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ABSTRACT Structure and histochemistry of mature seeds of Desmanthus illinoensis (Illinois bundle flower) show that the seed has typical legume structure. The seed can be separated into two major fractions including the seed coat/endosperm... more
ABSTRACT Structure and histochemistry of mature seeds of Desmanthus illinoensis (Illinois bundle flower) show that the seed has typical legume structure. The seed can be separated into two major fractions including the seed coat/endosperm and the embryo. The seed coat consists of a cuticle, palisade sclereids, hour glass cells and mesophyll. Endosperm is attached to the inner portion of the seed coat and is thicker beneath the pleurogram in the center of the seed. The embryo consists mostly of two large cotyledons, the major storage structures of the seed. The cotyledons are high in protein which occurs in protein bodies. Protein bodies in the cotyledons include those without inclusions, those with phytin inclusions and those with calcium-rich crystals. The phytin inclusions are spherical and have high phosphorus and magnesium contents. The calcium-rich crystals are also included inside protein bodies and are druse-type crystals.
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Peering into the secrets of food and agricultural co-products. [Proceedings of SPIE 7729, 772903 (2010)]. Delilah Wood, Tina Williams, Gregory Glenn, Zhongli Pan, William Orts, Tara McHugh. Abstract. Scanning electron microscopy ...
Research Interests: Business, Engineering, Microstructure, Manufacturing, Carbon, and 15 moreAgriculture, Food Processing, Food Packaging, Energy Saving, Data storage, Contamination, Manufacturing Industry, Carbon Emissions, Microstructures, Building Material, Nutritional Value, Industrial Production, Food Products, Agricultural residue, and Direct Product
Types, production and assessment of biobased food packaging materials Names are necessary to report factually on available data; however, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) neither guarantees nor warrants the standard of the product, and the use of the name by the USDA implies no ...more
Publisher Summary Food packaging was created to facilitate trade and transportation of commodities over long distances. These commodities include both perishable as well as non-perishable foods. The packaging industry has transformed into... more
Publisher Summary Food packaging was created to facilitate trade and transportation of commodities over long distances. These commodities include both perishable as well as non-perishable foods. The packaging industry has transformed into a highly sophisticated and intelligent service industry, particularly for perishable foods. Extrusion, baking, thermoforming, casting, blow molding, injection molding, lamination, calendaring, and coating are some of the major plastic processing methods that are currently utilized by the plastic industry in producing food packaging. Biochemical and engineering tools are being used to improve and optimize the properties of biopolymers. Approaches include: chemical cross-linking, chemical grafting, chemical substitutions/derivatizations, biocatalysis, plasticization, novel processing, blending and compatibilization with other polymers and additives. Research efforts on the use of starch-, Polylactic acid (PLA) and PHBV-based blends and hybrid composites for food packaging applications will be reviewed in the subsequent sections along with the future outlook for these materials. Life cycle assessment (LCA) documents the environmental profile over the life of the product, also known as ‘cradle to grave' analyses of the environmental impact or the product's ‘environmental footprint'. This information helps to evaluate the product's overall sustainability and the entire environmental economy.
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When the USA passed the Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS) of 2007 into law, it mandated that, by the year 2022, 36 billion gallons of biofuels be produced annually in the USA to displace petroleum. This targeted quota, which required that at... more
When the USA passed the Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS) of 2007 into law, it mandated that, by the year 2022, 36 billion gallons of biofuels be produced annually in the USA to displace petroleum. This targeted quota, which required that at least half of domestic transportation fuel be “advanced biofuels” either produced from lignocellulosic feedstocks or be a sustainable liquid fuel other than corn ethanol or biodiesel from vegetable oils, will not likely be met due to the difficulty in commercializing alternative biofuels. The number one cost to a biorefinery is the biomass feedstock cost. Thus, it is important that research into biorefinery strategies be closely coupled to advances in crop science that account for crop yield and crop quality. To reach the RFS targets, stepwise progress in biorefinery technology is needed, as the industry moves from corn ethanol toward utilizing a wider array of lignocellulose-based biomass feedstocks. In 2010, the US Department of Agriculture created five Regional Biomass Research Centers to optimize production, collection, and conversion of crops to bioenergy, thus building a network that fosters collaboration among researchers to improve the biorefinery industry. An important component of the five Regional Biomass Research Centers is the four USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) regional utilization laboratories located across the country. These USDA ARS labs were originally set up by their commodities, whereby, in broad terms, the Northern Lab, now NCAUR, focused on corn and soy; the Eastern Lab on oils, leather, dairy, and meats; the Southern Lab on cotton, sugars, and fibers; and the Western Lab on other grains, including wheat and specialty crops. Each lab’s traditional expertise in these respective core commodity crops has been maintained as biofuel research came to the fore, but with the addition of new crops and biotechnological expertise, these labs often collaborate with each other, as will be revealed below. This review outlines some of the recent advances from the ARS labs in developing new bioprocessing strategies required to develop bioenergy from new crop sources.
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International audienc
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Low concentrations of synthetic- or bio-polymers in irrigation water can nearly eliminate sediment, N, ortho- and total-P, DOM, pesticides, micro-organisms, and weed seed from runoff. These environmentally safe polymers are employed in... more
Low concentrations of synthetic- or bio-polymers in irrigation water can nearly eliminate sediment, N, ortho- and total-P, DOM, pesticides, micro-organisms, and weed seed from runoff. These environmentally safe polymers are employed in various sensitive uses including food processing, animal feeds, and potable water purification. The most common synthetic polymer is anionic, high purity polyacrylamide (PAM), which typically provides 70–90% contaminant elimination. Excellent results are achieved adding only 10 ppm PAM to irrigation water, applying 1–2 kg ha−1 per irrigation, costing $4–$12 kg−1. Biopolymers are less effective. Using twice or higher concentrations, existing biopolymers are ≈60% effective as PAM, at 2–3 times the cost. A half million ha of US irrigated land use PAM for erosion control and runoff protection. The practice is spreading rapidly in the US and worldwide. Interest in development of biopolymer surrogates for PAM is high. If the supply of cheap natural gas (raw...
Research Interests: Environmental Science, Irrigation, Water quality, Agriculture, Natural Polymers, and 14 moreMedicine, Multidisciplinary, Water Supply, Biopolymer, Erosion, Biopolymers, Flocculation, Water Science and Technology, Acrylic Resins, Water Quality, Conservation of Natural Resources, Water Movements, Polyacrylamide, and Surface Runoff
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Small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) and wide-angle x-ray diffraction (WAXD) data are used to establish relationships among the degree of crystallinity, melting temperature and lamellar thickness for random copolymers of... more
Small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) and wide-angle x-ray diffraction (WAXD) data are used to establish relationships among the degree of crystallinity, melting temperature and lamellar thickness for random copolymers of poly(β-hydroxybutyrate-co-β-hydroxyvaierate) (PHB/V). The morphology of this isodimorphic system is best described by a two phase model consisting of crystalline and amorphous domains having density fluctuations within each domain. The Sanchez-Eby inclusion model is used to predict melting point depression in these materials and, combined with SAXS data, to gain insight into the degree of inclusion of hydroxy valerate units within the polyhydroxybutyrate crystalline domains.
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ABSTRACT Co-crystallization of bacterial and partially isotactic poly(β-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) was studied by d.s.c. Measurements were made on solvent-cast films and rapidly co-precipitated powders. When the latter technique is used for... more
ABSTRACT Co-crystallization of bacterial and partially isotactic poly(β-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) was studied by d.s.c. Measurements were made on solvent-cast films and rapidly co-precipitated powders. When the latter technique is used for partially isotactic PHB blended with bacterial PHB, a single melting point was observed at all compositions, which is intermediate between those of the two components. Synthetic atactic PHB was incompatible with the bacterial material but at compositions above 60 wt% atactic PHB a significant drop in melting point of the bacterial PHB was observed. Since both bacterial and synthetic PHB are biodegradable it is concluded that synthetic/bacterial PHB blends can be an attractive alternative to conventional blending involving non-biodegradable polymers.
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Research Interests: Engineering, Physics, Materials Science, Electrospinning, Materials Science and Engineering, and 11 moreMultidisciplinary, Fiber, Polymer, Nanofiber, Spinning, Theoretical Morphology (in Biology), Rheometry, Physical sciences, Composite Material, CHEMICAL SCIENCES, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
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ABSTRACTWheat protein is a technologically challenging substrate for food and nonfood applications because of its compositional diversity and susceptibility to denaturation. Genetic modification could be used to create cultivars capable... more
ABSTRACTWheat protein is a technologically challenging substrate for food and nonfood applications because of its compositional diversity and susceptibility to denaturation. Genetic modification could be used to create cultivars capable of producing more uniform or focused and novel protein compositions targeted to nonfood uses. These lines could serve as expression systems for specific high‐molecular‐weight (HMW) protein polymers and would be new crops leading to more diverse agricultural opportunities. However, fundamental changes to the molecular architecture in such wheat seeds could also result in separation and processing issues, such that conventional methods of protein enrichment may need modification or even reinvention. Enriched gluten protein fractions were prepared from Bobwhite lines modified to overproduce HMW glutenin subunits Dx5 and/or Dy10. These lines serve as experimental models to test various approaches that may be taken for protein polymer enrichment. However, conventional wheat gluten enrichment based on the glutomatic as a small model of industrial methods was incapable of producing enrichment for any of the tested meal or flour, including that from the non‐transformed parent Bobwhite. Mixing in the mixograph or farinograph failed to produce standard patterns for whole kernel meal and straight‐run flour, and the normal cohesiveness of dough expected from these devices was not observed. Microscopy of stained dough samples revealed severely limited formation of normal protein networks, a capability crucial to conventional separation technology. Particle size analysis of whole kernel meal revealed a higher resistance to milling for the altered lines. Higher drying rates, lower farinograph moisture absorption, and increased thermal transition temperatures were observed. These data suggested that the native architecture of these new forms was more tightly constructed with reduced capacity for alteration by hydration and input of mechanical energy. An alternative enrichment method featuring solvation in SDS and precipitation in acetone produced coagulated (Bobwhite) or partially coagulated protein (transgenic lines producing Dx5 or Dy10) enriched to 78–85% protein with high yield.
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This study explored the feasibility of using torrefied biomass as a reinforcing filler in natural rubber compounds. Carbon black was then replaced with the torrefied biomass in elastomer formulations for concentrations varying from 0% to... more
This study explored the feasibility of using torrefied biomass as a reinforcing filler in natural rubber compounds. Carbon black was then replaced with the torrefied biomass in elastomer formulations for concentrations varying from 0% to 100% (60 parts per hundred rubber or phr total). Their influence on the curing process, dynamic properties, and mechanical properties was investigated. Results were compared with the properties of vulcanizates containing solely carbon black fillers. Time to cure (t90) for compounds with torrefied biomass fillers increased, while filler‐filler interactions (ΔG') decreased, compared to carbon black controls. At low strains, the tan δ values of the torrefied fillers vulcanizates were similar to the controls. Incorporation of torrefied biomass into natural rubber decreased compound tensile strength and modulus but increased elongation. Replacement with torrefied fillers resulted in a weaker filler network in the matrix. Still, results showed that moderate substitution concentrations (~20 phr) could be feasible for some natural rubber applications.
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Abstract Almond shells were torrefied in a fixed bed reactor and their solid and condensate products were collected for analysis. Response surface methodology was used to examine effects of torrefaction temperature (230 °C, 260 °C, and... more
Abstract Almond shells were torrefied in a fixed bed reactor and their solid and condensate products were collected for analysis. Response surface methodology was used to examine effects of torrefaction temperature (230 °C, 260 °C, and 290 °C) and time (60, 80, and 100 min) on mass and energy yields of solid products as well as mass yields and gross calorific values (GCVs) of condensate products. This was the first study on condensates produced during torrefaction of almond shells. Also, true density, moisture sorption isotherms, thermal stability, and elemental composition of the solid products were characterized. The mass yields of solid products drastically decreased at higher temperatures, from 85.4–92.7% at 230 °C to 39.4–45.3% at 290 °C. Also, mass yields (8.79–11.71% at 230 °C to 23.13–29.39% at 290 °C) and GCVs of condensates (2.3 ± 0.3 to 4.3 ± 1.0 MJ/kg at 230 °C to 5.6 ± 1.0 to 7.1 ± 1.2 MJ/kg at 290 °C) generally increased in value at higher temperatures and longer times. Moisture sorption isotherms of torrefied shells were measured for the first time and all torrefied shells had lower equilibrium moisture contents than raw shells. In addition, equilibrium moisture contents and GCVs of the condensates were found, for the first time, to be predicted relatively well using just the sample mass loss results. The minimum moisture contents were predicted to occur at 16.4–19.9% mass loss.
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ABSTRACTSmall angle neutron scattering, SANS, was used to describe the magnetic alignment and in situ shear ordering of polyelectrolytic, liquid crystalline cellulose microfibrils in aqueous (D2O) suspension. In a 2.4 Tesla magnetic... more
ABSTRACTSmall angle neutron scattering, SANS, was used to describe the magnetic alignment and in situ shear ordering of polyelectrolytic, liquid crystalline cellulose microfibrils in aqueous (D2O) suspension. In a 2.4 Tesla magnetic field, microfibril suspensions exhibit anisotropic chiral nematic (cholesteric) ordering in which the distance between nematic planes along the cholesteric axis is shorter than between rods within a nematic plane. This is consistent with the hypothesis that cellulose microfibrils are helically twisted rods. During shear, the SANS interference peaks perpendicular to the flow direction sharpen with increasing shear rate. Yet, the highest degree of alignment (for microfibrils with axial ratios of ~45) was observed a short period after the cessation of shear flow.