Evolution of mechanical properties of parboiled brown rice kernels during impinging stream drying

Information on mechanical properties of parboiled brown rice kernels upon impinging stream drying, which is important for effective control of kernel fissure and head rice yield, is reported. Experiments were performed at the drying temperatures of 130, 150, and 170°C; inlet air velocity of 20?m/s; impinging distance of 5?cm and paddy feed rate of 40?kg_{dry_paddy}/h. Parboiled paddy was dried for up to seven cycles. Between each drying cycle, the paddy was tempered for a period of either 0 (without tempering) or 30?min. The moisture evaporation rate was noted to be very high during the first two drying cycles and rapidly dropped in the later drying cycles. When tempering was included after a particular drying cycle, the drying rate in a subsequent cycle was higher than without tempering. At the kernel moisture contents immediately after drying of 25.3–47.5% (d.b.), the drying temperature and existence of tempering did not affect the mechanical properties although microcracks were formed in the kernels. However, both factors played a more important role on the mechanical properties when the kernels were evaluated at 16% (d.b.). The head rice yield correlated well with the tensile strength of the kernels.     

Humic acid assisted synthesis of silver nanoparticles and its application to herbicide detection

Silver nanoparticles have been synthesized by reduction of silver nitrate in the presence of humic acids (HA) which acted as capping agents. The HA protected nanoparticles were found to be sensitive to increasing concentrations of sulfurazon-ethyl herbicide in solution which induced a variation in color of the nanoparticles solution from yellow to purple. The effect of the humic acid concentration used in the nanoparticles synthesis was studied by varying the [Ag⁺:HA] ratio content from [1:1] to [1:100]. UV–Vis spectroscopy was used to monitor the extinction spectra of silver nanoparticles after the synthesis and in the herbicide sensing experiments. An average silver nanoparticles size of 5 nm was confirmed by transmission electron microscope (TEM). When exposed to increasing concentration of sulfurazon-ethyl (0, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 ppm), the solution of nanoparticles was found to changes from yellow color to orange red and purple with increasing herbicide concentration.     

Laboratory evaluation of the COBAS MIRA S random access analyser

The random access analyser COBAS MIRA S (Roche Diagnostics) was evaluated for two months. The instrument is a computer-controlled discrete analyser which can be run in a combination profile and single test mode. This instrument has special features, including an automatic cuvette segment changer, a reagent rack cooling system, an external keyboard and monitor, as well as a bar-code facility for the entry of test parameters, worklists and sample identification numbers. Study of within-run and between-run precision gave values of % CV 0.54-3.37 and 0.61-3.65, respectively, for a variety of assays. Linearity testing to the upper limit of each test was also studied and were found to cover the necessary pathological range. Within the two-month period, no major problems were encountered. The instrument required minimum operator attention during operation. Correlation studies with the Hitachi 705 using six clinical chemistry tests (glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, ALP, AST, ALT) gave correlation coefficients ranging from 0.95-0.99 and slopes of 0.91-1.17.     

Synthesis of cassava starch‐g‐poly(methyl methacrylate) copolymers with benzoyl peroxide as an initiator

Graft copolymers of cassava starch and methyl methacrylate (MMA) were synthesized by free‐radical polymerization with benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as an initiator in an aqueous medium at 80°C. The formation of graft copolymers was confirmed by analysis of the obtained products with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The effects of the amount of cassava starch, the amount of MMA monomer, the amount of BPO, and the reaction time on the grafting characteristics were studied. The optimum condition for grafting were obtained when 5 g of cassava starch, 5 g of MMA, 0.1 g of BPO, and a reaction time of 3 h were used. These condition provided a graft copolymer with 25.00% add‐on, 81.40% monomer conversion, 54.30% homopoly(methyl methacrylate) formed, 45.70% grafting efficiency, 37.20% grafting ratio, and 95.54% yield. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 4083–4089, 2006     

Synthesis of urethane oils from palm oil and waste PET bottles

Waste PET bottles were depolymerized by propylene glycol at a weight ratio of PET to propylene glycol of 37.5 : 62.5, using zinc acetate as a catalyst. The glycolyzed product, consisting of oligomeric diols with a number–average molecular weight range of 240–1107, was obtained. It was further reacted with palm oil and tolylene diisocyanate to obtain urethane oils at hydroxyl to isocyanate ratios from 1 : 1 to 1 : 0.8, with and without methanol acting as a blocking agent. It was found that all the synthesized urethane oils were yellowish transparent liquids of low molecular weights. A lower isocyanate content or the presence of a blocking agent resulted in higher viscosity, higher molecular weight, and shorter drying time. The films of all synthesized urethane oils exhibited good hardness, excellent flexibility, and high impact strength. They also showed excellent water resistance, good acid resistance but only fair alkali resistance. Moreover, these prepared urethane oils had better adhesion compared with those of the commercial urethane oil. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007     

Optical switch from silver nanocomposite thin films

Silver nanoparticles capped with sodium alginate were assembled into thin films by using the layer-by-layer dipping technique. Composite films were built by sequential dipping of a glass slide in either anionic alginate capped nanoparticles or cationic Poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC). The growth of the film was characterized using UV-Vis spectroscopy by monitoring the increase in absorbance at 420 nm which correspond to the silver nanoparticles plasmon band. The final films formed onto glass slides displayed and interesting color shift upon exposure to water or to a less polar solvent such as ethanol. In this research, changes in spectral absorbance of the nanoparticles film were monitored as a function of ethanol content (0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100%) in water. The color shift from yellow to red color was explained by the changes in the dielectric constant of the silver nanoparticles surrounding medium which induce a shift in their plasmon band absorbance. These composite thin films displayed fast color change and could therefore be used in sensing application as well as for optical switches.     

Preliminary study on preparation of unsaturated polyester resin/natural rubber latex blends in the presence of dispersion aids

The objective of this research was to study the possibility of blending unsaturated polyester resin (UPE resin) with 5, 10, and 15 parts per hundred resin (phr) natural rubber latex (NRL) in the presence of dispersion aids in order to improve the impact resistance of UPE resin. Three types of dispersion aids, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), toluene, and ammonia, were used in this study in amounts of 10, 15, 20 and 25 wt % of the NRL. These blended mixtures were cured at room temperature using methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKPO) as an initiator and cobalt octoate as an accelerator. It was found that, regardless of the type of dispersion aid, the impact strength of blended UPE samples was higher than that of the pure UPE samples, and at 20 wt % toluene in 15‐phr NRL, the sample had the highest impact strength. However, because of low elastic modulus, characteristic of NRL, the tensile strength and flexural strength of the blended samples decreased as the NRL content of the blends increased. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 4238–4241, 2006     

Rapid Drying of Parboiled Paddy Using Hot Air Impinging Stream Dryer

A method for rapid drying of parboiled paddy via the use of an impinging stream dryer was proposed and assessed. The effects of the drying air temperature, number of drying cycles, as well as time of tempering between each drying cycle on the moisture reduction, head rice yield, and whiteness index of the dried parboiled paddy were studied. The drying experiments were carried out at drying air temperatures of 130, 150, and 170°C; inlet air velocity of 20 m/s; impinging distance of 5 cm; and paddy feed rate of 40 kg_{dry_paddy}/h. Parboiled paddy was dried for up to seven cycles. Between each drying cycle the parboiled paddy was tempered for a period of either 0 (no tempering), 15, 30, 60, or 120 min. After impinging stream drying, paddy was ventilated by ambient air flow until its moisture content reached 16% (db). Moisture reduction of the paddy was noted to depend on both the impinging stream drying temperature and tempering time. Drying at a high temperature along with tempering for a suitable period of time could maintain the head rice yield of the paddy at a level similar to that of the reference parboiled paddy. To avoid discoloration and low head rice yield, parboiled paddy should not be dried at a temperature higher than 150°C and should be tempered for at least 30 min.     

Synthesis of poly(p‐diphenylmethylterephthalamide) from recycled monomers

Poly(p‐diphenylmethylterephthalamide) or PMA was synthesized from the reaction between recycled terephthalic acid (TPA) and recycled 4,4′‐methylenedianiline (MDA) in the presence of pyridine, triphenyl phosphite, and a solubilizing‐aid agent. The reaction conditions used for this polymerization were determined from a model reaction using pure TPA and pure MDA as reactants. It was found that PMA with the highest % yield and molecular weight was obtained when the mixture of lithium chloride (LiCl) and calcium chloride (CaCl₂) were used as solubilizing‐aid agents with a reaction time of 4 h. Recycled TPA with 92% purity was obtained from acid hydrolysis of waste PET bottles using sulfuric acid as a catalyst at 150°C for 5 h. Recycled MDA with 99% purity was obtained from aminolysis of rigid polyurethane foam scrap using diethylenetriamine as a degrading agent at 180°C for 70 min. PMAs prepared from recycled monomers exhibited thermal properties, which were comparable to those of PMA prepared from pure monomers. However, due to a possibility of several isomers present in recycled MDA, PMAs prepared from this monomer had lower melting points and thermal decomposition temperatures than those prepared from pure MDA. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 3723–3729, 2003     

Synthesis of urethane oils from waste poly(ethylene terephthalate) bottles

Waste poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) bottles were glycolyzed by propylene glycol (PG) at a weight ratio of PET to PG of 37.5 : 62.5 using zinc acetate as a catalyst. The glycolyzed product, consisting of oligomeric diols with a number‐average molecular weight range of 458–844, was obtained. It was further reacted with soybean oil and toluene diisocyanate to obtain urethane oils at hydroxyl to isocyanate ratios from 1 : 1 to 1 : 0.7, with and without methanol acting as a blocking agent. All the synthesized urethane oils were yellowish, transparent, low‐viscosity liquids of low molecular weights. A lower diisocyanate content and the presence of a blocking agent resulted in higher viscosity, higher molecular weight, and shorter drying time. The films of all synthesized urethane oils exhibited good hardness and adhesion. They also showed excellent water and acid resistance but only fair alkali resistance. However, these prepared urethane oils had lower flexibility and poorer wear resistance compared to those of the commercial urethane oil. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 92: 3040–3045, 2004