Effect of Blanching methods on drying kinetics of bell paper

Various blanching methods and drying temperatures were applied to bell pepper (Capiscum annum) to investigate the effect on its drying characteristics. Pepper (Capiscum annum) is an abundant and cheap source of vitamins, minerals and fibre. However, its high moisture content makes it susceptible to deterioration. The most common method of preservation is drying but the dried products obtained are of reduced nutritional qualities. Pretreatment of pepper before drying improves the quality of the dried pepper and increases its drying rate. Steam and water blanching as a form of pretreatment has been reported to increase drying rate and improve the quality of dried products but there is not much information on other types of oil/water blanching methods. The effect of blanching (steam, water, palm oil/water and groundnut oil/water) as a pretreatment on the drying kinetics of bell pepper dried at temperatures of 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90oC, was studied. Drying of raw untreated bell pepper was taken as a control. The results indicate that water removal at the initial stage of the drying process was highest and there was a rapid decrease as drying continued until equilibrium was reached at the end of process. The blanched samples generally had higher drying rates (at p<0.05) than the untreated samples. The values for the drying rate for steam and water blanched samples were higher (but not at p<0.05) than the drying rates for samples blanched in oil/water mixtures. The drying rate as well as effective moisture diffusivity, Deff, increased with increasing drying temperature. Values of Deff varied from 3.55 x 10-9 m2/s to 2.34 x 10-9 m2/s with the highest being SB (steam blanched) at 80oC and the lowest UB (unblanched) at 50oC. The drying process took place mainly in the falling rate period. The activation energies varied from 39.59 to 83.87 kJ/mol, with PB (palm oil/water blanched) samples having the lowest and UB having the highest Ea value. The lower values for pretreated samples imply that water movement from the internal regions is faster in pretreated samples. This suggests that blanching as a method of pretreatment generally increases water diffusion

A GIS-based assessment of the suitability of SCIAMACHY satellite sensor measurements for estimating reliable CO concentrations in a low-latitude climate

An assessment of the reliability of the Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Cartography (SCIAMACHY) satellite sensor measurements to interpolate tropospheric concentrations of carbon monoxide considering the lowlatitude climate of the Niger Delta region in Nigeria was conducted. Monthly SCIAMACHY carbon monoxide (CO) column measurements from January 2,003 to December 2005 were interpolated using ordinary kriging technique. The spatio-temporal variations observed in the reliability were based on proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, seasonal variations in the intensities of rainfall and relative humidity, the presence of dust particles from the Sahara desert, industrialization in Southwest Nigeria and biomass burning during the dry season in Northern Nigeria. Spatial reliabilities of 74 and 42 % are observed for the inland and coastal areas, respectively. Temporally, average reliability of 61 and 55%occur during the dry and wet seasons, respectively. Reliability in the inland and coastal areas was 72 and 38% during the wet season, and 75 and 46% during the dry season, respectively. Based on the results, the WFM-DOAS SCIAMACHY CO data product used for this study is therefore relevant in the assessment of CO concentrations in developing countries within the low latitudes that could not afford monitoring infrastructure due to the required high costs. Although the SCIAMACHY sensor is no longer available, it provided cost-effective, reliable and accessible data that could support air quality assessment in developing countries

A Review of Environmental Effects of Surface Water Pollution

Water is life without pollution, but death when it is polluted. The objective of this study is to conduct a literature review of environmental effects of surface water pollution. The method used for this study is a review of academic journal articles, internet materials, textbooks, bulletins, conference papers, project reports and publicly available materials on the environmental effects of surface water pollution. All previous authors whose works were reviewed agreed that anthropogenic activities greatly contributed to surface water pollution and spatial variation of physicochemical parameters over time and location more than other sources in terms of both chemical and physical water pollutants that indicated elevated values of major chemical parameters (lead, cadmium, chromium, copper and some anions) beyond the permissible/threshold limits set by regulatory bodies. They also had a unity of opinion that the parameters have adverse effects on human plants, aquatic and physical environment. From the review and based on the results of the previous studies, this study concludes that most surface waters across the globe are polluted and as such must be treated before use both for domestic and industrial purposes to avoid the spread of epidemics that can lead to deaths of humans who are the most precious of all creatures. Recommendations of the study include: (1) regular review of environmental effects of surface water pollution by researchers to indicate the trend in pollutional loads of rivers and streams across the globe; (2) strict enforcement of regulations water quality standards and (3) regular monitoring of the environments of water bodies by regulators and the locals

Challenges and opportunities in the design and construction of a GIS-based emission inventory infrastructure for the Niger Delta region of Nigeria

© 2017, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. Environmental monitoring in middle- and low-income countries is hampered by many factors which include enactment and enforcement of legislations; deficiencies in environmental data reporting and documentation; inconsistent, incomplete and unverifiable data; a lack of access to data; and technical expertise. This paper describes the processes undertaken and the major challenges encountered in the construction of the first Niger Delta Emission Inventory (NDEI) for criteria air pollutants and CO2 released from the anthropogenic activities in the region. This study focused on using publicly available government and research data. The NDEI has been designed to provide a Geographic Information System-based component of an air quality and carbon management framework. The NDEI infrastructure was designed and constructed at 1-, 10- and 20-km grid resolutions for point, line and area sources using industry standard processes and emission factors derived from activities similar to those in the Niger Delta. Due to inadequate, incomplete, potentially inaccurate and unavailable data, the infrastructure was populated with data based on a series of best possible assumptions for key emission sources. This produces outputs with variable levels of certainty, which also highlights the critical challenges in the estimation of emissions from a developing country. However, the infrastructure is functional and has the ability to produce spatially resolved emission estimates

Effect Of Blanching Methods On Drying Kinetics Of Bell Pepper

Various blanching methods and drying temperatures were applied to bell pepper ( Capiscum annum ) to investigate the effect on its drying characteristics. Pepper (Capiscum annum) is an abundant and cheap source of vitamins, minerals and fibre. However, its high moisture content makes it susceptible to deterioration. The most common method of preservation is drying but the dried products obtained are of reduced nutritional qualities. Pretreatment of pepper before drying improves the quality of the dried pepper and increases its drying rate. Steam and water blanching as a form of pretreatment has been reported to increase drying rate and improve the quality of dried products but there is not much information on other types of oil/water blanching methods. The effect of blanching (steam, water, palm oil/water and groundnut oil/water) as a pretreatment on the drying kinetics of bell pepper dried at temperatures of 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90°C, was studied. Drying of raw untreated bell pepper was taken as a control. The results indicate that water removal at the initial stage of the drying process was highest and there was a rapid decrease as drying continued until equilibrium was reached at the end of process. The blanched samples generally had higher drying rates (at p0.05) than the untreated samples. The values for the drying rate for steam and water blanched samples were higher (but not at p<0.05) than the drying rates for samples blanched in oil/water mixtures. The drying rate as well as effective moisture diffusivity, Deff, increased with increasing drying temperature. Values of Deff varied from 3.55 x 10-9 m2/s to 2.34 x 10-9 m2/s with the highest being SB (steam blanched) at 80°C and the lowest UB (unblanched) at 50°C. The drying process took place mainly in the falling rate period. The activation energies varied from 39.59 to 83.87 kJ/mol, with PB (palm oil/water blanched) samples having the lowest and UB having the highest Ea value. The lower values for pretreated samples imply that water movement from the internal regions is faster in pretreated samples. This suggests that blanching as a method of pretreatment generally increases water diffusion