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Even though catalyst loading is one of the first crucial steps in organic and inorganic catalytic reactions, it has not been frequently discussed or improved to date. In particular, when a solid catalyst is added to an oxygen- and moisture-sensitive reaction mixture, a carefully tuned process to ensure an inert atmosphere (under nitrogen or argon) is required. Although gloveboxes are nowadays considered to be a universal solution, it is still associated with unsolved problems, such as high cost, high space consumption, difficult temperature control, and handling difficulties on account of the gloves. Herein, we report a recently developed simple apparatus that enables the addition of a solid without opening the reaction vessel. This solid-addition funnel drastically improved the yield (from trace to 64%) and the reproducibility of our original glycosylation reaction.

Highly luminescent zero-dimensional (0D) metal halide clusters attract widespread attention owing to strong exciton confinement and populated self-trapped states but often exhibit narrow emission a...

The interactions of textiles with moisture have been thoroughly studied in textile research, while fluid mechanists and soft matter physicists have partially investigated the underlying physics phenomena. A description of liquid morphologies in fibrous assemblies allows one to characterize the associated capillary forces and their impact on textiles, and to organize their complex moisture transport dynamics. This review gathers some of the common features and fundamental mechanisms at play in textile–liquid interactions, with selected examples ranging from knitted fabrics to nonwoven paper sheets, associated with experiments on model systems.

Technological developments in the era of Globalization, are widely used in various fields, one of the developing technologies is the technology on the NodeMcu ESP8266. In the Soil moisture Detector System in Ornamental Plants Using the IoT-Based NodeMcu ESP8266, based on the problem factors that exist in a failure in plant growth, it is very influential in terms of technique and also improper plant watering procedures, can cause plant growth to be disrupted and also withered. To overcome this problem, the author designed a Moisture Condition Detector in Ornamental Plants Using an IoT-Based NodeMcu ESP8266. Where this system can run commands to automatically water plants from soil moisture while simultaneously watering manually with various desired conditions and the system can send notifications that users can receive via telegram. Through the Moisture Level Condition Detector system in this ornamental plant, it can increase the level of effectiveness, so the quality that the plants get will be better maintained.

Indian jujube (Ziziphus mauritiana) and Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) the most important fruit crops that can grow in India's hot arid regions. The perishable nature of Indian jujube and date fruits leads to post-harvest loss. Both of these fruits are highly perishable, containing more than 80% moisture. Moisture needs to be reduced to less than 20% for storing it for a longer period of time. A phase change material (PCM) based hybrid solar dryer was developed, which consisted of the collector of area 1.06 m2 and two drying trays made of SS (0.50 m2) and that two half trays (0.24 m2). The performance of the developed PCM dryer was evaluated by drying fresh Indian jujube and date palm fruits having an initial moisture content of 65–80% (wet basis) and compared with the developed dryer without PCM. The drying system works so that phase-change material stores the thermal energy during sunshine hours and releases it at night. Therefore, the dryer is effectively operative for the next 5–6 h. The temperature of the drying chamber was observed as 6 °C higher than the ambient temperature in July 2020 during date palm drying after sunshine hours till midnight and it falls gradually, and temperature in the drying chamber was observed as 5°Celsius higher than the ambient temperature in January 2021 during Indian jujube drying. The variations in moisture content (wet basis) of the Indian jujube fruit are reduced from 80% to 22% within seven days by using the dryer with PCM and in 9 days dryer without PCM. In date palm fruit, MC reduced from 65 to 20% in 6 days in the dryer with PCM and eight days without PCM. The thermal efficiency (η) of PCM based hybrid photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) solar dryer (η = 18.0%) was found better than that of natural convection mode without PCM based hybrid solar dryer (η = 15.8%). The developed solar dryer provides a promising alternative for drying other arid food produced after sunshine hours with a real-time data acquisition system. It is also found to be superior in retaining quality.

Coal bed methane (CBM) extraction keeps on going through innovative work. Concerns incorporate evaluating the asset, distinguishing good geologic creation zones, setting up effective recuperation plans, exhibiting progressed penetrating advancements and supporting catch and utilization of less available gas streams. Coal of Raniganj field has a unique characteristic incorporating the best non-coking coalfield in India. Proximate analysis indicate that the ash content is less than 20% and the content of volatile matter, fixed carbon and moisture are in the desired range. X-ray diffraction (XRD) examination demonstrates the presence of 48.1% C4H6O6 that is of monoclinic crystal framework and continuous expansion in diffraction band from 198 to 98 at 2θ = 17.62 and 20.0001 Angstrom representing a better coal seam and presence of aliphatic compounds. FT-IR study reveals the presence of aliphatic hydrocarbons associated with CH2 stretching at 2100.05 cm−1, aromatic C=C (1637.92 cm−1) band associated with –OH(3439.95 cm−1) stretching vibrations.

The aim of this study was to develop a prediction model and identifying relative important factors in the evaluation of moisture content of pharmaceutical granules using Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) techniques for the data sets of Addis Pharmaceutical Factory (APF). Optimal models of ANN and SVM models were developed and compared, utilizing Matlab16.0 as a software tool. The performance of the models is evaluated using a quantitative error metric; mean squared error (MSE), Regression(R) and Confusion Matrix (CM). This study reveals that the ANN model is an optimal model for predicting moisture content of pharmaceutical granules for the datasets of APF. The model of ANN, with MSE of 0.016941 and classification accuracy of 98.7% is built and accepted as optimal model for predicting moisture content of pharmaceutical granules. Temperature, Mixer time, Initial moisture, air flow rate and drying time respectively are the most important factors in determining the moisture content of the granules.

Global efforts to feed the burgeoning population have focused on increasing food production and access. In the meantime, FAO estimates about 1/3 food loss in the developing countries. To minimize these losses, grain storage techniques were investigated in an earthquake hit village in Kavre district of Nepal. Pesticide free moisture proof/airtight food storage bags were provided to 1,055 households using financial support from UNICEF-Nepal. Thirty-three households were identified who could store food grains for 6-month for this study. Maize and rice grains were stored in porous and in moisture-proof hermetic bags. Food grain samples were collected at the beginning and at 6-month and were analyzed for physical quality parameters, nutrients and mycotoxins. About 92% insect damage occurred in maize stored in porous bags which was prevented in triple layer hermetic Purdue Improved Cowpea Storage (PICS) bags. Insect damage in paddy remained low within 10% in both treatments. Major maize nutrient loss occurred through insect damage. The traditional practice was to use insect and mold infested maize as feed. Mycotoxins results showed that toxigenic molds develop in open storage of improperly dried grains especially maize. Fusarium-related mycotoxins associated with stunting were detected in maize samples using LC-MS/MS equipment. Mature grains should be dried sooner to processing moisture contents and packaged into moisture-proof hermetic bags (Dry Chain) to minimize postharvest loss. A clear policy implication is that use of improved low-cost Dry Chain technology should be promoted to enable quality food systems.

With the mission of negative emission, moisture swing sorbents are developing fast in recent years, thanks to their low energy consumption and simple operating system. The sorbent was proposed to capture CO2 directly from ambient air, while its low energy-cost nature underpins carbon capture from a variety of other gas streams with larger CO2 concentrations. The present study exploits the moisture swing process for capturing industrial process CO2, and the CO2 removal from natural gas is used for demonstration. Compared to capturing CO2 from the air, the adsorption capacity is promoted significantly as the CO2 concentration in the gas mixture is much higher (1–20%). A stable cyclic capacity with ∼1.0 mmol/g is obtained, which is comparable to that of aqueous/solid amine sorbents. Moreover, a moisture swing process flow is developed for CO2 removal from natural gas, and an energy consumption analysis of the moisture swing process is conducted with comparison to the traditional amine scrubbing technique. We find that the energy consumption of the moisture swing decarbonization process (∼187.38 kJ/Sm3) is less than half that of the methyl diethanolamine solution method (954–1304 kJ/Sm3), which strongly supports the moisture swing process as a promising method for capturing industrial process CO2.

©2021 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works. In this paper a wearable system with a sensor embroidered on a textile substrate to detect urine leaks is presented. The system consists of a moisture textile capacitive sensor together with the signal conditioning and its wireless transmission to the cloud. The proposed system has been integrated on underwear and hospital sheet to detect the urine leakage on the diaper users and critical ill patient, respectively. The methodology used by the microcontroller to measure the sensor value is a charge/discharge method. The information is visualised through a computer or smartphone, where can be seen the current state of the sensor. The system has a warning set up to communicate any urine leakage. The experimental results show the functionality of the proposed system which could supply a new tool to hospitals, nursing homes or other institutions to detect when the patient diaper or sheet need to be removed. This tool can optimise the hospital protocol and improve the patient quality of life. This work was supported by Spanish Government-MINECO under Project TEC2016-79465-R and AGAUR-UPC(2020 FIB 00028).

The paper presents a novel method for predictive modelling of chanterelle mushrooms' drying kinetics. Use of computational techniques and mathematical modelling for chanterelle mushrooms were employed in analysing the drying process using heat pump dryer. Mushrooms were sliced into 20 mm × 20 mm × 30 mm cuboids and 20 mm × O40 mm cylinders. Drying air temperatures of 40 °C, 48 °C, and 56 °C were studied. Determination of the best mushrooms' drying process using selected thin layer and computational intelligence models was examined. Drying curves showed a falling rate period while moisture ratio decreased with temperature rise from 40 °C to 56 °C. Mushrooms’ moisture diffusivities rose from 23.709 × 10−8 m2s−1 to 41.035 × 10−8 m2s−1 as temperature rose from 40 °C to 56 °C for the cuboid slices. Similarly, diffusivities for cylindrical mushrooms rose from 9.322 × 10−8 m2s−1 to 12.1585 × 10−8 m2s−1. The activation energy of cuboidal mushrooms was 29.3908 kJmol-1 while that of cylindrical sample was 14.2856 kJmol-1. Statistical parameters used showed that Midilli et al. was the most superior thin-layer drying model in predicting drying kinetics of chanterelle mushrooms. 1–3 ANN architecture was the best architectures in predicting drying process of chanterelle mushrooms. Standardized Pearson universal kernel was the best SVM filter. A k = 5 value was the best kNN values tested in predicting the chanterelle mushrooms drying process. However, tested data for standardized Pearson universal kernel was the most superior among conventional and intelligent models used. Consequently, computational intelligence modelling especially the standardized Pearson universal kernel was recommendable in modelling drying kinetics of chanterelle mushrooms under heat pump dryer.

Linking derivation of potential target values of PCDD/Fs in animal feed with risk assessment for consumer protection is a challenge when tolerable weekly intake (TWI) and transfer factors from feed to food are considered. Generally, maximum values for feed and food are set separately without considering the feed and the food producing animal as an important factor along the food chain from farm to fork. Levels of contaminants in feed can accumulate in animals and their products effect consumers at the end of the food chain. Hence, the process of setting legal maximum levels of contaminants should account for transfer from feed consumed by food producing animals into animal products for human consumption. Here, we calculated potential target values of PCDD/F in feed to ensure that animal products such as milk from dairy cows, eggs from laying hens and pork and pork products from fattening pigs are safe for human consumption. In our approach, we calculated potential target values of PCDD/Fs in animal feed using transfer factors for PCDD/F-TEQs from feed to milk fat, eggs fat, and fat in pork and pork products, taking into account the tolerable weekly intake derived by European Food Safety Authority. We assumed equal proportions of WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ and WHO-PCB-TEQ in feed. Potential target values of PCDD/F in feed are expressed as the quantity of toxicologically evaluated PCDD/Fs, expressed in WHO toxic equivalents (WHO2005-PCDD/F-TEQ) per kg feed with 12% moisture. In the current approach, derived values would be 10–54 times lower than the current legal maximum level of 0.75 ng WHO2005-PCDD/F-TEQ per kg feed (12% moisture), according to Directive 2002/32/EC as amended.

A novel portable, lightweight, and compact microwave sensor for monitoring the grain moisture content (MC) is proposed in this letter. The proposed sensor is a frequency-selective surface (FSS) antenna consisting of 21 square-shaped complementary split-ring resonators (SCSRRs). The proposed sensor was printed directly on a lightweight and flexible container made of PF-4 with the size of 60 mm × 28 mm × 50 mm. Each SCSRR consists of two cocentered square-shaped rings with 0.3-mm spacing. The length, width, and thickness of the conductive section are 52 mm, 20 mm, and 0.017 mm, respectively. The operating frequency band was chosen as 1−6 GHz due to the insensitivity of the water's dielectric constant to the temperature variation. Monitoring variations in S -parameters, notably the resonance frequency, indicate the MC variations. The proposed sensor detects a 160-MHz shift in the resonance frequency for barley MC ranging from 10 to 25%. The high sensitivity, compactness, flexibility, low weight, portability, small cross-interference sensitivity, simplicity of operation, environment-friendly fabrication, and low cost of the proposed sensor make it attractive for monitoring grain MC.

Continuous manufacturing in the pharmaceutical industry has been gaining traction in the past few years. To fully understand and optimise continuous manufacturing processes it is important not only to focus on the single units which act as building blocks but also to understand how the parameters in different units affect and interact each other and the final product. In this study, the drying behaviour of granules in a segmented fluidised bed dryer was studied. Granules were produced in a twin screw granulator, forming part of a continuous powder to table line (Consigma-25). The temperature readings and the moisture content were recorded during the drying process of granules produced with different amounts of liquid binder. From the temperature profiles, it was possible to create a method able to detect when the drying process loses efficiency (the drying rate drops) and therefore predict the optimal drying time at different conditions. The method was validated via online Near Infra Red (NIR) moisture measurements to detect the moisture content of the granules during the drying, and was compared to the available fixed drying time and temperature controlled end of drying methods. The method was successful in targeting a specific moisture content and could be used to locate the optimal drying temperature for a target moisture content in the future. The moisture content during the filling of the dryer was also recorded and provided further insight into the drying behaviour of the granules in the segmented dryer; this characteristic behaviour could later be used to detect problems during the filling time. The drying rate was also calculated making it possible to predict the optimal drying time at different operating conditions in the granulator and to assess the impact on drying of the different liquid to solid ratio used.

In general, modified starches provided a desirable feature so that they can be used in the food industry like food additive products. The awareness of eating healthy has become very evident. The food industry is willing to produce foods and food ingredients that not only maintain nutrition but also promote health and safety. Tartary buckwheat starch has been isolated to assess the effect of HMT on its digestibility, morphological structure, pasting, thermal and textural properties and compared with common buckwheat, sorghum, and broomcorn millet. HMT changed significantly the granular structure of native starches. The complete starch granular structure increased the size and changed into an irregular shape, with a rough surface. The modified starches exhibited higher onset and peak temperatures, while their amylose content, solubility, swelling power, gel hardness, and enthalpy of gelatinization were significantly reduced. In pasting properties, tartary buckwheat and sorghum modified starch had the highest thermal treatment stability with lower setback and breakdown viscosity. Moreover, after three hours of starch hydrolysis; Resistant (RS) starch was higher in tartary buckwheat followed by broomcorn millet and lastly sorghum. In this study, we reported that tartary buckwheat modified starch is more useful in the preparation of food with thermal stability combined with a high amount of resistant starch.

To investigate the drying characteristics and mechanism during electrohydrodynamic (EHD) drying with ultrasonic pretreatment, the ultrasonic pretreatment-assisted EHD drying method at different power values was used to carry out the drying experiment of potatoes. To carry out this study, potato slices were pretreated with different ultrasonic power values (150, 180, 210, 240, and 270 W) or without ultrasound for 30 min at 30°C. The corresponding voltage was 18 kV during EHD drying. The moisture ratio, drying rate, color, shrinkage, and rehydration rate of potatoes were determined. The microstructure of potatoes was analyzed using infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Eight mathematical models were used to fit the drying of potatoes. Results showed that, compared with the control group, the ultrasonic pretreatment combined with the EHD drying group had improved the drying rate of potato slices, which was different at varying ultrasonic power values. Ultrasonic pretreatment had a remarkable effect on the color of the potato but had little effect on the shrinkage rate. The maximum rehydration rate is 5.7704 at 180 W. The minimum and maximum values of effective moisture diffusivity (Deff) were 3.4070 × 10−7 m2/s and 4.1160 × 10−7 m2/s, respectively. The effect of ultrasonic power pretreatment on the microstructure of potato in the EHD drying process was significant ( p > 0.05 ). According to the statistical parameter evaluation, eight mathematical models could satisfactorily describe drying curves of potato slices dried under EHD with ultrasonic pretreatment, and the logarithmic model was best suited. This work provides a theoretical basis and practical guidance to further understand the parameter characteristics and mechanism of ultrasonic pretreatment combined with the EHD drying technology.

Due to its advantages such as environmental friendliness and remarkable permeability enhancement effect, the technology of liquid nitrogen cold soaking (LNCS) cracking coal has become a hot spot in the research on coal seam permeability enhancement in recent years. The frost heave force generated by water-ice phase transformation and the temperature stress are the main mechanisms of LNCS cracking water-containing coal. This paper focuses on the effect of LNCS on the temperature variations and seepage characteristics of coal. To further this purpose, the temperature measurement test and the permeability test were conducted on coal samples with different moisture contents under LNCS, respectively. In addition, by comparing the computer tomography test results of coal samples before and after LNCS, the internal pore structure changes of coal samples were further analyzed from a three-dimensional perspective. The test results show that the coal sample with a higher moisture content consumes a shorter time to reach internal temperature equilibrium and experiences faster temperature changes. LNCS can enhance coal permeability, and the growth rate of permeability increases exponentially with the increase of moisture content. After the LNCS treatment, the dried coal sample is mainly sprouting new pores on the basis of primary pores; in contrast, for water-containing coal samples, new pores are sprouted while primary pores will penetrate each other spatially to form a fracture network. In the process of LNCS, moisture has a significant effect on the seepage characteristics of coal, so appropriately increasing the moisture content of the coal seam conduces to achieving a better permeability enhancement effect.

Recycling of wastepaper is an effective way to achieve the sustainable paper manufacturing regarding sustainable development goals. Focusing on the mixed wastepaper sorting, recovery of suitable papers for deinking purpose and minimizing the impurities were developed in this study. In a wastepaper sorting process, each equipment has its own role in increasing recycling performance. In this study, disc screen was applied and evaluated for sorting of the mixed wastepaper considering independent variables such as inclination, velocity and moisture content. Response surface method was applied for design of the experiments. Sorting efficiency of 100% was achieved in two conditions: 1–20% inclination, 20 Hz velocity and 5% moisture content; 2–10% inclination, 20 Hz velocity and 0% moisture content. It can be concluded that the adverse effect of wastepaper’s moisture can be compensated via adjusting the disc screen’s inclination and rotation velocity. Indeed, disc screen is a feasible approach for efficient sorting of wet and dry mixed wastepaper increasing the recovery rate and enhancing the performance of the subsequent sorting units. This process can provide a better feed with higher quality for the subsequent steps, e.g. paper spike as well as sensor and manual sorting by decreasing the sorting load and impurities.

Breeding for drought tolerance and increased grain yield is vital in mitigating the threat posed by recurrent drought stress on maize production, as well as tackling malnutrition with plant-based food products. The study was conducted to assess the combining ability of yellow maize lines and the performance of their single-cross hybrids under drought and rain-fed conditions. A total of 24 yellow maize inbred lines from CSIR-Savanna Agricultural Research Institute Maize Improvement Programme gene pool were selected and inter-mated using North Carolina II mating design to generate 96 single-cross hybrids. The 96 hybrids together with four advanced hybrids used as checks (a total of 100 hybrids) were evaluated under drought and rain-fed conditions for two years using a 10 × 10 lattice design with two replications. The hybrids differed significantly in their grain yield (GY) and agronomic performance under the growing conditions. In the present study, drought stress reduced GY by 50.3%. The general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) for GY and its related traits were significant. Even though additive and non-additive gene actions controlled the inheritance of the traits, additive gene action was found to be more important than non-additive genetic effects. Hybrids 27, 81 and 68 on the other hand 89, 18 and 26 were identified as the outstanding genotypes under drought and rain-fed conditions, respectively. These hybrids should be extensively evaluated under varied conditions and commercialized to enhance food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa.

This research applied two suppression technologies of atomizing dust suppression (ADS) and spraying dust suppression (SDS) to eliminate fugitive dust emitted from coal stockpiles and further investigated their optimal operating parameters. In field tests, the mass concentrations of TSP, PM10, and PM2.5 were simultaneously measured at both upwind and downwind sites of a simulated coal stockpile to determine the suppression efficiency of fugitive dust. High concentrations of fugitive dust were observed under a strong wind speed of 10 m/s, particularly for particle sizes larger than 7 μm. Overall, the suppression efficiencies of fugitive dust by ADS (75.50–88.17 %) were always higher than those by SDS (70.70–84.50 %). Fine mist atomized by ADS covered a wider surface area of the coal stockpiles and captured more dust in the air than SDS. The suppression efficiencies of fugitive dust for intermittent watering (82.81 %) were higher than those for continuous watering (77.75 %). Intermittent watering could maintain a protective moisture layer over the entire surface of coal stockpiles, thus extending the drying time of moisture from the coal stockpiles. The optimal operating parameter for ADS was intermittent atomizing at an angle of 30°, while that for SDS was intermittent spraying at an angle of 45°.

Microwave resonant is one of the sensors used in characterizing the material and is also one of the most sensitive sensors for measuring dielectric properties. This project proposed the resonant method due to its accuracy and sensitivity. The split ring resonators were mounted on the fruit sample surface to observe the resonant frequency behavior, and to measure the fruit freshness. The resonator was set at 6 GHz using the FR4 lossy substrate. The findings show that the coupling distance and the ring radius have the greatest impact on preserving the resonant behavior. The fundamental of the obtained resonant frequencies was observed based on the different moisture content of the test material. The moisture level was observed at 38.2%, 54%, 69%, and 86.7%. At 86.7%, the resonant frequency has the highest shifting by shifting to the left. This shows that the larger resonant frequency change occurs when the water content is higher.

Solar energy is a widely used green energy resource that is used for drying processes. Through this assessment, the performance of an Indirect Solar Dryer (ISD) with three different cases, namely solar collector - without Thermal Energy Storage (TES), with TES unit having Phase Change Material (PCM) and with TES having fins inserted PCM have been experimentally analyzed during spring and summer seasons for drying Momordica charantia. Totally six experiments were undertaken to compare temperature, drying kinetics, and energy analyses. The initial moisture level of 2 kg of specimen decreased from 1.84 kg of water (92% w. b) to 0.24 kg of water (12% w. b) in 10.5 h utilizing ISD with TES having fins inserted PCM (Test 6). The maximum thermal efficiency achieved about 19.41% on Test 6. Exergy efficiency increased from 8.66% to 79.02% at Test 6. Environmental impacts assessment has revealed that the Energy Payback Time for the ISD was 1.42 years. The CO2 emission, mitigation, and carbon credit gained (Test 6) are 23.88 kg/year, 20.13 tons, and $100.642 to $402.569 for the 35 years’ intended lifespan. The assessment report showed that the device established was a potentially effective commercial drying technique, both in energy utilization and environmental sustainability.

Background Foodborne pathogen contamination in low water activity (aw) foods is a critical problem for both the food industry and public health. Low-moisture foods and food ingredients have been implicated in numerous Salmonella outbreaks and are increasingly involved in the recall of products with possible contamination by Listeria monocytogenes. L. monocytogenes is singled out as a true environmental species and a pathogenic bacterium of concern in ready-to-eat foods including low-moisture foods. L. monocytogenes can survive in a dry environment or in low-moisture foods for an extended period with increased stability at lower storage temperatures. Adaptation to low-moisture foods enables L. monocytogenes to exhibit enhanced thermal resistance. However, compared with Salmonella in low-moisture foods, less information is available about the fate of L. monocytogenes in low-moisture foods during thermal inactivation and the factors influencing its thermotolerance. Scope and approach This review summarizes pertinent literature on the desiccation and thermal resistance of L. monocytogenes in low-moisture foods, discusses factors impacting the desiccation and thermal stability, and compares desiccation and thermal stability of L. monocytogenes with Salmonella in respective low-moisture foods. The possible mechanisms underlying the stability of L. monocytogenes in low-moisture foods are also discussed. Key findings and conclusions L. monocytogenes can survive in low-moisture foods for an extended duration and is highly thermoresistant. Thermal resistance of L. monocytogenes has an inverse relationship with aw, and is dependent on the food matrix, and other factors.

A mathematical model for predicting the performance of solar energy assisted hybrid air conditioning system (SEAHACS) is presented. The honeycombed silica gel desiccant wheel was used in this study, one-rotor six-stage rotary desiccant cooling system, in which two-stage dehumidification process, two –stage pre-cooling process and two-stage regeneration process are realized by only one wheel. Three air streams are involved in the present system. The mathematical model has been validated with the experimental data. As the key operating and design parameters, the range of regeneration air inlet temperature from 65-140 oC, area ratio of process air to generation air change from 1-3.57, regeneration air inlet velocity from 1.5-5.5 m/s have been examined for a range of rotation speed from 6-20 rev/h. the optimization of this parameters is conducted based on the moisture removal capacity D, relative moisture removal capacity, dehumidification coefficient of performance and thermal coefficient of performance. At last, the influences of these main parameters on optimal rotation speed are discussed

Most of the reported coal spontaneous combustion events occur in surface and underground mines where low rank coals (i.e., subbituminous and lower for this particular studies) are extracted indicating their high propensities for spontaneous combustion. Low rank coals have high moisture content (15 to 45%) and are capable of absorbing more moisture in dried condition. However, it is hard to induce the initial stage of self-heating process for the low rank coal using the current laboratory R70 testing method — a method widely used in the coal industry. Like a sponge, dry low rank coals can absorb water vapor in the air while the heat contained in the moist air is transferred to coal and served as the required activation energy to initiate the coal self-heating process. In order to prove this theorem and quantify the effects, the R70 adiabatic oxidation testing method has been improved to introduce a controlled moist flow into the coal reaction vessel. Tests using the new method and its setup on low rank coals showed that the initial self-heating process of coal sample can be greatly accelerated by the added water vapor — impossible with the regular R70 method. Once the self-heating is sustained, the removal of air moisture can further accelerate the process.

Sweet potatoes are effortlessly grown and high yielding food crop. However, these are considered as underutilized produce with limited incorporation into food industry. Hence the objectives of this study were to determine the nutrient composition and functional properties of twelve (12) sweet potato varieties available in Sri Lanka to study the potential to be incorporated into food production. The varieties analysed were Ama, Dhawala, Wariyapola White, Wariyapola Red, Shanthi, Hordi Malee, CARI 09, CARI 273, Ranabima, Gannoruwa White, Chithra and Makandura Purple. Determination of moisture, ash, crude protein, crude fat, dietary fiber (soluble/insoluble), carbohydrates and functional properties were by standard methods. Ash, crude fat and crude protein contents comprised less than 7% (dry matter; DM) with total carbohydrate content varying between 49-80% DM in studied sweet potatoes. Total dietary fiber comprises approximately 8.5% (DM) with the highest proportion being insoluble dietary fiber. Functional properties resulted a swelling capacity of 15-27 mL with high oil absorption capacity (120-220%), emulsion activity (42-48%) and stability (above 35%), and bulking density (0.62-0.95 g/cc) with least gelation concentration of 18-30%. The results prove the ability of the studied sweet potato flours to be incorporated in composite flour mixtures and novel food products.

Steam is used to provide heating and moisture in the curing process for the production of precast concrete (PC) construction elements. The generation of steam requires large amounts of fossil fuels. This study considers the incorporation of solar thermal energy into the steam curing of PC construction elements for reducing the need for fossil fuels and associated CO2 emissions. For this purpose, the board made of composite phase change material covers the inner surface of the main sun-facing wall in the heating & curing building. The PCM board is heated by sun rays and accumulates thermal energy during the PCM's phase transition, and this energy then is released to the indoor environment of the building, reducing the amount of steam required to maintain a certain level of temperature during the curing process. The energy consumption simulation software, EnergyPlus, and two physical models (built on the scale of 1:3) were used to study the effects of two different PCMs on the thermal performance of such new type of heating & curing buildings. Composite PCMs considered were GH-33 and GH-37 with 33 and 37 °C melting temperatures developed by the research team. The theoretical and experimental results are in good agreement and demonstrate that, compared to the GH-33, GH-37 PCM increases the temperature of the inner surface of the main sun-facing wall and the upper surface temperature of the PC construction element by 3.4 and 1.4 °C, respectively. The heat accumulation and discharge rates also were greater by 62%. For the investigated design of the building and given location in China, the deployment of studied PCM wall panels results in a reduction in the annual energy consumption and CO2 emissions by 58.6 GJ and 5 tons, respectively. The method developed for applying solar energy and selecting PCMs for augmenting steam curing of PC construction elements can be deployed in different geographical regions.

Drying foods and medicinal plants is a process with high energy consumption because high amount of energy is needed for evaporating the water from the surface of the fresh materials. Therefore, developing cost-effective and simple-structured drying systems with low energy demand is a crucial matter. In the present study, compact type solar dryers have been designed, manufactured and tested experimentally. Within this context, thermal and flow behavior of compact dryers with and without baffles have been analyzed using CFD method. Then, fabricated compact dryers have been experimented at different conditions to determine their performance. Experimental and numerical findings of this study illustrated the effective design of the developed compact solar dryers. However, compact solar dryer with baffles exhibited better performance than the solar dryer without baffles. According to the experimental results, mean specific moisture extraction rate in compact dryers with and without baffles obtained between the ranges of 0.55–0.69 and 0.47–0.62 kg/kWh, respectively. In addition, average exergy efficiency of drying chambers was attained over the range of 44.91–55.28%. Overall findings of this study indicated successfulness of a compact solar dryer which developed using simple and lightweight materials.

Abstract Soil hydrology has deep Russian roots, which are primarily related to the theory of soil hydrological constants and their practical application. These constants have been used to assess the hydrological soil conditions in stationary observations, for which attempts to arrange regular hydrological observations in the landscape faced impracticable complexity of work and calculations and provided unreliable quantitative predictions. At present, there are new opportunities for experimental research, digital analysis, and prediction of hydrological indicators of soils in the landscape. A new quantitative approach to the use of digital technologies for monitoring soil water and temperature in the soils of agricultural landscapes, their dynamics, and their probabilistic calculations has been developed. Based on the soil map, it is proposed to create an information and measurement system with the studied thermal and hydrophysical characteristics of soils using mathematical models to calculate the dynamics of moisture and temperature for given periods and conditions of different availability of heat and precipitation, which allows us to quantify the availability of moisture reserves in the soils of the agricultural landscape. This system of observations, assessment, and forecast includes the use of modern technologies for determining soil water content and temperature, the adaptation of predictive physically based models for calculating the dynamics of moisture reserves depending on the availability of precipitation and conditions at the lower boundary of soil profiles. The paper deals with the hydrological analysis of soils by the example of the agricultural landscape of the Zelenograd station of the Dokuchaev Soil Science Institute in the village of El’digino, Pushkino district, Moscow oblast.

Present study was aimed to characterize the effects of heat-moisture treatments supported by ultrasound on structural, physicochemical and digestive properties of the starch from Agriophyllum squarrosum seeds. The starch sample was subjected to heat-moisture (120°C, 25% moisture) for different durations with assisting by pre- or post-treatment of ultrasound (20 Hz, 300 W, 20 min). A. squarrosum starch exhibited the original A-type of crystalline structure after all treatments. All modified starches had lower amylose content, amylopectin molecular weight, swelling power and solubility, and higher resistant starch content than the native starch. Heat-moisture treatments and dual modifications of heat-moisture and ultrasound increased the gelatinization temperature of starch granules and significantly (p ≤ 0.05) reduced the viscosity of starch paste. Pretreatment of ultrasound enhanced the effects of heat-moisture on the viscosity properties while post-treatment of ultrasound weakened which on the gelatinization temperature, by regulating the changes of double helix structure and short-range ordered structure in starch granules tested by Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer. Scanning electron microscopy unveiled that A. squarrosum starch pretreated by ultrasound became more susceptible to heat moisture in morphology. This work was very important for the deep excavation of the characteristics of A. squarrosum starch and the effective application of ultrasound in starch modifications.

In the residential sector in Thailand, the largest source of energy consumption is air conditioning systems, particularly in summer as a reason of the high ambient temperatures. These high ambient temperatures affect condensers and result in low efficiency for the rejection of the heat out of the refrigerant. Moreover, air conditioning systems remove moisture from the air conditioning space due to the moisture in the air being condensed at the evaporator. This problem has led to a reduction in air conditioning systems using the condensed water to pre-cool the condenser. This study investigates the potential of reducing the energy of split-type air conditioners. We investigate the heat rejection from the condenser with a pre-cooling system compared to a traditional condenser. The result of the heat rejection from the condenser is extended to investigate the multiple linear regression model for future work. The pre-cooling system uses a wasted condenser coil to reduce the air temperature before entering the condenser. A commercial split-type air conditioner is used in this study since this type is the most used in Thailand. An ultrasonic humidifier is also installed to maintain the relative humidity at 70%RH in all testing conditions. The thermostat set points are 25, 26 and 27 oC as the testing conditions. Each thermostat set point is tested using the pre-cooling system in the air conditioner and the traditional air conditioner. In total, six conditions are performed. The result shows that the pre-cooling system in the air conditioner can reduce the energy consumed by the air conditioner. The maximum energy reduction is 26.6% when used the pre-cooling system in the air conditioner is compared to the traditional air conditioner. The maximum heat rejection of the condenser using the pre-cooling system in the air conditioner is 74.3% higher than the traditional air conditioner. The multiple linear regression models and the coefficient of determination are reported. Finally, we conclude that the pre-cooling system in the air conditioner using removed condensed water to reduce the ambient air temperature before entering the condenser can reduce the energy consumed of split-type air conditioners and can be improved in future work.

PURPOSES : This study aims at evaluating the use of an electromagnetic density gauge (EDG) to measure the in situ density and air-void content of asphalt concrete (AC) pavement. METHODS : In situ AC pavement density and air-void readings were obtained from two sites (Daegu and Ulsan) using an EDG. Calibration of the EDG was conducted by first obtaining density values at three different positions, on each pavement where core samples were extracted afterward. The core samples were then tested to obtain laboratory density and air-void values. The density measured using the EDG was then subtracted from the laboratory values to obtain the offset calibration values, which were then adopted to calibrate the in situ measurements using the EDG. Moreover, to analyze the effect of moisture on the pavement surface, EDG measurements were conducted under dry and wet conditions to compare the in-situ readings. RESULTS : The in-situ density readings of AC tend to be higher in moist/wet conditions. By applying the calibration value to the EDG readings, the density error percentage was reduced from 0.61% to 0.096%, and 0.64% to 0.16% for Daegu and Ulsan sites, respectively. Consequently, the air-void content error percentage was reduced from 12.8% to 1.04%, and from 10.07% to 1.78% for Daegu and Ulsan sites, respectively. CONCLUSIONS : The electromagnetic density gauge (EDG) is an effective tool for the non-destructive measurement of in situ pavement density. By applying offset calibration values, the error in the field readings was reduced, and the accuracy of the EDG measurements was improved.

Purpose This paper focuses on the fluid-structure interaction (FSI) analysis of moisture induced stress for the flip chip ball grid array (FCBGA) package with hydrophobic and hydrophilic materials during the reflow soldering process. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of moisture concentration and FCBGA with hydrophobic material on induced pressure and stress in the package at varies times. Design/methodology/approach The present study analyzed the warpage deformation during the reflow process via visual inspection machine (complied to Joint Electron Device Engineering Council standard) and FSI simulation by using ANSYS/FLUENT package. The direct concentration approach is used to model moisture diffusion and ANSYS is used to predict the Von-Misses stress. Models of Test Vehicle 1 (similar to Xie et al., 2009b) and Test Vehicle 2 (FCBGA package) with the combination of hydrophobic and hydrophilic materials are performed. The simulation for different moisture concentrations with reflows process time has been conducted. Findings The results from the mechanical reliability study indicate that the FSI analysis is found to be in good agreement with the published study and acceptable agreement with the experimental result. The maximum Von-Misses stress induced by the moisture significantly increased on FCBGA with hydrophobic material compared to FCBGA with a hydrophilic material. The presence of hydrophobic material that hinders the moisture desorption process. The analysis also illustrated the moisture could very possibly reside in electronic packaging and developed beyond saturated vapor into superheated vapor or compressed liquid, which exposed electronic packaging to higher stresses. Practical implications The findings provide valuable guidelines and references to engineers and packaging designers during the reflow soldering process in the microelectronics industry. Originality/value Studies on the influence of moisture concentration and hydrophobic material are still limited and studies on FCBGA package warpage under reflow process involving the effect of hydrophobic and hydrophilic materials are rarely reported. Thus, this study is important to effectively bridge the research gap and yield appropriate guidelines in the microelectronics industry.

Wearable sensing technologies have gained increasing interest in biomedical fields because they are convenient and could efficiently monitor health conditions by detecting various physiological signals in real time. However, common film sensors often neglect body moisture and enhance the sensitivity by enhancing the conductive dopants and self-healing ability. We report in this work a supramolecular film sensor based on solid-phase molecular self-assembly (SPMSA), which smartly utilizes the body moisture to enhance the sensitivity for human-machine interaction. The carbon nanotube (CNT)-doped SPMSA film is able to capture environmental moisture quickly. Upon contact to human skin, the moisture not only promotes the junction between CNTs but also contributes to the conductivity. As a result, the sensitivity can be enhanced 4 times. In this way, we are able to obtain the highest sensitivity of 700% with the lowest CNT doping rate of 0.5%. Furthermore, the current sensor displays damage-inert sensing performance. In the presence of a hole of up to 50% of the film area, the sensitivity remains unaffected due to the decreases in the absolute conductivity of the film sensor before and after a trigger to the same extent. In this way, we have developed a new principle in the design of a film sensor for human-machine interaction, which releases the sensor from focus on promoting conductivity and self-healing materials.

Rock asphalt has been widely used to improve the performance of asphalt concrete, owing to its cost efficiency and beneficial modification effect. However, the moisture and high-temperature effects...

Precision agriculture is an important way to maximize the utilization efficiency of water resources and minimize the environmental impact. In recent years, the centralized raising of rice seedlings in greenhouse has been vigorously promoted and applied in many countries and regions to meet the requirements of large-scale mechanized transplanting for quality and quantity of rice seedlings. An intelligent raising system, which is based on Internet of things (IoT) cloud platform, is presented for rice seedlings in greenhouse. The system can provide suitable temperature and rice nursery moisture for rice seedlings according to three different growth stages by comprehensively using IoT and intelligent control technology. The influence of high temperature or water shortage on growth of rice seedlings is avoided. In order to save limited water resources, SVR algorithm is presented to predict the operation duration of actuators. The feasibility and effectiveness of the intelligent raising system are verified by corresponding tests. Field tests show that the intelligent system can maintain the temperature and rice nursery moisture in greenhouse suitable for the growth of rice seedlings by controlling cooling or sprinkler irrigation. Even if the outdoor temperature is as high as 33 centigrade degrees, the irreversible damage to rice seedlings caused by extreme high temperature can be avoided. In the entire growth process of rice seedlings, 47.2% water can be saved by using the intelligent raising system. In addition, the system has the advantages of low cost, easy operating, saving labor and short growth cycle of rice seedlings.

To enhance the combustion efficiency of high moist coal, it is important to reduce its moisture contents. For reduction of moisture contents, the selection of efficient and low-cost drying techniqu...

For low temperature agricultural crop and meat drying, dryers utilizing the renewable energy source (solar energy) appear to be an efficient technique as it is ecofriendly, energy efficient, and available in free of cost. This work presents the experimental investigation on a solar food dryer equipped with external reflectors to enhance the rate of drying efficiency by removing the moisture content available in the anchovy fish. A comparison of conventional open solar drying is carried out to assess the parameters such as drying efficiency, moisture removal rate, and heat energy required for drying the anchovy fish using the modified solar dryer using the natural convection technique. From the experimental results it is observed that the relative humidity greatly influence the rate of drying. The average relative humidity during the experiments using open solar drying is found as 50–65% whereas, the using solar dryer the average relative humidity inside the chamber is found as 20–35%. The relative humidity of the fish using open solar drying is higher as compared to solar dryer drying as the drying products are kept in open atmosphere. The physical examination results on the dried products proved that using a modified solar dryers, the dried product is free from insects, and dust. Also, it is found that the loss of color from the product is a minimum while compared to conventional open solar drying. The results showed that the thermal efficiency of top tray (dryer 1) and bottom tray (dryer 2) is comparatively higher as compared to that of conventional open solar drying and found as 16.73 and 19.34 %, respectively. Results also showed that nearly 20.05% of the energy could be saved using the modified solar dryer as compared to the open solar drying technique.

Open cut coal mining produces large amounts of spoil (waste rock) from which salts are leached. Planning for mine closure requires numerical models that can predict salt leaching rates over a range of time scales. This paper describes the modelling of salt leaching from low-sulfide coal mine spoils at two experimental scales: laboratory columns (sample volumes ≈ 0.001 m3) and mesocosms (sample volumes ≈ 1 m3), representing the in-situ spoil properties. Ten spoil samples representing two spoil types and a range of moisture conditions were studied. Simple models with slow and fast reaction rate parameters were derived, and the parameters and their scale factors were estimated empirically using the observations. Using three sample pairs that represent the effect of decreasing particle size, scale factors for the slow reaction rate were estimated to be 7.5, 18.1, and 3.4, and for the fast reaction rate were estimated to be 1.1, 4.4, and 7.4. Using three sample pairs that represent the effect of increasing moisture content, the corresponding scale factors were 1.1, 1.3, 3.0 and 0.92, 0.25, and 3.8. Particle size and flow rate are concluded to be important controls on reaction rate parameters and their upscaling, with moisture content also important but with more complex and variable effects. Experimental limitations prevented other theoretically relevant properties being identified as controls. The results provide new information about potential salt release rates from low-sulfide coal mine spoils. Full-scale applications would require complementary parameterisation of the spoil pile hydrology.

Drying is a highly energy-intensive process and dryers are considered one of the most energy-consuming industrial equipment. Nevertheless, the energy contribution of the draft tube in the spouted bed has hardly been studied. This equipment is widely recognized as a versatile and efficient gas-solid contact method for several chemical and physical operations. Thus, the objective of this study is to perform an energy analysis of a draft tube conical spouted bed for particulate materials. Drying of alumina, soybean, and barley has been performed with three different configurations: without tube and with nonporous and open-sided tubes. Energy Efficiency, Drying Efficiency, and Specific Energy Consumption have been the parameters considered for energy analysis. The nonporous tube provided the best energy performance for diffusive materials, such as barley and soybean particles, with reductions in the energy consumption in the range from 31.60% to 42.40% in relation to configuration without tube. The configurations with open-sided tube and without tube provided similar energy performance for all materials. Therefore, this study contributes to support that draft tubes are promising devices for improving energy issues in the spouted bed, mainly in the processing of low moisture materials.

A nonlinear dynamic model considering the effect of heat transfer on outlet pulverized coal mass flow is established based on the principles of conservation laws. Raw coal moisture estimation which is connected to coal mass and internal energy in coal mills is included in the model. The model has proved to have good predictions and reflects the dynamics of the coal mill by verifications on historical data and dynamic simulation tests. Results show that the mean absolute error of mill differential pressure, mill electric current and outlet primary air temperature are 3.08%, 3.05% and 0.05% on validation operation data, respectively. The predictions fit the curves of the measured data that cover the whole operation of coal mill from starting up to shutting down.

Temperature and humidity conditions at the interface between a support surface and the skin, termed microclimate, has been implicated in the development of pressure ulcers. Support surface technologies have been developed to control microclimate conditions, although only a few standard test methods exist to evaluate their performance. This study describes a combined experimental-computational approach to analyzing microclimate control systems. The study used a modified physical model protocol to evaluate two specific support surface systems involving a spacer fabric cover with i) no air flow and ii) an active fan. The physical model deposited moisture at a controlled rate for 25 min, and the microclimate conditions under the model and the surrounding area were monitored for 24 h. Using the experimental data as boundary conditions, a finite element model was developed using mass transport principles, which was calibrated using experimental results. Model inputs included mass density and mass diffusivity, resulting in an estimated absolute humidity change over time. The physical model tests revealed distinct differences between the support surfaces with and without active airflow, with the former having little effect on local humidity levels (RH>75% for 24hr). By contrast, there was a spatial and temporal change in microclimate with the active fan, with sensors positioned towards the source of airflow reaching ambient conditions within 24hr. The computational model was refined to produce comparable results with respect to both the spatial distribution of microclimate and the change in values over time. The combined experimental and computation approach was able to distinguish distinct difference in microclimate change between two support surface designs. The approach could enable the efficient evaluation of different mattress design principles to aid decision making for personalized support surface solutions, for the prevention of pressure ulcers.

A scientific method for evaluating the dust generation capacities of coal samples with varying properties and moisture contents is of great significance for the study on dust generation and prevention in coal mines. The impact crushing dust generation method, which attributes coal dust generation to a single variable, i.e. energy, avoids the interference terms such as the conical pick angle, depth and rotating dust in the cutting process and can well reflect the dust generation law of coals with different hardness. However, the selection of sample size, sample pretreatment method, impact crushing energy, dust screening method and time, impact crushing and dust screening program setting, etc. is controversial or inconclusive in current coal impact crushing dust generation method, leading to errors that affect the test results to varying extents. Consequently, the research results can hardly be universally recognized. In this paper, a large number of comparative tests were performed in the impact energy range of 20–200 J and the moisture content of 0–5.5%. The following conclusions were obtained: The particle size of the sample is determined to be 12–15 mm. It is the most reasonable to conduct dust screening on a vibrating screening machine for 5 min. The numbers of impacts and screenings should be minimized on the premise of ensuring sufficient crushing of the sample, and the program of 5 impacts plus 1 screening can excellently reflect the effect of moisture increment on dust generation capacity reduction. Furthermore, the reliability of the above conclusions and the adaptability of the test method proposed in this paper were verified by coal samples from another two mining areas. The verification results confirm the above conclusions and further prove the remarkable repeatability and reliability of the proposed test procedure.

Physicochemical and microbiological parameters of Turkish blossom honey after cold atmospheric gliding arc discharge (GAD) plasma, non-thermal ultrasound, and low-temperature oven treatments were investigated. For this purpose, a full-factorial design method was employed to optimize plasma and ultrasound treatment conditions on 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural (HMF) reduction in honey. Results showed that air-GAD plasma operated at 0.3 mL/min of gas flow rate (GF) with a 0.3 cm copper electrode tip distance (ED) for 30 min, nitrogen-GAD plasma operated at 0.4 mL/min of GF with 0.5 cm ED for 30 min, and non-thermal ultrasound operated at 40% amplitude for 5 min significantly decreased HMF in honey samples (p 0.05). On the other hand, diastase activity was significantly increased after non-thermal ultrasound and oven treatments by up to 47–57% (p

The use of agro-industrial residues is presented in food waste. The processing of them is an opportunity for the development of by-products, as well as the aggregation of lost value, and the sustainable use of these residues. The study aimed to characterize the bioactive compounds in grape, carrot, cocoa, and banana skins from the processing of juice, banana chips, and chocolate. The analyzed samples showed good moisture, satisfactory water activity value, with the highest flavonoid content in the grape sample (1.679 mg EQ/g) and the highest phenolic content in the cocoa epicarp sample (1.367 mg EAG/g). In this way, we verified the viability of using food peels in the food industry, enabling the use of waste generated.

The comfort property of fabrics is becoming increasingly important as customers desire heat and moisture management-enabled clothing that match their physical activity levels and environmental fact...

Yarns with good moisture transport property are highly desirable for applications in wearing clothing to maintain a proper thermal-wet comfort, especially when a body sweats. However, most of the s...

Rational use of moisture by crops in conditions of its lack is an urgent task of agriculture. The research was carried out in the agriculture department of the Prikumsk experimental selection station in 2014–2020 in a 6-field grain-fallow crop rotation. The purpose of the research is to study the moisture supply of winter wheat crops by various predecessors. The main difference in the moisture content of fallow and non-fallow crops was observed in the autumn period. The content of productive moisture in a meter layer of soil before sowing in a pure fallow is 2.4 times higher than in a semi-fallow. In favorable years for humidification (2014–2016), the moisture reserves in the arable soil layer (0–20 cm) by their predecessors practically did not differ (24.6 and 23.5 mm), while in dry years (2017–2020) they differed significantly (10.8 and 4.1 mm). The formation of the yield for pure fallow was significantly influenced by moisture reserves for sowing winter wheat in the arable ( r = 0.86) and 1 m soil layer ( r = 0.80), precipitation in April and May ( r = 0.77), May ( r = 0.75) and the total moisture supply of crops ( r = 0.91), and for the semifallow — the total moisture supply ( r = 0.80). The accumulation of moisture in the cold period depended on its autumn content in the 1st soil layer, had a significant negative relationship for the pure vapor ( r = -0.79 in mm and -0.85 in %) and manifested itself as a tendency for the semi-vapor ( r = -0.70 and -0.69). The greater the autumn reserves of moisture in the soil, the less its amount accumulated over the winter and, conversely, the greatest replenishment of moisture was observed with the minimum autumn reserves. The efficiency of using moisture by fallow crops was 1.7 times, and the yield was 1.9 times higher compared to the non-steam predecessor.