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Copy of author's previously published article inserted. Bibliography: leaves 127-154. Pollination and fruit development were investigated in relation to abscission and abnormalities, specifically, blanking, semi-blanking, non-splitting and premature splitting of fruit. Pollen germination was assessed in Pistacia vera, P. atlantica and P. terebinthus. The pollen tube pathway in pistachio was documented precisely. Growth periods of normal and abnormal pistachio fruits were investigated.

Copy of author's previously published article inserted. / Bibliography: leaves 127-154. / xiv, 155 leaves, [19] leaves of plates : ill. (some col.) ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Pollination and fruit development were investigated in relation to abscission and abnormalities, specifically, blanking, semi-blanking, non-splitting and premature splitting of fruit. Pollen germination was assessed in Pistacia vera, P. atlantica and P. terebinthus. The pollen tube pathway in pistachio was documented precisely. Growth periods of normal and abnormal pistachio fruits were investigated. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Horticulture, Viticulture and Ocnology, Waite Agricultural Research Institute, 1996

We were developing detection methods for three food allergens of plant origin. We used real-time PCR for soy detection in food oriented on gene lec, that is coding lektine specific for soy. On this target sequence were oriented PCR system with primers Le2F and Le2R and TaqMan probe Le2P. Detection limit (2,75 pg), practical detection limit (0,02 %), inclusivity and exclusivity were determined. Whole system were quantified. Real-time PCR for pistachio detection were based on primers and probe for gene COR. Detection limit (3,5 pg), practical detection limit (0,002 %), inclusivity and exclusivity were determined. For almond detection we were not succeed system, that fulfil all qualitative parametres.

In this study production and characterization of activated carbon from an agricultural waste, pistachio-nut shells, was investigated. To determine optimum production conditions by chemical activation method, effect of tempreature (300, 500, 700 and 900 oC) and effect of impregnation ratio (1:1, 2:1 and 3:1 as activation agent:sample) were investigated by applying two different methods (raw material activation and char activation) and with two different activation agents (phosphoric acid and potassium hydroxide). To produce activated carbon, all the impregnated samples were heated to the final activation temperature under a continuous nitrogen flow (100 cm3/min) and at a heating rate of 10 oC/min and were held at that temperature for 1 hour. Pore structures of activated carbons were determined by N2 adsorption and micro-mesopore analysis was made by &ldquo / Non-local Density Functional Theory&rdquo / and &ldquo / Monte Carlo Simulation&rdquo / method (NLDFT-Monte Carlo Simulation Method). BET surface areas of produced activated carbons were found from N2 adsorption data in the relative pressure range of 0.01 to 0.15. BET surface areas of phosphoric acid activated carbons by raw material activation method were found between 880 and 1640 m2/g. The highest value of the BET surface area was obtained in the case of the activated carbon which was produced with an impregnation ratio of 3/1 (g H3PO4/g raw material), at an activation temperature of 500 oC. The repeatibility was also investigated on phosphoric acid activated carbons which were produced with conventional raw matererial activation method. Results showed that, both the BET surface area values and pore size distributions were consistent among themselves. On the other hand char activation experiments with phosphoric acid produced activated carbons having lower BET surface areas than the ones obtained with raw material activation method by creating mesoporous structure. When the same char activation method was tried with potassium hydroxide, it was concluded that elevated temperatures could help in producing activated carbons with high BET surface areas by creating microporous structure. Results also showed that properties of activated carbon such as ash content, slurry pH value, true density, elemental composition, methylene blue number and surface morphology were strongly affected by both production conditions and production method, as pore structure was affected considerably.

Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Jeffery R. Williams / The economic feasibility of adding a pistachio roasting facility to the current operations of Tularosa Pistachio Groves (TG) was examined. A facility that roasts and processes 200,000 pounds of pistachio nuts was found to be the most economically viable for the available product grown by (TG) and other small growers in this area. This size facility optimizes the production capacity of the equipment needed for a small grower/processor and fully utilizes a fulltime skilled labor pool needed for the operation. Lower production levels utilize the same equipment on an intermittent schedule. Although operating costs are less when processing fewer pistachio nuts, the negative cash flows during the early period of the project are significant and make the lower production levels less financially viable. The primary reason the lower production quantities are less attractive is because the initial capital investment produced lower cash incomes in the early years of operation. Additional cash is needed for the operation costs, and principal and interest payments. Achieving maximum production to utilize the capacity of the facility sooner makes the project more financially feasible.

Carbonization of biomass is a type of pyrolysis that allows for the formation of byproducts that have applications in many other industries [1]. In the field of materials science concerned with environmental impact intersecting with desirable material properties and performance, the process of carbonization in particular with commonplace biomass such as food waste is of great interest. In this thesis, pistachio shell was used as the organic biomass of choice for carbonization, and reinforcement was provided by titanium powder. These two materials were milled together at two different compositions and milling times. Experimental conditions consisted of replicates of three bulk samples made from uniaxially pressed powder mixtures heat treated from 800 °C up to 1200 °C in increments of 100 °C. Heat treatment occurred in a tube furnace with a heating rate of 5 °C/min up to the heat treatment temperature, holding the temperature for 1 hour, then ramping back down to room temperature, all in an inert atmosphere. XRD was performed on heat treated samples before polishing, while optical microscopy and SEM were performed after mounting and polishing. TGA was performed on the milled powders, while hardness was performed on the heat treated bulk samples after mounting and polishing. Results obtained suggested that increasing heat treatment temperature and milling time decreased carbon matrix porosity. In addition, greater amounts of titanium seemed to result in increased porosity. However, at increased temperature, more surface cracking was observed, leading to the conclusion that an excessively high temperature is detrimental to mechanical properties. Finally, rutile TiO2 was formed as a result of the heat treatment process. In considering environmental impact, cost, and mechanical properties, a balance must be maintained between higher temperature processing, duration, milling time, and porosity present due to these factors. Future work includes further investigations into processing parameters and characterization such as XPS and abrasion testing. / Master of Science / Carbonization of organic materials such as wood or nut shells can be explained in short as a decomposition that occurs when those materials are heated up without allowing them access to oxygen as in a normal combustion like a fire. Because of that, carbonization can produce useful products and materials of interest to many. Adding titanium to pistachio shell powder, performing compaction and carbonization, then further heating up those samples, resulted in composite materials consisting of mostly carbon char and particles inside that improve the properties. After testing multiple experimental conditions and analyzing them using equipment such as X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), optical microscopes, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)/Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), and a hardness tester, some trends in properties and structure were observed. Generally, increasing heat treatment temperature and milling time will reduce porosity in the matrix. On the other hand, decreasing amount of Ti powder added seems to reduce porosity. However, too high of a heat treatment temperature seems to have a detrimental effect on the part manufactured (i.e. surface cracking). In addition, considering processing costs and time costs could discourage one from using a very high temperature to heat treat these samples. Therefore, it is important to balance amount of energy used to heat treat, time spent, and resulting porosity of the final product for its applications. Future work should be done to further determine the effects of processing parameters by making more samples to test the properties of. Other characterization techniques like X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and abrasion testing could be good to determine the exact makeup of the particles in the composite as well as see the sample's performance in its intended application (i.e. brake pads).

No description available.