NOPR Collection:

Influence of Magnetic Induction Power on Physico-Chemical and Microbial Quality of Milk

2024-04-09T11:35:09Z

Title: Influence of Magnetic Induction Power on Physico-Chemical and Microbial Quality of Milk Authors: Naskar, Banashree; John, Hima; Barnwal, Pradyumnan; Puniya, Anil Kumar; Sharma, Rajan; Juneja, Amit Kumar Abstract: The study aimed to assess the quality of milk heated using a laboratory-scale batch-type Magnetic Induction Heating (MIH) system. Magnetic induction heating is an electromagnetic non-contact heating method which is being efficiently utilized in food processing nowadays. But the possibility to heat milk and other dairy products using MIH is yet to be explored. The study employed seven adjustable induction powers, and milk was heated from 10 to 90°C. The results revealed that heating time gradually decreased from 187 to 114 s as the induction power increased from 500 to 2000 W. The levels of fat, Solid Not Fat (SNF), and protein were statistically similar before (3.96% fat, 8.46% SNF, and 3.34% protein) and after heating (3.93–3.98% fat, 8.37–8.41% SNF and 3.34–3.40% protein). However, microbial parameters exhibited significant variability (p <0.05) depending on the applied induction power. Since MIH can save energy by eliminating the need for steam and its associated auxiliary components, this technology has emerged as a potential alternative to heat milk with shorter time and minimum quality degradation. Page(s): 343-349

Drying Kinetics and Mathematical Modelling of Raisin Production by Abrasive and Chemical Pre-Treatment of Grapes

2024-04-09T11:33:01Z

Title: Drying Kinetics and Mathematical Modelling of Raisin Production by Abrasive and Chemical Pre-Treatment of Grapes Authors: Ananda, Pawar Dilip; Kumar, Giri Saroj; Kumar, Sharma Ajay Abstract: One of the delicious dry fruit, raisin is obtained by drying of grapes with pre-drying treatment. Chemical pre-treatment is most commonly followed for the raisin processing. However, it has drawback like extended drying time and it also triggers the food safety concerns. Various alternatives are being explored for the production of safe raisins. In the present investigation, drying kinetics of grapes and modelling of raisin production have been studied. Grapes were pre-treated with conventional chemical method and novel abrasive method and compared. Treated grapes were dried in tray dryer and solar dryer. Drying kinetics and modelling of experimental data was examined with ten empirical drying equations. Drying rate was higher for grapes treated with abrasive method compared to chemical pre-treatment. Among the different drying conditions, tray drying (55°C) and solar drying (temperature range 43.33 to 58.33°C) was found suitable for superior quality raisin production with drying time of 56.66 h and 78.5 h, respectively. The browning index and firmness of raisins produced using abrasive pre-treatment was to some extent higher compared to chemical treatment whereas yellowness index was found slightly lesser in case of abrasive treated samples. The Modified Handerson-Pebis Model fitted best to predict the drying of abrasive treated grapes, whereas Two term model reported highest goodness of fit for chemically treated grapes. Effective diffusivity for moisture removal of grapes ranged between 1.03×10−9 to 5.52×10−10 m2/s and was maximum for abrasive treated grapes. Present findings of drying behaviour of grapes and modelling will be useful for the better design of drying systems for production of safe raisins using novel abrasive pre-treatment. Page(s): 350-361

Automated Prototype Intra Row Weeding System

2024-04-09T11:31:27Z

Title: Automated Prototype Intra Row Weeding System Authors: Kumar, Satya Prakash; Tewari, V K; Chandel, Abhilash Kumar; Mehta, C R; Nare, B; C R, Chethan; Pareek, C M; Mundhada, Kaustubh Abstract: Over the course of several decades, considerable efforts have been dedicated to weed control, exploring various methods and technologies such as manual, chemical, biological, and mechanical approaches. Commercial tools are available for mechanical weed control in the inter-row region; however, the weed control in intra-row zone is still a challenge. Therefore, an intra-row weeding unit concept has been developed and evaluated under laboratory condition. The system is based on ultrasonic sensor, fuzzy logic, four bar linkage mechanism and microcontroller circuit. The results of ANOVA indicate that variation in four bar linkage crank speed (Srpm) was found to be highly significantly dependent on forward speed of operation (P <0.001). The system was tested at different depths (20, 40, 60 mm), speed of operations (0.96, 1.71, 2.58 km/h) and cone index of 300 kPa, 400 kPa and 500 kPa. The draft and lateral force was found to in the range of 5.88 N to 22.77 N and 0.97 to 8.01 N respectively for entire range of test plan. It was observed that average plant damage of intra row weeding system was varying from 0.66% to 8.66% for all test range of independent parameters. The newly developed intra-row weeding system can be seamlessly connected to the existing tractor-operated inter-row weeder. This integration enables the performance of weeding operations both within and between rows in a single pass of the tractor. Page(s): 362-374

On the Measurement of Electron Temperature of a Pulsed Washer Gun Argon Plasma by Triple Langmuir Probe Diagnostic Technique

2024-04-09T11:28:27Z

Title: On the Measurement of Electron Temperature of a Pulsed Washer Gun Argon Plasma by Triple Langmuir Probe Diagnostic Technique Authors: Sethy, B K; Paikaray, R; Das, P; Samantaray, S; Sasini, N C; Mohanty, B; Sahoo, G; Sanyasi, A K; Ghosh, J Abstract: Pulsed argon plasma of the order of 140 μs duration is produced by a washer gun under low pressure conditions. The low pressure plasmas have many industrial applications such as etching, coating for corrosion, diamond and diamond like carbon coating, super hard nano composite coating, synthesis of novel nanostructure etc. Measurement of fundamental parameters like electron temperature of such pulsed plasmas is always challenging and should be determined properly. Triple probe diagnostic is the most advanced, convenient and inexpensive method for measurement of plasma temperature which does not require any voltage, frequency sweeps, or switching like single or double probe diagnostic methods. In this work we have introduced a triple Langmuir probe to measure the electron temperature of pulsed washer gun argon plasma. A triple probe of pure tungsten material with appropriate circuit is designed and fabricated in our laboratory. The triple probe signal is recorded by a digital storage oscilloscope at the distance of 0.05 m from the gun mouth. It is observed that the electron temperature remains constant at ⁓ 1.2 eV within the small variation of base pressure ranging from 0.2 to 1.0 mbar. This method is applicable to both stationary and transient plasma which can be used for various industrial as well as research purpose. Page(s): 375-380