• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.121-128
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• 2018

This paper describes the non-isothermal pyrolysis of cashew shell cake (CSC) - bituminous coal blends. The blends exhibit two distinct stages in the thermogravimetric curves, which the first stage stems from CSC and the second one from the superposition of CSC and coal pyrolysis. The pyrolysis behavior of the blend was linearly proportional to the blending ratios. The overall behavior of the blends was evaluated in terms of the maximum rate of weight loss, characteristic temperatures, char yields, and the calculated and experimental thermogravimetric curves. The activation energies ranged up to 49 kJ/mol for the blends were obtained and used to evaluate the interaction in the blends. The present thermogravimetric study shows that there is no significant interaction between CSC and coal in the blends, and it was supported by the characteristic values which are linearly proportional to the weight percentages of cashew cake-shell in the blends. The no-interaction might be due to the fact that the main reaction zones are distinctively different for two constituents, so the additive rule is acceptable for describing pyrolysis behavior of the present blends.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.57 no.5
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• pp.17.1-17.6
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• 2015

The present study investigated the nutritional and economic suitability of cashew reject meal (full fat and defatted) as replacement for groundnut cake (GNC) in the diets of laying chickens. A total of eighty four brown shavers at 25 weeks of age were randomly allotted into seven dietary treatments each containing 6 replicates of 2 birds each. The seven diets prepared included diet 1, a control with GNC at $220gkg^{-1}$ as main protein source in the diet. Diets 2, 3 and 4 consist of gradual replacement of GNC with defatted cashew reject meal (DCRM) at 50%, 75% and 100% on weight for weight basis respectively while diets 5, 6 and 7 consist of gradual inclusion of full fat cashew reject meal (FCRM) to replace 25%, 35% and 50% of GNC protein respectively. Each group was allotted a diet in a completely randomized design in a study that lasted eight weeks during which records of the chemical constituent of the test ingredients, performance characteristics, egg quality traits and economic indicators were measured. Results showed that the crude protein were 22.10 and 35.4% for FCRM and DCRM respectively. Gross energy of DCRM was 5035 kcal/kg compared to GNC, 4752 kcal/kg. Result of aflatoxin $B_1$ revealed moderate level between 10 and $17{\mu}g/Kg$ in DCRM and GNC samples respectively. Birds on control gained 10 g, while those on DCRM and FCRM gained about 35 g and 120 g respectively. Feed intake declined (P < 0.05) with increased level of FCRM. Hen day production was highest in birds fed DCRM, followed by control and lowest value (P < 0.05) was recorded for FCRM. No significant change (P > 0.05) was observed for egg weight and shell thickness. Fat deposition and cholesterol content increased (P > 0.05) with increasing level of FCRM. The cost of feed per kilogram decreased gradually with increased inclusion level of CRM. The prediction equation showed the relative worth of DCRM compared to GNC was 92.3% whereas the actual market price of GNC triples that of DCRM. It was recommended that GNC could be completely replaced by DCRM in layer's diets in regions where this by product is abundant. However, FCRM should be cautiously used in diets of laying chickens.