Logistics cost analysis of rice straw pellets for feasible production capacity and spatial scale in heat utilization systems: A case study in Nanporo town,Hokkaido, Japan

Rice straw is a promising renewable energy source because it is abundantly available in Asia. This study conducted a case study of logistics cost analysis for rice straw pellets by considering all stages in the supply chain to define the main factors affecting the selling price of rice straw pellets: collection (job-commission or employment of part-time workers), transportation, storage (vinyl greenhouses or storage buildings with larger capacity), pelletizing, and delivery to users with biomass boilers. The selling price was found to be strongly dependent on the production capacity because the investment cost for the pellet production facility had a significant effect of economies of scale. A production capacity of larger than 1500 t y⁻¹ is required for rice straw pellets to compete with wood pellets and fossil fuels in the studied Japanese context if the subsidy rate for the investment is 50%, part-time workers conduct the collection, and rice straw is stored in the storage buildings. Our sensitivity analysis also showed an economically feasible spatial scale: for example, rice straw should be collected within a 20 km radius and the users should be within a 38 km radius when the production capacity is 1500 t y⁻¹. In addition, other critical factors related to the collection of rice straw from the paddy fields and transportation of rice straw rolls to storage were identified as planning factors to further reduce the total logistics cost of rice straw pellets.     

Effects of high hydrostatic pressure treatment on structural,allergenicity, and functional properties of proteins from ginkgo seeds

The effects of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatment on the structural, allergenicity and functional properties of ginkgo seed protein (GSP) were investigated. GSP was treated under pressures of 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600 and 700 MPa. Western blotting and ELISA assay revealed that HHP treatment at pressure ranges from 300 up to 700 MPa can significantly reduce the allergenicity of GSP. Meanwhile, SDS-PAGE, MALDI-TOF-MS, CD spectra, fluorescence spectra and UV absorption spectra analysis revealed that, after HHP treatment, the GSP disintegrated into proteins with small molecular weights ranging from 4 to 30 kDa; the secondary structures of α-helices and β-sheet were largely destroyed and turned into random coil; and the UV absorption intensity, surface hydrophobicity and sulfhydryl group (SH) content of GSP were significantly increased. Moreover, the HHP-treated GSP showed markedly improved heat stability and emulsifying properties compared to the untreated GSP.Industrial relevanceAs a traditional food and medicine source, the seeds of Ginkgo biloba were used in china for several thousand years. Ginkgo seeds could be added to desserts, glazed fruit, beverages and tipple, also ginkgo seeds, as a traditional Chinese medicinal material, have been recorded in the Compendium of Materia Medical. Research shows that ginkgo seeds have a relatively high content (10%–15%) of proteins, which possess rich and reasonable composition of amino acids, and much higher content of essential amino acids than the recommended FAO/WHO standard, belonging to the high-quality protein. Ginkgo seeds proteins (GSP) have many biological activities, including anti-oxidation, anti-aging, anti-tumor, and anti-bacterial, so it has high value of nutrition and medicine. However, eating GSP could result in allergic reaction to humans, infant, or children are more sensitive to GSP, the clinical symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, bellyache, diarrhea, dysphoria, exanimation, convulsions, dyspnea, and mydriasis, and sometimes even death can occur.In the study, we used the method of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatments, which can significantly improve the functional properties and reduce the antigenicity of GSP. After the HHP treatment, GSP can be transformed into proteins with small molecular weights ranging from 4 to 30 kDa, the antigenicity of GSP can be reduced by more than 95%, and the heat stability and emulsifying properties of GSP can be markedly improved. Thus, this study is very helpful for designing the hypoallergenic and improved functional GSP, which could have a relevant practical application for their use as base ingredients of food.     

Interactions between formulation and spray drying conditions related to survival of Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1

Protective solid carriers are commonly added to probiotic cultures prior to drying. Their formulation is not trivial and depends on the drying conditions applied. In this study, we systematically investigated the influence of formulation parameters on the survival of Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1 after drying. Low molecular weight carbohydrates (less than 2 kDa) with high glass transition temperatures provided the highest level of protection at both low (25 °C) and high (50 °C or higher) drying temperatures. Low molecular weight carbohydrates may provide stabilization by closely interacting with the lipid bilayer of the cell membranes. Meanwhile, carbohydrates with high glass transition temperatures probably provide stabilization via fixation of the cells in a glassy powder. Furthermore, adequate amounts of solid carrier are required to sufficiently stabilize the cells during drying. During drying, crystallization of solid carriers may occur. Depending on the crystal geometry, crystallization can be either beneficial (e.g. with mannitol or sorbitol) or detrimental (e.g. with lactose) to cell survival. Finally, the effect of formulation on cell viability during storage was studied. A decimal reduction time of approximately 300 days was observed when spray dried L. plantarum WCFS1 was stored at temperatures below 40 °C. The outcome of this study was used as a basis to construct a generalized diagram to indicate the combinations of formulation and drying conditions to maximally retain viability and operate dryers at high efficiency.     

The effect of pectin concentration and degree of methyl-esterification on the in vitro bioaccessibility of β-carotene-enriched emulsions

Soluble fibers, like pectin, are known to influence the physicochemical processes during the digestion of dietary fat and may therefore affect the absorption of lipophilic micronutrients such as carotenoids. The objective of the current work was to investigate whether the pectin concentration and degree of methyl-esterification (DM) influence the bioaccessibility of carotenoids loaded in the oil phase of oil-in-water emulsions. The in vitro β-carotene bioaccessibility was determined for different oil-in-water emulsions in which 1 or 2% citrus pectin with a DM of 99%, 66% and 14% was present. Results show that pectin concentration and DM influence the initial emulsion properties. The most stable emulsions with the smallest oil droplets (D(v,0.9) of 15–16 μm) were obtained when medium or high methyl-esterified pectin was present in a 2% concentration while gel-like pectin structures (D(v,0.9) of 114 μm), entrapping oil droplets, were observed in the case where low methyl-esterified pectin was present in the aqueous emulsion phase. During in vitro stomach digestion, these gel-like structures, entrapping β-carotene loaded oil droplets, significantly enlarged (D(v,0.9) of 738 μm), whereas the emulsion structure could be preserved when the medium or high methyl-esterified pectin was present. Initial emulsion viscosity differences, due to pectin concentration and especially due to pectin DM, largely disappeared during in vitro digestion, but were still significant after the stomach digestion phase. The observed differences in emulsion structure before and during in vitro digestion only resulted in a significant difference between emulsions containing low methyl-esterified pectin (β-carotene bioaccessibility of 33–37%) and medium/high methyl-esterified pectin (β-carotene bioaccessibility of 56–62%).     

Acquisition of amino acids by Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus 2038 when grown in the presence of casein

The acquisition of amino acids by Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus 2038 (Lb. bulgaricus 2038) when grown in the presence of bovine casein, the major protein in bovine milk, was investigated by examining the expression of genes related to proteolysis and amino acid biosynthesis. To support the growth on bovine casein, Lb. bulgaricus 2038 has to synthesise five kinds of amino acids de novo, as proteolysis from casein does not provide these. The incomplete hydrolysis in combination with amino acids biosynthesis may explain the slow growth of Lb. bulgaricus 2038 in a casein environment. Meanwhile, it was determined that Lb. bulgaricus 2038 uses different intracellular peptidases when grown in casein or whey medium, and initially yields the important amino acid glutamate from the C-terminal or N-terminal end of peptides imported into the cell.     

Validation of the sensitive and accurate quantitation of the fatty acid distribution in bovine milk

A method for the precise analysis of the complex mixture of fatty acids in milk has been developed and validated. The triacylglycerol of nonanoic acid was applied as the internal standard (ISTD) for absolute quantification. Milk lipids were extracted by miniaturised ultrasonication and methylated with trimethylsulfonium hydroxide. Resulting fatty acid methyl esters were determined by gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection giving excellent resolution, including separation of several 18:1 isomers. The low quantitation limit (0.01 mg mL⁻¹ milk) indicates that the sensitivity of the method is sufficient to quantify up to 50 fatty acids, from 4:0 to 23:0. Measurements of precision provided excellent results for different bovine milk samples of different fat content (coefficient of variance: 1.9% and 9.8% for intra- and interday precision, respectively). Recovery averaged 108 ± 3.5%. Evaluation of methods for determining the total fat content showed that gravimetry is no longer needed when using the ISTD.     

Controlled transglutaminase treatment in Edam cheese-making

Transglutaminase (TG) has been widely used in the dairy industry to increase product yield. However, it has not been used in the production of ripened cheeses because of the difficulty of controlling TG activity. It was observed that cross-linking of TG in ultrafiltration retentate could be controlled using a protein standardisation step. TG increased the cheese yield 4%, due to an increase in the moisture content of the cheeses. Traditionally, increased cheese moisture reduces hardness of cheese, but this was not observed in the cheese from TG-treated milk. Furthermore, the organoleptic properties of the TG-cheeses did not differ significantly from those of the control cheeses. No differences were observed in the protein profile of the whey fraction as a result of the TG treatment. The protein standardisation process thus makes it possible to use TG in the production of Edam cheese.     

Characterization of the performances of an innovative heat-exchanger/reactor

The use of heat exchanger/reactors (HEX/reactors) is a promising way to overcome the barrier of poor heat transfer in batch reactors. However to reach residence time long enough to complete the chemistry, low Reynolds number has to be combined with both a plug flow behaviour and the intensification of heat and mass transfers. This work concerns the experimental approach used to characterize an innovative HEX/reactor. The pilot is made of three process plates sandwiched between five utility plates. The process stream flows in a 2 mm corrugated channel. Pressure drop and residence time distribution characterizations aim at studying the flow hydrodynamics. Identified Darcy correlations point out the transition between laminar and turbulent flow around a Reynolds number equal to 200. Moreover the flow behaves like a quasi-plug flow (Pe > 185). The heat transfer and mixing time have also been investigated. The ratio between the reaction kinetics and the mixing time is over 100 and the intensification factor ranges from 5000 to 8000 kW m⁻³ K⁻¹. As a consequence, no limitations were identified which allows the implementation of an exothermic reaction. It has been successfully performed under severe temperature and concentration conditions, batchwise unreachable. Thus, it highlights the interest of using this continuous HEX/reactor.     

Effects of freeze-thaw cycles of Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) subjected to radio frequency tempering on melanosis and quality

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of different tempering methods and freeze-thaw cycles on melanosis and quality parameters of pacific white shrimp. Frozen pacific white shrimps tempered with radio frequency tempering (RFT) were compared to that in water tempering (WT) and refrigerator tempering (RT) in terms of temper loss, total volatile base nitrogen (TVBN), polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity, melanosis, total sulfhydryl contents, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and texture properties after 0, 1, 3, 5 freeze-thaw cycles. Results showed that crushed ice was effective as an effective surrounding medium for six layers of frozen shrimp reaching −2 °C within 6 min in RFT. For quality attributes, the temper loss of samples tempered with radio frequency is lower than that of RT and WT after all freeze-thaw cycles, and RFT resulted in the lowest TVBN value (9.17 mgN/100 g) of shrimps after the 5th freeze-thaw cycle. The PPO activity and melanosis of samples increased as the number of freeze-thaw cycles increased, and RFT effectively inhibited the development of melanosis. After the 3rd freeze-thaw cycle, the enthalpy change (△H) and the sulfhydryl content (0.16 mmol/gprot) of radio frequency tempered samples was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that of WT and RT. RFT retained the hardness and chewiness of shrimp samples in all freeze-thaw cycles. Therefore, RFT effectively inhibited melanosis and reduce protein oxidation in Pacific white shrimp during freeze-thaw cycles with its fast and uniform heating characteristics.