Impact of Rutin and Other Phenolic Substances on the Digestibility of Buckwheat Grain Metabolites

Tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum Gaertn.) is grown in eastern and central Asia (the Himalayan regions of China, Nepal, Bhutan and India) and in central and eastern Europe (Luxemburg, Germany, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina). It is known for its high concentration of rutin and other phenolic metabolites. Besides the grain, the other aboveground parts of Tartary buckwheat contain rutin as well. After the mixing of the milled buckwheat products with water, the flavonoid quercetin is obtained in the flour–water mixture, a result of rutin degradation by rutinosidase. Heating by hot water or steam inactivates the rutin-degrading enzymes in buckwheat flour and dough. The low buckwheat protein digestibility is due to the high content of phenolic substances. Phenolic compounds have low absorption after food intake, so, after ingestion, they remain for some time in the gastrointestinal tract. They can act in an inhibitory manner on enzymes, degrading proteins and other food constituents. In common and Tartary buckwheat, the rutin and quercetin complexation with protein and starch molecules has an impact on the in vitro digestibility and the appearance of resistant starch and slowly digestible proteins. Slowly digestible starch and proteins are important for the functional and health-promoting properties of buckwheat products.     

Process of unsaturated polyester resin synthesis on a laboratory and industrial scale

A study of the progress of the synthesis of unsaturated polyesters, based on anhydrides of phthalic and maleic acid and propylene glycol without added catalysts was done. The reaction was carried out on a laboratory and industrial scale. The acid number and molecular weight distribution were determined. In the laboratory synthesis the, amount of water produced during the reaction was also measured. Two steps in the reactions were observed. The first is the reaction of anhydrides with glycol producing monoester which is followed by step-growth polymerization reaction producing polymer. The kinetics of step-growth polymerization reaction was found to be third order with an activation energy of E_a = 54.3 kJ mol^?1 and k_o = 15.2 kg²mol^?2s^?1. The kinetic model was prepared and compared with results obtained from reactions carried out on an industrial scale. A method is presented for determining a heating program based on a limited reaction rate and a maximal reaction temperature for a particular system. The MWD of polyester resin was determined and disagreement was found compared to the “most probable” MWD.     

Kinetics and modeling of diethylene glycol bisallyl carbonate bulk polymerization

The free‐radical polymerization kinetics of diethylene glycol bisallyl carbonate in bulk were investigated with Fourier transform infrared and Fourier transform Raman techniques in a wide temperature range of 50–140°C with four different peroxide initiators. In addition, the ratios of the degradative kinetic rate constant to the propagation rate constant under different reaction conditions were obtained from molecular weight measurements under various reaction conditions. The ratio of the chemically controlled termination and propagation rate constants of the polymerization system were obtained with the initial rates of polymerization and the number‐average molecular weight data, which were between 8.22 × 10^?5 and 1.47 × 10^?3 L mol^?1 s^?1. The initiator efficiencies were evaluated with special experiments at low initiator concentrations with the theory of dead‐end polymerization. The computed conversions from the developed kinetic model were in good agreement with the conversion and molecular weight measured data. The values of the diffusion‐controlled propagation and termination rate constants, with clear and physical meaning, were the only two parameters obtained from the developed kinetic model fitting the measured conversion points. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 96: 345–357, 2005     

Step-growth polymerization of maleic anhydride and 1,2-propylene glycol

The NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) and GPC (gel permeation chromatography) studies of the polymerization of maleic anhydride and 1,2-propylen glycol are reported. Assignment of individual groups was made and their concentration dependence on reaction time was established. The first step of the reaction is the formation of monoesters, which, immediately after the temperature increased, reacted to diesters. The reactivity ratio between the primary and the secondary hydroxyl group of 1,2-propylene glycol was 2.6:1. The concentration of water formed was followed as a function of reaction time by the Karl–Fischer method.     

VIS absorption spectrophotometry of disperse dyes

In the investigations of the dyeing processes, the low solubility of disperse dyes in water represents a practical problem for the determination of dye concentration in dyebaths and waste waters. Therefore the use of an organic solvent which, dissolves disperse dyes, is recommended in visible spectrophotometry of disperse dyes. Three organic solvents (ethanol, N,N-dimethylformamide, acetone) and two disperse dyes, the disazo dye C.I. Disperse Orange 29 and the anthraquinone dye C.I. Disperse Blue 56, were used for spectroscopic analysis in this present work. The absorbance of aqueous dye dispersions and various organic solvent dye solutions was measured to evaluate the effect of the solvent on the shape and intensity of the absorption spectra and on the wavelength shift of maximum absorption. The validity of Beer–Lambert’s law in each system was ascertained. A suggestion is made how VIS absorption spectrophotometry can be used to determine the dye concentration in disperse dyebaths. The addition of organic solvent to the dyebath leads to dye dissolution, and the Beer-Lambert’s law is then fulfilled. The optimum ratio between the dyebath dispersion and the organic solvents for the dyes investigated is also determined.     

Thermal Hydrolysis of Cyanides in Spent Pot Lining of Aluminium Electrolysis

The spent lining of electrolysis pots is the main source of solid wastes in the production of aluminium. Being contaminated by cyanides, they may cause serious environmental problems for ground and surface waters. They have to be disposed of as special waste, or decontaminated prior to final disposal. This paper described the removal of free and complex cyanides from the spent pot lining waste by thermal hydrolysis. In addition, fluorides in the hydrolysis filtrate were precipitated by Ca(OH)₂ and disposed of together with the hydrolysed spent pot lining material.     

The influence of the polymerization on properties of an ethylacrylate/2-ethyl hexylacrylate pressure-sensitive adhesive suspension

In this paper, the batch suspension copolymerization process for production of microsphere acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSA) is presented. The effects of different process and chemical parameters on adhesion properties are discussed. The reaction was monitored in-line by using attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. Properties of the adhesive suspension (particle size), adhesive (gel phase, molecular weight, glass transition temperature (T_g)) and adhesion properties (tack, peel strength and shear) were determined. The results have shown that reaction kinetics strongly depends on polymerization temperature and initiator concentration. On the other hand, adhesion properties depend mainly on the T_g of the polymer and on the amount of insoluble gel fraction in the adhesive.