Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Commons^™

Development Of Food Packaging Films Based On Cellulose Nanocrystals (Cncs), Cong Chen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Food packaging provides means to mitigate food spoilage caused by microbes and environmental exposure, as well as prolonging the shelf life of food products in a cost-effective manner that industry and consumers desire while minimizing environmental impact. However, conventional plastics are unsustainable, nonrenewable, as well as nondegradable, and coupled with single-use culture can cause serious environmental pollution and the loss of resources. Taking the above issues into consideration, bio-based materials with the required properties are desirable to address the end-of-life issues for packaging.

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), as a major type of cellulose nanomaterials are directly extracted from renewable biomass resources …

A Maturity Assessment Model For Digital Twin-Value Stream Technology In Greenhouses, Helia Norouzi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With the rise in the global population, Greenhouse farming (GF) can help the agriculture sector by enabling year-round plant production regardless of location, climate, and other environmental factors. However, this will be realized when they can properly manage their production processes and limited resources. The lack of accurate and sufficient data is a significant barrier to traditional GF, and growers make daily decisions based on expenses rather than actual needs. A Digital Twin at their value stream level (DT-VS) is an emerging technology that can benefit this industry by giving decision-makers more precise insight into their business. However, to employ …

Effectiveness Of Atmospheric Cold Plasma In Inactivating Microorganisms, Nadee Shanika Kaluwahandi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the food processing industry, Cold Plasma (CP) is an emerging green process with a number of potential applications. Cold plasma has mostly been used to reduce microbial counts in foodstuffs and biological materials as well as in different levels of packaging, particularly in cases where there is thermal sensitivity. Recent studies have demonstrated that CP technology is being developed for use in the food and agriculture industries. The primary focus is on the interactions between reactive species and food-borne microbes to inactivate them. The literature review discusses both proven and potential applications for cold plasma in food processing, as …

Biobased Packaging Materials From Cellulose Nanofibrils Produced From Virgin Wood Pulp Or Recycled Cardboard Pulp, Md Ikramul Hasan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Self-standing cellulose nanofibril (CNF) films are regarded as one of the promising alternatives to current petroleum-based packaging materials. The mechanical and barrier properties of CNF films are not yet up to the mark for certain applications, especially at high relative humidity. Those properties of CNF films can be tuned by the drying methods of films, degree of fibrillation, cross-linking, and controlled shrinkage. A comprehensive understanding of these processes and their influence on the structure and properties of CNF films have been presented in this thesis.

First, we prepared CNF films from CNF suspensions with two different degrees of fibrillation- standard …

Quantifying Spatial Heterogeneity Of Wild Blueberries And Crop Water Stress Monitoring Using Remote Sensing Technologies, Kallol Barai

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The wild blueberry is one of the major crops of Maine, with significant economic value and potential health benefits. Due to global climate change, drought impacts have been increasing significantly in recent years in the northeast region of the USA, causing significant economic losses in the agricultural sectors. It has been predicted to increase further in the future. Changing patterns of the elevated atmospheric temperatures, increased rainfall variabilities, and more frequent drought events have made the wild blueberry industry of Maine vulnerable, suggesting the adoption of novel approaches to mitigate the negative impacts of global climate changes. Also, wild blueberry …

Assessment Of Aged Woodchip Bioreactor Physical And Hydraulic Properties, Shelby Duncan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Denitrifying woodchip bioreactors are a critical tool for mitigating nitrate loading to downstream water bodies. The properties of the woodchip are a key factor in the design of the bioreactor which are usually designed to optimize that retention time of the water being treated. Retention time is affected by active flow volume, porosity, and flow rate. As a bioreactor ages, the carbon material will break down and, in some cases, sedimentation will occur within the bioreactor. Both processes will affect the porosity and hydraulic performance of the bioreactor. When flow through the bioreactor is significantly different than the original design, …

Managing Water Quantity And Quality With Subsurface Drainage In Eastern South Dakota, Morghan Hurst

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Moisture extremes (excess and deficit) impact crop loss and water quality. Due to excessively wet springs and dry summers, crop damage can occur within the same county or field within the same year. To determine the magnitude of this problem in eastern South Dakota, indemnified crop insurance data for drought and excessive moisture claims were assessed for the years 1991-2020 for the occurrence of both excess moisture and drought in four counties in eastern South Dakota. Results show that there is greater than a 70% chance of the moisture extremes happening in the same year, making subsurface drainage, controlled drainage, …

Understanding The Adhesion Mechanism In Mycelium-Assisted Wood Bonding, Wenjing Sun

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The increasing environmental awareness has led to an increased interest in developing more sustainable materials as alternatives to petroleum-derived products. Among different nature-based products, fungal-mycelium-based bio-composites have gained considerable attention in various applications. Multiple materials with different densities and structures and potential applications can be fabricated by inoculating filamentous white-rot fungi in lignocellulosic materials and other substrates. Different from lower-density as-grown foam-like mycelium composites, higher-density mycelium-lignocellulosic panels have the potential to replace commercial particleboard and fiberboard bonded by petroleum-based resins. This kind of composite can be produced by directly adding heat and pressure to the low-density foams or by assembling …

Rational Design Of Advanced Functional Materials For Electrochemical Devices, Shun Lu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, there has been a fast-growing trend in developing urea (CO(NH2)2) as a substitute H2 carrier in energy conversion due to its high energy density, nontoxicity, stability, and nonflammability. Urea, a byproduct in the metabolism of proteins and a frequent contaminant in wastewater, is an abundant compound that has demonstrated favorable characteristics as a hydrogen-rich fuel source with 6.7 wt % gravimetric hydrogen content. Also, there is 2-2.5 wt % urea from mammal urine; therefore, 0.5 million ton of additional fuels will be produced per year just from human urine (240 million ton each year). Electrochemical oxidation has …

Development Of Bio-Based Nanocomposites For Biosensor And Indicator Applications In Smart Food Packaging, Abdus Sobhan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Smart food packaging based on biosensors has been attracting more and more interest to the industrial community because of the concerns of food quality and safety. A food packaging with biosensor has a scope to enable real-time monitoring of microbial breakdown products of packaged foods. Furthermore, one of the biggest challenges in implementing biosensor for smart packaging materials is the development of bio-sensing active materials that can leverage their electrical, thermal, biodegradable and other functional properties. In this regard, nanocellulose-based activated carbon (NAC) nanocomposite was developed using the activated carbon and nanocellulose gel using the casting method with their different …

Develop Biochar-Based Controlled Release Nitrogen Fertilizers, Zhisheng Cen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current efficiency of conventional nitrogenous fertilizers (e.g. urea, ammonium sulfate, etc.) in agricultural practices is low, fluctuating from 30 to 40%. Approximately 60% of nitrogenous fertilizers were wasted due to vaporization into the air, runoff or leaching into water systems. The lost nitrogen (N) resulted in not only high production cost but also serious environmental problems, such as greenhouse gas (N2O) emission in the atmosphere, algal blooms, oxygen depletion, fish kills, and loss of biodiversity in surface water due to eutrophication or pollution. To address these problems, this study aimed to utilize low-cost biochar-based materials to develop a controllable, …

Nitrate And Phosphate Removal From Denitrification Bioreactors Using Woodchips, Steel Chips And Agricultural Residue Media, Abdoul Aziz Kouanda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nitrate and phosphate present in agricultural subsurface drainage water can impact surface water quality thus impacting the environment and human health by causing eutrophication and Methemoglobinemia in young infant. Biological denitrification and phosphate adsorption filters are treatments options that can help reduce nitrate and phosphate concentration from agricultural subsurface drainage before it can be discharged in surface water. The first objective of this dissertation was to determine the Michaelis-Menten kinetics model parameters for nitrate removal in bioreactors using the fresh, aged, and composted woodchips. The composted woodchips achieved a denitrification rate 2.4 times higher than the fresh woodchips which was …

Quantifying The Impacts Of Land Use, Management And Climate Change On Water Resources In Missouri River Basin, Arun Bawa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A location-specific evaluation of hydrological landscape responses concerning past and projected climate and land use land cover (LULC) changes can provide a powerful intellectual basis for developing efficient and profitable agroecosystems, and overcoming uncertain and detrimental consequences of LULC and climate shifts. This dissertation assessed the impacts of land use, management, and climate change on water resources in the Missouri River Basin (MRB) through four specific studies that included: (i) to study the responses of leached nutrient concentrations and soil health to winter rye cover crop (CC) under no-till corn (Zea mays L.)-soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation, (ii) to …

Bio-Inspired Materials For Electrochemical Sensors, Matthew Joseph Hummel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Electrochemical biosensors are a rapidly growing research area that has greatly improved its specificity, accuracy, and precision in the detection of biomolecules in contemporary literature and industry alike. Typically, these systems exist in a three-electrode conformation with a working electrode functioning as the anode, a counter electrode functioning as the cathode, and a reference electrode allowing for the control of potential in the system. The method by which these sensors work is through the sharing of electrons via redox reactions with the target molecule and the working electrode or modifications on its surface. By exploiting the function of biomaterials that …

Evaluating And Predicting The Risk Of Algal Blooms In A Freshwater Lake Through A 4-Dimensional Approach: A Case Study On Lake Mitchell, Sumit Kumar Ghosh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Excessive algal growth in freshwater lakes can negatively impact ecosystems, recreation, and human health. Though algae are a natural part of freshwater ecosystems, elevated nutrient loading from anthropogenic and natural sources can lead to algal blooms. Both algae and blue-green algae (BGA) are responsible for algal blooms; however, BGA (cyanobacteria) is more dangerous. The first objective of this research was to prepare a conceptual model to understand how various environmental variables affect algae. This conceptual model was used to choose the environmental variables that help increase or decrease algae in the water environment. The second objective was to develop empirical …

Long Term Evaluation Of E. Coli Removal From Stormwater Using Recycled Steel Byproducts, Brenden Olevson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Stormwater runoff often carries a variety of pollutants and pathogens that can endanger public health and wildlife. One contaminant of concern often highlighted in stormwater quality is Escherichia Coli (E.Coli) because its presence indicates microbial contamination in water. Different types of media filtration are being studied to reduce contaminant concentrations in stormwater. In this study, steel byproducts were examined as a potential material to use in media filtration to remove E. Coli and other contaminants from stormwater. Batch scale studies were conducted in laboratory to evaluate the E. Coli removal potential of steel chips and steel slag over a 24-hour …

Using Computational Fluid Dynamics To Accurately Model Agricultural Spray Nozzles, Zachary Chapman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a tool used by engineers in many industries to study fluid flow. A relatively new industry to adopt the use of CFD is the agricultural industry. The present work seeks to understand whether CFD can be used to accurately model spray nozzles. A spray nozzle commonly used in agricultural spraying was simulated. First, the impact of factors such as mesh size, mesh type, and physics models have on the solution were investigated. Next, a method to pulse the spray was determined. This was required to compare simulation results with experimental data. A user-defined function was …

Understanding The Effect Of Single- And Twin-Screw Extrusion Processing Parameters On Physical And Physico-Chemical Properties Of Sprouted Quinoa And Sprouted Proso Millets, Gabriela John Swamy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

According to Mordor Intelligence Research, the new compositional research and moisture content extrusion process are helping the growth of the plant protein market. The demand for plant proteins is growing at a fast rate, owing to change in lifestyle, lack of balanced dietary intake, and improved research and development in order to develop new kinds of plant-protein enriched products. It is necessary to identify the right plant protein sources and choose the right processing methodology to create highly digestible foods which can be consumed by infants and elderly as well. In addition, it is important to support local farmers and …

Monitoring Methods And Performance Assessment For Implementation Of Low Impact Development Practices In South Dakota, Farhana Akhter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Urbanization increases impervious surface area, which changes the hydrology of a watershed. Impervious surfaces prevent the infiltration of stormwater water into the ground surface which results in a higher volume of stormwater runoff and higher peak flow. Low Impact Development (LID) practices help to restore pre-development hydrology by increasing infiltration, evaporation, and transpiration. While the hydrologic performance of LID practices has been studied extensively and continues to be an area of active research, there has been very limited monitoring or demonstration of LID practices in South Dakota. In addition, municipalities in South Dakota and elsewhere that implement new LID practices …

Internet Of Things Based Wireless Sensor Network And Advanced Machine Learning Models For Precision Agriculture, Ahmed El-Magrous

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent studies assumed that the world population would reach 10.3 billion by 2070. This will require more land for housing; simultaneously resulting in a loss of land for agricultural purposes. However, the new generations also need food, and the lack of new agrarian land is a critical reason that leads researchers and producers to improve daily agriculture practices by using precision agriculture concepts and technologies to increase yield and crop quality. This work represents the design, development, and testing of a customizable and cost-effective Weather-Soil Sensor Station (W-SSS) for use in Precision Agriculture based on high accuracy sensors, wireless communication, …

Purification Of Biomass Hydrolyzates For The Promotion Of Xylose Diester Formation, Laura Fernandez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The application of a novel xylose isolation procedure using phenyl boronic acid esterification has been limited to the hydrolyzates of low extractive biomasses like hardwoods and agricultural resides. Hydrolyzates with lower sugar and higher extractive concentrations, like softwoods, have not yielded xylose, or even xylose diester (XDE), the first intermediate product in the new process, under the same conditions. This research applied evaporation concentration, adsorbent separation and membrane filtration to these lower performing biomass hydrolyzates to maximize the yield of the XDE formation step of the new xylose extraction process. Lab-scale tests of these techniques were applied to pine hydrolyzate …

Influence Of Mechanical Properties Of Paper Coating On The Crack At The Fold Problem, Seyyed Mohammad Hashemi Najafi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Paper coating layers are subject to various stresses and deformations in many converting processes such as calendering, printing, slitting, and folding of the paper. In some cases, products may crack during folding to generate a defect called cracking at the fold (CAF). The parameters that influence these defects are not well understood. The overall goal of this thesis is to better understand the CAF behavior as related to material properties of the coating layer.

A method was developed to produce free-standing pigmented coating layers thick enough to be tested in bending as well as tension. The mechanical properties of these …

The Effect Of Edge-Of-Field Nutrient Management Practices On Microbial Concentrations In Subsurface Drainage Water And The Associated Risk Of Antibiotic Resistance Dissemination, Sara Mardani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many in-field and edge-of-field management practices have been used to reduce nutrient loads from agricultural fields. The denitrification woodchip bioreactor (WB) is one edgeof- field management practice that has proven to be effective in removing nitrate from subsurface drainage water. The success in nitrate removal achieved with WBs has raised interest in expanding their capabilities for removing other agricultural pollutants, including phosphorus, by using other types of media like phosphorus-sorbing filters or combining these filters with woodchips to remove both nitrate and phosphorus as dual-nutrient removal systems. Despite the extensive research done on WBs and nutrient filter materials, little consideration …

Modeling Runoff From Small Agricultural Watersheds In Eastern South Dakota, Bryce Siverling

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The capability to be able to consistently and accurately model any problem has potential time and money savings. The present study aimed to determine if the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Curve Number (CN) model or the more detailed Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) Model can consistently and accurately model runoff events from small agricultural fields in Eastern South Dakota. The overall goal was to better understand models used to predict runoff and determine if they can produce accurate estimates of runoff from the watersheds being studied. Runoff measurements were collected from an agricultural field located south of Coleman, South …

Variability Of E. Coli In Streambed Sediments And Its Implication For Water Quality, Sadia Salam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), including E. coli, are the number one cause of water quality impairments in the United States according to the USEPA. FIB are used as a predictor to identify the possible presence of pathogens in waterbodies. E. coli is a useful indicator of gastrointestinal (GI) related illnesses from contact with fresh water. While surface water is routinely monitored for water quality, streambed sediments are rarely considered as a source of FIB to the overlying water column. This study focuses on understanding the variation of E. coli concentrations in streambed sediments and the potential impact of sediment sources …

Application Of Drainage Water Management And Saturated Buffers For Conservation Drainage In South Dakota, Abhinav Sharma

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Edge of field practices such as drainage water management (DWM) and saturated buffers can reduce nutrient transport from croplands to surface waterbodies. DWM uses stackable weir boards in a control structure to manipulate the water table depth throughout the cropping season and reduce the amount of nutrient rich water draining out from the field. Saturated buffers, on the other hand, use a control structure to divert water draining out from the cropland to a vegetative strip via a subsurface tile installed parallel to a waterway. For the saturated buffer systems, a combination of natural denitrification, nitrogen mineralization, and plant uptake …

Development Of Vegetation Mapping With Deep Convolutional Neural Network, Sae-Han Suh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Precision Agriculture plays a crucial part in the agricultural industry about improving the decision-making process. It aims to optimally allocate the resources to maintain the sustainable productivity of farmland and reduce the use of chemical compounds. [17] However, the on-site inspection of vegetations often falls to researchers’ trained eye and experience, when it deals with the identification of the non-crop vegetations. Deep Convolution Neural Network (CNN) can be deployed to mitigate the cost of manual classification. Although CNN outperforms the other traditional classifiers, such as Support Vector Machine, it is still in question whether CNN can be deployable in …

Measuring The Influence Of Bedding On Soil Nitrogen Losses And Corn Crop Nitrogen Characteristics For Fall Applied Solid Beef Cattle Manure In Eastern South Dakota, Mukesh Mehata

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nitrogen (N) is a major component of chlorophyll which plays a key role in the photosynthesis process in crops. The N is one of the highest demanded nutrients by all plants for their growth and reproduction. Manure or inorganic fertilizer is often applied to fulfill the crops’ N demand. However, the applied N sources have the potential of N losses in different forms from the soil volume in many ways such as ammonia (NH₃) volatilization, aerial nitrous oxide (N₂O) loss, nitrate (NO₃ --N) leaching, and runoff and/or erosion. Soil fertility, crop yield, water quality, and …

Evaluating E. Coli Particle Attachment And The Impact On Transport During High Flows, Louis Amegbletor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fecal indicator bacteria, including E. coli, are the leading cause of water quality impairments within assessed waters in the United States. The source of E. coli includes WWTP, leaking sewers, animal manure, wildlife, livestock, and stream bed sediment. Storm events contribute to bacteria loading within waters through wash-in of land sources of bacteria and resuspension of bacteria within sediments. Bacteria introduced into the water column are either attached to particles or are unattached (or free-living). The goal of this study was to examine the attachment of E. coli to different particle sizes, including their impact on contributing to water …

Development Of An Odor Management Plan For South Dakota, Suraiya Akter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Odor from livestock operations is often a nuisance to the neighborhood stakeholders and is one of the major environmental and societal issues associated with livestock industries. An odor management plan is not a requirement during the state permitting process of any livestock operation in South Dakota, but may be required to varying degrees for county level approval. Some neighboring states have developed odor management planning guides or templates which help address odor issues. Adoption of an odor management plan in SD can help address concerns of odor for the continuously expanding livestock industry in this state. Hence, an odor management …