Physico-chemical characteristics of main pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cultivars grown in Dalmatia region of Croatia

Consumers are increasingly expecting the fruits to be tasty and attractive while being safe and healthful. We determined the external and internal fruit quality properties of main pomegranate cultivars widely grown in Croatia. Of the three cultivars, ‘Pastun’ produced the biggest fruits (460 g) followed by ‘Konjski zub’ as 309 g and ‘Ciparski’ as 341 g. Cultivars exhibited a range of fl avor (from sour to sweet) and acidity (0.9 to 4.3% in juice). Aril colour of ‘Ciparski’ and ‘Pastun’ were red while ‘Konjski zub’ had light pink aril colour. ‘Pastun’ had the highest soluble solids and acidity in both fruit juice and peel. ‘Ciparski’ was in high for total anthocyanins content (12.8 mg of cyanidin-3,5-diglucoside equivalents per 100 g of fresh mass) while ‘Pastun’ is high for total phenolics content (144.7 mg gallic acid equivalent per 100 g fresh mass) in juice. Our results indicated that there were important quality differences among pomegranate cultivars grown in Croatia

Oporaba visokorizičnog biorazgradivog otpada metodom alkalne hidrolize

Biodegradable waste is by defi nition degraded by other living organisms. Every day, meat industry produces large amounts of a specifi c type of biodegradable waste called slaughterhouse waste. Traditionally in Europe, this waste is recycled in rendering plants which produce meat and bone meal and fat. However, feeding animals with meat and bone meal has been banned since the outbreaks of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). In consequence, new slaughterhouse waste processing technologies have been developed, and animal wastes have now been used for energy production. Certain parts of this waste, such as brains and spinal cord, are deemed high-risk substances, because they may be infected with prions. Their treatment is therefore possible only in strictly controlled conditions. One of the methods which seems to bear acceptable health risk is alkaline hydrolysis. This paper presents the results of an alkaline hydrolysis effi ciency study. It also proposes reuse of the obtained material as organic fertiliser, as is suggested by the analytical comparison between meat and bone meal and hydrolysate.Biorazgradivi otpad defi nira se kao otpad koji razgrađuju živi organizmi. Klaonice i mesna industrija proizvode na dnevnoj bazi velike količine specifi čnoga biorazgradivog otpada poznatog kao otpad životinjskog podrijetla. Tradicionalno se u Europi taj otpad reciklira u kafi lerijama, pri čemu se proizvode mesno-koštano brašno i mast. No nakon pojave goveđe spongiformne encefalopatije (GSE) zabranjena je prehrana životinja mesno-koštanim brašnom. U potrazi za novim mogućnostima zbrinjavanja otpada životinjskog podrijetla razvijene su nove tehnologije oporabe i omogućena upotreba takvog otpada u energetske svrhe. Određeni dijelovi otpada životinjskog podrijetla, mozak i leđna moždina, pripadaju kategoriji visokorizičnog otpada zbog velike mogućnosti postojanja priona u njima. Njihova oporaba stoga je moguća samo u strogo kontroliranim uvjetima. Jedna od metoda koja se smatra prikladnom za oporabu visokorizičnih otpada jest metoda alkalne hidrolize. U radu su prikazani rezultati analiza mesno-koštanog brašna i hidroliziranog otpada te njegova uporaba kao organskoga gnojiva

The quality analyses of olive cake fuel pellets - mathematical approach

This article investigates the effect of processing parameters (conditioning temperature and binder content), on final quality of produced agro-pellets for heat energy generation, obtained from four different olive cultivars using different technological parameters. Technological, physical and chemical properties of pellets (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulphur content, particle density, abrasion length, moisture, ash content, higher and lower heating values, fixed carbon and volatile matter content) have been determined to assess their quality. The performance of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) was compared with the performance of second order polynomial (SOP) model, as well as with the obtained experimental data in order to develop rapid and accurate mathematical model for prediction of final quality parameters of agro-pellets. SOP model showed high coefficients of determination (r2), between 0.692 and 0.955, while ANN model showed high prediction accuracy with r2 between 0.544 and 0.994. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. III 46005 i br. TR-31055