Carotenoids and lipophilic antioxidant capacities of tomato purées as affected by high hydrostatic pressure processing

The effect of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) (450–550–650 MPa/5–10–15 min) on the carotenoid profile of purées obtained from commercial tomato varieties (Maliniak, Cerise, Black Prince and Lima) was investigated. The carotenoids profile was analysed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC-DAD). Photochemiluminescence (PCL_ACL), ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) assays were used to determine the antioxidant capacity of the lipophilic extracts. The results demonstrated that at certain processing conditions, HHP distinctly enhanced antioxidant capacity of the studied material. A significant reduction in lycopene and β-Carotene concentration was observed for all the HHP-treated purées. In contrast, lutein found in the purée extracts of Cerise and Black Prince tomatoes was slightly affected at 550 MPa/5 min and 650 MPa/5 min. Among all the carotenoids studied, lutein strongly and significantly affected PCL_ACL and CV parameters. In contrast, lycopene had a negligible effect on the examined parameters.     

Electrochemical synthesis of polymers with alternate phenothiazine and bithiophene units

An electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical study of a new monomer—N-alkyl-bis(thiophene)phenotiazine have been presented. Electrochemical polymerization of the monomer leads to a polymer with alternate phenothiazine and bithiophene units. Polymerization proceeds after bielectronic oxidation of the molecule. Monoelectronic oxidation gives a stable radical cation with spin located on phenothiazine. Electrochemical properties of the polymer depend on the thickness of the film deposited on the electrode. For thin layers one can observe a characteristic redox couple of phenothiazine oxidation to a radical cation. Analysis of the polymer behaviour and the results of spectroelectrochemical measurements indicate a mixed-type of polymer conductivity.     

Hydration of Ca7ZrAl6O18 phase

The hydraulic properties of the Ca₇ZrAl₆O₁₈ (C₇A₃Z) phase as well as the hydration products and thermal decomposition mechanism of this hydrated phase were studied. Microcalorimetric analysis has shown that the C₇A₃Z phase reacts with water very quickly, especially in the first 2 h after the start of the experiment. Hydration of calcium zirconium aluminate proceeds with the formation of high refractory calcium zirconate (with melting point 2345 °C), apart from the hydrated, nearly amorphous material. According to the DTA–TG–EGA, FT-IR and SEM/EDS examinations it has been found that not only the hydrates CAH₁₀, C₂AH₈ and C₄AH₁₉ are present, but also C₃AH₆ (C = CaO, A = Al₂O₃, H = H₂O), the only hydrated calcium aluminate which is a thermodynamically stable phase above 40 °C. Unhydrated Ca₇ZrAl₆O₁₈ and CaZrO₃ phases have been found by XRD, but crystalline hydrates have not been detected.     

The protective layer and decalcification of C-S-H in the mechanism of chloride corrosion of cement paste

Two processes of the chloride corrosion of cement paste are discussed: decalcification of C-S-H and the formation of the skin on the paste surface. Decalcification is relatively quick in the magnesium chloride solution, and brucite as well as basic magnesium chloride are formed. Taylor pointed out the possibility of magnesium silicate hydrate, which was proved in the works of other authors. A skin is formed on durable mortars immersed in the strong chloride solution. It is composed of brucite and basic magnesium chloride. The protective role of this skin, as foreseen by Taylor, was temporary, and sooner or later, the skin was destroyed. The alkali activated slag (AAS) mortar became then quickly destroyed. However, in high-alumina cement (HAC) paste, the dense layer was formed near the surface, which protected the paste, thus hindering the corrosion process.     

Simple method for monitoring transient thermal stresses in pipelines

This paper presents a seminumerical method for solving inverse heat conduction problems (IHCP) encountered in the monitoring of thermal stresses in pressurized thick-walled elements of steam boilers. The objective is to give a simple and quick method of determining transient temperature histories in thick-walled components based on temperature measurements on the outer thermally insulated surface. The method is suitable for solving one-dimensional problems. However, it can be extended to multidimensional temperature fields. The IHCP will be solved using the control volume approach. The accuracy of the method is demonstrated by comparing computational and experimental results. Gram orthogonal polynomials are used to smooth the measured time-dependent temperature and for evaluating time derivatives of noisy data with high accuracy. Due to the simplicity of the final formulations, the developed method is very useful for estimating the thermal stresses and controlling the fatigue damage of boiler components.     

The conditions of cationic exchange with the use of recycling polystyrene derivative,the product of sulfonation by silica sulfuric acid

Growing amount of waste plastics has become an environmental problem on a global scale. This study presents an investigation of the conditions of cleaning water from heavy metal ions using chemically recycled polystyrene. To get effective ion exchangers, the sulfonation of virgin polystyrene and expanded polystyrene wastes were obtained using silica sulfuric acid. As it turned out, the use of this solid sulfonating agent simplifies the separation of the polymeric product from the acid and the solvent in comparison to conventional sulfonation methods. The ion exchange behavior of copper and zinc cations in the yielded sulfonated derivatives of polystyrene was studied. Batch shaking adsorption experiments depending on contact time, pH, temperature, and dosage of adsorbate were carried out. The stability of resin to cyclical adsorption and regeneration (column experiment) was also investigated. We report that resins have a high adsorption efficiency with total ion exchange capacity (IEC) about 2.6 meq g^?1, which drops with decreasing pH owing to competition between protons H⁺ and metal cations, whereas with the increasing resin doses the removal of cations rises for a constant initial metal concentration. The speed of cation exchange for yielded adsorbents was even better than for commercial resins. After 360 cyclical adsorption and regeneration in column, resin had working IEC of about 2.3 meq g^?1. The study shows that cation exchange resin from polystyrene wastes can be used as an efficient adsorbent for the removal of heavy metal ions from water. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

The Microstructure and Properties of Carbon Thin Films on Nanobainitic Steel

The aim of this study was to assess whether it is possible to produce a high adhesive carbon coating by applying low-temperature RFCVD and glow discharge methods on nanobainitic X37CrMoV5-1 steel with and without nitrided sublayer. For this purpose, several methods of investigation were used: observations of coating morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), analysis of bonds found in coatings (Raman spectroscopy), microhardness tests and adhesion of coatings (Scratch tests). Our research has shown that low-temperature RFCVD and glow discharge processes of nanobainitic X37CrMoV5-1 steel allow producing carbon coatings that can be described as hardened carbon coatings with very high hardness—> 2000 HV 0.25 in case of RFCVD processes and > 3300 HV 0.025 for glow discharge process and low friction coefficient—near 0.12 at 5 N load. However, the adhesion of produced coatings to the steel substrate strongly depends on the appropriate selection of the process parameters and on the proper preparation of the substrate before the deposition regarding the thermal stability of nanobainite.

     

Characterization of the phenolic acid profile and in vitro bioactive properties of white beetroot products

The impact of boiling, baking and fermentation treatment on the phenolic acid profile, antioxidant capacity (AC) and angiotensin-1 converting enzyme (ACE) activity of white beetroot was investigated. The phenolic acids were analysed by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (micro-HPLC-MS/MS), while AC and ACE were determined by in vitro assays. Phenolic acids concentration was between 87.55 and 100.98 ng g⁻¹ d.m. Ferulic and p-coumaric acids were the main compounds among the nine phenolic acids identified. Boiling increased the phenolic acid content by 3%; however, baking and fermentation reduced the level of these acids by approximately 6% and 11%, respectively. A significant positive correlation was observed between the results of all AC assays and sinapic and caffeic acid content. The ACE inhibitory activity of white beetroot products may be attributable to the combined effect of the syringic, 4-hydroxybenzoic, ferulic and p-coumaric acids. Our study indicates that white beetroot as a novel product may be a valuable source of phenolic acids and functional properties.     

A New One/Two-Dimensional Model of the Conjugate Heat Transfer in Waterwall Tubes of the Supercritical Steam Boiler Combustion Chamber

An important issue arising in supercritical steam boilers is to avoid the tube wall overheating due to high heat fluxes transferred from flue gases to the fluid. The paper presents a new hybrid one/two-dimensional model of the fluid heating in waterwall tubes in the combustion chambers of steam boilers for supercritical steam parameters. The model is based on distributed parameters. The analysis concerns tubes with externally finned surfaces. Using the proposed model, it is possible to estimate zones and locations where the tube wall overheating may occur. One-dimensional equations describing the mass, momentum and energy conservation are formulated and solved for the fluid domain. Each analyzed cross section of the finned waterwall tube is divided into 20 control volumes for which energy balance equations are solved in a two-dimensional space. In order to analyses the conjugate heat transfer between the waterwall tube and the fluid, the heat transfer coefficient is computed using the Kitoh correlation. The computations assume a variable heat flux along the combustion chamber height. Also, the heat flux variation on the waterwall tube circumference is incorporated within the model. The reduction in dimensionality in both the fluid and the solid domains leads to an improvement in the computational performance compared to complex three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics simulations. The paper presents an application of the proposed hybrid model to simulate heat and flow processes occurring in waterwall tubes of a supercritical boiler operating in one of the Polish power plants. The results of the simulations are compared with the data obtained from measurements and good agreement is obtained. Therefore, the developed model can be successfully applied, e.g. in simulators of the supercritical power boiler operation.     

Mid infrared spectroscopy and multivariate analysis: A tool to discriminate between organic and non-organic wines grown in Australia

The combination of mid infrared (MIR) spectroscopy and multivariate analysis was explored as a tool to classify commercial wines sourced from organic (ORG) and non-organic (NORG) production systems. Commercial ORG (n = 57) and NORG (n = 115) red and white wine samples from 13 growing regions in Australia were analysed using a MIR spectrophotometer. Discriminant models based on MIR spectra were developed using principal component analysis (PCA), discriminant partial least squares (DPLS) regression and linear discriminant analysis (LDA). Overall, the LDA models based on the PCA scores correctly classified on average, more than 75% of the wine samples while the DPLS models correctly classified more than 85% of the wines belonging to ORG and NORG production systems, respectively. These results showed that MIR combined with discriminant techniques might be a suitable method that can be easily implemented by the wine industry to classify wines produced under organic systems.