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Dissertation
Combining crop growth models with the Precision Agriculture concept of yield gap analysis to evaluate yield limiting and reducing factors
(2022)
The agricultural sector is considered as one of the main elements of a “functional” society and its welfare for providing means to fulfil the most basic human need for food. In the past, an improved overall welfare of developed countries was directly related to early investment in conventional farming machinery parallel to the industrial development. With the expected future population increase and climate change, farm yield gaps are expected to increase and become more volatile. The awareness of negative externalities ...
Dissertation
Solar energy integration in agro-processing in the tropics: a case study of large and small-scale cassava processing
(2023)
Agro-processing is key to reducing post-harvest losses. Agro-processing is defined as a set of techno-economic activities applied to all the products originating from the agricultural farm, livestock, aqua cultural sources, and forests for their conservation, handling, and value-addi-tion to make them usable as food, feed, fibre, fuel, or industrial raw materials [12]. Processing can be sophisticated (relying on industrial plants and machinery) or simple (depending on the sun or indigenous small-scale processes). The ...
Dissertation
A systems approach to understanding post-harvest losses: Insights from a case study of the pineapple value chain in Uganda
(2019-03)
Trotz zahlreicher Anstrengungen gehen weltweit große Mengen an Lebensmitteln nach der Ernte verloren. Insbesondere in Situationen mit begrenztem Zugang zu Ressourcen stellt die Identifizierung geeigneter Maßnahmen eine große Herausforderung dar. Entgegen der klassischen Herangehensweise, die oft technisch orientiert ist, verwendet diese Dissertation einen akteursorientierten und systemischen Ansatz. Dies ermöglicht, die Perspektiven der Akteure zu berücksichtigen und ein kontextabhängiges Verständnis für den Umgang ...
Dissertation
Lignocellulosic biorefinery with a thermo-biological pretreatment concept
(2023)
There is great interest, not only in technologically advanced societies, in developing innovative sources of raw materials, especially lignocellulosic biomasses such as cereal straw, which do not interfere with food production. In Germany, 4 – 9 million tons of cereal straw, mainly wheat, are utilized annually, corresponding to an energy potential of 57 – 129 PJ/a. Lignocellulose, found in plant cell walls, consists of hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin, and it requires complex fractionation to enable its polymers ...
Dissertation
Upgrading Starchy Staples for Tackling Malnutrition in South-West Ethiopia
(2018)
Child undernutrition is a critical public health challenge in Ethiopia. One of the immediate causes of child undernutrition is inadequate dietary intake as a result of relying on one or few starchy staples. Utmost attention should be given to improving diets of infants and young children if significant and fast changes are to be seen in the reduction of undernutrition. This dissertation examines the potentials of utilising appropriate food processing technologies for developing upgraded food products for infants and ...
Dissertation
Investigation of drying behavior and color development of beef slices for development of non-invasive monitoring approaches
(2021)
Meat drying has a long tradition worldwide and technically dried meat is increasingly valued as a low-fat snack or high-protein food product. Convection drying is widely used in industrial food preservation and has to provide high process efficiency and high product qualities, which can be contradictory. Therefore, it is important to understand the changes that occur in the product in order to develop drying strategies that consider process and product efficiency each at an acceptable level. The objective of this ...
Dissertation
Entwicklung einer Robotik-Lösung zur Schneckenbekämpfung in der Landwirtschaft
(2020)
Schnecken sind bedeutende Schädlinge in der Landwirtschaft. Die Ausbringung von Schneckenkorn zur Schneckenbekämpfung als Verfahren nach dem Stand der Technik hat jedoch erhebliche Nachteile. Der Erfolg ist abhängig von der vorherrschenden Witterung und damit unsicher, zudem schadet es auch Nützlingen. Eine Robotik-Lösung zu Schneckenbekämpfung arbeitet wetterunabhängig und ist in der Lage, zwischen Schädlingen und Nützlingen zu unterscheiden.
Durch einen Feldversuch konnte gezeigt werden, dass Überfahrten eines ...
Dissertation
Development of Energy use Profiles, Reduction Concepts, and Implementation of Renewable Energies in the Central Ugandan Pineapple Processing Chains
(2020-02)
Pineapples, like all fruits, are highly perishable and require either immediate consumption or preservation. To make them more stable and add value, four major processing methods are being employed in Uganda, i.e. drying, munaanansi (local drink), wine, and juice making. Energy is one of the main inputs required to achieve any of the processing methods. The aim of this research was to develop energy use profiles, gain insights into energy use reduction options, and to evaluate the applicability of renewable energies ...
Dissertation
Process optimisation and development of non-invasive monitoring approaches for the drying of apples
(2020)
Drying is of great importance particularly in the field of preserving agricultural products. It plays a very critical role by delivering nutrient rich products with a long shelf-life as well as help to combat food loss. Drying processing techniques have changed and improved significantly over time, helping to ensure food abundance in both aesthetical and nutritional regards. Convective hot air drying is one of the most common technique practiced by 85 % of industries. It can be easily applied in the remote areas of ...
Dissertation
Optimizing drying processes for agricultural products utilising non-invasive measurement and adaptive control systems
(2021)
With increasing population and global warming, the need for functional yet nutritional food combined with energy efficient processes has risen significantly. The new “Industry 4.0” revolution acknowledging this need aims to develop and improve processes that are affordable as well as sustainable. For a process like drying this means a shift towards smart or intelligent drying systems using a multidisciplinary approach. This encompasses the use of advanced computational algorithms and control systems integrated with ...