Microencapsulation of garlic oleoresin using maltodextrin as wall material by spray drying technology.

Experiments were conducted on microencapsulation of garlic oleoresin by spray drying with garlic oleoresin concentration (10%, 20% and 30%) as core material, maltodextrin concentration (40%, 50% and 60%) as wall material and inlet temperature of drying air (180 °C, 200 °C and 220 °C) as process parameters. The process in-terms of encapsulation efficiency was optimised following response surface methodology and Pareto analysis of variance (ANOVA). Second order polynomial regression model showed good fit of the experimental data with high coefficient of determination (R(2)) along with predicted values. The relationships between the independent and dependent parameters were represented using response surface and contour plots. The optimum levels of process parameters, viz., garlic oleoresin concentration, maltodextrin concentration and inlet temperature of air drying were found to be 10%, 60% and 200 °C, respectively with the maximum encapsulation efficiency of 81.9% and desirability of 0.998. The microencapsulated garlic oleoresin powder obtained at optimized conditions was spherical with smooth surface as analysed through scanning electron microscopy.

Modeling and investigation of submerged fermentation process to produce extracellular polysaccharide using Lactobacillus confusus.

The main objective of the present study is to investigate and optimize the Submerged fermentation (SMF) process parameters such as addition of coconut water, NaCl dose, incubation time and temperature on the production of extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) and biomass production using Lactobacillus confuses. Response surface methodology (RSM) coupled with four factors three level Box-Behnken design (BBD) was employed to model the SMF process. RSM analysis indicated good correspondence between experimental and predicted values. Three dimentional (3D) response surface plots were used to study the interactive effects of process variables on SMF process. The optimum process conditions for the maximum production of EPS and biomass were found to be as follows; addition of coconut water of 40%, NaCl dose of 15%, incubation time of 24h and temperature of 35°C. Under these conditions, 10.57 g/L of EPS and 3.9 g/L of biomass were produced.

Process optimization and analysis of microwave assisted extraction of pectin from dragon fruit peel.

Microwave assisted extraction (MAE) technique was employed for the extraction of pectin from dragon fruit peel. The extracting parameters were optimized by using four-variable-three-level Box-Behnken design (BBD) coupled with response surface methodology (RSM). RSM analysis indicated good correspondence between experimental and predicted values. 3D response surface plots were used to study the interactive effects of process variables on extraction of pectin. The optimum extraction conditions for the maximum yield of pectin were power of 400 W, temperature of 45 °C, extracting time of 20 min and solid-liquid ratio of 24 g/mL. Under these conditions, 7.5% of pectin was extracted.

Chitosan based grey wastewater treatment--a statistical design approach.

In this present study, grey wastewater was treated under different operating conditions such as agitation time (1-3 min), pH (2.5-5.5), chitosan dose (0.3-0.6g/l) and settling time (10-20 min) using response surface methodology (RSM). Four factors with three levels Box-Behnken response surface design (BBD) were employed to optimize and investigate the effect of process variables on the responses such as turbidity, BOD and COD removal. The results were analyzed by Pareto analysis of variance (ANOVA) and second order polynomial models were developed in order to predict the responses. Under the optimum conditions, experimental values such as turbidity (96%), BOD (91%) and COD (73%) removals are closely agreed with predicted values.

Microwave assisted extraction of pectin from waste Citrullus lanatus fruit rinds.

In this present study, microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) was applied to extraction of pectin from waste Citrullus Lanatus fruit rinds. Extraction parameters which are employed in this study are microwave power (160-480 W), irradiation time (60-180s), pH (1-2) and solid-liquid ratio (1:10-1: 30 g/ml) and they were optimized using a four factor three levels Box-Behnken response surface design (BBD) coupled with desirability function methodology. The results showed that, all the process variables have significant effect on the extraction yield of pectin. Optimum MAE conditions for the highest pectin yield from waste C. Lanatus fruit rinds (25.79%) were obtained with microwave power of 477 W, irradiation time of 128 s, pH of 1.52, solid-liquid ratio of 1:20.3g/ml respectively. Validation experiment results were well agreed with predicted value.

Modeling and analysis of film composition on mechanical properties of maize starch based edible films.

The present study investigates the influence of composition (content of maize starch (1-3 g), sorbitol (0.5-1.0 ml), agar (0.5-1.0 g) and tween-80 (0.1-0.5 ml)) on the mechanical properties (tensile strength, elongation, Young's modulus, puncture force and puncture deformation) of the maize starch based edible films using four factors with three level Box-Behnken design. The edible films were obtained by casting method. The results showed that, tween-80 increases the permeation of sorbitol in to the polymer matrix. Increasing concentration of sorbitol (hydrophilic nature and plasticizing effect of sorbitol) decreases the tensile strength, Young's modulus and puncture force of the films. The results were analyzed by Pareto analysis of variance (ANOVA) and second order polynomial models were obtained for all responses with high R(2) values (R(2)>0.95). 3D response surface plots were constructed to study the relationship between process variables and the responses.

Application of chitosan as an adsorbent to treat rice mill wastewater--mechanism, modelling and optimization.

The objectives of the present study is to investigate the chitosan as an adsorbent to treat rice mill wastewater under different process conditions such as agitation time (2-6 min), initial pH (2.5-6.5), chitosan dose (400-800 mg/l) and settling time (10-30 min) in order to study the removal efficiency of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total suspended solids (TSS). The results showed that, all process variables have significant effect on the removal efficiencies. The optimum process conditions were determined (agitation time of 4 min, initial pH of 4.5, chitosan dose of 600 mg/l and settling time of 20 min) and showed high removal efficiencies (COD: 98% and TSS: 95%). FT-IR spectrophotometry was used to analyze and confirm the adsorption process. From the experimental data, Box-Behnken design (BBD) was used to develop the second order polynomial models with high coefficient of determination values (COD: 0.991 and TSS: 0.989).

Optimization of microwave assisted extraction of pectin from orange peel.

In this study, microwave-assisted extraction was applied for pectin extraction from the dried orange peel and Box-Behnken response surface design was used to study and optimize the effects of processing variables (microwave power, irradiation time, pH and solid-liquid ratio) on the yield of pectin. The amount of pectin extracted increased with increasing microwave power, while it reduces as the time, pH and solid-liquid ratio increased. From the results, second order polynomial model was developed and it adequately explained the data variation and significantly represented the actual relationship between independent variables and the response. An optimization study using Derringer's desired function methodology was performed and optimal conditions based on both individual and combinations of all independent variables (microwave power of 422W, irradiation time of 169 s, pH of 1.4 and solid-liquid ratio of 1:16.9 g/ml) were determined with maximum pectin yield of 19.24%, which was confirmed through validation experiments.

Response surface modeling and analysis of barrier and optical properties of maize starch edible films.

In this work, four factors with three level Box-Behnken response surface design was employed to investigate the influence of process variables (maize starch, sorbitol, agar and Tween-80) on the barrier (water vapor permeability, oxygen permeability, thickness, moisture content and solubility) and optical (transparency) properties of the maize starch based edible films. Casting method was employed to prepare the edible films. The results showed that, addition of sorbitol and Tween-80 reduces the water vapor and oxygen permeability of the films, its due to the reduction of molecular mobility between polymer matrixes, where as, it also increases the thickness, moisture content, solubility and transparency of the films. The results were analyzed using Pareto analysis of variance (ANOVA) and second-order polynomial models are developed for all responses in order to predict the effect of process variables over the barrier and optical properties of the films.

Modeling and optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction of polysaccharide from Cucurbita moschata.

Polysaccharides from pumpkin were extracted by ultrasound-assisted extraction technology using four factors at five levels central composite rotatable response surface design (CCRD). On using single factor analysis, process variables such as extraction temperature (50-70 °C), power of ultrasound (50-70 W), time (15-25 min) and solid-liquid ratio (1:10-1:20 g/ml) were selected. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of four independent variables on the maximum extraction yield of polysaccharides. From the experimental data, second order polynomial mathematical model were developed with high coefficient of determination values (R(2)>0.96). From response surface plots, temperature and ultrasound power exhibited independent and interactive effects on the extraction yields. Extraction temperature of 70 °C, ultrasound power of 70 W, time of 23 min and solid-liquid ratio of 1:10 g/ml were determined as optimal conditions with a maximum polysaccharides yield of 16.21%, which was confirmed through the validation of the experiments.

Box-Behnken design based statistical modeling for ultrasound-assisted extraction of corn silk polysaccharide.

In this study, ultrasound assisted extraction (UAE) conditions on the yield of polysaccharide from corn silk were studied using three factors, three level Box-Behnken response surface design. Process parameters, which affect the efficiency of UAE such as extraction temperature (40-60 °C), time (10-30 min) and solid-liquid ratio (1:10-1:30 g/ml) were investigated. The results showed that, the extraction conditions have significant effects on extraction yield of polysaccharide. The obtained experimental data were fitted to a second-order polynomial equation using multiple regression analysis with high coefficient of determination value (R(2)) of 0.994. An optimization study using Derringer's desired function methodology was performed and the optimal conditions based on both individual and combinations of all independent variables (extraction temperature of 56 °C, time of 17 min and solid-liquid ratio of 1:20 g/ml) were determined with maximum polysaccharide yield of 6.06%, which was confirmed through validation experiments.

Treatment of pulp and paper industry bleaching effluent by electrocoagulant process.

The experiments were carried out in an electrocoagulation reactor with aluminum as sacrificial electrodes. The influence of electrolysis time, current density, pH, NaCl concentration, rotational speed of the stirrer and electrode distance on reduction of color, COD and BOD were studied in detail. From the experimental results, 15 mA/cm(2) current density, pH of 7, 1 g/l NaCl, 100 rpm, 28°C temperature and 3 cm electrode distance were found to be optimum for maximum reduction of color, COD and BOD. The reduction of color, COD and BOD under the optimum condition were found to be 94%, 90% and 87% respectively. The electrode energy consumption was calculated and found to be varied from 10.1 to 12.9 kWh/m(3) depending on the operating conditions. Under optimal operating condition such as 15 mA/cm(2) current density, pH of 7, 1 g/l NaCl, 100 rpm, 28°C temperature and 3 cm electrode distance, the operating cost was found to be 1.56 US $/m(3). The experimental results proved that the electrocoagulation is a suitable method for treating bleaching plant effluents for reuse.