ELECTROPHORETIC MOBILITY AND STABILIZATION OF ASPHALTENES IN LOW CONDUCTIVITY MEDIA

ABSTRACT

The electrophoretic mobilities of asphaltenes in n-heptane and ethanol were determined. The asphaltenes studied show a positive charge in both solvents. However, the magnitude of the charge is considerably lower in n-heptane than in ethanol. It is concluded that although the electrostatic forces are presented in both solvents, the van der Waals’ atractive forces are the main responsable for the flocculation of asphaltene particles. The addition of a well known asphaltene stabilizer, dodecyl benzene sulphonic acid (DBSA), decreases the electrophoretic mobility of asphaltene particles in ethanol until a constant positive value is reached. This means that the neutralization of the positive charges of the asphaltene particles is not complete, probably due to the limited adsorption of the DBSA on asphaltene surface and also, to the presence of charges inside the asphaltene particles that are not accessible to the DBSA.     

Supervisory control design based on hybrid systems and fuzzy events detection. Application to an oxichlorination reactor

This paper presents a supervisory control scheme based on hybrid systems theory and fuzzy events detection. The fuzzy event detector is a linguistic model, which synthesizes complex relations between process variables and process events incorporating experts' knowledge about the process operation. This kind of detection allows the anticipation of appropriate control actions, which depend upon the selected membership functions used to characterize the process under scrutiny. The proposed supervisory control scheme was successfully implemented for an oxichlorination reactor in a vinyl monomer plant. This implementation has allowed improvement of reactor stability and reduction of raw material consumption.     

Proanthocyanidin metabolites associated with dietary fibre from in vitro colonic fermentation and proanthocyanidin metabolites in human plasma

Proanthocyanidins (PAs) or condensed tannins, a major group of dietary polyphenols, are oligomers and polymers of flavan‐3‐ol and flavan‐3, 4‐diols widely distributed in plant foods. Most literature data on PAs' metabolic fate deal with PAs that can be extracted from the food matrix by aqueous‐organic solvents ( extractable proanthocyanidins). However, there are no data on colonic fermentation of non‐extractable proanthocyanidins (NEPAs), which arrive almost intact to the colon, mostly associated to dietary fibre (DF). The aim of the present work was to examine colonic fermentation of NEPAs associated with DF, using a model of in vitro small intestine digestion and colonic fermentation. Two NEPA‐rich materials obtained from carob pod (Ceratonia siliqua L. proanthocyanidin) and red grapes (grape antioxidant dietary fibre) were used as test samples. The colonic fermentation of these two products released hydroxyphenylacetic acid, hydroxyphenylvaleric acid and two isomers of hydroxyphenylpropionic acid, detected by HPLC‐ESI‐MS/MS. Differences between the two products indicate that DF may enhance the yield of metabolites. In addition, the main NEPA metabolite in human plasma was 3,4‐dihydroxyphenyl acetic acid. The presence in human plasma of the same metabolites as were detected after in vitro colonic fermentation of NEPAs suggests that dietary NEPAs would undergo colonic fermentation releasing absorbable metabolites with potential healthy effects.     

Corn silage hybrid type and quality of alfalfa hay affect dietary nitrogen utilization by early lactating dairy cows

This experiment was conducted to determine the effects of corn silage (CS) hybrids and quality of alfalfa hay (AH) in high-forage dairy diets on N utilization, ruminal fermentation, and lactational performance by early-lactating dairy cows. Eight multiparous Holstein cows were used in a duplicated 4 × 4 Latin square experiment with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of dietary treatments. The 8 cows (average days in milk = 23 ± 11.2) were surgically fitted with ruminal cannula, and the 2 squares were conducted simultaneously. Within square, cows were randomly assigned to a sequence of 4 diets: conventional CS (CCS) or brown midrib CS (BMR) was combined with fair-quality AH [FAH: 46.7% neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and 18.4% crude protein (CP)] or high-quality AH (HAH: 39.2% NDF and 20.7% CP) to form 4 treatments: CCS with FAH, CCS with HAH, BMR with FAH, and BMR with HAH. Diets were isonitrogenous across treatments, averaging 15.9% CP. Each period lasted a total of 21 d, with 14 d for treatment adaptation and 7 d for data collection and sampling. Intake of DM and milk yield did not differ in response to CS hybrids or AH quality. Although feeding BMR-based diets decreased urinary N output by 24%, it did not affect fecal N output. Feeding HAH decreased urinary N output by 15% but increased fecal N output by 20%. Nitrogen efficiency [milk N (g/d)/intake N (g/d)] tended to increase for BMR treatments. Ruminal ammonia-N concentration was lower for cows fed BMR-based diets than for those fed CCS-based diets but was not affected by quality of AH. Feeding BMR-based diets or HAH decreased milk urea N concentration by 23 or 15%, respectively, compared with CCS-based diets or FAH. Total volatile fatty acid concentration increased with HAH but was not influenced by CS hybrids. Feeding BMR-based diets decreased urinary N-to-fecal N ratio (UN:FN), and it was further reduced by feeding HAH. Although cows fed the BMR-based diets tended to increase milk N-to-manure N ratio, the quality of AH did not affect the ratio. The lower ratio of UN:FN with a higher ratio of milk N-to-manure N ratio for the BMR-based diets indicates that feeding BMR may reduce manure ammonia-N by reducing excretion of urinary N and increasing secretion of milk N per unit of manure N excreted.     

Comparison of static and step-pulsed ultra-high pressure on the microbial stability of fresh cut pineapple

Fresh cut pineapple cubes inoculated with 10^4–5 CFU g⁻¹ Saccharomyces cerevisiae were packed in heat-sealed polyethylene pouches and subjected at ambient temperature to static and step-pulsed ultra-high pressure (UHP) treatments. Static treatments included 100 and 9000 s at 270 MPa and 9000 s at 340 MPa. Step-pulsed pressure treatments included 100, 300 and 600 s at 0–270 MPa using 0·5-s and 10-s pulses. Inoculated treated and untreated samples were held at 4°C for 60 days. Bacteria and yeast counts were determined using plate count agar and yeast extract peptone dextrose agar, respectively. Static treatment at 270 and 340 MPa for 9000 s resulted in <240 CFU g⁻¹ yeast and bacteria counts for up to 60 days. Step-pulsed pressure treatments for 100 s at 0–270 MPa using 0·5-s (200 pulses) and 10-s pulses (10 pulses) were more effective than a 100-s static 270-MPa treatment. Step-pulsed pressure treatments (300 and 600 s) using 0·5-s pulses (600 and 1200 pulses) and 10-s pulses (30 and 60 pulses) were as effective as 9000-s static pressure treatments at 270 and 340 MPa. This storage study confirmed the superiority of step-pulsed over static pressure treatments. © 1998 SCI.     

Collection zone kinetic model for industrial flotation columns

The collection zone recovery of a flotation column was modeled using a rectangular distribution function for the kinetic rate constant and a tank in series model with different vessel sizes for the residence time distribution. It was demonstrated that an analytical expression can be obtained and that data from large industrial columns fits well, keeping the parsimony principle by using a simple and practical solution. An example for the estimation of the maximum kinetic rate constant, useful for scale-up purposes, is shown using data from industrial flotation columns.     

True Density and Apparent Density During the Drying Process for Vegetables and Fruits: A Review

Abstract: This review presents the concepts involved in determining the density of foodstuffs, and summarizes the volumetric determination techniques used to calculate true density and apparent density in foodstuffs exposed to the drying process. The behavior of density with respect to moisture content (X) and drying temperature (T) is presented and explained with a basis in changes in structure, conformation, chemical composition, and second‐order phase changes that occur in the processes of mass and heat transport, as reported to date in the literature. A review of the empirical and theoretical equations that represent density is presented, and their application in foodstuffs is discussed. This review also addresses cases with nonideal density behavior, including variations in ρ_s and ρ_w as a function of the inside temperature of the material, depending on drying conditions (X, T). A compilation of studies regarding the density of dehydrated foodstuffs is also presented.     

Antioxidant mechanism of grape procyanidins in muscle tissues: Redox interactions with endogenous ascorbic acid and α-tocopherol

The present study investigates the antioxidant mechanism of grape procyanidins and, in particular, their aptitude to establish redox interactions with two important components of the endogenous antioxidant system of muscle tissues, α-tocopherol (α-TOH) and ascorbic acid (AA). To this end, the progress of lipid oxidation was monitored in fish muscle supplemented with grape procyanidins at the concentrations usually employed in antioxidant food applications, and then related to the redox stability of the endogenous α-TOH and AA. In addition to the lipid oxidation protective effect, the incorporation of procyanidins also provided an improvement of the redox stability of the endogenous components in a straight procyanidinic concentration-dependent manner. Results showed the capacity of procyanidins to repair oxidised α-TOH at medium-long term, and to delay the AA depletion. Therefore, such cooperative redox interaction of exogenous procyanidins adequately complements the natural α-TOH regenerative system supplied by AA that is efficient at the early post mortem stages.     

Pasteurization of grapefruit juice using a centrifugal ultraviolet light irradiator

Studies are lacking on the nonthermal pasteurization of liquid foods using UV irradiators that centrifugally form very thin films to overcome the problem of limited penetration depth of UV. Grapefruit juice inoculated with Escherichia coli or Saccharomyces cerevisiae was processed at the following conditions: UV dose 4.8–24 mJ/cm²; treatment time 3.2 s, cylinder rotational speed 450–750 rpm, cylinder inclination angle 15–45°, outlet temperature 11 °C, and flow rate 300 ml/min, and was stored for 35 days. Appropriate dilutions of the samples were pour plated with TSA and TSA + 3% NaCl for E. coli and Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA) and SDA + 5% NaCl for S. cerevisiae. Nonthermal UV processing at 19 mJ/cm², 450 rpm and 15° reduced E. coli in grapefruit juice by 5.1 log₁₀. A dose of 14 mJ/cm² reduced S. cerevisiae by 6.0 log₁₀. Inactivation increased linearly with increasing UV dose. The inactivations at 600 and 750 rpm were similar, and were better than at 450 rpm. The results at 30° and 45° were similar, and were better than at 15°. The occurrence of sublethal injury in either microorganism was not detected. Storing UV processed grapefruit juice at 4 and 10 °C reduced the surviving E. coli to below 1 log₁₀ cfu/ml in 14 days. Processing UV juice reduced the population of S. cerevisiae to less than 1 log₁₀ cfu/ml where it remained for 35 days during refrigerated storage. These results suggest that grapefruit juice may be pasteurized using a nonthermal UV irradiator that centrifugally forms a thin film.