Optimisation of Cooking Time for Two Varieties of Foodstuffs using Single- and Double-Cavity Cooking Pots

The increase in the shortage of firewood due to deforestation, skyrocketing of electricity tariffs and fuel pump prices in recent times have propelled scientists to search for alternative measures of cooking that can reduce electric energy and fuel consumption. Double-cavity cooking pots have emerged in recent times to reduce the prolonged duration arising from the sequential cooking of different foodstuffs/ dishes using a single-cavity pot. However, experimental reports are rarely available to sensitise users about the advantages of using the double-cavity pot. The present work describes a simple and informative experimental report that compares the cooking time for two varieties of foodstuffs (rice and beans) using single- and double-cavity pots. It was found that the average time rate of cooking in the double-cavity pot was 1.33 ◦ C/min less than in the single-cavity pot. The total time taken to concurrently cook equal masses of rice and beans in separate cavities of the double-cavity pot was found to be 9.98 min less than that of the single-cavity pot. The double-cavity pot proved to be economically viable by reducing the cooking time, electric energy, and fuel consumption that arise from the successional cooking of a variety of foodstuffs using the single-cavity pot

An Alternative Method for Estimating the Phase Fraction of Multiphase Nanomaterials: Analysis from X-ray Diffraction

The presence of multiple phases/ components within a nanocomposite material impacts the properties of a nanomaterial. Therefore, there is a need to estimate the phase fraction of each component present in a sample. Spurr-Myers proposed a valuable formula for estimating the rutile and anatase phase fraction of a TiO2 sample from X-ray diffraction. However, this formula is dedicated to TiO2 and is inapplicable to samples that contains more than two phases. The present research work proposed a simple method for quantifying the phase fraction of all types of nanomaterials that consist of two or more phases. Precision/ accuracy test carried out by multiplying the grand total intensity of all the diffraction peaks present in a sample with the value of the phase fraction of individual components showed that the proposed method gave precision values that were equivalent to the sum of the intensity of the peaks of each component. Whereas the S-M gave precision values that were significantly inconsistent with the sum of the intensity of the peaks of each component. The study showed that the proposed method was valid for a wide range of 2  values and can be deployed to obtain reasonable and reliable values of phase fraction that could assist to understand the material phase fraction-properties relationship