Industrial sugar beets to biofuel: Field to fuel production system and cost estimates

Specialized varieties of sugar beets (Beta vulgaris L.) may be an eligible feedstock for advanced biofuel designation under the USA Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. These non-food industrial beets could double ethanol production per hectare compared to alternative feedstocks. A mixed-integer mathematical programming model was constructed to determine the breakeven price of ethanol produced from industrial beets, and to determine the optimal size and biorefinery location. The model, based on limited field data, evaluates Southern Plains beet production in a 3-year crop rotation, and beet harvest, transportation, and processing. The optimal strategy depends critically on several assumptions including a just-in-time harvest and delivery system that remains to be tested in field trials. Based on a wet beet to ethanol conversion rate of 110 dm³ Mg⁻¹ and capital cost of 128 M$ for a 152 dam³ y⁻¹ biorefinery, the estimated breakeven ethanol price was 507 $ m⁻³. The average breakeven production cost of corn (Zea mays L.) grain ethanol ranged from 430 to 552 $ m⁻³ based on average net corn feedstock cost of 254 and 396 $ m⁻³ in 2014 and 2013, respectively. The estimated net beet ethanol delivered cost of 207 $ m⁻³ was lower than the average net corn feedstock cost of 254–396$ m⁻³ in 2013 and 2014. If for a mature industry, the cost to process beets was equal to the cost to process corn, the beet breakeven ethanol price would be $387 m^-3 (587 $ m⁻³ gasoline equivalent).     

Combined effects of wheat gluten and carboxymethylcellulose on dough rheological behaviours and gluten network of potato–wheat flour-based bread

Incorporating high level of potato flour into wheat flour enhances nutritional values of bread but induces a series of problems that lead to the decline of the bread quality. To overcome the barrier, wheat gluten and carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) were added into potato–wheat composite flour to improve dough machinability and bread quality. The rheological properties, thermo-mechanical properties and microstructures of dough were investigated. The results showed that the interaction between gluten and CMC mitigated the discontinuity of gluten matrix and gluten protein aggregation caused by the addition of potato flour, which yielded a more branched and compact gluten network. The compact three-dimensional viscoelastic structure induced improvements of gas retention capacity and dough stability, making it mimic the machinability properties of wheat flour dough. Bread qualities were apparently improved with the combined use of 4% gluten and 6% CMC, of which specific volume increased by 42.86%, and simultaneously, hardness reduced by 75.93%.     

特征X射线能谱法测定Fe^＋注入小麦种子的深度

用１１０ｋｅＶ Ｆｅ＾＋离子束垂直注入小麦种胚后，在扫描电子显微镜上沿种子纵沟剖面，在不同深度上测量Ｆｅ元素被激发出的特征Ｘ射线强度分布，结果表明分布呈指数衰减，与晶体中的热扩散分布相类似，并对此进行了讨论。     

The amylose and lipid contents,dimensions, and gelatinisation characteristics of some wheat starches and their A- and B-granule fractions

Starches isolated from 23 bread wheats (Triticum aestivum) and 26 durum wheats (T. durum) contained 26.3-30.6% (mean 29.1%) total amylose, 19.3–25.1% (mean 22.9%) apparent amylose and 783–1144mg 100g^?1 (mean 977 mg 100g^?1) lysophos-pholipids. Gelatinisation temperatures were 57.3–64.9°C (mean 61.8°C) and enthalpies 6.4–11.8 Jg^?1 (mean 9.7Jg^?1) in excess water, measured by differential scanning calorimetry. There were no correlations between any of these parameters. Starch granule size distributions were determined with a Coulter Counter and 100–channel analyser. A-granule mean volumes were 1235–2585μm³ (av. 1778), modal volumes 863–1804μm³ (av. 1264), mean diameters 13.9–16.0μm (av. 13.99), and specific surface areas 0.236–0.302m²g^?1. B-granule mean volumes were 35.4–100.4μm³ (av. 55.9), modal volumes 16.5–54.5μm³ (av. 27.7), mean diameters 3.66–5.07μm (av. 4.09), and specific surface areas 0.684–0.920m²g^?1. The B-granule contents of the starches were 12.8–34.6% (av. 27.3) by weight (sedimentation method) and 13.0–37.3% (av. 24.0) by volume (Coulter method), the latter being the more accurate method.     

Simulation of Temperature Distribution in Stored Wheat without Aeration

A neural-deterministic simulation model applied for calculating distributions of temperatures and moisture content in a bed of wheat stored in a steel silo without aeration is presented in the article. The model consists of differential equations of heat and moisture transfer, initial and boundary conditions, and three artificial neural networks used during simulated ambient air conditions. Experiments and computer simulations were carried out in order to determine temperature fields in wheat grain stored in a steel silo for two months. The computer simulations were carried using MATLAB and FEMLAB software. The difference between measured and simulated temperature in grain near the silo wall at a height of 2.5 m from the bottom was less than 3.0°C. On the basis of the analysis performed it was concluded that the temperature distributions obtained with the model were consistent with the measured results obtained for grain stored in a steel silo without aeration.     

Dough mixing and breadmaking properties of quinoa-wheat flour blends

Flour blends of quinoa-wheat containing 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20% of manually dehulled quinoa meal or flour were evaluated for dough mixing and breadmaking properties and liking of the bread by a small panel. Increasing amounts of quinoa meal or flour increased farinograph absorption and dislike of bread for most of the panel. Dough development time increased with increase in meal but decreased with increase in quinoa flour. At 10% inclusion levels differences in liking from control 100% wheat flour bread were smaller for flour or water extracted meal to most of the panel, than with 10% non-extracted meal. This suggests that 10% inclusion of flour or water extracted meal may have potential for further investigation.     

The mechanical property and phase structures of wheat proteins/polyvinyl alcohol blends studied by high-resolution solid-state NMR

The phase structures of thermally processed wheat proteins (WP) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) blends were studied by solid-state high-resolution NMR spectroscopy. The intermolecular interactions among the multi-component systems and the behavior of each component in the blends on scales of nanometers were examined. The mechanical properties of the blends were also measured and related to the phase structure studies. The results indicated that the polymer chains of WP could be homogeneously mobilized when thermally processed with glycerol and water as plasticisers, but the glycerol predominately associated with WP rather than PVOH in the blends. The intermolecular hydrogen bonding interactions between WP and PVOH caused some extent of miscibility in the system on scales of nanometers especially when the PVOH content was low. The tensile strength and modulus of the blends were improved as compared to WP. However, the intermolecular interactions were relatively weak and could not be further enhanced by increasing PVOH component in the blends. The particle miscible WP/PVOH blends contained plasticised WP and PVOH phases in conjunction with the miscible WP/PVOH phase. Increasing the PVOH content in the blends did not result in an increase of the percentage of the miscible phase and the blends tented to be immiscible while the elongation of the blends was reduced when increasing the PVOH content in the blends.     

High-performance dispersant of coal–water slurry synthesized from wheat straw alkali lignin

Environmental concerns have stimulated interest in utilizing plant-derived materials in various industrial fields. The main objective of the present study was to synthesize a new type of high-performance lignin series dispersant of coal–water slurry (CWS) from wheat straw alkali lignin (WAL), and determine the affecting factors in the reaction and the application performance for CWS preparation. The experimental results showed that the inherent viscosity and the sulfonic group content of the modified wheat straw alkali lignin (MSL) are the key factors affecting its dispersing effect for CWS. In the reaction, the reactant mass concentration and the sulfonating agent amount were changed to obtain the MSL with different inherent viscosities and sulfonic group contents, and the MSL with intermediate inherent viscosity (6.0 ml/g) and higher sulfonic group content (1.80 mmol g^− 1) was found to have excellent dispersing effect for CWS. The MSL obtained from optimized process was used as dispersant for CWS preparation, the studies of the properties of CWS showed that MSL has similar dispersing effect with naphtalenesulfonate–formaldehyde condensate, and far better dispersing effect than lignosulphonate. Recently this kind of new dispersant has been applied in several power plants in China.     

A novel method of utilizing the biomass resource: Rapid liquefaction of wheat straw and preparation of biodegradable polyurethane foam (PUF)

In the paper, wheat straw was rapidly liquefied in the mild condition. The optimum liquefaction effect was obtained at steam-explosion pre-treatment of wheat straw, liquefaction temperature of 140 °C, solvent/wheat straw ratio of 6:1, glycol (EG):glycerol = 5, sulfuric acid of 5%, and wheat straw of water content of 150%. During the liquefaction, cellulose, semi-cellulose and lignin are decomposed, which results in changes of hydroxyl value, acid value, viscosity and weight-average molecular weight of the reaction system. The liquefaction product was used to prepare polyurethane foam. Compared with the normal PUF, the foam had similar mechanical properties and better water absorption and biodegradability.     

小麦植株拓扑结构发生过程的仿真研究

以小麦作物为研究对象,采用小麦植株形态结构的观测分析,提出了由多层次自动机模型、植株拓扑结构数据模型和模型调度算法构成的小麦植株拓扑结构的发生过程仿真方法.多层次自动机模型将小麦植株拓扑结构的发展过程视为生长单元、叶元和器官三个不同层次基本结构的重复、迭代,并以此建立宏状态、子状态和微状态自动机,进行拓扑结构演变过程的控制和形式化描述;植株拓扑结构数据模型基于小麦分枝结构的特征,建立拓扑结构的抽象单元和抽象单元间的关系,实现植株拓扑结构的描述与结构化存储;模型调度算法以多层次自动机为控制机制,进行植株拓扑结构数据的动态更新.在此基础上,采用VC++/OpenGL建立小麦虚拟生长可视化系统,进行了植株拓扑结构发生过程仿真,结果表明,改进方法能够对小麦个体全生育期拓扑结构的演变过程进行准确仿真,与同类仿真方法相比较,具有拓扑发生规律形式化定义易于建模理解、拓扑结构发生仿真控制精确、拓扑控制与描述分离利于改进和扩展等特点,可为虚拟小麦生长研究提供技术支撑.