DEVELOPMENT OF A MECHANISM AND PROCESS TO CONTINUOUSLY PRODUCE SPHERICAL, TORREFIED BIOMASS PELLETS

A recently developed novel biomass fuel pellet, the Q’ Pellet, offers significant improvements over conventional white pellets, with characteristics comparable to those of coal. The Q’ Pellet was initially created at bench scale using a proprietary die and punch design, in which the biomass was torrefied in-situ¬ and then compressed. To bring the benefits of the Q’ Pellet to a commercial level, it must be capable of being produced in a continuous process at a competitive cost. A prototype machine was previously constructed in a first effort to assess continuous processing of the Q’ Pellet. The prototype torrefied biomass in a separate, ex-situ reactor and transported it into a rotary compression stage. Upon evaluation, parts of the prototype were found to be unsuccessful and required a redesign of the material transport method as well as the compression mechanism. A process was developed in which material was torrefied ex-situ and extruded in a pre-compression stage. The extruded biomass overcame multiple handling issues that had been experienced with un-densified biomass, facilitating efficient material transport. Biomass was extruded directly into a novel re-designed pelletizing die, which incorporated a removable cap, ejection pin and a die spring to accommodate a repeatable continuous process. Although after several uses the die required manual intervention due to minor design and manufacturing quality limitations, the system clearly demonstrated the capability of producing the Q’ Pellet in a continuous process. Q’ Pellets produced by the pre-compression method and pelletized in the re-designed die had an average dry basis gross calorific value of 22.04 MJ/kg, pellet durability index of 99.86% and dried to 6.2% of its initial mass following 24 hours submerged in water. This compares well with literature results of 21.29 MJ/kg, 100% pellet durability index and <5% mass increase in a water submersion test. These results indicate that the methods developed herein are capable of producing Q’ Pellets in a continuous process with fuel properties competitive with coal.

Training Finnish and English Speakers to Produce Non-native Vowels

The subject of this thesis was the acquisition of difficult non-native vowels by speakers of two different languages. In order to study the subject, a group of Finnish speakers and another group of American English speakers were recruited and they underwent a short listen-and-repeat training that included as stimuli the semisynthetically created pseudowords /ty:ti/ and /tʉ:ti/. The aim was to study the effect of the training method on the subjects as well as the possible influence of the speakers’ native language on the process of acquisition. The selection of the target vowels /y/ and /ʉ/ was made according to the Speech Learning Model and Perceptual Assimilation Model, both of which predict that second language speech sounds that share similar features with sounds of a person’s native language are most difficult for the person to learn. The vowel /ʉ/ is similar to Finnish vowels as well as to vowels of English, whereas /y/ exists in Finnish but not in English, although it is similar to other English vowels. Therefore, it can be hypothesized that /ʉ/ is a difficult vowel for both groups to learn and /y/ is difficult for English speakers. The effect of training was tested with a pretest-training-posttest protocol in which the stimuli were played alternately and the subjects’ task was to repeat the heard stimuli. The training method was thought to improve the production of non-native sounds by engaging different feedback mechanisms, such as auditory and somatosensory. These, according to Template Theory, modify the production of speech by altering the motor commands from the internal speech system or the feedforward signal which translates the motoric commands into articulatory movements. The subjects’ productions during the test phases were recorded and an acoustic analysis was performed in which the formant values of the target vowels were extracted. Statistical analyses showed a statistically significant difference between groups in the first formant, signaling a possible effect of native motor commands. Furthermore, a statistically significant difference between groups was observed in the standard deviation of the formants in the production of /y/, showing the uniformity of native production. The training had no observable effect, possibly due to the short nature of the training protocol.

Evaluation of molar weight and deacetylation degree of chitosan during chitin deacetylation reaction: Used to produce biofilm

Chitosan is a polysaccharide derived from chitin, mainly of crustacean shells and shrimp wastes. The utilization of chitosan is related to the molar weight and deacetylation degree of the biopolymer. The aim of this work is to study the chitin deacetylation reaction, by the viscosity average molar weight and deacetylation degree of chitosan as a function of reaction time. Deacetylation was carried out in concentrated alkaline solution, 421 g L−1, at 130◦C and the reaction occurred during 4 h. Chitosan paste obtained after 20, 90 and 240 min was used to produce biofilms, which were characterized according water vapor permeability and mechanical properties (tensile strength and percentage tensile elongation at break). During the reaction time deacetylation degree reached 93%, and a 50% reduction in the viscosity average molar weight value in relation to the value of the first 20 min of reaction was found Both reactions presented a kinetic behavior of the pseudo-first order. Biofilm produced from the paste of chitosan with high deacetylation degree showed higher water vapor permeability (WVP), tensile strength (TS) and elongation (E) when compared to films with a low deacetylation.

Plan estratégico para Mission Produce 2016-2020

Mission Produce es un productor, importador y distribuidor global de paltas Hass. Al 2015, la empresa tiene operaciones en México, Chile, Perú y los Estados Unidos. Más del 90% de las ventas de palta de Mission se realizan en los Estados Unidos y Canadá, el 6% en Japón y el resto en Europa, Singapur y China. En 2013, la empresa vendió el equivalente a un total de 176 mil toneladas a nivel mundial, siendo el 70% clientes minoritas, el 15% mayoristas, el 13% de servicios de alimentos y el 2% corredores, lo que le permitió obtener el 23% de la cuota del mercado. La oferta de los productos que Mission distribuye es 50% como palta dura, 36% como palta madura y el 16% empaquetada (frutas más pequeñas que se venden juntas en una red de nailon). Una orden federal de mercado en los Estados Unidos, aprobada en 2002, requiere que todos los vendedores de paltas Hass (nacionales e importadas) contribuyan con $ 0.055 centavos por cada kilo vendido. El Consejo del Palta Hass (HAB por sus siglas en inglés) administra los fondos y destina el 85% a las juntas estatales o juntas de importadores de palta para ser gastado en la promoción del producto. Los fondos de HAB también se utilizan para la investigación científica y del consumidor. Mission revolucionó la industria de paltas por ser la primera empresa en asegurar la entrega continua de fruta madura para los minoristas y las empresas de servicio de alimentos, mediante el desarrollo de una red de centros de maduración, diferentes modelos de adquisición de paltas y la integración vertical hacia atrás. En 2013, la empresa contaba con centros de maduración y distribución en ocho ciudades de los EE.UU. Mission decide comprar terrenos en el Perú y a principios del 2012 comenzó a transformar la zona desértica en uno de los mayores fundos de palta en el mundo. Lo más importante de los fundos en el Perú es que le otorgan en el mediano plazo el control total de la cadena de suministro. El consumo de paltas en EE.UU. al 2013 estaba en pleno auge, lo que generaba una escasez en la oferta global. Mission se había integrado verticalmente hacia atrás para ayudar a cerrar la brecha de la oferta, sin embargo, existían muchas otras oportunidades en el mercado. Dentro de las prioridades de Mission figura la adquisición de más tierras en Perú y otros cultivos de alto valor, como la uva y bayas. Otras interesantes alternativas son invertir en cultivos de paltas en otros países, diversificarse hacia el procesamiento, ampliar las actividades de su marketing internacional y construir la marca Mission en Europa y China.

Plan estratégico de la empresa Mission Produce

Mission Produce es una empresa que se dedica al cultivo, procesamiento y comercialización de palta para el consumo interno en Estados Unidos, Canadá, Europa y Asia. Al año 2013 vende más de US$ 400 millones, siendo el principal distribuidor de paltas en Estados Unidos, manteniendo una cuota del mercado del 23% en dicho país. Las tasas de crecimiento de las ventas alcanzadas a partir de sus mejoras tecnológicas, inversiones y alianzas comerciales en el mundo le suponen un gran reto: ¿Cómo podrá Mission Produce crecer y, de esta manera, responder al incremento de la demanda de palta a nivel mundial cuando toma de tres a cinco años incrementar la oferta? Para lograr responder al reto de crecimiento que plantea el mercado, la empresa debe analizar las condiciones del entorno, tanto interno como externo, para generar estrategias que le permitan tener un crecimiento sostenido para el periodo 2016-2020.

Esa máquina produce lo que usted quiera

Fondo Margaritainés Restrepo

Development of a novel platform for high-throughput gene design and artificial gene synthesis to produce large libraries of recombinant venom peptides for drug discovery

Tese de Doutoramento em Ciências Veterinárias na Especialidade de Ciências Biológicas e Biomédicas

"El sueño de la razón produce monstruos". Visiones de la religiosidad popular en el positivismo argentino de entresiglos

Fil: Mailhe, Alejandra. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación; Argentina.

"El sueño de la razón produce monstruos". Visiones de la religiosidad popular en el positivismo argentino de entresiglos

Fil: Mailhe, Alejandra. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación; Argentina.

Resolución 04 del 16 de enero de 2009: ¿Qué verifica la Cámara de Comercio respecto de la remoción de un administrador? ¿cual es el efecto legal que produce la interposición del recursos en la vía gubernativa frente al acto contrato o negocio jurídico presentado para inscripción?

Servicios registrales

Resolución 56 del 20 de mayo de 2009: ¿Que efectos jurídicos produce el acto de inscripción del nombramiento de un liquidador durante el tiempo en que adquiere su firmeza y no ha sido objeto de impugnación? ¿Es susceptible de inscripción en el registro mercantil un acto producido por un liquidados cuya inscripción de nombramiento aun no esta en firme?

Servicios registrales