Optimization of oil retention in sesame based halva using emulsifiers and fibers: an industrial assay.

Oil bleeding during storage oleaginous seeds based confectionery products is a major problem affecting acceptance by consumers. Halva is a popular sweet food prepared from a sesame paste and a sugar mixture. The objective of this work was to improve the oil retention in this product by incorporating commercial fibers and emulsifiers: soya lecithin and monoglycerides (MG1 or MG2) during manufacturing. Oil retention yield was optimized on small batches, by response surface methodology using a central composite design applied with two factors, emulsifier concentration (0.25-2.25 %) and fibers concentration (0-2 %) at three levels. A centrifugation test was optimized to assess oil retention in halva samples. The experimental response (oil retention) was fitted with quadratic equations for each emulsifier, using multiple regression analysis. The emulsion stability increased with increasing the emulsifier concentration, particularly to 2.25 %. The oil bleeding assessed at 45 °C was slow but yielded similar results to those estimated by centrifugation test. The latter seems an attractive rapid method to quantify oil retention in oleaginous seeds and crops based food matrices. At an industrial scale, the increase of MG1 concentration to 2.25 % in halva enhances the oil retention of the product but does not affect its color or textural characteristics. Microscopic observations allowed us to explain high oil retention in this product by a homogeneous dispersion of oil droplets in the aqueous phase.

3D shapes of aryl(dihydro)naphthothiophenes: a comprehensive and structural study.

Convenient access to new aryl(dihydro)naphthothiophenes is described using a common ß-chloroacrolein derivative. Our strategy is based on the construction of a condensed thiophene ring prior to a Suzuki-Miyaura coupling and allowed installing various substituents at the molecular platform. The overall shapes of these architectures were confirmed by X-ray analyses and were in good agreement with theoretical calculations. It has been established that the relative orientation between all fragments that composed molecules within this series is strongly related to both steric and electronic factors. Contribution of these key parameters revealed to be crucial to rationalize attempts to prepare fluorenone and fluorene derivatives from aryl(dihydro)naphthothiophene platforms.

Performance of biological treatment of high-level ammonia landfill leachate.

The biological treatment efficiency of landfill leachate (LFL) from a Tunisian site collection was investigated in this study. The raw effluent was highly charged with organic matter (more than 25 g l(-1) of chemical oxygen demand (COD)), ammonia (1.7 g l(-1) and salts (20 g l(-1)). With the presence of heavy metals, phenols and hydrocarbons, LFL exhibited high toxicity to organisms since it totally inhibited the bioluminescence of Vibrio fischeri and the germination of Lepidium sativum seeds. The biological oxygen demand (BOD5)/COD ratio of 0.5 indicates that the effluent can be biologically treated. Sludge from a wastewater treatment plant was acclimatized to the effluent in continuous batches. During the acclimatization phase, the consortia demonstrated a good ability to remove organic matter and toxicity in spite of an increase of introduced load reaching 3.2 g of COD 1.d. Consequently, the biodegradation experiments were carried out in a stirred tank reactor (STR) at organic loading rate (OLR) ranging from 0.5 to 5.4 g l(-1) per day. The hydraulic retention time was decreased from 50 days to 4.6 days. The process seemed to be efficient to eliminate organics and ammonia. The COD removal efficiency reached a maximum of 80% for a loading rate of 5.4 g l(-1) per day. The values of N-NH4+ became less than those recommended by standards requested for rejection in public canalizations. During the treatment process, the biomass was increased from 0.8 g l(-1) at the start-up of the process to 3 g l(-1). On the other hand, results of toxicity examinations showed that the treatment was efficient to provide detoxification of the effluent indicating a good adaptability of the consortia in spite of the presence of problematic compounds. The increase of the loading rate up to 6 g l(-1) was responsible for the perturbation of the system and caused an accumulation of residual COD and toxicity.

Pilot-plant results of the electro-Fenton treatment of olive mill wastewaters followed by anaerobic digestion.

In this work, we investigated an integrated technology for the treatment of the recalcitrant contaminants of olive mill wastewaters (OMW), allowing water recovery and reuse for agricultural purposes. The method involves an electrochemical pre-treatment step of the wastewater using the electro-Fenton reaction followed by an anaerobic bio-treatment. The electro-Fenton pre-treatment process removed 66% of the total polyphenolic compounds and subsequently decreased the OMW toxicity from 100 to 66.9%, which resulted in improving the performance of the anaerobic digestion. A continuous laboratory-scale methanogenic reactor was operated at a loading rate of 10g COD/L per day without any apparent toxicity. Furthermore, in the combined process, a high overall reduction in COD, suspended solids, polyphenols and lipids content was achieved by the two successive stages. Moreover, this combined process which was experimented at a real scale (25 m3 digester) demonstrated its technical feasibility and opens promising perspectives for industrial application in the Mediterranean countries because of its easy conception and high energy (methane) production.

Pilot-plant results of the electro-Fenton treatment of olive mill wastewaters followed by anaerobic digestion.

In this work, we investigated an integrated technology for the treatment of the recalcitrant contaminants of olive mill wastewaters (OMW), allowing water recovery and reuse for agricultural purposes. The method involves an electrochemical pre-treatment step of the wastewater using the electro-Fenton reaction followed by an anaerobic bio-treatment. The electro-Fenton pre-treatment process removed 66% of the total polyphenolic compounds and subsequently decreased the OMW toxicity from 100 to 66.9% which resulted in improving the performance of the anaerobic digestion. A continuous lab-scale methanogenic reactor was operated at a loading rate of 10 g COD/L day without any apparent toxicity. Furthermore, in the combined process, a high overall reduction in COD, suspended solids, polyphenols and lipids content was achieved by the two successive stages. Moreover, this combined process which was experimented at a real scale (25 m3 digester), demonstrated its technical feasibility and opens promising perspectives for industrial application in the Mediterranean countries due to its easy conception and its high energy (methane) production.

Effect of bioaugmentation of activated sludge with white-rot fungi on olive mill wastewater detoxification.

AIMS: To test the potential use of Phanerochaete chrysosporium and other white-rot fungi to detoxify olive mill wastewaters (OMW) in the presence of a complex activated sludge. To combine the aerobic with anaerobic treatment to optimize the conversion of OMW in biogas. METHODS AND RESULTS: A 25-l air lift reactor was used to pretreat OMW by white-rot fungi. Detoxification of the OMW was monitored by size exclusion HPLC analysis, chemical oxygen demand (COD)/biological oxygen demand (BOD(5)) ratio evolution, and bioluminescence toxicity test. Anaerobic treatment of OMW was performed in a 12-l anaerobic filter reactor. Efficiency of the treatment was evaluated by organic matter removal, and biogas production. By comparison with the pretreatment by activated sludge only, the bioaugmentation with Phanerochaete chrysosporium or Trametes versicolor led to high removal of organic matter, decreased the COD/BOD(5) ratio and the toxicity. The subsequent anaerobic digestion of the OMW pretreated with activated sludge-white-rot fungi showed higher biomethanization yields than that pretreated with activated sludge only. Higher loading rates (7 g COD l(-1) day(-1)) were reached without any acidification or inhibition of biomethanization. CONCLUSIONS: The use of white-rot fungi, even in the presence of complex biological consortia to detoxify OMW, proved to be possible and made the anaerobic digestion of OMW for methane production feasible. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The use of fungi for OMW reuse and energy production could be adapted to industrial applications.

Olive mill wastewater sludge from evaporation ponds: evolution of physico-chemical parameters during storage and composting process.

The evolution of analytical parameters of olive mill waste water sludge stored in evaporation ponds was investigated after one year and two years of storage. It was observed that some of the phenolic monomer compounds resisted removal and the fraction of water soluble phenols was only slightly polymerised. Co-composting of the sludge was carried out with yard trimming as bulking agent ratio and poultry manure to balance the C/N. Three turned piles with three proportions of 35%, 65% and 80% of olive mill waste water sludge were prepared. Co-composting of the sludge was possible in all the cases. Best results were obtained, however, at a proportion of 35% which permitted a shorter composting time, a higher degree of nitrification and a higher rate of total phenols decreasing. A high polymerisation of the fraction of water soluble phenols was observed at the end of composting in all the piles.