Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Commons^™

Implementation And Field Calibration Pipeline Doppler Meters In Northern California, Stuart Styles

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority (TCCA) has been using SonTek Doppler flow meters at approximately 30 installations for about 3 years. TCCA is located in northern California with its headquarters in Willows. The Cal Poly ITRC compared the accuracy of the flow measurement readings from the new Doppler flow meters to the venturi meters that were installed by the US Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). The venturis were used as the historical standard for flow measurement for TCCA. TCCA has opted to move away from the existing technology for a variety of reasons, especially due to the issue concerning access requirements for …

Characteristics Of Irrigation Pump Performance In Major Irrigated Areas Of California, Charles Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Pumping data was collected from over 15,000 well and non-well pumps throughout the Sacramento, Salinas, and San Joaquin Valley groundwater basins of California. Each of these basins is divided into a number of subbasins. A map of the general layout is shown below (gray lines outside of basins represent county lines; gray lines inside basins represent subbasins).

Data was analyzed by basin and subbasin for well pumps and non-well pumps. For each pump type, averages were calculated based on:

• The whole basin
• Overall pumping plant efficiency (OPPE)
• kWh/AF
• Subbasins

General conclusions were drawn for each set of averages, and a …

Irrigation System Components And Potentials For Energy Conservation, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

On-site electricity conservation in irrigation can be accomplished through a series of general steps. The primary focus of the agricultural energy conservation programs of the utilities has been to improve the efficiency of the pumping plant. In general, the electric utilities have provided or subsidized pump testing, along with some form of rebate for replacement or repair of pumps. There are, of course, other irrigation-related aspects of energy conservation. However, this report focuses on on-site electricity conservation in the field.

Analysis Of Site-Specific Adjustment Applied To On-The-Go Soil Sensing Data For Agronomic Use, Allison K. Jonjak

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Successful variable-rate applications of agricultural inputs such as lime rely on the quality of input data. Systematic grid soil sampling is the most common method used for creating variable rate prescription maps. The insufficient number of point measurements usually obtained using this method has been primarily responsible for the typical inaccuracies seen in lime prescription maps. To increase sampling density, on-the-go sensing technology was developed for the mapping of soil pH and other relevant attributes. In this study, five fields in eastern Nebraska were mapped using both on-thego sensing technology and systematic grid sampling. Ten calibration points per field were …

Narrow Grass Hedge Control Of Nutrient Loads Following Variable Manure Applications, John E. Gilley, Lisa M. Durso, Roger Eigenberg, David B. Marx, Brian L. Woodbury

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

The effectiveness of a narrow grass hedge in reducing runoff nutrient loads following manure application was examined in this study. Beef cattle manure was applied to 0.75 m wide by 4.0 m long plots established on an Aksarben silty clay loam located in southeast Nebraska. Manure was added at rates required to meet none or the 1, 2, or 4 year nitrogen requirements for corn. Runoff water quality was measured during three 30 min simulated rainfall events. Manure application rate significantly affected dissolved phosphorus (DP) and total phosphorus (TP) loads in runoff on the plots without a grass hedge. However, …

Application Of Gis And Geographically Weighted Regression To Evaluate The Spatial Non‐Stationarity Relationships Between Precipitation Vs. Irrigated And Rainfed Maize And Soybean Yields, Vivek Sharma, Ayse Kilic, Isa Kabenge, Suat Irmak

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Understanding the relationship between the spatial distribution of precipitation and crop yields on large scales (i.e., county, state, regional) while accounting for the spatial non‐stationarity can help managers to better evaluate the long‐term trends in agricultural productivity to make better assessments in food security, policy decisions, resource assessments, land and water resources enhancement, and management decisions. A relatively new technique, geographically weighted regression (GWR), has the ability to account for spatial non‐stationarity with space. While its application is growing in other scientific disciplines (i.e., social sciences), the application of this new technique in agricultural settings has not been practiced. The …

Nutrient Runoff Following Manure Application, Chance Thayer

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A field study was completed to measure the effects of varying flow rate on nutrient transport following the application of varying amounts of beef cattle manure to plots containing either no-residue or a wheat residue cover. Beef cattle manure was applied and incorporated into the soil in May 2010 to meet zero, one, two, four or eight year corn phosphorus requirements. Simulated rainfall events were applied in June and July 2010. The presence of a crop residue cover significantly increased the transport of dissolved phosphorus, total phosphorus, NO₃-N, NH₄-N, and total nitrogen in runoff but decreased …

Economic And Environmental Sustainability Of Using Bio-Fuels For Small Nebraska Greenhouses, David M. Mabie

Department of Environmental Engineering: Theses and Student Research

The primary goal of this paper was to increase profitability in Nebraska greenhouses by using biomass fuels for heating instead of propane. Several different fuels were tested, including whole shelled corn, dry distiller’s grains pelletized, wood pellets and blends between each biomass. The main fuel focus was on whole shelled corn. Bomb calorimetry tests were performed on biomass fuels and their respective ashes. Several furnace and heat exchanger efficiency tests were performed, with cost effectiveness analysis for each fuel type. Emissions data was also collected for each fuel on carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides, sulfuric oxides, and particulate matter. …

Investigation Of Ash Deposition During Co-Firing Biomass/Peat With Coal In A Pilot-Scale Fluidized-Bed Reactor, Yuanyuan Shao

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Biomass, a promising alternative to fossil fuels, has been applied widely for energy generation by co-firing technology in recent year particularly in the EU countries. In this thesis, a key issue of biomass co-firing technology - ash deposition in combustion, co-combustion and gasification, was comprehensively investigated in a pilot-scale bubbling fluidized bed reactor. A custom-designed, air-cooled probe was installed in the freeboard zone of the reactor to simulate the heat-transfer surface and collect ash deposits from the process. A local lignite coal, a woody biomass (white pine), and a Canadian peat were involved in the tests. The main varying operating …

Agricultural Water Energy Efficiency: Final Report, Charles M. Burt, Dan J. Howes, Beau Freeman

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Beginning in 2007, the Irrigation Training and Research Center (ITRC) at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, contracted with the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program to undertake a large, multi-tiered study on agricultural water energy efficiency in California. The study was broken into the following research tasks: Task 1: Administrative; Task 2.1: Irrigation district energy survey; Task 2.2: Conversion to groundwater pumping with drip/ micro irrigation systems; Task 2.3: GIS-based water scheduling and software system; Task 3: Irrigation component energy analysis; Task 4: RD&D competitive solicitation; Task 5; Technology transfer. The resulting survey, research, …

Developing Criteria For Evaluating The Sustainability Of Emerging Energy, Kurt A. Rosentrater, Elif Kongar

Kurt A. Rosentrater

Over the last decade, the interest in and production of biofuels has grown rapidly. Renewable transportation fuels can be produced from a variety of substrates, using various processing strategies. Feedstock preference and factory scale are geographic dependent. However, it is important to understand the implications of deploying these types of systems on a large scale, both throughout the U.S. as well as globally. To assess the sustainability of various biofuel options, it is crucial to evaluate their performance according to a number of attributes. This has been done using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Even so, comparisons among biofuel options are …

Identification Of ‘Carbon Hot-Spots’ And Quantification 1 Of Ghg Intensities In The Biodiesel Supply Chain Using Hybrid Lca And Structural Path Analysis, Adolf Acquaye, Thomas Wiedmann, Kuishang Feng, Robert Crawford, John Barrett, Johan Kuylenstierna, Aidan Duffy, Lenny Koh, Simon Mcqueen-Mason

Articles

It is expected that biodiesel production in the EU will remain the dominant contributor as part of a 10% minimum binding target for biofuel in transportation fuel by 2020 within the 20% renewable energy target in the overall EU energy mix. Life cycle assessments (LCA) of biodiesel to evaluate its environmental impacts have, however, remained questionable, mainly because of the adoption of a traditional process analysis approach resulting in system boundary truncation and because of issues regarding the impacts of land use change and N2O emissions from fertiliser application. In this study, a hybrid LCA methodology is used to evaluate …

Intraseasonal Management Strategies For Deficit Irrigation, Isaac I N Mortensen

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Reduced availability of irrigation water to producers has led to the need for intraseasonal management strategies that efficiently use the limited supply of irrigation water. Historical weather data was used to develop a range of conditions experienced at the location. Sound weather data improves the dependability of management strategies. Data from weather stations on the Automated Weather Data Network and the Colorado AgMet network were evaluated based upon net radiation and dew point temperature observations expected in an irrigated agricultural setting. This weather data was used to create a relationship between the Penman-Montieth evapotranspiration (ET) and Hargreaves ET and …

Comparison Of Aquifer Sustainability Under Groundwater Administrations In Oklahoma And Texas, Aaron R. Mittelstet, Michael D. Smolen, Garey A. Fox, Damian C. Adams

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

We compared two approaches to administration of groundwater law on a hydrologic model of the North Canadian River, an alluvial aquifer in northwestern Oklahoma. Oklahoma limits pumping rates to retain 50% aquifer saturated thickness after 20 years of groundwater use. The Texas Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District’s (GCD) rules limit pumping to a rate that consumes no more than 50% of saturated thickness in 50 years, with reevaluation and readjustment of permits every 5 years. Using a hydrologic model (MODFLOW), we simulated river-groundwater interaction and aquifer dynamics under increasing levels of ‘‘development’’ (i.e., increasing groundwater withdrawals). Oklahoma’s approach initially would limit …

Electromagnetic And Heat Transfer Modeling Of Microwave Heating In Domestic Ovens, Krishnamoorthy Pitchai

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Microwave (MW) ovens are used extensively for heating a variety of not-ready-to-eat food products. It is vital to achieve target temperature uniformly throughout the food to inactivate foodborne pathogens to assure safety. Non-uniform heating of foods in microwave ovens is the major concern in assuring microbiological safety of such products. The non-uniform heating of foods in domestic microwave ovens is due to complex interactions of microwaves with foods. A comprehensive coupled electromagnetic and heat transfer model was developed using finite-difference time-domain based numerical method to understand the complex interaction of microwaves with foods. Simulation parameters such as cell size, heating …

Do Invasive Riparian Woody Plants Affect Hydrology And Ecosystem Processes?, Julie Huddle, Tala Awada, Derrel Martin, Xinhua Zhou, Sue Ellen Pegg, Scott Josiah

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

© 2011 Copyright by the Center for Greot Plains Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Estimation Of Land Surface Evapotranspiration With A Satellite Remote Sensing Procedure, Ayse Kilic, Ian Ratcliffe, Pariskhit Ranade, Kenneth Hubbard, Ramesh K. Singh, Babuarao Kamble, Jeppe Kjaersgaard

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

There are various methods available for estimating magnitude and trends of evapotranspiration. Bowen ratio energy balance system and eddy correlation techniques offer powerful alternatives for measuring land surface evapotranspiration. In spite of the elegance, high accuracy, and theoretical attractions of these techniques for measuring evapotranspiration, their practical use over large areas can be limited due to the number of sites needed and the related expense. Application of evapotranspiration mapping from satellite measurements can overcome the limitations. The objective of this study was to utilize the METRIC^TM (Mapping Evapotranspiration at High Resolution using Internalized Calibration) model in Great Plains environmental …

Review Of Gasoline, Diesel, And Ethanol Biofuels From Grasses And Plants. By Ram B. Gupta And Ayhan Demirbas., Adam Liska

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

A new book on the production of biofuels by Gupta and Demirbas provides technical insight into the conversion processes that could provide a range of domestic fuels from plant materials to substitute for foreign oil. It focuses primarily on conversion processes for production of cellulosic ethanol, Fischer-Tropsch diesel, pyrolysis bio-oil, and hydrothermal biocrude from biomass resources, as well as "first-generation" grain ethanol and biodiesel from vegetable oil. In addition to a detailed summary of these chemical processes, the book provides a briefer treatment of related matters such as biofuel policy, economics, and environmental issues. The book does discuss the limitations …

Economic Analysis Of Reverse Osmosis Desalination Of Water For Agricultural Irrigation Applications, Ashley Hemping

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The combination of an ever-increasing population and a diminishing usable water supply threatens the sustainability of humanity’s existence on a global scale, especially in California, where agriculture is so integral to the state’s economy. Due to widespread recognition of this problem, there has been a growing trend in the development of alternative water resources, one of which involves the desalination of salt or brackish waters. Several different desalination technologies exist, including microfiltration, multi-stage flash, and multi-effect distillation.

This senior project investigates the economic viability of implementing reverse osmosis desalination for treatment of agricultural wastewater or other unusable water sources. These …

Pipeline Design For Reclaimed Spill Water For West Stanislaus Irrigation District, Daniel Bays

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The goal of this project was to design a pipeline that could be installed to replace an existing drain in West Stanislaus Irrigation District. The pipeline would give the district the ability to divert drain water back into their delivery system or send water down the existing drain.

The design attempted to use pipe and material the district already has and provided construction drawings and installation instructions for the construction of this design in the future.