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Extrusion is a widely adaptable food processing method, capable of efficiently generating a diverse range of food products. Extrusion enhances soluble dietary fibers (SDFs) and improves nutritional qualities from plant resources like fruits, vegetables, cereals, pseudo-cereals, and pulses. This review describes the current state of the art in dietary fiber (DF) extrusion process, machines, and product quality. A fundamental overview of several types of extruders with their mechanism for SDF improvement is provided. The influence of screw speed, feed moisture, barrel temperature, and specific-mechanical energy on DF is thoroughly investigated. The influence of extrusion on physicochemical and biological properties of DF is examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluid mechanics (FM) is a core course of the chemical, mechanical, civil, and aerospace engineering programs. Students have both theory and practical classes in FM. The general expectation is that students should be able to demonstrate the fundamentals learnt in theory and get hands-on experience during the lab course. In this regard, students were asked to make a video of application of FM in day-to-day life based on the fundamentals learnt in the classroom and to post it on the Facebook (FB) page entitled "Fluid Mechanics Videos." For the first time, FB is used as a teaching-learning-assessment tool in the FM undergraduate course. The primary objective was to create interest and passion about chemical engineering among students. Students made videos on different topics of FM, including fluid statics, properties of fluid, applications of mass/momentum/energy equation, and flow through a porous medium. Students opined that they felt confident in designing a storage tank, pipe, and unit operations equipment (e.g., packed bed, fluidized bed, and agitator) after taking this assignment. Through this assignment, students were able to design and conduct experiments. In addition, it gave them a chance to assess their communication ability, work with multidisciplinary teams, and understand contemporary issues. The author was involved right from ideation to preparation of video to its final upload on FB. Based on this pilot study, it can be hypothesized that social networking sites (SNSs) can only supplement, enhance, and strengthen the traditional classroom process, but can never replace it. SNSs can be best used innovatively for assignment, homework, group project, preparatory class, and team activities.

Dietary fiber (DF) is referred to be the "seventh fundamental nutrient," but the natural availability of soluble dietary fiber (SDF) in fruits and vegetables is minimal. So, the attempt is made to convert insoluble dietary fibers (IDF) into SDF from waste orange peels using micronization, autoclave, and a newly created hybrid approach that combines two technologies (autoclave followed by micronization). The goal of this study is to evaluate and enhance the nutritional, physicochemical, and other properties of DFs using micronization (mechanical comminution), autoclave (hydrothermal treatment), and hybrid approaches. Micronization, autoclave, and hybrid techniques successfully increased SDF from 4.71 to 10.16, 25.44, and 23.69%, respectively. SDF enhancement in micronization is rather low; however, the greatest growth is observed in physicochemical properties such as water and oil retention capacity and water swelling capacity. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to examine the environmental effect by different midpoint indicators of three processes for a lab size life cycle inventory. Global warming potential of the micronization process is relatively low compared to other two processes, i.e., 1.54 kg CO2 equivalent. Aside from that, crystallinity and morphological studies of soluble dietary fiber concentrate (SDFC) were carried out utilizing X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-grade coal is characterized by high ash content and low calorific value. However, gaseous emissions from coal power plants are a serious environmental issue. In this regard, coal-water slurry fuel is a potential substitute for solid fuels used in power plants, which can reduce harmful gaseous emission. In this work, coal-water slurry fuel is prepared from precleaned coal. Prior to its use in the preparation of coal-water slurry, coal was subjected to float and sink followed by froth flotation (pretreatment) to reduce its ash content (from 33.5% to 17.4%). The rheological properties of coal-water slurry were examined and effects of stabilizing agents, dispersion agent, and temperature on viscosity were studied. According to analysis results, increasing concentration of coal increases its viscosity. The viscosity also increases if the particle size of coal decreases. Furthermore, the concentration of stabilizing agent and viscosity of coal-water slurry are directly proportional to each other. Combustion of coal-water slurry was performed under controlled conditions, which showed that the burning efficiency of CWS is fairly larger (around 21% more than that of dry coal), with hydrogen (6% by volume) generated as a by-product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]