Improved Processing Technology Research Articles

Quality and functional attributes of muffins with incorporation of fruit, vegetable, and grain substitutes: A review

Raw ingredients directly affect the quality of processed foods. Along with improvements in processing technology, processed food production has grown significantly. The percentage of bakery products in total food consumption is very high, and soft bakery foods despite having a short shelf life, are well-liked because of their deliciousness. Special attention is paid to muffins with various combinations of nutritive ingredients and organoleptic qualities. Recent research studies have extensively covered the use of various fruits, vegetables, and grain and their by products as raw materials and value-added incorporation in the muffin to produce a nutrient-rich and highly valuable muffin. The present study provides a detailed observation of three major categories of incorporated ingredients, including fruits, vegetables, and their processing by products, as well as some other grain-based ingredients used as raw materials that add value. The study compiles a brief for their use in baked goods while reviewing the literature on ingredients. The findings of the literature analysis show an increase in the nutritional content of bioactive substances like antioxidants in the muffins. It has been revealed that using ingredients derived from fruits and vegetables is safer and more effective in terms of nutrition. Muffins may have a higher quality and better nutritional profile when certain combinations of fruit- and vegetable-based ingredients are added to the main ingredient. It will be helpful to researchers, food manufacturers, and small and medium-scale bakery unit operators about various aspects of the raw materials and properties connected with new muffin formulations and the standardization of stabilized products.  

Comparison of glycation and glycosylation level between bovine milk-based and goat milk-based infant formula through label-free proteomics techniques

Heat treatment is unavoidable in the processing of infant formula; however, heat treatment causes the proteins to undergo Maillard reaction and form glycation products, which can negatively affect the nutrition and function of the protein. At the same time, glycosylation is a broad post-translational protein modification that is important in a variety of biological processes. However, glycated proteins as well as N-glycoprotein components in infant formula have not been well characterized. Here, a comprehensive comparative analysis of the glycated proteome as well as the N-glycosylated proteome was conducted in both bovine milk-based (BF) and goat milk-based (GF) infant formula. In total, 918 whey proteins were identified from the whey fraction, including 200 glycated proteins and 219 glycosylated proteins. Furthermore, 33 N-glycosylated proteins containing 101 N-glycosylation sites and 64 glycosylated peptides derived from 30 proteins were significantly different (p < 0.05) between BF and GF. Most of the significantly different proteins are associated with innate immunity as well as defense responses. With respect to the differences between BF and GF, ɑ-lactalbumin (LALBA) had higher glycation level in BF than GF; whereas β-lactoglobulin (LGB) had higher glycation level in GF than BF. For glycosylation level, transferin (TF) was highly glycosylated in GF than BF; while serum albumin (ALB) was highly glycosylated in BF than GF. Our results elucidated the proteome, glycated proteome, N-glycosylated proteome in bovine milk-based and goat milk-based infant formulas, which may be useful to researchers in related fields and provide guidance on the improvement of processing technology for infant formula.

Millet's Role as a Climate Resilient Staple for Future Food Security: A Review

This review comprehensively examines the role of millets as a sustainable and resilient food source in the context of global climate change and escalating food security challenges. Millets, a group of small-seeded grasses traditionally grown in semi-arid regions of Africa and Asia, are re-emerging as crops of significance due to their remarkable adaptability to harsh environmental conditions and their rich nutritional profile. The review begins by outlining the various types of millets, including pearl, finger, and foxtail millet, and their geographic distribution, emphasizing their adaptability to diverse climatic conditions. It then delves into the nutritional aspects of millets, highlighting their high content of dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, and essential amino acids, making them a potent solution to combat malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies prevalent in many developing regions. A critical focus is placed on the climate resilience of millets. Their exceptional drought tolerance, ability to thrive in poor soil conditions, lower water, and nutrient requirements compared to staple crops like wheat and rice, and resistance to pests and diseases underscore millets' potential as sustainable crops in increasingly unpredictable climatic scenarios. This resilience not only promises to bolster food security but also contributes to sustainable agricultural practices. It explores the challenges and limitations in millet cultivation, processing, consumer acceptance, and market integration. It highlights the current gaps in millet-focused agricultural policies, the need for improved processing technologies, and strategies to enhance consumer appeal and marketability. Innovations in millet breeding for enhanced traits, advances in processing technologies, and the impact of biotechnology and climate-smart agricultural practices are examined. These technological and scientific advancements present opportunities for overcoming existing challenges and enhancing the role of millets in global food systems. Also presents case studies from various countries, particularly India, illustrating successful initiatives in millet cultivation, integration into national food policies, and community-led efforts. These examples offer valuable insights into practical approaches for promoting millets.

Assessing the socioeconomic factors influencing oil palm processors’ use of improved processing technologies in Ogbomoso Agricultural Zone

Assessing the socioeconomic factors influencing oil palm processors’ use of improved processing technologies in Ogbomoso Agricultural Zone

Bamboo: Technology Innovations Towards Value-added Applications: A Review

Bamboo is remarkably varied and adaptable with a wide range of anatomical, structural and chemical properties. All of the bamboo plant, from rhizome and root to culm and leaves is utilized-there are nearly two thousand recorded uses. Bamboo has gained considerable importance recently as a structural material. Bamboo can substitute not only wood, but also plastics, steel, cement and other materials in structural and product applications through improvements in processing technologies, product innovation with the application of scientific and engineering skills. The sector has vast potential for generating income and employment, especially in the rural areas. Towards promoting the usage of bamboo into value-added products, the National Mission on Bamboo Applications has been a major initiative by the Govt. of India under the 10th five year Plan. Primary processing of bamboo i.e. cross-cutting, splitting, knot removal, sliver making, strip making and round stick making may be carried out at rural cluster zones. After primary processing of bamboo, a lot of waste is generated. This waste may be effectively converted into value-added products such as activated carbon, charcoal etc. Efforts are underway for converting bamboo into usable form of energy by gasification. These gases can replace diesel up to 70% thus catering to energy needs (Tripathi, 2008). The by-products of biomass gasification in the forms of volatiles are rich sources of chemicals. The conversion of bamboo waste into charcoal is also being explored for catering to rural energy needs. The low-cost technology could be taken up for commercial production particularly in rural areas. This review paper discusses in detail about the properties and application of bamboo as wood, primary and secondary processing of bamboo and preservation of bamboo. The paper brings out technology overview of the products and associated business opportunities.

Decarbonization of the Russia mining industry

The purpose and relevance of the work. Intensive industrial development, dependent on fossil fuels, has led to a critical accumulation of atmospheric carbon dioxide and an increase in the temperature of the Earth’s surface. A further increase in the planet’s temperature by 2 °C could lead to a rise in global sea level by 6 meters, which will cause an increase in the number of floods and hurricanes, and the melting of permafrost will pose a threat for polar cities infrastructure. All these factors will lead to significant losses, so the decision to decarbonize is in Russia’s national interests. The purpose of the research is to find ways to reduce harmful emissions in the mining industry. Methodology. Based on the reported data, a critical analysis and study of the possibilities of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the process of mining is carried out. Results and scope. The mining industry is the main source of raw materials for the manufacturing industry, transport, metallurgy, construction and energy. The decrease in the content of useful components in the ore makes it necessary to extract, load, transport and process more materials. In the short term, it is not possible to phase out fossil fuels, but the main methods of a mining companys decarbonization strategy can be considered: on-site power supply, reduction of diesel fuel consumption for rock transport, improved processing technology, carbon capture and storage. For this, the mining industry can use various reserves in the form of environmentally friendly energy solutions, such as energy efficiency, energy recovery, renewable energy and carbon capture. Conclusions. The mining industry can use various clean energy solutions such as energy efficiency, energy recovery, renewable energy and carbon capture. A complete solution to the energy challenges facing the mining industry will require a combination of clean energy technologies.

Measuring process innovation output in firms: Cost reduction versus quality improvement

Process innovation is an important part of the innovation activities of firms and supposed to significantly contribute to the returns from innovation. Analysing this link is complicated, however, due to a lack of quantitative indicators on the outcome of process innovation. This article presents empirical evidence on such quantitative measures that have been collected in the German part of the Community Innovation Survey (CIS). Two main output dimensions are distinguished. The share of unit cost reduction owing to process innovation represents the extent to which new process technology affects a firm's cost function. The increase in sales that can be attributed to higher product quality resulting from new or improved process technology is linked to the impact of process innovation on a firm's demand function. The empirical analysis based on firm-level panel data shows that the link between firm characteristics, firm performance and the two types of output differs as expected by conceptual considerations. The results suggest that the two proposed measures of process innovation output are useful indicators to capture the type and magnitude of the outcome firms obtain from their process innovation efforts.

Economic Efficiency of Pine Wood Processing in Furniture Production

The wood industry faces challenges due to rising prices and limited wood availability, putting pressure on material efficiency in wood processing. This justifies the analysis of the relationship between efficiency and economy in pine wood processing. The study aimed to measure the impact of variations in the thickness of logs, changes in the technology of their further processing, and changes in prices of raw materials and products on the material efficiency in the context of large-scale production of furniture elements made of pinewood. The raw material input consisted of three categories of log sizes, from which the specialized purpose lumber was produced. The lumber was then processed into semi-finished furniture elements with three technologies: without detecting natural wood defects, with human detection, and with automatic detection. The study was conducted in Poland from 2020 to 2022. The material efficiencies in every stage of the analyzed wood processing and the cost efficiencies were calculated and analyzed based on the results obtained under real industrial conditions. The main findings are as follows: (1) when comparing the logs in the three tested diameter ranges (14–23 cm, 23–30 cm, and more than 30 cm), it can be observed that the overall material efficiency of sawing is in the range of 70%–85% and increases with the thickness of the log; (2) the share of 38 mm specialized sawn timber in the total amount of sawn timber was 41%–58% and increased with increasing log diameter; (3) the economic efficiency of the technological process is 170%–290%, based on the log size and the technology of further processing employed. The determining factor affecting cost efficiencies is unexpected changes in raw material prices and product demand in 2022. The findings suggest that while improvements in processing technology can boost efficiency, they cannot fully offset the rise in raw wood material prices.

Women cassava processors’ livelihood; implications for improved processing technology usage in Nigeria

The study compared the impact of the use of conventional and improved cassava processing technologies on the livelihood of women processors in north central Nigeria. This study adopts a quantitative method using a well-structured interview schedule for data collection from 410 respondents. Descriptive and inferential statistics such as an independent two-sample t-test was used to analyze the data. The majority of respondents were married and between the ages of 31 and 50. The mean years of education for improved technology users (ITU) were 8 years, while that of conventional technology users (CTU) was 10 years. Majority of both ITU (88.9%) and CTU (63.9%) had more than 10 years of processing experience. Majority of ITU (89.2%) and CTU (97.1%) were educated. A little above average (ITU - 53.7% and CTU - 50.2%) had medium household sizes and average annual income of ITU: N = 528,654 and CTU: N = 294,610. It was found that improved technology users had a very high livelihood status, while conventional technology users had a low livelihood status (ITU 75.25 and CTU 52.50) which indicated that the use of improved technology enhanced women’s contribution to family welfare and improved their livelihood. The results of the independent two-sample t-test show that there is a significant difference between the livelihood of improved and conventional technology users (t = −18.614, p = 0.000). The government should therefore focus on the development of appropriate and cost-effective farm-level processing technologies and further encourage the promotion of improved investment heavily in subsidized cassava processing machinery to afford processors to acquire these machines at a reasonable cost.

Effect of processing on aroma intensity and odor characteristic of Shuixian (Camellia sinensis) tea

Processing is extremely important for the formation of aroma characteristic of tea leaves. In this study, the effects of processing on the content of volatile compounds, aroma intensity and odor characteristic of Shuixian tea were analyzed. The results showed that the content of volatile compounds in Shuixian tea increased significantly after processing, among which terpenoids and esters were the highest. There were 18 key compounds constituting the aroma characteristics of Shuixian tea, among which geraniol and nerol were the most important compounds, which contributed 96.28% to the aroma of Shuixian tea. The odor characteristics of Shuixian tea were mainly floral and fruity and the contribution of floral mainly came from geraniol, while fruity mainly came from nerol. Geraniol and nerol compounds increased rapidly after the withering process of tea leaves. This study provided an important reference for the improvement of processing technology and quality enhancement of Shuixian tea.

Research on the Output Characteristics of Energy Conversion Elements under External Excitation

Initiating explosive (IE) devices are widely used in the aerospace, resource mining, and basic industries and other fields. With the improvement in processing technology, IE devices are developing towards miniaturization and intelligence. As an important component of the energy conversion of IE devices, the output characteristics of micro energy conversion (EC) elements directly affect the ignition performance of IE devices. Hence, this paper researches the output characteristics of EC elements under external excitation. Firstly, the fabrication process of the EC element is introduced, and the finite element analysis model of the temperature field is deduced. Secondly, the simulation model of the output characteristics of the EC element is constructed, the validity of the model is verified through experiments, and the basic characteristic parameters of the EC element are determined. Finally, four shapes of EC element structures are designed, the corresponding output characteristics under constant current excitation are analyzed, and the temperature and current field distributions of the EC elements with different shapes are given. The experimental and simulation results show the effectiveness of the analysis results in this paper, and the influence of different shapes on the insensitivity of EC elements is given through comparative analysis, which provides support for the design of micro structure EC elements.

Constraining the size and density composition of the Martian core by using second-order potential coefficient and recent precession rate of gravity field model

It is still difficult to detect the existence of Martian solid inner core merely based on Mars seismic InSight data. To deal with this problem, our study intends to use the mean density and mean moment of inertia factor to constrain the size and density of Martian solid inner core. Using the Mars high-degree gravity field models: JGMRO120f and GMM3-120, and considering the recent precession rate, we obtain the mean density and mean moment of inertia factor, which are treated as the observed values. Referring to the 4-layers internal structure model of Mars, and considering the 4 parameters, i.e. crustal density, mantle density, density of outer core, size and density of inner core, we calculate the modeled values of the Martian mean density and the mean moment of inertia factor. From the minimum residuals between observed and modeled values of mean density as well as that of mean moment of inertia factor, it is found that the two gravity field models have the same result of distribution of free parameters. As to the optimized values of the free parameters, the two gravity field models even have the same results. Furthermore, the optimized crustal density, mantel density and density of outer core approach other studies, indicating the dependence of our results. Finally, our result demonstrates that Mars likely has a solid inner core with a size close to 840 km, and the density of inner core is nearly 6950 kg⋅m&lt;sup&gt;–3&lt;/sup&gt;. Our result implies that Mars has an inner core not fully composed of pure iron, which is consistent with the recent study that Mars requires a substantial complement of light elements in Martian core. However, it is further needed to constrain the size and composition of Martian inner core due to the non-uniqueness of inversion results. With the improvement of processing technology on the InSight data, it can be further constrained for the size and composition of Martian inner core.

English

This study assessed the activities GIZ technology intervention on Shea nut processing in Niger State, Nigeria. The objectives were to identify the available improved shea nut processing technologies and the level of adoption of the improved GIZ shea nut processing technologies in the study area. A two-stage sampling technique was adopted for the study. Data were collected through interview schedule and analysed using percentages, and likert type scale. The data reveals that majority of the respondents (98.7%) adopted the GIZ improved processing technologies, while very few of the respondents (1.3%) did not adopt the GIZ improved processing technologies. In the seven sub-components in which a few of the respondents that did not adopt it might be due to some factors adduced to inadequate concrete platform, unavailability of some equipment/materials and inadequate knowledge of some concepts which they might have forgotten as taught under GIZ&nbsp; extension services. The study concluded that the intervention programme should be repeated and extended to non- beneficiary Local Government of the State to increase the economic activities of the processors on quality production of Shea butter. Key words: Adoption, shea nut, processing, technology, german International Corporation (giz) and intervention, processors, beneficiary.

Improving Liquid Film Thickness Uniformity of Semiconductor Etching Equipment Using Flow Field Visualization and CFD Simulation

With the rapid development of semiconductor-based products, semiconductor and integrated circuit (IC) design industries have become indicators of global technological advance in this field. As IC structure becomes smaller and smaller, improved process technology and equipment are necessary to maintain and improve wafer yield rates and quality. Among them, the etching technology in the process has a close relationship with the size of IC structure. According to extensive research and analyses put forward by predecessors, the etching process and methods that affect the yield rates and quality of wafers have been well characterized. This study investigates the spray etching method of the single nozzle and double nozzle. Using computational fluid dynamics software developed by Ansys Fluent, the fluid is injected from the center as the starting point at the same flow rate and speed, and according to 2, 4, and 8 seconds of a different cycle and nozzle forms, moving back and forth to supply liquid on the surface of the 300 mm disc. It is assumed that fluid properties do not change with temperature. Additionally, the chemical reaction and thermal reaction of the etching process are not considered. Changes in the surface flow field resulting from different nozzles and cycle conditions are observed. This study involved setting up a set of flow field visualization systems, replacing the etching liquid with colored water, using a digital camera to capture the relationship between the gray index and the thickness of the water film, and calculate the film thickness. The average film thickness deviation ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${t}_{avg}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ) and variable quantity ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${dt}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ) were characterized and used as a means to compare performance. The results show that the average film thickness deviation of the double nozzles is higher than the single nozzle, and variable quantity ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${dt}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ) is lower than that of the single nozzles. In general, the double nozzles increase the thickness and stability of the liquid film thickness on the surface of the disc.

An optimal design and improved processing technology for the rose-bow titanium alloy spring of subway pantograph

The traditional low-alloy steel rose-bow spring of subway pantograph is easily occurred the corrosion and fracture after being used for a central period of time, which interrupts the train current collection and cannot provide power for the train, as a result of the interruption of the normal operation of subway trains. Therefore, an optimal design and improved processing technology for the rose-bow titanium alloy spring of subway pantograph was studied in this paper. The heat treatment tests on the two titanium alloy springs, made of TC18 and TB6 materials, were conducted respectively. The improved process flow of the rose-bow titanium alloy spring was also determined. Fatigue test results show that both TC18 and TB6 titanium alloy springs of pantograph can meet the corresponding requirements.

Life cycle assessment of animal-based foods and plant-based protein-rich alternatives: a socio-economic perspective.

BACKGROUNDExtensive research shows that replacing animal protein with plant‐based protein in the diet would strongly alleviate the environmental impact of the food system. However, much less attention has been given to the socio‐economic considerations of dietary transitions. This study analyses the socio‐economic performance of innovative legume‐based food prototypes, developed in the Protein2Food research project, and conventional animal‐based products (chicken meat and dairy milk). We implement a social life cycle assessment (sLCA) to quantify and compare their potential socio‐economic impacts along the entire life cycle.RESULTSFindings from this analysis show that legume‐based prototypes and their respective animal‐based counterparts have, overall, a comparable socio‐economic performance. Looking at the disaggregated life cycle stages, socio‐economic hotspots (points of most negative impacts) were mainly identified at the production stage in legume‐based products. Farm‐level net margin and profitability are low when compared with their animal equivalents. However, at the processing stage, there are socio‐economic gains for plant‐based products regarding lower unemployment rates. Finally, at the consumption stage, there are mixed results. Plant‐based products show worse protein affordability but better nutritional contents (lower saturated fat and cholesterol) than their animal counterparts.CONCLUSIONSTo improve socio‐economic performance of legume‐based foods, greater emphasis should be placed upon developing improved processing technologies and supply chains. This would broaden the supply of sustainable protein‐rich food options and make these products more economically attractive. The research illustrates that policies should be targeted to the different stages of the food value chain to optimize the development of innovative plant‐based foods. © 2021 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Segregation behavior of alloying elements and its effects on stacking fault of γ′ phase in Ni-based superalloys: First-principles study

In this paper, the segregation tendency of elements M (Re, Co, Cr, Mo, Ti) near the complex and intrinsic stacking fault (CSF and SISF) on γ′- Ni3Al (111) plane as well as the influence of the segregation on the mechanical properties were studied by the first-principle method. The results show that Co and Cr atoms tend to segregate to CSF and Co also has segregation tendency for SISF. Comparison of metallic radius of alloying element can predict preliminary the segregation tendency which decreases along with the increase of metallic radius of M, except for Re. Segregation of M depends on their strong interactions with their surrounding Ni atoms near SFs, rather than the minimization of elastic strain. In addition, the Re effect is not induced by its interaction with the two SFs in γ′ phase. Meanwhile, the effects of segregated elements Co and Cr on the mechanical properties are further discussed. The results show that segregation of the two elements to CSF results in higher interfacial stability and the improvement of plastic deformation ability, but Co near SISF is beneficial to increase work-hardening. This work will provide insight for the composition design and improvement of processing technology of Ni-based superalloys and even other alloys.

Constraints to utilization of improved processing technologies among cassava processors in Oyo State, Nigeria

This study investigated the constraints associated with utilization of improved processing technologies among cassava processors in Oyo State, Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from a random sample of 176 respondents. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The findings were that most (56.8%) of the respondents had a positive attitude towards utilization of mechanical grater, screw press hydraulic and Hammer mill technologies. However, inadequate funds, lack of technical know-how, lack of information, high cost of purchase and inadequate engineers for the improved processing technologies were identified as severe constraints militating against utilization of improved processing technologies. Significant relationship was established between these constraints and utilization of the improved processing technologies. It is recommended that government 1) builds factories that will lower the cost of the technologies; and 2) ensures that research institutes, departments of Agricultural engineering in universities and polytechnics and adult education programs in the community are adequately funded to promote knowledge of the technologies.RésuméCette étude a examiné les contraintes associées à l’usage des technologies traitantes améliorées parmi les traitants du manioc dans l’état d’Oyo au Nigeria. Un questionnaire structuré fut utilisé pour la collecte de données provenant de 176 enquêtés hasardement sélectionnés du champ d’étude. Les données ainsi collectées furent analysées par moyen de statistiques descriptives (telles que le comptage de fréquence, le pourcentage et la moyenne) ainsi que les statistiques inferentielles. La Corrélation du Moment Produit de Pearson (CMPP) fut employée pour déterminer la relation entre contraintes et usage des technologies traitantes améliorées parmi les traitants du manioc dans le champ d’étude. Les résultats de l’étude ont démontré que l’âge moyen d’enquêtés était de 41.23 ans et que plus d’un quart d’enquêtés (33.0%) avaient six à dix ans d’expérience dans le traitement du manioc. De surcroit, les résultats ont révélé que la plupart d’enquêtés (56.8%) avaient une attitude favorable envers l’usage des technologies traitantes améliorées de rappe mécanique, presse-vis hydraulique et moulin-marteau. Des fonds inadéquats, le manque du savoir-faire technique, le manque d’information, le coût élevé d’achat, et les ingénieurs inadéquats concernant les technologies traitantes améliorées ont été identifiés par les enquêtés comme sérieuses contraintes militant contre l’usage des technologies traitantes améliorées. Une relation significative existait aussi entre contraintes (r=-0.189, p=0.012) auxquelles les enquêtés font face et leur usage des technologies traitantes améliorées. L’étude a recommandé que le gouvernement construise les usines ou industries où les technologies traitantes améliorées seraient fabriquées à coût bas, que les instituts de recherche et département d’ingénierie agronome dans les universités et écoles polytechniques soient financés adéquatement, ainsi que les programmes d’alphabétisation d’adultes dans les communautés de traitants du manioc pour surmonter le défi d’analphabétisation et la saisie du savoir-faire technique concernant les opérations technologies. Tout ceci va renchérir l’usage effectif des technologies traitantes améliorées parmi les traitants du manioc dans le champ d’étude—une chose qui, en long terme, pourra se traduire en haute productivité, augmentation de revenus, et conditions de vie en mieux.

Sustainability Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste in Baltimore USA

Sustainability assessment of municipal solid waste management requires a holistic approach in evaluating the impacts of current technology and processes. In this study, the sustainability analysis of the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) incineration plant in Baltimore city was performed to determine its environmental, economic, and social impacts. The city’s major waste-to-energy generation plant has benefitted the city of Baltimore since inception till date in terms of waste processing, resulting in electricity and steam production for more than 40,000 homes and over 200 businesses. The life cycle impact of the incineration plant was analyzed using the Simapro life cycle assessment (LCA) software with the Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES) database for correlation. The results obtained upon analysis show larger values of Global Warming Potential and eutrophication potential as 6.46 × 108 Gg of CO2 equivalence and 2.27 × 106 Gg N equivalence, respectively. These values resulted from the higher amount of fossil CO2 and NOx emitted from the plant. The acidification potential of 1.66 × 1017 H+ mmole eq resulted from the SO2 emitted by the incineration plant. The incineration plant exceeded the limitations set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on NOx (150 ppm), which is detrimental to the well-being of people as shown by this study. Installing an improved processing technology such as a Selected Catalytic Reactor (SCR) can drastically reduce the NOx emission to 45 ppm. Life Cycle Assessment was confirmed suitable in evaluating the environmental impacts of the MSW-to-energy treatment approach.

The Research Progress of Main Chemical Constituents and Functional Activity in Purple Tea

Purple tea is made from the traditional processing of green tea, black tea and dark tea, which will maintain the purple characteristic of the tea soup during the processing. It has been widely concerned and studied due to its high anthocyanin content, unique color and biological activities such as scavenging free radicals, anti-oxidation, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, protecting eyesight and relieving visual fatigue. In addition, purple tea also contains active ingredients such as tea polysaccharides and tea polyphenols. At present, although purple tea is widely used in skin care, food, medicine and other fields, the research on purple tea is still in the exploratory stage, and its unique economic value has not been fully utilized. In order to improve processing technology, develop high-quality products to meet market demand, and improve the stability of anthocyanins in tea extracts, this paper is about of the varieties of purple tea, the effects of different processing methods on the quality, the analysis of color change mechanism of purple tea leaf, the chemical composition and its physiologically active substances, metabolic pathways and gene expression. And the key research directions and new product development of purple tea are prospected, which provides a further reference for related research on purple tea.