Enhancement of Anammox performances in an ABR at normal temperature by the low-intensity ultrasonic irradiation

A lab-scale ultrasound enhancing Anammox reactor (ABR_U) was established and irradiated once a week by ultrasound with the optimal parameter (frequency of 25.0 kHz, intensity of 1.00 W cm⁻² and exposure time of 36.0 s) obtained by response surface methodology (RSM). ABR_U and the controlled Anammox reactor (ABR_C) without ultrasonic treatment were operated in parallel. The start-up time of Anammox process in ABR_U (59 d) was shorter than that in ABR_C (69 d). At the end of the nitrogen load-enhancing period, NLR (0.500 kg N m⁻³ d⁻¹) and NRR (0.430 kg N m⁻³ d⁻¹) in ABR_U were both higher than NLR (0.400 kg N m⁻³ d⁻¹) and NRR (0.333 kg N m⁻³ d⁻¹) in ABR_C. The results of RTQ-PCR demonstrated that the specific low-intensity ultrasound irradiation improved the enrichment levels of AnAOB in mature sludge. SEM images and the observation of the macroscopic morphology of mature sludge showed that the ultrasound irradiation strengthened the formation of Anammox granular sludge, thereby improved the interception capacity and impact load resistance of the reactor, and enhanced the nitrogen removal performance in ABR_U. The ultrasonic enhanced Anammox reactor based on an ABR with the optimal parameters can promote the rapid start-up and efficient and stable operation of the Anammox process at normal temperature (around 25.0 °C).     

Effects of low-intensity ultrasound on the growth,cell membrane permeability and ethanol tolerance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Effects of low-intensity ultrasound (at different frequency, treatment time and power) on Saccharomyces cerevisiae in different growth phase were evaluated by the biomass in the paper. In addition, the cell membrane permeability and ethanol tolerance of sonicated Saccharomyces cerevisiae were also researched. The results revealed that the biomass of Saccharomyces cerevisiae increased by 127.03% under the optimum ultrasonic conditions such as frequency 28 kHz, power 140 W/L and ultrasonic time 1 h when Saccharomyces cerevisiae cultured to the latent anaphase. And the membrane permeability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in latent anaphase enhanced by ultrasound, resulting in the augment of extracellular protein, nucleic acid and fructose-1,6-diphosphate (FDP) contents. In addition, sonication could accelerate the damage of high concentration alcohol to Saccharomyces cerevisiae although the ethanol tolerance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was not affected significantly by ultrasound.     

Ultrasound enhanced production of mycelia and exopolysaccharide by Agaricus bitorquis (Quél.) Sacc. Chaidam

Agaricus bitorquis (Quél.) Sacc. Chaidam (ABSC), is a kind of rare edible macrofungi with a variety of biological ingredients, especially its polysaccharides. However, the low yield limits the popularity and promotion of rare edible macrofungi as well as its macrofungi polysaccharides. Hence, developing a positive and effective cultivation method is of great importance. Herein, an efficient ultrasonic (US) stimulation strategy was developed to improve mycelial growth and exopolysaccharides (EPS) biosynthesis from ABSC in submerged cultivation without light. A time design was employed to illustrate the effect of various process parameters including duration, starting point and times of US irradiation on ABSC productivity. 5 min US treatment for once upon ABSC after fermentation for 48 h could significantly improve EPS production and mycelia growth by above 26% and 15.03%, respectively. Furthermore, six times of 5 min US treatment could make the amount of EPS reach 218.78 ± 17.09 mg/g, which was 2.52-fold higher than that of the control. Moreover, the enhanced effect induced by US was further expounded by fermentation kinetics. Besides, the US treatment could increase mycelia permeability, change structure and reduce mycelial diameter to promote mass transfer, resulting in the improvement of EPS production and mycelia accumulation. The results demonstrated that the present proposed US intensification approach could be useful to boost up the fermentation of ABSC, which possibly applied to yield increase and fermentation product acquisition of macrofungi.     

Fermentation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in a 7.5 L ultrasound-enhanced fermenter: Effect of sonication conditions on ethanol production,intracellular Ca2+ concentration and key regulating enzyme activity in glycolysis

In this study, the effect of sonication on the fermentation process of a single-celled fungus was examined. During the experiment, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae) was used as the starting strain for ethanol fermentation (batch fermentation) in a 7.5 L automated fermentation tank. The fermentation tank connected with a six-frequency ultrasonic equipment. Non-sonication treatment was set up as the control. Sonication treatment with power density of 280 W/L and 48 h of treatment time were set up as trial groups for investigating the influence of different ultrasound frequency including 20, 23, 25, 28, 33 and 40 kHz on the changes in dry cell-weight, glucose consumption rate, and ethanol yield. The results showed that the dry cell-weight, glucose consumption rate, and ethanol content reached the best results under the ultrasonic condition of 28 kHz ultrasound frequency in comparison with other ultrasound frequency. The dry cell-weight and ethanol content of the 28 kHz ultrasonic treatment group increased by 17.30% and 30.79%, respectively in comparison with the control group The residual sugar content dropped to a lower level within 24 h, which was consistent with the change in ethanol production. Besides, the results found that the glucose consumption rate increased compared to the control. It indicated that ultrasound accelerated glucose consumption contributed to increase the rate of ethanol output. In order to explore the mechanism of sonication enhanced the content of ethanol output by S. cerevisiae, the morphology, permeability of S. cerevisiae and key enzyme activities of ethanol synthesis were investigated before and after sonication treatment. The results showed that after sonication treatment, the extracellular nucleic acid protein content and intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration increased significantly. The morphology of S. cerevisiae was observed by SEM and found that the surface of the strain had wrinkles and depressions after ultrasonic treatment. furthermore after sonication treatment, the activities of three key enzymes which catalyze three irreversible reactions in glycolysis metabolism, namely, hexokinase, phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase increased by 59.02%, 109.05% and 87.27%, respectively. In a word, low-intensity ultrasound enhance the rate of ethanol output by S. cerevisiae might due to enhancing the growth and cell permeability of strains, and increasing the activities of three key enzymes of ethanol biosynthesis.     

Ultrasound enhanced butyric acid-lauric acid designer lipid synthesis: Based on artificial neural network and changes in enzymatic structure

Ultrasound is a green technology for intensifying enzymatic reactions. In this study, an ultrasonic water bath with equipment parameters of 28 kHz, 1750.1 W/m², 60% duty cycle was used to assist the synthesis of butyric acid-lauric acid designer lipid (BLDL), which was catalyzed by Lipozyme 435. A convincing three-layer feed-forward artificial neural network (ANN) model was established (R² = 0.949, RMSE = 4.759, ADD = 7.329) to accurately predict the optimal parameters combination, which was described as 13.72 mL reaction volume, 15.49% enzyme loading, 0.253 substrate molar ratio (tributyrin/lauric acid), 56.58 °C reaction temperature and 120 min reaction time. The ultrasonic assistance increased actual butyric acid conversion rate by 11.38%, and also enhanced the consumption rate of tributyrin and lauric acid during the reaction. Meanwhile, the esterification activity of Lipozyme 435 was enhanced and its effectiveness up to 6 cycles. Structurally, ultrasound assistance significantly disrupted the secondary structure of the Lipozyme 435: reduced the content of α-helices, increased the content of β-sheet and β-turn. In addition, sonication caused an increase in crevice and micro-damage on the surface of the immobilized enzyme. In conclusion, low-intensity ultrasound at 28 kHz improved the synthesis efficiency of BLDL, which was scientifically predicted by ANN model, and the change of enzyme structure may be the vital reason for ultrasound enhanced reaction. However, the effect of ultrasound on immobilized enzymes’ activity needs to be further explored.     

Low-intensity ultrasound enhances the antimicrobial activity of neutral peptide TGH2 against Escherichia coli

In recent years, foodborne diseases caused by Escherichia coli are a major threat to the food industry and consumers. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and ultrasound both have good inhibitory effects on E. coli. In this work, the mechanism of action and synergistic effect of an in silico predicted AMP, designated as TGH2 (AEFLREKLGDKCTDRHV), from the C-terminal sequence of Tegillarca granosa hemoglobin, combined with low-intensity ultrasound was explored. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of TGH2 on E. coli decreased by 4-fold to 31.25 μg/mL under 0.3 W/cm² ultrasound treatment, while the time kill curve analysis showed that low-intensity ultrasound combined with peptide TGH2 had an enhanced synergistic bactericidal effect after 0.5 h. The permeability on E. coli cell membrane increased progressively during combined treatment with peptide TGH2 and low-intensity ultrasound, resulting in the leakage of intracellular solutes, as shown by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Structural analysis using circular dichroism (CD) revealed that peptide TGH2 has an α-helical structure, showing a slight untwisting effect under 0.3 W/cm² ultrasound treatment for 0.5 h. The findings here provide new insight into the potential application of ultrasound and AMPs combination in food preservation.     

A review on the dewaterability of bio-sludge and ultrasound pretreatment

Bio-sludge, which contains large quantities of water, biomass and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), is difficult to be dewatered as a "super-compactable" sludge [Water Res. 35 (5) (2001) 1358]. Reported water content in bio-sludge was commonly about 80-90% wt after dewatering process. The EPS and the form of water in sludge influences the structure of sludge. Adding cationic fluctuations can change the form of water in sludge and increase the velocity of dewatering process, but has little influence on the final water content. According to Bien's work [Water Sci. Technol. 36 (4) (1997) 287], a combination of ultrasound or other method could agglomerate the sludge, improve the activities of biomass [Ultrasonics 38 (2000) 711; Ultrasonics 40 (2002) 25], enhance anaerobic process [Water Sci. Technol. 36 (11) (1997) 155; Water Sci. Technol. 36 (11) (1997) 121; Water Res. 35 (8) (2001) 2003; Water Sci. Technol. 36 (12) (1997) 117] and decrease over 10% final water content of sludge. The mechanisms of ultrasonic influence on sludge are not very clear, but the application of ultrasound to industrial process is relatively easy and possible.     

Effects of ultrasound pretreatment on the quality,nutrients and volatile compounds of dry-cured yak meat

The objective of the present study was to assess the effects of ultrasound pretreatment on the quality of dry-cured yak meat. The ultrasonic power with 0, 200, 300 and 400 W (ultrasonic frequency of 20 kHz) were used to assist processing of dry-cured yak meat. The meat quality, nutrient substances, sensory quality, electronic nose, electronic tongue and volatile compounds of dry-cured yak meat were determined. The results indicated that the moisture content and hardness value of ultrasonic treatment group was significantly lower compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Ultrasonic treatment increased the value of b*, and decreased the value of L*, a*, pH, chewiness, melting temperature and enthalpy. Springiness value significantly increased from control group to 300 W of ultrasonic power group. Shear force significantly decreased with the increase of ultrasonic power (P < 0.05). Ultrasonic treatment had no effect on the TVB-N content, but it could increase the TBARS content. Ultrasonic treatment could significantly increase the essential FAA (EFAA) and total FAA (P < 0.05). In addition, the saturated fatty acid (SFA) content significantly increased with the increase of ultrasonic power (P < 0.05). Ultrasound treatment negatively affected the meat’s color, smell, and taste but increased its tenderness and the overall acceptability. It also significantly increased alcohols and aldehydes contents (P < 0.05), which were consistent with the measurement of electronic nose and electronic tongue. The results demonstrated that the the appropriate ultrasonic power assisted in the processing improves quality of dry-cured yak meat, particularly for the power of 300 W.     

Ultrasound-assisted adsorption/desorption for the enrichment and purification of flavonoids from baobab (Adansonia digitata) fruit pulp

This work described the purification and enrichment of flavonoids from baobab (Adansonia digitata) fruit pulp (BFP) by ultrasound-assisted adsorption/desorption procedure using macroporous resins. Four resins were tested and HPD-500 polar resin exhibited the best adsorption/desorption properties. Based on preliminary experiments and literature reports, the effects of various ultrasonic conditions including high power short time (HPST, 540 W for 5 min), medium power medium time (MPMT, 270 W for 15 min) and low power long time (LPLT, 45 W for 30 min) as well as different temperatures (T = 25–45 °C) on the adsorption of Total Flavonoids Content (TFC) were investigated in comparison with orbital shaking/no sonication (NS). Also, the effect of ultrasound on the desorption capacity and recovery of TFC was determined at different concentrations of ethanol (30–100%). Remarkably, ultrasonic treatment significantly increased the adsorption/desorption capacity and recovery and shortened the equilibrium time. The pseudo-second-order kinetic and Freundlich isotherm models better delineated the adsorption process under ultrasound. Moreover, the adsorption process was both spontaneous and thermodynamically favourable with physical adsorption and multilinear intraparticle diffusion being the predominant mechanisms of the whole process. HPST treatment at 25 °C with 80% ethanol as the desorption solvent most noticeably enhanced the adsorption/desorption of flavonoids and contributed to the highest recovery of TFC, Total Phenolic Content (TPC), and antioxidant capacity in addition to a 5–8-fold reduction in total sugar and acid contents when compared with NS treatment. Moreover, HPLC analysis revealed that the content of nine out of thirteen phenolic compounds from the HPST treatment was the highest, and the individual flavonoids content increased by 2–3-fold compared with the other treatments. Our analyses suggested that ultrasound can be employed as a practical approach to intensify the adsorption and desorption of functional compounds in BFP.     

Synthesis of nano-β-CD@Fe3O4 magnetic material and its application in ultrasonic treatment of oily sludge

The extraction process of Tarim oil field in Xinjiang is accompanied by a large amount of oily sludge generation, which seriously restricts the progress of oil and gas development and causes serious pollution to the environment due to its large production, complex composition, and difficult treatment. Nanomaterials combined with ultrasound have been demonstrated to be a promising method for the disposal of hazardous oily sludge. In this paper, a magnetic material Nano-β-CD@Fe₃O₄ was prepared by hydrothermal method and surface modification method. Nano-β-CD@Fe₃O₄ can be intelligently enriched at the oil–water interface and oil-solid interface, and it can be stably dispersed to form nanofluid under the action of ultrasound. Nano-β-CD@Fe₃O₄ can cause changes in oil composition when it is exposed to ultrasound, resulting in the decrease of viscosity and increase of fluidity. The experimental results of treating oily sludge in Xinjiang Tarim showed that the best treatment effect was achieved when the concentration of Nano-β-CD@Fe₃O₄ was 0.5 %, the ultrasonic frequency was 60 Hz and the temperature was 60℃. This solution can reach 90.17 % oil removal efficiency within 45 min, and the secondary oil removal efficiency of Nano-β-CD@Fe₃O₄ recovered by magnetic separation could still reach 85.65 %. This efficient oily sludge treatment method proposed in our study provides valuable information for the development of oily sludge treatment technology.     

Intensification of alkaline delignification of sugarcane bagasse using ultrasound assisted approach

Ultrasound-assisted approach has been investigated for delignification so as to develop green and sustainable technology. Combination of NaOH with ultrasound has been applied with detailed study into effect of various parameters such as time (operating range of 15–90 min), alkali concentration (0.25 M−2.5 M), solvent loading (1:15–1:30 w/v), temperature (50–90 ˚C), power (40–140 W) and duty cycle (40–70 %) at fixed frequency of 20 kHz. The optimized operating conditions established for the ultrasonic horn were 1 M as the NaOH concentration, 1 h as treatment time, 70˚C as the operating temperature, 1:20 as the biomass loading ratio, 100 W as the ultrasonic power and 70% duty cycle yielding 67.30% as the delignification extent. Comparative study performed using conventional and ultrasonic bath assisted alkaline treatment revealed lower delignification as 48.09% and 61.55% respectively. The biomass samples were characterized by SEM, XRD, FTIR and BET techniques to establish the role of ultrasound during the treatment. The morphological changes based on the ultrasound treatment demonstrated by SEM were favorable for enhanced delignification and also the crystallinity index was more in the case of ultrasound treated material than that obtained by conventional method. Specific surface area and pore size determinations based on BET analysis also confirmed beneficial role of ultrasound. The overall results clearly demonstrated the intensification obtained due to the use of ultrasonic reactors.     

Effect of ultrasonic treatment on the structure and functional properties of mantle proteins from scallops (Patinopecten yessoensis)

In this study, scallop mantle protein was treated by ultrasound at different powers, and then analyzed by ANS fluorescent probes, circular dichroism spectroscopy, endogenous fluorescence spectrum, DNTB colorimetry and in-vitro digestion model to elucidate the structure–function relationship. The results indicated that ultrasound can significantly affect the secondary structure of scallop mantle protein like enhancing hydrophobicity, lowering the particle size, increasing the relative contents of α-helix and decreasing contents of β-pleated sheet, β-turn and random coil, as well as altering intrinsic fluorescence intensity with blue shift of maximum fluorescence peak. But ultrasound had no effect on its primary structure. Moreover, the functions of scallop mantle protein were regulated by modifying its structures by ultrasound. Specifically, the protein had the highest performance in foaming property and in-vitro digestibility under ultrasonic power of 100 W, oil binding capacity under 100 W, water binding capacity under 300 W, solubility and emulsification capacity under 400 W, and emulsion stability under 600 W. These results prove ultrasonic treatment has the potential to effectively improve functional properties and quality of scallop mantle protein, benefiting in comprehensive utilization of scallop mantles.     

Effect of citric acid induced deflocculation on the ultrasonic pretreatment efficiency of dairy waste activated sludge

In this investigation, the application of citric acid was explored for the removal of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) from waste activated sludge (WAS), followed by ultrasonic pretreatment, which enhanced the subsequent anaerobic biodegradability. EPS was removed with 0.05 g/g SS of citric acid. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) solubilization and suspended solids (SS) reduction that occurred for specific energy input of 171.9 kJ/kg TS, in deflocculated (EPS removed and ultrasonically pretreated) sludges were found to be 22.70% and 20.28% and was comparatively higher, than the flocculated (with EPS and ultrasonically pretreated). The biogas yield potential of flocculated and deflocculated sludges (specific energy input – 171.9 kJ/kg TS) was found to be 0.212 L/(g VS) and 0.435 L/(g VS), respectively. Accordingly, the deflocculation and ultrasonic pretreatment improved the anaerobic biodegradability efficiently. Thus, this chemo mediated sonic pretreatment is an effective method for enhancing biodegradability and improving clean energy generation from WAS.     

Ultrasound assisted method to increase soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) of sewage sludge for digestion

The aim of this study was to clarify the possibilities to increase the amount of soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) and methane production of sludge using ultrasound technologies with and without oxidising agents. The study was done using multivariate data analyses. The most important factors affected were discovered. Ultrasonically assisted disintegration increased clearly the amount of SCOD of sludge. Also more methane was produced from treated sludge in anaerobic batch assays compared to the sludge with no ultrasonic treatment. Multivariate data analysis showed that ultrasonic power, dry solid content of sludge (DS), sludge temperature and ultrasonic treatment time have the most significant effect on the disintegration. It was also observed that in the reactor studied energy efficiency with high ultrasound power together with short treatment time was higher than with low ultrasound power with long treatment time. When oxidising agents were used together with ultrasound no increase in SCOD was achieved compared the ultrasonic treatment alone and only a slight increase in total organic carbon of sludge was observed. However, no enhancement in methane production was observed when using oxidising agents together with ultrasound compared the ultrasonic treatment alone. Ultrasound propagation is an important factor in ultrasonic reactor scale up. Ultrasound efficiency rose linearly with input power in sludge at small distances from the transducer. Instead, ultrasound efficiency started even to decrease with input power at long distances from the transducer.     

Degradation of Acid Orange 7 in aqueous solution by zero-valent aluminum under ultrasonic irradiation

Degradation of azo dye Acid Orange 7 (AO7) by zero-valent aluminum (ZVAl) in combination with ultrasonic irradiation was investigated. The preliminary studies of optimal degradation methodology were conducted with sole ultrasonic, sole ZVAl/air system, ultrasonication + ZVAl/air system (US-ZVAl). In ZVAl/air system, the degradation of AO7 could almost not be observed within 30 min. The degradation of AO7 by ZVAl/air system was obviously enhanced under ultrasound irradiation, and the enhancement is mainly attributed to that the production of hydroxyl radicals in ultrasound-ZVAl process was much higher than that in sole ultrasonic or in sole ZVAl/air system. The variables considered for the effect of degradation were the power of ultrasound, the initial concentration of AO7, as well as the initial pH value and the dosage of zero-valent aluminum. The results showed that the decolorization rate increased with the increase of power density and the dosage of ZVAl, but decreased with the increase of initial pH value and initial concentration of AO7. More than 96% of AO7 removal was achieved within 30 min under optimum operational conditions (AO7: 20 mg/L, ZVAl: 2 g/L, pH: 2.5, ultrasound: 20 kHz, 300 W). This study demonstrates that ultrasound-ZVAl process can effectively decolorize the azo dye AO7 in wastewater.     

Effects of ultrasound-assisted heating on aroma profile,peptide structure,peptide molecular weight,antioxidant activities and sensory characteristics of natural fish flavouring

This study deals with the production of natural fish flavouring using ultrasound-assisted heating process. The effect of ultrasound pretreatment at different amplitudes (0, 15, 30, and 45%) on the Maillard reaction rate, antioxidant activities, flavour profile, and sensory characteristics of fish flavouring was investigated. Results showed that sonication markedly accelerated the Maillard reaction (MR) rate, as evidenced by the modification of peptide structure, a decrease in pH value, free amino acid content coupled with a rise in browning intensity. Also, ultrasound pretreatment significantly enhanced the antioxidant activities of fish flavouring (p ≤ 0.05). Moreover, sonication increased the type and content of aroma compounds significantly. Sensory analysis revealed that ultrasound pretreatment increased the fish-like and toasty aroma as well as umami and mouthfulness attributes coupled with the reduction of the bitter taste of the fish flavouring. This result was consistent with the GC–MS, electronic nose, cluster, and Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) analyses, which clearly showed that ultrasound pretreatment enhanced the fish-like aroma, which was associated with the increase in aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, thiophenes, pyrazine, and furans contents. Thus, it could be concluded that ultrasound pretreatment, coupled with the thermal process, could be a promising process for the production of natural fish flavouring with higher antioxidant activities.     

Using low intensity ultrasound to improve the efficiency of biological phosphorus removal

Low intensity ultrasound can produce various effects on biological materials, such as stimulating enzyme activity, cell growth, biosynthesis, etc., which may improve the efficiency of enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR). We adopt total phosphorus (TP) and dehydrogenase activity (DHA) as indicators to confirm the feasibility of applying low intensity ultrasound in EBPR. Single-factor experiments and orthogonal test were conducted in batch anaerobic/oxic (A/O) process simulation to study the influence of ultrasonic intensity and exposure time in the EBPR process. The results showed that the optimal ultrasonic parameters were 0.2 W/cm² and 10 min under which condition the TP concentration in the effluent was 35–50% lower than that of the control (without ultrasonic irradiation). Changes of sludge activities after ultrasonic irradiation were examined. The improvement of sludge activity by ultrasound took 4 h after irradiation to reach the peak level, when an increase above 50% of DHA has been achieved by ultrasonic irradiation, and the enhancing effects induced by ultrasound disappeared in 16 h after irradiation. A tentative mechanism of biological phosphorus removal enhancement stimulated by ultrasound was discussed based on these phenomena.     

Synergistic inactivation of bacteria based on a combination of low frequency,low-intensity ultrasound and a food grade antioxidant

This study evaluated a synergistic antimicrobial treatment using a combination of low frequency and a low-intensity ultrasound (LFU) and a food-grade antioxidant, propyl gallate (PG), against a model gram-positive (Listeria innocua) and the gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli O157:H7). Bacterial inactivation kinetic measurements were complemented by characterization of biophysical changes in liposomes, changes in bacterial membrane permeability, morphological changes in bacterial cells, and intracellular oxidative stress upon treatment with PG, LFU, and a combination of PG + LFU. Combination of PG + LFU significantly (>4 log CFU/mL, P < 0.05) enhanced the inactivation of both L. innocua and E. coli O157:H7 compared to PG or LFU treatment. As expected, L. innocua had a significantly higher resistance to inactivation compared to E. coli using a combination of PG + LFU. Biophysical measurements in liposomes, bacterial permeability measurements, and scanning electron microscope (SEM)-based morphological measurements show rapid interactions of PG with membranes. Upon extended treatment of cells with PG + LFU, a significant increase in membrane damage was observed compared to PG or LFU alone. A lack of change in the intracellular thiol content following the combined treatment and limited effectiveness of exogenously added antioxidants in attenuating the synergistic antimicrobial action demonstrated that oxidative stress was not a leading mechanism responsible for the synergistic inactivation by PG + LFU. Overall, the study illustrates synergistic inactivation of bacteria using a combination of PG + LFU based on enhanced membrane damage and its potential for applications in the food and environmental systems.     

Evaluation on the air-borne ultrasound-assisted hot air convection thin-layer drying performance of municipal sewage sludge

The thin-layer drying behavior of the municipal sewage sludge in a laboratory-scale hot air forced convective dryer assisted with air-borne ultrasound was investigated in between 70 and 130 °C hot air temperatures. The drying kinetics in the convective process alone were compared to that for ultrasound-assist process at three ultrasound powers (30, 90, 150 W). The average drying rates within whole drying temperature range at ultrasound powers of 30, 90 and 150 W increased by about 22.6%, 27.8% and 32.2% compared with the convective drying alone (without ultrasound). As the temperature increasing from 70 °C to 130 °C, there were maximum increasing ratios for the effective moisture diffusivities of the sewage sludge in both falling rate periods at ultrasonic power of 30 W in comparison with other two high powers. In between the ultrasound powers of 0 and 30 W, the effect of the power on the drying rate was significant, while its effect was not obvious over 30 W. Therefore, the low ultrasonic power can be just set in the drying process. The values of the apparent activation energy in the first falling rate period were down from 13.52 to 12.78 kJ mol⁻¹, and from 17.21 to 15.10 kJ mol⁻¹ for the second falling rate period with increasing the ultrasonic power from 30 to 150 W. The values of the apparent activation energy in two falling rate periods with the ultrasound-assist were less than that for the hot air convective drying alone.     

Effect of ultrasound-assisted resting on the quality of surimi-wheat dough and noodles

In this study, the influence of ultrasound-assisted resting at different power on the rheological properties, water distribution and structural characteristics of dough with 50 % surimi as well as the texture, cooking and microstructure characteristics of the surimi-wheat noodles were investigated. Compared with the fermentation control (FC) noodles, the microstructure, cooking and texture characteristics of noodles (≤24.00 W/L) were significantly (p < 0.05) improved after ultrasonic treating. As the increasing of ultrasonic power, compared to FC, the creep strain, recovery strain, semi-bound water, and free sulfhydryl (SH) contents of surimi-wheat dough decreased at first and then increased significantly (p < 0.05). The α-helix and β-turn content of dough increased at first and then decreased after ultrasonic treatment, while the β-sheet was reversed. The surimi-wheat dough network structure was improved by ultrasonic treatment, with the densest and continuous pore size in 21.33 W/L, but the dough structure was broken and loose (>21.33 W/L), which consisted of the hardness, elasticity, chewiness, resistant and cooked quality of surimi-wheat noodles. This work elucidated the effect of ultrasonic power on the performance of surimi-wheat dough, and the optimal ultrasound power was obtained, thereby improving the nutritional properties and the quality of surimi-wheat noodles.