Event

Bioresource Engineering Senior Seminar Series

Thursday, April 15, 2010 10:00to12:30
Raymond Building 21111 Lakeshore Road, St Anne de Bellevue, QC, H9X 3V9, CA

To accommodate the remaining speakers in the course, this final seminar class will extend from 1000 to 1230, with a 10 min break at 1125. Please plan to attend the seminars that interest you, and support your colleagues and students.

 

Towards Basic Sanitation: Informal Settlements in Cape Town

Cory Zyla

The provision of sanitation services on informal settlements cannot be approached in the same manner as formal urban or rural areas. Limiting factors such as high densities, inadequate infrastructure, high water tables, the lack of financial capital, and the lack of sanitation-related education makes common sanitation improvement strategies difficult to apply. This presentation illustrates how residents of the informal settlements of Cape Town, South Africa, can and are improving the existing inadequate and emergency forms of sanitation. Some examples of several current tools and innovations that will be presented include street committees, social marketing, and the MobiSanTM pilot project.

Reviewers: Claude Adjanahoun, Penelope Ma, Zhen Ma, Ashley Roberston

 

Bacteria and Low Fat Cheese Production

Jamshid Rahimi

In the last two decades, full fat foods consumption has been decreased and people are eager to purchase low caloric foods that one of them is low fat cheese. While low fat cheeses are healthier, they have some problems in their taste and texture which need more attention by cheese manufacturers. To overcome these problems, one of the best methods is using some particular bacteria which produce exopolysaccharides. In this presentation, I will talk about the effect of these bacteria on texture of low fat cheeses.

Reviewers: Paul Adewale, Fru Ngwa Felexce, Xin Rui

Development of an Agricultural Water Demand Model

Olanike Aladenola

Agricultural water models are parameterized according to location, crop, soil, climate, technology, and management practices. There is no universally acceptable model, as models are influenced by the available data and the required outputs. These factors are important when developing a computer program for estimating irrigation water use.  A computer program will be presented for estimating efficient agricultural water management and intersectoral water allocation in Canada, specific to Canada’s unique characteristics.

Reviewers: Alicia Goodhue, Nicolas Martinez, Carolyn Lee, Kartheek Anekella

Sustainability Analysis of Rice Parboiling in Sub-Saharan Africa

Mohammed Bakari

Energy and environmental sustainability are important considerations in meeting the increasing demand for processed rice in sub-Saharan Africa. The current subsistence method of parboiling rice is not sustainable with this increasing demand. The physically demanding traditional method relies solely on firewood as the thermal energy source, contributing to deforestation  and desertification of the Savannah, and threatening food security in the region. The objective of this seminar is to present the results of a sustainability analysis that was carried out for small scale and medium scale rice parboiling outfits in the upper Benue river basin in Adamawa state, Nigeria. This study showed that the efficiency of current  parboiling methods is below 50% and these are not sustainable at increased capacity. Recommendations are made for improving the  sustainability of the parboiling process. Research, Appropriate Technology and Education (RATE) is identified as an effective framework for training subsistence farming communities to increase their capacity in a sustainable manner.

Reviewers: Colline Gombault, Fatemeh Zare, Jia Lun Poon

 

Microwave Assisted Extraction

Ashutosh Singh

Microwave energy has recently been applied in the extraction of organic compounds from plant materials. This development answers a need for cheap, rapid and safe extraction methods. Several conventional methods of extraction, like solvent extraction, are time and resource intensive. Conventional methods are also limited when numerous samples must be analyzed at the same time. Microwave assisted extraction is being used to extract target compounds from various raw materials. Its faster processing time, improved yield, low energy consumption and reduced solvent requirement makes it one of the prominent choices for industry.

Reviewers: Johanna Richards, Kiran Ramaswamy, Golmar Golmohammadi,

 

Elderberry Research

Ramesh Murugesan

Wild berries are having high antioxidants as compared to cultivated berry varieties. Unfortunately there has been a lack of research to explore the nutritional functions of wild berries. My current research tries to explore one wild berry’s nutritional properties and develop methods to preserve its functional properties. This seminar focuses on elderberry research to enhance the antioxidant content of the fruit, and the subsequent spray drying of elderberry juice without affecting its functional properties.

Reviewers: Hiu Fung Chan, Colline Gombault, Lylia Khennache, Fatemeh Zare

Rise of the Machines: Robotics in Agriculture

Kiran Ramaswamy

Robotics has been an ongoing field of research for many years now, and has been employed in a wide range of applications, from car manufacturing to automated surveillance. Recently, it has begun to take on several important roles in the field of agriculture. Many projects are currently under development and testing, which aim to tap in to this rich area of research.

This research utilizes knowledge gleaned from many different topics. The purpose of this presentation is to provide a background on these different topics, and how they tie in to the topic of Robotics in Agriculture, as well as to provide some information on how my own research will contribute to this field.

Reviewers: Erica Follon, Ashutosh Singh, Chehrazade Aboukinane

 

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