Engineering Commons^™

The Impacts Of Biopolymer-Ionic Liquid Interactions On The Utilization Of Lignocellulosic Biomass, Jing Wang

Doctoral Dissertations

In the bioenergy field, the recalcitrance of lignocellulosic biomass has been mainly attributed to lignin. Many ionic liquid (IL) pretreatments were performed to maximize the removal of lignin. However, those methods seriously degraded lignin and hemicellulose, and could generate lignin or hemicellulose for developing an integrated biorefinery that utilizes efficiently the whole biomass. To fulfill the requirements of the integrated biorefineries, this dissertation explored the interactions between biopolymers and IL for a better utilization of lignocellulosic biomass as feedstock. By removing a large portion of hemicellulose, through an autohydrolysis, this physical and chemical barrier for IL diffusion was dismantled and …

Organizing Historical Agricultural Data And Identifying Data Integrity Zones To Assess Agricultural Data Quality, Elizabeth Marie Hawkins

Open Access Dissertations

As precision agriculture transitions into decision agriculture, data driven decision- making has become the focus of the industry and data quality will be increasingly important. Traditionally, yield data cleaning techniques have removed individual data points based on criteria primarily focused on the yield values. However, when these methods are used, the underlying causes of the errors are often overlooked and as a result, these techniques may fail to remove all of the inaccurate data or remove “good” data. As part of this research, an alternative to data cleaning was developed. Data integrity zones (DIZ) within each field were identified by …

Design And Analysis Of A High Performance Valve, Jordan M. Garrity

Open Access Theses

Most valves available in the fluid power industry today are capable of achieving either a large flow rate or a quick response time; however, often they are unable to deliver both simultaneously. Commercially available valves that can produce both at the same time require complex geometries with multiple actuation stages and piloting pressures, making them expensive components. To establish their active usage in applications across the fluid power industry, a reduction in price for these components is paramount. The Energy Coupling Actuated Valve (ECAV) is capable of solving the large flow rates with fast actuation speeds trade-off by utilizing a …

Simulation Of Flow And Water Quality From Tile Drains At The Watershed And Field Scale, Colleen Moloney

Open Access Theses

Simulation models such as the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) have become widely used in determining the water quality impacts of various management practices. Ensuring that the algorithms accurately represent the processes simulated has become an important goal. Tile drainage is a standard practice in the Midwest, US in order to reduce risk of yield loss due to excess water. Multiple tile drainage and water table algorithms have been available in the SWAT model between the initial SWAT release and revision 638 used in this study. Testing of those algorithms is often limited. Furthermore, algorithms in the current version …

Mapping And Analyzing Energy Use And Efficiency In A Modified Hydroponic Shipping Container, Rachel E. Sparks

Open Access Theses

In urban centers today, vertical farming is becoming a popular alternative to conventional agriculture in an effort to increase local food production and improve urban food security by growing crops using hydroponic methods in controlled environment spaces. More specifically, one vertical method involves growing crops inside refurbished shipping containers, or a “farm-in-a-box” concept, which offers a flexible, mobile, and scalable means of year-round food production in a variety of climates. Despite benefits of producing food locally, some of the concerns associated with these vertical farming systems include high energy consumption from climate control and electric lighting systems as well as …

Laboratory And Full Boom-Based Investigation Of Nozzle Setup And Restriction Effects On Flow, Pressure And Spray Pattern Distribution, Shane H. Forney

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

Pesticide application is an integral part of crop production and ground-based agricultural boom sprayers are used extensively to apply pesticides to the crop canopy or soil surface across millions of acres in the United States. Efficient application is necessary to minimize costs and limit adverse environmental impacts. Errors in flow rate and system pressure measurements may cause as-applied maps to incorrectly indicate application rates and could negatively affect downstream data processing or analysis. The goals of this study were to provide quantified measurements on the effects of nozzle setup errors on spray pattern uniformity and evaluate how laboratory patternator data …

Enzymatic Liquefaction Of Untreated Corn Stover, Neal N. Hengge

Open Access Theses

There is an ever increasing need for renewable alternatives to fossil fuels derived from petroleum. This makes feedstocks in the form of lignocellulosic biomass attractive substrates for the production of ethanol and value added chemicals. However, the economics of converting lignocellulosic materials involve high processing costs attributed with pretreatment of the biomass and the use of enzymes for saccharification. Corn stover was obtained for the examination of an upstream processing step to transform the material into a pumpable slurry for subsequent pretreatment and saccharification. Biomass liquefaction was carried out using the enzyme Depol 692L (Biocatalysts, Wales, UK) at 50°C with …

Height And Pressure Test For Improving Spray Application, Anna Siebe, Joe D. Luck

UCARE Research Products

Pesticide application in agricultural fields affects a little over a million acres each year (USDA 2012). Current spray application equipment can automatically adjust nozzle flow rates in reaction to speed changes to maintain consistent application rates across the field. Uniform distribution of pesticides from the spray boom is critical to ensure proper crop care while minimizing negative environmental effects. Boom pressure and height are two primary factors that affect proper spray uniformity; however information on the combined effects of these factors are limited. The goal of this study was to provide end users with quantified data regarding the effects of …

Influence Of Application Technology On Foliar Fungicide Efficacy On Cercospora Sojina Infected Soybean, Shawn Alan Butler

Masters Theses

Due to the constant concern with off-target contamination and application technology requirements associated with future herbicide-tolerant crops, the use of drift-reduction nozzle technology (DRT) may increase. The primary objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of coarse droplets generated by drift-reduction nozzles on foliar fungicide efficacy and residual in soybean infected by frogeye leaf spot caused by Cercospora sojina. No differences in disease control, soybean yield, spray retention, and residual when applying Quadris Top SB, a premix of azoxystrobin and difenoconazole, using nozzles that produce either a medium or ultra coarse droplet spectrum were determined.

Due to …

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles For High-Throughput Phenotyping And Agronomic Research, Yeyin Shi, J. Alex Thomasson, Seth C. Murray, N. Ace Pugh, William L. Rooney, Sanaz Shafian, Nithya Rajan, Gregory Rouze, Cristine L. S. Morgan, Haly L. Neely, Aman Rana, Muthu V. Bagavathiannan, James Henrickson, Ezekiel Bowden, John Valasek, Jeff Olsenholler, Michael P. Bishop, Ryan Sheridan, Eric B. Putman, Sorin Popescu, Travis Burks, Dale Cope, Amir Ibrahim, Billy F. Mccutchen, David D. Baltensperger, Robert V. Avant, Jr., Misty Vidrine, Chenghai Yang

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Advances in automation and data science have led agriculturists to seek real-time, high quality, high-volume crop data to accelerate crop improvement through breeding and to optimize agronomic practices. Breeders have recently gained massive data-collection capability in genome sequencing of plants. Faster phenotypic trait data collection and analysis relative to genetic data leads to faster and better selections in crop improvement. Furthermore, faster and higher-resolution crop data collection leads to greater capability for scientists and growers to improve precision-agriculture practices on increasingly larger farms; e.g., site-specific application of water and nutrients. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have recently gained traction as agricultural …

Surface Waters: Ammonium Is Not Ammonia – Part 3, John E. Sawyer, Matthew J. Helmers

John E. Sawyer

Two previous ICM News articles outlined the difference between ammonium and ammonia, the relationship between the two nitrogen forms, and the implication of a combined (ammonium-N plus ammonia-N) analysis related to water quality criteria for aquatic life and chlorination treatment for drinking water.This article focuses on the potential sourcing of ammonium and ammonia in surface waters. Ammonium and ammonia in surface water systems can originate from many sources, and are naturally occurring forms of nitrogen. Predominant sources will vary on a watershed or sub-watershed basis. Also, sources and concentrations are greatly influenced by hydrology, including timing and volume of water …

N Management Influences On N Losses Through Tile Lines, Gyles W. Randall, John E. Sawyer

John E. Sawyer

Subsurface tile drainage from row-crop agricultural production systems has been identified as a major source of nitrate entering surface waters in the Mississippi River Basin. Tile drainage studies have been conducted on three drainage research facilities at two locations in Minnesota since 1973. Nutrient and crop management systems, including rate and time of nitrogen (N) application, N sources (fertilizer, dairy manure, and hog manure), nitrification inhibitors, cropping systems, and tillage systems have been evaluated to determine their agronomic and environmental characteristics. Results from these studies have been instrumental in the development of best management practices for nutrient management in Minnesota.

Equipment Considerations: Liquid Fertilizer, H. Mark Hanna, John E. Sawyer

John E. Sawyer

A review of application equipment considerations can help ensure that your nitrogen fertilizer is properly applied. This article focuses on liquid fertilizers and is the last in a series of three articles (other two in April 9, 2001, Integrated Crop Management issue) about nitrogen fertilizer application and equipment. A primary consideration for equipment is the relatively high application volumes required. For example, a 150-lb N/acre application of 28 percent UAN solution requires an application of 50 gal/acre.

Equipment Considerations: Anhydrous Ammonia, H. Mark Hanna, John E. Sawyer

John E. Sawyer

Because of abnormal nitrogen fertilizer production, import, and supply this year and with perhaps a short spring application season, some crop producers may use a form of nitrogen fertilizer with which they are unaccustomed. A review of application equipment considerations can help ensure that your nitrogen fertilizer is properly applied. This article focuses on anhydrous ammonia and is the second in a series of three articles about nitrogen fertilizer application and equipment.

Equipment Considerations: Dry Granual Fertilizer, H. Mark Hanna, John E. Sawyer

John E. Sawyer

A review of application equipment considerations can help ensure that your nitrogen fertilizer is properly applied. This article focuses on dry granular fertilizers and is the first in a series of three articles about nitrogen fertilizer application and equipment. Because of varying physical properties of dry fertilizer materials, it is important to consider material distribution across the swath as well as application rate.

Equipment Maintenance: Fertilizer Applicators, H. Mark Hanna, John E. Sawyer, Michael J. Tidman

John E. Sawyer

Winter is a good time for crop producers and fertilizer dealers to work out the kinks in fertilizer application equipment for economic, environmental, efficiency, and safety reasons. Properly working application equipment translates into getting the most out of every fertilizer dollar. Overapplying to compensate for poorly calibrated equipment wastes money and could mean nutrient-rich runoff and consequently, a potential water quality problem. This article provides some tips for maintaining your fertilizer application equipment.

Fertilizer And Swine Manure Management Systems: Impacts On Agronomic And Environmental Soil Phosphorus Tests And On Phosphorus Loss With Subsurface Drainage, Antonio P. Mallarino, John E. Sawyer, Jeremy Klatt, Rameshwar S. Kanwar, Carl H. Pederson, James L. Baker, Kenneth T. Pecinovsky

John E. Sawyer

Manure or fertilizer can be used to supply the phosphorus (P) needs of crops. However, excess P application increases the risk of P loss from fields and of water quality impairment through increased algae growth. Poor water quality in many Iowa lakes has prompted questions about the impact of P management practices on P loss from fields and the effectiveness of using agronomic soil tests for environmental purposes.

Fertilizer And Swine Manure Management Systems: Impacts On Crop Production And Nitrate-Nitrogen Leaching With Subsurface Drainage, Rameshwar S. Kanwar, Carl H. Pederson, James L. Baker, Antonio P. Mallarino, John E. Sawyer, Kenneth T. Pecinovsky

John E. Sawyer

Nutrient losses from row-crop land can cause nonpoint source water quality problems and “impaired waters.” Nitrogen (N) losses due to nitrate (NO3) leaching cause drinking water problems and possibly increase hypoxia (low oxygen) problems in the Gulf of Mexico. Phosphorus (P) losses can cause eutrophication problems in surface waters (lakes, streams, and reservoirs) in Iowa where algal blooms decrease oxygen, kill fish, and result in murky and bad tasting water. The U.S. EPA and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources are developing nutrient criteria/standards and implementation plans to address TMDL’s (Total Maximum Daily Load) and to improve the quality of …

Farm Energy: Energy Consumption For Row Crop Production, H. Mark Hanna, John E. Sawyer, Dana Petersen

John E. Sawyer

This publication provides an overview of farm energy use related to corn and soybean production in Iowa. Three areas of row crop production--field operations, fertilizer and pesticide application, and artificial drying--are used to illustrate on-farm energy consumption.

Farm Energy: Energy Conservation In Corn Nitrogen Fertilization, John E. Sawyer, H. Mark Hanna, Dana Petersen

John E. Sawyer

Optimum corn yields require nitrogen fertilization in most crop rotations, but the energy consumed during the production of nitrogen fertilizer is considerable. Learn more about maximizing economic, environmental, and energy returns for nitrogen and other fertilizers.

Annual Swine Manure Applications To Soybean Under Corn-Soybean Rotation, Allah Bakhsh, Rameshwar S. Kanwar, James L. Baker, John E. Sawyer, Antonio P. Mallarino

John E. Sawyer

The response of a corn-soybean rotation system receiving fall manure application to both corn and soybean is not well understood in terms of its impact on nitrate leaching to subsurface drainage water and crop yields. This field study was conducted from 2001 through 2005 with the key objective of determining the effects of manure application to both corn and soybean on NO3-N concentrations in subsurface drainage water and corn-soybean yields. The study was conducted on 0.4 ha plots instrumented with state-of-the-art subsurface drainage monitoring systems at the Iowa State University research center, Nashua, Iowa. Nitrogen application rates from liquid swine …

Application Checkpoints For Fall Ammonia, H. Mark Hanna, John E. Sawyer

John E. Sawyer

Depending on postharvest field conditions, some producers will soon be considering anhydrous ammonia application. Using fall labor to apply fertilizer can be attractive but needs to be balanced with the potential for nutrient loss. To avoid conversion of anhydrous ammonia from ammonium to more leachable forms of nitrogen, application should be delayed until average soil temperature is below 50°F and trending lower. Measure the 4-inch soil temperature at near 10 a.m. or 7 p.m. or check Iowa State University's county soil temperatures and forecast.

Impact Of Swine Manure Applications On Nitrate And Phosphorus In Subsurface Drainage Water, Rameshwar S. Kanwar, James L. Baker, Carl H. Pederson, Antonio P. Mallarino, John E. Sawyer, Kenneth T. Pecinovsky

John E. Sawyer

Nonpoint source nutrient pollution related to land application of manures is recognized as an important environmental and social issue for several reasons. First, manure from swine production facilities can have serious impacts on the quality of ground water resources. Second, several states are in the process of creating laws and/or regulations to reduce nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) loadings from manure to soil and water resources. Third, pollution of water resources from nutrients supplied by manure to croplands will help set parameters for developing public policies on the management of manure.

Impact Of Swine Manure Application On Water Quality, Rameshwar S. Kanwar, Carl H. Pederson, Matthew J. Helmers, John E. Sawyer, Antonio P. Mallarino

John E. Sawyer

Nonpoint source nutrient pollution related to land application of manures is recognized as an important environmental and social issue for several reasons. First,swine manure application to land can impact water quality. Second, several states are in the process of creating laws and/or regulations to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus loadings from manure to soil and water resources. Third, the quality of water resources will help set parameters for developing public policies on management of manure.

Production Of Bio-Based Phenol Formaldehyde Foams, Bing Li

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Considering the declining non-renewable fossil resources, there is increasing interest in the development of more environmentally conscious, sustainable and cost-effective substitutes for chemical production. Lignin, a main component in lignocellulosic biomass, has been considered to be a potential substitute for petroleum-based phenol due to its phenolic structure.

This PhD dissertation aimed at producing bio-based phenol formaldehyde (BPF) foams using bio-phenols, including but not limited to, kraft lignin (KL), organosolv lignin (OL), hydrolysis lignin (HL), and bio-crude oil from white birth bark. The challenge of the existing process of producing BPF foams is that a low phenol substitution ratio, generally less …

The Confounding Effects Of Particle Size And Substrate Bulk Density On Phanerochaete Chrysosporium Pretreatment On Panicum Virgatum, Amanda N. Hickman, Sue E. Nokes, William S. Sympson, Mathew J. Ruwaya, Michael D. Montross, Barbara L. Knutson

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Phanerochaete chrysosporium treatment is less effective as a biological pretreatment on feedstock with larger particle sizes. We hypothesized that the improved effectiveness of the pretreatment when smaller particle sizes are used may be due to the inherently higher bulk density with smaller particle sizes. The effects of substrate bulk density and particle size on the efficacy of P. chrysosporium pretreatment of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) was tested experimentally. Phanerochaete chrysosporium was grown on senesced switchgrass (2 different particle sizes) with various bulk densities. In all treatments, the fungal-pretreated samples released more glucose during enzymatic saccharification than the control sample. …

Producer Machinery And Labor Sharing Arrangements Workshops, Roger Ginder, William M. Edwards, Georgeanne M. Artz, Darren H. Jarboe

William Edwards

Four case studies were developed for Iowa farm operations that have successfully used machinery and labor sharing arrangements for intergenerational transfer of farm assets. Results were shared at workshops and through publication of a resource manual.

Ag Decision Maker: Combine Ownership Or Custom Hire, William M. Edwards, H. Mark Hanna

William Edwards

Includes advantages and disadvantages of custom hiring and information on estimating costs; includes worksheets.

Producer Machinery And Labor Sharing Arrangements Workshops, Roger Ginder, William M. Edwards, Georgeanne M. Artz, Darren H. Jarboe

William Edwards

Four case studies were developed for Iowa farm operations that have successfully used machinery and labor sharing arrangements for intergenerational transfer of farm assets. Results were shared at workshops and through publication of a resource manual.

Combine Harvester Econometric Model With Forward Speed Optimization, Nathan E. Isaac, Graeme R. Quick, Stuart J. Birrell, William M. Edwards, Bruce A. Coers

William Edwards

A combine harvester econometric simulation model was developed with the goal of matching the combine forward speed to the maximum harvested net income per acre. The model considers the machinery management costs of owning a combine and platform header for harvesting wheat. A statistical Design of Experiment (DOE) was used to evaluate the model using tri-level variables; the medium values constituted the model base case. Of the 27 input variables, the optimum speed was significantly influenced by the crop area, G/MOG ratio, grain unit price, field yield, field efficiency, grain moisture content, probability of a working day in the post-optimum …