A pesquisa objetivou estudar a influência do grau de umidade da semente e da temperatura de armazenamento sobre a conservação das sementes de Talauma ovata. Para tanto, dois lotes de sementes com teores de água iniciais de 23,5% (lote 1) e 23,8% (lote 2) foram submetidos à secagem para a obtenção de sementes com os demais teores de água, 17,4%, 10,9% e 7,1% para o lote 1 e 15,8%, 13,1% e 10,0% para o lote 2. Em seguida, as sementes foram acondicionadas em sacos de polietileno e armazenadas sob temperaturas controladas de 15ºC e de 20ºC. As sementes foram armazenadas por 180 dias, lote 1, e por 60 dias, lote 2, e avaliadas mensalmente quanto ao teor de água, à emergência da plântula, ao índice de velocidade de emergência da plântula, à velocidade de emergência da plântula, ao comprimento da plântula e à massa da matéria seca da plântula; as sementes do lote 2 foram também avaliadas quanto à sanidade. O potencial fisiológico das sementes de Talauma ovata é favorecido pela secagam das sementes. A qualidade inicial das sementes de T. ovata influencia a longevidade das sementes. A secagem das sementes, para teores de água entre 10,9% e 13,1%, e o armazenamento das sementes a 15°C favorecem a conservação das sementes de T. ovata. / The research aimed to study the influence of the seed moisture content and storage temperature on Talauma ovata seed conservation. Thus, two seed lots with initial moisture content of 23.5% (lot 1) and 23.8% (lot 2) were dried and obtained tree moisture content levels in each lot, and the moisture contents were 17.4 %, 10.9% and 7.1% for lot 1 and 15.8%, 13.1% and 10.0% for lot 2. After obtaining the moisture content, seeds were conditioned in polyethylene bags and stored under controlled temperature at 15°C and 20°C. Seeds were stored for 180 days, lot 1, and 60 days, lot 2, and were monthly evaluated as for moisture content, sand seedling emergence, emergence index, seedling emergence speed, seedling length and seedling dry mass; seeds from lot 2 were also evaluated as health condition. Talauma ovata seeds has the phisiological potencial favored by drying seeds. T. ovata seed longevity has been influenced by initial quality. T. ovata seed conservation is favoured by seed with moisture content between 10,9% and 13,1% and storage temperature at 15°C.

Submitted by Sandra Pereira (srpereira@ufrrj.br) on 2016-08-31T18:29:21Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2011 - Ludmila Fonseca da Silva.pdf: 418709 bytes, checksum: 3fdbea46dfe13f8e8414fea7b84fbd88 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-31T18:29:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2011 - Ludmila Fonseca da Silva.pdf: 418709 bytes, checksum: 3fdbea46dfe13f8e8414fea7b84fbd88 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-02-25 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico - CNPq / Two experiments were installed. The first experiment was conducted to evaluate the physiological quality of sunflower seeds after hydration by the methods of humid atmosphere and soak substrate combined to 10 and 20?C to increase the water content of seeds for 15, 20 and 25%. For this, the initial physiological quality and after the moistening of the seeds was determined by germination tests and vigor. The second experiment was conducted to evaluate the precocity of the primary root emission of sunflower seeds as a vigor test. For this, four seed lots were tested for germination and vigor, among them, the primary root emission aiming percentage of emission and precocity index. From the results it was concluded that the method of soak substrate at 10?C to increase the water content at 15 and 20% was positive for moistening the seeds of high quality, although it has seen little reduction in seedling vigor. The test root emission after 48 hours was effective in classifying different levels of vigor lots of sunflower seeds / Foram instalados dois experimentos. O primeiro foi realizado com o objetivo de avaliar a qualidade fisiol?gica das sementes de girassol ap?s a hidrata??o pelos m?todos da atmosfera ?mida e substrato ?mido combinados a 10 e 20?C para elevar o teor de ?gua das sementes para 15, 20 e 25%. Para isto, a qualidade fisiol?gica inicial e ap?s o umedecimento das sementes foi determinada pelos testes de germina??o e de vigor. O segundo experimento foi realizado com o objetivo de avaliar a precocidade da emiss?o de raiz prim?ria de sementes de girassol como teste de vigor. Para isto, quatro lotes de sementes foram submetidos a testes de germina??o e vigor, entre eles, o de emiss?o de raiz prim?ria, visando a porcentagem de emiss?o e o ?ndice de precocidade. Pelos resultados foi poss?vel concluir que o m?todo do substrato ?mido a 10?C visando aumentar o teor de ?gua a 15 e 20% foi favor?vel para o umedecimento das sementes de elevada qualidade, embora tenha sido observado pequena redu??o do vigor das pl?ntulas. O teste de emiss?o de raiz prim?ria ap?s 48 horas foi eficiente na classifica??o de distintos n?veis de vigor dos lotes de sementes de girassol.

Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) is a relatively new method applied to food quality assessment. EIS allows relatively inexpensive assessment, is fast, easy to operate and non-invasive. It has been adopted for investigation of fundamental electrical properties of plant tissues. Although the applications of EIS for food quality determination have been reported previously, the analytical relationships between electrical impedance properties and quality criteria have not yet been fully developed. Further exploration is thus important in acquiring more data on electrical impedance characteristics of fruits and vegetables and researching new approaches for determination of their quality. This dissertation aims to investigate the electrical impedance properties of fruits and vegetables, and explore the relationship between impedance and quality criteria. In particular, the present dissertation outlines experimental research conducted on relationships between impedance properties and fruit tastes as well as the impedance changes observed during ripening process. Impedance measurement to monitor moisture content changes in the progress of drying is also included in this research. In summary, the impedance properties have merits in fruits and vegetables quality assessment. The current used subjective visual inspection and assessment could be replaced by the EIS based approach as it is a more precise measurement of food quality. Further study is required to give this method practical value.

Nanoindentation is a method of contacting a material whose mechanical properties are unknown with another material whose properties are known. Nanoindentation has the advantage of being able to probe a material’s microstructure while being sensitive enough to detect variations in mechanical properties. However, nanoindentation has some limitations as a testing technique due to the specific formation and structure of some biomaterials. The main objective of this research is to identify any factors that influence the nanoindentation measurement of wood cell walls (a typical biomaterial). The function of the embedding media in describing the properties of wood cells is poorly understood. This research demonstrated that Spurr’s resin, when diffused into wood cell wall during the embedding process, enhanced both the Young’s modulus and hardness of the cell walls. A substitute sample preparation method was developed to avoid this resin penetration into cell wall and was determined to be both effective and easy to perform. The nanoindentation procedure involves the application of a monitor and an analysis of the load-displacement behavior and the response in the material. It can be anticipated that various ways of loading, including the maximum force, the loading time, and others, will cause a variety of mechanical properties. Thus, our second aim was to study the effect of load function on nanoindentation measurement in wood. It was discovered that a fast loading rate contributed to greater contact depth and lower hardness. Increasing the holding time decreased measured values for both Young’s modulus and hardness. However, no significant difference of Young’s modulus and hardness among three loading functions with different unloading rates. The final part of the research was to study the effect of moisture content on the micromechanical properties of wood material. Several nanoindentations were performed on the wood cell wall while varying the moisture content of wood. Results indicated that both the Young’s modulus and hardness decreased significantly with an increase of moisture content. A rheology model was developed to describe the nanoindentation behaviors of wood cell walls at different moisture contents. Five parameters were extracted from Burger’s model, and the relationships among those five parameters were quantified.

This paper aims to derive qualitative model for energy requirements for wood chipping process. There is relationship shown between energy requirements and properties of biomass, which is quite variable material. Relationship between comminution machinery and energy necessary for the process is highlighted. Derivation of the model is focused on chipping but in general it’s possible, to make it available both for different types of biomass (f. ex. agricultural residues) or for different type of comminution machinery (f. ex. hammermills) just by using different material properties adjusted to machinery mechanics. Properties used in derivation are mend to be easy to measure. Model is mend to be used as a base for quantitative model that, thanks to measurements performed on real comminution machinery and using wood with known properties, could give answers for two important questions: Would hypothetical changes in desired size of output material increase total system efficiency, taking into consideration lowest efficiency of combustion process (i. ex. higher amounts of unburned fuel)? How to optimise comminution as an operation in biofuel supply chain, with respect to energy used for the process?

Materials derived from chicken feathers could be used advantageously in composite building material applications. Such applications could potentially consume the five billion pounds of feathers produced annually as a by-product of the U.S. poultry industry. To aid the development of successful applications for chicken feather materials (CFM), the physical and mechanical properties of processed CFM have been characterized in this research. Results describing the moisture content, aspect ratio, apparent specific gravity, chemical durability, Youngs modulus, and tensile strength for processed CFM and specifically their fiber and quill components are presented herein. Processed chicken feather fiber and quill samples were found to have similar moisture contents in the range of 16 - 20%. The aspect ratio (i.e., length/diameter) of samples were found to be in the range of 30 - 50, and the fiber material was found to have a larger aspect ratio than the quill material. A comparison with values in the literature suggests that different processing regimes produce CFM with higher aspect ratios. Samples were found to have apparent specific gravities in the range of 0.7 - 1.2, with the fiber material having a higher apparent specific gravity than the quill material. A comparison with values in the literature suggests that apparent specific gravity results vary with fiber length and approach the value for keratin as fiber length decreases and internal voids become increasingly accessible. Chemical durability results showed that CFM rapidly degrade in highly alkaline (pH=12.4) environments and are, thus, likely incompatible with cement-based materials without special treatment. The Youngs modulus of processed chicken feather materials was found to be in the range of 3 - greater than 50 GPa and, thus, comparable to the Youngs moduli of other natural fibers. The tensile strength of oven-dried samples was found to be in the range of 10 - greater than 70 MPa. In agreement with results in the literature, the fiber material was found to have a greater tensile strength than the quill material. Finally, a simplified approach for comparing the effective Youngs moduli and effective tensile strengths of various processed CFM samples was introduced.

<p>This thesis presents a grey-box model of the temperature and moisture content for each layer of the multi-ply paperboard inside the drying section of a paper mill. The distribution of the moisture inside the board is an important variable for the board quality, but is unfortunately not measured on-line. The main goal of this work is a model that predicts the moisture evolution during the drying, to be used by operators and process engineers as an estimation of the unmeasurable variables inside the drying section.</p><p>Drying of carton board is a complex and nonlinear process. The physical phenomena are not entirely understood and the drying depends on a number of unknown parameters and unmodelled or unmeasurable features. The grey-box modelling approach, which consists in using the available measurements to estimate the unknown disturbances, is therefore a suitable approach for modelling the drying section.</p><p>A major problem encountered with the modelling of the drying section is the lack of measurements to validate the model. Consequently, the correctness and uniqueness of the estimated variables and parameters are not guaranteed. We therefore carry out observability and identifiability analyses and the results suggest that the selected model structure is observable and identifiable under the assumption that specific measurements are available. Based on this analysis, static measurements in the drying section are carried out to identify the parameters of the model. The parameters are identified using one data set and the results are validated with other data sets.</p><p>We finally simulate the model dynamics to investigate if predicting the final board properties on-line is feasible. Since only the final board temperature and moisture content are measured on-line, the variables and parameters are neither observable nor identifiable. We therefore regard the predictions as an approximation of the estimated variables. The semiphysical model is complemented with a nonlinear Kalman filter to estimate the unmeasured inputs and the unmodelled disturbances. Data simulations show a good prediction of the final board temperature and moisture content at the end of the drying section. The model could therefore possibly be used by operators and process engineers as an indicator of the board temperature and moisture inside the drying section.</p>

Nanoindentation is a method of contacting a material whose mechanical properties are unknown with another material whose properties are known. Nanoindentation has the advantage of being able to probe a material’s microstructure while being sensitive enough to detect variations in mechanical properties. However, nanoindentation has some limitations as a testing technique due to the specific formation and structure of some biomaterials. The main objective of this research is to identify any factors that influence the nanoindentation measurement of wood cell walls (a typical biomaterial).The function of the embedding media in describing the properties of wood cells is poorly understood. This research demonstrated that Spurr’s resin, when diffused into wood cell wall during the embedding process, enhanced both the Young’s modulus and hardness of the cell walls. A substitute sample preparation method was developed to avoid this resin penetration into cell wall and was determined to be both effective and easy to perform.The nanoindentation procedure involves the application of a monitor and an analysis of the load-displacement behavior and the response in the material. It can be anticipated that various ways of loading, including the maximum force, the loading time, and others, will cause a variety of mechanical properties. Thus, our second aim was to study the effect of load function on nanoindentation measurement in wood. It was discovered that a fast loading rate contributed to greater contact depth and lower hardness. Increasing the holding time decreased measured values for both Young’s modulus and hardness. However, no significant difference of Young’s modulus and hardness among three loading functions with different unloading rates.The final part of the research was to study the effect of moisture content on the micromechanical properties of wood material. Several nanoindentations were performed on the wood cell wall while varying the moisture content of wood. Results indicated that both the Young’s modulus and hardness decreased significantly with an increase of moisture content. A rheology model was developed to describe the nanoindentation behaviors of wood cell walls at different moisture contents. Five parameters were extracted from Burger’s model, and the relationships among those five parameters were quantified.

The use of fossil derived products and the environmental and economic problems associated with them have made a shift to abundant renewable resources such as forest biomass more attractive. However before forest biomass can be used as a resource, its properties must be known. This study determined the physical properties of heterogeneous biomass residues produced during harvesting on two operational forest sites within the Great Lakes-St Lawrence forest of south-eastern Ontario. Properties measured were moisture content, size distribution, bulk density, and wood-to-bark ratio; also thermo-chemical properties including elemental composition, thermal reactivity and energy content were measured. The effects of forest site and harvest type, storage and position in storage pile, on the properties of biomass were also investigated. Results of the study showed that the various heterogeneous forest harvest residues differed more physically than thermo-chemically for the different variables, and this affected biomass procurement more than the potential utilization options.

Submitted by Josirene Barbosa (josirene.henrique@ufcg.edu.br) on 2018-01-25T12:14:24Z No. of bitstreams: 1 MARCONDES BARRETO DE SOUSA - TESE PPGEP 2013.pdf: 2754211 bytes, checksum: cfa419eec5485d15508d11ab77a2eeed (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-01-25T12:14:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MARCONDES BARRETO DE SOUSA - TESE PPGEP 2013.pdf: 2754211 bytes, checksum: cfa419eec5485d15508d11ab77a2eeed (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-02 / Capes / A torta de mamona é o principal subproduto da cadeia produtiva da mamona, produzida a partir da extração do óleo das suas sementes. Em todo o mundo, seu uso predominante tem sido como adubo orgânico, apesar do seu elevado teor de proteínas. A torta é produzida na proporção aproximada de 1,2 tonelada para cada tonelada de óleo extraída. A elevada produção de biocombustíveis a partir das sementes de mamona ocasionará um aumento na produção da torta, a qual, apesar do alto valor nutritivo, não pode ser empregada para o consumo animal por possuir proteínas tóxicas (ricina) e alergênicas (albumina 2S). O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar métodos de desintoxicação e secagem da torta de mamona para que seja possível seu aproveitamento como ração para animais. A caracterização e a composição química, físico-química e física da torta “in natura” foram constituídas pelas análises dos teores de água, óleo, proteína bruta, carboidratos, ricina, pH, acidez titulável, cinzas, fibras, valor calórico e calor específico. A umidade de equilíbrio da torta de mamona foi determinada pelo método estático, em soluções de sais e água destilada, para uma faixa de umidade relativa de 10, 30, 50,70 e 90%, nas temperaturas de 15, 25, 35 e 45°C. As amostras da torta de mamona foram colocadas dentro de recipientes herméticos contendo soluções de sais, em câmara com temperatura controlada, até atingir o equilíbrio. Para o ajuste das isotermas de sorção da torta de mamona foram utilizados os modelos de Halsey, Henderson modificado por Thompson, Oswin e Cavalcanti Mata, e os dados experimentais submetidos a uma análise de regressão não linear, utilizando-se programa computacional Statistica7.0. Exceto o modelo de Oswin, os demais descreveram suficientemente o comportamento das isotermas de umidade de equilíbrio para as umidades relativas e temperaturas estudadas, com valores dos coeficientes de determinação (R2) superiores a 99% e desvios percentuais médios (P) inferiores a 10%. Constatou-se que a umidade de equilíbrio higroscópico é diretamente proporcional à atividade de água e decresce com o aumento de temperatura, para um mesmo valor de atividade de água. O processo de desintoxicação da torta de mamona foi feito à base de hidróxido de cálcio Ca(OH)2, em solução aquosa, nas concentrações de 1, 2, 3, 4 e 5%. A secagem da torta de mamona foi feita nas temperaturas de 50, 60, 70, 80 e 90°C, em um secador de leito fixo, em camadas fina, com ajustes satisfatórios dos modelos matemáticos de Henderson, Page, Midilli e Cavalcanti Mata. A secagem em camada espessa ocorreu nas temperaturas de 50, 70 e 90°C, nas concentrações de 1, 3 e 5% e as xix isotermas ajustadas pelo modelo de Thompson, apresentando coeficiente de determinação superior a 99%. Após tratamento e secagem, foi realizada a quantificação da torta de mamona referente aos parâmetros químicos e físico-químicos, constando-se alterações dos teores de pH e acidez, causadas pelo aumento da concentração; quanto ao teor de ricina, verificou-se que quanto maior a concentração de hidróxido de cálcio presente no tratamento e a temperatura de secagem, maior foi sua remoção, atingindo 0% de ricina na concentração de 5% e temperatura de secagem de 90°C, podendo, portanto, ser utilizada na alimentação de animais. / The castor bean is the main by-product of castor oil production chain, produced from the extraction of oil from its seeds. Around the world, its use has been rife as organic fertilizer, despite its high protein content. The bean is produced in the ratio of approximately 1.2 tons for every ton of oil extracted. The high production of bio-fuel from the seeds of castor lead to an increase in the production of the bean, which, despite its high nutritional value, cannot be used for animal consumption, for possessing toxic protein (ricin) to allergen (2S albumin). The aim of this work was to study methods of detoxification and drying of castor bean to be able to take advantage of it as animal feed. The characterization and chemical, physical-chemical and physical composition of the bean "in nature" were established by analysis of the levels of water, oil, protein, carbs, ricin, pH, nameable acidity, ash, fiber, calories and specific heat. The humidity equilibrium contained in castor bean was determined by the static method, in salt solutions and distilled water to a relative humidity range of 10, 30, 50, 70 and 90% at temperatures of 15, 25, 35 and 45° C. Samples from the castor bean were placed in sealed containers containing salt solutions in a chamber with controlled temperature, until they achieve equilibrium. For adjustment of the sorption isotherms of the castor bean Halsey, Henderson, modified by Thompson, Oswin and Cavalcanti Mata models were used, and experimental data subjected to nonlinear regression analysis using a computer program Statistica7.0. With the exception of the Oswin model, the others sufficiently described the behavior of the humidity equilibrium isotherms for the relative humidity and studied temperatures, with the values of the coefficients of determination (R2) superior to 99% and average percent deviations (P) inferior to 10%. We found that the humidity of hygroscopic equilibrium is directly proportional to the water activity and decreases with the increase of temperature, to the same value for water activity. The detoxification process of the castor bean was made by basic hydrated calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)2 in aqueous solution at concentrations of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5%. The drying of castor beans was made at temperatures of 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90° C, in a fixed bed dryer, in thin layers, with satisfactory adjustments of the mathematical models of com Henderson, Page, Midilli and Cavalcanti Mata. The thick layered drying xxi occurred in temperatures of 50, 70 and 90°C, in the concentrations of 1, 3 and 5% and the isotherms adjusted by the Thompson model, showing a coefficient of determination superior to 99%. After treatment and drying, the quantification of the castor bean was done, referring to the chemical and physical-chemical parameters, finding alterations in the pH content and acidity, caused by the increase in concentration; as to the ricin content, it was verified that the higher the concentration of calcium hydroxide present in the treatment and the drying temperature, the more it was removed, reaching 0% of ricin in the concentration of 5% and the drying temperature of 90°C, making it edible for animals.