Almond extract has unique nutritional properties and it can be used as a nutritive beverage. One of the most important problems in the formulation of almond milk is the physical stability of the final product. In this study, the response surface methodology was used to optimize ultrasound (US) treatment and the amount of modified starch, lecithin and agar with respect to physical stability besides other physical properties such as particle size, viscosity, Brix and color attributes. Our results showed that the US treatment had a significant effect on physical responses (p < 0.05). In order to formulate the final product, stabilized almond milk was formulated using a D-Optimal mixture design by considering sensory evaluation. This study suggests using 8.05 sugar, 0.55 stevia and 6.38% rose water to obtain the best formulation. Rheological properties of the formulated milk showed pseudoplastic behavior, and the power law model had the best fitness to the experimental data. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSOne of the most important problems in formulation of the almond milk as a nutritive beverage is the physical stability of the final product. Ultrasonic treatment and addition of various stabilizers can be useful to improve the stabilization of almond milk. The ultrasound treatment and the amount of modified starch, lecithin and agar were optimized with respect to the physical properties using response surface methodology. The best values for the ultrasound time and the amount of lecithin, modified starch and agar were 4.9 min, 0.09, 1.31% and 0.15, respectively. A D-Optimal mixture design was used to optimize the industrial formulation of final beverage by considering sensory evaluation. This study suggests using 8.05 sugar, 0.55 stevia and 6.38% rose water to obtain the best formulation. Rheological properties of the formulated milk showed that pseudoplastic behavior and power law model had the best fitness to the experimental data.

In this study, microwave pretreatment and frying conditions optimized with respect to quality attributes (moisture content, oil content, texture and color parameters) and tried to investigate the efficiency of genetic algorithms (GA) for improving response surface methodology (RSM) models. RSM technique was used to develop models to respond to the microwave power (180, 360, 540 W), microwave time (2, 3, 4 min), frying temperature (140, 160, 180C) and frying time (2, 5, 8 min). Microwave pretreatment had a significant effect on the oil and moisture contents, maximum force of French fries. GA was used as optimization coefficients of obtained models from RSM. It was revealed that GA‐optimized models have better fitness (but no significance) with the experimental results than RSM models. The optimum pre‐fry drying condition observed was microwave pre‐frying at 400–500 W for 3–4 min and frying at 180C for 6–6.5 min. Practical Applications The optimum pre‐fry drying condition observed was microwave pre‐frying at 400–500 W for 3–4 min and frying at 180C for 6–6.5 min.

A B S T R A C TMembrane processing has found many applications in various industries as an advanced method of separating materials in liquid or gas. The greatest obstacle in using membrane filtration technology is fouling, particularly in porous membranes. The fouling phenomenon is the result of organic and inorganic materials depositing on the surface and pores of membrane. In this study, the effect of ultrasound frequency (37, 80 kHz, and tandem) and amplitude of sonication (30, 60, and 90%) were evaluated on flux recovery during and after microfiltration. Results showed that the 37 kHz and tandem frequencies significantly improved the permeate flux at earlier minutes, particularly when tandem frequency was applied. In addition, the permeate flux was increased as the sonication power increased. However, the interaction effects between frequency and sonication power showed that the ultrasound frequencies were more effective than sonication power on flux recovery. Furthermore, the calculation of fouling percentage showed that both low frequencies and high amplitude together significantly reduced the fouling agents during the cleaning process. However, there were no remarkable statistical effects among the same levels of sonication power during the cleaning process. The interaction effects of various frequencies and powers of ultrasound on cleaning membranes were evaluated and more cleaning efficiency was observed in comparison to sonication power when low frequency applied.

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Optimization of fluidized bed drying of sesame seeds was done by response surface methodology (RSM) and genetic algorithms (GA). Effect of drying parameters (drying temperature (40, 50, 60°C), drying time (60, 120, 180 min), air velocity (1, 1.5, 2 m/s) and bed depth of dryer (1-3 cm) was investigated based on the quality attributes of dried seeds. These factors were optimized with respect to the moisture ratio, color indices, and texture parameters (hardness and fracturability). The obtained models showed very well fitness with experimental data. The coefficients of resulting models with RSM were further optimized using GA. It was revealed that GA-optimized models have better fitness with the experimental results than RSM models. Our results suggest that sesame seed dried in 40-45°C for 115-120 min with 1 m/s air velocity had the lowest moisture content and color changes and the best texture.