Research of Wheat Drying in a Microwave and Combined Filter-microwave Dryer

The aim of the conducted study is to determine kinetics of the complex effect of microwave energy supply and filter drying of the process of water release from the wheat layer. There is offered a combination of MW and filter drying. A special feature of this combination must be its more effectiveness and high speed of water elimination from surface layers of wet seeds and, as a result, the productivity increase of the drying way, decrease of specific energy consumption.There was determined the influence of the specific load of the material, radiator power on processes of microwave and filter-microwave drying of wheat seeds. There were compared microwave, filter-microwave and convective drying of seeds by parameters of specific energy consumption, drying speed.The specific energy consumption at microwave drying of seeds was 4 MJ/kg, at filter-microwave drying 3.8 MJ/kg that is lower than existent convective dryers. The speed of microwave drying changes from 0,5 to 3 %/min, filter-microwave – from 0.3 to 0.7 %/min. The speed is at the level of standard convective dryers.The conducted studies allow to recommend a new combined way of FMW drying of seeds with low energy consumption.Revealed features of heating and drying are possible to be used at developing industrial dryers.The base of experimental data is possible to be used for optimizing and determining effective conditions of MW and FMW drying

Phenological shifts of abiotic events, producers and consumers across a continent

Ongoing climate change can shift organism phenology in ways that vary depending on species, habitats and climate factors studied. To probe for large-scale patterns in associated phenological change, we use 70,709 observations from six decades of systematic monitoring across the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Among 110 phenological events related to plants, birds, insects, amphibians and fungi, we find a mosaic of change, defying simple predictions of earlier springs, later autumns and stronger changes at higher latitudes and elevations. Site mean temperature emerged as a strong predictor of local phenology, but the magnitude and direction of change varied with trophic level and the relative timing of an event. Beyond temperature-associated variation, we uncover high variation among both sites and years, with some sites being characterized by disproportionately long seasons and others by short ones. Our findings emphasize concerns regarding ecosystem integrity and highlight the difficulty of predicting climate change outcomes. The authors use systematic monitoring across the former USSR to investigate phenological changes across taxa. The long-term mean temperature of a site emerged as a strong predictor of phenological change, with further imprints of trophic level, event timing, site, year and biotic interactions.Peer reviewe

Chronicles of nature calendar, a long-term and large-scale multitaxon database on phenology

We present an extensive, large-scale, long-term and multitaxon database on phenological and climatic variation, involving 506,186 observation dates acquired in 471 localities in Russian Federation, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan. The data cover the period 1890-2018, with 96% of the data being from 1960 onwards. The database is rich in plants, birds and climatic events, but also includes insects, amphibians, reptiles and fungi. The database includes multiple events per species, such as the onset days of leaf unfolding and leaf fall for plants, and the days for first spring and last autumn occurrences for birds. The data were acquired using standardized methods by permanent staff of national parks and nature reserves (87% of the data) and members of a phenological observation network (13% of the data). The database is valuable for exploring how species respond in their phenology to climate change. Large-scale analyses of spatial variation in phenological response can help to better predict the consequences of species and community responses to climate change.Peer reviewe

Studying the Operation of Innovative Equipment for Thermomechanical Treatment and Dehydration of Food Raw Materials

The paper reports results of investigating innovative equipment for the integrated processing of food raw materials, which would make it possible to implement the local energy influence directly on the particles of a dispersed material, the near-boundary layer, the moisture retained in the product's solution or capillaries.The analysis of food raw materials processing techniques has been performed, their benefits and shortcomings have been identified. It was found that product quality, energy consumption and cost are mainly determined at the stages of thermal processing, drying.We have examined innovative equipment based on rotary thermosiphons for evaporating food non-Newtonian liquids. An experimental bench has been designed, and the procedure for studying the hydrodynamics of condensate motion in condensers of rotary thermosyphons of various structures has been devised. The experimental bench represents a model of the device with a rotary thermosiphon made of glass. The result of our study is the established rotational frequency, at which a condensate is locked by the centrifugal force for a branched condenser. Results from visualization of vapor-condensate movement have been presented.The innovative equipment for the evaporation of food non-Newtonian liquids under SHF radiation conditions has been investigated. Experiments involved food products and model systems. We have determined the degree of an increase in the concentration of non-aquatic components. Evaporation rate under conditions of SHF radiation is almost constant.The innovative equipment for drying fruit- and vegetable-based slices under conditions of IR radiation has been examined. An experimental bench has been designed and the research procedure has been devised. We have proposed the structure of an equation for calculating the mass transfer coefficient. The database of experimental findings has been generalized in the equation by similarity numbers. The equation makes it possible to calculate a mass transfer coefficient with error within ±15 %. The influence of IR radiation power on the kinetics of the process of drying fruit and vegetable slices has been determined. We have compared experimental data on slice drying under conditions of SHF and IR radiatio

Development of Power­efficient and Environmentally Safe Coffee Product Technologies

Based on the energy and environmental audit, analysis of material flows, energy conversion, emissions into atmosphere and lithosphere in the production of instant coffee was carried out.To raise energy efficiency and reduce environmental burden, innovative flow diagrams and equipment for waste processing and production of new coffee products have been developed.Experimental modeling was carried out: kinetics of microwave extraction of water-soluble substances and oil from coffee slurry; hydraulics of the extractant flow through cassettes of the microwave extractor. The experimental data were summarized in the form of a criterion equation.As a result of experimental modeling of the extraction kinetics, it was found that the duration of the process in a microwave field is approximately 20 times less than in a thermostat. The microwave field affects the extraction rate to a greater extent than the process temperature. The growth of microwave power results in a more than the two-fold rise of the yield of extractives from a coffee slurry.Specification of the microwave oil extractor was defined. The extractor sample was tested at a specific power of 180...240 W/kg in the mode of boiling extractant. Ethanol (93...96 % concentration) was used as an extractant. As a result of the tests, a high-quality coffee oil was obtained. It is characterized by a pronounced aroma, coffee taste and an intense dark brown color.Flow diagram of pre-extraction of coffee from slurry was worked out. Additional extraction of water-soluble extractive substances from coffee slurry increased the extract yield by 10...12 %. The temperature regime of extraction was significantly reduced plus duration and energy intensity of the process were reduced.An innovative flow diagram has been developed for the production of liquid coffee concentrate as a basis for coffee-based drinks ready for immediate use. The concentration of solids is 50...65

Experimental Studies of the Kinetics of Infrared Drying of Spent Coffee Grounds

The object of research is drying of spent coffee grounds. In modern production, the issues of rational use of energy in all processes of food technology, including drying, are urgently raised. In many food technologies, 2–3 times more energy is used than is physically necessary for the process. This determines the energy intensity of production and the quality of products. Drying processes are among the most energy-intensive, and in many cases the proportion of energy in the cost of production is up to 30 %. When drying of spent coffee grounds, convective dryers are mainly used, the energy consumption of which is 5 MJ/kg of removed moisture and above. Convective drying uses 40 % of the supplied energy to evaporate moisture. Also, a significant drawback of convective dryers is the discharge of waste coolant into the atmosphere, which has a heat content of only 10–15 % less than the hot air supplied to the drying chamber. The paper proposes the use of infrared radiation for drying of spent coffee grounds in periodic and continuous units. This will allow in the future to reduce specific energy consumption. During the study, the influence of the energy supply intensity, temperature, air flow rate, product layer thickness and specific load on the kinetics of periodic infrared drying of spent coffee grounds is determined. The influence of the energy supply intensity, specific load, tape speed, and the number of infrared modules on the kinetics of continuous infrared drying of spent coffee grounds is determined. The results are compared with convective drying in terms of specific energy consumption. A feature of the use of infrared radiation is its high efficiency and high rate of moisture removal from the surface layers of spent coffee grounds, and as a result, an increase in the productivity of the drying method and a decrease in specific energy consumption. The specific energy consumption obtained during operation of infrared drying of spent coffee grounds is 3.2 MJ/kg. This is below existing convection dryers

Fission Parameters Measurements for Np, Pu, Am, and Cm Isotopes Inside a Salt Blanket Micromodel

Pursuing verification of the nuclear data for actinides, we have made a run of experiments to determine reaction rates in facilities with different neutron spectra. The researches of the kind are particularly argent when going over from the transmutation physics studies to designing the transmutation reactors and developing their fuel cycle equipment. In this case, the nuclear data on the minor actinides (Np, Am, Cm) are notably interesting with the view to correct prediction of transmutation rates and t,o validation of hazardous nuclear and radiation environment for the external (off-reactor) fuel cycle. It is in the case of just those nuclides when the well-known ENDF/B6 and JENDL3.2 libraries give the most discrepant nuclear cross sections, thus necessitating the high- priority experimental tests

Differences in spatial versus temporal reaction norms for spring and autumn phenological events

For species to stay temporally tuned to their environment, they use cues such as the accumulation of degree-days. The relationships between the timing of a phenological event in a population and its environmental cue can be described by a population-level reaction norm. Variation in reaction norms along environmental gradients may either intensify the environmental effects on timing (cogradient variation) or attenuate the effects (countergradient variation). To resolve spatial and seasonal variation in species' response, we use a unique dataset of 91 taxa and 178 phenological events observed across a network of 472 monitoring sites, spread across the nations of the former Soviet Union. We show that compared to local rates of advancement of phenological events with the advancement of temperature-related cues (i.e., variation within site over years), spatial variation in reaction norms tend to accentuate responses in spring (cogradient variation) and attenuate them in autumn (countergradient variation). As a result, among-population variation in the timing of events is greater in spring and less in autumn than if all populations followed the same reaction norm regardless of location. Despite such signs of local adaptation, overall phenotypic plasticity was not sufficient for phenological events to keep exact pace with their cues-the earlier the year, the more did the timing of the phenological event lag behind the timing of the cue. Overall, these patterns suggest that differences in the spatial versus temporal reaction norms will affect species' response to climate change in opposite ways in spring and autumn