Search

It is important to know all phenomena that occur during compression of grape seeds because are very complex. Studying these phenomena can help us in increasing the performance of the equipment. Also for the pressing of oilseed materials, it is helpful to understand the compression behavior of grape seeds. The purpose of this study is to find how the stress and deformation propagate in grape seeds during the compression process. Therefore, we used an advanced engineering method named finite element method that shows the propagations of stress and strain fields in grape seeds. In this paper, we made a two dimensional model of grape seed and we analyzing the dispersion of stress and strain with a dedicated software FEM. In the end, to validate the FEM model we made a compression test on grape seeds using a Hounsfield unit. This study is for highlighting the importance of the orientation of the grape seeds during the pressing process to reduce the energy consumed.

A directional response for a partially filled tank with agro-food liquids incorporates the motion of the free surface due to roll and longitudinal accelerations into the dynamic tank model. This paper presents an analysis of efficaciousness of different designs of baffles for two different tank, to limit the impact of the response given by the liquid on the tank walls. In this paper modelling of the behaviour of the cross-section circular and ellipsoidal tank with baffles, partially filled with liquids agro-food, was developed, which performs a braking-in-a-turn manoeuver. Two different tank truck models have been used to simulate the sloshing effect of agro-food liquid cargo. Is also studied the two geometric models of the tank was done by using SolidWorks and simulating the behaviour of the tank ANSYS-CFX. In this study, there were simulated and modeled two models of tank-type “X”, respectively type “Y” used for the storage and transport of liquid agro-food products, namely water, for different speeds (v = 14m / s and v = 20m / s) and two filling levels of the tank trucks (40% and 80%). The results obtained were compared the behaviour of the tank partially filled into a braking-in-a-turn manoeuver, in which the total values of the deformations that appear as a result of the impact due to the movement of the liquid inside the tank trucks.

Micro and macroalgae are renewable and carbon-neutral sources of energy that can grow naturally or can be cultivated in nutrient-rich wastewater, without compromising the production of food crops. Microalgae use nutrients, accumulate heavy metals and reduce coliform bacteria from wastewater, thus contributing to their phytoremediation. Furthermore, the conversion of algae biomass into biofuels contributes to reducing the dependence on fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. Depending on the species and cultivation method, microalgae have a very fast growth rate (12 days) and their potential to produce biodiesel is 15 to 300 times higher than that of agricultural and energy crops conventionally used for biofuels. Lipid content in microalgae can reach 75-80% by weight of dry biomass. To produce 39 billion liters of biodiesel, 15 million tons of nitrogen and 2 million tons of phosphorus are required during the growth process of microalgae. From algae cultivated in 500 billion m3 of industrial wastewater, approximately 37 million tons of oil can be extracted that can be transformed into biodiesel. However, there are also challenges in large-scale utilization of microalgae, due to the high energy input, technical difficulties encountered in harvesting unicellular microalgae, and the need for subsequent pretreatment operations to improve lipid extraction. This paper reviews the potential of microalgae species to thrive in wastewater and the technological achievements in converting microalgae biomass for the sustainable biodiesel production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Longitudinal and lateral liquid sloshing in a partially filled tanker affect the braking performance of the tankers. The movement during braking of the liquid load is determined by the change in the position of the centre of gravity of the load inside the vehicle. Becoming an undesirable phenomenon when analyzing the performance of the vehicle braking manoeuver. In this paper modelling of the behaviour of the cross-section circular tank with baffles, partially filled with liquid agro-food products, was performed, which performs a braking manoeuver. Two different fluids have been used to simulate the sloshing effect of agro-food liquid cargo and study the behaviour of the tank. In to order generate the geometric model of the tank was done by using SolidWorks, and simulating the behaviour of the tank and cargo with agro-food products during the ANSYS-CFX braking manoeuver. A sequence of numerical experiments has been carried out to estimate the pressure developed over the tanker wall and the free surface displacement of the fluids for different fill levels. Simulations with the two liquids and the results obtained were compared to be able to analyze the behaviour of the tank partially filled into a braking manoeuver.

In 2020, the world production of poultry meat was about 136 million tons. All stages of the poultry processing flow generate large amounts of waste and by-products such as hatching remains, poultry litter, bones, fats, trimmings, skin, feathers, organs, viscera, skulls, urine, blood, wastewater, stomach and intestinal contents. These waste are organic in nature, so they decompose quickly and can pollute the environmental factors. This paper aims to highlight some important aspects related to the poultry industry and to analyze each category of waste and by-products generated in the technological flow in poultry slaughterhouses. We also present the current methods of valorizing the waste from poultry meat industry, through which different value-added products are obtained, as routes to align with the concept of sustainable development which aims to achieve food security, environmental protection and energy efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the technological process for obtaining grape seeds oil, a very important stage is the separation of grape seed from pomace. Depending on the attention paid to this stage depends on the quantity and quality of grape seed oil. Therefore, INMA Bucharest has developed vibrating sieves equipment to encourage the exploitation of vegetable waste from the wine industry. In this article, the point focus is the qualitative and quantitative separation of grape seeds from the marc of three grape varieties. At the same time, we changed the way the equipment works by changing the frequency of the equipment control panel. In this article, we aim to separate the seeds from the pomace in order to extract the oil contained in them. For this, we took into account the research in the field which confirms the fact that globally grapes are the most cultivated and widespread fruits, about 7.5 million hectares with a production of approx. 78 million tonnes and most of this is used in the wine industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medicinal plants are gaining much interest recently because their use in ethno--medicine treating in common disease such as cold, fever and other medicinal claims are now supported with sound scientific evidences. A wide range of technologies is available for the extraction of active components and essential oils from medicinal and aromatic plants. The choice depends on the economic feasibility and suitability of the process to each particular situation. Bioactive compounds from medicinal plants were synthesized using effective extraction methods which have important roles in the pharmaceutical product development. In this paper will be presented some methods of extraction of active principles from medicinal and aromatic plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging contaminants are micropollutants found in wastewater, such as antibiotics widely applied to prevent or treat human and animal diseases, and steroid hormones used for animal fattening. Anaerobic processes are widely applied in the treatment of swine, cattle and poultry wastewater, but their performance can be diminished by the inhibition effect of antibiotics. Emerging contaminants cannot be entirely removed by conventional wastewater treatment. They accumulate in sludge and manure applied as fertilizers on the agricultural soil, resulting in localized contamination of surface and ground waters. Released in the environment, the emerging contaminants have ecotoxicological effects in aquatic and terrestrial organisms and human health: feminization of aquatic organisms, bacterial resistance, endocrine disruption, neurotoxicity and cancer. Emerging contaminants endanger the reuse of treated wastewater for irrigation of vegetable and energy crops, a regular practice among farmers trying to overcome water scarcity in arid and semiarid areas. The uptake and bioaccumulation of emerging contaminants in plants and fodders and their subsequent entry in the human food chain have been gaining attention over the last decade. This paper provides a review on the existence and the removal of antibiotics and steroid hormones in wastewater via different treatment technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the climate changes have more and more manifested by prolonged draught periods, while population number is continuously growing, therefore the agricultural production per surface unit should be increased, in order to cover the people food needs. View the reduce water resources, promoting new techniques and technologies able to efficiently valorize the water coming from different sources, with reduced energy consume, is very important. In vineyards and orchards, water is conducted along the row or is uniformly stocked by means of continuous or interrupted (compartmented) furrows. This paper aims at analyzing the construction and operating method of a soil modelling equipment in compartmented furrows, simultaneously in two furrows in a single interval, PCVM2,2+EMBC2-0, in tree and vine plantations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents some aspects regarding the technology of hemp cultivation (or Canabis Sativa as its specialty designation), this plant having the greatest capacity of industrialization among all the technical plants: nothing is thrown away, everything is capitalized and the products obtained are of an outstanding variety, starting from the ordinary rope until the medicinal or cosmetic substances, vehicles or construction materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lately, there is a decrease in arable land surface while the population grows, therefore the need to increase agricultural production per unit of surface is a must to meet food needs. Water resources are reduced and therefore it is important to promote techniques and technologies that efficiently utilize water from various sources with low energy consumption. In sapling crops, directing water along the plant line or uniform storage is achieved with continuous or interrupted (compartmentalized) furrows. The paper aims to analyse the construction and operation of several types of equipment for opening compartmentalized furrows and how they work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental protection is one of the leading factors when designing modern industrial machinery, their increased overall energy efficiency requiring the use of new industrial design concepts, smart driving circuits and digital concepts [1]. Classic industrial machinery is supposed to be changing in the next few years due to the development of INDUSTRY 4.0 concept for manufacturing technologies [1]. Improving energy efficiency, in most of the cases implies designing new driving schematics and their complexity seems to be significantly increasing. Rapid development of electronics technology and software industry supported the need for energy efficiency, but fluidic - hydraulic and pneumatic - installations are performing not so well on this field. There are known various constructive solutions for directional valves that traditional fluidic manufacturers promote, in order to improve overall energy efficiency [2], but those solutions are centered on specific industrial application of group of applications. In a narrower case, a hydraulic P.E.T. waste baling press must be optimized taking into consideration productivity, ease-of-use, flexibility, energy efficiency and reduced maintenance costs [3]. Digital hydraulics might be a solution that can meet all the above criteria, but in the case of a small capacity P.E.T. waste press, retrofitting costs depreciation is poor. In this paper the authors propose a simple and energy efficient electro-hydraulic driving system for a small capacity P.E.T. waste baling press that was modeled using FluidSIM Hydraulic software environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drivers of agricultural tractors are subjected to a high level of mechanical vibrations caused by the working conditions specific for agricultural works. Sometimes, in the peak season, due too many hours spent driving the tractor on the agricultural field, drivers experience health related issues - usually back pain, lumbar discomfort and acute fatigue. To reduce the overall effects of tractor's vibrations on the driver's side, manufacturers use active, passive or hybrid suspension systems for the tractor's chassis only or in combination with seat and cabin suspensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The removal of toxic heavy metal ions such as lead and zinc from industrial and mining wastewaters has been widely studied because their existence in surface and underground water is responsible for several types of health problems caused to animals and human beings. Also, there are some organic compounds, which must be prevented from reaching in drinking water from various sources of pollution. For these reasons in this paper the experiments were conducted to study the ability of activated carbon for removal of Pb(II), Zn(II), C6H6, C6H5-CH3 from water. In addition to the data from the literature showing the actived carbon efficiency for removing of the organic nature pollutants from water, in this article the study is done also on inorganic toxic pollutants (lead and zinc heavy metals) that can exist in water. The removal efficiency of the tested activated carbon used as adsorbent towards the tested pollutants decreased in the following order: COD (benzene, toluene) > Pb(II) > Zn(II). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The compaction of agricultural soil is a phenomenon of degradation, occuring from natural or artificial causes and is defined by the increase in soil density and the decrease in soil porosity, with negative consequences for the environment and for agriculture. Artificial soil compaction is generated by the contact between soil and tires or tracks of tractors and agricultural machinery. This paper presents some general mechanical concepts regarding the behavior of soil under compressive stresses and a review of some mathematical models which can be applied to describe the behavior of soil at compaction, under the influence of various parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the paper is presented a technological scheme of the breakage phase for a wheat mill with capacity of 200 t / 24 h and the results of the research experimental regarding the features of the grindings before and after passing through the mills with rollers. Researches have been making in SC Spicul SA equipped with the modern equipment like Bühler type. Ground material and grind product was analyzed with a sieve shaker for determine the degree of grinding. Determinations were made of specific mass and materials density to establish the growth of the area in the grind process. The paper presents graphs regarding to separation on the sieves of the sieve shaker for the five roller mills, for the breakage phase, results by regression analysis of the experimental data obtained with relationships Rosin-Rammler and respectively Schuhman and the coefficients determined by this analysis. Also, are presented the correlation coefficients of R2, which have values in the limits R2⩾0.980 for equation Rosin-Rammler and R2⩾0.945 for equation Schuhman. The results presented in the paper are important to specialists in the milling industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Monodisperse core–shell hybrid nanoparticles based on cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) particles coated with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) or polyethylene glycol (PEG) biopolymers were obtained employing a two-step procedure: the CoFe2O4 of 21nm mean particle size were first synthesized by coprecipitation method assisted by PVP soft template and then were coated by PVP or PEG biopolymers. The effect of the thermal treatment upon the phase evolution of the obtained precursor from the coprecipitation step was monitored by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses. The FTIR spectra also indicated the interaction between the cobalt ferrite particles and the two polymers were used as biocompatible coatings. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Selected Area Electron Diffraction (SAED) analyses revealed the formation of approximately 22nm CoFe2O4-PVP and CoFe2O4-PEG hybrid nanoparticles. The magnetic measurements indicated that all synthesized hybrids were appropriate for applying in biomedical field. Testing the bioeffect of the uncoated cobalt ferrite nanoparticles and corresponding hybrids on Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium bacteria and Candida scotti yeast it was clear that no significant toxic activity was obtained. Moreover, all the prepared nanohybrids and their components possess antioxidant activity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]