Abstract Drying is a fundamental process in the food industry, especially for highly perishable foods, such as fruits and vegetables, because they tend to have short durability post-harvest, resulting in economic and environmental losses. The Refractance Window (RW) is a suitable technique for fruits and vegetables as it maintains the nutritional quality of the raw material in the dry product. Although RW is more energy-efficient than hot air-based techniques, the equipment traditionally consumes electricity, largely obtained from fossil fuels, emitting polluting gases. As a solution to this problem, hybridization of the heating system can be adopted in the drying process. Hybridization is when two or more heat transfer techniques are used in food dehydration. Renewable alternatives, such as solar energy, represents a clean and abundant energy source. The integration of these technologies (RW with solar energy) represents a technological improvement for the food industry, especially regarding environmental concerns. The present study analyzed the current progress in the integration of renewable energies into traditional RW for the drying of fruits and vegetables, as well as highlighted the existing knowledge gaps.

Removal of hydrocarbons from aqueous effluents using biosorbents was investigated. The effluent was simulated by a dispersion of gasoline (simple hydrocarbons) in water. Corn-cob, wood powder, coconut mesocarp and sugar-cane bagasse were used as adsorbents and their performance verified by means of batch experiments performed in an agitated vessel. The influence of input variables such as hydrocarbon concentration, mass of biomass and agitation level on the adsorbents' capacity was studied by means of factorial design. The results indicated that, among the materials studied, coconut mesocarp and sugar-cane bagasse can be considered promising biomasses for treating aqueous effluents contaminated by hydrocarbons.