Gel forming behaviour of milk protein concentrates at moderate pressures

Abstract

Gel formation is a time dependent process, which is a function of many external variables. Here we report the effect of pressure on the gelation of certain milk proteins. It is found that hydrostatic pressure (1000 bar) decreases the gelation time of concentrated reconstituted milk (13%w/w protein) at around 50°C by more than sevenfold.     

Functionalised dairy streams: Tailoring protein functionality using sonication and heating

Ultrasound can be used to modify the functional interactions between casein and whey proteins in dairy systems. This study reports on ongoing developments in understanding the effect of ultrasound and heating on milk proteins in systems with modified casein-whey protein ratios (97:3, 80:20 and 50:50), prepared from milk protein concentrates that were fractionated by microfiltration, based on protein size. Heating of concentrated casein streams (9% w/w) at 80.0 °C for up to 9 min resulted in reduced gelation functionality and increased viscosity, even in the absence of added whey proteins. 20 kHz ultrasonication at 20.8 W calorimetric power for 1 min was able to break protein aggregates formed during heating, resulting in improved gelation and reduced viscosity. Interestingly, when heated whey protein was recombined with unheated casein the gelation properties were similar to unheated controls. In contrast, when heat treated casein streams were recombined with unheated whey protein, the gel forming functionality was reduced. This study therefore shows that using specific combinations of heat and/or ultrasound, fractionated dairy streams can be tailored for specific functional outcomes.     

Hydrostatic pressure dependence of the tunneling splitting in RbCl: Ag+

We present measurements of the pressure dependence of the tunneling splitting in RbCl:Ag⁺ for hydrostatic pressures from 950 to 1850 bar. The dependence is linear above 1100 bar and appears to have a break in the curve between 1000 and 1100 bar. This data suggests that a configurational change may take place near 1000 bar.     

Differential thermal analysis at high pressures— VIII: Phase behaviour of solid cyclopentanone,cyclopentanol, and cyclohexanone up to 3 KBAR

The phase behaviour of solid cyclopentanone, cyclopentanol, and cyclohexanone was investigated from 80 K to the melting temperature and up to 3 Kbar, using a low-temperature high-pressure differential thermal analysis apparatus. The melting temperature of cyclopentanone rises from 221.7 K at atmospheric pressure to 278 K at 2900 bar. No solid solid transition was observed. The melting temperature of cyclohexanone rises from 242.4 K at atmospheric pressure to 312 K at 2840 bar. Its well-known solid solid transition at atmospheric pressure (220.3 K) splits into two different solid solid transitions at elevated pressures. The melting temperature of cyclopentanol rises from 256 K at atmospheric pressure to 328 K at 2600 bar. Cyclopentanol exhibits two well-known solid solid transitions (236.4 K and 202.5 K at 1 atm), but an additional metastable form has been observed in the present work. the transition temperature being 195 K at 1 atm. Volume changes accompanying the phase transitions have been calculated using the Clausius Clapeyron equation.     

Pressure unfolding facilitates the formation of temperature gels

Abstract

The formation of protein aggregates after pressure treatment was investigated by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The results show that the pressure unfolded protein ends in a conformation, after the release of the pressure, which has an increased tendency to aggregate, even at temperatures lower than the denaturation temperature of the untreated protein. After pressure pretreatment the infrared spectrum shows the same intermolecular antiparallel β-structure features as observed after a temperature treatment that gives rise to protein gelation. on the other hand, this structure can be destabilized by applying moderate pressures, which are significantly lower than the corresponding denaturation pressure.     

Temperature, pressure, and bath gas composition dependence of fluorescence spectra and fluorescence lifetimes of toluene and naphthalene

Time-resolved fluorescence spectra of gas-phase toluene and naphthalene were investigated upon picosecond laser excitation at 266 nm as a function of temperature (toluene 296–1,025 K, naphthalene 374–1,123 K), pressure (1–10 bar), and bath gas composition (varying concentrations of N₂, O₂, and CO₂) with a temporal resolution of 50 ps. In the investigated temperature range, the fluorescence spectra of both toluene and naphthalene show a significant red-shift, whereas the fluorescence lifetime decreases with increasing temperature, more pronounced for toluene than for naphthalene. Increasing the total pressure of either N₂ or CO₂ from atmospheric to 10 bar leads to an increase by about 20 % (naphthalene at 373 K) and a decrease by 60 % (toluene at 575 K) in fluorescence lifetimes, respectively. As expected, at atmospheric pressure collisions with O₂ shorten the fluorescence lifetime of both toluene and naphthalene significantly, e.g., by a factor of 30 and 90 when changing O₂ partial pressure at 373 K from 0 to 0.21 bar, respectively. The fluorescence model of Koban et al. (Appl Phys B 80: 777, 2005) for the dependence of the toluene quantum yield on temperature and O₂ partial pressure at atmospheric pressure describes toluene fluorescence lifetimes well within its range of validity. The model is modified to satisfactorily predict effective toluene fluorescence lifetimes in N₂ at pressures up to 10 bar. However, it still fails to predict the dependence at simultaneously elevated temperatures and pressures in air as bath gas. Similarly, an empirical model is presented for predicting (relative) fluorescence quantum yields and lifetimes of naphthalene. Although the fitting models have their shortcomings this publication presents a data set of great importance for practical LIF applications, e.g., in-cylinder mixture formation diagnostics in internal combustion engines.     

Effect of high pressure on heat and ethanol stabilities of milk

Abstract

The effect of high pressure (in range from 200 to 1000 MPa) and periods of exposure time (from 15 to 35min) on the changes of selected physico-chemical characteristics of skim milk, particularly considering its heat and ethanol stability, was studied.

Due to High pressure the conformation of milk proteins and the milk salt system were changing. Pressurization caused slightly change in the ethanol stability of milk. The influence of pressurization on heat stability was more evident. The heat stability of milk increased with an increase in pressure and exposure time.     

Effect of Cosolvent Concentration on Phase Behavior for the Poly(isodecyl acrylate) in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide,Propane, Propylene,Butane, 1‐Butene and Dimethyl Ether

High pressure phase behavior data of mixtures of poly(isodecyl acrylate) [P(IDA)] in supercritical carbon dioxide, dimethyl ether (DME), propane, propylene, butane and 1‐butene have been studied. The phase behaviors for these binary and ternary systems are shown for temperatures below ca. 200°C and pressures up to ca. 1920 bar. The location of the P(IDA)+CO₂ cloud‐point curve shifts to lower temperatures and pressures when isodecyl acrylate (IDA) or DME is added to the P(IDA)+CO₂ solution. High pressure phase behaviors for IDA in supercritical carbon dioxide were also performed for temperature ranging from 40–120°C and pressures from 38–217 bar. The experimental results in this work are modeled using the Peng‐Robinson equation of state.     

Bridging the pressure gap in surface science at the atomic level: H/Cu(110)

The structural response of the Cu(110) surface to H2 gas pressures ranging from 10(-13) to 1 bar is studied using a novel high-pressure scanning tunneling microscope (HP-STM). We find that at H2 pressures larger than 2 mbar the Cu(110) surface reconstructs into the ( 1x2) "missing-row" structure. From a quantitative analysis of the pressure dependence of the surface reconstruction, we conclude that Cu(110) responds identically to hydrogen at ultrahigh vacuum conditions and at atmospheric pressures. From the HP-STM data, we extract refined values for the adsorption and desorption rate constants.     

Ultrasonic phonon behavior near the pressure-induced cubic-to-orthorhombic transformation in PbF2

Measurements have been made of the transit times τ of pulses of 30 MHz longitudinal and transverse ultrasonic waves in PbF₂ at room temperature using hydrostatic pressures up to where the irreversible cubic-to-orthorthombic transformation occurs (near 4 kbar). Above 3 kbar 1/τ no longer increased linearly with pressure and exhibited some time dependence at fixed pressures before echo disappearance. The elastic stiffness moduli showed no significant softening before the transformation began. Length, mass density, and X-ray measurements on samples after they had been returned to 1 bar confirmed that milky white regions in them were orthorhombic but filled with defects.     

Characteristics of the sub-micron ash aerosol generated during oxy-coal combustion at atmospheric and elevated pressures

This paper is concerned with the effect of pressure on the particle size distribution and the size-segregated composition of the sub-micron ash aerosol created during oxy-coal combustion under near practical self-sustaining combustion conditions. The problem is important because pressurized oxy-coal combustion has been proposed as one promising technology to minimize CO₂ emissions. Sub-micron ash plays a major role in ash deposition mechanisms, which, in turn, can control boiler performance. In this work, the same bituminous coal was burned at pressures of 1, 8 and 15 bar in O₂/CO₂ environments. Tests employed a 100 kW (rated) oxy-fuel combustor (OFC) operated at atmospheric pressure (1 bar) and a 300 kW (rated) entrained-flow pressurized reactor (EFPR) at elevated pressures (8 and 15 bar). Although these tests were conducted under near practical combustion conditions, confounding effects of peak flame temperature variations were minimized for the 1 bar and 15 bar tests, allowing the role of elevated pressure to be isolated. For the EFPR tests, a specially designed sampling system was used to sample sub-micron ash aerosols from the pressurized combustor and is described in detail. Results showed that at the same peak temperature but higher pressure, the fractions of ash aerosol partitioned into the PM_0.6 and PM₁ size fractions were greatly diminished. Moreover, elevated pressures caused significant changes in the composition of the (size-segregated) sub-micron aerosol, especially in its alkali content, which increased significantly. Examination of fractions of each element that ended up in the sub-micron fume suggested that, at constant temperature, the effect of pressure on vaporization of semi-volatile metals was very different from that on the release into the gas phase of non-volatile metals and could not be explained by equilibrium.     

Quantum Monte Carlo simulation of overpressurized liquid 4He

A diffusion Monte Carlo simulation of superfluid 4He at zero temperature and pressures up to 275 bar is presented. Increasing the pressure beyond freezing (approximately 25 bar), the liquid enters the overpressurized phase in a metastable state. In this regime, we report results of the equation of state and the pressure dependence of the static structure factor, the condensate fraction, and the excited-state energy corresponding to the roton. Along this large pressure range, both the condensate fraction and the roton energy decrease but do not become zero. The roton energies obtained are compared with recent experimental data in the overpressurized regime.     

Synthesis and properties of high-pressure phase [Er<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Cu<Subscript>3</Subscript>](V<Subscript>4</Subscript>)O<Subscript>12</Subscript>

A new perovskite-like compound Er_0.73Cu₃V₄O₁₂ (space group Im \(\bar 3\), Z = 2, a = 7.266 Å) has been synthesized barothermally (P = 8.0 GPa, t = 1000°C). Its electrical and magnetic properties have been studied. It is found that the temperature dependence of the electrical conductivity (in the range 78–300 K) has of semiconductor type. The behavior of the impedance and admittance has been analyzed at 290 K and frequencies of 200 Hz to 200 kHz under atmospheric pressure and at high (15–42 GPa) pressures.     

On the pressure dependent sensitivity of a photoacoustic water vapor detector using active laser modulation control

A detailed study on the pressure dependent sensitivity of a wavelength modulated diode laser based photoacoustic (PA) water vapor detection system is presented. It is shown that the pressure dependence of sensitivity is primarily determined by the pressure dependence of the microphone’s sensitivity and the quality factor of the excited acoustic resonance of the PA cell. Effort was made to improve the system’s sensitivity for the whole pressure range (from 200 mbar to 1000 mbar) of operation typical in atmospheric research, while maintaining the inherent fast response time of the PA system. For this purpose active control of modulation based on the continuous adjustment of the unmodulated and modulated parts of the laser current in accordance with the actual gas pressure was introduced, with which a minimum detectable water vapor concentration (3σ) of 300 ppb at 200 mbar and 188 ppb at 1000 mbar was achieved. The system’s sensitivity improves slightly at the lower end of the pressure range and increases by a factor of more than two at the higher end, when compared with that of our PA system currently on board of a commercial aircraft within the framework of an atmospheric research project (CARIBIC—Civil Aircraft for the Regular Investigation of the atmosphere Based on an Instrument Container). Test measurements proved the feasibility of the implementation of the developed modulation method within the framework of the CARIBIC project.     

Hetero-/homogeneous combustion of ethane/air mixtures over platinum at pressures up to 14 bar

The hetero-/homogeneous combustion of fuel-lean ethane/air mixtures over platinum was investigated experimentally and numerically at pressures of 1–14 bar, equivalence ratios of 0.1–0.5, and surface temperatures ranging from 700 to 1300 K. Experiments were carried out in an optically accessible channel-flow reactor and included in situ 1-D Raman measurements of major gas phase species concentrations across the channel boundary layer for determining the catalytic reactivity, and planar laser induced fluorescence (LIF) of the OH radical for assessing homogeneous ignition. Numerical simulations were performed with a 2-D CFD code with detailed hetero-/homogeneous C₂ kinetic mechanisms and transport. An appropriately amended heterogeneous reaction scheme has been proposed, which captured the increase of ethane catalytic reactivity with rising pressure. This scheme, when coupled to a gas-phase reaction mechanism, reproduced the combustion processes over the reactor extent whereby both heterogeneous and homogeneous reactions were significant and moreover, provided good agreement to the measured homogeneous ignition locations. The validated hetero-/homogeneous kinetic schemes were suitable for modeling the catalytic combustion of ethane at elevated pressures and temperatures relevant to either microreactors or large-scale gas turbine reactors in power generation systems. It was further shown that the pressure dependence of the ethane catalytic reactivity was substantially stronger compared to that of methane, at temperatures up to 1000 K. Implications for high-pressure catalytic combustion of natural gas were finally drawn.     

Laser-induced fluorescence determination of flame temperatures in comparison with CARS measurements

Temperature profiles in several premixed low pressure H₂/O₂/N₂ flames and in an atmospheric pressure CH₄/air flame were determined by laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and by CARS experiments. In the LIF study, temperatures were derived from OH excitation spectra, CARS temperatures were deduced from N₂ Q-branch spectra. The present study is the first quantitative comparison of these two methods for temperature determination in flames burning at pressures up to 1 bar. The resulting temperatures showed good agreement.     

Effects of benzene,cyclo-hexane and n-hexane addition to methane on soot yields in high-pressure laminar diffusion flames

Effects of doping high pressure methane diffusion flames with benzene, cyclo-hexane and n-hexane were investigated to assess the sooting propensity of three hydrocarbons with six carbons at elevated pressures. Amount of liquid hydrocarbons added to methane constituted 7.5% of the total carbon content of the fuel stream. The pressure range investigated extended up to 10 bar and the experiments were carried out in a high pressure combustion chamber capable of establishing stable laminar diffusion flames with various fuels at elevated pressures and was used in similar experiments previously. Temperatures and soot volume fractions were measured using the spectral soot emission technique capturing spectrally-resolved line-of-sight intensities which were subsequently inverted using an Abel type algorithm to obtain radial distributions assuming that the flames are axisymmetric. The total mass carbon flow of the fuel stream was kept constant at 0.524 mg/s in neat methane, benzene-doped methane, cyclo-hexane-doped methane, and n-hexane-doped methane flames to have tractable measurements at all pressures. Measured maximum soot volume fractions and evaluated maximum soot yields showed that benzene-doped methane flame had the higher values than cyclo-hexane doped methane flames which in turn had higher values than n-hexane doped methane flames at all pressures. Sooting propensity dependence of the three hydrocarbons on pressure can be ranked as, in descending order, n-hexane, cyclo-hexane, and benzene; however, the difference between pressure dependencies of n-hexane and cyclo-hexane was within the measurement error margins. Ratio of soot yields of benzene to n-hexane doped flames changed from about 2 at 2 bar to 1.2 at 10 bar; the ratio of benzene to cyclo-hexane doped flames showed similar trends.     

High-pressure behaviour of an X-ray preionized discharge pumped XeCl laser

The output characteristics are described of an X-ray preionized discharge pumped XeCl laser, fed by a low-impedance pulse forming line (PFL), at pressures up to 12 bar. The influence of a multichannel rail gap placed between the PFL and the laser head on the output energy was studied. We found an increase of output energy with increasing pressure up to 8 bar. At higher pressures a saturation behaviour was found. The maximum output energy per unit volume was 6.5 J/l.     

On the formation of photoinduced high pressure phases in sulfur below 10 GPa

Abstract

We investigate the phase transformations in sulfur for pressures up to 10 GPa by time resolved Raman spectroscopy. The transition to the photosensitive phase p-S is stimulated by the blue laser line between 3 and 9 GPa. The kinetics of this transition as derived from the time evolution of the intensities of characteristic Raman excitations shows the typical features of an activated first order phase transition. This transformation proceeds via a disordered (amorphous) intermediate state.

Above 9 GPa a further phase change to S, is kinetically characterized and follows similar rules i.e. the integral intensities of selected S, Raman lines exhibit a sigmoidal time dependence. In both high pressure phases a broad Raman excitation between 800 and 1000 cm^?1 is observed.     

Supersolid helium at high pressure

We have measured the pressure dependence of the supersolid fraction by a torsional oscillator technique. Superflow is found from 25.6 bar up to 136.9 bar. The supersolid fraction in the low temperature limit increases from 0.6% at 25.6 bar near the melting boundary up to a maximum of 1.5% near 55 bar before showing a monotonic decrease with pressure extrapolating to zero near 170 bar.