BIODEGRADABLE POLYMERS

To prepare a biodegradable plastic, biodegradable materials such as starches and a non-biodegradable polymer such as a polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, or polycarbonate are treated: (1) under heat, pressure and reagents to break the polymers; and (2) by adding to them an oxidizing agent. This treatment forms and/or makes available reactive groups for bonding: (1) on the biodegradable material groups such as aldehyde or hydroxyl groups in the case of the carbohydrates and amine groups in the case of proteins and certain other compounds such as urea; and (2) on the non-biodegradable plastic groups such as aldehydes, methyl, propyl, ethyl, benzyl or hyroxyl groups. In one embodiment, plastic and starch are processed in an extruber by: (1) mixing a starch in a range of between 15 percent and 80 percent, an oxidizing agent and an agent to break up the starch and the plastics; and (2) subjecting the combination to sufficient heat and/or pressure to break the plastic into shorter chains and bond monsaccharides to monomers from the non-biodegradable polymer

Value-added uses for crude glycerol--a byproduct of biodiesel production

Biodiesel is a promising alternative, and renewable, fuel. As its production increases, so does production of the principle co-product, crude glycerol. The effective utilization of crude glycerol will contribute to the viability of biodiesel. In this review, composition and quality factors of crude glycerol are discussed. The value-added utilization opportunities of crude glycerol are reviewed. The majority of crude glycerol is used as feedstock for production of other value-added chemicals, followed by animal feeds

Gelatin Manufacturing Process and Product

The present invention overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art by providing a process for manufacturing gelatin including cleaning a fowl-based source of collagen; subjecting the fowl-based source of collagen to at least one water extraction to extract gelatin from the collagen source; and separating the gelatin from any resulting by-products, wherein the process does not require an initial acid or lime pretreatment step. The present invention also includes a product made from this process

Policosanol Contents and Composition of Grain Sorghum Kernels and Dried Distillers Grains

Grain sorghum can be a major source of policosanols, long-chained alcohols, that have beneficial physiological activities. Sorghum dried distillers grains (DDG), a by-product of ethanol production from grain sorghum. contain a large amount of policosanols. Content and composition of policosanols in long-chained lipids extracted from grain sorghum kernels and DDG were determined. Long-chained lipids were extracted using hot hexane or hot ethanol. The major components of the long-chained lipids extracted from grain sorghum kernels. as determined using HPLC were policosanols (37-44%), aldehydes (44-55%), and acids (4-5%). Long-chained lipids from DDG contained 52% policosanols, 23% aldehydes. 6.4% acids. and l7% wax esters/steryl esters. Composition of policosanols in DDG matched the composition in grain sorghum kernels, as determined by gas chromatography. even though the content of policosanols in DDG was greater than the content in grain sorghum kernels. Policosonal composition ranges were 0-1% C22:0, 0-3% C24:0. 6-8% C26:0, l% C27:0. 43-47% C28:0. 1-2% C29:0. 40-43% C30:0. and 1-4% C32:0

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

BIODEGRADABLE POLYMERS

To prepare a biodegradable plastic, biodegradable materials such as starches and a non-biodegradable polymer such as a polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, or polycarbonate are treated: (1) under heat, pressure and reagents to break the polymers; and (2) by adding to them an oxidizing agent. This treatment forms and/or makes available reactive groups for bonding: (1) on the biodegradable material groups such as aldehyde or hydroxyl groups in the case of the carbohydrates and amine groups in the case of proteins and certain other compounds such as urea; and (2) on the non-biodegradable plastic groups such as aldehydes, methyl, propyl, ethyl, benzyl or hyroxyl groups. In one embodiment, plastic and starch are processed in an extruber by: (1) mixing a starch in a range of between 15 percent and 80 percent, an oxidizing agent and an agent to break up the starch and the plastics; and (2) subjecting the combination to sufficient heat and/or pressure to break the plastic into shorter chains and bond monsaccharides to monomers from the non-biodegradable polymer

EC79-2303 Strategies for Minimizing Boiler Energy Use

Extension Circular 79-2303 discusses strategies for minimizing boiler energy use

Evaluation of Mold and Mycotoxin Contaminations in Hybrid Hazelnuts Grown in Nebraska

Hybrid hazelnuts are a potential oilseed crop for food and value-added industrial applications, but they are vulnerable to mold contamination. Mold and mycotoxin contamination were investigated in three forms (whole nut, kernel, and ground meal) of Nebraska hybrid hazelnuts. The nut was the most contaminated form, followed by ground meal and kernel. Penicillium was the predominant genus isolated from all three forms, and Alternaria and Cladosporium also were prevalent. In spite of presence of several toxigenic molds, all tested samples were mycotoxin free

Fluidized-bed gasification of dairy manure by Box–Behnken design

Application of excessive animal manure to the land may cause some environmental problems such as eutrophication of surface waters, degradation of ground water quality, and threats to human health. This paper reports an experimental study on the technology of biomass gasification to treat animal waste by analyzing the effects of key operating parameters on gasification. In this research, dairy manure from the University of Nebraska dairy farm was first collected and dried, and then gasified in a fluidized-bed, laboratory-scale gasifier to generate syngas. The effects of three parameters, namely temperature, steam to biomass ratio (SBR) and the equivalence ratio (ER), on the gasification were described by a Box–Behnken design (BBD). Results showed that increasing the temperature favored the formation of all three combustible gases, but the composition of each gas behaved differently according to the changing parameters. The lower heating value of the syngas varied from 2.0 to 4.7 MJ m−3, indicating gasification could be used as a waste management option to produce bioenergy, and potentially reduce problems associated with the disposal of animal waste