A major by product of poultry industry is waste feathers. The huge increase in size of individual production facilities and the total poultry industry has resulted in enormous increases in waste, particularly feathers, to be managed. Feather waste is produced in massive amount resulting in large quantities of this byproduct of poultry industry. Feathers constitute over 90% protein, the main component being beta-keratin, a fibrous and insoluble structural protein extensively cross linked by disulfide bonds. Keratin is resistant to digestion by animals, insects and proteases leading to serious...

Escalating trends in fossil fuel consumption has lead to shortage of energy domains. Cellulosic biomass is regarded the most promising substitute for supplementation of energy demands. Enzyme production from lignocellulosic biomass via biological route seems to be very attractive and sustainable due to ubiquitous nature of biomass and its non-competitiveness with food crops. The key element in bioconversion process of lignocellulosics to biofuels is the hydrolytic enzymes chiefly cellulases. Cellulases are the third largest industrial enzyme in the world and gaining rejuvenated interest due...

Enzyme production from lignocellulosic biomass is sustainable owing to their ubiquitious nature and non-competitivness with food crops. Agrowastes accumulate in envonment in substantial amounts as pollutants, and primarily comprise of cellulose and hemicellulose that can be saccharified by cellulases to produce fermentable sugars yielding bioethanol. However, cellulase production cost is major impediment in bioenergy production scenario. Saccharum spontaneum is an abundantly found agrowaste with high cellulose content which can be employed for cellulase production through biological route. In...

Fossil fuel depletion, increase in oil prices and adverse environmental effects of petroleum products have lead to sharp interest in biofuel production all over the world. The production of bioethanol from lignocellulosic biomass is a sustainable and attractive energy source for transportation fuel to replace gasoline and substitute fossil fuels. Office papers due to high cellulose and carbohydrate content are potential raw materials for production of bioethanol. Termites feed on diet rich in hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin and harbour a natural mechanism which makes them able to degrade...

The current study aimed at the lab scale production of bioethanol from corncob employing cellulolytic bacteria isolated from termite gut. Cellulolytic bacteria were isolated from two local termite species including Coptotermes heimi and Microtermes mycophagous. Corn cob was de-lignified. Two fold decrease in lignin and 20% increase in cellulose was obtained after pretreatment. Among six bacterial isolated CH-1 and MYC-1 were selected for their potential cellulolytic action through halo zone formation in primary screening and substrate hydrolysis during secondary screening. Temperature, pH,...

Peach is the most commonly eaten stone fruit which grows in the temperate regions of the world. These are also among the most exported fruits in term of volume and value. Peaches, being perishable and susceptible to microbial spoilage, have a short shelf-life. The goal of this study was to determine the effect of gamma irradiation on the microbiological and organoleptic properties of peaches and secondly, to determine the effects of irradiation on shelf-life of the fruit

Apple is an important horiculture of world. It has a high nutritional content. Bacterial and fungal pathogens on surface of apples reduce their shelf life as well as pose health hazards. Apples were exposed to different gamma irradiation doses. Microbial count was analysed before and after irradiation. Gamma Irradiadion proved beneficial in enhancing shelf life of apples by reducing microbial load that can be beneficial in increasing export value.

Date palm is considered to be a wonder plant and a traditional food of the Middle Eastern countries. There are many varieties of dates, each one with unique properties. As date palm is mostly grown in hot regions of World, shelf life extension is the main issue. Gamma irradiation provides a safe method to tackle this problem. This book covers topics from the production of dates worldwide to modern processing techniques employed in dates industry. The microbial load and insect infestation evaluation after providing different gamma irradiation doses is discussed in detail in this book. Results...

Current research is intended towards the use of low doses Cobalt 60 gamma irradiation not only for extending the shelf life of dried figs but to reduce the extent of fatal clinical outbreaks associated with consumption of contaminated dried figs. Ultimately post harvest losses due to multi-stage processing of fruit will be also reduced. For this purpose two low doses i.e. 0.25 and 0.5 kGy were selected in order to achieve targeted goals. Selected doses were optimum for maintenance of sensory attributes and controlling infestation. The study resulted in conclusion that for reducing the overall...