Nano fibrillated cellulose-based foam by Pickering emulsion: Preparation,characterizations, and application as dye adsorbent

An ecofriendly and biodegradable porous structure was prepared from drying aqueous foams based on nano fibrillated cellulose (NFC), extracted from softwood pulp by subcritical water/CO₂ treatment (SC-NFC). The primary aim of this work was to use the modified SC-NFC as stabilizer for a water-based Pickering emulsion which upon drying, yielded porous cellulosic materials, a good dye adsorbent. In order to exploit the carboxymethylated SC-NFC (CMSC-NFC, with a degree of substitution of 0.35 and a charge density of 649 μeqv/g) as a stabilizer for water-based Pickering emulsion in subsequent step, an optimized quantity of octyl amine (30 mg/g of SC-NFC) was added to make them partially hydrophobic. A series of dry foam structures were prepared by varying the concentrations of treated CMSC-NFCs and 4 wt% was found to be the optimum concentration to yield foam with high porosity (99%) and low density (0.038 g/cc) along with high compression strength (0.24 MPa), superior to the conventionally extracted NFC. The foams were applied to capture as high as 98% of methylene blue dyes, making them a potential green candidate for treating industrial effluent. In addition, the dye adsorption kinetics and isotherms were found to be well suited with second order kinetics and Langmuir isotherm models.     

Effect of microwave sintering on the microstructure and mechanical properties of AA7075/B4C/ZrC hybrid nano composite fabricated by powder metallurgy techniques

AA7075 + 6%B4C+3%ZrC nano hybrid composite was successfully fabricated, with nano reinforcements composition in AA7075 alloy selected based on previous investigation, to achieve better mechanical performance. Two different sintering techniques, namely conventional and microwave, were implemented to determine the effect on microstructural and mechanical properties. Microstructural investigation was performed with the help of W-SEM. Tensile, compression, and hardness were measured with the help of UTM and Vickers microhardness machine. Porosity was calculated by using Archimedes principle. It was observed that the added nano ZrC particles formed agglomerates and the B₄C particles were distributed homogenously. Composites processed by microwave sintering showed excellent mechanical properties compared to the conventionally sintered composites. No intermetallic compounds were detected in microwave sintered composites through XRD analysis, indicating strong and clean interface bonds between matrix and reinforcement particles. High strain to fracture value of 12.24% was noted in microwave sintered nano hybrid composite, while it was 6.12% for conventional sintered one. Fractography revealed no peeling action of reinforcements from the matrix material, and the mode of failure was brittle. It was concluded that, while fabricating nano range hybrid composites, the implementation of advanced sintering technique (microwave sintering) with low sintering temperatures and low sintering times with internal heat generations, helps in eliminating defects that may develop because of high surface energies of nano range reinforcements.     

某铁矿强磁尾矿反浮选回收试验研究

针对我国西部某铁矿强磁选尾矿进行了反浮选回收铁资源的试验研究, 探讨了pH值、抑制剂可溶性淀粉用量、阳离子捕收剂十二胺用量对浮选指标的影响。结果表明, 在矿浆pH=10、可溶性淀粉用量2 400 g/t、十二胺用量400 g/t条件下进行一粗一精(精选药剂用量减半)闭路反浮选, 可获得铁品位43.88%、回收率50.93%的铁精矿产品。     

Glycaemic response of pseudocereal-based gluten-free food products: a review

Rapid digestion and absorption of carbohydrates have become a health issue (high glycaemic index, GI), which can be a matter of greater concern when consumed in large quantities. Depending upon the influence of carbohydrates on the blood sugar levels, GI classifies carbohydrates (on a scale of 100) as low (<55), medium (55–70) and high (>70) GI foods. Among the pseudocereals, chia seed possesses relatively lower GI (28.53), as compared to buckwheat (52.35), amaranth (47.65) and quinoa (61.50). Consumers now prefer foods with a high GI over the ones with low GI to prevent various metabolic alterations. Celiac disease is a lifelong disorder prevalent worldwide and can only be controlled by following a strict lifelong gluten-free diet. Therefore, pseudocereals could be a potential alternate for low GI food and developing gluten-free food products, including bread, cookies, noodles and pasta. This review synthesises the recently published literatures on pseudocereals as a lowering GI and healthy food option. This review also gives insights into developing pseudocereals as a potential and novel ingredient for gluten-free food applications and the latest research conducted worldwide.     

丁二酸酐酯化改性糯米淀粉的研究

目的 为了提高糯米淀粉的粘度，以达到标签胶的要求。方法 对糯米淀粉进行丁二酸酐酯化改性，通过单因素试验及响应面优化确定出最佳酯化条件，测定其理化性质，并对其进行结构表征。结果 丁二酸酐酯化改性糯米淀粉的最优工艺条件：丁二酸酐添加量（丁二酸酐占淀粉干基的质量百分比）为10.3%，酯化温度为41.5℃，酯化时间为2.0 h,pH为9.0，在此条件下制得的糯米淀粉胶的粘度较高，可达到61.6 Pa·s，且溶解性与溶胀度均有不同程度的提高。电镜与热力学性质分析表明，酯化后淀粉颗粒结晶结构受到破坏，表面粗糙，出现凹陷与裂缝。结论 经过丁二酸酐酯化后，糯米淀粉胶的粘度得到提高。     

基于滚动摩擦作用下玉米颗粒在模拟筒仓卸料中的力链分析（网络首发、推荐阅读）

针对颗粒滚动摩擦作用对筒仓中玉米颗粒的力链空间分布进行研究，通过EDEM离散元软件建立筒仓模型与仿真玉米颗粒模型进行卸粮仿真模拟，并与筒仓卸料实验作流态对比，验证模型与仿真结果的准确性。通过对模拟仓进行切片观察和数据处理，对比分析了不同摩擦情况下力链的细观参数随时间演化规律。模拟结果表明：颗粒间摩擦系数越大，卸粮完成的最终时间越长；颗粒间滚动摩擦系数越小，颗粒由整体流转变为管状流的时间越早。对于有漏斗的筒仓来说，减小颗粒间摩擦会改变整体流和管状流之间的极限，从而增加产生管状流的面积。标准滚动摩擦系数下玉米颗粒在卸料过程中会出现起拱-塌陷效应；减小滚动摩擦，玉米颗粒卸料较稳定，未出现起拱的应力突增、以及拱塌陷的应力衰减；增大颗粒间滚动摩擦不但会增加拱效应，且出现成拱高度距离漏斗口更高。     

Nanotechnology‐based wastewater treatment

Water contamination is a global challenge impacting both the environment and human health with significant economic and social costs. The growing scarcity of usable water resources requires effective treatment of wastewater. In this context, developing cheaper, safer and more efficient wastewater treatment technologies are the need of the hour. One promising approach that several studies have reported success has been the usage of nanomaterials in water and waste water management. The rapid progress of research in nanomaterial sciences has shown their growing potential; however, there has not been a great amount of information available on their implementation. This review focuses on developments in nanotechnology that hold strong potential for wastewater treatment. The review covers key techniques in nanomaterial‐based water treatments including adsorption, filtration and photocatalysis with recent examples showing how to improve their properties and efficiencies according to the need.     

Influence of tetraploid wheat (Triticum dicoccum) on low glycaemic index pizza base processing and its starch digestibility

The present study aimed to utilise Dicoccum wheat (DW), barley (BF) and soya flour (SF) in the development of low in vitro starch digestibility (IVSD) and estimated glycaemic index (EGI) PB. The BF and SF are mixed (1:1) (BFSF) and used to replace DW at 25%, 50% and 75% level and compared with 100% DW. The quality characteristics (rheological, physical, textural and chemical), IVSD and EGI of PB were determined. The incorporation of BFSF to DW increased the farinograph water absorption capacity (58.1%–64.2%) and mixing tolerance index (21-68 FU), and decreased the dough development time (4.3–2.8 min) and amylograph pasting properties, respectively. Further, the thickness, shear force and redness were decreased and lightness and yellowness increased. Based on the physico-sensory studies, 50% of BFSF along with emulsifier’s incorporation was optimum without affecting any sensory parameters and this PB had decreased IVSD (31) and EGI (54) when compared to the control 37 and 63, respectively.     

The effect of rice bran on physicochemical,textural and glycaemic properties of ready-to-eat extruded corn snacks

In this work, corn extruded snack products were enriched with rice bran (RB) at 10% and 15%. A co-rotating twin-screw extruder was used with a feed moisture content of 16 g 100 g⁻¹, a screw speed of 240 r.p.m. and four heating sections of the barrel (100, 140, 150 and 150 °C). The impact of RB inclusion on nutritional profile, starch digestion, physicochemical and textural properties of snack products was evaluated. RB-enriched extrudates showed a lower specific volume and hardness and higher crispness than control. RB at 15% gave a water-holding capacity lower than control. Rheology of extrudate dispersions indicated an increase in elastic interactions and solid-like behaviour with RB supplementation. Differences in rheological properties resulted in attenuation of predictive glycaemic response for RB-enriched snacks.