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A wholly-owned subsidiary company of Baogang Group,registered on August 22,2004,Baogang Group Barun Minerals Co.,Ltd (the western ore of Baiyun Obo) was established to improve     

Cold Plasma for Effective Fungal and Mycotoxin Control in Foods: Mechanisms,Inactivation Effects,and Applications

Cold plasma treatment is a promising intervention in food processing to boost product safety and extend the shelf‐life. The activated chemical species of cold plasma can act rapidly against micro‐organisms at ambient temperatures without leaving any known chemical residues. This review presents an overview of the action of cold plasma against molds and mycotoxins, the underlying mechanisms, and applications for ensuring food safety and quality. The cold plasma species act on multiple sites of a fungal cell resulting in loss of function and structure, and ultimately cell death. Likewise, the species cause chemical breakdown of mycotoxins through various pathways resulting in degradation products that are known to be less toxic. We argue that the preliminary reports from cold plasma research point at good potential of plasma for shelf‐life extension and quality retention of foods. Some of the notable food sectors which could benefit from antimycotic and antimycotoxin efficacy of cold plasma include, the fresh produce, food grains, nuts, spices, herbs, dried meat and fish industries.     

Equilibrium and kinetics study of methyl violet adsorption by pineapple leaf fibers-cl-poly(acrylic acid-co-2-dimethyl amino ethyl acrylate) hydrogel

The pine apple leaf fiber-cl-poly(acrylic acid-co-2-dimethyl amino ethyl acrylate) hydrogel is prepared by crosslinked graft copolymerization of acrylic acid and 2-(dimethyl amino) ethyl acrylate onto the pine apple leaf fibers to be used as an adsorbent for the remove dye from aqueous solutions. Several characterization techniques like Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy field emission scanning electron microscopy-Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. The synthesized hydrogel shows strong water swelling characteristics (780.93%) and also exhibits faster deswelling property. The methyl violet (MV) adsorption data are fitted well with the Freundlich isotherm model with maximum monolayer adsorption capacities 625 mg/g for MV. The equilibrium kinetics follow pseudo second order model together with intra particle diffusion, one step process. Thermodynamic parameters show that the MV adsorption by the hydrogel is spontaneous and endothermic in nature. The overall removal efficiency is found to be 98.23% under optimum condition.     

Proficiency Testing in Chemical Analysis of Iron Ore: Comparison of Statistical Methods for Outlier Rejection

Participation in proficiency testing (PT) is an important task to meet the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025 in the area of quality assurance of laboratory results. A PT program in the field of chemical analysis of iron ore was organized by CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur (nodal laboratory) and CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi (PT Coordinator) during November 2011–January 2012. Twenty-two (22) laboratories in India participated in the PT program. The results of participating laboratories were first analyzed to identify the distribution patterns and the presence of outliers. Several parametric and robust statistical methods were used to identify the outliers. Correct outlier rejection is of utmost importance because the choice of the outlier test method influence the consensus value and standard deviation which in turn determine the Z-score of a laboratory result in a PT program. In the present study, five parametric outlier tests were compared: Dixon’s Q test, Grubbs single test, double test, t test, and Z-scores. In addition three robust tests as alternative to parametric tests were chosen: box plot, Huber test and MAD-based test. It was observed that multiple outlier test methods should be used to identify the outliers in a PT program especially when the number of participating laboratories is less. They complement each other and helps give diverse information and better overview of the data set. Among the 22 participating laboratories, Z-scores of 4 laboratories for analysis of total iron fall outside the acceptable limit of ±2. Similarly, for analysis of alumina and silica, five laboratories had unacceptable Z-scores.     

Combustion characteristics of high ash Indian thermal,heat affected coal and their blends

Onsite mine fire generates large volumes of heat-affected coal in Jharia coalfields,India.Direct utilization of such heat-affected coal in thermal utilities is ...     

Oxyfluorination of Wood-Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites to Improve Adhesion

Oxyfluorination was evaluated on a series of wood-fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite (WPCs) formulations as a means to improve the adhesion of a water-based acrylic coating. The oxyfluorination increased the acrylic coating peel load to WPCs by 179%, yielding adhesion levels higher than those obtained on control maple. For oxyfluorinated surfaces, the WPC formulation had a significant impact on the acrylic coating paint. Formulations without maleic anhydride polypropylene coupling agent developed better adhesion than formulations with the coupling agent. Formulations with polypropylene also performed better than formulations with high density polyethylene and so did formulations with pine compared with those with maple. Interestingly, the adhesion improvement imparted by oxyfluorination was higher for those formulations that were least amenable to bonding with the acrylic coating, i.e., those containing the coupling agent and high density polyethylene. Contact angle measurements and ATR-FTIR spectroscopy indicated that oxyfluorination improved wettability with polar liquids by generating new oxygenated groups on the surface. A moderate positive linear relationship (r² = 0.5) was established between the carbonyl/C-H stretch band intensity ratio I_1650cm^?1 /I_2915cm^?1 in the infrared spectra of oxyfluorinated WPCs and the coating peel strength. It is, therefore, proposed that oxyfluorination improves the adhesion properties of WPCs by oxidizing the surface, and by increasing wettability with polar liquids, thus allowing the development of stronger interfacial forces.     

Influence of Optical and Thermophysical Characteristics of Biological Tissue on Its Thermal Conditions Under Laser Irradiation

On the basis of the developed analytical method of solving the heat conduction equation in a multicomponent biological tissue, its thermal conditions under laser irradiation have been investigated. Quantitative data on the temperature fields under a wide variation of the optical and thermophysical parameters in the tissue in the 400– 700-nm range of wavelengths are given. The steady-state regime of the field in the tissue at various depths has been investigated. Estimates of the possible use of the time dependence of temperature under tissue cooling to solve the inverse problem — determine the heat-conductivity coefficient, the parameter of heat exchange with the medium, and the depth attenuation coefficient of light — are given. __________ Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 78, No. 3, pp. 15–21, May–June, 2005.     

Cleaning of high sulfur Indian coal by oil agglomeration and leaching

The present paper reports an attempt for cleaning of high sulfur Indian coal with two consecutive steps of oil agglomeration at ambient temperature followed by leaching at various conditions. The physico-chemical characterizations of the raw and treated coal samples were carried out by using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), FESEM, Thermogravimetric analysis and Differential Thermal Analysis (TGA-DTA), and petrographic techniques to assess the product quality. The petrographic and FTIR spectral analyses reveal reduction in different forms of sulfur contents in coals by the use of oil agglomeration and leaching. Scanning electron microscope morphology of the treated coal samples are attributed to the occurrence of the cavitations in the coal structure.     

Separation of phenol from aqueous solution by membrane pervaporation using modified polyurethaneurea membranes

Hydroxy‐terminated polybutadiene‐based porous and nonporous polyurethaneurea membranes were prepared and used to study the phenol separation efficiency from dilute aqueous solution. The porosity was developed by incorporation of lithium chloride in polymer matrix with subsequent leaching of the same in hot water. The porous membrane showed higher phenol flux over that of nonporous membrane. Permeate containing about 97 wt % phenol was obtained from feed containing 7 wt % phenol, when pervaporation was carried out with porous polyurethaneurea membrane at 75°C. The activation energies for diffusion, permeation, and pervaporation were calculated from Arrhenius plots. From the activation energy values, it was observed that the pervaporation process became easier with increased phenol concentration in the feed and porosity of the membrane used. The membrane boundary resistance was observed to decrease with increase in temperature. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 1857–1865, 2006