Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Commons^™

An Amplification-Free Crispr-Sers Biosensor For Specific, Sensitive And Rapid Detection Of Salmonella Typhimurium In Poultry, Fei Jia, Bingyan Li, Yawen He, Yafang Shen, Juhong Chen, Xingmin Li, Yanbin Li

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

CRISPR (Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) has been a cutting-edge biotechnology in both gene editing and biosensing due to its desirable features, such as high base resolution and set-and-forget operation. However, as a nucleic acid detection method, an DNA/RNA amplification procedure is still inevitable in CRISPR biosensors. In this study, a highly-ordered nanopore array SERS substrate, coated with silver nanoparticles, was fabricated and utilized as a platform for the specific detection of Salmonella Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) without the time-consuming DNA amplification step. The smart sensing strategy was established by introducing an ssDNA labeled with a Raman active molecule …

A Review Of Three-Dimensional Vision Techniques In Food And Agriculture Applications, Lirong Xiang, Dongyi Wang

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

In recent years, three-dimensional (3D) machine vision techniques have been widely employed in agriculture and food systems, leveraging advanced deep learning technologies. However, with the rapid development of three-dimensional (3D) imaging techniques, the lack of a systematic review has hindered our ability to identify the most suitable imaging systems for specific agricultural and food applications. In this review, a variety of 3D imaging techniques are introduced, with their working principles and applications in agriculture and food systems. These techniques include Structure lighting-based 3D imaging, Multiview 3D imaging system, Time of Flight (ToF)-based 3D imaging system, Lighting Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), …

Degredation Of Organic Pollutants In Flocculated Liquid Digestate Using Photocatalytic Titanate Nanofibers: Mechanism And Response Surface Optimization, Yiting Xiao, Yang Tian, Yuanhang Zhan, Jun Zhu

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Titanate nanofibers (TNFs) were synthesized using a hydrothermal method and were employed for the first time in this study to photocatalytically degrade organic pollutants found in flocculated liquid digestate of poultry litter. The photocatalytic performance of TNFs, with a bandgap of 3.16 eV, was tested based on degradation of organic pollutants and removal of color. Five combinations of pollutant concentration and pH were examined (0.2 to 1.3 g·L⁻¹ at pH 4 to 10). Central composite design (CCD) and response surface methodology (RSM) were applied in order to optimize the removal rates of volatile fatty acids (VFA) and chemical oxygen …

Alkaline Pretreatment And Air Mixing For Improvement Of Methane Production From Anaerobic Co-Digestion Of Poultry Litter With Wheat Straw, Yuanhang Zhan, Jun Zhu, Yiting Xiao, Leland C. Schrader

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Alkaline pretreatment (AL) and air mixing (air) both have the potential to improve anaerobic co-digestion (Co-AD) of poultry litter with wheat straw for methane production. In this study, the effects of the combination of AL (pH 12 for 12 h) and air mixing (12 mL·d⁻¹) on the Co-AD process were investigated. The substrate hydrolysis was enhanced by AL, with soluble chemical oxygen demand increased by 4.59 times and volatile fatty acids increased by 5.04 times. The cumulative methane yield in the group of Co-AD by AL integrated with air (Co-(AL + air)), being 287 mL·(g VS_added) …

Non-Energy Circular Economy Potential Of Rice Husks: A Techno-Eco-Environmental Assessment, Winfred Oppong Yeboah

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The non-energy circular bioeconomy potential of rice husks was examined via sustainability assessments, namely life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle impact cost assessment (LCICA), and techno-economic assessment (TEA). The study was conducted with three objectives. The first objective was to review previous studies on the non-energy utilization potential of rice husks by the method of meta-analysis. This review followed a systematic approach where research papers were collected following a defined set of criteria. The study revealed 16 key utilization pathways, all of which showed promising results. However, a comprehensive sustainability assessment was lacking in all of the pathways. The second …

Bio-Methane Production From Anaerobic Co-Digestion Of Poultry Litter With Wheat Straw Improved By Process Optimization And Employment Of Advanced Techniques, Yuanhang Zhan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Anaerobic co-digestion (Co-AD) of poultry litter (PL) and wheat straw (WS) for sustainable waste management and simultaneously renewable bioenergy generation was improved by advanced technologies including micro-aeration (MA), biochar addition (BC), nanoparticles supplementation (NP) and their integrations. Response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN) were used for the process modeling and optimization. First, a method by gradually increasing OLR was developed for the start-up of Co-AD of PL and WS in an anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (ASBR), with a continuous daily biogas production of (13.06 ± 0.21) L and methane content (MC) of (54.38 ± 0.53) % observed. …

The Influence Of Pesticides On Us Corn Production Environmental Impact: A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Of Dominant Production Practices, Kyle Marinoni Lawrence

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In recent years there has been increasing interest in reducing agricultural environmental footprints in the United States, particularly for commodity crops like corn grain. Pest management is one aspect of agricultural production that is often identified as having potential for improvement with regard to environmental impact, but there is not a robust body of literature to identify the wide-scale influence of pesticides on yield and environmental impact. In this study, we hypothesized that the use of different classifications of pesticides has a significant impact on the overall environmental impact. To test this, agricultural models were created to represent the dominant …

Analyzing Energy Use From Arkansas Public School Buildings, Oscar Morton

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Energy is a key global resource in society and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to the consumption of energy have detrimental effects on the planet. With energy consumption increasing, exponential population growth, and diminishing natural resources necessary for energy production, the relevance of energy efficiency is dramatically increasing. In this project, I analyzed energy usage data from a set of public school buildings from one school district in northwest Arkansas from 2018, before targeted energy efficiency practices were implemented, through 2022 to see if energy usage changed over this short period. The objectives of analyzing energy data were to determine …

Sustainability And Health Impacts Of Pulse Crops In The United States Using Life Cycle Assessment, Prathamesh A. Bandekar

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Environmental sustainability and human health impact of pulses produced and consumed in the United States was assessed using life cycle assessment (LCA). The study included three objectives 1) to estimate environmental impact of current production and consumption practices in the United States using attributional LCA; 2) to estimate environmental and human health impact of iso-caloric diets containing varying amounts of pulses using Hybrid-LCA and Combined Nutritional and Environmental-LCA (CONE-LCA); and 3) to estimate environmental impact of increased demand for pulses using consequential LCA. Scope of the study varied for each objective with system boundary encompassing cradle-to-grave activities for objective 1 …

Precision Weed Management Based On Uas Image Streams, Machine Learning, And Pwm Sprayers, Jason Allen Davis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Weed populations in agricultural production fields are often scattered and unevenly distributed; however, herbicides are broadcast across fields evenly. Although effective, in the case of post-emergent herbicides, exceedingly more pesticides are used than necessary. A novel weed detection and control workflow was evaluated targeting Palmer amaranth in soybean (Glycine max) fields. High spatial resolution (0.4 cm) unmanned aircraft system (UAS) image streams were collected, annotated, and used to train 16 object detection convolutional neural networks (CNNs; RetinaNet, Faster R-CNN, Single Shot Detector, and YOLO v3) each trained on imagery with 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.2 cm spatial resolutions. Models were …

A Novel Activated Biochar-Based Immunosensor For Rapid Detection Of E. Coli O157:H7, Abdus Sobhan, Fei Jia, Lisa Cooney Kelso, Sonatan Kumar Biswas, Kasiviswanathan Muthukumarappan, Changyong Cao, Lin Wei, Yanbin Li

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

E. coli O157:H7, one of the major foodborne pathogens, can cause a significant threat to the safety of foods. The aim of this research is to develop an activated biochar-based immunosensor that can rapidly detect E. coli O157:H7 cells without incubation in pure culture. Biochar was developed from corn stalks using proprietary reactors and then activated using steam-activation treatment. The developed activated biochar presented an enhanced surface area of 830.78 m2/g. To develop the biosensor, the gold electrode of the sensor was first coated with activated biochar and then functionalized with streptavidin as a linker and further immobilized with biotin-labeled …

The Effect Of Water Management And Ratoon Rice Cropping On Methane Emissions And Harvest Yield In Arkansas, Marguerita Leavitt

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sustainable intensification of rice farming is crucial to meeting human food needs while reducing environmental impacts. Rice produces 8% of all anthropogenic CH4, which is a potent greenhouse gas. CH4 emissions can potentially be reduced by cultivation practices that minimize the number of days the fields are saturated, such as dry-seeding instead of water-seeding and irrigation using the alternate wetting and drying (AWD) technique instead of delayed, continuous flooding (DF). Ratoon cropping, wherein a second crop of rice is grown from the harvested stubble of the first crop, can be used to produce additional yield with minimal labor, but may …

Transitioning To Sustainable Healthy Diets: A Model-Based And Conceptual System Thinking Approach To Optimized Sustainable Diet Concepts In The United States, Prince Agyemang, Ebenezer M. Kwofie, Jamie Baum

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Food production and consumption are essential in human existence, yet they are implicated in the high occurrences of preventable chronic diseases and environmental degradation. Although healthy food may not necessarily be sustainable and vice versa, there is an opportunity to make our food both healthy and sustainable. Attempts have been made to conceptualize how sustainable healthy food may be produced and consumed; however, available data suggest a rise in the prevalence of health-related and negative environmental consequences of our food supply. Thus, the transition from conceptual frameworks to implementing these concepts has not always been effective. This paper explores the …

The Environmental And Nutritional Dilemma Of Beef Production And Consumption, Hannah A. Swilling, Stefano De Rosmini, Brooke Lovan

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Based on previous studies, it has been stated that beef production and consumption in the United States is detrimental to the environment. However, in depth studies analyzing the change of beef production and consumption, the environmental impacts, the external costs, the lifestyle implications as well as the nutritional, the social and the cultural aspects of beef have not been conducted. The goal of this study is to analyze the multiple aspects of the dilemma over beef production and consumption. This was done through an analysis of beef production and consumption data over the past 60 years to determine how it …

An Engineering And Economic Analysis Of The Implementation Of The Carbo Rock-It, Lydia Huck

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The patented Carbo Rock-It system was developed to carbonate beverages for the craft brewing industry with the goal of reducing time, cost, and environmental impacts of the carbonation process. This research field tests, models, analyzes and optimizes the engineering and economic performance of a commercial-scale Carbo Rock-It placed in production at an operating brewery (Core Brewing and Distilling Co., Springdale, AR). Field tests indicated that the Carbo Rock-It was able to successfully carbonate twelve 120 BBL batches of Scarlet Letter Seltzer to 3.0 vol/vol while meeting all beverage quality and safety requirements. The Carbo Rock-It was able to reduce carbonation …

Cyanobacterial And Microcystin Response To Nutrient Additions At Lake Fayetteville Throughout The 2021 Growing Season, Lillie Haddock

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) are becoming a global concern due to their increasing distribution, frequency, intensity, and the occurrence of toxins. While it is known that eutrophication influences algal blooms, there is less known about what triggers these HABs to produce toxins, especially microcystin. In this study, we conducted 21 community bioassays at Lake Fayetteville, a hypereutrophic reservoir in Fayetteville, Arkansas, from April-November 2021 to examine how the addition of phosphorous and nitrogen influence cyanobacteria concentrations, microcystin concentrations, and microcystin toxin production. These experiments included a control, nitrogen (1.0 mg/L as KNO3), low phosphorus (0.025 mg/L as K2HPO4), high phosphorus …

Modeling Leaf Area Index And Canopy Height Using Growing Degree Days, Ellie J. Kuhn

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

As the global population increases and food security is recognized as a critical issue, crop growth prediction models help ensure the sustainability of reliable food sources. Using a prediction model based on temperature and simple, measurable field parameters, e.g., Leaf Area Index (LAI) or Canopy Height (H_can), may allow farmers and others to intervene mid-season with fertilizer, irrigation, or other inputs to obtain a better harvest.

This study aims to create a general model that could predict LAI and H_can values for numerous rice varieties using Growing Degree Days (GDD) as the time scale. The models use …

Climate Change Impacts And Engineering Solutions, Dawson Oakley

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

With climate change entering the forefront of global issues, the need for sustainable practices that can provide for human welfare, social and economic development, and health has become more urgent than ever. Despite the recent increase in climate change impacts around the world, many people are still unaware of the severity of the situation. Changing public perception of these issues is the first step in enacting change and increasing accessibility to this information plays an important role.

Much of the information people consume today comes in the form of video, and it can be an effective tool to change knowledge …

Exploring The Effects Of Varied Land Use On Elemental Concentrations Within Streams, Logan Jennings

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

It is well documented that human activity influences the chemistry of surrounding waters. As such, it is possible that there is a link between land use within a watershed and the chemical composition of the stream. The objectives of this study are to determine if varied land use does affect the concentrations of macronutrients and trace elements present in the streams of Northwest Arkansas, and if so, to determine what extent urban and agricultural development are responsible for these changes. Water samples were collected across 19 streams in the Northwest Arkansas region between January and March of 2022. Water samples …

Potato Processing In The Home: Sustainability And Nutritional Impacts, Aubin Payne

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Potatoes are the world's fourth most consumed crop. Their versatility and long shelf-life make them a staple food for millions of people worldwide. Still, the increasing consumption of highly processed potato products in developed countries has damaged the public's appreciation of potatoes as a valuable source of essential nutrients. Additionally, as public awareness of environmental sustainability increases, the average consumer is more likely to value processing methods that mitigate environmental damage.

Researchers simulated several home storage and processing conditions to find out how nutrition and environmental impact are affected by the home processing timeline. Then, a nutrient analysis, life cycle …

Sensory Comparison Of Beer Carbonated Using Forced Carbonation And The Carbo Rock-It, Michala Smith

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Craft brewing is a growing market which represents over 12% of beer produced in the United States. Dr. G Scott Osborn, PE invented the Carbo Rock-It™ to improve the carbonation process for craft breweries. The invention allows for shorter carbonation time and uses less CO₂, saving companies money and time. Because of the lack of gas losses through bubbling, Osborn theorized that the Carbo Rock-It could also prevent the “stripping of the nose” that can occur in traditional forced carbonation. Existing research supports the mechanism, as beer flavor and aroma volatiles have been detected during the release of …

The Use Of Electronic Nose In The Quality Evaluation And Adulteration Identification Of Beijing-You Chicken, Jingru Chen, Wenjie Yan, Yu Fu, Liang Wang, Xueze Lv, Ruitong Dai, Xingming Li, Fei Jia

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The objective of this study was to reveal the secrets of the unique meat characteristics of Beijing-you chicken (BJY) and to compare the difference of quality and flavor with Luhua chicken (LH) and Arbor Acres broiler (AA) at their typical market ages. The results showed the meat of BJY was richer in essential amino acids, arachidonic acid contents, inosine monophosphate (IMP), and guanosine monophosphate (GMP). The total fatty acid and unsaturated fatty acid contents of BJY chicken and LH chicken were lower than that of AA broilers, whereas the ratios of unsaturated fatty acids/saturated fatty acids (2.31) and polyunsaturated fatty …

Review: Biological Engineering For Nature-Based Climate Solutions, Benjamin R. K. Runkle

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Nature-based Climate Solutions are landscape stewardship techniques to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase soil or biomass carbon sequestration. These mitigation approaches to climate change present an opportunity to supplement energy sector decarbonization and provide co-benefits in terms of ecosystem services and landscape productivity. The biological engineering profession must be involved in the research and implementation of these solutions—developing new tools to aid in decision-making, methods to optimize across different objectives, and new messaging frameworks to assist in prioritizing among different options. Furthermore, the biological engineering curriculum should be redesigned to reflect the needs of carbon-based landscape management. While doing …

Water Quality Concentration Trends And Loads Identify Management Needs In The Lake Wister Watershed, Abbie L. Lasater, Brian Haggard

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Trend analyses of water quality seek to determine whether concentrations of constituents have increased or decreased over time, which can show the effectiveness of management practices or the need for pollutant reduction. The Poteau River watershed (PRW) is a transboundary watershed across Arkansas and Oklahoma and, in Arkansas, has been listed as a priority watershed within the Arkansas Nonpoint Source Pollution Plan since 1998. The Poteau River, Black Fork, and Fourche Maline within the PRW flow into Lake Wister, which is an important reservoir for recreation, fishing, and waterfowl hunting for residents and tourists around eastern Oklahoma. The purpose of …

Low-Cost Solar Collectors To Pre-Heat Ventilation Air In Broiler Houses, Yi Liang, Michael Janorschke, Chad E. Hayes

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of a low-cost solar collector to pre-heat ventilation air in commercial broiler buildings on supplemental heating demand and air quality during the cold season. Six black fabric-based solar collectors of 36 m(2) each were installed on the south-facing rooftop of a broiler house. The solar collectors provided fresh warm air into the house during the ON cycle of minimum ventilation and during the OFF cycle of minimum ventilation when the temperature under the collectors met certain criteria. The daily cumulative duration of solar collectors in operation averaged 125 and 133 …

Cradle-To-Grave Life Cycle Assessment Of Production And Consumption Of Pulses In The United States, Prathamesh A. Bandekar, Ben Putman, Greg Thoma, Marty Matlock

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Environmental impact associated with production and consumption of pulses in the United States was evaluated using life cycle assessment (LCA). The system boundary was set to cradle-to-grave with a functional unit of 60 g (dry basis) of pulses consumed in a US household. Varieties of pulses modeled in the study included field pea (Pisum sativum), lentil (Lens culinaris), chickpea (Cicer arietinum), and dry bean. Three methods of cooking pulses at the consumer stage tested in the study were cooking in open vessel on electric cooking range (OVC), cooking in stovetop pressure cooker on electric cooking range (SPC), and cooking in …

Identification Of Phosphorous Loading Point Source Facilities To 303(D) Listed Nutrient Impaired Waters Through Watershed Delineation Using Arcgis For Life Cycle Assessment Applications, John Zimmerman

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The work done for this project is part of a larger “life cycle assessment (LCA) of novel electrochemical phosphorus recovery technology at the wastewater treatment plant and U.S. watershed scales” (Morrissey 2019). The goal of that LCA is to determine “environmental impacts of implementing electrochemical struvite recovery at the wastewater treatment plant, U.S watershed, and global scales” (Morrissey 2019). This project’s goal is to identify locations deemed more sensitive to eutrophication impacts. The results will be used as part of the life cycle inventory (LCI) accounting for geographically explicit phosphorus flows. The waters identified as impaired were sourced from the …

Greenhouse Tomatoes: Process Simulation, Juan Gabriel Marin Jr.

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Growing population demand and challenges brought on by climate change have spurred the need for more resilient fruit and vegetable supply chains. One agricultural technology of significant interest is the use of greenhouses for food production. Greenhouses create a stable and adaptable environment for crops such as tomatoes to grow year-round. Fresh tomatoes are the second most consumed vegetable per capita in U.S. diets, currently averaging 20.7 pounds. The growing consumption of fresh tomatoes has been the result of increasing cultural diversity in the United States.

To meet the growing demand, Venlo-type greenhouses have been frequently used by growers. It …

Optimization Of Nitrogen Removal Rate In One-Stage Reactor Through Partial Nitrification Anammox Process During Direct Treatment Of Poultry Litter Wastewater, Yiting Xiao

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Anammox is an increasingly common process used for the treatment of reject water and even mainstream wastewater due to its low oxygen demand. However, anammox is not commonly utilized in the direct treatment of poultry litter because of the high organic content, which would inhibit the anammox process. Thus, this project is aimed at optimizing the nitrogen removal rate through partial nitrification anammox process (PN/A) to treat synthetic poultry litter wastewater. Nitrogen removal efficiencies will therefore be improved through optimizing the combination of three operating parameters including hydraulic retention time (HRT), dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration, and carbon to nitrogen (C/N) …

Evapotranspiration In Mid-South Rice Production, Colby Wade Reavis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rice provides much needed sustenance to a large portion of the global population, particularly in the developing world. With stress placed on food production systems under the reality of climate change and an increasing global population, rice production systems require solutions to a number of issues, including a limited water supply. As producers explore new strategies for conserving local water resources to continue to maintain yields, new irrigation strategies and technologies are being developed and validated for use at commercial production scales. Alternate wetting and drying (AWD) is an irrigation practice that provides water savings through the capture of rainfall …