Raw State Research Articles

Improvement of Properties Jet Mechanics in A3S High Strength Steel

The objective continued in this work is to improve the characteristics mechanical properties of high- strength A3S steel produced at the Panda Central Workshops of Gecamines. The steel grade studied contains quantities​ important manganese​ in proportions ranging from 2 to 4.6%. Various treatments thermal has summer realized in view to improve machinability while​ designing properties​ mechanics that meet the requirements of their use.Samples in the raw casting state have presented a hardness of 407.8 HB and a resilience of 4.3 J/cm 2. Annealing at 773°C followed by holding for 4 hours and slow cooling in the furnace to a speed of 20°C per hour helps to reduce hardness​ up to 200HB with increased resilience up to 28.3 J/cm 2. A quench was then carried out and made it possible to retain a heating temperature of 900°C and water as a cooling medium; which allowed to increase hardness and resilience until values respective of 343 HB and 19.7 J/cm 2. The final result obtained after tempering leads to a hardness of 217 HB and a resilience of 19.7 J/ cm2.It emerges from the tests realized that it is possible to modify and improve the hardness and resilience of the studied grade using thermal cycles appropriate.

Nutrient Analysis of Raw and Cooked USDA Prime Beef Cuts.

Nutrient composition data that accurately represent available beef products are critical to understanding beef's role in healthy dietary patterns. The quality of beef products has changed over the past several decades, and updated nutrient data are warranted as USDA Prime beef cuts become more available. In an effort to provide a complete nutrient profile for frequently purchased USDA Prime beef cuts, five USDA Prime cuts; strip loin steak, tenderloin steak, ribeye steak, top sirloin steak, and rib roast were collected from retail stores in six geographical locations over three collections for macro- and micronutrient analysis in both the raw and cooked state. The separable lean portion of all analyzed USDA Prime cuts qualified as a good or excellent source, providing 10-19% or at least 20% of the daily value, respectively, for protein, niacin, vitamin B12, selenium, phosphorus, and zinc per FDA labeling claim standards. There was not a significant difference in cholesterol content between any of the cuts, raw or cooked (p ≥ 0.44 and 0.34, respectively). The percent lipid in raw, separable lean portions of the rib roast and strip loin steak was significantly greater than the lipid portion in tenderloin and top sirloin steaks (p ≤ 0.01). Per USDA standards, the separable lean portions of tenderloin steak and top sirloin steak qualify as lean beef, containing less than 10 g total fat, less than 4.5 g saturated fat, and less than or equal to 95 mg cholesterol. The current study provides the most up-to-date nutrient analysis for USDA Prime beef cuts, helping consumers and health professionals better identify the role of high-quality beef cuts in healthy dietary patterns.

Physico-mechanical Characterization of Stabilized Earth Blocks with Snail Shell and Termite Mound Powders as Pozzolanic Binders

The aim of this study is to reduce the reliance on cement in the construction of Stabilized Earth Blocks (SEBs) by assessing the addition of snail shell and termite mound powders as a partial substitute for cement. The focus of this study is on the valorization of local materials and animal waste in sustainable construction. Laterite, used as the base material, was stabilized by substituting 0 to 80% of the cement with snail shell and termite mound powders to create blocks that were tested for their mechanical strength and water absorption. The results show that the compressive strength of the blocks remains above the required threshold of 4 MPa up to a 50% substitution, with a downward trend at higher rates. The capillary water absorption of the stabilized earth blocks remains within the limits of blocks classified as low-absorption, with coefficients ranging from 0.58 kg/m²/min at a 50% substitution to 1.14 kg/m²/min at an 80% substitution. These findings suggest that a substitution up to 50% could represent an adequate balance between mechanical performance and environmental benefits, thus ensuring the required durability and mechanical strength. Although the research is limited to the study of these materials in their raw state, future work could explore the enhancement of the pozzolanic activity of snail shell and termite mound ash through treatments such as calcination to further strengthen the eco-efficiency of the process.

Quality Parameters of Plum Orchard Subjected to Conventional and Ecological Management Systems in Temperate Production Area

Environmental protection, global food security, and nutritional quality are critical issues for worldwide sustainable development. Plums (Prunus domestica L.), well-known for their rich nutritional content and distinct phytochemical profile, have received increased attention due to their potential health benefits. The present study evaluates the ecological and conventional management systems of quality parameters in three plum varieties—Tuleu Gras, Record, and Centenar—and establishes suitable practices to improve fruit quality and yields. The fruit morphometric features (color, firmness, soluble solid content, titratable acidity, and total sugar) were analyzed during their raw fruit state, while different fruit-sample extracts were assessed for phytochemical compounds and heavy metal concentrations, specifically, zinc, copper, nickel, and cadmium. The results show a wide variability in the examined characteristics among management practices that differentially accumulated throughout the ripening phase and significantly influenced the nutritional value of the plum fruit. The application of an ecological management practice yielded small plum fruits (38 g) and maintained a more consistent and vigorous fruit color compared with the conventional system (83 g). Moreover, ecological plums have higher antioxidant activities, total polyphenols, and flavonoids (21.70–25.54 µM Trolox/g of dw, 3.89–7.76 mg GAE/ g of dw, and 1.45–3.65 mg CE/g of dw, respectively). Among the content of metals in the plum fruit, copper exhibited the highest concentrations (0.83–1.21 mg/kg), while cadmium was detected at the lowest levels (0.006–0.009 mg/kg). The potential health implications of heavy metals, by calculating their estimated daily intake (EDI), target hazard quotient (THQ), and hazard index (HI), for both adults and children were also analyzed. The EDI values of accumulated elements in the plum fruits followed the order of Cu > Zn > Ni > Cd with no concern for human health (THQ and HI < 1). According to this study’s findings, fruit quality parameters are significantly higher in ecological plums, providing a compelling argument for adopting sustainable agricultural practices. These results highlight the importance of selecting sustainable agricultural practices, not only to safeguard the environment but also to ensure high-quality products suitable for human consumption.

Hematite (Fe2O3)-modified biopolymer for Rhodamine B degradation under visible light

This study deals with the preparation of a novel biomaterial by incorporating the hematite α-Fe2O3 onto crushed leaves of the Washingtonia filifera palm tree in their raw state and in extracted cellulose from the same plant. The incorporation of α-Fe2O3 was accomplished by hydrothermal route at 200 °C. The palm leaves, extracted cellulose, and synthesized products were characterized by thermal analysis (TG) and FT-IR spectroscopy. The latter revealed peaks at 524 and 449 cm−1 for the synthesized material, attributed to vibrational deformation of the inorganic Fe-O bond. In contrast to the TG profile of raw palm leaves, the thermogram of the composite degrades in a single step at 343 °C. This one-step decomposition clearly indicates the chemical modification of our cellulose matrix and confirms the successful incorporation of the hematite α-Fe2O3 into the lignocellulose. The second part is devoted to α-Fe2O3 working as sensitizer in photocatalysis, it was characterized optically (Eg = 1.94 eV) and electrochemically with a flat band potential of −0.53 VSCE. The conduction band (−0.73 V SCE ) is more cathodic than the potential of the O2/O2 •− couple (−0.52 V SCE ) and should reduce dissolved oxygen into reactive O2 •− radical. The as-prepared materials were successfully tested in the photocatalytic degradation of Rh B (10 ppm) and the result gave an abatement of 60% on α-Fe2O3/lignocellulose under visible light irradiation (LED lamp) with a flux of 23 mW cm−2. The kinetic obeys a first-order model with a half photocatalytic-life of ∼ 7 h.

Is there also a hidden health cue in the background? The impact of natural imagery on product attitude in food marketing

Prior studies have primarily concentrated on the role of food imagery, which depicts the food itself or its ingredients, in conveying food messages, with less emphasis on background imagery. Background imagery, which often carries symbolic or metaphorical meanings through the depiction of food-related and non-food-related subjects, also serves as a vital medium for communicating food messages. This study investigates the role of natural imagery, a type of background imagery, in transmitting health-related attributes of food. This study employed an implicit association test (IAT) alongside three scenario experiments. The findings demonstrate that natural imagery triggers a health association with food, leading to a favorable product attitude, referred to as the “health metaphor effect.” Subsequently, the boundary conditions for this effect were examined, revealing its presence in healthy product categories as opposed to unhealthy ones. Building upon these findings, the study also assessed the influence of food imagery in food visuals on the role of natural imagery. The result indicates that, for healthy foods, the health metaphor effect is more pronounced when the food imagery is depicted in a processed (vs. raw) state.

Structural and Phase Analysis of the Ausferritic Ductile Cast Iron Matrix Obtained by Heat Treatment and in the Raw State

Structural and Phase Analysis of the Ausferritic Ductile Cast Iron Matrix Obtained by Heat Treatment and in the Raw State

On machining-induced surface integrity of Inconel 718 fabricated by powder bed fusion

Additive manufacturing (AM) introduces unique grain feature and anisotropy in metals, as well as relatively poor surface quality, so the knowledge about the formation of post-machining-induced surface integrity needs to be extended. This study aims to understand the machining phenomena in orthogonal cutting of Inconel 718 produced via powder bed fusion of metals using a laser beam system (PBF-LB/M), paying particular attention to the cutting energy, chip formation, geometrical defects, and microstructural deformation. Experiments are conducted on both wrought (W 718) and PBF-LB/M (PBF 718) Inconel 718, whereby the cutting speed and the anisotropy of the workpiece in the raw state play an important role. The results indicate that less cutting energy is consumed when cutting PBF 718 in the direction perpendicular to its build direction (BD), followed by cutting in its BD. Denser shearing-induced slip lines and relatively continuous chip morphology are found when cutting PBF 718 in its BD, moreover, the effect of cutting speed on shearing deformation of columnar grains under this condition is analysed. More importantly, this study identifies a significant geometrical defect phenomenon which is unique to PBF 718 and highly depends on the cutting speed and anisotropy of grain feature. A detailed characterisation shows that this behaviour is caused by tearing within the grains in the matrix material and not by the presence of hard inclusions, which has rarely been reported in the literature. The microstructure in the subsurface area exhibits that the density of grain boundaries in the cutting direction plays the key role in plastic deformation, as the machining process mainly causes dragging behaviour in the area below the machined surface. Thus, cutting PBF 718 in the direction perpendicular to its BD shows similar deformation layer to W 718, while cutting PBF 718 in its BD displays much stronger subsurface deformation. The obtained results greatly help to understand the cutting phenomena in post-machining of additively manufactured Ni-based components, especially the integrity for a better functional surface.

“This kind of life has no meaning”

“This kind of life has no meaning”

A Handwriting Recognition System With WiFi

Handwriting recognition systems are a convenient and alternative way of writing in the air with fingers rather than typing on keyboards. However, existing recognition systems are limited by their low accuracy and the requirement to wear dedicated devices. To address these issues, we propose WiWrite, an accurate contactless handwriting recognition system that allows users to write in the air without wearing any wearable devices. Specifically, we employ a novel <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">CSI division scheme</i> to process the noisy raw WiFi channel state information (CSI), which stabilizes the CSI phase and reduces noise in CSI amplitude. To automatically retain low noise data for identification in the LOS scenario, we propose a self-paced dense convolutional network (SPDCN), which is a self-paced loss function based on a modified convolutional neural network coupled with a dense convolutional network. Furthermore, to achieve accurate handwriting recognition in the NLOS scenario, we combine ADOA and PCA algorithms to remove location-induced interference and extract action features. Comprehensive experiments show the merits of WiWrite, revealing that the recognition accuracy for the same-size input and different-size input are 93.6% and 89.0%, respectively. Moreover, WiWrite can achieve accurate recognition regardless of environment and target diversity in LOS and NLOS scenarios.

Stochastic Economic Lot Scheduling via Self-Attention Based Deep Reinforcement Learning

The Stochastic Economic Lot Scheduling Problem (SELSP) is a difficult dynamic optimization problem with wide industrial applications. Traditional methods such as hyper-heuristics are manually designed based on substantial expert knowledge, which may limit their optimization performance. Recently, Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) is shown to be promising in automatically learning scheduling policies for SELSP. However, its performance is still quite far from that of hyper-heuristics, due to the lack of suitable deep models. In this paper, we propose a novel DRL method to learn dynamic scheduling policies for SELSP in an end-to-end fashion. Based on self-attention, our method can effectively extract useful features from raw state information, and is flexible in handling different numbers of products, which is not viable for previous methods. Experiments on a complex biopharmaceutical manufacturing process show that our method outperforms a recent DRL method and state-of-the-art hyper-heuristics. Moreover, the trained policy performs better in environments different from training with demand forecast errors and varying number of products, showing its strong robustness and generalization ability. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Note to Practitioners</i> —The Stochastic Economic Lot Scheduling Problem (SELSP) is an important problem for manufacturing enterprises, which is to optimally balance the production and inventory so as to minimize the total cost. However, SELSP is very challenging to solve due to the involvement of uncertain factors such as customer demands and machine failures. Traditional methods for solving SELSP, such as heuristic policies and hyper-heuristics, heavily rely on human experiences to design and hence the performance could be limited. This paper proposes a Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) based method to automatically learn scheduling policy for solving SELSP, which could alleviate the above limitation through a self-attention based feature extraction mechanism and reward based training. Experimental results on a realistic manufacturing process show that our method can deliver higher revenue than conventional manual policy and an existing DRL based method.

Change in Myoglobin Denaturation and Physiochemical Properties Among Three Degrees of Doneness and Three Beef Whole Muscles

While the factors impacting raw meat color have been extensively explored, the factors affecting cooked meat color have been largely ignored, leaving a gap in research. Establishing a baseline for the changes that accompany different degrees of doneness (DOD) could serve as the foundation for future studies to further understand what factors are impacting differences in cooked color of whole muscles. Beef strip loins (n=12) and top butts (n=12) were used to evaluate the Longissimus dorsi (LD), Biceps femoris (BF), and Gluteus medius (GM) between 3 DOD: medium rare (62.8°C), medium (71.1°C), and well-done (76.7°C). Immediately after cooking, steaks were sliced, evaluated for L*, a*, b*, frozen in liquid nitrogen, and blended into a powder for lab assays including myoglobin denaturation, metmyoglobin-reducing activity (MRA), surface hydrophobicity, proximate analysis, and lipid oxidation. An additional steak was cooked for shear force and cook loss. As expected, the a* values decreased (P&amp;lt;0.05) and myoglobin denaturation percentages increased (P&amp;lt;0.05) with increasing DOD, while muscle source did not impact (P&amp;gt;0.05) either. Surface hydrophobicity, which is a measure of exposed hydrophobic groups caused by denaturation, increased (P&amp;lt;0.05) with increasing DOD, while MRA decreased (P&amp;lt;0.05) with each DOD. However, the BF and GM muscles resulted in greater (P&amp;lt;0.05) MRA compared to the LD. There was an interaction (P&amp;lt;0.05) for lipid oxidation. As DOD increased past the raw state, differences inoxidation between muscles emerged. While the factors evaluated among the DOD were impacted, muscle type surprisingly affected most assays evaluated as well. This study can serve as a foundational paper to support future cooked color research to further understand what factors impact cooked color and cooked color stability of whole muscle cuts.

Citrus Black Spot Disease in Ghana: A Review on Impacts, Management Options and Current Status

Citrus is one of the most common seasonal fruit crops cultivated across most semi-deciduous forest zones across the globe. Apart from its refreshing nature when consumed in a fresh state, it is also packed with an abundant supply of vitamins A, B and C. Apart from being served in the raw state as a fruit or a dessert, it also serves as a critical raw material for the beverage industry. In some instances, it also serves as a very important material for the pharmaceutical industry. As important as this fruit can be, its production is challenged by the incidence of pests and diseases. One of the major diseases facing the industry is the Citrus Black Spot (CBS), caused by Phyllosticta citricarpa. In Ghana, CBS is known to affect almost all citrus species and varieties in commercial groves, except for sour orange (C. aurantium) and its hybrids and Tahiti lime (C. latifolia). It is estimated to be responsible for about 22% of fruit/yield loss annually. This review highlighted the impact on the citrus production industry in Ghana, the management options available and future perspectives.

Survey:Time-series data preprocessing: A survey and an empirical analysis

Data are naturally collected in their raw state and must undergo a series of preprocessing steps to obtain data in their input state for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other applications. The data preprocessing phase is not only necessary to fit input requirements but also effective in improving AI training efficiency and output accuracy. Data preprocessing is a time consuming and complex phase that lacks a unified and structured approach. We survey data preprocessing techniques under different categories to provide an extended and structured scope of data preprocessing relevant to numerical time-series data. We also provide an empirical analysis of the impact of preprocessing techniques on the quality of the data and on the performance of AI algorithms. In addition, we discuss the feasibility of distributing some of the surveyed techniques to the edge. Leveraging edge computing to distribute data preprocessing reduces the workload on central systems, creates more manageable data lakes, reduces the consumption of resources (e.g., energy) and enables EdgeAI.

Effect of aqueous ozone treatment on the reduction of chlorpyrifos and physicochemical and microbial qualities of cucumber (Cucumis sativusL.): Process modeling and optimization

AbstractA study was conducted at different combinations of ozone concentration (50%–100%) and time (10–30 min) to study the effect of aqueous ozone treatment on chlorpyrifos degradation in cucumber. A process was developed and compared using ANN‐GA and RSM techniques. The optimum conditions obtained using RSM were ozone concentration of 95% and treatment time of 10 min. While the optimum conditions achieved by ANN‐GA were ozone concentration of 81% and treatment time of 14 min. However, chlorpyrifos degradation is more at the condition optimized by ANN compared to the condition optimized by RSM. At the optimum condition, the cucumber showed superior physicochemical and microbial qualities, including pesticide degradation (91.08%), color change (3.58), firmness (11.75 N), moisture content (97.49%), water activity (0.93), pH (6.18), titratable acidity (0.06%), total soluble solids (2.1 °Brix), total plate count (1.5 × 105 CFU/g), and yeast/mold count (3 × 105 CFU/g), respectively.Practical applicationsIncreased awareness of the health benefits associated with the consumption of fruits and vegetables has led to a rise in their consumption. These items are primarily consumed in their raw or fresh state and often feature in salads. However, the presence of pesticide residues on the surface of raw fruits and vegetables can pose significant health risks to consumers. Ozone treatment can be used for effectively removing pesticide residue in the fresh‐cut fruits and vegetables industry. Also, ozone treatment can reduce the microbial count on the surface of fruits and vegetables which enhances the shelf life of fruits and vegetables. Furthermore, it can prevent the natural ripening process of commodities, thereby increasing the consumer's acceptance. Ozone is considered a safe and eco‐friendly alternative to chemical disinfectants and preservatives. It leaves no chemical residue on the produce and breaks down into oxygen, leaving no harmful byproducts, thereby ensuring safe consumption of the commodity.

The Microstructure and Thermal Conductive Behavior of Three-Dimensional Carbon/Carbon Composites with Ultrahigh Thermal Conductivity.

Carbon-based composite materials, denoted as C/C composites and possessing high thermal conductivity, were synthesized utilizing a three-dimensional (3D) preform methodology. This involved the orthogonal weaving of mesophase pitch-based fibers in an X (Y) direction derived from low-temperature carbonization, and commercial PAN-based carbon fibers in a Z direction. The 3D preforms were saturated with mesophase pitch in their raw state through a hot-pressing process, which was executed under relatively low pressure at a predetermined temperature. Further densification was achieved by successive stages of mesophase pitch impregnation (MPI), followed by impregnation with coal pitch under high pressure (IPI). The microstructure and thermal conductivity of the C/C composites were systematically examined using a suite of analytical techniques, including Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and PLM, amongst others. The findings suggest that the volumetric fraction of fibers and the directional alignment of the mesophase pitch molecules can be enhanced via hot pressing. The high graphitization degree of the mesophase pitch matrix results in an increased microcrystalline size and thus improved thermal conductivity of the C/C composite. Conversely, the orientation of the medium-temperature coal pitch matrix is relatively low, which compensates for the structural inadequacies of the composite material, albeit contributing minimally to the thermal conductivity of the resultant C/C composites. Following several stages of impregnation with mesophase pitch and subsequent impregnation with medium-temperature coal pitch, the 3D C/C composites yielded a density of 1.83 and 2.02 g/cm3. The thermal conductivity in the X (Y) direction was found to be 358 and 400 W/(m·K), respectively.

Fabrication and Development of a Biomass-Based Supercapacitor with Enhanced Energy Storage Characteristics

In this work, a raw carbon waste parali biomass is collected to develop a supercapacitor. The activated carbon developed is characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field effect scanning electron microscope (FESEM), Energy dispersive spectroscope (EDS), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analyses. The porous and crystalline activated carbon achieved a remarkably high carbonaceous value of 99.85% carbon from 35.71% in raw state. The specific surface area obtained is 151.42 m2 g−1 and the porosity (average pore diameter) is 2–10 nm of the optimized activated carbon. The activated carbon is explored as electrode material for supercapacitor in aqueous electrolyte and the specific capacitance was found to be a maximum of 247 F g−1 at 1.2 A g−1 to a stable value of 180 F g−1 at 10 A g−1. The symmetrical supercapacitor device, featuring electrodes composed of carbon material, attains an impressive energy density of 54 Wh kg−1 along with outstanding coulombic efficiency and stability. The laboratory prototype supercapacitor has successfully powered consumer electronics, such as a DC (direct current) motor for 12.5 min and an LED (Light emitting diode) bulb for 14 min, on a single charge in each case.

Effect of Nasa Liquid Organic Fertilizer (LOF) Concentration and Varieties on Growth and Production of Lettuce Plants (Lactuca Sativa L.) with the DFT Hydroponic System

Effect of Nasa Liquid Organic Fertilizer (LOF) Concentration and Varieties on Growth and Production of Lettuce Plants (Lactuca sativa L.) with DFT Hydroponic System. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is a short-lived leaf vegetable that can be grown in both highlands and lowlands. Generally consumed in a raw state so that hygiene is a top priority. Currently the demand for lettuce has not been fulfilled optimally, this is due to constraints in cultivation which causes low quality and yield of lettuce production. Efforts to increase lettuce production can be done by adding organic fertilizers as a source of plant nutrition and selecting the right lettuce varieties. This study aims to determine the interaction between the concentration of Nasa LOF fertilizer and lettuce varieties on the growth and production in hydroponic cultivation with DFT system. This study used a factorial randomized block design with a 2-factor treatment design. The first factor is the concentration of Nasa LOF with 3 levels, namely 4 mL/L; 6 mL/L; 8 mL/L and the second factor is the lettuce variety with 3 levels, namely the new grand rapid variety of lettuce; karina; kriebo le 873 which consisted of 3 groups. The results of this study showed an interaction between the concentration of Nasa LOF and lettuce varieties on the observed variables of plant height (24 DAP and 31 DAP), number of leaves (31 DAP) and wet weight per lettuce plant (31 DAP). The single treatment of Nasa LOF concentration had no significant effect on all variables observed in lettuce. The single treatment of lettuce varieties affected the observed variables of plant height (10 DAP and 17 DAP), number of leaves (24 DAP) and root length (10 DAP, 17 DAP, 24 DAP, and 31 DAP)

Physical, morphological, and mechanical properties of raw and steamed cashew nuts (Anacardium occidentale L.)

ABSTRACT Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) plays an important role in global agriculture, particularly in commercializing the cashew kernel. Nevertheless, kernel extraction poses a challenge due to the nut variable shape and size. Characterizing the properties of the cashew nut becomes a pivotal input for the advancement of processes and machinery. This work presents a comprehensive characterization of raw and steamed cashew nuts from Puerto Carreño, Colombia, with focus on morphological, physical, and mechanical properties. Cashew nut samples from different farms in the region were collected. Morphological properties, including size and shape, were analyzed by measuring length, width, and thickness for 100 nuts from each supplier, both in their raw state and after steaming. Geometric diameter and sphericity were calculated, and qualitative shape characterization was performed. Physical properties, such as mass, bulk density, true density, and moisture content, were also measured. Angle of repose and coefficient of friction were determined to assess flow and frictional behavior. Additionally, compressive mechanical properties were evaluated through uniaxial compression testing along three orientations. The findings indicated significant differences in morphological and mechanical properties between raw and steamed cashew nuts. Conversely, the results demonstrated that cashew nuts from Vichada region exhibit a noteworthy degree of dispersion and larger dimensions than those from Asia and Africa, comparable to those from Brazil. The findings guide machinery design in the cashew industry and offer insights into the physical, morphological, and mechanical properties of cashew nuts in Puerto Carreño, contributing to understanding and enabling quality assessment, processing optimization, and product development.

Preparation and characterization of biomaterial for phosphate ion removal: Kinetics, isotherms and thermodynamics studies

Phosphate ions are among the pollutants that pose a major risk to the environment and human health at high concentrations. The aim of this article is to evaluate the elimination capacity of these ions of the Carpobrotus edulis plant in its raw state and treated with (HCl, 0.5 M). Both biomaterials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy coupled to an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (SEM-EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), differential thermal analysis (DTA), and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). Retention power depends on several parameters, such as adsorbent mass, contact time, initial concentration, pH, and temperature. The acid treatment allows a reduction in soluble organic matter characterized by a decrease in BOD5 and COD of 30% and 70% respectively. For a fixed ratio of the order of 3.75 g.L−1 and an initial concentration of 1000 mg.L−1, phosphate ion removal percentages exceed 90%. The kinetics fit well with the pseudo-second-order model, and the results show strong agreement with the Langmuir isotherm. The maximum adsorption capacity of phosphate ions is 380.95 mg.g−1 for the plant native and 888.89 mg.g−1 in the modified state. The thermodynamics of adsorption are spontaneous and exothermic for plant native and endothermic for plant treated.