Products Of Commercial Value Research Articles

Short-Range Audio Channels Security: Survey of Mechanisms, Applications, and Research Challenges

Short-range audio channels have appealing distinguishing characteristics: ease of use, low deployment costs, and easy to tune frequencies, to cite a few. Moreover, thanks to their seamless adaptability to the security context, many techniques and tools based on audio signals have been recently proposed. However, while the most promising solutions are turning into valuable commercial products, acoustic channels are also increasingly used to launch attacks against systems and devices, leading to security concerns that could thwart their adoption. To provide a rigorous, scientific, security-oriented review of the field, in this paper we survey and classify methods, applications, and use-cases rooted on short-range audio channels for the provisioning of security services - including Two-Factor Authentication techniques, pairing solutions, device authorization strategies, defense methodologies, and attack schemes. Moreover, we also point out the strengths and weaknesses deriving from the use of short-range audio channels. Finally, we provide open research issues in the context of short-range audio channels security, calling for contributions from both academia and industry.

Zinc Techno-Genic Formations: Physico-Chemical Features of its Extraction

In technogenic formations, zinc is found in oxide and sulphide forms. Extraction of zinc oxide from technogenic formations is widely used in industry. Removing zinc sulfide from technogenic formations is difficult and is currently almost never used. In the present work, the physicochemical features of zinc extraction from technogenic formations, in which zinc is presented in oxide and sulphide forms, are considered. Thermodynamic features of the processes and possible ways to extract zinc sulphide are shown. This work also considers the ways of valuable commercial products obtaining from the roasting products.

High Pressure Processing of Lipase (Thermomyces lanuginosus): Kinetics and Structure Assessment

AbstractLipases are highly demanded enzymes, used to synthesize high commercial value products in food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, textile, paper, and detergent industries. The effect of high pressure processing (HPP) on Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase is studied at 0.1, 100, and 300 MPa and 25 °C. Kinetics is assessed after HPP treatment in three sets of time series: 0–25, 51–75, and 101–112 min. Conformational change of lipase is studied by infrared attenuated total reflectance (ATR)–FTIR spectra deconvolution and 1D 1H NMR. Pressure treatment lead to changes in enzymatic activity from 51 to 75 and from 101 to 112 min. Treated enzyme at 300 MPa has the highest activity (≈twofold higher than untreated lipase). Statistical difference in activity (p > 0.05) is not found during the first 25 min. Lipase activity is best described by first‐order model (0–25 min) and zero‐order model (51–75 and 101–112 min). Lipase unfolding is evident at 100 MPa due to an increase of β‐turns and β‐sheet components. Pressurized enzyme at 300 MPa enhances its activity from 51 to 112 min, due to an increase of β‐sheet and α‐helix structures (refolding). These findings impact directly on cost‐effectiveness of lipase catalyzed products manufacture.Practical Applications: Enzyme enhanced activity and stability improves the performance of manufacture processes. Assessment of structure changes of lipase induced by HPP lead to accurate parameter selection to increase stability and profitability of lipase catalyzed products processing. Pressure levels of 100 MPa led to enzyme unfolding, whereas 300 MPa causes improved activity and stability provoked by lipase refolding. Pressure treatment at 300 MPa of Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase is recommended for long term bioprocessing (≥112 min), which require increased activity and stability of the enzyme.

Fish and fish side streams are valuable sources of high-value components

AbstractThe current practice of fish processing generates increasing quantities of side streams and waste, such as skin, heads, frames, viscera, and fillet cut offs. These may account for up to 70% of the fish used in industrial processing. Low-value fish catches, and under-utilized fish species comprise another source of side streams. These side streams have been discarded in the environment leading to environmental problems or they have ended up as low commercial value products, such as feed for fur animals and aquaculture. However, several studies have shown that fish side streams contain valuable bioactive ingredients and fractions, such as fish oils, proteins and peptides, collagen, gelatin, enzymes, chitin, and minerals. These compounds and fractions may provide the opportunity to develop novel applications in health promoting foods, special feeds, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetic products. Better utilization of side streams and low-value fish would simultaneously improve both the environmental and ecological sustainability of production. This review summarizes the current knowledge on fish and fish side streams as sources of high-value components such as peptides with antimicrobial, antioxidative, antihypertensive, and antihyperglycemic properties, proteins such as fish collagen and gelatin, fish enzymes, fish oils and fatty acids, polysaccharides like glucosaminoglycans, chitin and chitosan, vitamin D, and minerals. Production technologies for recovering the high-value fractions and potential product applications are discussed. Furthermore, safety aspects related to the raw material, technologies, and fractions are considered.

The Prospective Approach for the Reduction of Fluoride Ions Mobility in Industrial Waste by Creating Products of Commercial Value

In this work, we present the possibility to reduce the amount of fluoride ions in silica gel waste by using different techniques or to immobilize these ions by creating products of commercial value. The leaching of fluoride ions from silica gel waste to the liquid medium was done under static and dynamic conditions. It was determined that the removal of fluoride ions from this compound depends on various factors, such as dissociation, solubility, the w/s ratio, reaction temperature, leaching conditions, the adsorption properties of silica gel waste, and others. The obtained results showed that, by applying different techniques, the quantity of fluoride ions can be reduced by 60%, while obtained water was neutralized by calcium hydroxide. Additionally, it was determined that silica gel waste is a promising raw material for the hydrothermal synthesis of a stable compound containing fluoride ions–cuspidine.

Integrated waste–free processing of the electricarc furnace dust

The article deals with issues of integrated waste-free processing of electric arc furnaces dust. It is shown that it is possible to obtain a whole range of valuable commodity products on both metal and non-metal bases as a result of the electric arc furnaces dust complex processing. Integrated waste–free processing reduces the arc furnaces dust impact on the environment and produces a number of valuable commercial products.

BIOREMEDIATION OF SOME AGRICULTURAL WASTES BY BACILLUS THURINGIENSIS FOR METALLOPROTEASE PRODUCTION

Agricultural wastes are very rich in nutrients that can be used as complete balanced microbiological media for growing microbes in order to produce valuable commercial products. In this study, a biodegradation process of wheat bran and rice bran wastes was carried out to produce metalloprotease enzyme from B. thuringiensis 1257strain which is considered to be a hyper producer for that enzyme. Metalloprotease was partially purified by ammonium sulfate followed by application on Sephadex G-75 column. Gel filtration step resulted in more than 40 times fold purification of the purified enzyme. The enzyme activity was inhibited by EDTA (almost 80%) at 15 mM concentration. These agro-industrial wastes were used as substrates for economic production of the enzyme from B. thuringiensis compared with some bacterial isolates collected from different sites in Kafr El-Sheikh and Menofiya governorate, Egypt. Optimum temperature for enzyme activity was 40 °C. It also exhibited a broad pH activity range (6-9) with an optimum pH of 8.

Ash composition of hard-to-enrich coal

The composition of ash from coal that is hard to enrich is analyzed, for samples from an enterprise in the Kuznets Basin. Practically no enrichment of the coal is observed. However, after combustion, the ash from such coal may provide a source of valuable commercial products.

Improvement in extracellular protease production by the marine antarctic yeast Rhodotorula mucilaginosa L7

Microorganisms from extreme and restrictive eco systems, such as the Antarctic continent, are of great interest due to their ability to synthesize products of commercial value. Among these, enzymes from psychrotolerant and psychrophilic microorganisms offer potential economical benefits due to their high activity at low and moderate temperatures. The cold adapted yeast Rhodotorula mucilaginosa L7 was selected out of 97 yeasts isolated from Antarctica as having the highest extracellular proteolytic activity in preliminary tests. The present study was aimed at evaluating the effects of nutrient composition (peptone, rice bran extract, ammonium sulfate, sodium chloride) and physicochemical parameters (temperature and pH) on its proteolytic activity. A 26−2 fractional factorial design experiment followed by a central composite design (CCD 23) was performed to optimize the culture conditions and improve the extracellular proteolytic activity. The results indicated that the presence of peptone in the medium was the most influential factor in protease production. Enzymatic activity was enhanced by the interaction between low glucose and peptone concentrations. The optimization of culture conditions with the aid of mathematical modeling enabled a c. 45% increase in proteolytic activity and at the same time reduced the amount of glucose and peptone required for the culture. Thus culture conditions established in this work may be employed in the biotechnological production of this protease.

Transformation of raw feather waste into digestible peptides and amino acids

ABSTRACTBACKGROUNDMillions of tons of feather waste from the poultry industry are disposed of annually despite containing a high level of keratin. The aim of this study was to compare the hydrolysis of non‐treated feather waste using three different approaches (whole cell microbial digestion, enzymatic and chemical cleavage) and to test the use of hydrolysates as peptone substitutes in a culture medium.RESULTSAmong bacterial isolates, Pseudomonas sp. P5 exhibited the highest keratinolytic activity and efficiency to hydrolyse raw feather material. The hydrolysates contained up to 301 mg L−1 of free amino acids and 6.2 g L−1 of peptides. Hydrolysates obtained by digestion using semi‐purified keratinase from Pseudomonas sp. P5 were richer in amino acids (1191 mg L−1, 56% essential ones) but peptides were present in lower amounts (up to 3.3 g L−1). The third approach was feather treatment under mild alkaline conditions. This provided the highest amount of peptides (17.2 g L−1) but a significantly lower level of amino acids, especially the essential ones.CONCLUSIONSAll approaches tested could convert raw feather waste into products of commercial value with proven use in a cultivation medium. The level of peptides, their molecular size and amino acid composition was dependent on the method used. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry

Improvement of the Efficiency of Bioconversion of Plant Materials under the Action of Mutant Strains of Cellulases Penicillium verruculosum

Plant biomasses are the predominant organic material on Earth. The efficiency of biocatalytic conversion of the plant materials is determined by the cost of their biotechnological processing to valuable commercial products (organic alcohols and acids, carbohydrates and hycrocarbons). The obtained recombinant strains Penicillium canescens produce, apart from their own enzymatic complex, heterological cellulases (mutant and non-mutant cellobiohydrolase I (CBHI) and endoglucanase II (EGII) P. verruculosum ). Enzymatic agents (EA) prepared from recombinant strains P. canescens were more active to hydrolysis of crushed aspen wood. The yields of glucose and reducing sugars after 24–72 hour hydrolysis under the action of EA prepared from the recombinant strains were higher by на 48–52 % and 60–64 %, respectively, than under the action of EA prepared from the initial strainrecipient. Thus, introduction of site-specific mutations N45A and N194A for partial inhibition of the surface glycosilation led to a considerable increase in the yields of target CBHI and EGII.

Properties and N-glycosylation of recombinant endoglucanase II from Penicillium verruculosum

Cellulases are the main components of enzyme complexes used in biotransformation processes of plant raw materials into valuable commercial products. Endoglucanase II (EG II) from the Penicillium verruculosum fungus was cloned into Penicillium canescens. The homogeneous recombinant EGII form is isolated and its properties are studied in comparison with the native enzyme. The N-glycosylation sites and the structure of the N-linked glycans are been determined using mass spectrometry. The biochemical and catalytic properties, as well as the N-glycosylation type of the obtained recombinant EGII form, appear to be close to the native enzyme. At the two potential N-glycosylation sites (N42 and N194) of both forms of the enzyme, N-linked high mannose glycans (or their enzymatic “trimming” products) according to the general formula (Man)1–9(GlcNAc)2 are detected. No glycosylation is found at the third potential site (N19).

Novel biological and chemical methods of chitin extraction from crustacean waste using saline water

BACKGROUND Several techniques have been proposed to recover chitin from shrimp waste using large amounts of freshwater and chemicals. The standard chemical recovery of chitin was first compared by replacing fresh water with seawater. In addition, a biotechnological process with Bacillus subtilis (B1) and Bacillus licheniformis (B2) using seawater during all steps of chitin extraction was studied. RESULTS The demineralization rate (DM) was statistically significant when using seawater (P=0.000020) and chemical recovery in comparison with deproteinization (DP). Increasing HCl concentration (from 1 to 1.28 mol L−1) and reaction time (from 60 to 90 min) resulted in DM similar to fresh water (P>0.05). Highest DP rates were obtained with crude protease (B1; DP ≈74%) and (B2: DP ≈84%), when fermentation was carried out for 24 h at an enzyme/substrate ratio of 2. Maximum DP was reached (≈79% for B1 and ≈ 82% for B2) after 15 days, while DM ranged between 55 and 60%. CONCLUSION Combined enzymatic DP (with B2) followed by a chemical DM process was used to produce chitin (DP≈84%, DM≈94%) which, on transformation to chitosan, showed a degree of deacetylation equivalent to ≈ 71%. This combined approach using seawater could transform crustacean waste into chitin products of commercial value. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry

EDITORIAL

The population growing awareness regarding the use of fossil fuels, especially with respect to correlated environmental issues, led to an increased interest in renewable energy sources in the last decade. Around 200 years ago, biomass lost its historic leadership as a source for coal production. Next, it was seen the rapid growth in the use of petroleum and natural gas, and in this way, the use of biomass was limited particularly to agricultural regions. Currently, due to the responsible use of forests and large areas of reforestation, the use of biomass has conquered international attention and the demand for using wood-based materials is increasing. The biomass is not restricted to wood products, but also to any product of biological origin, which could be utilized as fuel, or for other industrial purpose and, in addition, has the advantage of being renewable. The existing challenges are the development of efficient productive chains around a product and total use of the material, including the use of the generated residuals, and the verticalisation of industrial plants. Therefore, the Thermal Engineering community could contribute to the development of technologies for coupling processes such as conversion of residuals into products of commercial value or their use for power generation. There is much opportunity for improvement in the wood, sugar cane or soybean industries, considering that all of them use heat to convert the substrates into products. Replacing natural gas or electricity used to generate heat by renewable sources such as residual biomass pellets without loss of efficiency could greatly increase the energetic efficiency of a plant, as well as reduce environmental impact.

Effects of Selected Process Parameters on Physical and Sensorial Properties of Yellowfin Tuna (Thunnus albacares) Skin Gelatin

AbstractFour potential input variables, namely, acid concentration (0.01–0.1 mol/L), pretreatment time (1–3 h), extraction temperature (40–55C) and extraction time (1–6 h) were investigated to identify the key factors that affect gelatin yield and the physical (gel strength, viscosity and melting point) and sensorial (color, odor and overall liking) properties of gelatin produced from yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) skins. For all processes employed, a preliminary two‐step alkaline pretreatment was applied using a 0.2 mol/L sodium hydroxide solution for 30 min for each step. Factorial analysis indicated that acid concentration, extraction temperature and time, as well as the interaction term extraction temperature × extraction time were significant for gelatin yield, while acid concentration and the interaction term acid concentration × extraction time were important for the physical properties of gelatin (P < 0.05). Sensorial properties were affected by acid concentration only (P < 0.05). Sum scores analysis revealed that the most suitable process for gelatin manufacture from yellowfin tuna skins comprises of the preliminary two‐step alkaline pretreatment, followed by an acidic pretreatment using a 0.1 mol/L acetic acid solution for 1 h and subsequently extracting gelatin with water at 55C for 6 h.Practical ApplicationsProcessing of yellowfin tuna (T. albacares) in the north central coastal region of Greece generates large amounts of byproducts (e.g., skins, bones, heads, scales and viscera), which can account for up to 50% of the total fish weight. Despite the presence of several valuable components, such as protein and lipid, yellowfin tuna processing byproducts are usually being dumped into landfills or end up as low commercial value products (e.g., animal feed). Utilization of the aforementioned byproducts, especially of collagen‐rich fish skins, for the production of gelatin, will not only increase their commercial value, but will also satisfy the needs of the fish processing industries that face waste disposal problems.

Physicochemical Properties of Yellowfin Tuna (T hunnus albacares ) Skin Gelatin and its Modification by the Addition of Various Coenhancers

A gelatin preparation was produced from yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) skins and its physicochemical properties were evaluated against bovine skin gelatin. The fish gelatin obtained exhibited higher gel strength and similar viscosity when compared with its mammalian counterpart, but showed a significantly lower melting point than the latter. In a follow-up study, four compounds (NaH2PO4, MgCl2, CaCl2 and glycerol) at various concentrations were investigated in order to improve fish gelatin's physical properties. Addition of NaH2PO4 at concentrations of 0.3 and 0.5 mol/L yielded gelatin gels that exhibited the highest gel strength, while the highest viscosities were noticed for gelatin solutions containing 0.3 and 0.5 mol/L CaCl2. The highest melting points were observed in the sample gels containing glycerol, irrespective of glycerol concentration. Results suggested that selected physical properties of fish skin gelatin can be modified by the addition of the above compounds at the appropriate concentration levels. Practical Applications Yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) skins are one of the major by-products formed by the fish processing industries in the north central coastal region of Greece. Typically, fish skins along with other by-products, such as bones, heads, scales and viscera, end up as low commercial value products (e.g., animal feed) or dumped into landfills having harmful environmental effects. Utilization of the above by-products, especially of collagen-rich fish skins for gelatin production, will not only increase their commercial value, but it will also open new market opportunities for the gelatin and fish processing industries.

Efficient generation of ozone in arrays of microchannel plasmas

Ozone is produced efficiently in arrays of low-temperature, linear microplasmas having a trapezoidal or parabolic cross-sectional profile and generated within nanoporous alumina (Al2O3) microchannels. Fabricated from aluminum foil by wet chemical processing, micropowder ablation, and one photolithographic step, arrays of microchannel plasma devices 3 cm in length and 250 µm in width at the aperture of the channel produce spatially uniform glow discharges in O2 feedstock gas at a pressure of 1 atm and flow rates of 0.25–2.5 standard litres per minute. Several device and array structures, incorporating embedded electrodes and Al/Al2O3 or glass channels, have been fabricated and tested extensively. A design based solely on microchannels fabricated in nanoporous alumina, flanked by Al electrodes buried in the channel wall, is found to be superior in performance to other materials and geometries. Altering the electric field profile inside the microchannels (by means of the electrode geometry) is found to have a significant impact on the reactor efficiency. Ozone output is observed to scale linearly with the number of microchannels in the array and the feedstock gas flow rate. Efficiencies and O3 concentrations surpassing 85 g kWh−1 and 17 g m−3, respectively, have been measured, and arrays as large as 120 microchannels have been realized to date. The results presented here suggest a new approach to plasma-chemical reactors, one in which ‘massively parallel’ processing of one or more gases in non-streamer (glow) discharges efficiently produces products of commercial value in thousands of micropores or microchannels fabricated in recyclable and inexpensive materials. Reductions of an order of magnitude in the weight and volume of microplasma-based O3 reactors, relative to conventional dielectric barrier discharge technology, appear to be feasible.

Evaluation of growth, nutrient utilization and production of bioproducts by a wastewater-isolated microalga

Treatment of wastewater while producing microalgal biomass is receiving ever-increasing attention, particularly in the biofuels arena. In this study, a wastewater chlorophyte isolate, Kirchneriella sp., was tested for its ability to be mass cultivated, utilize nutrients from defined media and wastewater, and produce bioproducts of commercial interest. Growth studies were carried out in various systems at scales up to 60L, with Kirchneriella sp. showing an excellent amenability to being cultured. Biomass concentrations of greater than 1gL−1 were consistently achieved, nitrogen and phosphorus uptake was rapid, and stable medium-term cultures were maintained. Nitrogen limitation affected biomass yield, fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yield, and cetane index. In contrast, a low phosphorus condition had no effect. Kirchneriella sp. showed an ability to produce several products of commercial value, including carbohydrate-rich biomass, FAME/biodiesel and the pigments β,β-carotene and lutein.

Solvent mediated interactions for the selective recovery of Cadmium from Ni–Cd battery waste

This work deals with the development of a solvent extraction process for the selective separation of cadmium, from cobalt and nickel, using DEHPA as an extractant. After mechanical separation, dissolution of the electrode material in H2SO4 and iron removal the leach liquor obtained was subjected to solvent extraction for the extraction and separation of all the three metal ions. The conditions were optimized for the selective recovery of Cd using 20% D2EHPA with 60% saponification. Saturated loading capacity for 20% (60% saponified D2EHPA) was found to be 10.89gL−1 Cd, 1.404gL−1 Ni, and 0.032gL−1 Co at O/A ratio of 1:1. McCabe–Thiele plot at varying O/A ratio indicated the requirement of 4 stages for 100% extraction of Cd at O/A ratio of 1:1.5. The dependence of extraction on pH indicated that the extraction of Cd(II) proceeds according to a cation-exchange reaction at lower acidity and to a solvating reaction at higher acidities. The co-extracted Ni and Co were effectively scrubbed with 50gL−1 CdSO4 at pH 0.5. 99.6% Cd was stripped from the loaded D2EHPA with 75gL−1 of H2SO4. Based on the slope analysis of the plots of log DCd versus log [(HR)2] and pH vs log DCd, Cd was found to be extracted as CdR2.(HR)2. The process seems to be promising for the production of pure metal streams which can further be used to produce valuable commercial products vis-a-vis the environmental protection.

English

This study evaluated the potential use of proteases produced by Erwinia chrysanthemi for the extraction of pure chitin from crustacean wastes using standard methods. The crude bacterial protease had activity of 22.4 U/ml. Protein removal by the commercial protease were similar in both the mineralized and demineralized wastes and amounted to about 75 and 80%, respectively, in 16 h. A similar trend was observed with higher protein removal efficiency (95%) for the crude protease from both the mineralized and demineralized wastes. Also, treatment of the powder with 5% NaOH resulted in the removal of protein in the demineralized and mineralized wastes decreased by about 96 and 87.6%, respectively, in same period from an initial concentration of 0.3 mg/ml. It was concluded that proteases produced by E. chrysanthemi could be used to transform waste from sea-food processing industries into products of commercial value. Key words: Erwinia chrysanthemi, extra cellular, proteases, chitin, value-added products.