Moisture Evaporation from Granular Biopesticides Containing Quiescent Entomopathogenic Nematodes

The moisture evaporation process from granular biopesticides (GBs) containing entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) has influence in the shelf-life of these biological products, but the approach to design GBs with desired transport properties lacks of theoretical support to get closer in a better way to formulations design of long-term storage. In this chapter we review the state of art in theoretical studies about the physics of the moisture evaporation to elucidate what are the mechanisms of drying of GBs. We found that several external and internal factors influence the transport process of moisture exchange among others phenomenon that happened in a porous media such as GBs; consequently, complex and highly dynamic interactions between medium properties, transport processes, and boundary conditions result in a wide range of evaporation behaviors. The theory of drying process in two stages for porous materials with high moisture content seems to be a good starting point to explore further the drying of GBs at different scales and mechanistic and correlative models of evaporation are available to analyze the desiccation in different stages of the elaboration process, which is also of interest in the subject area of science and technology of the formulation of EPNs

Morphology of the Bagasse Fibers Obtained from the Elaboration Process of Mezcal and Effects on Their Tensile Properties

The morphology of the cross-section and longitudinal-section of bagasse fibers of Agave angustifolia Haw from the elaboration process of mezcal were investigated and tensile tests were performed in function of the diameter (0.20–0.79 mm), gauge length (10, 15 and 20 mm) and strain rate (5–50 mm/min). The cross-section of the fibers is ribbon-shape like with dislocations and the longitudinal section has mechanical damage in its surface. The ultimate tensile strength (14.83–86.51 MPa) and Young’s modulus (0.20–1.26 GPa) are influenced by the diameter and the strain rate, while the strain at failure (16–26%) is influenced by the gauge length. These results are discussed in light of information on relationship between morphology and tensile properties of natural fibers and possible effects of the elaboration process of mezcal

Investigation on Physicochemical, Tensile Test, and Thermal Properties of Alkali Treatment to A. Angustifolia Haw Fibers

Natural fibers are an attractive solution in the composite material industry, for achieving the biodegradability and sustainability that synthetic fibers do not offer. In this study, the effect of the alkali treatment (AT) on the physical properties, chemical composition, morphology, thermal behavior, and tensile strength of fibers extracted from Agave angustifolia Haw leaves was studied. Fibers were treated with 5% NaOH solution (v/v) for 10, 30, and 60 min. Tensile tests of single treated fibers (TF) were carried out at three-gauge lengths. The percentages of lignin and hemicellulose showed a decrease with AT which, in turn, induced a modification of morphological and crystalline structures. Thermal analysis revealed that, due to the presence of hemicellulose constituents, the untreated fibers (UF) had lower thermal stability than TF. Tensile tests revealed that the strength and strain decreased with the increase in the diameter and the test gauge length of the agave fibers