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We examined the potential use of buckwheat hulls as a raw material for producing soluble dietary fibre. The insoluble fibre fraction obtained from buckwheat hulls was hydrolysed by two commercial enzymes (Celluclast 1.5L for the cellulose fraction and Viscozyme L for the hemicellulose fraction) to obtain soluble fibre hydrolysates. Alcohol-insoluble dietary fibre (AIF) was separated from the freeze-dried soluble hydrolysate by treatment with 85% ethanol. The waterholding, oil-binding, and swelling capacities of AIF were increased by enzymatic hydrolysis. AIF had significantly (P < 0.05) higher functional properties than the control. AIF from the hemicellulose fraction effectively hindered the diffusion of glucose and bile acid from dialysis membranes, and had a significantly (P < 0.05) greater bile acid inhibitory effect than carboxymethylcellulose or pectin. It can be concluded that AIF from buckwheat hulls by enzymatic hydrolysis can used as dietary supplement and additive in the food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the potential of removing phosphorus from aqueous solutions and sewage by Zr(IV)-loaded okara (ZLO) in the fixed-bed column. Soybean residue (okara) was impregnated with 0.25 M Zr(IV) solution to prepare active binding sites for phosphate. The effect of several factors, including flow rate, bed height, initial phosphorus concentration, pH and adsorbent particle size on the performance of ZLO was examined. The maximum dynamic adsorption capacity of ZLO for phosphorus was estimated to be 16.43 mg/g. Breakthrough curve modeling indicated that Adams–Bohart model and Thomas model fitted the experimental data better than Yoon–Nelson model. After treatment with ZLO packed bed column, the effluent could meet the discharge standard for phosphorus in Australia. Successful desorption and regeneration were achieved with 0.2 NaOH and 0.1 HCl, respectively. The results prove that ZLO can be used as a promising phosphorus adsorbent in the dynamic adsorption system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most basic and applied studies on Ganoderma lucidum have used strains from Southeast Asia. In this work, we studied Mexican genetic resources of G. lucidum from the central region of the country. Strains CP-145 and CP-405 were characterized on nine agricultural by-products in petri dishes. The best mycelial growth and colonization were recorded on bean pod (Phaseolus vulgaris), maize stem (Zea mays), and corn-cob. Several agricultural products, including bean pod, maize stem, and coffee pulp (Coffea arabica) were mixed, supplemented with wheat bran, and used as substrate for the cultivation of G. lucidum. Basidiocarps were harvested after 70- 72 days. The mushroom yield varied from 40.9 to 47.9 g per 0.586 kg dry substrate weight, showing biological efficiencies ranging from 6.9% to 8.2% for strains CP-145 and CP-405, respectively. Native strains of G. lucidum can be cultivated using local agricultural by-products as substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poultry and agriculture industry has a great role in the development of food sector in Pakistan. Whole of the Lysine required for poultry feed is imported to fulfil the desired dietary needs. Present study was designed to utilize different agricultural by-products like molasses, wheat bran, rice polishing and corn steep liquor. Different Physico-Chemical parameters were optimized to have hyper-production of Lysine through fermentation by using Brevibacterium flavum as a fermentative agent. From wheat bran, rice polishing and molasses (as best carbon source), significantly high concentrations of lysine (10.4 g/L) after 72h of incubation was observed with molasses (4%) with 3% (v/v) inoculum size at 30°C and pH 7. Among different nitrogen sources, 0.25% (NH4)2SO4 showed significantly (P< 0.05) high yield of Lysine (16.89 g/L). Addition of different optimum levels of ionic salts; 4% CaCO3, 0.4% MgSO4.7H2O, 0.1% NaCl and 0.2% KH2PO4 gave significantly (P< 0.05) higher quantity of Lysine 19.01 g/L. Inclusion of 0.6% corn steep liquor and 0.4 mg/100mL biotin significantly (P< 0.05) raised the Lysine from 19.4 g/L- 19.45 g/L. The presence of Lysine in fermented broth was detected by TLC. Thus a cheap and practical bioprocess of Lysine production was concluded, that can be exploited commercially to save foreign exchange. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pecan shell-based biochar is utilized as a filtration medium, sequestrant for metallic ions, soil conditioner, and other applications. One process for creating the biochar involves the use of phosphoric acid at high temperature in a partial oxygen atmosphere to produce a highly porous carbonaceous material. In this work, we found129Xe NMR to be an excellent technique to study micropores in biochar. Thus, the129Xe chemical shift in biochar was found to vary linearly with the xenon pressure; from the data an estimate of about 8–9 Å could be proposed for the average pore diameter in pecan shell-based biochar. Through saturation recovery and 2-D NMR exchange experiments, information on the exchange between free versus bound xenon was obtained. Furthermore, correlations of129Xe NMR data with the carbonization process conditions were made. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study aims to assess the effects of the partial replacement of whole corn silage (WCS) with fermented pineapple peel residue (FPPR) on growth, serological parameters, muscle quality, rumen microorganisms, and fecal microorganisms. A total of 24 Chuanzhong black goats weighing 10.23 ± 1.42 kg were evaluated in a randomized complete trial design in accordance with the following treatments: (1) 0% FPPR in the diet, (2) 25% FPPR in the diet, and (3) 50% FPPR in the diet. In goats, the partial substitution of FPPR for WCS increased the abundance of probiotics, such as Blautia, Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens , and Ruminococcus albus , and did not exert significant effects on overall serological parameters and muscle quality. In conclusion, the partial substitution of FPPR for WCS in the diet did not impair or affect the productive performance of goats., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Yang, Zhao, Tian, Wang, Gao, Guo and Sun.)

While water requirement for livestock is widely perceived as daily drinking water consumption, ~100 times more water is required for daily feed production than for drinking water. Increasing livestock water productivity can be achieved through increasing the water-use efficiency (WUE) of feed production and utilisation. The current paper briefly reviews water requirements for meat and milk production and the extent of, and reason for, variations therein. Life-cycle analysis (LCA) can reveal these variations in WUE but LCA are not tools that can be employed routinely in designing and implementing water-use-efficient feed resourcing and feeding strategies. This can be achieved by (1) choosing agricultural by-products and crop residues where water applications are partitioned over several products for example grain and straw (or food and fodder) contrary to planted forage production where water and land have to be exclusively allocated to fodder production, (2) select and breed WUE crops and forages and exploit cultivar variations, (3) increase crop productivity by closing yield gaps; and (4) increase per animal productivity to reduce the proportion of feed (and therefore water) allocated for maintenance requirement rather than productive purposes. Feed-mediated WUE of dairy buffalo production on almost completely (94%) by-product-based feeding systems could be reduced from 2350 to 548 L of water per kg of milk by the combined effect of increasing basal ration quality in a total mixed ration, which resulted in increased milk yield of ~30%, and by increasing crop productivity from 1 t (actual crop yield) to 3 t (potential crop yield). Exemplary, multi-dimensional sorghum improvement using staygreen quantitative trait loci (QTL) introgression for concomitant improvement of WUE of grain and stover production and stover fodder quality showed opportunities for further linked improvement in WUE of crop and livestock production. Metabolisable energy (ME) yield under water stress conditions measured in lysimeters, (which measure crop water transpired) ranged QTL dependent from 16.47 to 23.93 MJ ME per m³ H2O. This can be extrapolated to 8.23-11.97 MJ ME per m³ H2O evapotranspired under field conditions. To mainstream improvement in WUE of feed resourcing and feeding, the paper suggests the combination of feed resource databases with crop-soil-meteorological data to calculate how much water is required to produce the feed at the available smallest spatial scale of crop-soil-meteorological data available. A framework is presented of how such a tool can be constructed from secondary datasets on land use, cropping patterns and spatially explicit crop-soil-meteorological datasets. On a daily basis, about 100 times more water is required for livestock feed production than for drinking water. Water requirement for feed production can be reduced four-fold by choosing agricultural byproducts, breeding water-use efficient crops and forages and by closing yield gasp in crop and livestock production. Since feed production results in substantial demand for water it should be linked with water demand estimates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sorption and cosorption of lead (Pb(II)) and methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solutions on low-cost biosorbents made from chemically modified agricultural by-products was investigated. Modified cotton exhibited the highest adsorption capacity for Pb(II), while modified cotton and peanut hull had higher equilibrium adsorption capacity of MB than the other biosorbents. Different chemical modification methods of hickory resulted in no great variation on the equilibrium adsorption capacity of Pb(II) and MB except for the one treated with alkali. Simultaneous sorption of Pb(II) and MB on the biosorbents showed Pb(II) to be preferentially adsorbed at higher Pb(II)-to-MB molar ratios in solution except for modified peanut hull. The equilibrium Pb adsorption contents decreased with the increasing pre-loading of MB and vice versa, suggesting the competitive rather than synergistic adsorption of the two contaminants on the biosorbents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of continuing interest in the utilization of agricultural by-products, we have converted cellulose, wheat straw, barley straw, and rice hull into carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), using both conventional heat and microwave-assisted synthesis. The application of microwave technology has enabled an improved synthesis of CMC to be conducted, with similar degrees of substitution as conventional heat (3 h) but reduced reactions times (30 min). The CMC obtained can be acetylated to form carboxymethylcellulose acetate (CMC acetate). The FT-IR and solid state 13C NMR spectra of these materials have been characterized. With variations in the degrees of substitution of carboxymethyl and acetyl groups, a family of CMC acetate products can be made. The polymer may perhaps find applications as filtration membranes, functional fillers in polymers, and additives in commercial formulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Food contamination and spoilage is a problem causing growing concern. To avoid it, the use of food packaging with appropriate characteristics is essential; ideally, the packaging should protect food from external contamination and exhibit antibacterial properties. With this aim, methylcellulose ( MC) films containing natural extracts from the stems of Ginja cherry, an agricultural by-product, were developed and characterized. RESULTS The antibacterial activity of films was screened by the disc diffusion method and quantified using the viable cell count assay. The films inhibited the growth of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains ( Listeria innocua, methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant S. aureus, Salmonella Enteritidis, Escherichia coli). For the films with lower extract content, effectiveness against the microorganisms depended on the inoculum concentration. Scanning electron microscope images of the films showed that those containing the extracts had a smooth and continuous structure. UV-visible spectroscopy showed that these materials do not transmit light in the UV. CONCLUSION This study shows that MC films containing agricultural by-products, in this case Ginja cherry stem extract, could be used to prevent food contamination by relevant bacterial strains and degradation by UV light. Using such materials in food packaging, the shelf life of food products could be extended while utilizing an otherwise wasted by-product. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Agricultural by-product-based biochars were produced for soil fertility enhancement. [•] The physico-chemical properties of biochar vary greatly with production conditions. [•] Soil properties are significantly impacted by the biochar used for soil amendment. [•] Higher pyrolysis temperatures increase biochar pH making it suitable for acidic soils. [•] Low temperature biochars had higher surface charge suitable for low ion exchange soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recovery of olive stone for biofuel purpose is becoming increasingly widespread in olive milling plants. The study looks at the economic and energetic benefits of using a de-stoner machine in a small-to-medium sized oil milling plant. The performance of the olive stone recovery system was evaluated over a full olive oil production season. The energetic viability of the de-stoner was assessed using an energy balance. The break-even point was achieved when about 76 tons of olives had been processed, which is less than the annual production of the mill under study. Similarly, in economic terms, the machine covered its costs after about the half of its technical life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The production of second generation biofuel is essential for limiting food versus fuel competition. Butanol is one of the important biofuel for the future. Agricultural by-products namely bagasse and potato peel were hydrolyzed to produce readily fermented sugar for butanol fermentation. The butanol concentration was 1 – 2g/l. To test the electricity generation, a customized generator was used for butanol combustion. The electricity produced was up to 1300 watts. Further improvements are needed in the hydrolysis method, medium composition, and generator design. This research has demonstrated that bagasse and potato peel are potential feedstock for producing butanol for generating electricity [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Usually immobilization is a requirement for the use of enzymes as an industrial biocatalyst. In this work, endophytic fungusCercospora kikuchiilipase was immobilized by covalent binding on agricultural by-products and microcrystalline cellulose. The enzyme support system was submitted to spouted bed drying. Lipase immobilized on microcrystalline cellulose with 1.5% of glutaraldehyde showed the best results, presenting 179.1% of the original activity after drying, followed by rice husk (173.9%), corn stover (169.8%), sugarcane bagasse (157.3%), green coconut fiber (102.3%), and corncob (99.8%). The immobilized derivatives obtained showed a decreased enzyme activity with an average of only 17.31%, whereas the enzyme in its free form lost 85.8% of its initial activity after storage for 6 months. The operational stability showed that the biocatalysts prepared retained an average of 67.2% of the initial activity after five reuse cycles. The results showed that the use of agricultural by-products as low-cost support material associated with the spouted bed drying is promising and can contribute to industrial application of biocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, pseudo-stems of the banana tree were collected, characterized and used as adsorbent materials for the removal of the chromium ions from aqueous solution. The characterization of pseudo-stems by FTIR suggests the presence of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. The predominant groups were carbonyls (0.312 ± 0.010 mmol g-1 adsorbent), phenols (0.237 ± 0.021 mmol g-1 adsorbent), lactones (0.041 ± 0.003 mmol g-1 adsorbent) and basic groups (0.096 ± 0.006 mmol g-1 adsorbent). The textural propriety of the adsorbent, surface area, pore volume and pore diameter were found to be 0.383 m2 g-1, 0.003525 cm3 g-1 and 368.3 Å, respectively. The pHpzc value was found 7.5 and so the adsorption assays of chromium removal from solution were more efficiently at acidic pH values. The experiments show that approximately 95% and 78% of the Cr (VI) was removed from solution by untreated and treated fiber, respectively, in 300 minutes of the contact time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Composting is microbial decomposition of biodegradable materials and it is governed by physicochemical, physiological and microbiological factors. The importance of microbial communities (bacteria, actinomycetes and fungi) during composting is well established. However, the microbial diversity during composting may vary with the variety of composting materials and nutrient supplements. Therefore, it is necessary to study the diversity of microorganisms during composting of different agricultural byproducts like wheat bran, rice bran, rice husk, along with grass clippings and bulking agents. Here it has been attempted to assess the diversity of culturable bacteria during composting of agricultural byproducts. Results: The culturable bacterial diversity was assessed during the process by isolating the most prominent bacteria. Bacterial population was found to be maximum during the mesophilic phase, but decreased during the thermophilic phase and declined further in the cooling and maturation phase of composting. The bacterial population ranged from 105 to 109 cfu g-1 compost. The predominant bacteria were characterized biochemically, followed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The isolated strains, both Gram-positive and Gram-negative groups belonged to the order Burkholderiales, Enterobacteriales, Actinobacteriales and Bacillales, which includes genera e.g. Staphylococcus, Serratia, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Terribacillus, Lysinibacillus Kocuria, Microbacterium, Acidovorax and Comamonas. Genera like Kocuria, Microbacterium, Acidovorax, Comamonas and some new species of Bacillus were also identified for the first time from the compost made from agricultural byproducts. Conclusion: The use of appropriate nitrogen amendments and bulking agents in composting resulted in good quality compost. The culture based strategy enabled us to isolate some novel bacterial isolates like Kocuria, Microbacterium, Acidovorax and Comamonas first time from agro-byproducts compost. These bacteria can be used as potential compost inoculants for accelerating composting process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of feeding agricultural by-products on the performance of lactating Awassi ewes. Forty ewes weighing 63.1±2.78kg (mean±SEM) and 4±1 years old were assigned at random to four isonitrogenous diets viz. (1) conventional (CON), (2) olive cake (OC), (3) tomato pomace (TP) and (4) citrus pulp (CIP). By-products were included in the diets at the rate of 20% of the dry matter (DM). Animals were individually housed, fed ad libitum and performance was recorded over a 7-week period. At the end of the performance trial, 6 ewes/treatment were randomly selected to perform a digestibility study. The digestibilities of the attributes of the diets were all lower (not significant) for CIP than the other three diets which had similar values. This difference was most notable for NDF where the value was 46% for CIP and ranged from 58 to 61% for the other diets (P <0.44). Daily DM and OM intakes tended to be greater (P <0.10) in the OC than in the TP group, while the difference in NDF and ADF intake was significant (P <0.01) among all treatments (mostly in favor of the OC treatment). Daily intake of DM, OM and CP were lower for CIP than for CON but the differences were not significant; however, animals on the CIP diet had significantly (P <0.05) lower intakes of NDF (0.56 vs. 0.67kg/d) and ADF (0.35 vs. 0.39kg/d) than those fed CON. There were no significant differences among treatments with respect to initial body weight (BW), final BW, BW change, milk production or milk composition except for milk fat content which tended to be greater for CON (7.42%) than for the other three treatments (range 6.21–6.95%; P <0.08). The difference for milk fat content between CON and the CIP diet (6.21%) was significant (P <0.05). The current results indicate that agricultural by-products (olive cake, tomato pomace or citrus pulp) can be included at a level of 20% of the DM content of conventional diets of lactating Awassi ewes without any detrimental effects on animal performance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Maize stover, rice straw, oil palm fronds and sugarcane bagasse were treated with the white-rot fungi Ceriporiopsis subvermispora, Lentinula edodes, Pleurotus eryngii, or Pleurotus ostreatus at 24°C for 0–6weeks. The fungi increased total gas production from oil palm fronds by 68–132%, but none of the fungi improved the in vitro rumen fermentability of maize stover. C. subvermispora and L. edodes increased total gas production of sugarcane bagasse by 65–71%, but P. eryngii and P. ostreatus decreased it by 22–50%. There was a linear relationship (P <0.05) between the proportion of lignin in the original substrate and the increase in in vitro gas production observed for C. subvermispora and L. edodes treatments (R 2 =0.92 and 0.96, respectively). It is concluded that C. subvermispora and L. edodes have a particularly high potential to improve the nutritive value of highly lignified ruminant feeds. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this study, a waste biomass of Punica granatum L. (P. granatum L.) peels was firstly characterized by means of Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area, elemental analysis, FT-IR, thermogravimetric (TG) analysis and zeta potential measurement techniques. FT-IR results indicated that the mechanism involved in the biosorption of lead(II) ions and AB40 onto biosorbent was mainly attributed to lead(II) ions and dye binding of amino, carboxylic, hydroxyl and carbonyl groups. The biosorption abilities of P. granatum L. peels for lead(II) ions and Acid Blue 40 (AB40) were then investigated. Biosorption equilibrium and kinetic data fit well by the Langmuir isotherm and the pseudo-second-order kinetic models, respectively. The maximum biosorption capacities were 193.9mgg−1 for lead(II) ions and 138.1mgg−1 for AB40. Biosorption processes were spontaneous and endothermic in nature according to the thermodynamic results and the equilibrium was attained within 50min. The validity of used kinetic models in this study can be quantitatively checked by using a normalized standard deviation Δq(%). Finally, the biosorption procedure was adopted to treat the real and simulated wastewaters including several metal salts and dyes. The wastewater applications have shown that the biosorbent indicated a reasonable biosorption capability to remove lead(II) ions (98.07%) and AB40 (94.76%) from industrial wastewaters. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Anaerobic digestion is a promising option for recycling agricultural by-products and some organic wastes. While both agricultural by-products and wastes have no direct commercial value, their management is both complicated and costly. One option to simplify by-product management and reduce the costs associated with biogas plant feedstock is to substitute dedicated crops with vegetal by-products. Given that the chemical composition of some of these by-products can differ considerably from more typical biogas plant feedstock (such as maize silage), more complete knowledge of these alternatives to produce environmentally friendly energy is warranted. To this end, batch trials under mesophilic conditions were conducted to evaluate the potential biogas yield of many agricultural by-products: maize stalks, rice chaff, wheat straw, kiwi fruit, onions, and two expired organic waste products (dairy and dry bread) from the retail mass-market. Among the considered biomasses, the highest methane producer was the expired dairy product mixture, which yielded 554 lCH kg volatile solids (VS). Maize stalks and wheat straw produced the lowest yields of 214 and 285 lCH kgVS, respectively. An assessment of the biogas and methane yields of each biomass was also undertaken to account for the specific chemical composition of each biomass as it can affect the anaerobic digestion operating system. Finally, the total Italian green energy production that might be derived from feeding all these biomasses to a biogas digester was estimated, in order to understand its potential impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recombinant multifunctional xylanase (RMFXase) was utilized to hydrolyze xylan in pineapple stems and bagasse. The feasibility of using RMFXase and the two agricultural by-products for producing Xylo-oligosaccharides was demonstrated. Adsorption dynamics showed that lignin and cellulose delayed the adsorption equilibrium. The adsorption data fit the Langmuir-type adsorption isotherm. The extent of hydrolysis was quantified by measuring the reducing and total sugars in substrate-RMFXase complexes at 50 °C. The substrates had similar hydrolysis characteristics. Differences in the maximum hydrolysis rate (HR) and the time of maximum were obtained. The HR max of water-insoluble oat spelt xylan reached 55.26% after 2 h. Analysis of the end-products using high-performance liquid chromatography indicated xylobiose and xylotriose were the major hydrolysis products, and the final degree of polymerization was greater than two. The purity of the substrates and RMFXase are the key factors that determine the processing parameters of Xylo-oligosaccharide production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the adsorption of Cu(II) from aqueous solutions by agricultural by-products, such as rice husks, olive pomace and orange waste, as well as compost, was evaluated. The aim was to obtain sorbent materials (biochars) through hydrothermal treatment (300 °C) and pyrolysis (300 °C and 600 °C). The effect of adsorbent dose, pH, contact time and initial Cu(II) concentration in batch-mode experiments was investigated. The optimum Cu(II) adsorption conditions was found to occur at 5–12 g/L adsorbent dose, initial pH 5–6, and reaction time 2–4 h. Furthermore, the adsorption kinetics were best described by the pseudo-second order model for all the tested materials, while the adsorption equilibrium best fitted by the linear and Freundlich isotherms. Comparing rice husks and olive pomace, the higher adsorption capacity resulted after pyrolysis at 300 °C. With respect to the orange waste and compost, the highest adsorption capacity was observed using biochars obtained after hydrothermal treatment and pyrolysis at 300 °C. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Microcrystalline cellulose (MCCI) has been widely used as an excipient for direct compression due to its good flowability, compressibility, and compactibility. In this study, MCCI was obtained from agricultural by-products, such as corn cob, sugar cane bagasse, rice husk, and cotton by pursuing acid hydrolysis, neutralization, clarification, and drying steps. Further, infrared spectroscopy (IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscopy, degree of polymerization (DP), and powder and tableting properties were evaluated and compared to those of Avicel PH101, Avicel PH102, and Avicel PH200. Except for the commercial products, all materials showed a DP from 55 to 97. Particles of commercial products and corn cob had an irregular shape, whereas bagasse particles were elongated and thick. Rice and cotton particles exhibited a flake-like and fiber-like shape, respectively. MCCI as obtained from rice husk and cotton was the most densified material, while that produced from corn cob and bagasse was bulky, porous, and more compressible. All products had a moisture content of less than 10% and yields from 7.4% to 60.4%. MCCI as obtained from bagasse was the most porous and compressible material among all materials. This product also showed the best tableting properties along with Avicel products. Likewise, all MCCI products obtained from the above-mentioned sources showed a more rapid disintegration time than that of Avicel products. These materials can be used as a potential source of MCCI in the production of solid dosage forms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The production of granular activated carbon (GAC) basically depends on the correct selection of carbonization temperature, activation ratio and agent (physical or chemical) as well as the raw material. Black cherry, available in Mexico with relative abundance, is of the same genus as the European cherry, whose stones have yielded good GAC production results. Black cherry stones were tried as raw material for GAC production with phosphoric acid as the activating agent. Optimum carbonization temperatures were found to be between 500 and 550°C with an activation ratio of 1.0g of phosphoric acid/g raw material. Under these conditions the maximum yield was 48.16g of GAC/100g black cherry stones. The experimental adsorption parameters fitted into Langmuir''s model with a maximum adsorption of 321.75mg of methylene blue/g GAC and 133.33mg of phenol/g GAC. Black cherry shells are an abundant agricultural by-product with no uses, and therefore are an alternative for producing GAC. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Neocallimastix sp. YQ1 and Anaeromyces sp. YQ3 were isolated from rumen fluids of Holstein steers using a modification of the roll-tube technique of . After a 9-day incubation for YQ1, and a 4-day incubation for YQ3, with optimal carbon and N supply in cultures, crude enzyme solutions of both fungi were prepared by centrifuging cultures for 10min at 1000× g at 4°C. Enzymological characteristics of ferulic acid esterase and acetyl esterase were measured in the crude enzyme solution. The Michaelis constants (K m ) and maximum velocities (V max ) of ferulic acid esterase against methyl ferulate at pH 6.0 and 39°C were 30μM and 8.05mU for YQ1 and 129μM and 3.15mU for YQ3, respectively. With substrate of p-nitrophenyl acetate, the K m and V max of AE at pH 6.0 and 39°C were 0.21mM and 336mU for YQ1 and 5.26mM and 854mU for YQ3. Enzymatic release of reducing sugar, ferulic acid, and p-coumaric acid from complex fibre-rich feedstuffs was evaluated, and YQ3 released more reducing sugars from wheat straw, but less from the other plant materials especially maize bran and corn stalks. YQ3 liberated much more hydroxycinnamic acids from corn stalks, and YQ1 liberated much more hydroxycinnamic acids from maize bran. Anaerobic rumen fungi showed species diversity of enzymological characteristics of ferulic acid esterase and acetyl ester esterase, and exhibited a strong capability to release ferulic acid and p-coumaric acid from complex fibre-rich feedstuffs. Therefore anaerobic fungi, especially their FAE, should not be neglected in studies on biodegradation of plant cell walls in the rumen as well as on industrial processes developed to release ferulic acid and p-coumaric acid from agricultural by-products with potential commercial industrial applications, such as precursors of natural vanillin, natural antioxidants, food preservative agents, anti-inflammatory agents and photoprotectants. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Agricultural by-products represent a considerable quantity of harvested commodity crops. The use of by-products as precursors for the production of widely used adsorbents, such as activated carbons, may impart a value-added component of the overall biomass harvested. Our objective in this paper is to show that flax shive and cotton gin waste can serve as a precursor for activated carbon that can be used for adsorption of trichloroethylene (TCE) from both the liquid and gas phases. Testing was conducted on carbon activated with phosphoric acid or steam. The results show that activated carbon made from flax shive performed better than select commercial activated carbons, especially at higher TCE concentrations. The activation method employed had little effect on TCE adsorption in gas or vapor phase studies but liquid phase studies suggested that steam activation is slightly better than phosphoric acid activation. As expected, the capacity for the activated carbons depended on the fluid phase equilibrium concentration. At a fluid concentration of 2mg of TCE/L of fluid, the capacity of the steam activated carbon made from flax shive was similar at 64 and 80mg TCE/g of carbon for the vapor and liquid phases, respectively. Preliminary cost estimates suggest that the production costs of such carbons are $1.50 to $8.90 per kg, depending on activation method and precursor material; steam activation was significantly less expensive than phosphoric acid activation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents a study which demonstrates the production of acid protease from isolated Aspergillus niger through solid state fermentation. The study isolated and screened 13 aspergillus niger strains that will be used for the biosynthesis of acid protease. The study is conducted through the evaluation of different agricultural by-products where fermentation substrate and maximum enzyme biosynthesis are obtained. Moreover, optimum temperature, potential of hydrogen (pH), and period of fermentation were measured. Results show that agricultural by-products such as fructose and beef extract are found to be the best sources of carbon and nitrogen respectively.

Abstract: Agricultural by-products represent a considerable quantity of harvested commodity crops. The use of by-products as precursors for the production of widely used adsorbents, such as activated carbons, may impart a value-added component of the overall biomass harvested. Our objective in this paper is to show how the partial oxidation of phosphoric acid-impregnated pecan shells resulted in activated carbons with different affinities for a typical metal ion, copper(II), in aqueous sorption studies. The oxygen level was varied during activation by altering the sweep gas (air) flow rate in the furnace. Surface area and micropore volume of the produced carbon did not vary significantly with degree of oxidation, while the surface charge and the adsorption capacity were strongly dependent on the oxidative conditions. Surface area functional groups of Cics, and phosphorus were confirmed by infrared spectroscopy. The results show that the yield of activated carbon product was higher in the more oxygen-deprived atmosphere but that the product had a lower affinity for adsorbing copper from an aqueous solution. The carbon with the highest adsorptive capacity was produced by activation in approximately 14% oxygen atmosphere, yielding adsorption values of 0.97 and 1.3mmol of copper(II) per gram of carbon when the carbon had been in contact with a copper(II) solution with initial concentration of 10 and 20mM of copper, respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A timber industry waste was transformed to activated carbon by a one-step chemical activation process using H3PO4 (H). The used activated carbon (SDH) was characterized by N2 adsorption, FTIR, density, pH, point of zero charge pHpzc, moisture and ash content. Methylene blue (MB) and the iodine number were calculated by adsorption from the solution. The applicability of the different activated carbon produced was carried out to treatment of aqueous waste contaminated with iodine-labeled prolactin (I-PRL) Treatment processes were performed under the varying conditions; contact time, temperature, carbon type, carbon dosage, and different particle size of the activated carbon (SDH). The results indicated that 5 hours are sufficient to reach a plateau, and the amount of I-PRL adsorbed on SDH activated carbons increase with the solution temperature with thermodynamic parameter of ΔG° = -7.962 (kJ/mol), ΔH° = 28.869 (kJ/mol) and ΔS° = 109.94 (J/mol K). The optimum adsorption results were reached using carbon dose of 0.1 gm with particle size of <0.25 mm, and a batch factor (V/M) of 7.14 mlg-1. First- and second-order equations, intraparticle diffusion equation, and the Elovich equation have been used to test experimental data. The experimental data was found to fit the second-order model and a chemisorptions mechanism. 0.7 M NaOH can be used for regeneration of spent SDH activated carbon with the efficiency of 99.6% and the regenerated carbon can be reused for five cycles effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this study, adsorption of Cu(II) onto the five locally abundantly low-cost biosorbents (Laminaria japonica, P. yezoensis Ueda, rice bran, wheat bran and walnut hull) was investigated depending on initial solution pH, contact time, adsorbent concentration and reaction temperature. Cu(II) removal was pH-dependent for various biosorbents investigated. For P. yezoensis Ueda, rice bran, wheat bran and walnut hull, the batch equilibrium data were correlated to Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms and the data fitted better to the Langmuir isotherm equation and yielded Langmuir monolayer capacity of 5.04, 10.41, 6.85 and 3.52 mg/g at the temperature of 20°C, respectively. In the case of Laminaria japonica, the equilibrium data obeyed the Hill-der Boer equation for the whole initial concentration ranges of 0–200 mg/L examined, but only to Langmuir and Freundlich equations for the initial concentration less than 120 mg/L at various temperatures. The apparent thermodynamic parameters were calculated for each of the five biosorbents (ΔH = 9.25–40.04 kJ/mol; ΔG = –17.60 to –24.16 kJ/mol and ΔS = 85.81–228 J/mol K). The numerical values obtained showed that Cu(II) adsorption is a spontaneous, entropy-driven and endothermic process. The batch kinetic data were correlated to the pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order models and the data fitted better to the pseudo-second order equation (the pseudo-second order rate constants, k 2,e = 0.1059–0.9453 g/(mg min); the correlation coefficients, r = 0.9816–0.9993). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this study, the potential of industrial celery by-products (the stalk and root) serving as sources of aromatics and antioxidants was investigated. A headspace solid phase microextraction–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (HS-SPME–GC–MS) procedure was optimized to isolate volatile compounds from celery by-products. A Box–Behnken experimental design was proposed to optimize the procedure through a response surface methodology. The optimal extraction conditions were found to be 1.6 g of homogenized fresh by-product at 30 °C for 60 min. Under these conditions, 26 volatile compounds in stalk and root samples were identified, monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes being the main components. The content of limonene and γ-terpinene found in the stalk was significantly higher in comparison with root samples. Total phenolic content and antioxidant activity (ABTS and FRAP) results underlined the celery wastes studied as good sources of free radical scavengers. This work suggests the potential application of these by-products in the food industry and opens new pathways to valorize celery residues, contributing to the circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The efficiency of raw wheat and soybean straws, corn stalks and corn cobs in removing different heavy metal ions from simulated contaminated water was studied. The investigated adsorbents have shown different adsorption capacities for copper, nickel, cadmium and lead ions. All of them, except for corn cobs, adsorbed copper ions well. Corn cob and wheat straw adsorbed cadmium and nickel ions well. As for lead ions soybean straw and corn stalks showed good adsorption capacity. In order to increase the adsorption capacities and decrease the leaching of extractive matters from all investigated biomasses, they were modified with (1) formaldehyde in acidic medium, (2) sodium hydroxide both with and without previous modification with formaldehyde, (3) acid solution or (4) only were water-washed. The effects of these treatments were evaluated in copper adsorption experiments. Treatments with formaldehyde, sulphuric acid and 5% NaOH were not advisable for investigated adsorbents. Adsorbents modification with 1% NaOH or water washing adsorbents gave good results, but the native (raw) materials were still quite efficient. In order to prevent organic matters leaching from biomasses during adsorption the washing of lignocellulosic materials is applied as it is the cheapest and the most suitable process. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this study, adsorption of Cr(VI) onto the four low-cost biosorbents (Laminaria japonica, P. yezoensis Ueda, rice bran and wheat bran) was investigated depending on solution pH, contact time, adsorbent concentration and adsorption isotherms by employing batch adsorption technique. The adsorption capacities were significantly influenced by solution pH, with lower pH favoring higher Cr(VI) removal for various biosorbents. The ionic strength of NaCl was also observed to have a significant impact on the Cr(VI) adsorption due to the competition of Cl− in the aqueous solutions. The batch equilibrium data were correlated to Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms and the data fitted better to the Freundlich isotherm equation. The apparent thermodynamic parameters were calculated for each of the four biosorbents and the obtained numerical values showed that the Cr(VI) adsorption onto the various low-cost biosorbents is spontaneous, entropy-driven and endothermic processes. The batch kinetic data were correlated to the pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order models and the data fitted better to the pseudo-second order equation. An intraparticle diffusion model was applied to investigate the adsorption mechanisms. The adsorption capacities for various biosorbents studied in this work were inversely proportional to the adsorbent concentrations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The purpose of this work was to evaluate the adsorption potential of Capsicum annuum seeds, in a batch system for the removal of lead(II) ions from aqueous solutions. The experimental results showed that this agricultural by-product was effective in removing lead(II) ions. The FT-IR analysis indicated that the mechanism involved in adsorption of lead(II) ions by seeds of C. annuum was mainly attributed to lead(II) binding of amino and hydroxyl groups. Adsorption equilibrium approached within 40 min. The adsorption data fitted well to the Langmuir isotherm model. The maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) was 1.87×10-4 mol g-1. Pseudo-second-order kinetic model was applicable to all the adsorption data over the entire time range. The thermodynamic parameters indicated that the adsorption process is spontaneous since Gibbs free energy values are negative, which are between -26.92 and -30.77 kJ mol-1 at the temperature range of 20–50°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, some aspects are indicated that producers should consider for achieving the appropriate integration between animals and perennial orchard; among these, economic, social and environmental indicators. The different interactions that are established on an integration system are discussed and exemplified, as well as showing the way to control the negative interactions and increase the positive ones. Finally, it is determined that the only way to achieve success of an integrated system is by means of a rigorous technological discipline, and to respect the main and complementary production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Agricultural residues such as corn fiber, rice hulls and wheat straw can be used as abundant low-cost feedstock for production of fuel ethanol. However, the cost of cellulase enzymes to saccharify cellulose to glucose is a major hindrance. As an alternative, a novel process to obtain industrially important cellulose acetate from these by-products after removing hemicellulosic sugars was developed. Rice-straw, wheat hull and corn fiber were treated with dilute acid at a moderate temperature to hydrolyze the hemicellulose to monomeric sugars that can be fermented to ethanol. The cellulose was then treated with acetic anhydride and catalytic amount of sulfuric acid to make cellulose acetate. The production of cellulose acetate was confirmed by NMR analysis. The pretreatment used to hydrolyze the hemicellulose was also useful for cellulose acetate production. Without the pretreatment cellulose acetate conversions from wheat straw, corn fiber, and rice hulls were 0.5, 1.8 and 13.5, respectively. After pretreatment the conversion rate increased to about 25wt% for all three agricultural residues used. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]