Ahmad Kalbasi-Ashtari

Texas A&M University | TAMU · Biological and Agricultural Engineering

Electro-spraying Process (ESP) was used to coat extracted curcumin (CUR) with milk protein isolate (MPI) at equal concentration. The variables were applied voltage (AV), pumps flow rate ratio (PFRR) for coating (CUR with MPI), travelling distance (TD for coating and dehydration), ESE and MPI concentrations. They changed respectively from 7.5 to 27....

Separate levels of roasted linseed paste (RLP) (15, 22.5, and 30 g), Persian grape molasses (PGM) (40, 50, and 60 g), and high‐protein milk powder (HPMP) (3.75, 6.5, and 9.25 g) were ground and mixed in a ball mill (3 h at 45°C) to make samples of linseed spread (LS). After applying response surface methodology and central composite design, the opt...

Freeze‐drying of propolis (FDP) obtained from ethanol extraction of raw propolis enhanced its total phenolic and reduced effective concentration (EC50) substantially > 95% and 99%. Then the ground fish of rainbow‐trout was mixed with different (0.1, 0.2 and 0.4%) levels of FDP to make frozen fish burger (FFB), and analyzed for physicochemical, and...

Three methods of shade (MI), open sun (MII) and new designed of solar (MIII) drying were used for peppermint dehydration. The air velocity (u) and temperature (Td ) of MI, MII and MIII were 0.5, 0.5, and 1.5 m/s and 32, 36, and 48 °C, respectively. The energy utilization efficiency, Td /u ratio and drying rate of MIII reached 85%, 48 °C.s.m⁻¹ and 1...

Study the rheological behavior, modeling and activation energy (Ea) of Persian grape molasses (PGM) at different conditions. The shear rate and shear stress of PGM were measured at 25, 45, and 65°C and Brix concentrations (BC) of 35, 50, and 76%. Next different statistical parameters and Sigma plot software were used to test the obtained data on si...

Whey protein concentrate (WPC) mixed with various concentrations of Shirazi thyme (ST), sage, and cumin seed (CS) extracts separately. Then pistachio kernels (PK) contaminated with Aspergillus flavus (Af) were coated with each extract and the Af mycelium and generated aflatoxins measured after 3, 5, and 7‐days at 20°C. The ST, sage, and CS had two...

The essential oils of clove, cinnamon and celak extracted, diluted (at 3, 5, 7 and 9%), and UV‐sterilized. HPLC analysis showed that the clove, cinnamon and celak extracts had respectively eugenol (12.15 mg/g), cinamaldehyde (25.74 mg/g), and combination of thymol (14.49 mg/g) and carvacrol (1.17 mg/g). The Ohadi, Akbari, Ahmad‐Aghaei (AA) and Kall...

Fresh pistachio was dehydrated with shade drying, sun drying, solar drying (without and with air recycling) systems (Methods I, II, III and IV). Then their impacts were studied on drying time, physical properties and also organoleptic criterions (shell appearance, color, roasted flavor, finger releasing kernel, sweetness, shell splitting and overal...

A variety of fruit beverage formulations using demineralized milk permeates hydrolyzed with β ‐galactosidase and mixed with concentrated grapefruit juice, sugar and pectin were evaluated for sensory criteria (appearance, aroma, mouthfeel, taste and after taste) and measured physiochemical ( PC ) parameters. The total sensory scores ( TSS ) and PC p...

Using aerobiology and engineering strategies to study particle movement in ventilated rooms is a powerful tool for understanding airborne disease transmission in healthcare facilities. More research is needed on movement of particles in ventilated rooms and more empirical data is needed to show effects of air exchange rates on particulate movement...

An aqueous solution of Pectinex (containing cellulase, hemicellulase, and pectinase) at 1%, 2.5%, 5%, 7%, and 10% concentrations and 40°C was used to extract anthocyanins (Acys) of saffron tepals at 20 minutes, 40 minutes, 60 minutes, 120 minutes and 180 minutes reaction times and compared with ethanol solvent under similar conditions. The Acys of...

The desolvation method was successfully used to prepare nanoparticles from bovine serum albumin (BSA) using ethanol, acetone, and their mixtures (70:30 and 50:50, respectively). Ethanol and mixtures of ethanol and acetone led to the most spherical nanoparticles, while using pure acetone resulted in a mixture of spherical and rod shape nanoparticle....

This study optimized the production formulation for fortifying Iranian UF-feta cheese with fish oil. The effects of the formulation parameters of cheese fat (8, 12, 16%), fish oil (0.4, 0.8, 1.2%), whey protein concentrate (0.54, 1.08, 1.62%), cumin (0, 0.25, 0.5%) and storage time (0, 30 and 60 days) on the pH, nonfat milk solids, acidity, fat, pr...

Ammonia (NH3) emissions from animal feeding operations especially poultry houses are increasing and so intensifying environmental concerns. Evaluating a new method of NH3 abatement using a diluted acid wet spray scrubber with a lower environmental impact was the main objective of this research. A bench-scale wet scrubber was built to process 50 cfm...

Two intelligent tools, fuzzy expert engine ( FEE ) and artificial neural network ( ANN ), were used to predict momentarily the moisture content of zucchini slices during dehydration process. For this purpose, the fuzzy logic toolbox in MATLAB was used to predict moisture ratio ( MR ) of dried zucchini. Drying time, temperature and product thickness...

We show the ability of poly-d-lysine (PDL) and BSA to form bionanotubes (BNTs) through layer by layer deposition. The process is driven through electrostatic interactions in the interior of a polycarbonate template’s nanopores with a diameter of 400 nm. The BNTs are optimally formed at pH 7.4, where the difference in the magnitude of opposite charg...

The clear juice of peeled and blanched carrot (Nantes variety) was obtained and pasteurized and its °Brix and pH were adjusted. Then different ratios (0.02, 0.025 and 0.03%) of low and high acyl (LA and HA) gellan mixed separately with carrot juice and heated up to 70C for 20 min. Later, the rheological parameters, particle size distributions, turb...

A successful carcass composting enterprise relies on proper design, layout, management, cost analysis, environmental impacts, and quality of the finished product. A well-designed carcass composting process with adequate capacity and a practical layout facilitates an even flow of inputs and outputs. It will also prevent environmental insult (such as...

The fish oil (FO), and fish oil powder (FOP) at 10 % of recommended daily intake (RDI) were used to make two types of fortified feta cheeses. The physicochemical, rheological and sensory properties of ripened samples at 0, 30, and 60th days of cold store (5 °C) showed that the FO samples had a faster pH reduction, higher MSNF (milk solid non-fat) i...

Spaghetti samples were prepared by replacing wheat flour with defatted soy flour (DSF) at 0, 10, and 20% levels (w/w). Each sample had 4% gluten. In addition, xanthan gum was added at three levels (0.0, 0.2, and 0.4%) to spaghetti dough containing 20% soy flour as a modifying agent. Samples were extruded at 35 or 50°C and dried at, respectively, 52...

An artificial neural network (ANN) was developed to predict quality changes of spray-dried black mulberry (Morus nigra) powder. In this study, the effects of inlet-air temperature (110, 130, and 150 °C), compressed air flow rate (400, 600, and 800 L/h), and concentration of different carrier types such as 6, 9, and 20 dextrose equivalent maltodextr...

A sulfur solution with different metabisulfite concentrations (100, 400, 700, 1,000 and 2,000 ppm) was used to extract anthocyanins from saffron tepals. The extraction process was compared with acidified ethanol solution at similar extraction times of 20, 40, 60, 120, and 180 min at 40 °C. The recovery of anthocyanins with sulfur solution was highe...

Emissions of ammonia (NH3) from poultry houses are increasing and intensifying some environmental concerns. Evaluating a new method of NH3 mitigation using a non-acidic solution in a bench-scale scrubber was the main objective of this research. The laboratory scrubber was built to process 51 cfm (0.024 m3/s) of a simulated polluted air coming out f...

Desolvation method was successfully used to produce BSA nanoparticles using different desolvating agents (ethanol, acetone and mixtures of them). The SEM images, shows that the nanoparticulation was different for various desolvating agents. BSA NPs produced using ethanol were completely spherical, while the NPs produced using acetone were a mixture...

Biocompatible nanotubes (NTs) have a great potential application especially in food and drug delivery. Nanotubes were produced using Layer-by-Layer (LbL) deposition of negatively charged bovine serum albumin (BSA) and positively charged, poly-D-lysine (PDL). into a nano-porous template. By deposition of three bilayers, robust nanotubes were produce...

In this study, the effects of some processing parameters on moisture content, water activity, drying yield, bulk density, solubility, glass transition temperature (Tg), and microstructure of spray dried black mulberry (Morus nigra) juice powders were investigated. A pilot-scale spray dryer was employed for the spray drying process and maltodextrin...

In this study, the physical, thermal and mechanical properties of a novel edible film based on psyllium hydrocolloid (PH) were investigated. PH films were prepared by incorporation of three levels of glycerol (15%, 25%, and 35% w/w). As glycerol concentration increased, water vapor permeability (WVP), percent of elongation (E%) and water solubility...

Physical properties ie dimensions, volume, surface area, sphericity, true density, porosity, angle of repose, terminal velocity, static and dynamic friction coefficients on plywood, stainless steel, glass and galvanized iron sheet, force required for initiating seed rupture in horizontal and vertical orientations of psyllium seed at a moisture cont...

The objective of this work was to study the influence of spray drying conditions on the physicochemical properties of black mulberry (Morus nigra) powder. A lab-scale spray dryer was employed for the spray drying process and maltodextrin DE=9was used as carrier agent. Response surface methodology (RSM) was performed to examine the effects of indepe...

Mixed cellulose ester (MCE) flat membranes were used to clarify black mulberry juice, the yield of which was limited by fouling. The effects of membrane pore size (0.025, 0.1 and 0.22 μm), transmembrane pressure (0.5, 1, 1.5 and 200 kPa), and cross-flow velocity (0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 m s−1) on membrane fouling were evaluated; the results showed th...

Storage stability of whole split Kerman pistachio nuts (Pistacia vera L.) was examined on the samples stored at 5, 15, 25 and 35 degrees C and a relative humidity range of 11 to 87 percent. Rate constants of lipid oxidation reaction at 5 to 35 degrees C varied between 0.145 to 0.567 (month(-1)). The oxidation activation energy was 31.459 kJ/mol. Le...

The rheological properties of two types of Persian honeys (Thyme and Shahjahan) were studied over temperature and water content of 10-30°C and 16.8-17.2%, respectively. At these conditions, they exhibited a Newtonian behavior for shear rate in range of 0-100 and apparent viscosity in range of 6.7 and 150 Pa.s. The activation energy, glass transitio...

Various postharvesting processes such as handling, drying, storing and transportation of pistachio nuts are affected by their equilibrium moisture content (EMC). The static gravimetric method, along with different saturated salt solutions, was used in a range of water activity of 0.11–0.88, and at 15, 25, 35 and 40C to obtain sorption isotherms of...

Improper animal-mortality disposal may allow pathogenic microorganisms to spread diseases in soil, plants, animals, and to humans; and resulting odor reduces the quality of life for neighbors. Health hazards posed by neglect in carcass disposal would be pronounced in the event of a natural catastrophe, disease outbreak or intentional depopulation o...

The effects of separate mixing of two hydrocolloids carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) at 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5% levels with Sardary and Sorkheh wheat flours (two native Persian varieties) were studied. Chemical and rheological (Farinograph and Extensograph) tests, staling and sensory evaluations were performed on the t...

A successful carcass composting enterprise relies on proper design, layout, management, cost analysis, en- vironmental impacts, and quality of the finished product. A well-designed carcass composting process with adequate capacity and a practical layout facilitates an even flow of inputs and outputs. It will also prevent environmental insult (such...

For the last two decades, carcass disposal by burial is being replaced with alternatives such as composting. Improper animal mortality disposal may generate various environmental and health hazards such as odor nuisance (resulting from the anaerobic breakdown of proteins) that can reduce the quality of life and decrease property values. Pathogens,...

The effects of different post-harvest hydrocooling solutions along with conventional cold storage and cyclical heat treatment on the physico-chemical properties and sensory characteristics of Persian "Red Haven" peaches and "Shahmiveh" pears were studied. Peaches and pears were harvested at 24oC and at 26oC respectively and immediately pre-cooled w...

High-moisture corn was harvested by hand and conventional combine. The effect of mechanical damage in shelled corn was measured by CO//2 production, O//2 consumption, and water uptake. A linear relationship between CO//2 production and damage level was found. The O//2 uptake conformed with CO//2 production. Undamaged combine-shelled corn had faster...

Oil obtained by petroleum ether extraction of Dal oats was refined by conventional methods. Degumming loss was reduced to 15% by degumming in hexane solution and partially neutralizing the oil with sodium hydroxide. The free fatty acid was 6~8%, and alkali refining losses were 25~30%. Oat oil was bleached successfully with charcoal and deodorized....