Maintenance Management Model under the TPM approach to Reduce Machine Breakdowns in Peruvian Giant Squid Processing SMEs

In recent years, the giant squid processing industry in Peru exhibited a 59% increase in exports with respect to 2018. According to estimates, this industry generates approximately 30,900 jobs per year. However, some SMEs experience low productivity, such as the PECEPE company, due to plant downtime. This represents 26% of the available time, which translates into the loss of 1760 tons every year. The most constraining external factor the sector faces is uncertainty in resource availability caused by changing weather conditions and informal fishing activities. Although there is a large number of research studies on the fishing industry and resource extraction, literature on processing plant operations is scarce. Within this context, this study seeks to promote a high impact sector in Peru, as well as fostering processing plant competitiveness and productivity. Hence, to address these issues, the authors propose a maintenance management model under the TPM approach. As part of the results from model implementation, a 39% decrease was reported in plant downtime, while maintenance costs also decreased by 16%, which, in turn, increased machine availability and production by 784 tons per year

Evaluation of the effectiveness of defense measures during radiological risk assessment in gynecological brachytherapy

The implementation of risk analysis to all those practices that work with ionizing radiation is of paramount importance. Thanks to the studies published on risk assessment in radiation medicine, a culture on this subject is being created, which has led to the systematization of different methods created for this purpose. Such is the case of the Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), the basis on which this research has been developed. The American Association of Physicist in Medicine (AAMP) TG-100 report, which provides all the details on the use of this technique, is used as main reference. On the other hand, the recommendations recently published by AAMP TG-275 report are also used, applying the FMEA methodology to the high dose rate gynecological brachytherapy (B-HDR-GYN), among other practices. The novelty of this research is the implementation of an operational algorithm that improves the analytical capacity of the traditional FMEA approach by allowing the measurement of the effectiveness of defense measures within it. In this study, when the defense measures interact in the FMEA, a decrease of four RPN values of the failure modes (FM) occurs; compared to reference values. This algorithm is based on a synergy of the risk matrix (RM) approach and the information on FMEA available in the TG-100 and TG-275

Optimization of a fructooligosaccharides purification method using activated charcoal

Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) have gained large commercial interest due to its beneficial properties in the human health as prebiotics. FOS are produced industrially by fermentative processes. However, the result of such fermentations is a complex mixture containing salts and approximately 50% (w/w) of low molecular weight sugars that have to be eliminated. Among other techniques that have been studied, the adsorption onto activated carbon is still the most suitable one since activated carbon is cheap, has a large surface area and pore volume conducting to a good sorption capacity. Furthermore, this sorbent can be regenerated during desorption with ethanol. Based on the above discussion, in this work the adsorption and desorption characteristics of FOS on activated carbon, using a gradient of ethanol, were optimized. Initially, the activated carbon was loaded with fermentative broth. To remove the non adsorbed sugars, a washing step with pure water was included. Afterwards, the retained sugars were recovered by elution with a gradient of ethanol increased sequentially with specific volumes from 1 to 50% (v/v). Fractions collected at different time points were evaporated and subsequently freeze‐dried. This process was found to be very efficient in the demineralization of broth, and it was possible to recover 80% of the initial FOS loaded on the column with 89% of purity. Some of the fractions were found to contain 97% of pure FOS in total sugars. In summary, purification of FOS using an activated charcoal column is a very efficient process yielding high levels of purity from a fermentative broth

Modeling and simulation of fructo-oligosaccharides production

It is foreseen that Systems Biology will have a great impact not only in Metabolic Engineering and Drug Discovery efforts, but also in Bioprocess development and optimization. In fact, the computational tools developed in this area made possible to simulate a biochemical process with a mathematical model comprising dynamical equations based on first principles as well as empirical kinetic equations and parameters that can be estimated from experimental data. Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) have become important as healthy food ingredients because of their beneficial characteristics to the health of human (Lee, 1999). They can be obtained biotechnologically using the enzyme Betafructofuranosidase, produced by some fungi. The main purpose of this work was to develop a mathematical model able to simulate the formation of FOS in a bioreactor, in order to perform a faster optimization of the FOS production process, allowing to identify which parameters can influence the final amount of FOS. An empirical model presented by Kow Jen Duan et al (1994) was used to obtain the first set of reactions. Several hydrolysis equations were added in order to achieve a general mathematical model of the occurring enzymatic reactions. After the reformulation of the Kow Jen Duan model, the kinetic parameters were determined from experimental data using the System Biology toolbox [2] with the Simulated Annealing method for curve fitting. Several experiments in bioreactors were performed with two different FOS producing fungi for that purpose. The time evolution of 7 state variables (Sucrose, Glucose, Fructose, 1-Kestose, Nystose, 1-Fructosyl Nystose and Biomass) was considered. After parameter fitting, several simulations were performed in MatLab and the simulation results were compared with experimental data, exhibiting a very satisfactory correlation for both fungal cultures. Correlation coefficients of 0.9980 - 0.9549 between simulated and experimental data were obtained. This model will be used to optimize the production process, using an optimization tool that has been developed in our research group

Purification of fructo-oligosaccharides by adsorption onto charcoal filters

Production of fructo-oligosaccharides has received particular attention recently due to its beneficial effects as prebiotics. Fermentative processes appear to be a good technique for large scale production of FOS. However, the result of such fermentations is a complex mixture containing salts and low molecular weight sugars that do not contribute to the beneficial properties of the higher molecular weight oligosaccharides, and so have to be eliminated. Among the several strategies being studied to solve this problem, the adorption onto activated carbon is a promising technique that still requires further development. Thus, the aim of this work was the purification of FOS from a fermentation broth using charcoal filters. Microfiltration membranes (0,20 micrometers) were successfully used to separate the biomass; nevertheless salts and other small sugars had to be eliminated using a charcoal filter. Hence, 200 mL of fermentative broth (without cells) was passed through the filter. Subsequently, the filter was washed with water removing the salts and small sugars present in the mixture. The oligosaccharides adsorbed onto the charcoal filter were recovered using a 44% ethanol solution. An increased purity, from 30% to 97% (w/w) in total sugars, was achieved using this downstream process, as compared to the initial mixture. The results gathered in this work suggest that charcoal filters are a promising technology for the purification of FOS from fermentation mixtures at an industrial scale, making clear the need for further work in order to optimize this process

Prebiotics : from concept to product : the BIOLIFE project

Nutrition has progressed from the discovery of essential nutrients and prevention of dietary deficiency to the promotion of a state of well-being and health and the reduction of the risk of disease. In this context the functional food concept emerges: a food or drink product that, when ingested, exerts particular benefits on some physiological functions. The gastrointestinal functions are associated with a balanced colonic microflora that plays a key role in individual health. This complex ecosystem can be modulated by the ingestion of dietary components that favour the growth and metabolism of beneficial indigenous species such as bifidobacteria and lactobacilli. These components of saccharidic nature are called prebiotics. The BIOLIFE project involves the development of novel biotechnological processes, enzymatic and fermentative, for the production of prebiotics, namely, galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) and fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) from food industry by-products. Produced oligosaccharides will be incorporated in liquid and solid food formulations in order to obtain functional foods targeted towards gut function.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)

Hydrothermal extraction and thorough characterization of carrageenans and proteins from Gigartina pistillata

Carrageenan, an interesting biopolymer from red seaweed, possesses a myriad of applications in food, nutraceutical, or pharmaceutical industries. Although its conventional extraction used to be performed with alkaline solvents, water extraction under subcritical conditions is an alternative eco-friendly technique that has gained popularity in recent years. This work evaluates the recovery and characterization of carrageenan and proteins from Gigartina pistillata. The highest number of proteins was identified at the lowest processing tempeartures. Extracted carrageenan exhibits molecular weights greater than 500 kDa and good rheological behaviour, with interest for food applications and for the formulation of hydrogels when mixed with KCl. The carrageenans and carrageenan hydrogels presented interesting properties such as good thermal stability until 170 °C (TGA-DTG) and show characteristic bands of kappa/iota carrageenans in FTIR studies. Greater cell viability than 70% were achieved on NIH/3T3 fibroblast at carrageenan concentrations of 0.05 and 0.025%, whereas carrageenan extracted at 160 °C (concentration of 0.025%) displays a lower inflammatory action than other samples. In this sense, in this work the eco-friendlier extracted carrageenan was thoroughly characterized and its potentiality to be used in the biomedical field was evaluated