Archive - Abstract
Vol.41 No.1 (June, 2010)
- Original (Japanese)
Studies on Non-Destructive Determination of Water and Sugar Content of Sugar Beets by Near Infrared Spectroscopy
- Mitsuyoshi SHIMAZU, Youichi SHIBATA, Hiromichi ARAKI, Sana ICHIHASHI and Yoshihiro OGASAWARA
- A method of measure sugar and water contents of unprocessed sugar beet root using near infrared spectroscopy was examined. This is expected to develop a nondestructive device that measures components of sugar beet root on the field. The spectrum was measured from the side of the sugar beet root with skin, and the measuring range was from 800 to 1100 nm. The standard curve was created by multiple linear regression analysis between the spectrum and the measured water and sugar content. The standard curve was validated by testing samples. The standard errors of sugar and water content measurements were found to be 1.11 % and 1.40 %. In order to reduce errors, it is recommended to adjust the intensity of the irradiation light and to develop a device that can stick to ruggedness surface of sugar beet.
Keywords: sugar beet, sugar contents, water contents, non-destructive, near infrared spectroscopy
- Original (Japanese)
Changes in Physical and Chemical Properties and Taste of Pork Loins During Ageing (Part 1) - Changes in physical properties -
- Zhihong GAO, Tomonari SAGARA, Gou NOGUCHI, Osamu SAKATA and Takaaki SATAKE
- In order to clarify the effects of ageing of pork loins in various physical properties, such as myofibrillar fragmentation index, shear value, expansion rate, water-holding capacity, pH and color were measured. In this study, pork loins aged for 2 weeks at 4 ℃ were used as samples.
- Changes of physical properties of aged pork loin during 2 weeks were evaluated. The results show that pH was maintained about 5.7 during the two weeks, that implicated the pork was fresh still and it was thought that there was no problem on the quality. For color of meat and fat, L*, a*, b* values were clearly observed by 8 days of aging and the values seemed to have no change after that. Although color of meat turned a little light and the color of fat tinged with red, the tendency of color was accepted. The water-holding capacity was gradually decreased from 81.8 % to 73.3 %, and the expansion rate decreased from 14.5 cm2/g to 11.6 cm2/g within 8 days. Moreover, effect of aging caused softening meat as the increase in myofibrillar fragmentation index which corresponding to the reduction of shear force value.
- The pattern of fat marbling of the meat was also investigated using the ultrasonic diagnosis with the probe of 6-13 Hz.
Keywords: pork loin, aging, physical properties, myofibrillar fragmentation index, shear force value, pH, water-holding capacity, expansion rate, color
- Original (Japanese)
Changes in Physical and Chemical Properties and Taste of Pork Loins During Ageing (Part 2) - Relationship between taste and physical properties -
- Zhihong GAO, Tomonari SAGARA, Gou NOGUCHI, Osamu SAKATA and Takaaki SATAKE
- The influence of the physical properties of the pork loin on the taste was investigated in present study. Furthermore, the evaluation of meat quality was analyzed using the sensory evaluation and physical properties which obtained from previous report.
- The results of the sensory evaluation showed that aging could improve tenderness, juiciness, umami, kokumi and overall preference of pork loin. Aging at 4 ℃ for 14 days provided the best sensory evaluation test. The results of correlation analisys showed that shear value had an negative relationship with tenderness, juiciness, umami, kokumi and overall preference, while myofibrillar fragmentation index had a high correlation coefficient with these 5 parameters (r>0.8).
- According to the results of the principal component analysis based on the variables obtained by sensory evaluation and physical properties, the first two principal components explained approximately 82.28 % of total variables. It was found that the taste of pork loin was a crucial factor for the first component, and the second component was relative to appearance characters of the pork loin.
Keywords: pork loin, sensory evaluation, physical properties, principal component analysis, correlation analysis
- Original (Japanese)
Degradation of Waste Milk by Electrochemical Oxidation Using Metal Oxide Anode
- Gen YOSHIDA, Ikko IHARA, Kiyohiko TOYODA and Kazutaka UMETSU
- Electrochemical oxidation of waste milk was investigated in this study. Since waste milk contains biologically persistent matters such as milk fat, it is difficult to apply biological treatment for waste milk. Electrochemical treatment is considered as one of the advanced oxidation processes. We discussed the effect of anode materials on degradability of organic matters in waste milk. The concentration of COD of diluted raw milk was decreased 34 % or 87 % by electrochemical treatment using DSA or Ti/PbO2 anode. Ti/PbO2 anode was superior in the degradation of raw milk than DSA. It was indicated that lactose and milk fat in waste milk was degraded by electrogenerated oxidants, which adsorbed on Ti/PbO2 anode. The COD removal of casein by electrochemical oxidation using Ti/PbO2 was much lower compared to lactose. The result suggested that electrochemical treatment using a Ti/PbO2 anode was suitable for the treatment of waste milk.
Keywords: electrochemical oxidation, waste milk, DSA, Ti/PbO2, water treatment
- Note (English)
Improvement of Relatively Dry Sandy Soil of Low Nutrient Content and Clay Soil Using Organic Fertilizer
- Chaveevan LEAUNGVUTIVIROJ, Kenji TAKENO, Hidenori SHINKAWA, Ken SASAKI and Napavarn NOPARATNARAPORN
- Two soil types were studies to determine effects of compost and chemical fertilizer, either alone or in combination for improvement of the nutrient content. Microbial populations, viz, total and cellulolytic bacteria, total and cellulolytic fungi, nitrifying bacteria, Azotobacter, phosphate solubilizing bacteria and fungi in soil, treated with a combination of compost and chemical fertilizer, were higher than either compost or chemical fertilizer applied alone. Sandy soil receiving compost alone or in combination with chemical fertilizer greatly increased soil pH level, the amounts of organic matter, potassium, calcium, and sulfur, while, a small effect on changes of soil chemical properties (pH, organic matter and nitrogen) was only observed in clay soil. Corn growth increased by 208 % in sandy soil than that in clay soil (162 % increase) as compared with those with no fertilizer application. Changes of soil microbial population, organic matter and plant nutrient might result in high growth of corn.
Keywords: compost, corn, sandy soil, soil microorganisms, soil fertility
Vol.41 No.2 (September, 2010)
- Original (Japanese)
Performance of Long-life Spectrum Conversion Film and Growth and Development of Chinese Cabbage and Radish Grown under the Film
- Yasuyo NISHIMURA, Yasufumi FUKUMOTO, Hiroshi ARUGA and Yasuko SHIMOI
- A newly developed long-life spectrum conversion film, which converts light from the green light region to the red light region, was investigated for its performance and weatherability. The growth and development of two types of Chinese cabbage and radish grown under the conversion film and non-conversion film (natural light type film) was also investigated. Spectral irradiance of two different thicknesses (60 µm and 100 µm) of spectrum conversion film was compared to sunlight (non-covering), with the green region decreasing to 0.87 and 0.74 (sunlight=1), respectively, and the red region increasing to 1.06 and 1.11, respectively. The conversion characteristic of the spectrum conversion film was maintained in the nine months after covering the greenhouse. Also, it is considered from the interior weatherability acceleration test that the performances can be maintained for at least five years. The growth of two types of Chinese cabbage increased under the two different thicknesses of conversion films compared with growth under the non-conversion film. The growth of the underground part of the radishes was significantly enhanced under the 100 µm conversion film.
Keywords: light quality, red light region, spectrum conversion film, wavelength, weatherability
- Original (Japanese)
Peak Wind Pressure Coefficients for Designing the Cladding of Pipe-framed Greenhouses
- Yasushi UEMATSU, Satoshi TANAKA, Hideki MORIYAMA and Sadanori SASE
- The present paper proposes the peak wind pressure coefficients for designing the cladding of pipe-framed greenhouses widely used in Japan, based on a series of wind tunnel experiments. Simultaneous pressure measurements are made with a 1:40 scale model of the greenhouse in a turbulent boundary layer simulating the natural winds over typical open-country exposure. Not only an isolated model but also two or three models arranged in parallel are tested and the effect of adjacent structures on the pressure distributions is investigated.
- The distribution of the peak pressure coefficients is obtained from the point-pressure measurements. Then, the peak pressure coefficients for designing the cladding are discussed based on the area-averaged pressures and the local lift coefficient. The effect of adjacent structures on the peak pressure coefficient is also investigated.
Keywords: pipe-framed greenhouse, cladding, peak external wind pressure coefficient, wind-tunnel experiment, parallel arrangement
- Original (Japanese)
Effect of Addition of Nitrogen on Nutrient Content During the Maturing Phase of Composting - Addition method of ammonia recovered by vacuum-induced aeration system -
- Fumihito MIYATAKE, Yoshiyuki ABE and Yoshifumi HONDA
- In order to produce the compost with high nitrogen contents, ammonia recovered from vacuum-induced aeration composting system was added to compost after the biooxidative phase was finished. The present study investigated how to add the recovered ammonia to compost during the maturation phase. Two addition methods were examined: One was to add a large quantity of recovered ammonia to compost for once at the beginning of the experiments, the other was to add gradually increased amount of recovered ammonia to compost several times during the experiments. Results showed that the addition of recovered ammonia with gradually incresed amount had a significant effect on the increase of the ammonium and nitrate-nitrogen contents in compost. In this experiment using this addition method, the nitrification was progressing from the beginning of the experiment and the maximum nitrate-nitrogen content was increased up to about 8.3 g·kg-dm-1. The accumulation of nitrate-nitrogen resulted from the nitrification led to the decreases in compost pH value of 6.5-6.6. As a result, volatilization of ammonia gas was inhibited by low pH and ammonium-nitrogen was fixed with compost. In contrast, when a large quantity of recovered ammonia was added to compost once at the beginning of the experiments, the loss of ammonium-nitrogen increased. Therefore, the addition of recovered ammonia with a large quantity resulted in failure of nitrogen to compost.
Keywords: composting, maturing phase, recovered ammonia, ammonium-nitrogen, nitrate-nitrogen, vacuum-induced aeration system
- Note (Japanese)
Removing Admixture from Grain of Rapeseed and Sunflower Using a Rotary Size Grader
- Genta KANAI, Kazuhiro TAKEKURA, Hitoshi KATO, Morio MATSUZAKI, Tomoko YASUMOTO and Kenichi YAKUSHIDO
- A rotary size grader designed for rice and wheat grain was used to remove admixtures from grain of rapeseed and sunflower before drying.
- For rapeseed, the grader with a 1.2 mm width hole was applied to remove admixed particles smaller than the grain. It removed 14 % of the admixture from a sample with a 4.2 % admixture rate with 1.0 % grain loss. The grader with a 2.3 mm round hole was applied to remove admixed particles bigger than the grain. It removed 82.9 % of admixtures with 17.7 % grain loss. The grader with the 2.3 mm width narrow hole removed 53.2 % of admixed particles with 0.0 % grain loss.
- For sunflower seeds, the grader hole width to remove the admixture smaller than the grain was necessarily changed between 2.0-2.4 mm according to the grain size, which varies among years, fields, and growing conditions. The grader with a 5.0 mm width narrow hole was applied to remove admixtures bigger than the grain. It removed 15.2-50.4 % of admixtures with 6.6-7.7 % grain loss.
- For both grains, the rotary grader can reduce the admixture ratio to less than 1.0 %, but it is strongly affected by the original admixture ratio and the purification processing after drying.
Keywords: rapeseed, sunflower, admixture, grader
Vol.41 No.3 (December, 2010)
- Original (English)
Effects of Sampling Intervals on Truck Transport Vibration Levels
- Fei LU, Yutaka ISHIKAWA, Hiroaki KITAZAWA and Takaaki SATAKE
- Truck transport plays an important role in the distribution of goods. Although the lab-simulated truck vibration test has been developed, the vibration wave pattern was different in different measurement condition of truck vibration. To obtain the appropriate sampling intervals condition for the consecutive measurement during truck transport, the effects of sampling intervals on truck transport vibration levels were analyzed. The vibration through the transport trip was measured consecutively in the rear platform of 20-ton loaded truck for the peach distribution from Nagano to Tokyo. The vibration data was sampled with different intervals, and was analyzed with power spectrum density (PSD). With a longer sampling interval, gap with consecutive wave patterns became bigger, and the real vibration cannot be reproduced. It was found that intermittent 60 s sample periods with 4 s and 2 s sub-recorded lengths were sufficient for reproduce local roads and highways vibration. The reason for this difference was that shocks occurred more frequently on local roads than highway.
Keywords: truck transport, sampling interval, shock, vibration
- Original (Japanese)
Effects of Various Bulking Agents on Temperture, Oxygen Uptake Rate, Ammonium Gas Concentration and Compost Quality in Dairy Manure Composting
- Fumihito MIYATAKE, Yoshiyuki ABE, Yoshifumi HONDA, Kazunori IWABUCHI, Masayuki TANI and Taku KATO
- To clarify the characteristics of dairy cattle manure composting using various kinds of bulking agents, compost temperture, oxygen uptake rate, ammonia gas concentration and final compost quality were investigated during the composting process. Bulking agents used in this study is as follows: wallboard paper scraps, pencil shavings, carbonized cedar and zeolite. Compost temperatures in any experimental groups rose over 60 ℃ within 24 hours, showing that composting was carried out smoothly. Oxygen uptake rate of zeolite group showed the highest level of the experimental groups. This high oxygen uptake rate may result from the gas adsorption ability by zeolite in addition to oxygen consumption by microorganisms. Ammonia gas concentration of wallboard paper scraps group was about 3.6 times as high as that of dairy manure group as a control. Ammonia gas concentration of zeolite group, which was expected to show the ability of ammonia adsorption, was lower than those of the other groups until day 3 of the experiment, although the effect was not durable. Compositions of final composts depended on the kinds of bulking agents. The sulfuric content of wallboard paper scraps group was the highest of those of the others. The vital point for the utilization of bulking agents to composting is to set the composting condition such as ventilation based on the characteristics of bulking agents. In addition, it is important to comprehend the chemical composition of composts when the composts with bulking agents are applied to soil.
Keywords: composting, bulking agents, temperature, oxygen uptake rate, ammonia gas concentration, compost quality
- Original (Japanese)
Co-Digestion of Cow Manure and Crude Glycerin
- Shiro KATO, Takaki YAMASHIRO, Lateef Suraju ADEKUNLE, Masahiro IWASAKI and Kazutaka UMETSU
- In this study, effective use of crude glycerin was investigated. Method included the mixing of crude glycerin with dairy waste in various percentages aiming to establish the best percentage of crude glycerin that should be mixed with dairy waste, for efficient fermentation. The mixture produced high biogas volume on fermentation which apparently indicated a high methane concentration in the biogas produced. When dairy waste was mixed with 4-6 % of crude glycerin, the highest volume of methane generation could be observed. It was four times of the gas produced from dairy waste fermentation without incorporation of glycerin. From these results, it is evident that crude glycerin, which can be recycled, could be effectively used in thermophilic methane fermentation.
Keywords: biogas, BDF, crude glycerin, co-digestion, methane
Vol.41 No.4 (March, 2011)
- Original (Japanese)
Studies on Growth Control Using Water Stress and LED Lighting for the Normal Temperature Preservation of Tomato Seedlings
- Shingo MIYAMOTO, Takuma GENKAWA and Toshitaka UCHINO
- The effect of light quality and intensity on normal temperature preservation of tomato seedlings under water stress conditions was evaluated. Under severe water stress conditions, the growth rate of tomato seedlings was greatly inhibited, thereby resulting in poor development of the first flower buds. The growth of plant height and stem diameter was delayed when the PPFD (photosynthetic photon flux density) was less than 20 µ mol m-2s-1, but increased when the light intensity was above 20 µ mol m-2s-1. The tomato seedlings were grown under a PPFD of 20 µ mol m-2s-1 with LEDs of red to blue light (LED 2:1, LED 1:1, LED 1:2) and gradually decreasing supply of culture fluid keeping the plants without wilting. As a result, the growth of tomato seedlings was well inhibited under LED 1:2.
- The LED ratio of “Red : blue = 1:2” and asymptotic process of water stress conditions were effective for the growth control of the tomato seedlings and the tomato seedlings were able to be stored for 3-4 weeks at normal temperature.
Keywords: growth control, light-emitting diode, light quality, photosynthetic photon flux density, water stress
- Original (Japanese)
Development of the Equipment for Measuring the Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient of Greenhouse Covering Materials
- Makio HAYASHI, Motohiro OOHARA, Michiko SHIMIZU and Takayoshi YAMAMOTO
- The equipment for measuring the overall heat transfer coefficient of greenhouse covering materials was developed, and its performance was tested in a trial operation. The main unit consists of a heating chamber representing the greenhouse (bottom half) and a cooling chamber representing the exterior of the greenhouse (top half). One to three layers of the covering material to be analyzed can be installed to form a partition between these two chambers.
- It is known that the amount of heat transferred through greenhouse covering materials is affected by both the amount of atmospheric longwave (infrared) radiation and the external wind speed. In the developed equipment, atmospheric longwave radiation under clear or cloudy conditions can be simulated by controlling the temperature of a cooling panel installed on the ceiling of the cooling chamber, and different wind speeds can be simulated by adjusting small fans installed in the cooling chamber.
- Changes in temperature over time from the start of operation for each part of the equipment, temperature and wind-speed distributions within the cooling chamber, and the heat budget of the heating chamber were measured to test the equipment. During this trial operation, characteristics of the equipment were clarified. The overall heat transfer coefficient of plastic film (polyethylene) was measured using different cooling panel temperatures, and the k values obtained were nearly equal to the conventional values used for calculating the heating loads of greenhouses, demonstrating the validity of the equipment.
Keywords: greenhouse covering material, overall heat transfer coefficient, thermal insulation, measuring equipment, operating characteristics
- Note (Japanese)
Integration of Centralized Biogas Plant and Its Performance in Cold Region
- Sadao KIKUCHI, Kazutaka UMETSU, Masahiro IWASAKl, Yoshiaki TAKEUCHI, Motohiro OI, Kenichi SHIROISHI, Takeyasu UEMATSU and Seiichi YASUI
- Centralized biogas plant for dairy manure from 1 300 cattle heads was built in Shikaoi town in Hokkaido with the capacity of manure loading of 85.8 t/day, with 37 days of average HRT and operated at 38 ℃ temperature. In fiscal year 2008, utilization rate was 71 % as the manure loading rate was 61.3 t/day for the planned processing amount of 85.8 t/day. Therefore, the average HRT was increased to 52.2 days. From the average biogas production of 2 338 m3/day, 92 % was consumed in power generation. Average methane concentration of produced biogas was 57.6 % and H2S concentration was decreased up to about 40 ppm. The average amount of power generation was 3 742 kilowatt-hour/day and 54 % of the power was used in the facility itself while 46 % was sold to Hokkaido electric power company. The applied area of digested slurry in fiscal year 2008 was 561 ha and the amount of applied slurry was 18 440 t.
Keywords: snowy cold region, biofuel, centralized biogas plant, slurry, selling electricity to a power company, economic balance
