Effects of compatibilizer type and rubber‐wood sawdust content on the mechanical,morphological, and thermal properties of PVC/LDPE blend

This article aimed to investigate the mechanical, morphological and thermal properties of PVC/LDPE blend with and without the addition of compatibilizers. The effects of LDPE content, compatibilizer type and rubber‐wood sawdust loading on the properties of the blend were evaluated. The experimental results suggested that as the LDPE content was increased the mechanical properties of PVC‐LDPE blend progressively decreased due to poor interfacial adhesion. The continuity and compatibility between PVC and LDPE phases could be improved through three different types of compatibilizers which included chlorinated polyethylene (CPE) poly(methyl‐methacrylate‐co‐butyl acrylate) (PA20) and poly(ethylene‐co‐methacrylate) (Elvaloy). The PA20 was found to be the most suitable compatibilizer for the blend. A radical transfer reaction was proposed in this work to explain the structure and thermal changes of the PVC in PVC‐LDPE blend. The decomposition temperature of PVC in the blend decreased with the loading of the PA20 and the wood sawdust. As the sawdust content was increased the tensile and flexural moduli increased with considerable decreased in the tensile, flexural and impact strength, a slight improvement being achieved if the PA20 was incorporated in the composite. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 598–606, 2006     

DESORPTION ISOTHERMS AND DRYING CHARACTERISTICS OF SHRIMP IN SUPERHEATED STEAM AND HOT AIR

Desorption isotherms for shrimp were determined at the temperatures of 50, 60, 70 and 80°C. Amongst the moisture equilibrium predictions between the BET and GAB models, the latter has a better predictable capability. The GAB parameters are correlated with the temperatures by the Arrhenius expression. Drying characteristics of shrimp in drying media at the temperature range of 120-180°C for superheated steam and of 70-140°C for hot air have been examined. Drying rate and effective diffusion coefficient are used to quantify quantitatively the difference between the superheated steam and the hot air dryings. The temperature is more important effect on drying rate and effective diffusion coefficient in the superheated steam than in the hot air. Inversion temperature exists between 140 and 150°C. Comparing to the hot air, the shrimp dried by the superheated steam shows a lower degree of shrimp shrinkage. In addition, product colours are slightly different to those from the commercial sources.     

Heating process of soybean using hot-air and superheated-steam fluidized-bed dryers

The present work investigated drying characteristics and inactivation of urease in soybean dried by superheated-steam and hot-air fluidized beds. The value of effective diffusion coefficient, which was determined by a method of slopes, was increased with increased drying temperature and increased moisture content. Furthermore, it depended on the type of heating medium, with higher moisture diffusion for soybean dried by hot air. Inactivation of the urease enzyme in both media showed difference in rate, in which the enzymatic inactivation was faster for soybean dried in superheated steam than in hot air. For the individual heating medium, the modified first-order reaction was adequately fitted to experimental data. The rate of inactivation was found to increase as the temperature and moisture content were increased. The urease enzyme was inactivated, along with maintaining protein solubility and lysine content being in standard range, as soybean was treated at a temperature between 135 and 150 °C for the hot air and the treatment temperature could be reduced to be lower than 135 °C by using superheated steam.     

Drying and Urease Inactivation Models of Soybean Using Two-dimensional Spouted Bed Technique

The most important factors for examining the quality of soybeans in the animal feed industry are moisture and urease inactivation. Mathematical models for soybean drying and urease inactivation using two-dimensional spouted bed are developed and validated with experimental data. The influences of initial moisture content, inlet air temperature, air recycle on the drying rate, urease inactivation, and energy consumption are also studied. The results revealed that the increase in initial moisture content slightly affected the drying rate and urease inactivation while the inlet air temperature caused a significant effect. To obtain a high drying rate and save energy consumption, the recycle air ratio should be kept in a range of 80-90%.     

Characteristics of Rice Dried in Superheated-Steam Fluidized-Bed

Characteristic properties of rice in a superheated-steam fluidized-bed dryer have been investigated using RVA, DSC, and SEM. The experimental results have shown that the reduction in moisture content from 41-42.5 to 25% d.b. using steam temperatures of 150-170°C was initially linear with drying time followed by the exponential decay when the moisture content was below 25% d.b. During the latter period, the water transport was controlled by the internal diffusion. Condensation of steam, along with the use of high temperature, enabled the development of gel layer as obvious from SEM. The formed gel layer caused the very low effective diffusivity when compared with the case of no gel formation in paddy kernel. The pasting properties and DSC measurements have shown that paddy dried at a higher temperature and a thinner bed depth provided a greater extent of gelatinization during the drying time, the first factor showing a profound effect. Kinetics of gelatinization is reasonably described by the zero-order reaction. For the paddy quality, the head rice yield was 70% higher than the reference value and color of white rice became yellow and low luminous after reducing moisture content to 18% d.b. The percentage of white belly was less than 1.5%.     

DRYING CHARACTERISTICS OF CORN IN FLUIDIZED BED DRYER

A batch fluidized bed dryer was carried out for corn drying. Drying characteristics of corn were investigated The experimental results indicated that moisture transfer inside a corn kernel was controlled by internal diffusion by the following conditions : inlet hot air temperatures of 120 - 200 °C, superficial air velocities of 2.2- 4 m/s, bed depths of 4 - 12 cm, fraction of air recycled of 0.5 -0.9 and initial moisture content of corn of 43 % dry-basis. The Wang and Sing equation could describe in accordance with the results. Inlet hot air temperature and specific air flow rate were independent variables for drying constant model in the Wang and Singh equation.     

Property improvement of thermoplastic mung bean starch using cotton fiber and low‐density polyethylene

Due to high water uptake and low mechanical properties of biodegradable thermoplastic starch, thermoplastic starch prepared from mung bean starch (TPMBS) was modified by the incorporation of cotton fiber and low‐density polyethylene (LDPE). The effect of different ratios of cotton fiber/LDPE, i.e., 10:0, 7:3, 5:5, 3:7, and 0:10, on water uptake, mechanical, thermal, and biodegradable properties of TPMBS was examined. Different TPMBS samples were prepared using internal mixer for compounding and compression molding machine for shaping samples. It was found that the TPMBS incorporated with 10:0, 7:3, and 3:7 cotton fiber/LDPE showed an increase in the stress at maximum load and Young's modulus. Moreover, the water absorption of all of the modified TPMBS samples tended to decrease as compared to the pure TPMBS. Morphological, thermal, and biodegradable properties of different TPMBS samples were also investigated.     

A Comparative Study of Pork Drying Using Superheated Steam and Hot Air

Drying with superheated steam and hot air were comparatively studied for pork. Transport, physical, and chemical properties, i.e., effective diffusivity, color, microstructure, and rehydration ability, were investigated. The experimental results have shown that the decrease of pork moisture content in an early drying time was more rapid in superheated steam than in hot air and appeared to be lower in a latter time. The pork surface as examined by SEM was noticeably different for the samples dried by superheated steam and hot air. The fewer pores at the surface of superheated steam-dried pork caused a slower water penetration into the interior during rehydration, in addition to the lower drying rate. The color of the product from superheated steam was a relatively more intense brown than that obtained from hot air as presented by a lower L* value and a higher a* value.     

Performance Evaluation of Top-Spray Fluidized Bed Coating for Healthy Coated Rice Production

Coating with top-spray fluidized bed at inappropriate operating condition not only provides low product quality but also leads to low coating efficiency and improper energy consumption. The objective of this study was therefore to study the effects of superficial air velocity (Vf), atomization air pressure (Ap), and recycled exhaust air (Ra) on the performance of top-spray fluidized bed coating (TSFBC) in terms of product quality, coating efficiency (CE), and energy consumption for producing turmeric extract coated rice (TECR). The experimental results showed that the operation of TSFBC without Ra provided the final moisture content (MC) of TECR lower than 12 % (wet basis (w.b.)) for all Vf’s and Ap’s. The lowering final MC of TECR below 11.8 % (w.b.) led to the fissure of all TECR kernels. The Ra with 80 % could significantly reduce the number of fissured kernels and the energy consumption of electric heater by 41.7–46.5 %. The operation of TSFBC at low Vf, i.e., 2 m/s, resulted in high number of uncoated white rice kernels (UCWR) for all Ap’s and Ra. When the Vf was increased to 2.5 or 3 m/s, the number of UCWR was significantly reduced and the value of CE was higher than that at 2 m/s. At such both velocities, the Ap and Ra insignificantly affected the CE but the Ra slightly affected the number of UCWR.