In this study, following the green, environmentally friendly and sustainable development strategy, cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were prepared through a solvent-free esterification reaction between microcrystalline cellulose and maleic anhydride, combined with subsequent ultrasonic treatment, and maleic-anhydride-modified CNC-reinforced zein/catechin/β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex nanoparticles nanocomposite films were prepared by a facile solution casting. The amount of CNCs in the film matrix was 0–8 wt%, and their effect on structural, physicochemical and functional properties of the resulting films were investigated. SEM images showed that the addition of CNCs made the microstructure of the film more smooth and uniform. The intermolecular hydrogen bonds between CNCs and film matrix were supported by FT-IR. XRD analysis also confirmed the appearance of a crystalline peak due to the existence of CNCs inside the films. The incorporation of CNCs significantly reduced water vapor permeability, water solubility and the swelling degree of the nanocomposite film, and also significantly increased tensile strength and elongation at break from 12.66 to 37.82 MPa and 4.5% to 5.2% (p < 0.05). Moreover, nanocomposite film packaging with CNCs can effectively inhibit the oxidation of soybean oil.

The matching status of agricultural water and land resources is a prerequisite for grain production. The influence of gray water footprint has not been paid attention to in the study of agricultural water and land resources matching based on water footprint. To measure the matching status of agricultural water and land resources more comprehensively, the total water footprint (including blue, green and gray water footprint) and the cultivated land area was taken as the characterization parameters of water and land resources, respectively. The Gini coefficient model, and the agricultural water and land resources matching coefficient model were constructed to calculate the matching degree of agricultural water and land resources in a cold region (Heilongjiang Province) of China. Based on the amount of agricultural water consumption, the equivalent coefficient model was used to evaluate the degree of agricultural water and land resources shortage or to be developed. The result of agricultural water and land resources matching coefficient model showed that the matching degree of agricultural water and land resources in Heilongjiang Province is getting better year by year, which is consistent with the calculations determined from the Gini coefficient. The result of the equivalent coefficient method based on agricultural water consumption was consistent with the result of the Gini coefficient method based on total water footprint, which is verified that it is scientific and reasonable to take the total water footprint as the characterization parameter of water resource. The findings may provide implications for the spatial optimal allocation of regional agricultural water and land resources.

To evaluate the state of an agricultural development more comprehensively, a vulnerability assessment is introduced into agricultural water and land resources system, and it is expected that the vulnerability assessment can provide a basis for improving system structure and function and realizing sustainable development. In the study, 27 evaluation indicators are selected from the agricultural water and land resources system (AWLRS), socio-economic system and ecological structure system to construct the evaluation index system for agricultural water and land resource system vulnerability (AWLRSV). Seagull optimization algorithm (SOA) is used to calibrate the parameters of the random forest (RF) model. SOA-RF model is applied to measure the AWLRSV of Heilongjiang Province in China. The results show that the SOA-RF model has higher accuracy and stronger stability than the traditional RF model and DA-RF model. The value of AWLRSV in Heilongjiang Province presents a downward–upward–downward trend from 2008 to 2018. The vulnerability levels are mainly level II and III, and level III is mainly distributed northwest and southeast of Heilongjiang Province. The novelty of this paper is to regard the agricultural water and land resources system as a compound system, put forward the vulnerability assessment framework. The findings may provide reference for regional sustainable development from a new research perspective.

The uniform removal of the bran layer significantly enhances the nutritional and economic benefits of rice. However, the influence of parameter conditions on the uniformity of milling in the abrasive milling process remains unclear. This is not conducive to improving the quality of rice milling. In this study, the effects of rotational speed and filling volume on milling uniformity in abrasive milling were investigated by combining experimental methods and simulation. The results showed that the higher the rotational speed, the more uniform the milling. The higher the filling volume, the more non-uniform the milling. The main reason for the variation in milling uniformity is the axial and radial position exchange of the rice particles in the milling chamber. The more frequent the exchange, the higher the milling uniformity. Subsequently, the frequency of position exchange was quantitatively characterised using axial and radial exchange rates, respectively. The rotational speed and filling volume change the position exchange frequency by affecting the rotational kinetic energy of the rice particles and the degree of dense rice population, respectively. These findings are useful in promoting rice loss reduction and nutritional balance.

Excessive milling of rice kernels will result in nutrient loss and grain waste. To avoid grain waste, multibreak milling systems have been widely used in large-scale commercial rice mills. However, there is still no reasonable breakpoint planning method to guide the multibreak milling process. To construct a reasonable multibreak milling system, in this research, taking rice milling, a typical heterogeneous cereal-kernel milling process, as an example, the multivariate analysis method was used to comprehensively analyze the characteristic changes of milled rice during the whole milling process. A breakpoint planning method was established, including planning the number of breakpoints, determining the degree of milling or milling time corresponding to each breakpoint, and estimating the actual breakpoint to which the milled rice belongs. The verification results showed the rationality and high accuracy of the planning method. The presented work will help operators to plan the multibreak milling system of rice efficiently and objectively so as to significantly improve the commercial value of milled rice.

Eccentric silo is an extremely common type of silo, but it is still unclear how to accurately control the discharge by adjusting eccentric orifices, limiting the application and development of eccentric silo. In this study, the rice particle discharging process on silos with different eccentricities was simulated by the discrete element method (DEM), and the influence mechanism of orifice eccentricity on silo discharge rate was analyzed. The results show that eccentricity has a direct influence on the particle volume fraction and vertical velocity that determine the discharge rate of the silo. In fully eccentric silo, it is not easy for particle flow to achieve balance, particles will pass through outlet with more kinetic energy. Moreover, continuous force network cannot be formed between particles with shear resistance, resulting in weak interlocking action between particles. The orientation of particle in fully eccentric silo is more vertical, especially near the silo wall, which will produce larger local particle volume fraction above the orifice. When the eccentricity exceeds the critical eccentricity, the sparse flow area on the discharge orifice becomes larger, and the particle acceleration area increases accordingly. Research findings may offer valuable insights for the accurate control of discharge rate of eccentric silo, as well as for optimizing silo design.