Application of response surface methodology to optimise the antioxidant activity of a saithe (Pollachius virens) hydrolysate.

The objective of this study was to produce, by an enzymatic hydrolysis process at a pilot scale, a saithe (Pollachius virens) hydrolysate with a high antioxidant activity. Design of experiment methodology, based on laboratory-scale experiments, was used to obtain a behavioral reduced model that allows one to determine the optimal operating conditions maximizing the antioxidant activity. Two specifications were studied: the degree of hydrolysis and the antioxidant activity. The effects of the following hydrolysis parameters (temperature, pH, enzyme concentration, and operating time) were studied and presented as response surfaces. From these results, a multifactorial optimization was performed and the Pareto optimal set of efficient solutions was evaluated. The optimal conditions were tested at laboratory scale and then validated by comparison with tests carried out on a pilot plant.

Effects of shear on two microalgae species. Contribution of pumps and valves in tangential flow filtration systems.

The circulation of microorganisms in tangential flow filtration systems induces perturbations and then the damage of brittle cells. This work is focused on the shearing of two marine microalgae species (Skeletonema costatum and Haslea ostrearia), both largely cultivated in western France (Région des Pays de la Loire). We have studied the effects of the circulation of these cells in pumps and valves. For the pumps, it is shown that shear stress is due to the type of pump, but that mechanical shear can have different effects even if the pumps and the number or frequency of loops are the same. Hence other intrinsic parameters of the pump must be taken into account: rotating velocity (omega), capacity (Cyl = output flow/rotating velocity) or internal leakage (K = inner volume/capacity). In throttling valves, the aim is to correlate the effect of shear to a parameter related to the inner geometry of the valve and to operating conditions. An overall parameter is then evaluated: the pressure drop coefficient Kv which integrates both the type of valve (ball valve or globe valve type) and its opening degree. Kv is derived from the relationship DeltaH = Kvu2/2g. The modelling of the shear effects is now conceivable: basic descriptive data used so far (type of pump, geometry or opening degree of the valve, etc.) being completed and partially substituted by quantitative parameters (rotating velocity, capacity, or internal leakage for the pumps, Kv coefficient for the valves).