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Human nutrition and health rely on edible oils. Global demand for edible oils is expanding, necessitating the discovery of new natural oil sources subjected to adequate quality and safety evaluation. However, in contrast to other agricultural products, India's edible oil supply is surprisingly dependent on imports. The microbial oil is generated by fermentation of oleaginous yeast Rhodotorula mucilaginosa IIPL32 MTCC 25056 using biodiesel plant byproduct crude glycerol as a fermentable carbon source. Enriched with monounsaturated fatty acid, nutritional indices mapping based on the fatty acid composition of the yeast SCO, suggested its plausible use as an edible oil blend. In the present study, acute toxicity evaluation of the yeast SCO in C57BL/6 mice has been performed by randomly dividing the animals into 5 groups with 50, 300, 2000, and 5000 mg/Kg yeast SCO dosage, respectively, and predicted the median lethal dose (LD50). Detailed blood biochemistry and kidney and liver histopathology analyses were also reported. The functions of the liver enzymes were also evaluated to check and confirm the anticipated toxicity. To determine cell viability and in vitro biocompatibility, the 3T3-L1 cell line and haemolysis tests were performed. The results suggested the plausible use of yeast SCO as an edible oil blend due to its non-toxic nature in mice models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The utilization of supramolecular deep eutectic solvent eddy-assisted liquid–liquid microextraction utilizing 2-hydroxypropyl β-cyclodextrin (SUPRADES) has been identified as a successful method for pre-enriching Cu, Zn, and Mn in vegetable oil samples. Determination of each element was conducted by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) after digestion of metal-enriched phases. Various parameters were examined, including the composition of SUPRADES species [2HP-β-CD: DL-lactic acid], a cyclodextrin mass ratio of 20 wt%, a water bath temperature of 75 °C, an extractor volume of 800 μL, a dispersant volume of 50 μL, and an eddy current time of 5 min. Optimal conditions resulted in extraction rates of 99.6% for Cu, 105.2% for Zn, and 101.5% for Mn. The method exhibits a broad linear range spanning from 10 to 20,000 μg L−1, with determination coefficients exceeding 0.99 for all analytes. Enrichment coefficients of 24, 21, and 35 were observed. Limits of detection ranged from 0.89 to 1.30 μg L−1, while limits of quantification ranged from 3.23 to 4.29 μg L−1. The unique structural characteristics of the method enable the successful determination of trace elements in a variety of edible vegetable oils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of renewable resources for producing epoxides as a substitute for petroleum-based sources is a growing trend, and in this regard, several vegetable oils can serve as suitable alternatives. The aim of this study to optimized process parameters of epoxidation of hybrid oleic acid derive a mixture from palm oil and waste cooking when heterogenous catalyst. The signal-to-noise ratio analysis in Taguchi method shows the optimum reaction for production of epoxidized hybrid oleic acid to the response of oxirane content were temperature of 85 °C, agitation speed of 200 rpm, formic acid to oleic acid molar ratio of 1.5, and hydrogen peroxide to oleic acid molar ratio of 1.5. The order of significance of the process parameters was as follows: molar ratio hydrogen peroxide to oleic acid > molar ratio formic acid to oleic acid > stirring speed > reaction temperature. Based on the results, the relative conversion to oxirane of epoxidized hybrid oleic acid production was calculated of 58%, and oxirane ring can be detected at wavenumber 880 cm−1. A mathematical model was developed by using the numerical integration Runge–Kutta fourth Order method and show that it valid since minimal error between experiment and simulation data. After 100 iterations, the reaction rate parameters were obtained as follows: k11 = 0.8011 mol⋅L−1⋅min−1, k12 = 8.5201 mol⋅L−1⋅min−1, k2 = 0.0922 mol⋅L−1⋅min−1, and k3 = 0.0065 mol⋅L−1⋅min−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Camellia oil is a high-quality edible vegetable oil with a variety of physiologic functions. To accurately identify the camellia oil, the qualitative and quantitative determination of fatty acids in camellia oil was conducted by gas chromatography. The fatty acids in camellia oil were oleic acid, linoleic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid and linolenic acid. Among them, the proportion of monounsaturated fatty acid oleic acid was 77.56–82.60%. Based on the gas-chromatography, effective fingerprints were established for 13 camellia-oil samples grown in Zhejiang Province of China. The results of similarity analysis showed that camellia oil grown in this area had a high similarity, the similarity was as high as 0.998. Combining fingerprint analysis with chemometrics, the classification of camellia oil samples based on the difference of fatty acid content could be achieved using the shortest distance method in hierarchical cluster analysis. The key fatty acids, oleic and linolenic acid, were identified through principal component analysis. Indeed, camellia oil from various production areas within a 200-km radius in Zhejiang Province, China, could be distinguished based on the two main fatty acids. The quality of the 13 types of camellia-oil samples was assessed and categorized through scoring, ranging from − 1.69 to 3.72. In this study, gas chromatography fingerprinting technique was combined with chemometrics which allowed to identify camellia oil samples quality and distinguish the samples according to their geographic origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The excessive reliance on fossil fuels has resulted in an energy crisis, environmental pollution, and health problems, calling for alternative fuels such as biodiesel. Here, we review computational chemistry and machine learning for optimizing biodiesel production from waste. This article presents computational and machine learning techniques, biodiesel characteristics, transesterification, waste materials, and policies encouraging biodiesel production from waste. Computational techniques are applied to catalyst design and deactivation, reaction and reactor optimization, stability assessment, waste feedstock analysis, process scale-up, reaction mechanims, and molecular dynamics simulation. Waste feedstock comprise cooking oil, animal fat, vegetable oil, algae, fish waste, municipal solid waste and sewage sludge. Waste cooking oil represents about 10% of global biodiesel production, and restaurants alone produce over 1,000,000 m3 of waste vegetable oil annual. Microalgae produces 250 times more oil per acre than soybeans and 7–31 times more oil than palm oil. Transesterification of food waste lipids can produce biodiesel with a 100% yield. Sewage sludge represents a significant biomass waste that can contribute to renewable energy production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooking is a significant source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) emissions in indoor environments. A one-month biomonitoring study was carried out in previously selected rural Hungarian kitchens to evaluate cooking-related PAHs concentrations in 4 common kitchen vegetables such as basil, parsley, rocket and chives. The study had two mainobjectives: firstly, to follow PAHs accumulation pattern and to find out if this pattern can be associated with different cooking habits. Also, the usefulness of culinary herbs for indoor bioaccumulation studies was assessed. The 2-ring naphthalene was the dominant PAH in the majority of the samples, its concentrations were in the range of 25.4 µg/kg and 274 µg/kg, of 3-ring PAHs the prevalency of phenanthrene was observed, with highest concentration of 62 µg/kg. PAHs accumulation pattern in tested plants clearly indicated differences in cooking methods and cooking oils used in the selected households. Use of lard and animal fats in general resulted in the high concentrations of higher molecular weight (5- and 6-ring) PAHs, while olive oil usage could be associated with the emission of 2- and 3-ring PAHs. Culinary herbs, however, accumulated carcinogenic PAHs such as benzo[a]anthracene (highest concentration 11.9 µg/kg), benzo[b]fluoranthene (highest concentration 13.8 µg/kg) and chrysene (highest concentration 20.1 µg/kg) which might question their safe use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapeseed- mustard is an important source of edible oil but vulnerable to attack by various insect pests. More than three dozen insect pests are known to be related with rapeseed mustard crop in India. Among them, mustard aphid, Lipaphis erysimi (Kalt.) is a major pest on rapeseed-mustard. Bio-efficacy of PAU homemade neem extract (PAU HMNE) @ 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0 L ha−1 along with standard check, Actara (thiamethoxam 25 WG) @ 100 g ha−1 was tested against L. erysimi on gobhi sarson under organic farming conditions. All treatments were applied twice, first when aphid population reached at economic threshold level, ETL (50–60 aphids per 10 cm terminal portion of the central shoot of plant) and second after 7 days of first spray. Water spray and untreated control were kept for the comparison purpose. Three replications were kept for all the treatments. Aphid incidence was recorded on 10 cm terminal portion of central shoot from 10 randomly selected tagged plants per plot. On pooled mean basis, Actara 25 WG @ 100 g ha−1 was found to be most effective against mustard aphid offering highest per cent reduction over control (PROC) viz. 85.01- 94.67 and 83.75–89.66% during 2020–21 and 2021–22, respectively, but it also registered highest predators' mortality. In contrast, a locally prepared neem extract, PAU HMNE @ 10.0 L ha−1 was next to record high PROC, i.e., 37.44 to 48.28% and 43.57 to 50.06% in 2020–21 and 2021–22, respectively, and highest predators' population. A highest seed yield of mustard (14.80 and 16.85 q ha−1) was marked in Actara 25 WG @ 10.0 L followed by PAU HMNE @ 10.0 L (13.83 and 16.24 q ha−1) over the untreated control plots with lowest seed yield (11.30 and 14.60 q ha−1) in 2020–21 and 2021–22, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anal fistula and perianal abscess are commonly acquired anorectal pathologies in children. Surgical treatment options commonly adopted are fistulotomy, fistulectomy, cutting seton placement, and more recently video-assisted anal fistula treatment (VAAFT). Optimal postoperative wound dressing remains debated. This study aimed to report our series of pediatric patients, who received VAAFT and postoperative wound dressing using ozonide oil. Methods: All patients who underwent VAAFT between August 2018 and May 2023 were included in the study. Demographics, clinical features, pre-operative imaging, surgical details, outcome, and mid-term outcome data were retrospectively reviewed for each patient. All VAAFT procedures were performed under general anesthesia and using a 10-Ch fistuloscope. Results: Thirty-three VAAFT procedures were performed in 30 patients over the study period. The median patient age was 5.7 years (range 1.75–14). Anal fistula was idiopathic in 26/30 (86.6%), iatrogenic in 2/30 (6.7%), and secondary to Crohn's disease in 2/30 (6.7%). The median duration of surgery was 23 min (range 18–40). All patients received ozonide oil dressing twice a day for 5 weeks postoperatively. The median hospital stay was 24 h (range 9–36). The median healing time was 28 days (range 17–39). With a median follow-up of 2 years (range 0.5–5), disease recurrence occurred in 3/30 (10%) patients with idiopathic fistula, who were re-operated using the same technique, with no further recurrence. No fecal incontinence or soiling was observed. Conclusion: Our series confirmed that VAAFT is a safe and effective technique to treat children with perianal fistula. The technique is versatile, allowing to treat fistulae of different etiologies. Postoperative course was painless and fast. Future comparative prospective studies are needed to better establish these conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to tackle the global increase in overweight and obesity prevalence, several nutrient profiling systems have been developed; among others, Food Compass Score (FCS) has been designed to encompass multiple domains of food healthfulness. However, environmental sustainability of healthy diets is another crucial dimension which should not be overlooked in the context of human health. The aim of the present study is to assess the association between healthiness and environmental sustainability of food items, using the FCS and Agribalyse databases, respectively. A total of 806 matching food items were identified, grouped in 12 food categories; within each category, differences in median Z-scores between FCS and Single Environmental Footprint (EF) Score were assessed. While Fruits, Legumes and Nuts, Mixed foods, Meat Poultry and Eggs (MPE), Savory and Sweets, and Vegetables showed statistically significant differences (all p < 0.001), Beverages (p = 0.361), Dairy (p = 0.092), Fats and Oils (p = 0.594), Grains (p = 0.436), Sauce and Condiments (p = 0.093), and Seafood (p = 0.241) had similar Food Compass and Single EF Z-scores distributions. These findings underscore a relevant lack of difference between healthfulness and environmental impact of some prominent food categories, such as Grains and Seafood. Therefore, we suggest matching nutrient profiling systems with adequate environmental sustainability indices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a refrigerant cooling method using an inner tube in a storage tank to improve the cooling performance and thermal uniformity during the storing of edible oil. With a prototype of an oil tank in Central Grain Reserve of Zhenjiang, the experimental oil tank was built in a scale of 50:1. Both natural and manual cooling experiments were carried out for the experimental tank. The manual cooling process involved two supplying modes for the refrigerant tube (top and bottom) and four different refrigerant temperatures (10 ℃, 12 ℃, 14 ℃, 16 ℃). The experimental results show that, compared with natural cooling, manual cooling can effectively reduce the temperature difference and thermal stratification between upper and lower layers. The temperature difference is 6.79 ℃, 1.93 ℃, and 3.67 ℃ for the natural cooling, manual top supplying, and manual bottom supplying mode, respectively. Furthermore, for the two manual modes, the cooling efficiency of bottom supplying is 21.4% higher than that of the top supplying, and the average oil temperature drops by 0.8–1 ℃. Based on experimental results, different working conditions (20, 40, and 60 ml/s) were simulated to determine the optimal flow rate for bottom supplying mode. The simulation results indicate that the low flow rate (20 ml/s) corresponds to the best thermal uniformity, and the maximum temperature has no obvious change under different flow rate conditions. Therefore, it is not necessary to increase the flow rate to improve cooling efficiency considering the rising energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of research was to fabricate nanohybrid nanopapers based on bacterial cellulose (CNF) and chitosan (CHNF) nanofibers by incorporation of iron oxide (Fe3O4) and aluminum oxide (Al2O3) nanoparticles (NPs). The nanopapers were characterized and their efficiency in selective adsorption of free fatty acids (FFA) from sesame oil was investigated. The oil adsorption capacity and NPs loading capacity of CHNF-based nanopapers were higher than CNF-based ones. The selective adsorption capacity of FFA from sesame oil/oleic acid mixture showed that the nanohybrids are more likely to absorb FFA than to triglycerides and the peroxide value of the oil shows no adverse effect on oxidative deterioration of oil. All nanopapers preserved more than 70% of their activity after 5-stage cycle reusing. Generally, the use of nanopapers as an alternative to chemical neutralization method in the removal of FFA from edible oils can be suggested and the Fe3O4-dopped CHNF nanopaper exhibited the best performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sterols are known for a plethora of 250 different structures. Between 5 and 10% of them usually occur with varying abundance ratios (~ four orders of magnitude) and total amounts (0.4–1000 mg/100 g oil) in samples. Yet, quantitative data are mostly restricted to the few major sterols which are available as reference standards. Here, we developed a gas chromatography with mass spectrometry method operated in selected ion monitoring mode (GC/MS-SIM) that enabled the quantitation of 30 (silylated) sterols although only ten were available as reference standards. This could be obtained by studying the full-scan mass spectra of these ten sterol standards and 20 additional sterols measured in seven oils. In the next step, sterols were assigned to different groups. Values for quantification were then selected on the premise that response factors were constant within a sterol group. The deviation of the response factors within one sterol group was frequently below ± 10% and otherwise about ± 11–12%. Using mean response factors for all sterols, the novel GC/MS-SIM quantification method was superior to GC/FID which was exemplarily applied to two oils. Between eight and 21 of the 30 studied sterols and pentacyclic triterpenols were detected and quantified in 18 vegetable oils and two vegetable fats. The much higher number of sterols that could be quantified resulted in higher sterol amounts and the method and data may be useful for food authentication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction notice for an article titled "Supramolecular deep eutectic solvent: a powerful tool for pre-concentration of trace metals in edible oil" published in the journal Analytical & Bioanalytical Chemistry. The correction states that there was a mistake in the original version of the article, specifically in Table 1 where the molecular formula structure for 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin was incorrect. The correct version of Table 1 is provided in the correction notice. The publisher, Springer Nature, remains neutral in terms of jurisdictional claims and institutional affiliations. The authors of the article are Peng Sun, Chao Wang, Shuo Li, Nan Li, and Yuling Gao. [Extracted from the article]

Biosurfactants (BS) are becoming a solution for today's world since they are considered a reasonable and eco-friendly option for use in products that require surfactants. This study aimed to evaluate the antibacterial activity of purified fractions containing biosurfactants produced by the yeast Wickerhamomyces anomalus CCMA 0358 using waste cooking oil (WCO) as substrate. Mixed fractions were separated and characterized by TLC, MPLC, GC-MS, LC-OMS, LC-SQMS, FTIR, 1H, 13C, DEPT 135, COSY, HSQC, and HMBC. The results confirmed the presence of palmitic acid and oleic acid fatty acids, derived from the core biosurfactant structure; however, the core could not be identified. The crude biosurfactant and its purified fractions were evaluated against pathogenic bacteria, and the purified fractions of the biosurfactant are more efficient at inhibitory and bactericidal activities than the crude biosurfactant. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that evaluated the antimicrobial activity of purified fractions of biosurfactants produced by the species Wickerhamomyces anomalus. Therefore, the purification of biosurfactants can emerge as an interesting alternative to increase the bioactivity of the compounds and ensure greater efficiency and biotechnological employability. Key points: • Successful production of a biosurfactant using a renewed carbon source. • Evaluation of the antimicrobial activity of purified fractions of BS. • Separated fractions of the BS are more efficient against bacteria than the crude BS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the main constraints of sophorolipid (SL) microbial production is the substrate-associated costs and the lower productivity compared to synthetic surfactants. Nevertheless, SLs have found their potential in multiple markets, including agriculture due to their pesticide and plant-growth-promoting effects. In this sense, this study has aimed in evaluating potential SLs-producing Brazilian native strains of Starmerella bombicola isolated from different biomes, considering their potential of assimilating household residual cooking oil (HCO), which represents a renewable feedstock to aid the issues regarding raw material expenditures. The highest SL production (6.2 g/L) was obtained with S. bombicola Y-6419 which was isolated from the Brazilian Cerrado biome. To analyze the viability of using rice bran aqueous hydrolysate (RBH) as an alternative nutrients source, it was implemented a 22 factorial design, thereby, the concentration of HCO (g/L) and the supplementation of RBH (% v/v) were evaluated as manipulated variables; as a response, SL production (g/L) was quantified. The RBH showed promising utilization as an elicitor of SLs production by S. bombicola and the final SL titer comprised 51 g/L, which represents an augmentation of approximately ninefold compared to the medium without RBH. SLs were characterized for their physical–chemical properties and their chemical structures were confirmed by HPLC–MS, TLC, and FTIR. Thus, the utilization of agroindustry byproducts and a renewable lipophilic carbon source exhibited marked potential in the production of biosurfactants by the native S. bombicola strain which enables a step towards the consolidation of the bioprocess in modern biorefineries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lipid oxidation is the principal process of edible oil degradation. Therefore, the objective was to determine the antioxidant effect of hop and oregano essential oils in sunflower oil under high temperatures, in order to replace the synthetic antioxidants. The sunflower oil was enriched with oregano and hop essential oils (0.02% w/w). These treatments were compared with sunflower oil with the addition of BHT (0.02% w/w) and another sample of sunflower oil (without additives). All treatments were exposed to 150 °C for 8 h. Samples were collected at 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 h. Peroxide value (PV), conjugated dienes, oxidation, and essential oils volatile compounds were measured. Oregano and hop essential oil increased the oxidative stability of the sunflower oil under 150 °C. The PV of the control was 44.1 meq O2/kg at 8 h, while sunflower oil with the addition of hop and oregano essential oils were 14.4 meq O2/kg and 8.5 meq O2/kg at 8 h, respectively. Origanum vulgare essential oil had the best antioxidant effect, obtaining 80.7% less PV than the control, while Humulus lupulus showed 67.4% less PV than the control. In general, in comparison to the sunflower oil without additives, lower values of hexanal and 2-heptenal were observed in the samples enriched with essential oils. The principal components of these essential oils were found in the heated samples. Terpinen-4-ol (oregano) and β-myrcene (hop) were present at 4 h of the heat treatment. Thus, these terpenes appeared to be responsible for maintaining the antioxidant protection of sunflower oil throughout the heat treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a comparative kinetic study of the transesterification reaction of rapeseed oil with methanol was carried out in two reactors: the first was a batch reactor, and the second was a continuous reactor. The operating conditions of the reaction were a molar ratio of 6:1 (methanol to oil) at temperatures of 40, 50, and 60 °C, with 1% of KOH used as a catalyst. The continuous reactor is composed of a chaotic mixer followed by a plug flow reactor to increase the residence time and ensure complete conversion of the reaction. Mixing is provided by the effects of motion inertia created by chaotic advection in the mixer reactor. A scheme of three reversible reactions was used to model the apparent kinetics of the transesterification reaction. The chaotic mixer is used as an intensifier for the transesterification reaction. The results showed that this technology has reduced the apparent activation energies of the reaction. This kinetic model was applied on used cooking oil for validation. The experimental results show good agreement with the kinetic model with a maximum difference (RMSE) egal to 11% between the experimental results and the simulation. The effect of mixing intensity and temperature on the transesterification reaction in the two systems has been studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the increased demand for sunflower production, its breeding assignment is the intensification of the development of highly productive oil seed hybrids to satisfy the edible oil industry. Sunflower Oil Yield Prediction (SOYP) can help breeders to identify desirable new hybrids with high oil yield and their characteristics using machine learning (ML) algorithms. In this study, we developed ML models to predict oil yield using two sets of features. Moreover, we evaluated the most relevant features for accurate SOYP. ML algorithms that were used and compared were Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Support Vector Regression, K-Nearest Neighbour, and Random Forest Regressor (RFR). The dataset consisted of samples for 1250 hybrids of which 70% were randomly selected and were used to train the model and 30% were used to test the model and assess its performance. Employing MAE, MSE, RMSE and R2 evaluation metrics, RFR consistently outperformed in all datasets, achieving a peak of 0.92 for R2 in 2019. In contrast, ANN recorded the lowest MAE, reaching 65 in 2018 The paper revealed that in addition to seed yield, the following characteristics of hybrids were important for SOYP: resistance to broomrape (Or) and downy mildew (Pl) and maturity. It was also disclosed that the locality feature could be used for the estimation of sunflower oil yield but it is highly dependable on weather conditions that affect the oil content and seed yield. Up to our knowledge, this is the first study in which ML was used for sunflower oil yield prediction. The obtained results indicate that ML has great potential for application in oil yield prediction, but also selection of parental lines for hybrid production, RFR algorithm was found to be the most effective and along with locality feature is going to be further evaluated as an alternative method for genotypic selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By increasing world food demand, the agricultural food supply chain has become a key element in the global business competitive environment. Also, the growing population causes increased demand for edible vegetable oils. Edible oil is one of the main products in the home food basket, which shows the importance and attention to the supply chain network of edible vegetable oils. As a result, the present research aims to design a sustainable supply chain network of edible vegetable oils under uncertainty. A mixed-integer linear programming model has developed with three objective functions, including minimizing costs, minimizing environmental impacts, and maximizing social impact. The multi-objective mathematical model has been solved by the preemptive fuzzy goal programming method. In this study, the demand for final edible oil and meals is considered uncertain. A case study has been considered in the supply chain network design of Iranian edible vegetable oils to validate the proposed model. In order to collect the dataset of the input parameters, we considered the three aspects of big data, namely variety, velocity, and volume. Furthermore, some sensitivity analyses have been provided for the main parameters of the present research. The obtained results show that the most important component of the cost objective function is production costs. Furthermore, import tariff and its value have a significant impact on the objective functions and decision variables, including area under cultivation, water consumption, and number of workers. Finally, some suggestions are presented for managers and experts in this industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacic mesoporous molecular sieve Me-KIT-6 (Me = K, Ca, Mg, Ba) was prepared by hydrothermal synthesis through doping basic metal elements, and was used to the cracking reaction of waste cooking oil to produce biofuel. The synthesized molecular sieves were characterized by XRD, N2 adsorption/desorption, TEM and CO2-TPD. The effects of the structure and alkalinity of molecular sieves on the activity and selectivity of catalysts were studied. It is found that the three-dimensional cubic mesoporous structure and high alkali content of molecular sieves can improve the catalytic activity and selectivity, and greatly improve the quality of biofuels. The results show that Mg-KIT-6 mesoporous molecular sieve with n(Mg): n(ethyl orthosilicate) = 1:30 has better catalytic performance. The yield of liquid product can reach 62.7%, of which the content of hydrocarbons is the highest, up to 75.74%. The distribution of liquid biofuels is also very concentrated, mainlyC14–C18 hydrocarbons. The catalyst also has excellent catalytic stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooking oil is a critical component of human food and its main component, lipid, is influential to health, but assessing its authenticity and quality can be challenging due to its complex chemical composition. In this study, we introduce a novel application of time-resolved coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (T-CARS) spectroscopy for detecting adulteration and understanding the mechanisms of lipid oxidation in various cooking oils. Our research surpasses the limitations of conventional spontaneous Raman spectroscopy, demonstrating that intra-molecular interactions from unsaturated bonds in triglycerides significantly influence vibrational dephasing time. We observed that these dephasing times, although diverse initially, converge to a similar value after heating cycles. Notably, a longer vibrational dephasing of the CH2 symmetric stretching mode was found to correlate with a higher lipid oxidation rate. These findings underscore the potential of T-CARS in identifying and characterizing subtle molecular interactions, offering a transformative approach to understanding molecular dynamics. This research paves the way for broader applications of T-CARS across fields such as chemistry, biomedicine, and material science, marking a significant advancement in the development of innovative analytical techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study measured the activity concentration of natural radionuclides in cooking oil samples by using a high purity germanium (HPGe) detector. The detected average activity concentration of K-40, Ra-226, and Th-232 is 2.68 ± 1.29 Bq kg−1, 0.35 ± 0.15 Bq kg−1, and 0.30 ± 0.12 Bq kg−1, respectively. Moreover, the measured concentrations were used to assess several radiological hazard indices due to ingestion [i.e., annual effective dose (AED), total AED, and excess life cancer risk (ELCR)] by consumers of these cooking oils. Even though the results indicate that their annual values are far below the worldwide permitted levels, it was observed that the radionuclides pose the highest annual effective dose 17.47 µSv y−1 to children (10-15 years old) to (12-17 years old) and that the testes organ receives the highest annual effective organ dose rate (Dorgan) 1.1 μSv y−1 due to ingestion of the cooking oil samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a terahertz range hybrid structured with square hollow-core PCF-based edible oil sensor is presented and statistically examined. For the purpose of determining this proposed hollow core fiber's propagation characteristics, the finite element method is used with a circular perfectly matched layer boundary condition. In ideal geometrical circumstances, the recommended detector exhibits 98.45% relative sensitivity to various edible oils at optimum frequency of 1.8 THz. An extensive simulation of that microstructure fiber across THz frequency range reveals that it is possible to concurrently achieve very low effective material loss of 0.004632 cm−1 and a very low confinement loss of 1.07 × 10–15 dB/m. In addition, the proposed fiber is thoroughly studied for other crucial factors like total loss, spot size, and numerical aperture. This optical waveguide's outstanding achievements will make it possible to use it in a variety of practical terahertz applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most energy consumed globally is obtained from non-renewable energy sources. The rapid depletion of fossil fuels and their negative impact on global warming and crude oil prices have increased the need for new and renewable fuels. On the other hand, the global pandemic has reemphasized how vital clean air is for a healthy life. Biodiesel is a biodegradable, non-toxic, oxygen-containing, and renewable fuel that may substitute power for fossil fuels. The feedstock constitutes a significant part of the cost of biodiesel production. In biodiesel production, edible vegetable oils may cause many problems, such as jeopardizing biodiversity, depletion of food supply, economic imbalance, and high pricing. Non-edible vegetable oils, which are up to these problems, are considered alternatives to edible food crops for biodiesel production. Consuming mustard seed with a high erucic acid content is considered unsuitable for human health due to this acid leading to cardiovascular problems. In addition, mustard seed oil has a high MUFA value, resistance to cold and drought, weed-fighting structure, very high genus, species content, etc.; hence, it is engaging the attention of researchers around the world. This review introduces the botanical characteristics, fatty acid composition distribution, biodiesel synthesis, biodiesel production methods, fuel properties characterization of biodiesel, and performance and emission characteristics in engine use of the most well-known mustard types. This comprehensive review will be beneficial to the investigators to absorb the mustard, which is a 2nd generation feedstock in biodiesel synthesis, in great detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potential of Fluorescence spectroscopy has been utilized for the quality analysis of canola and mustard oil along with the effect of heating on their molecular composition has been investigated. Laser diode at 405 nm has been employed directly to oil surface to excite both oil type samples and their emission spectra has been recorded by an in-house developed Fluorosensor. The emission spectra of both oil types unveiled that they contain carotenoids, isomers of vitamin E and chlorophylls that exhibit their fluorescence at 525 and 675/720 nm, and these can be used as markers for their quality assurance. Fluorescence spectroscopy is a fast, reliable and non-destructive analytical technique for the quality assessment of both oil types. Moreover, the effect of temperature on their molecular composition has been investigated by heating them at 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 170, 180 and 200 °C, each sample for 30 min which was done because both oils are used for cooking and frying. On heating, the deterioration of carotenoids and isomers of vitamin E in both oil types occurred with an increase in the oxidised products. However, it was found that up to 150 °C, both oil types can be used safely for cooking/frying purpose where they do not lose much of their valuable ingredients and up to 180 °C for deep frying, both oils can be used with less deterioration and after that both deteriorated much due to rapid increase of the oxidized products. The portable Fluorosensor, therefore, proved as an excellent device for quality screening of edible oils based on carotenoids and vitamin E. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal properties such as thermal conductivity, heat capacity, and thermal diffusivity and physical properties such as calorific value, density, and kinematic viscosity of liquid fuels play a significant role in the combustion process. These properties vary with the chemical structures and the fatty acid profiles of biodiesels. Making correlations for various properties with respect to fatty acid profile helps to analyze the combustion process. Most of the reported works generated correlations using data taken from the literature, and the correlations based on the fatty acid profile for thermal properties of biodiesel are unavailable. As coconut oil, sunflower oil, and palm oil have entirely different fatty acid profiles, in this study, biodiesels produced from these three waste cooking oils and their three hybrids (each in a 1:1 ratio) were used for biodiesel production, followed by correlation formulation. Higher thermal conductivity (0.2211 W mK−1) and thermal diffusivity (0.2459 mm2 s−1) and lower heat capacity (0.8993 MJ m−3 K−1), density (862.8 kg m−3), kinematic viscosity (2.71 cSt), and calorific value (36.73 cSt) were observed for coconut-based biodiesels compared with other biodiesels. The addition of coconut content to hybrid biodiesel enhanced thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity and reduced heat capacity, density, and kinematic viscosity. From the experimental data of thermal conductivity, heat capacity, thermal diffusivity, density, kinematic viscosity, and calorific value, empirical correlations were proposed with the fatty acid profile. Good agreement was obtained between experimental and calculated values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant-based meat alternatives have been considered from past years, but recently gained much importance in research development and food industries. Concerns related to health, animal welfare, ethical beliefs and environment act as a driving force for the production of protein-based meat analogues. The major challenging work in the development of plant-based meat is to imitate the texture of meat analogues. The production of plant-based meat analogue needs an astute choice and formulation of constituents to perfectly mimic the fibrous texture of meat. Various plant-based constituents like texturized and non-texturized proteins, fats and oils, thickening agents, binding agents, colouring and flavouring agents used with different processing technologies (extrusion, electrospinning, wet-spinning, shear cell, freeze structuring and 3D-printing) for the production of plant-based meat analogues. This critical review highlights essential ingredients for creating these novel meat analogues, emphasizing protein sources, ingredient functionality, production technologies and health and environmental effects of plant-based meat and consumer acceptance towards plant-based meat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this present work was to investigate the combined effects of injection pressure and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) on the combustion, performance and emission characteristics in a modified stationary diesel engine. Biodiesel blend (BDB) method also has been approached in this present work to improve the fuel properties by mixing two feedstock of different saturated fatty acid composition. Biodiesel blend was prepared from waste feedstock oils of waste cooking oil and chicken fat oil. A new method of raw bio-oil mixing has been carried out for BDB production and reduced the production cost. The engine was tested with three injection pressures (300, 400 and 500 bar) and two different EGR rates (10% and 20%) at full load, and experimental results were compared with biodiesel conventional combustion (BDC) mode. The outcomes showed that the amount of oxygen presents in biodiesel blend is not enough to support the combustion at high EGR rate of 20%. High injection pressure of 500 bar with the minimum amount of 10% EGR operating condition, named as P500E10, offered the high brake thermal efficiency of 34.93%, which is 11.56% higher than BDC. Nitric oxide emissions, the major constrain for biodiesel usage in engine applications, also reduced at P500E10 by 2.56% as compared to BDC. The overall experimental results showed that the BDB prepared with waste feedstocks would be an impressive alternative resource for engine applications along with suitable injection pressure and EGR rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sesame oil (SO) is a high-quality and very popular edible oil with pleasant odor and good taste, which has higher economic and nutritional value than other common vegetable oils. However, there is no effective and standardized method for detecting adulterated sesame oil, so there is an urgent need to develop a rapid and effective method for the detection of adulterated sesame oil. In this work, a strategy based on the excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy combined with multi-way chemometric methods was proposed to distinguish the plant origin of vegetable oils, identify adulterated sesame oil and quantify the level of adulteration of soybean oil (SBO) in SO. Three kinds of multi-way chemometric methods were used in this work. They are alternating trilinear decomposition coupled with partial least squares discriminant analysis (ATLD-PLS-DA), multilinear partial least squares discriminant analysis (N-PLS-DA) and unfolded partial least squares discriminant analysis (U-PLS-DA). The total recognition rates (TRRs) of plant origin of edible oils for the testing set were 79.17%, 100% and 100%, respectively, based on ATLD-PLS-DA, N-PLS-DA and U-PLS-DA model. For the identification of adulterated sesame oil, the TRRs for the testing set were 93.10%, 100% and 100%, respectively. What's more, N-PLS regression and U-PLS regression were used for predicting the adulteration amount of SBO in SO. Satisfactory prediction accuracy with RMSEV = 2.74% was obtained by U-PLS regression. Therefore, it can be concluded that EEM fluorescent fingerprint combined with multi-way chemometric methods is an effective strategy to classify the plant origin of vegetable oils, identify the adulteration of SO and quantify the level of adulteration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The document is an editorial from the journal BioEnergy Research, discussing the SINAFERM/SHEB/ENZITEC Special Issue 2022. The special issue focuses on industrial biotechnology as a multidisciplinary tool for developing sustainable technologies. The editorial highlights the challenges and advancements in second-generation biorefineries, biomass pretreatment, cellulose and xylan hydrolysis, and xylose fermentation. It also covers topics such as bioethanol production, energy integration in biorefineries, and the use of alternative feedstocks. The special issue showcases the multidisciplinary nature of industrial biotechnology and its role in minimizing environmental impacts and promoting innovation in various industrial sectors. [Extracted from the article]

Citrullus lanatus var. Colocynthoide "Gurum" is an unconventional crop that can be utilized as a new source of edible oil and has the ability to grow in a variety of harsh conditions. To mitigate the adverse effects of salinity on seed germination and plant performance of C. lanatus, seeds were primed in the aqueous extracts of the seaweed Ulva lactuca before planting under greenhouse conditions. The aqueous extract of U. lactuca at 8% w/v led to maximal seed germination percentage and seedling growth of C. lanatus. Moreover, U. lactuca extract counteracted the negative effects of salt stress on the plant by significantly increasing the activity of SOD, CAT, and POD. The bioactive components of U. lactuca, e.g. glycine betaine and phenolic compounds can account for such beneficial role of algal extract on C. lanatus. Thus, priming of C. lanatus seeds in U. lactuca extract with various concentrations of U. lactuca extract can be employed as an effective practice for successful seed germination, improved plant growth and enhanced salt resistance, probably as a result of increased antioxidant enzymes activity and photosynthetic pigments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biopolymers are mainly the polymers which are created or obtained from living creatures such as plants and bacteria rather than petroleum, which has traditionally been the source of polymers. Biopolymers are chain-like molecules composed of repeated chemical blocks derived from renewable resources that may decay in the environment. The usage of biomaterials is becoming more popular as a means of reducing the use of non-renewable resources and reducing environmental pollution produced by synthetic materials. Biopolymers' biodegradability and non-toxic nature help to maintain our environment clean and safe. This study discusses how to improve the mechanical and physical characteristics of biopolymers, particularly in the realm of bioengineering. The paper begins with a fundamental introduction and progresses to a detailed examination of synthesis and a unique investigation of several recent focused biopolymers with mechanical, physical, and biological characterization. Biopolymers' unique non-toxicity, biodegradability, biocompatibility, and eco-friendly features are boosting their applications, especially in bioengineering fields, including agriculture, pharmaceuticals, biomedical, ecological, industrial, aqua treatment, and food packaging, among others, at the end of this paper. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the relevance of biopolymers in smart and novel bioengineering applications. The Graphical abstract represents the biological sources and applications of biopolymers. Plants, bacteria, animals, agriculture wastes, and fossils are all biological sources for biopolymers, which are chemically manufactured from biological monomer units, including sugars, amino acids, natural fats and oils, and nucleotides. Biopolymer modification (chemical or physical) is recognized as a crucial technique for modifying physical and chemical characteristics, resulting in novel materials with improved capabilities and allowing them to be explored to their full potential in many fields of application such as tissue engineering, drug delivery, agriculture, biomedical, food industries, and industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiesel is drawing interest as an alternative and eco-friendly substitute energy resource synthesized from vegetative and animals' origin lipids. However, the costs of biodiesel feedstock still concern the researchers. Besides, the dependence on edible oils of first generation as a feedstock made the total footprint of biodiesel unsustainable since it threatens the sources of human food and consumes many resources during cultivation. For this regard, the current study was scoped to offer a reliable and affordable feedstock utilized from slaughterhouses' wastes for biodiesel industry. Utilizing the tremendous amounts of discarded animal fats (DAFs) as a feedstock for biodiesel production minimizes slaughterhouses' wastes and promotes sustainable energy resources. Technologies of DAFs disposal, lipids extraction, treatment, and conversion into biodiesel were critically discussed and compared based on advantages and disadvantages. Discussion was expanded to include the characteristics of animal-based biodiesel distinguished by higher heating value, cetane number, oxidation stability, and lower NOx emissions. Argument was evolved regarding the ethical, production, performance, and economic challenges. The results of this comprehensive review affirm the possibility of DAFs feedstock to offer affordable and sustainable biodiesel fuel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-temperature pipelines conveying plant-based edible oils are covered with a thermal insulation material; however, if a pipe leaks, that insulation material and oil produce oxidation reactions that release thermal energy. We examined the combination of linseed oil and rock wool, a porous insulation material commonly used in the oil processing industry by using a simultaneous thermogravimetric analyzer to measure the thermogravimetric loss trend and heat release modes, while adding porous materials under non-isothermal conditions. The Friedman, Flynn–Wall–Ozawa (FWO), Kissinger, and ASTM E698 standard thermokinetic models were used to evaluate the apparent activation energy (Ea) as a basis for determining the thermal sensitivity of incompatible materials in combination with insulation materials. The study results demonstrate the conditions under which linseed oil and porous materials would lead to thermal runaway. The Friedman and FWO models showed that the conversion degree increased from 0.2 to 0.8, and the mean Ea decreased from 71.33 and 73.97 to 33.08 and 55.02 kJ mol–1, respectively. The Kissinger and ASTM E698 methods decreased from 56.75 and 65.83 to 55.95 and 58.06 kJ mol–1 after rock wool was added. Through the four thermokinetic models, the Ea of linseed oil with the addition of rock wool was discovered to be lower than that of pure linseed oil. The study results demonstrated the conditions under which linseed oil and porous materials would lead to thermal runaway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chestnut pellicle has attracted lots of interests for its rich polyphenol content. However, little is known about the investigation of antioxidant activity of its different solvent extractions and applications in oil and oil-based food preservation. Here, we investigated the polyphenol contents of three chestnut pellicle extracts (CPEs) using different extractant, and found that chestnut pellicle ethanol extract (CPEE) exhibited the highest contents of total phenolic, while chestnut pellicle water extract (CPWE) possessed the highest contents of total flavonoid. What's more, chestnut pellicle ethyl acetate extract (CPEAE) exhibited excellent radical scavenging activity in 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and hydroxyl radical. Additionally, CPEAE significantly reduced the lipid peroxide value (PV) in rapeseed oil and lard system. Finally, HPLC–ESI–MS/MS analysis demonstrated that CPEAE mainly contained oligomers of procyanidins and glycosides. These results suggested that chestnut pellicle may be a new potential source of antioxidant and promising candidate of natural additive in cooking oil preservation and other functional foods development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon precursor derived from biomass waste gained significant interest as a component of heterogeneous catalysts that can be functionalized with active groups and provides the advantage of separating the catalyst from reactant and products, unlike common homogeneous catalyst. In this study, palm kernel shell (PKS) based char was developed by pyrolysis and hydrothermal carbonization methods and subsequently utilized for synthesizing bifunctional carbon catalyst. The wet impregnation method by loading K2CO3 and CuO provided bi-functional characteristics to the produced chars for conversion into efficient catalysts, which were suitable for concurrent esterification and transesterification processes. The prepared catalysts were characterized by BET, XRD, FESEM, FTIR, TGA, and CO2/NH3 TPD analysis. The report showed that the sample of hydrothermal-assisted carbonization (HTC) treatment possessed higher surface area (4056 m2/g) due to the steady degradation of lignocellulosic composition, thus improving the porous quality of carbon structure compared to normal pyrolytic carbon (2658 m2/g). Additionally, the PKSHAC@K2CO3-CuO catalyst sample embraced more potent acid-basic properties than PKSAC@K2CO3-CuO, yielding 98.4% and 96.7% of FAME respectively, at optimized reaction conditions, the temperature of 65 °C for 3 h, with 15:1 molar ratio of methanol to WCO with 3 wt% of catalysts loading.The reusability test showed that PKSHAC@K2CO3-CuO could catalyse up to 80.1% of FAME, while PKSAC@K2CO3-CuO recorded a yield of 60.1%. The biodiesel from waste cooking oil was analyzed to meet the ASTM D6751 standard for diesel fuel. The synthesized heterogeneous catalysts using different chars might be widely suitable for low-cost oil feedstocks used for biodiesel production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius, Asteraceae) is a source of high-quality edible oil growing in moisture-limited environments. Despite its economic importance, the relationships to close wild species in Carthamus and the presence and relationships of ecotypes within safflower are still not fully clarified. Here we use genotyping-by-sequencing to identify the wild progenitor of C. tinctorius, infer phylogenetic relationship within the series Carthamus and identify groups of closely related lineages within cultivated safflower. Phylogenetic and population genomic analyses found C. palaestinus to be the closest relative and single progenitor of C. tinctorius, which confirms the Levant as the area of domestication of the crop. Flow cytometry showed all analyzed samples of C. oxyacantha, C. palaestinus and C. tinctorius to be diploid (2n = 2x = 24) with 2C genome sizes of 2.4–2.7 pg. Analyses of a set of 114 worldwide distributed safflower accessions arrived at two to five genetic groups, which showed, however, no correlation with the geographic origins of these accessions. From this, we conclude that the trade of safflower seeds resulted in multiple introductions of genotypes from the Levant into other areas with suitable climate conditions for the plant, as well as exchange of genotypes among these areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work describes the screening of thermotolerant bacteria isolated from Thar Desert environmental samples for lipase activity and their catalytic efficiencies, such as tolerance to extreme pHs, temperatures, and organic solvents, and efficiency to synthesize biodiesel from waste cooking oils. The selected lipases were thermos-alkaliphilic in nature showing good activity at higher temperatures and in the alkaline pH range with optimal activity at 45 °C and pH 8 or 9. The lipases efficiently converted oils to biodiesel (fatty acid methyl ester), giving up to 78% conversion under specific reaction conditions. The enzyme (lipase) mediated biodiesel production will soon offer an eco-friendly and sustainable energy source for automobiles and industrial applications. The thermos-alkaliphilic properties of these lipases along with their efficiency to produce fatty acid methyl ester from waste cooking oil and methanol as well as other prospective applications, make them potential candidates for biodiesel production and other prospective applications such as the synthesis of flavor and fragrance esters and remediation of various environmental pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review evaluates oilseed crop soybean endophytic bacteria, their prospects, and challenges for sustainable agriculture. Soybean is one of the most important oilseed crops with about 20–25% protein content and 20% edible oil production. The ability of soybean root-associated microbes to restore soil nutrients enhances crop yield. Naturally, the soybean root endosphere harbors root nodule bacteria, and endophytic bacteria, which help increase the nitrogen pool and reclamation of another nutrient loss in the soil for plant nutrition. Endophytic bacteria can sustain plant growth and health by exhibiting antibiosis against phytopathogens, production of enzymes, phytohormone biosynthesis, organic acids, and secondary metabolite secretions. Considerable effort in the agricultural industry is focused on multifunctional concepts and bioprospecting on the use of bioinput from endophytic microbes to ensure a stable ecosystem. Bioprospecting in the case of this review is a systemic overview of the biorational approach to harness beneficial plant-associated microbes to ensure food security in the future. Progress in this endeavor is limited by available techniques. The use of molecular techniques in unraveling the functions of soybean endophytic bacteria can explore their use in integrated organic farming. Our review brings to light the endophytic microbial dynamics of soybeans and current status of plant microbiome research for sustainable agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large quantities of vegetable biowaste are generated at marketplaces, usually in highly populated locations. On the other hand, nearby markets, hotels, and street shops generate much cooking oil waste and dispose of them in the sewage. Environmental remediation is mandatory at these places. Hence, this experimental work concentrated on preparing biodiesel using green plant wastes and cooking oil. Biowaste catalysts were produced from vegetable wastes and biofuel generated from waste cooking oil using biowaste catalysts to support diesel demand and Environmental remediation. Other organic plant wastes such as bagasse, papaya stem, banana peduncle and moringa oleifera are used as heterogeneous catalysts of this research work. Initially, the plant wastes are independently considered for the catalyst for biodiesel production; secondary, all plant wastes are mixed to form a single catalyst and used to prepare the biodiesel. In the maximum biodiesel yield analysis, the calcination temperature, reaction temperature, methanol/oil ratio, catalyst loading and mixing speed were considered to control the biodiesel production. The results reveal that the catalyst loading of 4.5 wt% with mixed plant waste catalyst offered a maximum biodiesel yield of 95%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to conduct an experimental assessment of the impact of RCCI (reactivity regulated compression ignition) on the performance, emissions, and combustion of a CRDI engine. A fuel mix (20% biodiesel, 80% diesel, and a NaOH catalyst) is generated. The produced combination is evaluated for attributes using standards established by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). The engine research included three distinct kinds of injections: 10% Pen RCCI, 20% Pen RCCI, and 30% Pen RCCI. Increasing the injection pressure increases the brake thermal efficiency, often known as BTE. NOx emissions increased as a consequence of higher injection pressures and improved combustion. However, when the injection rate is increased, the Specific Fuel Consumption (SFC) falls. The CO2 and hydrocarbon emissions, as well as the smoke opacity values, increased as the charge increased. The resultant mixture may be utilized in a CI engine with pre-mixed ignition to improve overall engine performance as well as combustion characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiesel is one of the alternative fuels, commonly produced chemically from oil and methanol using a catalyst. This study aims to maximize biodiesel production from cheap and readily available sources of waste cooking oil (WCO) and lime-based Zinc-doped calcium oxide (Zn-CaO) catalyst prepared with a wet impregnation process. The Zn-CaO nanocatalyst was produced by adding 5% Zn into the calcinated limestone. The morphology, crystal size, and vibrational energies of CaO and Zn-CaO nanocatalysts were determined using SEM, XRD, and FT-IR spectroscopy techniques, respectively. The response surface methodology (RSM), which is based on the box-Behnken design, was used to optimize the key variables of the transesterification reaction. Results showed that when Zn was doped to lime-based CaO, the average crystalline size reduced from 21.14 to 12.51 nm, consequently, structural irregularity and surface area increased. The experimental parameters of methanol to oil molar ratio (14:1), catalyst loading (5% wt.), temperature (57.5 °C), and reaction time (120 min) led to the highest biodiesel conversion of 96.5%. The fuel characteristics of the generated biodiesel fulfilled the American (ASTM D6571) fuel standards. The study suggests the potential use of WCO and lime-based catalyst as efficient and low-cost raw materials for large-scale biodiesel production intended for versatile applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The catalytic conversion of waste cooking oil (WCO) was carried out over a synthetic nano catalyst of cobalt aluminate (CoAl2O4) to produce biofuel range fractions. A precipitation method was used to create a nanoparticle catalyst, which was then examined using field-emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray, nitrogen adsorption measurements, high-resolution transmission electron Microscopy (HRTEM), infrared spectroscopy, while a gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC–MS) was used to analyze the chemical construction of the liquid biofuel. A range of experimental temperatures was looked at including 350, 375, 400, 425, and 450 °C; hydrogen pressure of 50, 2.5, and 5.0 MPa; and liquid hour space velocity (LHSV) of 1, 2.5, and 5 h−1. As temperature, pressure, and liquid hourly space velocity increased, the amount of bio-jet and biodiesel fractional products decreased, while liquid light fraction hydrocarbons increased. 93% optimum conversion of waste cooking oil over CoAl2O4 nano-particles was achieved at 400 °C, 50 bar, and 1 h−1 (LHSV) as 20% yield of bio-jet range,16% gasoline, and 53% biodiesel. According to the product analysis, catalytic hydrocracking of WCO resulted in fuels with chemical and physical characteristics that were on par with those required for fuels derived from petroleum. The study's findings demonstrated the nano cobalt aluminate catalyst's high performance in a catalytic cracking process, which resulted in a WCO to biofuel conversion ratio that was greater than 90%. In this study, we looked at cobalt aluminate nanoparticles as a less complex and expensive alternative to traditional zeolite catalysts for the catalytic cracking process used to produce biofuel and thus can be manufactured locally, which saves the cost of imports for us as a developing country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing generation of waste cooking oil (WCO) and its inappropriate disposal has led to the worsening of serious environmental problems. Thus, such a massive amount of WCO generated by household consumption and the food industry encourages the development of new technologies for reusing it to produce products of high economic value. The use of lipases in enzymatic hydrolysis of WCO allows employing the free fatty acids (FFA) and glycerol in the production of various bioproducts in oleochemical industries. Enzymatic hydrolysis offers advantages if compared to conventional processes of FFA production (Colgate-Emery), as it can operate under milder pressure and temperature conditions and high substrate specificity, resulting in high purity products and reduced by-product formation. Therefore, a simultaneous use of three different types of lipases in WCO hydrolysis was evaluated. For such a purpose, a simplex centroid mixture design (SMD) was used to model the influence of lipase composition on hydrolysis yield. Three commercial lipases were used: Burkholderia cepacia (LBC), Rhizopus oryzae (LRO) and porcine pancreas (LPP). Results reveal that high reaction yields of approximately 97% hydrolysis were achieved. SMD provided optimal conditions for lipase mixtures and higher hydrolysis yield, resulting in 15% LPP lipase and 85% LBC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing demand for flaxseed as a source of healthy edible oil mandates the need for adopting novel strategies for preserving its quantity and quality. Mechanical damage during harvest and handling is one of the important threats that can adversely affect the quality and viability of flaxseeds. Currently, mechanical damage assessment in grains is mainly performed by human visual inspection, which is a subjective and time-consuming procedure. In this study, the authors propose to utilize radiographic imaging with the machine and deep learning tools to characterize the mechanical damage in flaxseeds intelligently. Images were acquired under four levels of mechanical damage, and two strategies were used to discriminate seeds' damage: pattern recognition and convolutional neural network (CNN). In the former case, 69 morphological, color, and texture features were extracted. Various classifiers, namely, linear discriminant analysis (LDA), K-nearest neighbors (KNN), support vector machines (SVM), and decision trees were used for the analysis. SVM provided the best performance with a classification accuracy of 87.4%. Furthermore, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) F-test feature selection algorithm was utilized, and the 17 most effective features were selected to be used with an SVM classifier to classify seeds with 88.4% accuracy. In the case of CNN-based classifiers, six state-of-the-art architectures were employed including EfficientNet-B0, VGG19, Resnet18, MobileNet-v2, Inception-v3, and Xception. Among them, EfficientNet-B0 provided superior performance with a classification accuracy of 91.0%. The developed models' high accuracy confirms the capabilities of radiographic imaging and artificial intelligence tools for rapid, reliable, and automated assessments of mechanical damage in flaxseeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reconstruction of eroded mountain belt structures is crucial to produce valid pre-contractional palinspastic restorations and quantify the amount of shortening. In this study, we combine Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material (RSCM) thermometry and cross-section balancing technique to propose a reconstruction of the thermal and deformational evolution of the Subalpine Digne Nappe in the southwestern French Alps. We sampled Mesozoic to Cenozoic sedimentary strata for RSCM thermometry analyses along the ~ 4-km-thick Digne Nappe to calculate maximum temperatures (TRSCM). TRSCM values range from 243 ± 10 °C to 349 ± 13 °C in the upper Triassic–upper Cretaceous strata and from 255 ± 19 °C to 328 ± 8 °C in the overlying upper Eocene–lower Oligocene strata. TRSCM values show a gradual increase with depth and toward the inner part of the orogen. These results are consistent with a ~ 28 ± 4 °C/km modeled thermal gradient in the ~ 4-km-thick Digne Nappe and suggest post-Oligocene burial of the Digne Nappe under sedimentary/tectonic units that have been removed by erosion. Palinspastic restoration of a NE-trending and 65-km-long cross-section (Digne–Barcelonnette transect) constrained by thermal data supports the interpretation that the Digne Nappe involved a ~ 3-km-thick middle/upper Eocene–Oligocene to lower Miocene foreland basin tectonically overlain by the 3- to 11-km-thick Embrunais–Ubaye flysch nappes. The front of the Embrunais–Ubaye nappes was located ~ 40 km beyond its present erosional front. The amount of southwestward shortening in the Subalpine thrust wedge derived from palinspastic restoration is about 35 km (35%) over the past ~ 16 million years. Removal of a substantial volume of the southwestern Alpine orogen may have significantly influenced the dynamics of the Subalpine thrust wedge and Valensole foreland basin since the Middle Miocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the number of features of the dataset is much higher than the number of patterns, the higher the dimension of the data, the greater the impact on the learning algorithm. Dimension disaster has become an important problem. Feature selection can effectively reduce the dimension of the dataset and improve the performance of the algorithm. Thus, in this paper, A feature selection algorithm based on P systems (P-FS) is proposed to exploit the parallel ability of cell-like P systems and the advantage of evolutionary algorithms in search space to select features and remove redundant information in the data. The proposed P-FS algorithm is tested on five UCI datasets and an edible oil dataset from practical applications. At the same time, the P-FS algorithm and genetic algorithm feature selection (GAFS) are compared and tested on six datasets. The experimental results show that the P-FS algorithm has good performance in classification accuracy, stability, and convergence. Thus, the P-FS algorithm is feasible in feature selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In cases where mobility and joint function are impaired after implantation of a THA, weakening of hip movement in both extension/flexion and adduction/abduction may play a role due to shortening of the physiological lever arm of the hip muscles. Mechanical factors of influence include the lateral femoral offset, which affects the lever arm, and the antetorsion angle of the hip prosthesis, which affects the anterior femoral offset. This study aimed to investigate the effect of an altered antetorsion angle of the implant on the hip moments and gait patterns of the patient. For this study, 13 patients with a conventional stem on one side and a calcar-guided short stem implanted on the contralateral side were included. To determine the maximum hip moment, tests were performed on a dynamometer in extension/flexion and adduction/abduction in addition to gait analysis. As a control, a comparison was made with data from a reference group of 30 healthy subjects. Both implants showed similar symmetry indices. There was a significant difference between the implants for adduction moments (p < 0.001). The ratios between the directions of moments showed no significant differences. The joint function measured by isokinetic measurements and gait analysis remains comparable to the healthy control group after short stem arthroplasty, but shows slight changes after conventional stem arthroplasty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste cooking oil (WCO) appears to be a potential carbonaceous source for synthesizing graphene sand composite (GSC) adsorbent in removing pollutants. This study presents a green synthesis method of GSC using WCO as a sustainable carbon source for the synthesis of GSC through the thermal graphitization method. Characterization analysis conducted on GSCWCO verified the successful coating of WCO onto the sand surface and conversion to graphene, which possessed distinct functional groups and features of graphene materials. GSCWCO adsorbent effectiveness in removing Congo Red dye through batch adsorption was studied under the influence of different initial concentrations (20 to 100 mg/L), and the optimum pH (pH 2 to 10), contact time (5 to 240 min), and temperature (25 to 45 °C) were investigated. The GSCWCO showed removal rates of 91.5% achieved at an initial dye concentration of 20 mg L−1, 1.0 g of adsorbent dosage, a temperature of 25 °C, and 150 min of contact time. The GSCWCO exhibited a maximum capacity of 5.52 mg g−1, was well-fitted to the Freundlich isotherm model with an R2 value of 0.989 and had an adsorption mechanism that followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Negative values of enthalpy (ΔH) and Gibbs free energy (ΔG) revealed that CR adsorption onto GSCWCO was a spontaneous and exothermic process. The presence of functional groups on the surface of GSCWCO with such interactions (π–π attractive forces, hydrophobic forces, and hydrogen bonding) was responsible for the anionic dye removal. Regeneration of GSCWCO adsorbent declined after four cycles, possibly due to the chemisorption of dyes with GSC that resulted in inefficient adsorption. Being a waste-to-wealth product, GSCWCO possessed great potential to be used for water treatment and simultaneously benefited the environment through the effort to reduce the excessive discharge of WCO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To assess the association of telomere length (TL) with prediabetes/diabetes and to explore the potential factors affecting TL among individuals with prediabetes/diabetes by weight status. Methods: This study included 3,379 eligible adults (aged 45–85 years, males: 42%) from the US Health and Retirement Study in 2008. TL was assayed using quantitative PCR of saliva (T/Sratio). Linear and nonlinear associations between TL and prediabetes/diabetes were assessed using the logistic regression and restricted cubic spline model, respectively, adjusting for TL-plate numbers, age, sex, race, body mass index, lifestyles, diabetes medications, and cardiometabolic parameters (blood pressure, C-reactive protein, and total cholesterol). Multiple linear regression was used for testing any factors associated with TL. Results: Among 3,379 participants, 868 (25.7%) had prediabetes with a mean TL of 1.34 ± 0.37 (T/S ratio) and 858 (25.4%) had diabetes with a mean TL of 1.36 ± 0.43 (T/S ratio). Neither linear nor nonlinear association of TL with prediabetes/diabetes was significant by weight status. Age was negatively associated with TL in both normal-weight (β = − 0.002, p = 0.025) and overweight/obese (β = − 0.002, p = 0.006) prediabetes, but non-significant in normal-weight and overweight/obese diabetes. BMI and cardiometabolic parameters were not associated with TL in prediabetes/diabetes by weight status. Conclusions: Salivary TL was not associated with prediabetes/diabetes among the US middle-aged and older adults. Further longitudinal studies are required to establish the link between TL and diabetes development and to identify potential factors affecting TL shortening, particularly in normal-weight diabetic patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]