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Soil Health Effects And Stakeholder Perceptions Of Manure And Woody Biomass Application To Cropland In Nebraska, Linda R. Schott Dec 2018

Soil Health Effects And Stakeholder Perceptions Of Manure And Woody Biomass Application To Cropland In Nebraska, Linda R. Schott

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations and Theses

Organic products that have historically been viewed as waste products may improve soil health by adding carbon (C) and nutrients to soil. Two such products are woodchips, generated from forest or rangeland management activities, and livestock manure. In Nebraska, eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana L.) is a native but invasive tree species inhibiting rangeland productivity. Livestock manure that is underutilized while inorganic fertilizers are imported for crop production presents a water quality risk by contributing to local- and regional-scale nutrient imbalances. Increasing the responsible use of livestock manure in crop fertility programs to improve sustainability of both livestock and crop farms …


Linking Lignin Source With Structural And Electrochemical Properties Of Lignin-Derived Carbon Materials, Wenqi Li, Yan Zhang, Lalitendu Das, Yikai Wang, Mi Li, Namal Wanninayake, Yunqiao Pu, Doo Young Kim, Yang-Tse Cheng, Arthur J. Ragauskas, Jian Shi Nov 2018

Linking Lignin Source With Structural And Electrochemical Properties Of Lignin-Derived Carbon Materials, Wenqi Li, Yan Zhang, Lalitendu Das, Yikai Wang, Mi Li, Namal Wanninayake, Yunqiao Pu, Doo Young Kim, Yang-Tse Cheng, Arthur J. Ragauskas, Jian Shi

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Valorization of lignin to high-value chemicals and products along with biofuel production is generally acknowledged as a technology platform that could significantly improve the economic viability of biorefinery operations. With a growing demand for electrical energy storage materials, lignin-derived activated carbon (AC) materials have received increasing attention in recent years. However, there is an apparent gap in our understanding of the impact of the lignin precursors (i.e., lignin structure, composition and inter-unit linkages) on the structural and electrochemical properties of the derived ACs. In the present study, lignin-derived ACs were prepared under identical conditions from two different lignin …


Anaerobic Digestion Of Aqueous Pyrolysis Condensate, Connie Wen Aug 2018

Anaerobic Digestion Of Aqueous Pyrolysis Condensate, Connie Wen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Lignocellulosic material can be subjected to pyrolysis to yield pyrolysis liquid, biochar, and gas. The pyrolysis liquid resulting from the condensation of vapours can be separated into a rich organic condensate and an acidic “aqueous pyrolysis condensate” (APC) which may be considered a waste. The target of this research is subjecting APC to anaerobic digestion to produce biogas that can be energy purposed, and to reduce the organic load of APC to acceptable levels for possible disposal. From this study, it was found that without any treatment, the inoculum requires 50 to 60 days of adaptation period to reduce the …


Performance Assessment Of Solid State Anaerobic Digestion Of Poultry Litter, Mason Puckett May 2018

Performance Assessment Of Solid State Anaerobic Digestion Of Poultry Litter, Mason Puckett

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The disposal of poultry litter can exert an economic and environmental burden to the agriculture community. As a result, it is desirable to reduce the amount of waste and recover resources from the waste. This study focuses on the construction and preliminary testing of a laboratory scale (20 L) solid state anaerobic digester (AD) fed with dry poultry litter. Glucose was added in addition to the poultry litter to achieve the appropriate C:N ratio to support the growth of anaerobic microorganisms. The AD was first fed every 4 days at 4 g VS/L/feeding for 24 days, rested (no feeding) for …


Toxicity Screening Of Biochar-Mineral Composites Using Germination Tests, Jan Mumme, Josephine Getz, Munoo Prasad, Ulf Lüder, Kern Jurgen, Ondrej Masek, Wolfram Buss Jan 2018

Toxicity Screening Of Biochar-Mineral Composites Using Germination Tests, Jan Mumme, Josephine Getz, Munoo Prasad, Ulf Lüder, Kern Jurgen, Ondrej Masek, Wolfram Buss

Articles

This study assessed the properties and toxicity (water cress germination trials) of 38 waste-derived, novel biochar-mineral composites (BMCs) produced via slow pyrolysis and hydrothermal carbonization (hydrochars). The biochars were produced from sewage sludge and compost-like output (CLO) by varying the type of mineral additive (zeolite, wood ash and lignite fly ash), the mineral-to-feedstock ratio and the carbonization process. While pure hydrochars completely inhibited germination of water cress, this effect was ameliorated by mineral additives. Seedlings grew best in pyrolysis chars and while wood ash addition decreased plant growth in many cases, 1:10 addition to CLO doubled germination rate. The factors …


Characteristics Of Activated Carbons Produced From Herbaceous Biomass Feedstock, Oluwatosin Jerry Oginni Jan 2018

Characteristics Of Activated Carbons Produced From Herbaceous Biomass Feedstock, Oluwatosin Jerry Oginni

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Energy security and environmental protection are at the forefront of research due to the forecasted depletion of fossil fuel reserves and the growing concern of its adverse environmental impacts. The use of renewable sources for energy applications has centered on the use of biomass feedstocks and this include from herbaceous, woody, agricultural waste, forest residues and municipal wastes. The thermochemical conversion (pyrolysis) of these biomass feedstocks has potential to produce liquid fuel, a solid residue (biochar) and non-condensable gas. The biochar is primarily composed of renewable porous carbon and other inorganic compounds. The biochar is used for soil amendment, adsorption …


Evaluation Of White Rot Fungus As A Pretreatment For Thermochemical Processing Of Switchgrass, Melody Embry Jan 2018

Evaluation Of White Rot Fungus As A Pretreatment For Thermochemical Processing Of Switchgrass, Melody Embry

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Hydrothermal liquefaction is a thermochemical technique for obtaining crude bio-oil from lignocellulosic biomass with moderate temperature and pressure. The crude bio-oil can then be upgraded to various biofuels and bioproducts. Hydrothermal liquefaction is amenable to use of biomass feedstocks that have high-moisture. The overall goal of this research is to demonstrate the effectiveness of white rot fungus (WRF) as a pretreatment option in the production of bio-oil from switchgrass through hydrothermal liquefaction. If WRF is an effective pretreatment, it could be a cost-effective option for commercialization, allowing hydrothermal liquefaction to be used on an industrial scale to produce high quality …


Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Beef Feedlot Surface Materials As Affected By Diet, Moisture, Temperature, And Time, Bryan L. Woodbury, John E. Gilley, David B. Parker, Bobbi S. Stomer Jan 2018

Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Beef Feedlot Surface Materials As Affected By Diet, Moisture, Temperature, And Time, Bryan L. Woodbury, John E. Gilley, David B. Parker, Bobbi S. Stomer

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

A laboratory study was conducted to measure the effects of diet, moisture, temperature, and time on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from feedlot surface materials (FSM). The FSM were collected from open-lot pens where beef cattle were fed either a dry-rolled corn (DRC) diet containing no wet distillers grains with solubles (WDGS) or a DRC diet containing 35% WDGS. The FSM were collected, air-dried or mixed with 3.0 L of water to represent dry or wet conditions, and then incubated at temperatures of 5°C, 15°C, 25°C, or 35°C. Static flux chambers were used to quantify GHG emissions over a 14-day period. …