Browsing by Author "Abhiram, G."

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Effect of Storage Conditions to Minimize Contaminants before Packaging of Ceylon Cinnamon Quills (Cinnamamum zelanicum Blume)
    (Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2018) Chinthaka, N.D.G.A.; Jayasinghe, G.G.; Jayasingha, H.A.S.L.; Abhiram, G.
    Cinnamon is one of the major spice crops in Sri Lanka. Maintenance of the quality of the processed cinnamon is very important in exportation to get a good market value. Microbial and store pest contaminations of processed cinnamon quills make the final product less demanded with high post-harvest losses. This study was conducted to identify the most suitable storage conditions to maintain the export quality of the cinnamon quills without using synthetic chemicals. Collected cinnamon quill samples from the processing center of National Cinnamon Research and Training institute at Palolpitiya were stored at different time durations (0,3,7,14 days) with different combinations of temperature and relative humidity (RH) levels [(15 °C, 45%), (15 °C, 60%), (30 °C, 30%) and (30 °C, 60%)] in a growth chamber. The experiment was conducted as triplicate using 16 treatments. Moisture content (%), store pests per 100g, fungal and bacterial colony per 100g and color of the cinnamon quill samples were measured before applying the treatments and after 3 days, 7 days and 14 days from the treatment. Results revealed that 9.6% of mean moisture level was gained after14 days, under 30°C temperature and 60% RH and it has taken 3 days to decrease moisture level up to 12% under the treatment of (15 °C, 45%), (30 °C, 30%) and (30 °C, 60%) (P<0.05). Under the 30 °C temperature and 30% RH store pests were decreased up to 1 within 3 days while 7 days spent to kill all the store pests. All the store pests were killed after 14 days under the treatment of (30 °C, 30%) (30 °C, 60%) and (15 °C, 60%) (P<0.05). Significantly lower fungal and bacterial colonies were observed after 14 days under 15 °C temperature and 60% RH (P<0.05). Quill samples under the 15°C temperature and 60% RH showed the best color in colorimeter than the quills of other storage conditions as per the ISO standards. Thus, the expected quality of the cinnamon quills can be gained within 14 days under the 15°C temperature and 60% RH.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Effect of Technically Specified Rubber (TSR) Variations on Rheological Properties of Soft Compound of Solid Tires
    (Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2018) De Silva, D.A.W.Y.; Wickrama Arachchi, P.K.; Ranawana, S.R.W.M.C.J.K.; Abhiram, G.
    The soft compound of solid tires is used to produce the middle section (cushion) of the solid tires which enhanced to provide the cushioning effect. Medium hardness, low heat buildup, high elasticity and high resilient are the most expected characteristics from the soft compound. TSR from different suppliers may lead to unexpected deviations in the theological properties of the soft compound produced. Such deviations in the rheological properties significantly affect the performance of soft compound. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effect of TSR variations of suppliers on rheological properties of soft compound and identify the raw rubber property or properties which cause such variations. Rheological properties such as t52 (Scorch time) and tc90 (Optimum Cure time) of soft compound produced from TSR supplied by three different suppliers (thirty samples each) were measured to check the effect of TSR variation of the suppliers on rheological properties of soft compound. Raw rubber properties such as dirt content, ash content, volatile matter content, nitrogen content, Wallace plasticity (Po) and Plasticity Retention Index (PRI) of three samples of TSR from each supplier were measured to identify the cause of the TSR variations. The results revealed that the rheological properties of the soft compound are significantly affected by the TSR variation of the supplier (p < 0.05). Dirt content, ash content, volatile matter content, nitrogen content were having a significant effect for the resulted variation of TSR (p < 0.05). Findings of this study will be useful in selecting the best TSR supplier to produce best soft compound in solid tire manufacturing. Keywords: Rheological properties, Soft compound, Solid tires, Technically Specified Rubber
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Study on the Treating Ability of Palmyrah Seed Shell Based Activated Charcoal in Newly Designed Domestic Water Filter
    (Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2018) Tharsan, R.; Withanage, N.S.; Abhiram, G.; Mary, J.
    Activated charcoal is commonly used as a good source for removing contaminants and impurities, sediment, volatile organic compounds, taste and odor from wastewater through chemical adsorption. This study investigates the ability of activated charcoal produced from Palmyrah seed shell using a newly designed domestic level filter. Dried and same aged Palmyrah seed shells were collected randomly from Chavakacheri area in Jaffna District and activated charcoal was produced following carbonization, activation and pyrolization processes. A domestic level filter having stone layer, sand layer and activated charcoal layer was designed. Two filter models were designed placing the activated charcoal layer from Palmyrah based activated charcoal (D1) and commercially available activated charcoal (D2) separately. Then wastewater samples were randomly collected from three different sources; laboratory, industry and abandoned well. About 10 L of wastewater sample was passed randomly 3 times through each charcoal filter slowly. 13 Physio-chemical parameters of water samples were checked before and after treating them in D1 and D2 separately. The results revealed that, wastewater obtained from both industry and abandoned well have been treated sufficiently by D1 for 6 parameters, while by D2 for only 3 parameters. Both D1 and D2 have equally performed for 4 parameters. In case of wastewater obtained from laboratory, D1 has performed well for 6 parameters and D2 for 5 parameters. Both D1 and D2 have similarly performed for 2 parameters. Therefore, it can be concluded that, the newly developed domestic level water filter with Palmyrah based activated charcoal (D1) has performed better than the filter with commercially available activated charcoal (D2) for the tested wastewater samples obtained from laboratory, industry and abandoned well.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Study the Effect of Far infrared-Withering on Black Tea Manufacturing
    (Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2018) Piratheepan, N.; Abhiram, G.; Ranawana, S.R.W.M.C.J.K.
    Withering is the foundation step of black tea manufacturing which directly influences the quality and the cup characteristics of the made tea. This stage consumes 49% of the total electricity required for the production process and use of dendro thermal power releases CO2 to the environment causing environmental pollution. Far infrared (FIR) withering may be a good alternative to overcome these problems. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify the essentials for developing a withering trough using Far-infrared as the heating source for black tea production and to analyze its performances. Plucked tea leaves with an initial moisture content of 43±1% were withered using Far-infrared panels, by changing the treatment combination of Farinfrared power (650, 1300 and 1950 W), exposure times (4 hr, 4.15 hr and 4.30 hr) and the leaf weight (400 kg, 425 kg and 450 kg). Temperature and the relative humidity of plenum chamber and withered leaves were measured using DHT11 sensors to maintain the conditions uniformly throughout the study. The samples were dried and Theaflavins (TF) Thearubigins (TR) ratio was measured and organoleptic parameters such as aroma, flavor and colour were tested. It was found that there is a significant interaction effect of Far-infrared power, exposure time and leaf weight on "Theaflavins/Thearubigins" ratio and organoleptic properties (p<0.05). The optimum combination of Far-infrared power, exposure time and leaf weight were 1950 W, 4.30 hours and 400 kg, respectively based on "Theaflavin/Thearubigins "(1 :10), high score for organoleptic properties and low energy consumption. Therefore, it can be concluded that FIR withering has high potential in black tea manufacturing. Further studies are needed to improve the precision of the prototype to develop it as an industrial level withering trough. Keywords: Black tea manufacturing, Far- infrared withering, Sensory evaluation, Theaflavins, Thearubigins