Vegetable oil is one of the most widely available renewable sources of energy that can be used to meet the world’s demands. Many vegetable oils also have the advantage of containing little to no detectable amounts of nitrogen. Recently, research studies have revealed that when two liquids with different vapor pressure values are formed into droplet-like emulsions, a micro-explosion effect can happen under specific environmental conditions. Understanding the micro-explosion phenomena can help increase the efficiency of bio-emulsion combustion as well as reduce pollution levels. Many researchers have conducted experiments to find the optimal condition that induces microexplosion effects. Microexplosion is also associated with the formation of shock waves characteristic of explosions at larger scales. However, little is known about how emulsion composition and droplet size affect the micro-explosion process. Through this research, methanol-in-vegetable oil emulsion has been studied from the microexplosion point of view using custom made electric furnace equipment with a high speed camera system and an acoustic sensor system. The main goal of this study is to understand the effect of emulsion compositions, chamber temperatures, and droplet sizes on the characteristics of microexplosion. First, an n-hexadecane-in-water emulsion was prepared to validate the performance of the custom-made experimental apparatus using previous published data. Methanol-in-canola oil emulsions with different compositions were also prepared and used to compare the micro-explosion phenomena with water as a volatile compound. Microexplosion events of the blended fuels were captured using a high speed camera and an acoustic sensor. The wave signals generated by the microexplosion were analyzed after converting the signals using a Fast Fourier Transform coded in Matlab. One of the major findings of this research work was that higher temperatures and higher concentrations of high vapor pressure fluids such as methanol and water in emulsions causes a high probability of microexplosion event due to the sudden expansion of the emulsified fluid. Also, the effect of size on microexplosion was evident in the greater probability of explosion. Methanol-in-canola oil emulsion with 15 % methanol with droplets size of 200 m placed in a furnace chamber heated to 980 ˚C showed optimal microexplosion behavior based on the formation of fine droplets. Also, smaller droplets produced higher frequencies, which could be used to detect microexplosion without high speed imaging. When large droplets microexploded, lower frequencies were detected in all the blends.

Optimization of the culture conditions for the biomass production of the alga Phaeodactylum tricornutum was investigated in relation to chlorophyllase activity. To obtain the highest total chlorophyllase activity, the biomass of P. tricornutum was harvested after a period of 7 days of incubation during which the incubation temperature was maintained at 18°C for 18 h during the day and 10°C for 6 h during the night. During culture incubation, illumination was provided by fluorescent lamps projecting an incident intensity of 330 mumol/m2.s and the pH of the culture was maintained at 8.4, adjusted by a stream flow of CO 2. The hydrolytic activity of a partially purified chlorophyllase extract, obtained from the fresh biomass of P. tricornutum, was investigated in an aqueous/miscible organic solvent system containing refined bleached deodorized (RBD) canola oil, and chlorophyll or pheophytin as substrate. The effect of a wide range of oil contents, chlorophyll and pheophytin concentrations, acetone concentrations, incubation temperatures and agitation speeds on the enzyme activity was studied. The optimum reaction conditions for chlorophyllase biocatalysis were determined to consist of 20% oil, 10% acetone and a 200 rpm agitation speed with optimum temperatures and substrate concentrations of 35°C and 12.6 muM for chlorophyll, and 30°C and 9.3 muM for pheophytin. The presence of RBD canola oil showed an inhibitory effect on chlorophyllase activity whereas acetone acted as an activator at low concentrations and an inhibitor at higher ones. Moreover, chlorophyllase showed a limited affinity towards pheophytin as substrate compared to that obtained for chlorophyll. Selected samples of crude commercial canola oil were analyzed for their green pigment content using high-performance liquid chromatography and chlorophyllase biocatalysis was investigated on eight varieties of crude commercial canola oil. The chlorophyllase activity was lower in th

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Previous research has shown that microsomal DGAT activity from cultures of Brassica napus was stimulated by human acylation stimulating protein (ASP) and bovine serum albumin (BSA). Genetic constructs were engineered to facilitate the expression of ASP or BSA in developing seeds to test the stimulatory effect of these proteins at the site of TAG formation. As well, genetic constructs were designed to produce a truncation of the BSA polypeptide in an attempt to localize the portion fo the macromolecule responsible for stimulation of DGAT activity. An oleosin promoter was used for seed specific expression and to express the polypeptides at a precisely cooridnated time when oil was accumulating in the developing seeds. Lipid analysis coordinated time when oil was accumlating in the developing seeds. Lipid analysis was performed on the seeds of transgenic plants designed to cytosolically express these mammalian proteins and the seeds of control plants. The first generation data revealed that the total lipid within the mature seeds of ASP and BSA plants was not significantly different from the total lipid of negative control plants using both gravimetric and low resolution-nuclear magnetic resonance methods of analysis. The seeds from ASP 8 and ASP 10 plants, however, did produce significantly more lipid on a per seed basis as compared to negative control plants. The levels of the fatty acid composition for total acyl lipids were measured in these first generation transgenic plants. ASP 3 had significantly lower levels of linoleic acid, ASP 14 had significantly lower levels of a-linolenic acid and BSA 11 had significantly higher levels of both of these fatty acids in comparison to negative control plants. / xix, 245 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm.

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The minimal refining method described in this study made it possible to neutralize crude canola oil using some weaker alkali such as Ca(OH)2, MgO and Na2siO3 as an alternative for NaOH. After citric acid degumming, more than 98% of phosphorous content was removed from crude oil. The free fatty acid content after minimal neutralization with calcium hydroxide decreased from 0.50 to 0.03%. Other quality parameters such as peroxide value, anisidine value and chlorophyll content were within commercially acceptable levels. The use of Trisyl silica and Magnesol R60 made it possible to remove the hot water washing step and to decrease the amount of remaining soap to less than 10 ppm. There was no significant change in chemical characteristics of canola oil after wet and dry bleaching. During traditional neutralization, total tocopherol loss was 19.6% while minimal refining with Ca(OH)2, MgO and Na2siO3 resulted in 7.0, 2.6 and 0.9 % reduction in total tocopherols. Traditional refining removed 23.6% of total free sterols, although after minimal refining free sterols content did not change significantly (p<0.05). Both traditional and minimal refining resulted in almost complete removal of polyphenols from canola oil. Total phytosterols and tocopherols in two cold press canola oils were 7700, 8400 mg/kg and 370, 350 mg/kg, respectively. Total phytosterols and tocopherols contents in solvent extracted canola oil were 9500, 500 mg/kg, respectively. The minimal refining method described in this study was a new practical approach to remove undesirable components from crude canola oil confirmed with commercial refining standards as well as preserving more healthy minor components. / This research project is supported by National Services and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

Particulate and solubilized preparations of phosphatidate (PA) phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.4) and dia-cylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT, EC 2.3.1.20) from microspore-derived (MD) cultures of Brassica napus L. cv Topas were characterized. The activity of solubilized PA phosphatase decreased by about 50% following storage for 24 h at 4 degrees celsius, whereas the activity of DGAT decreased by 30%. Bovine serum albumin increased the stability of both enzymes. Both preparations were enriched in the target enzyme and thus, may be useful in studies of regulation with limited influence by the other Kennedy pathway enzymes. Solubilized PA phosphatase was shown to dephosphoryolate a number of phosphate-containing compounds and showed a preference for dioleoyl-PA and dipalmitoyl-PA over other forms of PA tested. Microsomal PA phosphatase from MD embryos was partially dependent on Mg2+ and partially inhibited by the thioreactive agent, N-ethylmaleimide (NEM). The partial sensitivity to NEM suggest that MD embryos of B. napus may contain forms of PA phosphatase involved in glycerolipid synthesis and signal transduction. NEM-sensitive and NEM-insensitive PA phosphatase activity was found in microsomes of a cell suspension culture of B. napus L. cv Jet Neuf. PA phosphatase, solubilized from MD embryos, was partially purified using ammonium sulfate fractionation followed by anion exchange chromatography. PA phosphatase was resolved into two distinct peaks following anion-exchange chromatography. The peaks contained both NEM-sensitive and NEM-insensitive PA phosphatase activity. Following gel filtration, solubilized PA phosphatase displayed a minimum apparent Mr of about 40 000. Antibodies raised against partially purified preparations of PA phosphatase and DGAT from MD embryos of B. napus L. cv Topas were used in the development of immunochemical probes for these enzymes. Inhibitory anti-PA phosphatase antibodies were developed. Attempts were also made to identify a sub-class of antibodies which could interact with both denatured and native DGAT. / xviii, 137 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm.

Biodiesel has achieved worldwide recognition for many years due to its renewability, lubricating property, and environmental benefits. The abstract represents a summary of all the chapters of the thesis. The research chapters are defined as research phases in the abstract. The thesis starts with an introduction followed by literature review. In the literature review, all the necessary data were collected reviewing the literature. Then an artificial neural network model (ANN) was built based on the published research data to capture the general trends or to make predictions. Both catalyst properties and reaction conditions were trended and predicted using the network model. The review study revealed that esterification and transesterification required catalysts with slightly different properties. In the first phase of the study, biodiesel production using 12-Tungstophosphric acid (TPA) supported on SBA-15 as a solid acid catalyst was studied. In this phase of the study, a large number of 0-35% TPA on SBA-15 catalysts were synthesized by impregnation method and the effects of various operating conditions such as–catalyst wt.% and methanol to oil molar ratio on the transesterification of model feedstock Triolein were studied. A 25% TPA loading was found to be the optimum. A 4.15 wt.% catalysts (based on Triolein) and 39:1 methanol to Triolein molar ratio was found to be the optimum reaction parameter combination, when the reaction temperature was kept fixed at 200C, stirring speed of 600 rpm and 10 h reaction time. The biodiesel yield obtained using this condition was 97.2%. In the second phase of the study, a 12-Tungstophosphoric acid (TPA) was supported by using organic functional group (i.e. 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES)) and was incorporated into the SBA-15 structure. A 45 wt.% TPA incorporated SBA-15 produced an ester with biodiesel yield of 97.3 wt.%, when 3 wt.% catalyst (based on the green seed canola (GSC) oil) and 25.8:1 methanol GSC oil molar ratio were used at 2000C for reaction time of 6.2 h. In the third phase, process sustainability (i.e. process economics, process safety, energy efficiency, environmental impact assessment) studies were conducted based on the results obtained in phase three. Based on the study, it was concluded that heterogeneous acid catalyzed process had higher profitability as compared to the homogeneous acid catalyzed process. Additionally, it was obtained that heterogeneous acid catalyzed process was safe, more energy efficient and more environment friendly than homogenous process. In the fourth phase, the catalytic activity of Tungsten oxide (WO3) and TPA supported (by impregnation) on H-Y, H-β and H-ZSM-5 zeolite catalysts were tested for biodiesel production from Green Seed Canola (GSC) oil. In this phase of the study, TPA/H-Y and TPA/H- zeolite were proved to be effective catalysts for esterification and transesterification, respectively. A 55% TPA/H- showed balanced catalytic activity for both esterification and transesterification. It yielded 99.3 wt.% ester, when 3.3 wt.% catalyst (based on GSC oil) and 21.3:1 methanol to GSC oil molar ratio were used at 200C, reaction pressure of 4.14 MPa and reaction time of 6.5 h. Additionally, this catalyst (55% TPA/H-) was experimented for etherification of pure glycerol, and maximum conversion of glycerol (100%) was achieved in 5 h at 120C, 1 MPa, 1:5 molar ratio (glycerol: (tert-butanol) TBA), 2.5% (w/v) catalyst loading. Later, these conditions were used to produce glycerol ether successfully from the glycerol derived after transesterification of green seed canola oil. A mixture of GSC derived biodiesel, and glycerol ether was defined as biofuels. In the fifth phase, catalytic activity of H-Y supported TPA (using different impregnation methods) was studied in details further for esterification of free fatty acid (FFA) of GSC oil. From the optimization study, 97.2% FFA (present in the GSC oil) conversion was achieved using 13.3 wt.% catalyst, 26:1 methanol to FFA molar ratio at 120°C reaction temperature and 7.5 h of reaction time.In the sixth- and final phase, techno-economic and ecological impacts were compared between biodiesel and combined biofuel production processes based on the results obtained in phase four. Based on the study, it was concluded that, biodiesel production process had higher profitability as compared to that for combined biofuel production process. Additionally, biodiesel production process was more energy efficient than combined biofuel production process. However, combined biofuel production process was more environment-friendly as compared to that for biodiesel production process.

Dietary fat has long been implicated in the etiology of metabolic and cardiovascular disease, and both the amount of fat and the fatty acid composition of the diet play a role in disease progression. Although national health organizations have set guidelines for the recommended intake of dietary fats, questions remain regarding the optimal dietary lipid profile for maintaining health and improving disease conditions. Whether certain types of fatty acids from plant-based oils can improve metabolic and vascular disease has been studied and debated, but not fully determined. In this study, we investigated the role of dietary fatty acids from plant-based oils, and examined their effects on metabolic and vascular disease parameters. Obese fa/fa Zucker rats were fed a diet containing flaxseed oil, which resulted in smaller adipocytes and decreased adipose tissue T-cell infiltration. Obese-prone Sprague Dawley rats were fed high-fat diets with different proportions of mono- and polyunsaturated fats. Changes were observed in adipose tissue levels of fatty acid synthase, adiponectin and fatty acid receptors GPR41 and GPR43, but other metabolic and inflammatory mediators in adipose tissue and serum remained stable. A systematic review and meta-analysis on the impact of n3 fatty acids on major cardiovascular endpoints showed that little evidence exists to support their role in peripheral arterial disease. Then again, very few studies on this topic have been conducted. To address this research gap, a clinical trial was designed to investigate the effects of a dietary intervention on blood vessel properties in people with peripheral arterial disease. Participants in the Canola-PAD Study consumed 25 g/day of canola oil or a Western diet oil mixture as part of their usual diet for 8 weeks. Although the intervention altered phospholipid fatty acids, vascular function, the lipid profile and inflammatory markers stayed relatively stable. Overall, this research demonstrates that dietary fatty acids from plant-based oils can be immunomodulatory, but at the physiological doses tested they are not potent mediators of functional changes in obesity or vascular physiology. / October 2015