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The paper manufacturing process has several stages - Raw material preparation and handling, Pulp manufacturing, Pulp Washing and Screening, Chemical recovery, Bleaching, Stock Preparation, and Papermaking. Paper production is basically a two-step process in which a fibrous raw material is first converted into pulp, and then the pulp is converted into paper. The harvested wood is first processed so that the fibers are separated from the unusable fraction of the wood, the lignin. Pulp making can be done mechanically or chemically. The pulp is then bleached and further processed, depending on the type and grade of paper that is to be produced. In the paper factory, the pulp is dried and pressed to produce paper sheets. Post-use, an increasing fraction of paper and paper products is recycled. Nonrecycled paper is either landfilled or incinerated.

The paper is a cellulose fiber base material and consequently it is heterogeneous at different scales. In addition, the paper exhibits two preferential axes of fiber orientation, from which it is easy to define the characteristics of an elementary bi-dimensional fiber network. A third axis, perpendicular to the first, corresponds to the stacking direction of individual networks. Following the example of composite layered media modeling, the paper presents three perpendicular planes of material symmetry. In other words, the paper is commonly assumed to be an orthotropic material [1]. The paper presents also various mechanical behaviors such as elasticity, viscoelasticity, non-linear elasticity. Furthermore the paper properties depend on both the temperature and the hygrometry [2]. At last, paper materials exist in the form of sheets; their thickness (100 µm on average) is very small beside their other dimensions.

The word paper is derived from papyrus, a sheet made in ancient times by pressing together very thin strips of an Egyptian reed, cyperus papyrus. The modern material, paper, consists of sheet materials that are comprised of bonded, flexible, cellulose fibers which, while very short, 0.5–4 mm, are about 100 times as long as they are wide. Small particle fillers or pigments, in the form of clays or other inorganic materials are used to give paper improved properties, e.g. opacity, brightness and printability, or to improve the economics of the papermaking process. In this chapter we will focus on the use of small particles as process aids to improve retention and dewatering on paper machines.

In paper coating, the pigment volume content of the coated layer is over critical pigment volume concentration (CPVC) and latex polymer used as main binder forms a discontinuous film. It is known that the coated layer has a porous structure. This feature of the coated layer has significant influence on printing performance parameters. In addition, printing is a dynamic process. Due to difficulty in measuring the dynamic mechanical properties of such a thin and composite layer, dynamic mechanical analysis of the coated layer has not been studied in the paper coating processes. Results based on DMTA studies indicate that three transitions of dynamic viscoelastic properties are observed in the coated layer. The first transition corresponds to polymer Tg and frequency dependent, while second and third transitions show independence on frequency and seem to be related to the packing state of the coated layer.The effect of these transitions related to the printability influenced by latex properties is discussed.

Hydrogels are water-swollen polymer networks. They are of great interest both medically and commerically. Conventional hydrogels change little in swelling with environmental conditions while stimuli-responsive hydrogels may swell or deswell sharply with relatively small changes of temperature or pH. A general review of the principles and applications of these interesting materials is presented here.

In this study paper is modelled as a homogeneous structure where the cell wall layer of the fiber constitutes the main building unit. By this approach the macroscopic properties of paper are related to the properties of the constituent polymers cellulose and hemicelluloses. The effects of fiber orientation and the influence of moisture content on the elastic moduli and hygroexpansivity of paper is examined and compared to experimental data. It is advocated that the mechanical properties of paper are dependent on a mixture of transverse and longitudinal cell wall layer properties and not only on the proportion of fibers in any direction.

The sizing treatment of printing papers to make them resistant to penetration by liquids, for example, water or printing inks, also weakens the bond strength between the polymer and the paper in printing processes in which solid polymers create the image on plain, bond-type papers. The adhesion characteristics of a series of business papers treated with either rosin sizes or synthetic, cellulose-reactive sizing agents are described. It is demonstrated that the decrease in bond strength correlates with a decrease in paper wettability, as measured by capillary penetration of organic liquids of suitable surface tension, or as defined by surface energetics using the elution-gas-chromatography technique. Examples are presented, which show that these analytical techniques are effective in specifying paper performance in nonimpact printing technologies (for example, electrophotographic printing and resistive-ribbon, thermal-transfer imaging).

Nuts have high lipid content, with mono- and polyunsaturated fats, which makes them very prone to lipid oxidation and rancidity, and quality properties very sensitive to water vapor adsorption. So, their commercialization requires high oxygen and water vapor barrier packaging materials to preserve their quality and enlarge shelf life. Edible films and coatings could be used to this end, thus reducing the environmental problems and recyclability needs of conventional plastic bags, while limiting moisture, aroma, and lipid migration between components of nut blends. Nut coatings must fulfill different requirements, such as good adhesion to the nut surface to ensure its widespread coating; good sensory attributes (organoleptic compatibility with the product, transparency, and gloss); high moisture and oxygen barrier properties and mechanical resistance; chemical, physical, and microbial stability; and health safety. In this sense, coatings can be used as carriers of natural and safe antimicrobial and antioxidant agents to prevent nut deterioration and fungal toxin production as well as oxidation of the native lipids. Adequate formulation design of coatings using hydrocolloids, and safe components to improve their adhesion and active properties are necessary and in recent years, research in the field attracted significant attention within the scientific community. This chapter reviews these materials and their effect on processed nut quality and their applicability as eco-friendly alternatives to conventional packaging systems.

Recent intensive research and development of organic field-effect transistors (FETs) [1–6] have been motivated by a new class of applications that cannot be easily realized by conventional electronics based on inorganic semiconductors. Organic transistors are mechanically flexible, thin, lightweight, and shock-resistant, because organic devices are manufactured on plastic films at low (ambient) temperature. Furthermore, manufacturing costs of organic transistor circuits would be inexpensive, even for large areas, when they are fabricated using printing technologies and/or roll-to-roll processes. There are two major applications for organic transistors. The first one is a flexible display. This new display includes a paper-like display or an electronic paper, where electric inks, electroluminescent (EL) devices, and liquid crystals or other mediums are powered by organic transistor active matrices [4, 7]. The second one is a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag [8, 9]. An organic transistor-based RFID tag may be printed on packages of products, resulting in an inexpensive and robust electronics. As another application of organic transistors, we demonstrated large-area flexible sensors. The first organic transistor-based large-area sensors are flexible pressure sensor matrices; organic transistor active matrices are used to read out pressure distributions over a large area from a 2-D array of pressure sensor cells. The new pressure sensor can be ideal for electronic artificial skin (e-skin) applications for future generations of robots. The mobility of pentacene that is known as a high-mobility low-molecular weight semiconductor is typically 1 cm2/Vs. This value is about two or three orders of magnitude lower than that of polyor single-crystalline silicon, respectively. Although flexible displays and/or RFID tags require usually high-electronic performance, the

Isothermal testing of polymer ageing requires long-term exposure if realistic results are to be obtained, which means a time-consuming and hence expensive exercise, which may have to be repeated many times over many different conditions. Rates of ageing can be accelerated by increasing the temperature of tests or by using a more aggressive environment, but then results must be extrapolated to working conditions, assuming that the same mechanisms still apply. In this paper, we demonstrate that a slow thermal ramp technique, similar to thermo-gravimetric analysis, allows the qualitative and, in some cases, quantitative assessment of ageing to be made in a relatively short time, 15 to 20 days, compared to up to 2 years for isothermal tests. We will illustrate the method in relation to recent work on the ageing of Kraft electrical insulation paper in insulating oil and compare results from isothermal and thermal ramp experiments. In this case, Degree of Polymerisation (DP) was used as a key indicator of degradation.

The term “flexible electronics” encompasses a wide array of applications such as flexible displays, low-cost and/or large-area sensors, conformal lighting, and solar cells to name a few, with one common ingredient: the ability to fabricate electronic and optoelectronic devices on nonrigid substrates such as plastic films, metal foil, or thin glass, without losing the functionality of the devices during operation. Other terms often used to convey this concept include “printable electronics”, “macroelectronics,” and “organic electronics.” The promise of flexible electronics lies in the potential for building large-area electronic devices with much lower cost than possible with conventional silicon-based technology [1]. The technologies being developed to enable this all revolve around building devices using low-cost printing techniques that are compatible with high-volume “roll-to-roll” manufacturing. Example technologies that are potentially compatible with low-cost printing techniques include organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) [2–3], organic photovoltaic devices [4–6], thin-film transistors (TFTs) and TFT arrays using both organic [7–9] and solution-processible inorganic materials [10, 11], electronic paper [12], wearable electronics [13], flexible batteries [14], RFID tags [15], sensors [16], and more complicated circuitry [17–19]. Fabricating these devices on flexible substrates, particularly on plastic, brings with it new challenges in order to make them commercially viable. One critical challenge is to design a means of hermetic packaging of the organic electronic device because many such devices exhibit a very short shelf lifetime if not protected from the ingress of environmental permeants such as oxygen and water vapor [20]. Such a packaging scheme can be viewed to have two components. First, the substrate on

Recently, many industries are aiming to reduce the usage of petroleum-based products and synthetic fibres due to increased environmental concerns regarding such materials. This has led to extensive research on natural fibres with the goal of producing eco-friendly products that will replace the existing petroleum-based ones. Natural fibres can be derived from many sources such as plants, animals, or minerals. However, plant fibres, such as kenaf, are more desirable to most researchers. Kenaf, scientifically known as Hibiscus cannabinus. L, has a complex structure because it consists of lignin, cellulose, and hemicelluloses. Due to this reason, kenaf needs to undergo a treatment process in order to remove lignin and hemicellulose, reduce the crystallinity of its constituent cellulose, and increase its porosity. In this study, acid treatment method was employed and the influence of several process parameters, such as temperature and time, for achieving high yield of glucose conversion was studied. The highest substantial glucose yield was 3.4 g/L produced at 200 °C after 60 min.

Red beet is a rich source of water-soluble betalains, which have application in the food and pharmaceutical industries, owing to their visual and health promoting functional properties. Conventional extraction techniques suffer from certain disadvantages, such as low yields, stability problems, solvent contaminations and batch-to-batch variations. Alternative extraction techniques such as permeabilization, pulsed electric field extraction, membrane processing, supercritical extraction, sonication, and nano grinding offer benefits of safety and eco friendly processing steps, higher recovery rates and greater uniformity of the product.

This chapter starts off with a discussion on the history of graphite growth on SiC. It then gives an overview of various methods to grow epitaxial graphene on SiC; methods discussed include growth on various polytypes, at different vacuum levels and gas flows, and on both the Si- and C-face of SiC. Structural and electronic properties of these films are looked into along with carrier mobility results from Hall-bar and FET-structures where available.

Wastewater treatment technologies have become extremely important due to the dangers and health risks posed from water pollution. Adsorption is a common method for removing contaminants from wastewater with anthracite coal being commonly used. However, anthracite coal is ineffective at removing some contaminants, especially at low concentrations. We have investigated the use of carbon aerogels as effective adsorbents for wastewater treatment. Carbon aerogels are mesoporous materials with low density, high surface area, and a porous inter-connected network, which are ideal properties for an effective adsorbent. The ma-terials were synthesized by supercritical drying and pyrolysis of organic gels. The resulting aerogels were tested using the contaminants hexavalent chromium and estrone in equilibrium adsorption experiments to determine their adsorption capa-bilities. Carbon aerogels significantly outperformed anthracite coal by removing nearly all of the contaminants from water, demonstrating that these materials are very promising adsorbents for wastewater treatment.

A direct adsorption kinetic study of an unbleached Kraft woodpulp has exhibited a sequence of regimes of adsorption. The kinetics of adsorption of the first two stages may be described as typical of a first order process. The results obtained are perfectly consistent with qualitative descriptions of structure and fibre bonding in these materials, as abundantly reported in the literature. For the two first regimes, values for time constants and maximum mass of adsorbed water were evaluated. Clearly this technique reveals an outstanding potential for crucial information about surface area characterisation of paper woodpulps.

Preserving art objects, especially outdoor stone ones, from the ravages of man and time often entails application of a polymeric material. Unfortunately, some of these products may support or actually encourage microbial growth and cause unintentional problems. This paper summarizes studies that developed a screening test to quantify the effects of fungal activity on a variety of consolidants and resins, and FTIR-fungal studies on silicone-based resins. One of the studies was a five-week assessment of the ability of a mixture of six fungal species to use sixteen different polymer formulations. A quantitative ranking scale was developed for the products using a combination of organism growth, sporulation, weight change, and chemical change data. These data were applied in Duncan’s Multiple Range test and Student-Newman-Keuls’ test to statistically rank a series of conservation materials for their susceptibility to fungal attack. The products tested included three acrylics, five polyvinyls, five silicone-based polymers, one polyimide, and two natural resins. Damage to the products ranged from complete degradation to very little change. Some of the products that are degraded the most are quite prevalent in field use today (i.e., Conservare H40, Conservare OH, and Acryloid F-10). Fungal degradation may be related to the abundance of silanol molecules (Si-OH) for silicone-based products, CH bonds for carbon-containing products, or the presence of’inert’ material used as bulking agents.

Waste water which has suspended materials could be removed from water by simple filtration, which is an especially effective unit operation in the removal of very small particles, like microorganisms (Earle, 1983). These filters could be used as a bio-reactor in waste treatment. The waste filtration process is usually performed using amedium such as sand or anthracite coal (Brennan et al., 1990). Filterability is not a specific property of a suspension, but it is an interactive property between a suspension and some filter media. If the properties of one of these are kept constant (i.e., as a standard filter medium) the changes in filterability only reflect changes in the suspension (Brennan et al., 1990).

Several leafing and non-leafing pigments varying in average particle size were formulated into toluene based inks containing 5, 10, and 15 percent aluminum pigment. The inks were drawn down on coated paper and transparent plastic film using #3 and #6 wire-wound rods and a 140 line gravure handproofer. The plastic prints were weighed to determine ink film thickness and aluminum concentration per unit area on the print. Using the same applicator and inks with the same concentration of aluminum, the amount of ink transferred to plastic film was independent of pigment type and particle size. Ink opacity or hiding power was evaluated using conventional optical density measurements on the paper prints and a novel photographic technique to quantify light transmission through the ink films on plastic. Results from the paper and plastic prints indicated that the opacity of both leafing and non-leafing pigments decreased as the average particle size of the aluminum pigment increased. An economically important saturation value could be calculated for each pigment which signified the minimun concentration of aluminum per square centimeter of ink film on clear plastic required for complete opacity. Saturation value depended upon average particle size.

We have developed a non-clotting based heparin assay. It is established by the attachment of protamine (a heparin antidote) to a porous filter paper strip; and the subsequent migration of heparin sample through the filter paper in an ascending or descending manner. The area of paper to which heparin adsorbed will be proportional to the heparin level in the sample. This region is visualized by spraying methylene blue NNX (a dye that interacts with heparin and the interaction causes a metachromatic shift of the dye’s absorption maximum from blue to purple) solution onto the paper strip upon the exhaustion of the sample reservoir. This approach has proven to be capable of detecting and differentiating plasma heparin level within clinical range in a relatively time efficient and accurate manner.

In Japan, large-capacity gas-insulated transformers (275kV, 300MVA) designed to be cooled by flowing SF6 gas have been developed and are operating in underground substations.1 They use insulating plastics with excellent heat resistance and insulation strength, in addition to cellulose materials such as insulating paper and pressboard used in conventional oil-immersed transformers. Such insulating plastics have a high surface resistance and can be electrified through contact with each other, delamination, or friction. Again, the resistivity of SF6 gas is so high that once the insulation material surface is electrified, charges are slow to leak out.

Plants, such as flax, cotton, hemp, jute, sisal, kenaf, coir, pineapple, ramie, bamboo, banana, as well as wood, are a source of lignocellulosic fibers. Their availability, renewability, low density and price as well as satisfactory mechanical properties make them attractive reinforcing fibers in the manufacture of composites. The natural fiber containing composites are used in transportation (automobiles, railway coaches, aero-space), military applications, building and construction industries (ceiling paneling, partition boards), packaging, and consumer products.

To be considered as environmentally degradable, a plastic must satisfy at least two requirements. On outdoor exposure or soil burial it must become brittle rapidly enough to disappear visually, and the degraded material must be susceptible to biological attack giving complete conversion to biomass without release of toxic products.

The aim of the investigations was the optimalization of a suspensions sedimentation process of different kinds of sludges after ultrasound desintegration influence. Organic sludges taken from municipal treatment plants were tested. These were digested sludges and after aerobic digestion. After an ultrasonic field action and exactly chosen parameters, the answer to the question was suspected if this physical agent would have a beneficial influence on the sewage sludges structure. In consequence, it will probably directly change the conditions of sludge sedimentation and the thickening process. Moreover, a very important task was the determination of the most effective physical parameters characteristic for the ultrasonic field action. For every ultrasounds application there is an optimal combination of parameters i.e. the viscosity of the liquid, temperature, frequency and ultrasounds intensity. The optimal parameters were determined during laboratory tests. The model, which was used in the tests, was the system of parameters which had the following values: the frequency of 22 kHz, the amplitude of 8, 12 and 16μm and the sonification time 5, 15 and 25 seconds. The operational conditions which were presented, were evaluated during the observation of changes in the prepared sewage sludges. Changes in the thickening effect of sludges, and changes of pH values, alkalinity and acidity may explain the problems connected with sonochemical reactions. After the laboratory tests it was noticed that the ultrasonic waves application may be the method which will improve the settling properties of sewage sludges. In dependence on energy which was input, measured as the time of sonification for every amplitude which was used and preparation cycle, the most effective results of thickening were obtained after the shortest time of an ultrasonic field preparation (it was 5 seconds). The best results of sewage sludge desintegration with an ultrasonic field will demand the accommodation of the proper amount of introducing energy to the characteristic parameters of sludges.

Mechanical separations in food processing include two main operations, i.e., the removal of material or substances and their classification (Table 5.1). Removal is distinguished between removal of undesired parts (cleaning) and desired parts (separation).

The chemical treatment of woody materials to produce fibers (pulps) also produces a nearly equal amount of soluble chemicals consisting mainly of modified lignin and carbohydrate degradation products. In most chemical pulp mills, this material is burned to create energy for the recycling of pulping chemicals. A small number of pulp mills, mostly acid sulfite mills, purify the lignin streams and market this material commercially. In 1998, close to one million tons of lignosulfonates were used worldwide in a variety of industrial applications.1 The largest use of this material is as a dispersant of particle slurries such as concrete, clays, gypsum, and dyes.2 In these applications, lignosulfonates must compete with synthetic dispersants such as condensation polymers of formaldehyde with sulfonated naphthalene. Much effort, therefore, has been directed towards increasing the dispersing ability of lignosulfonates in these systems through chemical modifications and physical separations. These processes, however, can also affect other properties of the particle slurries such as setting time, air entrainment, and color. It is very important, therefore, to look at the entire system when considering a lignin modification. In this chapter, the effect that lignosulfonate components and chemical modification reactions have on the function of lignosulfonate dispersants in the manufacture of gypsum wallboard will be discussed.

1. Preformulation Studies as an Essential Guide to Formulation Development and Manufacture of Protein Pharmaceuticals D.B. Volkin, et al. 2. Formulation Development of Protein Dosage Forms M.J. Akers, et al. 3. Aseptic Processing of Protein Pharmaceuticals M.W. Townsend. 4. Fundamentals of Thermal Sterilization Processes R.T. Wood. 5. Membrane Filtration D.J. Brose, et al. 6. Fundamentals of Freeze-Drying S.L. Nail, et al. 7. Quality Assurance and Quality Control for Biopharmaceutical Products J. Geigert. 8. Regulatory Considerations in the Development of Protein Pharmaceuticals M.G. Beatrice. References.

The examination of the biodegradability of biodegradable materials is of crucial importance for the product launch and for the disposal of these products. Biodegradable materials can be biodegraded under aerobic as well as under anaerobic environmental conditions. The examination of biodegradability under aerobic environmental conditions alone is not sufficient.There are some materials, which are biodegradable under aerobic environmental conditions, but an anaerobic biodegradation cannot be observed. Anaerobic biodegradation is to be investigated by use of standardised test methods for different materials. For the examination of the biodegradability under anaerobic conditions bench scale studies were carried out on two different test systems respecting the ISO DIS 14853. On the one hand gas production was measured with a volumetric test system using the principle of displacement volume, on the other hand in a manometric test system .the determination of gas production was carried out via determination of gas pressure. Both test systems were compared. Materials tested were Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), Poly-e-caprolacton (PCL) and Ecoflex®. The assessment of the degree of their anaerobic biodegradability was carried out via determination of the gas production. The investigations have demonstrated, that with both test systems comparable results can be achieved. In comparison with the manual determination of the gas displacement volume when using the volumetric test method the rates of gas production can thus be registered automatically when using the manometric method. The biodegradability of PHB was confirmed by both test systems. PCL and Ecoflex® are not biodegradable under anaerobic conditions according to ISO DIS 14385.

A number of polymers can be produced via fermentation, using special consortia of microorganisms to convert renewable raw materials (surplus or waste products from agriculture or foresting) into useful products within sustainable processes. The main groups are either extracellular polysaccharides produced by many eukaryotic or prokaryotic microorganisms, or polyhydroxyalkanoates stored intracellularly as reserve products for carbon and energy in a variety of bacteria. In order to lower production costs for these biopolymers, continuous processes have to be designed for the future.

Nitrocellulose (NC) is present as a binder in a range of plastic bonded explosives (PBXs) and its degradation with time is of ongoing interest to the explosives industry. The decomposition kinetics of NC have been investigated by ageing nitrocellulose-containing PBXs at elevated temperatures and monitoring the reduction in NC molecular weight using gel-permeation chromatography (GPC). The kinetics can be described by a first order, random chain scission model and exhibit linear Arrhenius-type behaviour over the temperature range studied, suggesting a single degradation mechanism applies at temperatures below 70 °C. Our current understanding of this degradation mechanism is discussed. Results are presented which show the correlation between NC molecular weight and the mechanical properties of a PBX and the concept of ‘instant ageing’ is introduced whereby explosives are formulated using a low molecular weight nitrocellulose to mimic the probable composition of a PBX had it aged naturally. It is shown that the molecular characteristics of NC vary according to whether the cellulose used in its manufacture is derived from wood pulp or from cotton. This appears to have no significant effect upon the bulk properties of the NC-containing plastic bonded explosives under consideration here.

This paper describes various aspects of water-based coatings and printing processes with special emphasis on the surface characteristics of coating/printing films. The film formation depends significantly on the surface properties of formulated coating/ink, and their interactions with substrates. Several surface parameters in relation to coating defects are briefly described. The mechanisms of printing processes and coating/ink film formation by water-based systems are presented. It has been shown that the formation of surface tension gradient during film curing determines the quality of the coating and printing films. Results demonstrate that the incorporation of suitable additives in the formulation can considerably minimize the crater formation. The hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) concept and the effect of surfactant concentration on pigment dispersion in an aqueous medium are discussed.

Two processes that utilize relatively mild thermal treatments to achieve the desired rlesults are pasteurization and blanching. Both processes apply thermal treatment to food products in an effort to improve the stability of the product during storage. Although the magnitude of the thermal processes is similar, application of the processes involves two distinctly different types of food products. Pasteurization is most often associated with liquid foods, while blanching is most often associated with solid foods. The magnitude of thermal treatment used for both processes is not sufficient to establish storage stability at room temperature. The criteria utilized in establishing these modest thermal treatments are rather specific and are different for different food commodities.

Researches on combustion and spectroscopy have been closely related since the very beginning at the time of Kirchhoff, Bunsen and Faraday. Since then every generation of spectroscopists gave its contribution to the understanding of combustion and used these sources for a deepening of their field. The purpose of this short paper is to highlight the actual relationship between these two fields of research.

In conventional production of wood-based boards and panels, synthetic adhesives such as urea- and phenol formaldehyde, are added during the production process. The adhesives ensure good mechanical properties and dimensional stability upon exposure to water. However, some of the applied adhesives may cause environmental or health hazards, and new less harmful adhesives are in high demand. A new approach for bonding of boards and panels is to use environmentally friendly enzymes for cross-linking and polymerization of wood-based materials.

Gas-insulated transformers (GIT) using SF6 gas as an insulating medium offer the advantages of making substations nonflammable and reducing the space required However, the possible effects of SF6 gas on the environment have become a topic as “GREENHOUSE” gas1,2. Therefore, it is important to reduce SF6 use in the nature, and SF6/N2or N2 are considered to be suitable substitutes3.

The fouling and cleaning of surfaces in contact with foods remains one of the major processing problems in the food industry. Baking processes must continuously guard against contamination of their products and reduction in quality due to lack of hygiene. Continuous operation of equipment has led to the introduction of ‘Cleaning In-Place’ (CIP) methods. The development and criteria affecting cleaning of processing and storage equipment is of increasing concern. Considerable time, detergent and energy may be saved if a clear understanding of the principles involved in cleaning starches and a knowledge of the effect of certain variables upon starch removal were determined. Cost optimisation of dairy CIP cycles has been studied by Bird and Espig (1994). Their study analyses a typical multi-stage acid/alkali dairy CIP cycle to examine the effect of detergent ternperature, flow-rate and concentration upon the cost of cleaning. The results show that the cost of cleaning agent concentration and temperature influence costs most, whereas the flow-rate selection requires prior knowledge of specific down-time cost.

Application of granular ion exchangers for treatment of large volumes of polluted water with low concentrations of pollutants meets serious technological and economic problems. One of them is large energy and time consumption for pumping of the purified water through the column; the other one is destruction of the granules under mechanical and osmotic stress in prolonged exploitation.

Process heat transfer is used at several points during winemaking to control or retard unwanted enzyme, microbial, and chemical reactions. These will generally include: 1. Must cooling in association with juice draining or skin contact prior to fermentation 2. Juice cooling prior to fermentation 3. Both the heating and cooling requirements of high-temperature short-time (HTST) denaturation of enzymes or to kill microorganisms 4. Heat removal for temperature control during fermentations 5. Cooling of wines for control of temperature during storage 6. Cooling of wines to enhance potassium bitartrate crystallization 7. Energy recovery by interchanging heat between warm and cold wines 8. Heating of juice for thermovinification 9. Cooling and air conditioning of the winery or aging cellars.

There are other drying techniques in addition to the ones already discussed in Chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8 based on similar concepts and used in the food industry. This chapter covers drying techniques such as sun drying, vacuum drying, drum drying, microwave drying, extrusion cooking, fluidized bed drying, and pneumatic drying. In addition, this chapter includes some important aspects related to the packaging of dried foods: mechanical damage, permeability, temperature effect, light transmission and, compatibility of packaging materials.

Commercial extrusion processing of food and feeds has been practised for nearly 60 years. The first commercial application of screw extruders in the food industry was the production of pasta using a single-screw device. This product was not fully cooked, but rather the moist dough was compressed by the slow turning screw and shaped by the orifice through which the dough was expelled.

Conventional water immersion thawing of frozen seafood blocks requires large amounts of water, causes cross-contamination problems, and loss of solids to leaching. Frozen shrimp blocks and fish were thawed by passing an alternating current through the blocks. 60 Hz and up to 480 V were used. An automated amps and voltage data acquisition system was developed. A changing current regime was used to prevent local overheating. Thawing times for different blocks for different current-voltage regimes are presented. A preliminary economic analysis and sensory tests were performed.

Electrical conductivity, firmness, skin and pulp colour measurements were carried out in avocado (Persea americana. Mill) cv. ‘Hass’ during fruit ripening at +20°C. Conductivity measurements were taken by an impedance bridge and two needle electrodes inserted into the whole fruit. Respiration rate and ethylene production of the fruits were also determined.

The premixes (microelements, vitamins and chemotherapeutics) are the most expensive components and play important role in feed production. Usually added in small amounts, thay can be incorrectly mixed with other components because of its bulk density and suppleness to segregation. Moreover, the water absorbtion and chemical activation taking place during the storage of microelements can reduce the quality of the feed.

The micro cut blender (MCB) was developed for continuous direct manufacture of paste, jelly, and emulsion of fish meat and soybean by synchronized micron-order pulverization and blending. Several features of MCB and properties of sardine and soybean pastes were indicated. MCB controls the generation of heat during pulverization, and has a unique cutlery mechanism which has cutting function with three-dimensional motion and a manufacturing system which effectively utilizes the freezing moisture energy of the processed materials. Synchronized operations are done at low temperature and 300 to 1000 kg of raw materials are processed per hour. It is hoped that MCB may be useful for the developement of new processed foods.