Fumina Tanaka

We describe here a three-dimensional (3D) numerical study of the convective thermal transfer during forced-air drying of brown rice grains with the inclusion of moisture evaporation. Three levels of temperature were tested across a range from 40 to 60°C. The objective of the study was to determine the temperature distributions in the drying chamber as well as the surface and intra-kernel temperature gradients during convective drying of rice grains. The numerical model was based on the Navier-St

Edible coatings were prepared using a mixture of 1.0 % (w/v) sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), 0.5 % (w/v) cellulose nanofibers (CNF), and varying concentrations of mandarin oil (MO) at 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, or 0.4 % (w/v). The research investigated the physicochemical characteristics and antifungal activities of the films on Botrytis cinerea (B. cinerea). CMC/CNF/MO coatings were used to preserve the strawberries (Amaou). The changes in quality and antifungal activity on the strawberries wer

Summary Chitosan films enhanced with tea seed oil (TO) and montmorillonite were solution cast and the influence of montmorillonite additives on the physicochemical and antifungal properties was evaluated. The addition of TO and montmorillonite significantly increased both the pH and viscosity of the coating solutions. SEM and AFM showed montmorillonite addition increased membrane structure homogeneity. In addition, chitosan films incorporating montmorillonite exhibited significantly improved ten

Drying experiments with crushed feed rice (Oryza sativa, L., japonica, ‘Mizuhochikara’) were conducted to investigate the thermal decomposition effect on seventeen amino acids, including lysine which is the first limiting amino acid in pig nutrition, with drying air temperatures of 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80 °C and relative humidity of 10%. The lysine content in crushed rice decreased with increasing drying temperature; however, there was no significant thermal effect on the decomposition of amino ac

Thin-layer drying experiments of rough, brown and crushed rice for animal feed were conducted to determine drying characteristics. Since optimization of the drying process reduces cost, we also investigated the conditions for improving the efficiency of rice drying. Rice samples were dried at 40e80 °C with 10%RH. The results showed that 1) the time required for drying crushed rice was shorter than for rough and brown rice, 2) the Page equation was a suitable model to explain the drying character

Distributions of thermo-physical properties: such as porosity and thermal conductivity of Japanese apricot and pear during storage were determined based on X-ray CT image analysis. Japanese apricot was stored at 25 °C, whereas pear was stored at 25 °C and 5 °C. Average CT value was determined based on a series of X-ray CT images captured for each whole fruit. At the end of storage period, the average CT value decreased in Japanese apricot and pear at 25 °C, whereas it was the almost same as pear

The application of edible coatings to dried products such as silkworms (Bombyx mori) is an innovative method for preserving nutrients during drying process. These coatings are made from safe, natural ingredients such as carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), nano cellulose fibre (NCF), nano chitosan (N-Ch), and varying concentrations of green pomelo peel essential oil (GPO). The results revealed that the addition of GPO into coating/film significantly changed the pH, viscosity, and TSS values of the coat