Physical Properties Of Raw Materials Research Articles

Magnesium oxychloride cement with phase change material: Novel environmentally-friendly composites for heat storage

To solve heat energy storage of building enclosure systems, phase change materials (PCMs) were implemented into magnesium oxychloride cement (MOC) to form a MOC-PCM composite. Such composites possess sufficient mechanical strength for specific usage and high heat storage efficiency. The chemical and physical properties of raw materials were investigated as well as fresh composite mixture rheology. On matured samples, structural, mechanical, hygric, and thermal properties were tested. The results suggest that the enrichment of MOC with PCM particles causes an increase in porosity, hence a decrease in the specific density of the composites. With each addition of PCM the reduction of mechanical properties of the composite material occurs, where the maximum reduction in flexural and compressive strength for the sample with 40 wt % of PCM is around 80%. The low strength of the composite is compensated by excellent thermal properties that are required for its intended application. The enthalpies of phase changes increased linearly with the dosage of PCM and can contribute to the passive moderation of temperature fluctuations. The developed composites can find use in building engineering in the form of indoor cladding panels, facing slabs ceiling boards, etc. Which can be beneficially applied for example in the passive cooling of attic rooms and retrofitting of the present building stock.

Improved direct compression properties of Gardeniae fructus water extract powders via fluid bed-mediated surface engineering

Direct compression (DC) attracts increasing attention for tablet manufacturing; however, its application in medicinal plant tablets is still extremely limited. In this work, eight kinds of the Gardeniae fructus water extract powder (GF)-based composite particles (CPs) were prepared with different cohesive surface engineering materials, including dextran, inulin, hypromellose, and povidone, alone or in combination with mannitol and colloidal silica. Their physical properties and compacting parameters were characterized comprehensively. All the CPs showed marked improvement in tabletability, which is about 2–4 times higher than that of GF and physical mixtures (PMs). Specifically, the CPs showed a 7.45–26.48 times higher hardness (Ha) value and a 1.26–2.74 times higher cohesiveness (Co) value than PMs. In addition, all the CPs (angle of repose being from 34.27° to 38.46°) showed better flowability than PMs (35.49° to 53.53°) and GF (51.86°). These results demonstrated that (i) fluid-bed coating was not a simple process of superposition and transmission of the physical properties of raw materials; and (ii) all the surface engineering materials studied could improve the DC properties of problematic GF to some degree. As a whole, through the design of fluid-bed coating CPs, qualified tablets with high GF loadings (up to 93%) were produced via DC.

Direct compaction properties of Zingiberis Rhizoma extracted powders coated with various shell materials: Improvements and mechanism analysis

Direct compaction (DC) attracts more and more attention for tablet manufacturing; however, its application in natural plant product (NPP) tablets is still extremely limited. In this study, 8 kinds of composite particles (CPs) based on the Zingiberis Rhizoma extracted powder (ZR) (a natural plant product powder with poor DC properties) were prepared with different shell materials, including hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), dextran, inulin, mannitol, silica, and their combinations. Their physical properties and compacting parameters were characterized comprehensively. The results demonstrated that (i) fluid bed coating was not a simple process of superposition and transmission of the physical properties of raw materials; and (ii) all the shell materials studied could improve the DC properties of problematic ZR to some degree and the combination of 7% HPMC and 1% silica showed to be the best to markedly improve both the compactibility and flowability of ZR. As a whole, by virtue of the design of core-shell particles, qualified tablets with high ZR loadings were successfully produced via continuous DC in this study. These findings are beneficial to boosting the development of natural plant tablets through DC.

Synthesis Biodiesel from Waste Cooking Oil with Microwave Irradiation Method as Alternative Renewable Energy Source

Biodiesel is a very potential fuel to replace diesel fuel. WCO can be used as raw material for making biodiesel. One method of making biodiesel is by using microwave irradiation. Microwave heating is more advantageous than conventional method heating, because conventional method heating is very slow and inefficient. This study aims to determine the effect of power, reaction time and physical properties of raw materials in the manufacture of biodiesel from waste cooking oil using microwave irradiation. The experimental stage consists of pretreatment, transesterification, separation, washing, and analysis of biodiesel yields. Transesterification of waste cooking oil takes place in a microwave oven by: (a) variations in microwave power (100, 180, 300, 450, and 600 Watt) at 5 min, and (b) reaction time variation (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 minutes) at a fixed power of 100 Watt. From the research it is known that the operating conditions to produce the best yield of biodiesel yield on 100 watt microwave power and heating time for 10 minutes. The yield of biodiesel is 93.06%. The laboratory analysis results show five methyl ester compounds (biodiesel) such as methyl myristate, methyl palmitate, methyl linoleate, methyl oleate, and methyl stearate. The physical properties of biodiesel produced have met several criteria of Dirjen Migas no 13483K / 24 / DJM / 2006 for biofuel / biodiesel and SNI 04 - 7182 (2012).

The physical characteristics of oil palm trunk and fast growing species veneer for composite-plywood

Oil palm trunk waste and fast growing species has potential to be used as composite-plywood (comply) raw material. Oil palm trunk as core layer and fast growing species as face and back layers of comply. This research focusing on the raw material characteristics of comply made of fast growing species (sengon, afrika, acacia) and oil palm trunk waste. The aim of this research is to determine the physical properties of raw materials to be used as comply. The physical properties (moisture content, specific gravity and thickness variations) were determined based on British Standard (BS) 373:1957 and Japanese Agricultural Standard (JAS) SE 11:2003. The research results showed that bottom and middle parts of oil palm trunk have moisture content and specific gravity values of 47%, 33% and 0.4, 0.7 respectively. Whereas, values of moisture content and specific gravity fast growing species from bottom, middle and upper parts were 54%, 47%, 35% and 0.25, 0.22, 0.24, respectively for sengon wood, 148%, 120%, 66% and 0.39, 0.32, 0.37, respectively for afrika wood, 80%, 79%, 76% and 0.59, 0.57, 0.59, respectively for acacia wood. The moisture content of fast growing species veneer for sengon, afrika, acacia were 27.32%, 32.83%, and 27.67%, respectively. Thickness variation of fast growing species veneer for sengon, afrika, acacia from bottom, middle and upper parts were 2.00, 1.96, 1.95 mm, 2.25, 2.20, 1.95 mm and 2.11, 2.09, 2.09 mm. All the above physical properties were suitable for comply raw material.

Setting up multivariate specifications on critical raw material attributes to ensure consistent drug dissolution from high drug-load sustained-release matrix tablet

The purpose of this study was to describe the raw material variability that influenced the in-vitro dissolution behavior of high drug-load sustained-release matrix tablet and to ensure the consistent quality of the final product. The Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) – hydroxypropyl methylcellulose – anhydrous lactose – magnesium stearate (57:20:23:0.5%, w/w) was used as the model formulation. PNS extract powders with lot-to-lot and source-to-source differences were collected to cover the common cause variations and their physicochemical properties were characterized by the chromatographic fingerprints and the SeDeM expert system. It was found that the release behavior of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in PNS from different batches exhibited considerable variations. Latent variable modeling results demonstrated that the physical properties of raw materials played major roles in predicting the drug dissolution. PNS extracts with high specific surface area, the width of particle size distribution and hygroscopicity or low moisture content led to an increase in drug release. In order to perform efficient pass/fail judgments for incoming new materials, multivariate specifications of critical material attributes (CMAs) were established and the multivariate design space in line with the quality by design (QbD) principles was explored to achieve the release target.

Preparation of anhydrite from eggshell via pyrolysis

AbstractCalcium sulfate dihydrate (CaSO4·2H2O) was prepared from the chemical reaction between calcium carbonate from duck eggshell and sulfuric acid at 25°C. The CaSO4·2H2O was dried in an oven at 110°C and transformed into calcium sulfate hemihydrate or plaster of Paris (CaSO4·0.5H2O). The CaSO4·0.5H2O was calcined at 700, 800 and 900°C and transformed into anhydrite or anhydrous calcium sulfate (CaSO4). The raw material used in this research was the duck eggshell, the waste eggshell generated from food processing industries. The obtained anhydrous calcium sulfate or anhydrite has true density, color, specific surface area, pore diameter and particle size equal to 2.95 g/cm3, white powder, 3.57 m2/g, 96.98 Å and 3.983 μm, respectively. In addition, other characteristics, microstructures, phase transformation and physical properties of raw materials and calcium sulfates were investigated and reported here using X-ray fluorescencemeter, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, differential thermal analyzer, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffractometer, pycnometer method and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller.

Characterization of the products obtained from alkaline conversion of tuff and metakaolin

Currently, there has been a growing interest of zeolite materials for industrial and scientific purpose. Synthetic zeolites are more often used than natural ones due to its higher purity and more uniform particle sizes. Numerous investigations are conducted in searching of inexpensive raw materials suitable for zeolite synthesis. Moreover, the temperature, pressure, times and SiO2/Al2O3 ratio are the most important parameters which play key roles in the synthesis processes. Due to such a large number of factors that affect the process, zeolite synthesis has been undergoing constant development. Nowadays, researchers focus on the methods of synthesizing zeolites at ambient temperature and pressure. Metakaolin and tuff are natural raw materials which can be turned into a brand new class of synthetic zeolites. However, each requires different method of synthesis in order to obtain a material with best physical properties. This paper discusses the process of alkaline activation of synthetic zeolites from natural raw materials: volcanic tuff excavated in Filipowice and metakaolin obtained from Rominco company. Two methods: fusion and low-temperature synthesis, were used in the presented research. Moreover, the physical properties of raw materials and zeolites obtained were shown. Based on the XRD analysis, it was verified that materials after the synthesis process contained zeolites A, Na-X and faujasite-Na. Furthermore, the dehydration and thermal decomposition phenomena of the tuff and metakaolin before and after the synthesis process were determined by coupled TG/MS techniques.

Effect of Physical Properties of Pr-Nd Oxide on Its Melton Salt Electrolysis

Industrial Pr-Nd oxide product has different physical properties, and shows different behaviors in the process of producing Pr-Nd metal by molten salt electrolytic. To meet the specific requirements of molten salt electrolysis for the physical properties of Pr-Nd oxide, different physical properties of raw materials such as particle size, specific surface area, morphology, bulk density and mobility were compared by chemical analogy experiment and actual production, the influence of physical properties of Pr-Nd oxide on its electrolysis process were studied, and the physical properties of the suitable electrolytic Pr-Nd oxide are quantified. The results show that particle size and morphology are the most important physical properties of Pr-Nd oxide in the electrolysis process. Pr-Nd oxide with good physical property requires the particle size is uniform and not too big or small. Additionally, the microstructure should not be over dispersed, but with agglomerate status, besides the micro surface should have porous structure to avoid melting phenomenon. The physical properties of raw materials produced by the method of oxalic acid precipitation are more stable than that by the ammonium bicarbonate precipitation method, and the good and stable physical properties are more suitable for molten salt electrolysis. So the oxalic acid precipitation method can be used as reference of the ammonium bicarbonate precipitation method.

Caracterización métrica y morfológica de las cuentas provenientes del área costera norpatagónica. Río Negro, Argentina

In this paper, we analyze shell and stone beads recovered from the San Matias Gulf, Rio Negro coast (Argentina), using qualitative and quantitative methods. To this end, metric and geometric morphometric (elliptic Fourier analysis) techniques were combined, thereby achieving a more detailed description of design variability. The results show some differences in the shape and size related to raw materials used in these items manufacture. Finally, the causes of observed differences are discussed, with special focus on the weight of the mechanical and physical properties of raw materials used in the preparation of such ornamental objects.

Učinak različitih tehnoloških postupaka i kvalitete sirovine na fizikalna svojstva i oksidativni status dalmatinske pancete

Effect of various technological processes and raw material quality on physical properties and oxidative status of dalmatian pancetta We have conducted the research on processing technology features, and physical properties of raw materials and finished products, as well as determined the level of lipid oxidation (TBA test) of final products, which indicates the safety of products and applied technology, in three Dalmatian processing facilities to determine the specifics of processing technology, implemented technology standardization strategies and the quality of traditional Dalmatian Pancetta. During our research we have recorded due details of technological procedures that were either identical or very similar in all three facilities, facility specific procedures (the length of curing phase: facility A – 14 days, facility B – 10 days, facility C – 4 days; the length of drying/ripening phase: facility A – 76 days, facility B - 80 days, facility C – 63 days) and facility micro-climate parameters (temperature, humidity and air flow). Based on identified differences in the length of processing, the weight of raw materials (class A ≥ 4.5 kg; class B > 3 < 4.5 kg), the use of defrosted raw materials (class BS), the method of curing (sea salt; sea salt + sodium nitrite; sea salt + sodium nitrite + seasoning and additives) and the quantity of used salt (from 3.21 % to 8.81 %), we have grouped our samples into 10 groups that were allocated between the 3 facilities. We have monitored the following technological parameters during the processing: quality of raw materials (origin, initial weight, length, width, pH); cooking loss per individual processing phase (curing and drying/ripening), total processing cooking loss, and quality of matured bacon (pancetta) (weight, length, pH, aw, malonaldehyde content). The loss of product weight (cooking loss) during the processing ranged from 24.28 % to 42.73 %, with the highest total cooking loss (46.86 %) measured for the class BS bacon, probably not only as a result of raw material freezing/defrosting, but lower initial weight and longer duration of processing procedure. Consequently, the class A Dalmatian Pancetta had the highest final weight (from 2.60 to 3.88 kg), while class B (from 1.75 to 3.30 kg) and class BS (from 1.75 to 2.80 kg) had the lowest final weight. Dimensions of mature bacon amounted to 38-56 cm x 16-24 cm. The initial pH of raw bacon was similar in all researched groups. Mature bacon produced in facility C, in which both classes of bacon were cured by sea salt exclusively, had a significantly higher pH (P≤0.05): class A – 6.09; class B – 6.12. The class BS bacon, at the same time, measured the lowest aw (P ≤ 0.05) (0.75), while bacons processed in facility C measured the highest aw (class B – 0.87; class A – 0.89). Bacons cured with the combination of salt, seasoning and additives (class A – 0.16 mg/kg; class B – 0.18 mg/kg) and bacon produced in facility C (0.18 mg/kg) had the lowest malonaldehyde content (0.16 to 0.18 mg/kg), while the class BS bacon cured with the mixture of sea salt and sodium nitrite had the highest malonaldehyde content. The analysis of our research results implies that greater initial weight of raw materials, longer processing and the use of defrosted raw materials have a significant impact on the increase of cooking loss, the decrease of aw and the increase of the level of lipid oxidation of mature bacon (P ≤ 0.05). Judging by the level of water activity (aw< 0.93) and the low level of lipid oxidation measured in mature products of all product groups, allocated among all three facilities, we can conclude that the traditional Dalmatian Pancetta is a product that is safe for consumption which complies with all the prescribed conditions for dry-cured meat products. However, since certain technological processes in different facilities varied considerably, to determine their impact on other parameters of the quality of the final product, with the aim of standardization of technology and improving the quality of traditional Dalmatian Pancetta, additional research is necessary.

Design and development of a two wheel tractor driven coconut fertilizer applicator

Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) is a perennial tree crop with about 60 years of economic life span. Decreasing soil fertility over several decades due to inadequate replenishment of the exhausted nutrients is a major problem affecting coconut production. The annual yield from a single tree can be increased from 50-70 nuts up to 100-125 nuts by proper application of fertilizer. There is no efficient method to apply fertilizer to coconut estates at present except manual application, which is laborious. The general objective of this research was to investigate an efficient method for applying fertilizer to coconut estates. After investigating physical properties of raw materials and their influences on the performance of fertilizer application, a two-wheel tractor driven granular fertilizer applicator was developed. Main components of the applicator are hopper, opposite-direction screw, two sets of furrow openers, fertilizer tubes, and a furrow closer. Power transmission from the engine to the applicator was done by chain and sprockets. The applicator was designed to apply 5 kg of fertilizer mixture per palm at an optimum speed of 1.1 km/h. The fertilizer applicator was evaluated in a coconut estate and received satisfactory results. It performed at a fertilizer feeding capacity of 0.45 ha/hr with 72.7 % efficiency. Compared to the traditional method, this fertilizer applicator could save 96.5 % of time and 94 % of the cost of fertilizer application per hectare. COCOS Vol. 20: 27-37 (2013)

Process analytical technologies in food industry - challenges and benefits: A status report and recommendations.

Process analytical technologies in food industry - challenges and benefits: A status report and recommendations.

Rapid characterization of tanshinone extract powder by near infrared spectroscopy.

Chemical and physical quality attributes of herbal extract powders play an important role in the research and development of Chinese medicine preparations. The active pharmaceutical ingredients have a direct impact on the herbal extract's efficacy, while the physical properties of raw material affect the pharmaceutical manufacturing process and the final products' quality. In this study, tanshinone extract powders from Salvia miltiorrhiza which are widely used for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in the clinic are taken as the research object. Both the chemical information and physical information of tanshinone extract powders are analyzed by near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. The partial least squares (PLS) and least square support vector machine (LS-SVM) models are investigated to build the relationship between NIR spectra and reference values. PLS models performed well for the content of crytotanshinone, tanshinone IIA, the moisture, and average median particle size, while, for specific surface area and tapped density, the LS-SVM models performed better than the PLS models. Results demonstrated NIR to be a valid and fast process analytical technology tool to simultaneously determine multiple quality attributes of herbal extract powders and indicated that there existed some nonlinear relationship between NIR spectra and physical quality attributes.

Characterization of Heat-Resistant Geocement Based on Potassium Silica Solution

The aim of this paper is detailed description of synthesis geocement composite material based on K2O-Al2O3-SiO2 system and characterization its thermal properties. The series of analytic tools were used (XRF, XRD, SEM, BET, particle-size distribution) for accurate identification of chemical and physical properties of raw material. Optimum technological prescription was determined and geocement specimens were tested for identification of mechanical and thermal properties. Three series of specimens were heated up to 1000, 1100 and 1230°C and flexural strength was determined. The thermal analysis TMA and DMA were used for characterization of heat-resistant properties. The maximum shrinkage in the range 30-1000°C was for the first run in temperature rate 20°C/min. only 3%. The heating exposure at slower rate (3°C/min.) caused reduction of shrinkage up to 1.5% at 1000°C. Geocement represents attractive thermal properties.

Study on the C80 High-Strength Rock Chips Concrete

Rock chips is a potential substitutable material for river sand, which can effectively solve the shortage problem of the river sand in concrete. At present most studies are about the rock chips concrete concentrate on the normal-strength concrete. The studies about rock chips as a substitution for river sand in C80 high-strength concrete were carried out. At first the basic physical properties of raw material are analyzed and the performance requirements of the concrete are confirmed. And then on the basis of the river sand concrete, the influence of the dosage of rock chips on the C80 high-strength concrete at the same water-binder ratio was studied. The particle size of rock chips larger than 4.75mm was considered as the coarse aggregate. The results showed that the C80 high-strength rock chips concrete can be prepared by increasing the dosage of superplasticizer and binder. The early age strength of high-strength rock chips concrete is higher than that of river sand concrete, while the contrary results of the long-term strength. Considering lots of fine powder in the rock chips, the coarse sand and rock chips are mixed to be used, the mixing ratio needs to be determined by experiments. In the high-strength concrete, the rock chips with good particle size distribution and with lower content of particle size larger than 4.75mm is better.

Importance of Food Engineering for Innovating Food Quality

Food engineering plays a significant role in food production to achieve a high quality. Increasingly discriminating consumer taste has resulted in pressures to improve the quality of food products at ever higher stages: from simple combinations of basic taste components; to the flavor stage, at which basic taste sensations and flavors are combined; to the stage of combined which incorporates food textures; to the still higher stage of integrated taste, in which cultural and psychological factors play a role. These trends have created demand for food products that offer superior characteristics at the highest stages of food quality. Food production at such levels will require approaches based on new food engineering. As pointed out by Dr. Toshimasa Yano, Emeritus Professor at the University of Tokyo, food production faces numerous challenges: 1) the unpredictability of physical properties of raw materials; 2) an over-dependence on sensory tests and insufficiency of subjectivity in quality evaluations; 3) the simultaneous occurrence of numerous changes during food processing. This paper will seek to address the role of food engineering in improving quality in food production processes. The examples used to illustrate these issues will include the following: 1) a quantitative evaluation of the kneaded state of bread dough; 2) quantitative identification of factors influencing the intensity of retort sterilization; and 3) quantitative determination of component dissipation during spray-drying.

On a Real Time Estimation of the Defects of Ceramic Products Under the Firing Process

When the products are fired by the tunnel kiln, phenomena such as reactions, sintering and visco-elastic deformation are proceeded. And several defects of products has been caused by the unexpected kinematic effect of these phenomena. Therefore, at the same time of firing operation, the outbreak of defects in products have to be evaluated using the experimental data. These kinematic data obtained by firing materials and varried with the hysterisis before firing process, or chemical and physical properties of raw materials, etc. And with disregarding these data, we can't estimate the outbreak of defects in products under firing. But, taking to control the kiln into account, it is necessary to get these data as quickly as possible and to update thse data successively. On the other hand, in case of firing the materials in the kiln, temperature profile in the kiln depend on time, and there is insufficient relationship between the temperature at the characteristic point and the outbreak of defects. Therefore we need to estimate the above defects founding on the hysterisis under heating process. An usefull method for practical problems on compiling and handling of the data is indicated in this paper. And further, the real time estimation method of operating condition paying attention to the defects of products is proposed.

北海道産火山灰の加熱発泡体原料としての適性について

Hokkaido is dominated by various kinds of volcanic ash such as pumice flow and vitric tuff which are similar to shirasu in the southern Kyushu. Some characteristics of these raw materials and samples prepared by sieving, were investigated. The bloated particles were tried to be produced from these samples by heat treatment, their physical properties were measured and roughly estimated from the characteristics of raw materials. All the samples prepared could be used as raw materials of the bloated particles.The results obtained are summerized:(1) Because of high yield and good properties of the bloated particles, the following volcanic ash were useful as a good raw material of the bloated particles; two kinds of pumice flow in Minami-ku Sapporo-shi and Suenaga Date-shi, and two kinds of vitric tuff in Ikeda-machi and Makubetsu-machi Nakagawa-gun.(2) The values of the expanding ratio and the yield of the bloated particles have some correlations with the physical properties of raw material, such as the values of the bulk density, the apparent density, volcanic glass content and weight loss of 600°C to 1000°C on thermal gravity at 20°C/min of the samples prepared, and could be estimated by the linear equation calculated by least square method.(3) The values of the bulk density, the apparent density and hydrostatic strength of the bloated particles could also be presumed by the physical properties of raw material mentioned above.