependent on the calcination temperature. Differently, the material obtained from skin of grey triggerfish contained HAp as the main phase, together with small amounts of other mineral phases, such as halite and rhenanite, which are known to enhance osteogenesis when used as bone substitutes. In both cases, the increase of calcination temperature led to an increase in the particles size with a consequent decrease in their specific surface area. These results demonstrate that from the fish by-products of the most consumed fishes in Madeira Island it is possible to obtain bioceramic materials with tunable composition and particle morphology, which could be promising materials for the biomedical field.     

Improving water retention of chicken breast meats by CaCl2 combined with pulsed electric fields

Frozen poultry meat is the most widely consumed animal-based food. However, water loss often leads to quality loss of poultry meat. Therefore, the present study sought to investigate the combined effect of calcium chloride (CaCl₂) and pulsed electric fields (PEF) treatment on chicken breast meats and the mechanisms underlying protein degradation. The results showed that the synergistic effect was superior to the single treatment. Compared with the untreated group, the combination of CaCl₂ and PEF increased water holding capacity of chicken breast meats by 16.61% and decreased cooking loss by 28.93%. Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) results indicated that the synergistic treatment promoted water molecules' binding capacity in myofibrils of poultry meat, which exhibited higher immobilised water. Additionally, the combination of CaCl₂ and PEF led to increased degradation of proteins of high-molecular weight and surface hydrophobicity of myofibrillar protein. Furthermore, the extension of the protein molecule and microenvironmental changes promoted interaction between protein and water. In conclusion, the synergistic treatment of CaCl₂ and PEF enhanced water retention and improved physicochemical properties of the myofibrillar protein in chicken breast meats.     

提升管内颗粒浓度梯度力的特性

由于Kutta-Joukowski横向力与浓度梯度力的共同作用，提升管内颗粒沿径向在边壁大量聚集并形成稳定的环?核结构。根据实验数据，分析了颗粒浓度梯度的径向分布特征，考察了不同操作条件下浓度梯度力系数K的分布特性。由Kutta-Joukowski横向力与浓度梯度的关系，提出了浓度梯度力的表达式Fρ=K(dρ/dr)A及浓度梯度力系数K的表达式K=[?ρg(νg?νp)(?v/?r)r]/?dρ/dr+(d2ρ/dr2)r?。提升管内颗粒群受到的浓度梯度力与浓度梯度力系数K有关。浓度梯度力系数K在提升管中心处为0，沿提升管径向呈“N”型分布，随表观气速增加而增加；提升管内充分发展段K的数值明显大于提升管加速区和出口约束区，总结了浓度梯度力系数K的经验关联式。     

安徽省铜陵市铁山头铜矿床地质特征及找矿潜力

铁山头铜矿床处于铜陵矿集区的中东部，属于扬子陆块下扬子凹陷中的铜陵隆起。矿床位于凤凰山矿田北侧，成矿潜力较大。综合研究分析认为：①接触交代作用使得岩体接触带及附近变质形成矽卡岩矿化带；②区内凤凰山岩体（花岗闪长岩）系成矿母岩；③矿体主要赋存于花岗闪长岩与三叠系下统南陵湖组石灰岩接触带上；④矿床成因类型为高—中温热液交代矽卡岩型矿床。     

铅锌多金属矿分段浓缩选别技术的研究与应用

通过多碎细磨、原矿分级溢流优先浓缩脱水,进行了高浓度选铅银、选锌,锌尾矿再浓缩脱水选硫、选锰,同时匹配合理的选矿药剂,原矿浓缩水回用于磨矿分级和选铅,锌尾浓缩水回用于选锌,尾矿浓缩水回用于选硫、选锰,剩余各种废水经适度处理回用于选铅和磨矿分级等,使一段磨矿细度-74μm从70%提高到80%,铅、锌、硫入选初始浓度分别提高到50%、40%、50%,选矿废水全部分质回用。铅锌硫银回收率分别提高了1.5、2.83、13.57、1.01个百分点,硫精矿主品位从38.9%提高到46.5%,设备减少40%、能耗降低25%,节约了选矿药剂消耗和废水处理费用,实现了铅锌多金属矿产资源的高效回收和节能环保。