Good Upto Research Articles

Effect of Storage Conditions on Quality and Shelf Life of Minimally Processed Precut Banana Pseudostem

Minimal processing techniques should provide the market with fresh- like appearance. Fresh-cut vegetables are consumed widely and it is a healthy, nutritional and convenient option. The present study aimed to standardize and develop the minimally processed precut pseudostem. Two banana varieties were selected viz., ottuvazhai (syn Mupaddai) (V1), vayalvazhai (V2) for developing minimally processed product.To prevent browning, different pretreatments such as lemon juice, turmeric powder, curd, salt, water, citric acid, and vinegar were used at 1 to 5 % concentration. Two different packaging materials, viz., aluminum foil (P1) and low-density polypropylene (P2) were used.The chemical composition of banana pseudostem was analyzed. The moisture, browning index, color value and microbial study of the precut pseudostem were analyzed using standard procedures. The quality of minimally processed precut pseudostem was evaluated from the initial day to 9 days at ambient and refrigerated storage conditions. Among the pretreatments, citric acid pretreated precut pseudostem had an effective role against browning reaction.During storage conditions, a minimum changes were observed in Mupaddai variety (V1) precut pseudostem sample. At refrigerated condition, the minimally processed product (V1) from aluminum foil was good upto 9 days of storage condition.

Effect of clove oil on some quality characteristics and sensory attributes of papaya pulp enriched enrobed chicken nuggets at refrigerated storage

The addition of clove oil in the broiler meat emulsion showed a significant (p<0.05) effect on some physico-chemical properties viz. pH, TBARS (thiobarbituric acid reacting substances value), FFA (free fatty acid) value and sensory attributes of chicken nuggets. The products were stored under refrigeration temperature (4±1°C), aerobically packaged in low density polyethylene pouches (LDPE) and were analyzed for some physico-chemical and sensory parameters at 0, 7, 14, 21 days. The pH value followed a gradual decreasing trend with the advancement of storage period. As the days of storage progressed TBARS and FFA values followed a significant (p<0.05) linear increasing trend. Sensory scores reduced gradually with increase in the storage days. The sensory ratings remained between fair to very good upto 14 days during the storage period. On the basis of the various sensory scores and physico-chemical parameters the product was declared spoiled on 21st day of storage period. Higher acceptability was obtained for clove oil treated which can be conveniently packed in LDPE pouches for a period of 14 days under refrigerated (4±1°C) condition.

Investigation on Potential Working Fluids for Waste Heat Recovery Applications

Since topics like the greenhouse effect and the associated global warming issue are much more discussed in the past, automobile manufacturers have to become even more active in in two fields: reduction of fuel consumption and reduction of emissions. As the optimization of motor vehicles has reached a point at which significant additional fuel saving cannot be achieved by means of purely engine-internal measures alone, other systems must be found to improve the specific fuel consumption. One promising technology could be the use of engine waste heat contained in exhaust gas. Earlier studies have shown, besides systems like thermoelectric generators or a Turbo compounding system, an integrated Rankine Cycle offers a lot of potential to turn waste heat into mechanical or electrical power. The use of a suitable working fluid for this Rankine Cycle is required to achieve a maximum in system power output. The aim of this work is to investigate the suitability of working fluids for automotive Organic Rankine Cycle applications. The investigation is focused on the thermodynamic simulation on the one hand and the experimental evaluation of thermal stability of the fluids on the other hand. For the experimental evaluation of the stability a continuous cycle is used to achieve nearly equal process conditions. The stability tests start with a short time screening of all selected fluids, later on the most promising ones are tested in long time test runs. In the test runs, the substances of the categories alkanes, cycloalkanes, monoaromatics and fluorinated compounds show best results regarding stability. In contrast acetales, siloxanes and ethers are not stable under the selected conditions. The same applies to ethanol. With a temperature above 225 °C ethanol is not stable. Additional runs with ethanol show that the temperature has to be limited to below 250 °C at least to avoid a high decomposition. Also acetone reacting products can be found in the liquid phase leading to high boiling substances that then may lead to coke formation in the system. The validation of the tested and simulated fluids is done for two different condensation temperatures (CT) of 100°C and 40°C. Fluids acetone and ethanol (CT 100°C) show best overall results. In Addition fluids n-hexane, methylcyclohexane, cyclohexane and toluene show good upto very good results. For condensation temperature 40°C, cyclopentane and R1233zd is suggested.