The effect of atmospheric pressure cold plasma on the inactivation of Escherichia coli in sour cherry juice and its qualitative properties

One of the nonthermal methods is the atmospheric pressure cold plasma (APCP). In this study, the effect of cold plasma on the reduction of Escherichia coli bacteria and qualitative properties of sour cherry juice, including total phenolic content (TPC), total anthocyanin content (TAC), and vitamin C, were investigated. Independent variables included plasma exposure time (1, 5, and 9 min), applied field intensity (25, 37.5, and 50 kV/cm), feeding gas oxygen content (0%, 0.5%, and 1%), and sample depth (0.5, 1, and 1.5 cm). The results show that increased oxygen content in argon has the greatest effect on the reduction of bacteria, and plasma exposure decreased 6 logarithmic periods of E. coli bacteria in sour cherry juice. Optimization results showed when all bacteria were eliminated by plasma, TPC remained unchanged, and TAC and vitamin C decreased by 4% and 21%, respectively, while thermal methods increased TPC by 23% and decreased TAC and vitamin C by 26% and 77%, respectively. These results indicate that, compared with conventional thermal methods, sour cherry juice pasteurization using APCP has little effect on the juice qualitative properties, and this method can serve as a suitable alternative to conventional thermal methods. Keywords:cold plasma; Escherichia coli; nonthermal method; response surface method; sour cherry juic

Energy Flows Modeling and Economic Evaluation of Watermelon Production in Fars Province of Iran

This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of energy consumption and economic analysis of different watermelon cultivation systems in Fars Province of Iran. Watermelon production systems were classified into five systems, namely, custom tillage (group 1), conservation tillage (group 2), traditional planting (group3), semi mechanized planting (group 4), and mechanized planting (group 5). Data were collected from 317 watermelon producers from different parts of the province through face to face interviews. Multi-Layer Perceptron artificial neural networks were used to model the energy flows of watermelon production. The results showed that the greatest energy consumption belonged to mechanized planting system with the value of 81317.72 MJha-1 and with the productivity of 0.61 kgha-1 and energy use efficiency of 1.17. Clustering function with three inputs (human resources, machines and diesel fuel) showed that the difference between groups 2 and 4 is more than the other groups. The least energy consumption belonged to the conservative agriculture as78163.86 MJha-1 and the energy productivity and energy use efficiency about 0.64 kgha-1 and 1.22, respectively. The results of energy modeling showed that an ANN model with 9-10-1 structure was determined to be optimal for energy flow modeling of this system. Generally, it was concluded that the artificial neural network models can be applicable to prognosticate the energy flows of watermelon production. From an economic point of view, the least net profit belonged to traditional planting with the value of 2618.14$, and the most net return belonged to mechanized planting with the value of 2752.88$/ha

Analysis of the combinative effect of ultrasound and microwave power on Saccharomyces cerevisiae in orange juice processing

High temperature in conventional method for juice pasteurization causes adverse effects on nutrients and nutritional value of food. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of microwave output power, temperature, ultrasound power, and ultrasonic exposure time on Saccharomyces cerevisiae in orange juice. Based on our findings, microwave output power, ultrasound power, ultrasonic exposure time orange juice temperature were the most effective factors to reduce S. cerevisiae. The results showed that the quadratic model included was the best model for account. The model showed that regarding decrease of S. cerevisiae account microwave-induced temperature was more effective than microwave output power. Also, compared to microwave power, the ultrasound power was more effective on S. cerevisiae reduction. The optimum processing condition was 350 W microwave power, 35 °C temperature, 778.2 W ultrasonic power, and 11 min of exposure. Based on our result, the consumption energy was 142.77 J/mL with no remaining of S. cerevisiae. The results showed that the given scores by panelists to the combinative and conventional methods for color and flavor indices were significant (P b 0.05). Industrial Relevance: In order to reduce the adverse effects (loss of vitamins, flavor, and non-enzymatic browning) of the thermal pasteurization method, other methods capable of inactivation of microorganisms can be applied. In doing so, non-thermal methods are of interest, including pasteurization using high hydrostatic pressure processing (HPP), electric fields, and ultrasound waves. The ultrasound technology has been the main focus of studies in recent years. However, the main challenge facing the non-thermal technologies in food processing is the inactivation of pathogenic microorganisms and food spoilage agents, which can be achieved by various methods. The aim of present research was examined simultaneous effect of ultrasonic and microwave to remove microorganism. This research introduces new, innovative, and combined method for fruit juice pasteurization, and this method can benefit the food industry

The simultaneous effect of electromagnetic and ultrasound treatments on Escherichia coli count in red grape juice

Introduction: The thermal pasteurization is a common method for maintaining fruit juice and increasing shelf life, but the thermal processing changes the flavor and color of the products. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a new method of combining heat and ultrasound on the number of the Escherichia coli present in grape juice. Methods: In this study, the effects of the microwave power, temperature, ultrasound power and ultrasonic exposure time were evaluated on E. coli count of red grape juice. In order to determine the microbial inactivation by microwave and ultrasound, E. coli at a concentration of 6×106 per mL was inoculated to red grape juice. Results: The effects of microwave power, grape juice temperature, ultrasound power and ultrasonic exposure time on the reduction of E. coli were significant (P<0.05). The model showed that in reducing E. coli the importance of the final temperature of the juice was higher than the microwave power. In addition, the ultrasonic power was more effective in E. coli reduction as compared to the microwave power. Conclusion: Both sample temperature and ultrasonic duration were important independent variables and effective factors on E. coli reduction

Development and optimization of the new ultrasonic-infrared-vacuum dryer in drying Kelussia odoratissima and its comparison with conventional methods

Among the post-harvest processing of medicinal plants, drying is an important and influential process. Given the numerous applications of medicinal plants, especially Kelussia odoratissima, in the food and pharmaceutical industries, the aim of this study was to compare the effects of the ultrasound-infrared radiation-vacuum method with conventional drying methods on the drying time, the total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and antioxidant activity of K. odoratissima. ANOVA result showed that the effects of drying methods, drying temperature and their interaction effect on phenolic, flavonoid and antioxidant content were significant at 1% probability level. In the ultrasound-IR-vacuum method, by increasing temperature from 40 °C to 80 °C, the TFC increased by 35%. The highest antioxidant capacity was obtained for dry shade treatment, followed by dry sun treatment and three temperatures, i.e., 40 °C, 60 °C and 80 °C, in the combined method. The proposed optimal temperatures for the hot air, IR, and ultrasonic drying, were 63 °C, 66 °C and 71 °C, respectivel

Optimization of operational and design parameters of a Simultaneous Mixer-Separator for enhanced continuous biodiesel production

Nowadays, biodiesel is promoted as an alternative and renewable fuel. The mass-transfer limited transesterification reaction is commonly used for biodiesel production, but it could benefit from process intensification technologies. The Simultaneous Mixer-Separator (SMS) is a novel process intensification reactor capable of integrating the mixing and separation of reactants within a single unit. The current study aims to determine the ideal parameters for continuous biodiesel production using an SMS setup that was exclusively designed and fabricated in-home for enhanced biodiesel production. The research statistically analyzed the effect of the space between the rotor and the bottom of reactor (h) (0.7, 1.0, 1.3 cm), the diameter ratio between the rotor and the stator (Dr/Ds) (0.5, 0.7, 0.9), and the frequency of the rotor’s rotary speed (Rf) (20, 40, 60 Hz) on biodiesel yield using the Response Surface Methodology (RSM). Optimal oil to fatty acid methyl ester(FAME) conversion of 93.2% and the optimal volumetric production rate of 1,980 (kg FAME/m3·h) were obtained by setting the SMS to a rotational frequency of 39 Hz, an h of 0.7 cm, and a Dr/Ds of 0.85

Biodiesel fuel purification in a continuous centrifugal contactor separator:An environmental-friendly approach

Wet washing is the most common method for biodiesel purification, but higher water consumption, longer purification time, and high expenses bring limitations on the use of this process. One of the suitable methods to remove such limitations is to use new techniques for purification. In this study, biodiesel purification was evaluated in a novel continuous centrifugal contactor separator (CCCS) at 0.5:1, 1:1, and 1.5:1 (V/V%)water to biodiesel ratio; 10 Hz, 20 Hz, and 30 Hz device working frequency; and 25 °C, 40 °C, and 55 °C temperatures. A mathematical model for the wet-washing process of biodiesel and energy consumption of the CCCS device using the response surface method is proposed. A 0.8:1 (V/V%) water to biodiesel ratio, 10 Hz working frequency, and 35 °C temperature were found to be the optimal conditions in the experiment. At this point, the biodiesel yield and the amount of energy consumption were reported to be 96% and 17 kJ, respectively. The results showed that compared to the traditional wet washing method, the biodiesel purification method using CCCS is cost-effective and consumes more than 75% less of water

Optimization of the Efficiency of Electromagnetic Waves Dryer Power on Chemical Composition and Yield of Satureja bachtiarica Essential Oil Using Response Surface Methodology

The aims of this research were to study and optimize the effects of different electromagnetism wave (microwave) powers on drying procedure of Bakhtiari savory. The essential oils from shade and microwaves dried samples were isolated by hydrodistillation in a Clevenger apparatus and analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results showed that with increasing the microwave power, drying time and essential oil yield decreased. The highest values of thymol and carvacrol and sum of them that show the quality of essential oil was obtained with 800 W microwave power. The results of optimization using Response Surface Methodology revealed that the optimum point was 561.3 W microwave power. At this point, the analytical software obtained the p-cymene, γ-terpinene, thymol, carvacrol, yield and drying time values were 5.61%, 12.61%, 12.87%, 43.28%, 1.79% and 445.37 s, respectively. Hence, if we consider the quality of essential oil together with shorter time of drying, the microwave power of 800 W is recommended and if essential oil yield is more important than its quality, shade-dried is recommended

Investigation and optimization of the effect of osmotic-ultrasound drying pretreatment on qualitative properties and process energy consumption of Cornus mas

Cornus mas is one of the native horticultural products to Iran that have high pharmaceutical and nutritional values. This study aimed to comparatively investigate the different drying methods with ultrasound-osmotic pretreatment on energy consumption, timing, and qualitative properties of C. mas. In this study, C. mas was first dried by the oven (at 40, 50, and 60 degrees C), microwave drying (at 200, 500, and 800W), and infrared (at 40, 50, and 60 degrees C). Samples were then treated at three concentrations 9, 18, and 27% of salt, three ultrasound power 100, 250, and 400 W, and three intervals 5, 10, and 15 min by the ultrasound-assisted-osmotic drying method. The optimal ultrasound-assisted-osmotic drying pretreatment was achieved at a concentration of 27%, ultrasound power of 100 W, and 11.28 min. In terms of qualitative properties, osmotic pretreatment with the supplementary oven method is the best method for drying C. mas fruits. Practical applications Drying with hot air (conventional method) requires a lot of energy and is, therefore, costly. The use of pretreatment operations can reduce tissue water and facilitate mass transfer during hot air drying. The present research aimed to comparison different drying methods with ultrasound-osmotic pretreatment on energy consumption, timing, and qualitative properties to report optimal drying methods and conditions. The ultrasound-osmotic pretreatment can decrease the processing time and energy consumption and maintenance of quality properties. So the results were presented in this research can be beneficial to the food industry and will lead to long-term storage, more preservation of quality properties of foods and fruits reduce costs

Energy Flows Modeling and Economic Evaluation of Watermelon Production in Fars Province of Iran

This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of energy consumption and economic analysis of different watermelon cultivation systems in Fars Province of Iran. Watermelon production systems were classified into five systems, namely, custom tillage (group 1), conservation tillage (group 2), traditional planting (group3), semi mechanized planting (group 4), and mechanized planting (group 5). Data were collected from 317 watermelon producers from different parts of the province through face to face interviews. Multi-Layer Perceptron artificial neural networks were used to model the energy flows of watermelon production. The results showed that the greatest energy consumption belonged to mechanized planting system with the value of 81317.72 MJha-1 and with the productivity of 0.61 kgha-1 and energy use efficiency of 1.17. Clustering function with three inputs (human resources, machines and diesel fuel) showed that the difference between groups 2 and 4 is more than the other groups. The least energy consumption belonged to the conservative agriculture as78163.86 MJha-1 and the energy productivity and energy use efficiency about 0.64 kgha-1 and 1.22, respectively. The results of energy modeling showed that an ANN model with 9-10-1 structure was determined to be optimal for energy flow modeling of this system. Generally, it was concluded that the artificial neural network models can be applicable to prognosticate the energy flows of watermelon production. From an economic point of view, the least net profit belonged to traditional planting with the value of 2618.14$, and the most net return belonged to mechanized planting with the value of 2752.88$/ha