A novel silica-titania (SiO2-TiO2) nanocomposite has been developed to effectively capture elemental mercury (Hg0) under UV irradiation. Moisture has been reported to have an important impact on this nanocomposite's performance. In this work, the role of moisture on Hg0 removal and reemission as well as the corresponding mechanisms was investigated. Hg0 removal experiments were carried out in a...

Different heat-moisture levels were applied to native starches from different cultivars of sweet potatoes available in Sri Lanka (Wariyapola red, Wariyapola white, Pallepola variety, Malaysian variety and CARI 273) to study the digestibility level. Samples were treated with 20, 25, and 30% moisture at 85°C and 120°C for 6 h and in vitro starch digestibility was tested with porcine pancreatin en...

The relationship between broiler breast meat color and pH, moisture content, water-holding capacity (WHC), and emulsification capacity (EC) was investigated. In each of three replicate trials, fillets were collected from three different commercial processing plants according to breast meat lightness (L*) values as follows: lighter than normal (light, L* > 53), normal (48 < L* < 53), and darker ...

Previous estimates of land-atmosphere interaction (the impact of soil moisture on precipitation) have been limited by a lack of observational data and by the model dependence of computational estimates. To counter the second limitation, a dozen climate-modeling groups have recently performed the same highly controlled numerical experiment as part of a coordinated comparison project. This allows...

Bricks manufactured from dried sludge collected from an industrial wastewater treatment plant were investigated. Results of tests indicated that the sludge proportion and the firing temperature were the two key factors determining the brick quality. Increasing the sludge content results in a decrease of brick shrinkage, water absorption, and compressive strength. Results also showed that the br...

On farm walnut drying is often a major bottle neck during the start of walnut harvest. The recommended maximum drying air temperature for English walnuts is 110 of. This limit is based on tests by university personnel during the introduction of heated air drying (Batchelor, 1924) which demonstrated that long term exposure to temperatures higher that 110°F caused walnuts to turn rancid. This pro...

Heavy hydrocarbons (HHCs) in soils impacted by crude oil spills are generally recalcitrant to biodegradation due to their low bioavailability and complex chemical structure. In this study, soils were pretreated with varying concentrations of ultraviolet radiation A (UVA) or ultraviolet radiation C (UVC) activated titanium dioxide (TiO2) (1%–5%) under varying moisture conditions (0%– 300% water ...