Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Commons^™

2015 Nebraska Groundwater Quality Monitoring Report

Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality: Reports

The 2001 Nebraska Legislature passed LB329 (Neb. Rev. Stat. §46-1304) which, in part, directed the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) to report on groundwater quality monitoring in Nebraska. Reports have been issued annually since December 2001. The text of the statute applicable to this report follows: “The Department of Environmental Quality shall prepare a report outlining the extent of ground water quality monitoring conducted by natural resources districts during the preceding calendar year. The department shall analyze the data collected for the purpose of determining whether or not ground water quality is degrading or improving and shall present the …

Eight Principles Of Uncertainty For Life Cycle Assessment Of Biofuel Systems, Adam J. Liska

Adam Liska Papers

New environmental regulations in the USA and Europe require a reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation fuels as a component of climate change mitigation policy. The US Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) requires GHG emission reductions from the life cycles of biofuels compared to gasoline, by 20% for ethanol from maize grain (maize-ethanol), 60% for cellulosic ethanol, and 50% for other advanced biofuels. To determine these reductions, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) employs life cycle assessment (LCA) methods which were not used previously in national environmental regulations. These regulations, entitled the “Renewable Fuel Standard …

2015 Nebraska Water Monitoring Programs Report, Marty Link, Ryan Chapman

Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality: Reports

The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) is charged with monitoring, assessing, and to the extent possible, managing the state’s water resources. The purpose of this work is to protect and maintain high quality water and encourage or execute activities to improve poor water quality. Monitoring is done on nearly 17,000 miles of flowing rivers and streams, more than 134,000 acres of surface water in lakes and reservoirs, as well as the vast storage of groundwater in Nebraska’s aquifers.

Multistage Concentration Of Cenospheres In Fly Ash Using The Inverted Reflux Classifier, A. Kiani, J. Zhou, K.P. Galvin

Coal Combustion and Gasification Products Journal Archive

Cenospheres are one of the most valuable components found in the fly ash waste of coal-fired power stations, consisting of hollow, aluminosilicate spherical shells and offering very low bulk density, high strength, and high thermal resistance. Although wet processing methods offer the best prospect for achieving recovery and concentration of the cenospheres, significant impediments remain for achieving satisfactory economics. This work was concerned with the recovery and concentration of cenospheres from fly ash using a novel system, the inverted reflux classifier (IRC), covering single and multistage processing. The system consists of a series of parallel inclined channels mounted underneath an …

Practical Guide For Metergates, Charles M. Burt, Daniel J. Howes

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This document contains brief instructions on the use of special round canal gates called “metergates” for flow measurement.

Voc Emissions From Beef Feedlot Pen Surfaces As Affected By Within-Pen Location, Moisture And Temperature, Bryan L. Woodbury, John E. Gilley, David B. Parker, David B. Marx, Roger A. Eigenberg

Department of Statistics: Faculty Publications

A laboratory study was conducted to evaluate the effects of pen location, moisture, and temperature on emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) from surface materials obtained from feedlot pens where beef cattle were fed a diet containing 30% wet distillers grain plus solubles. Surface materials were collected from the feed trough (bunk), drainage, and raised areas (mounds) within three feedlot pens. The surface materials were mixed with water to represent dry, wet, or saturated conditions and then incubated at temperatures of 5, 15, 25 and 35 C. A wind tunnel and gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer were used to collect and quantify …

Characterization Of Dimethyl Sulfoxide-Treated Wool And Enhancement Of Reactive Wool Dyeing In Non-Aqueous Medium, Luyi Chen, Bijia Wang, Jiangang Chen, Xinhui Ruan, Yiqi Yang

Department of Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design: Faculty Publications

Wool pretreated with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was characterized and its dyeing behavior in non-aqueous green solvents was investigated. Reactive dyeing of wool in deep shades is challenging because the mandatory alkaline aftertreatment to match the fastness of mordant dyes inevitably causes damage to wool keratin. The current study showed that the colorfastness-integrity dilemma could be solved by replacing water with organic solvents as the dyeing medium. Covalent fixation is predominantly favored in solvent dyeing so that excellent colorfastness is achievable at any given shade without alkali aftertreatment. Compared with aqueous dyeing, solvent dyeing was found to give 30% higher covalent …

The Myth And The Meaning Of Science As A Vocation, Adam Liska

Adam Liska Papers

Many natural scientists of the past and the present have imagined that they pursued their activity according to its own inherent rules in a realm distinctly separate from the business world, or at least in a realm where business tended to interfere with science from time to time, but was not ultimately an essential component, ‘because one thought that in science one possessed and loved something unselfish, harmless, self-sufficient, and truly innocent, in which man’s evil impulses had no part whatever’, as Nietzsche once commented (Nietzsche 1974, p.106). With the extreme technological changes that have occurred in the last fifty …

Temporal Endogenous Gene Expression Profiles In Response To Polymer-Mediated Transfection And Profile Comparison To Lipid-Mediated Transfection, Timothy M. Martin, Sarah A. Plautz, Angela K. Pannier

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Background Design of efficient nonviral gene delivery systems is limited by the rudimentary understanding of specific molecules that facilitate transfection.

Methods Polyplexes using 25-kDa polyethylenimine (PEI) and plasmid encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP) were delivered to HEK 293T cells. After treating cells with polyplexes, microarrays were used to identify endogenous genes differentially expressed between treated and untreated cells (2 h of exposure) or between flow-separated transfected cells (GFP+) and treated, untransfected cells (GFP–) at 8, 16 and 24 h after lipoplex treatment. Cell priming studies were conducted using pharmacologic agents to alter endogenous levels of the identified differentially expressed genes …

Temporal Endogenous Gene Expression Profiles In Response To Lipid-Mediated Transfection, Timothy M. Martin, Sarah A. Plautz, Angela K. Pannier

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Background — Design of efficient nonviral gene delivery systems is limited as a result of the rudimentary understanding of the specific molecules and processes that facilitate DNA transfer.

Methods — Lipoplexes formed with Lipofectamine 2000 (LF2000) and plasmid-encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP) were delivered to the HEK 293T cell line. After treating cells with lipoplexes, HG-U133 Affymetrix microarrays were used to identify endogenous genes differentially expressed between treated and untreated cells (2 h exposure) or between flow-separated transfected cells (GFP+) and treated, untransfected cells (GFP–) at 8, 16 and 24 h after lipoplex treatment. Cell priming studies were conducted using …

Robust And Flexible Films From 100% Starch Cross-Linked By Biobased Disaccharide Derivative, Helan Xu, Hazal Canisag, Bingnan Mu, Yiqi Yang

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

In this research, oxidized sucrose, a novel aldehyde-based green cross-linker, endowed starch films with substantial improvement in both tensile strength and elongation, whereas many other cross-linkers did not. Starch films are usually weak, brittle, and highly moisture sensitive, and thus have restricted industrial applications. Cross-linking is one of the most common methods to tackle these problems. However, most of the available cross-linkers are either toxic, expensive, or with low cross-linking efficiencies. Oxidized sucrose is a green cross-linker with multiple aldehyde groups per molecule to cross-link starch molecules via forming hemiacetals/acetals. The starch films cross-linked with oxidized sucrose had tensile strength …

Bionanotechnology And The Future Of Glioma, Peter A. Chiarelli, Forrest M. Kievit, Miqin Zhang, Richard G. Ellenbogen

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Designer nanoscaled materials have the potential to revolutionize diagnosis and treatment for glioma. This review summarizes current progress in nanoparticle‑based therapies for glioma treatment including targeting, drug delivery, gene delivery, and direct tumor ablation. Preclinical and current human clinical trials are discussed. Although progress in the field has been significant over the past decade, many successful strategies demonstrated in the laboratory have yet to be implemented in human clinical trials. Looking forward, we provide examples of combined treatment strategies, which harness the potential for nanoparticles to interact with their biochemical environment, and simultaneously with externally applied photons or magnetic fields. …

Integrating Ecological And Engineering Concepts Of Resilience In Microbial Communities, Hyun-Seob Song, Ryan S. Renslow, Jim K. Fredrickson, Stephen R. Lindemann

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Many definitions of resilience have been proffered for natural and engineered ecosystems, but a conceptual consensus on resilience in microbial communities is still lacking. We argue that the disconnect largely results from the wide variance in microbial community complexity, which range from compositionally simple synthetic consortia to complex natural communities, and divergence between the typical practical outcomes emphasized by ecologists and engineers. Viewing microbial communities as elasto-plastic systems that undergo both recoverable and unrecoverable transitions, we argue that this gap between the engineering and ecological definitions of resilience stems from their respective emphases on elastic and plastic deformation, respectively. We …

Uncertainty Analysis Of An Irrigation Scheduling Model For Water Management In Crop Production, S. Mun, G. F. Sassenrath, Amy M. Schmidt, N. Lee, M. C. Wadsworth, B. Rice, Jason Q, Corbitt, J. M. Schneider, M. L. Tagert, J. Pote, R. Prabhu

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Irrigation scheduling tools are critical to allow producers to effectively manage water resources for crop production. To be useful, these tools need to be accurate, complete, and relatively reliable. The current work presents an uncertainty analysis and its results for the Mississippi Irrigation Scheduling Tool (MIST) model, showing the margin of error (uncertainty) of the resulting irrigation advice arising solely from the propagation of measurement uncertainty through the MIST calculations. The final relative uncertainty in the water balance value from MIST was shown to be around 9% of that value, which is in the normal range of the margin of …

Surface Energy Balance, Evapotranspiration, And Surface Coefficients During Non-Growing Season In A Maize-Soybean Cropping System, Lameck O. Odhiambo, Suat Irmak

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Surface energy balance components, including actual evapotranspiration (ET), were measured in a reducedtill maize-soybean field in south central Nebraska during three consecutive non-growing seasons (2006/2007, 2007/2008, and 2008/2009). The relative fractions of the energy balance components were compared across the non-growing seasons, and surface coefficients (K_c) were determined as a ratio of measured ET to estimated alfalfa (ET_r) and grass (ET_o) reference ET (ET_ref). The non-growing season following a maize crop had 25% to 35% more field surface covered with crop residue as compared to the non-growing seasons following soybean crops. Net …

Control System Development And Response Analysis Of An Electronically Actuated Variable-Orifice Nozzle For Agricultural Pesticide Applications, Joe D. Luck, S. A. Shearer, M. P. Sama, Santosh Pitla

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The goal of this research project was to further the development of an electromechanically controlled variable-orifice nozzle by creating an electronic control system and then evaluating that system based on step and ramp inputs. The control system was developed in a programming environment that combined an electronic data acquisition system and actuator with pressure and flow sensors. A proportional, variable-gain (based on system pressure) control system was developed to adjust nozzle flow rates to meet target application rates. The constraints were to achieve settling time of less than 1.0 s, overshoot of less than 10% of maximum flow (or minimum …

Flow, Spray Pattern, And Droplet Spectra Characteristics Of An Electronically Actuated Variable-Orifice Nozzle, Joe D. Luck, Santosh Pitla, M. P. Sama, S. A. Shearer

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate the flow rate, spray pattern, and droplet spectra characteristics of an actively controlled variable-orifice nozzle at constant carrier pressures. A commercially available variable- orifice nozzle (VariTarget) was modified to allow for direct electromechanical control of the metering stem. The modified system was tested at five carrier pressures ranging from 138 to 414 kPa and five metering stem (and thus orifice) positions. The metering stem position range was chosen because it provided a linear response in flow rate at each carrier pressure. Flow rate testing indicated a turndown ratio of 2.4:1 …

Strengthening Black Cotton Soil With Fly Ash And Moorum: An Investigation Of The Role Of Subgrade And Subbase Layers, Gourav Saxena, Nikhlesh Chaurasia

Coal Combustion and Gasification Products Journal Archive

One of the most effective and economical methods to strengthen clayey soils is addition of stabilizing agents such as fly ash to the soil. In this study, highly plastic clay was stabilized using fly ash. Geotechnical properties such as Atterberg limits, unconfined compressive strength (UCS), and the California bearing ratio (CBR) value of virgin black cotton soil and soil treated with fly ash were evaluated. Soil was stabilized with various proportions of fly ash, i.e., at 0%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 30%. The UCS of black cotton soil–fly ash mixes is found to be at its maximum at 20% fly …

Using Coal Fly Ash In Agriculture: Combination Of Fly Ash And Poultry Litter As Soil Amendments For Bioenergy Feedstock Production, E. Kudjo Dzantor, Ekundayo Adeleke, Vanaha Kankarla, Oluwatosin Ogunmayowa, Dafeng Hui

Coal Combustion and Gasification Products Journal Archive

Increasing fiscal, human, and environmental costs of coal fly ash (FA) management are leading to advocacy for greater beneficial uses of the by-products as soil amendments in agriculture. Greenhouse experiments were conducted in Armour silt loam (ASL) soil that was amended with FA (10%, wt/wt) with and without poultry litter (PL 5 75 mg N/kg). Biomass productivity of eastern gamagrass (GG), a warm-season perennial grass, was measured to serve as complementary biofuel feedstock to switchgrass (SG). FA was obtained from a site at the 2008 ash spill in Kingston, TN. GG and SG were grown individually in 15-cm-wide 3 41-cm-high …

Sediment Organic Carbon Fate And Transport In A Fluviokarst Watershed In The Bluegrass Region, Admin Husic

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

Mature karst topography is well recognized within the hydrology and geology communities to include subterranean fluid pathways that act as turbulent conduits conveying fluid from surface stream sinks called swallets to sources called springs. However, we find that little knowledge has been reported with regards to the transport and fate of terrestrially-derived sediment organic carbon (SOC) within karst watersheds. This study investigated the hypothesis that karst pathways could act as biologically active conveyors of SOC that temporarily store sediment, turnover carbon at higher rates than otherwise considered, and recharge depleted SOC back to the surface stream within the fluvial system. …

Stored Grain Pack Factors For Wheat: Comparison Of Three Methods To Field Measurements, Josephine M. Boac, Rumela Bhadra, Mark E. Casada, Sidney A. Thompson, Aaron P. Turner, Michael D. Montross, Samuel G. Mcneill, Ronaldo G. Maghirang

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Storing grain in bulk storage units results in grain packing from overbearing pressure, which increases grain bulk density and storage unit capacity. This study compared pack factors of hard red winter (HRW) wheat in vertical storage bins using different methods: the existing packing model (WPACKING), the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) method, and the USDA Farm Service Agency Warehouse Licensing and Examination Division (FSA-W) method. Grain bins containing HRW wheat were measured in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Packing was measured in corrugated steel bins and reinforced concrete bins with diameters ranging from 4.6 to 31.9 m (15.0 to 104.6 ft) …

Control System Development And Response Analysis Of An Electronically Actuated Variable-Orifice Nozzle For Agricultural Pesticide Applications, Joe D. Luck, Scott A. Shearer, Michael P. Sama, Santosh K. Pitla

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

The goal of this research project was to further the development of an electromechanically controlled variable-orifice nozzle by creating an electronic control system and then evaluating that system based on step and ramp inputs. The control system was developed in a programming environment that combined an electronic data acquisition system and actuator with pressure and flow sensors. A proportional, variable-gain (based on system pressure) control system was developed to adjust nozzle flow rates to meet target application rates. The constraints were to achieve settling time of less than 1.0 s, overshoot of less than 10% of maximum flow (or minimum …

An Optical Sprayer Nozzle Flow Rate Sensor, Joseph S. Dvorak, Luke E. Bryant

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Ensuring proper flow rates from each nozzle on an agricultural sprayer has become even more important as advances continue to be made in precision application technology. In this article, we describe the structure and testing of a sensor technology based on optical cross-correlation to determine the flow rate of individual sprayer nozzles. An advantage of this technology is that it does not require that impellers or other components be placed in the flow, which could cause plugging. The only moving part in the entire system is a solenoid used to inject a tracer dye. The objective of this study was …

Fabrication And Testing Of Low-Energy Calcium Sulfoaluminate-Belite Cements That Utilize Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustion By-Products, Robert Jewell, Robert Rathbone, Tristana Duvallet, Thomas Robl, Kamyar Mahboub

Coal Combustion and Gasification Products Journal Archive

The utilization of circulating fluidized bed combustion (CFBC) ash to make cement products that provide added value and offset CO2 production is the objective of this research. CFBC burns coal in the presence of a bed of slaked limestone, which effectively absorbs sulfur dioxide (SO2) to form anhydrite (CaSO4). CFBC produces two kinds of spent bed materials, coarse bottom ash and a much finer fly ash. Both of these products are very high in calcium. When properly conditioned, these materials are capable of acting as hydraulic cements, forming both calcium aluminosulfate minerals, most importantly ettringite, as well as calcium-alumina-silica gels, …

Prediction Of The Unburned Carbon Content Of Fly Ash In Coal-Fired Power Plants, Saeid R. Dindarloo, James C. Hower

Coal Combustion and Gasification Products Journal Archive

Prediction of carbon content in fly ash is a valuable index in both designing and optimizing coal-fired boilers. In this study, methods of multiple regression (MR), decision trees (DT), and support vector regression (SVR) were used for prediction of unburned carbon content of fly ash in a 300-MW power plant with a tangentially fired furnace using a low-NOx concentric firing system. Twenty-one boiler operational and coal petrological variables from 21 experiments in a previous benchmark study were used. A variables correlation matrix was used for feature (independent variables) selection in order to reduce the dimensions (number) of input variables from …

Recycling Of Lignite Coal Fly Ash By Its Conversion Into Zeolites, Silviya Boycheva, Denitza Zgureva, Annie Shoumkova

Coal Combustion and Gasification Products Journal Archive

The present study emphasized the conversion of fly ash from lignite coals into zeolites by a double-stage fusion-hydrothermal synthesis. The raw and the converted fly ashes were characterized with respect to their morphology, composition, and crystallinity. The effects of process parameters such as fusion temperature, concentration of the alkaline activator, and the duration of the hydrothermal incubation on the zeolitization process were studied. The experimental results indicate that the fusion temperature does not influence the process mechanism in the range 550–850uC, but it has an acceleration effect. The elevation of the sodium hydroxide/fly ash ratio from 1.6 to 2.0 enhances …

A Process-Based Nutrient Model For The Bedded Manure Pack Of Confined Beef Systems, Ferouz Y. Ayadi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Manure management is of growing concern for beef cattle producers and the general public. The overall objective of this research was to develop a process-based model that predicts concentration and gaseous emission from the bedded manure pack of a confined beef cattle system, with respect to different bedding material, manure storage time, and ambient temperature. The model incorporated the data collected in three experiments designed to understand transformations and processes occurring in the bedded pack. The first study evaluated the source of volatilized ammonia nitrogen from beef cattle manure. Isotope ratio mass spectrometry was used to determine the origin of …

Development Of A Row-Crop Tractor Data Acquisition System, James Roeber, Santosh Pitla, Roger M. Hoy, Joe D. Luck

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Presentations and White Papers

Numerous advancements in machinery performance on row-crop agricultural tractors have been made in recent years. Currently, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) only tests predetermined points (E.g., max. power, max. torque) for drawbar and hydraulic power. This method of testing has been used for many years with the tractor at a steady state which is usually not typical of row-crop operations. A data acquisition system (DAQ) was designed that records implement energy consumption (E.g., drawbar loading, PTO power, and hydraulic power). The system used a LabVIEW program and a compact data acquisition system (cDAQ) to record data from …

Flow, Spray Pattern, And Droplet Spectra Characteristics Of An Electronically Actuated Variable-Orifice Nozzle, Joe D. Luck, Santosh K. Pitla, Michael P. Sama, Scott A. Shearer

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate the flow rate, spray pattern, and droplet spectra characteristics of an actively controlled variable-orifice nozzle at constant carrier pressures. A commercially available variable-orifice nozzle (VariTarget) was modified to allow for direct electromechanical control of the metering stem. The modified system was tested at five carrier pressures ranging from 138 to 414 kPa and five metering stem (and thus orifice) positions. The metering stem position range was chosen because it provided a linear response in flow rate at each carrier pressure. Flow rate testing indicated a turndown ratio of 2.4:1 at …

Pack Factor Measurements For Corn In Grain Storage Bins, Rumela Bhadra, Aaron P. Turner, Mark E. Casada, Michael D. Montross, Sidney A. Thompson, Josephine M. Boac, Samuel G. Mcneill, Ronaldo G. Maghirang

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Shelled yellow corn is commonly stored in concrete or corrugated steel bins. Granular materials compact under their own weight, primarily due to particle rearrangement, leading to an increase in bulk density and a change in volume when stored. Reliable grain pack factors are needed to estimate storage capacities and to accurately monitor grain inventories. A science-based model (WPACKING) of pack factors is available that uses the differential form of Janssen's equation and takes into account the variation in density caused by pressure variation with height and moisture content of the grain and accounts for the effects of grain type, test …