Thermal design of a tray-type distillation column of an ammonia/water absorption refrigeration cycle

The goal of this paper is to present an analysis of a segmented weir sieve-tray distillation column for a 17.58 kW (5 TR) ammonia/water absorption refrigeration cycle. Balances of mass and energy were performed based on the method of Ponchon-Savarit, from which it was possible to determine the ideal number of trays. The analysis showed that four ideal trays were adequate for that small absorption refrigeration system having the feeding system to the column right above the second tray. It was carried out a sensitivity analysis of the main parameters. Vapor and liquid pressure drop constraint along with ammonia and water mass flow ratios defined the internal geometrical sizes of the column, such as the column diameter and height, as well as other designing parameters. Due to the lack of specific correlations, the present work was based on practical correlations used in the petrochemical and beverage production industries. The analysis also permitted to obtain the recommended values of tray spacing in order to have a compact column. The geometry of the tray turns out to be sensitive to the charge of vapor and, to a lesser extent, to the load of the liquid, being insensible to the diameter of tray holes. It was found a column efficiency of 50%. Finally, the paper presents some recommendations in order to have an optimal geometry for a compact size distillation column. (c) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Two-Stage Aerobic/Anaerobic Denitrifying Horizontal Bioreactor Designed for Treating Ammonium and H2S Simultaneously

A two-stage bioreactor was operated for a period of 140 days in order to develop a post-treatment process based on anaerobic bioxidation of sulfite. This process was designed for simultaneously treating the effluent and biogas of a full-scale UASB reactor, containing significant concentrations of NH4 and H2S, respectively. The system comprised of two horizontal-flow bed-packed reactors operated with different oxygen concentrations. Ammonium present in the effluent was transformed into nitrates in the first aerobic stage. The second anaerobic stage combined the treatment of nitrates in the liquor with the hydrogen sulfide present in the UASB-reactor biogas. Nitrates were consumed with a significant production of sulfate, resulting in a nitrate removal rate of 0.43 kg N m(3) day(-1) and a parts per thousand yen92 % efficiency. Such a removal rate is comparable to those achieved by heterotrophic denitrifying systems. Polymeric forms of sulfur were not detected (elementary sulfur); sulfate was the main product of the sulfide-based denitrifying process. S-sulfate was produced at a rate of about 0.35 kg m(3) day(-1). Sulfur inputs as S-H2S were estimated at about 0.75 kg m(3) day(-1) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) removal rates did not vary significantly during the process. DGGE profiling and 16S rRNA identified Halothiobacillus-like species as the key microorganism supporting this process; such a strain has not yet been previously associated with such bioengineered systems.

Influence of the use of Aliquat 336 in the immobilization procedure in sol-gel of lipase from Bacillus sp ITP-001

Aliquat 336, a liquid hydrophobic material, was used at different concentrations (0.5-3.0%, w/v) as an additive in the preparation of encapsulated lipase from Bacillus sp. ITP-001 on sol-gel silica matrices using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) as the precursor. The resulting hydrophobic matrices and immobilized lipases were characterized with regard to specific surface area (BET method), adsorption-desorption isotherms, pore volume (Vp) and size (dp) by nitrogen adsorption (BJH method) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The catalytic activities and the corresponding coupling yields were assayed in the hydrolysis of olive oil. In comparison with pure silica matrices, the immobilization process in the presence of Aliquat 336 decreased the values for specific surface area and increased the values for pore specific volume (Vp) and mean pore diameter (dp). This behavior may be related to the partial adsorption of the enzyme on the external surface of the hydrophobic matrix as indicated by scanning electron microscopy. Aliquat 336 concentrations in the range from 0.5 to 1.5% (w/v) provided immobilized derivatives with higher coupling yields and better substrate affinity. The highest coupling yield (Y-A = 71%) was obtained for the immobilized enzyme prepared in the presence of 1.5% Aliquat which gave the following morphological properties: specific surface area = 183 m(2)/g, pore specific volume (Vp) = 0.36 cc/g and mean pore diameter (dp)= 91 angstrom. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Diversity of propanil-degrading bacteria isolated from rice rhizosphere and their potential for plant growth promotion

The herbicide propanil has long been used in rice production in southern Brazil. Bacteria isolated from contaminated soils in Massaranduba, Santa Catarina, Brazil, were found to be able to grow in the presence of propanil, using this compound as a carbon source. Thirty strains were identified as Pseudomonas (86.7%), Serratia (10.0%), and Acinetobacter (3.3%), based on phylogenetic analysis of 16S rDNA. Little genetic diversity was found within species, more than 95% homology, suggesting that there is selective pressure to metabolize propanil in the microbial community. Two strains of Pseudomonas (AF7 and AF1) were selected in bioreactor containing chemotactic growth medium, with the highest degradation activity of propanil exhibited by strain AF7, followed by AF1 (60 and 40%, respectively). These strains when encapsulated in alginate exhibited a high survival rate and were able to colonize the rice root surfaces. Inoculation with Pseudomonas strains AF7 and AF1 significantly improved the plant height of rice. Most of the Pseudomonas strains produced indoleacetic acid, soluble mineral phosphate, and fixed nitrogen. These bacterial strains could potentially be used for the bioremediation of propanil-contaminated soils and the promotion of plant growth.

Effects of photobioreactor configuration, nitrogen source and light intensity on the fed-batch cultivation of Arthrospira (Spirulina) platensis. Bioenergetic aspects

Bioenergetic analysis may be applied in order to predict microbial growth yields, based on the Gibbs energy dissipation and mass conservation principles of the overall growth reaction. The bioenergetics of the photoautotrophic growth of the cyanobacterium Arthrospira (Spirulina) platensis was investigated in different bioreactor configurations (tubular photobioreactor and open ponds) using different nitrogen sources (nitrate and urea) and under different light intensity conditions to determine the best growing conditions in terms of Gibbs energy dissipation, number of photons to sustain cell growth and phototrophic energy yields distribution in relation to the ATP and NADPH formation, and release of heat. Although an increase in the light intensity increased the Gibbs energy dissipated for cell growth and maintenance with both nitrogen sources, it did not exert any appreciable influence on the moles of photons absorbed by the system to produce one C-mol biomass. On the other hand, both bioenergetic parameters were higher in cultures with nitrate than with urea, likely because of the higher energy requirements needed to reduce the former nitrogen source to ammonia. They appreciably increased also when open ponds were substituted by the tubular photobioreactor, where a more efficient light distribution ensured a remarkably higher cell mass concentration. The estimated percentages of the energy absorbed by the cell showed that, compared with nitrate, the use of urea as nitrogen source allowed the system to address higher energy fractions to ATP production and light fixation by the photosynthetic apparatus, as well as a lower fraction released as heat. The best energy yields values on Gibbs energy necessary for cell growth and maintenance were achieved in up to 4-5 days of cultivation, indicating that it would be the optimum range to maintain cell growth. Thanks to this better bioenergetic situation, urea appears to be a quite promising low-cost, alternative nitrogen source for Arthrospira platensis cultures in photobioreactors. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The influence of the degree of back-mixing on hydrogen production in an anaerobic fixed-bed reactor

This paper reports on results obtained from experiments carried out in an acidogenic anaerobic reactor aiming at the optimization of hydrogen production by altering the degree of back-mixing. It was hypothesized that there is an optimum operating point that maximizes the hydrogen yield. Experiments were performed in a packed-bed bioreactor by covering a broad range of recycle ratios (R) and the optimum point was obtained for an R value of 0.6. In this operating condition the reactor behaved as 8 continuous stirred-tank reactors in series and the maximum yield was 4.22 mol H-2 mol sucrose(-1). Such optimum point was estimated by deriving a polynomial function fitted to experimental data and it was obtained as the conjugation of three factors related to the various degrees of back-mixing applied to the reactor: mass transfer from the bulk liquid to the biocatalyst, liquid-to-gas mass transfer and the kinetic behavior of irreversible reactions in series. Copyright (C) 2012, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Continuous enzymatic interesterification of lard and soybean oil blend: Effects of different flow rates on physical properties and acyl migration

Continuous enzymatic interesterification is an alternative to chemical interesterification for lipid modification technology which is economically viable for large scale use. A blend of 70% lard and 30% soybean oil was submitted to continuous enzymatic interesterification in a glass tubular bioreactor at flow rate ranging from 0.5 to 4.5 mL/min. The original mixture and the reaction products obtained were examined to determine melting and crystallization behavior by DSC, and analyzed for regiospecific fatty acid distribution. Continuous enzymatic interesterification changed the mixture, forming a new triacylglycerol composition, verified by DSC curves and variation in enthalpy of melting values. The regiospecific distribution of fatty acids was changed by flow variations in the reactor. In the continuous enzymatic interesterification reaction the flow rate of 4.5 mL/min, was more advantageous than slower flow rates, reducing acyl migration and increasing process productivity. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Xylanase and beta-Xylosidase Production by Aspergillus ochraceus: New Perspectives for the Application of Wheat Straw Autohydrolysis Liquor

The xylanase biosynthesis is induced by its substrate-xylan. The high xylan content in some wastes such as wheat residues (wheat bran and wheat straw) makes them accessible and cheap sources of inducers to be mainly applied in great volumes of fermentation, such as those of industrial bioreactors. Thus, in this work, the main proposal was incorporated in the nutrient medium wheat straw particles decomposed to soluble compounds (liquor) through treatment of lignocellulosic materials in autohydrolysis process, as a strategy to increase and undervalue xylanase production by Aspergillus ochraceus. The wheat straw autohydrolysis liquor produced in several conditions was used as a sole carbon source or with wheat bran. The best conditions for xylanase and beta-xylosidase production were observed when A. ochraceus was cultivated with 1% wheat bran added of 10% wheat straw liquor (produced after 15 min of hydrothermal treatment) as carbon source. This substrate was more favorable when compared with xylan, wheat bran, and wheat straw autohydrolysis liquor used separately. The application of this substrate mixture in a stirred tank bioreactor indicated the possibility of scaling up the process to commercial production.

Fermentation medium and oxygen transfer conditions that maximize the xylose conversion to ethanol by Pichia stipitis

The xylose conversion to ethanol by Pichia stipitis was studied. In a first step, the necessity of supplementing the fermentation medium with urea. MgSO(4) x 7H(2)O, and/or yeast extract was evaluated through a 2(3) full factorial design. The simultaneous addition of these three nutritional sources to the fermentation medium, in concentrations of 2.3, 1.0, and 3.0 g/l, respectively, showed to be important to improve the ethanol production in detriment of the substrate conversion to cell. In a second stage, fermentation assays performed in a bioreactor under different K(L)a (volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient) conditions made possible understanding the influence of the oxygen transfer on yeast performance, as well as to define the most suitable range of values for an efficient ethanol production. The most promising region to perform this bioconversion process was found to be between 2.3 and 4.9 h(-1), since it promoted the highest ethanol production results with practically exhaustion of the xylose from the medium. These findings contribute for the development of an economical and efficient technology for large scale production of second generation ethanol. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The interaction of postural and voluntary strategies for stability in Parkinson's disease

de Lima-Pardini AC, Papegaaij S, Cohen RG, Teixeira LA, Smith BA, Horak FB. The interaction of postural and voluntary strategies for stability in Parkinson's disease. J Neurophysiol 108: 1244-1252, 2012. First published June 6, 2012; doi:10.1152/jn.00118.2012.-This study assessed the effects of stability constraints of a voluntary task on postural responses to an external perturbation in subjects with Parkinson's disease (PD) and healthy elderly participants. Eleven PD subjects and twelve control subjects were perturbed with backward surface translations while standing and performing two versions of a voluntary task: holding a tray with a cylinder placed with the flat side down [low constraint (LC)] or with the rolling, round side down [high constraint (HC)]. Participants performed alternating blocks of LC and HC trials. PD participants accomplished the voluntary task as well as control subjects, showing slower tray velocity in the HC condition compared with the LC condition. However, the latency of postural responses was longer in the HC condition only for control subjects. Control subjects presented different patterns of hip-shoulder coordination as a function of task constraint, whereas PD subjects had a relatively invariant pattern. Initiating the experiment with the HC task led to 1) decreased postural stability in PD subjects only and 2) reduced peak hip flexion in control subjects only. These results suggest that PD impairs the capacity to adapt postural responses to constraints imposed by a voluntary task.

Contrafreeloading in maned wolves: Implications for their management and welfare

Contrafreeloading occurs when animals spend time and effort to obtain food in the presence of freely available food. There are several interpretations for such an apparent contradiction to optimal foraging models, with an emphasis either on the need to gather and update information about the environment or on the value of performing species-typical responses. Evidence suggests that both gathering information about the environment and the expression of species-typical behaviour are important for the welfare of captive animals. The aim of the present study was to assess the existence of contrafreeloading in maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus), in a situation where animals could get food directly from a "free" source and/or search and handle hidden food items, an alternative that requires more effort and is probably more similar to natural foraging conditions. Eight captive, pair-housed maned wolves were given weekly choice tests in which they could obtain food either by approaching the usual food tray in one section of the enclosure (Tray), and/or by searching for food at variable sites amongst the vegetation in the other section of the enclosure (Scattered). Results indicate that maned wolves spent more time in the Scattered than in the Tray section of the enclosure (P = 0.02) and that they obtained about half of the food from that section (48.54% +/- SE 0.69). Our results, the first to demonstrate contrafreeloading in maned wolves, have implications for the husbandry and welfare of this endangered species. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Carbon source pulsed feeding to attain high yield and high productivity in poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) production from soybean oil using Cupriavidus necator

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) biosynthesis from soybean oil by Cupriavidus necator was studied using a bench scale bioreactor. The highest cell concentration (83 g l(-1)) was achieved using soybean oil at 40 g l(-1) and a pulse of the same concentration. The PHB content was 81% (w/w), PHB productivity was 2.5 g l(-1) h(-1), and the calculated Y-p/s value was 0.85 g g(-1). Growth limitation and the onset of PHB biosynthesis took place due to exhaustion of P, and probably also Cu, Ca, and Fe.

Culture medium of diluted skimmed milk for the production of nisin in batch cultivations

Nisin is a promising alternative to chemical preservatives for use as a natural biopreservative in foods. This bacteriocin has also potential biomedical applications. Lactic acid bacteria are commonly cultivated in expensive standard complex media. We have evaluated the cell growth and nisin production of Lactococcus lactis in a low-cost natural medium consisting of diluted skimmed milk in a 2-L bioreactor. The assays were performed at 30 degrees C for 56 h, at varying agitation speeds and airflow rates: (1) 200 rpm (no airflow, and airflow at 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 L/min); (2) 100 rpm (no airflow, and airflow at 0.5 L/min). Nisin activity was evaluated using agar diffusion assays. The highest nisin concentration, 49.88 mg/L (3.3 log AU/mL or 1,995.29 AU/mL), was obtained at 16 h of culture, 200 rpm and no airflow (k(L)a = 5.29 x 10(-3)). These results show that a cultivation medium composed of diluted skimmed milk supports cell growth to facilitate nisin biosynthesis.

Keeping your balance while balancing a cylinder: interaction between postural and voluntary goals

The present study investigated whether postural responses are influenced by the stability constraint of a voluntary, manual task. We also examined how task constraint and first experience (the condition with which the participants started the experiment) influence the kinematic strategies used to simultaneously accomplish a postural response and a voluntary task. Twelve healthy, older adults were perturbed during standing, while holding a tray with a cylinder placed with the flat side down (low constraint, LC) or with the rolling, round side down (high constraint, HC). Central set changed according to the task constraint, as shown by a higher magnitude of both the gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior muscle activation bursts in the HC than in the LC condition. This increase in muscle activation was not reflected, however, in changes in the center of pressure or center of mass displacement. Task constraint influenced the peak shoulder flexion for the voluntary tray task but not the peak hip flexion for the postural task. In contrast, first experience influenced the peak hip flexion but not the peak shoulder flexion. These results suggest an interaction between two separate control mechanisms for automatic postural responses and voluntary stabilization tasks.

Lasiodiplodan, an exocellular (1 -> 6)-beta-d-glucan from Lasiodiplodia theobromae MMPI: production on glucose, fermentation kinetics, rheology and anti-proliferative activity

Lasiodiplodan, an exopolysaccharide of the (1 -> 6)-beta-d-glucan type, is produced by Lasiodiplodia theobromae MMPI when grown under submerged culture on glucose. The objective of this study was to evaluate lasiodiplodan production by examining the effects of carbon (glucose, fructose, maltose, sucrose) and nitrogen sources (KNO3, (NH4)(2)SO4, urea, yeast extract, peptone), its production in shake flasks compared to a stirred-tank bioreactor, and to study the rheology of lasiodiplodan, and lasiodiplodan's anti-proliferative effect on breast cancer MCF-7 cells. Although glucose (2.05 +/- A 0.05 g L-1), maltose (2.08 +/- A 0.04 g L-1) and yeast extract (2.46 +/- A 0.06 g L-1) produced the highest amounts of lasiodiplodan, urea as N source resulted in more lasiodiplodan per unit biomass than yeast extract (0.74 +/- A 0.006 vs. 0.22 +/- A 0.008 g g(-1)). A comparison of the fermentative parameters of L. theobromae MMPI in shake flasks and a stirred-tank bioreactor at 120 h on glucose as carbon source showed maximum lasiodiplodan production in agitated flasks (7.01 +/- A 0.07 g L-1) with a specific yield of 0.25 +/- A 0.57 g g(-1) and a volumetric productivity of 0.06 +/- A 0.001 g L-1 h(-1). A factorial 2(2) statistical design developed to evaluate the effect of glucose concentration (20-60 g L-1) and impeller speed (100-200 rpm) on lasiodiplodan production in the bioreactor showed the highest production (6.32 g L-1) at 72 h. Lasiodiplodan presented pseudoplastic behaviour, and the apparent viscosity increased at 60A degrees C in the presence of CaCl2. Anti-proliferative activity of lasiodiplodan was demonstrated in MCF-7 cells, which was time- and dose-dependent with an IC50 of 100 mu g lasiodiplodan mL(-1).