Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Commons^™

Assessment Of An Industrial Type Radiant Heating System For Drying Rough Rice, Anne Adhiambo Okeyo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rough rice is normally harvested at moisture contents (MCs) higher than that for safe storage. The objective for this study was to investigate the effectiveness of scaled-up infrared (IR) heating followed by tempering steps to dry freshly-harvested rough rice. An industrial type, pilot scale, IR drying equipment, designed to convey rough rice on a vibrating conveyor belt was used in this study. The heating zone of the equipment had catalytic IR emitters powered by natural gas. Freshly-harvested rough rice of long-grain pureline (cv. Cheniere), long-grain hybrid (cv. 6XP 756) and medium-grain (cv. CL 271) cultivars at initial moisture contents (IMCs) …

Science-Informed Arguments In Undergraduates’ Opinions About Biofuels, Olivia Straka, Jenny Dauer

UCARE: Research Products

Socioscientific issues (SSIs) are complex, multifaceted issues with components of science as well as components of values requiring evaluation of social, political, and ethical concerns (Nichols & Zeidler, 2009). • However, many students do not possess a fundamental understanding of the underlying scientific foundations of SSIs (NRC, 1998), or may evaluate issues based on personal relevance as opposed to contemplation of evidence presented (Sadler et al., 2004). • This study examined how undergraduate students chose to substantiate their opinions on the SSI of using biofuels as a fuel source before and after taking a semester long course, AGRI/NRES 103. • …

Development And Evaluation Of A Watershed-Scale Hybrid Hydrologic Model, Younghyun Cho

Open Access Dissertations

A watershed-scale hybrid hydrologic model (Distributed-Clark), which is a lumped conceptual and distributed feature model, was developed to predict spatially distributed short- and long-term rainfall runoff generation and routing using relatively simple methodologies and state-of-the-art spatial data in a GIS environment. In Distributed-Clark, spatially distributed excess rainfall estimated with the SCS curve number method and a GIS-based set of separated unit hydrographs (spatially distributed unit hydrograph) are utilized to calculate a direct runoff flow hydrograph, and time-varied SCS CN values and conditional unit hydrograph approach for different runoff depth-based flow convolution are also used to compute long-term rainfall-runoff flow hydrographs. …

Micro- And Nanoparticulates For Dna Vaccine Delivery, Eric Farris, Deborah M. Brown, Amanda Ramer-Tait, Angela K. Pannier

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

DNA vaccination has emerged as a promising alternative to traditional protein-based vaccines for the induction of protective immune responses. DNA vaccines offer several advantages over traditional vaccines, including increased stability, rapid and inexpensive production, and flexibility to produce vaccines for a wide variety of infectious diseases. However, the immunogenicity of DNA vaccines delivered as naked plasmid DNA is often weak due to degradation of the DNA by nucleases and inefficient delivery to immune cells. Therefore, biomaterial-based delivery systems based on micro- and nanoparticles that encapsulate plasmid DNA represent the most promising strategy for DNA vaccine delivery. Microparticulate delivery systems allow …

Effect Of Bioenergy Crops And Fast Growing Trees On Hydrology And Water Quality In The Little Vermilion River Watershed, Tian Guo

Open Access Dissertations

Energy security and sustainability require a suite of biomass crops, including woody species. Short rotation woody crops (SRWCs) such as Populus have great potential as biofuel feedstocks. Quantifying biomass yields of bioenergy crop and hydrologic and water quality responses to growth is important should it be widely planted in the Midwestern U.S. Subsurface tile drainage systems enable the Midwest area to become highly productive agricultural lands, but also create environmental problems like nitrate-N contamination of the water it drains. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) has been used to model watersheds with tile drainage, but the new tile drainage …

Investigating U.S. Resident Perceptions Of Corporate Social Responsibility In Food And Agriculture, Carissa Jae Morgan

Open Access Theses

Corporations are prioritizing corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities by investing in and actively promoting their social practices. In the U.S. of the modern food supply chain creates a unique challenge for corporations to address concerns about social issues of consumers and non-consumers alike. This study is motivated by the need to better understand individuals’ perceptions of CSR as it pertains to the food supply chain. In April 2015 an online survey collected information from 1,201 U.S. residents with the objective of investigating individuals’ perceptions of relative importance of eight prominent CSR areas relevant to food and agriculture. Demographic, household consumption, …

Enhancing Bioethanol Fermentation Through Removal Of Acetic Acid Using Liquid-Liquid Extraction, Mahdieh Aghazadeh

Open Access Dissertations

The concern for the ever growing human population as well as the depletion of fossil fuel resources and their impact on global warming have long been motivations for the researchers to investigate means for sustainable producing carbon-neutral energy. Second-generation biofuel refers to liquid fuels that are produced from non-food resources and reduce the total greenhouse gas emission by at least 60 %. Acetic acid has been shown to be one of the most ubiquitous fermentation inhibitors in a bioethanol production facility which slows down the bioethanol production and reduces its yield through inhibition of the ethanol producing microorganisms. The use …

Rearward Visibility Issues Related To Agricultural Machinery: Contributing Factors, Potential Solutions, Shawn Gregory Ehlers

Open Access Dissertations

As the size, complexity, and speed of tractors and other agricultural self-propelled machinery have increased, so have the visibility-related issues, placing significant importance on the visual skills, alertness, and reactive abilities of the operator. Rearward movement of large agricultural equipment has been identified in the literature as causing not only damage to both machine and stationary objects, but also injuries (even fatalities) to bystanders not visible to the operator. Fortunately, monitoring assistance, while not a new concept, has advanced significantly, offering operators today more options for increasing awareness of the area surrounding their machines. In this research, an attempt is …

Engineering Outreach Education Through Social Media, Katie E. Meiergerd, Dagen Valentine, Jennifer R. Keshwani, Bradley Barker

UCARE: Research Products

Familiarizing teachers and educators with Engineering and other related STEM fields is crucial in educating students, so ensuring teachers with access to these resources is important. The objective of this work is to identify ways to use social media to provide support to K – 12 educators interested in implementing engineering education with their students.

Exploring Large-Scale Parameterization Of Irrigation In The Northern High Plains, Mitch Maguire, Daniel Rico, Katherine Smith, Francisco Munoz-Arriola

UCARE: Research Products

Research Question – Objective - Hypothesis

How does irrigation respond to the demands of Crop Irrigation Requirements under extreme hydrometeorological events?

Implement a parameterization of irrigation into the land surface hydrology model VIC.

Changes in evapotranspiration (ET) will be more conspicuous during dry years, highlighting the limiting role of soil moisture in the model.

Wet Grain Delivery Advice: A Previously Impossible Extension Challenge Solved Through App Technology, Joseph S. Dvorak, Sam Mcneill, Clint Hardy

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

The delivery of wet grain during harvest is a complex and constantly changing problem about which Extension professionals have been unable to offer more than general advice. By capitalizing on important characteristics of mobile devices, a new app enables producers to fully benefit from detailed information universities have generated on grain drying and costs associated with delivery of grain to different locales. Development of such an app demonstrates the power of apps and mobile devices in allowing Extension to deliver previously unattainable services to its clientele.

Food Processing In Haiti, Maggie R. Del Ponte

Engagement & Service-Learning Summit

No abstract provided.

Hydrologic And Water Quality Impacts From Perennial Crop Production On Marginal Lands, Qingyu Feng

Open Access Dissertations

Marginal lands are proposed as a viable option for producing biofeedstocks as these lands are not heavily engaged in agricultural production or may not be suitable for intensive row-crop food/feed production. However, meeting biofeedstock production goals will require large amount of marginal lands and the unintended consequences of producing biofeedstocks on marginal lands are not fully clear. The overall goal of this study was to evaluate the productivity of biofeedstocks on marginal lands and the potential impacts on hydrologic and water quality processes from the land use conversion.

This study was conducted in the Upper Mississippi River Basin (UMRB). First, …

Design And Build Of An Automated Animal Feed Dispenser, Soroush Sedigh

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This senior project discusses the design, construction, and evaluation of automated animal feed dispenser on a small-scale level. The system consists of three main components with various sub-components. Those three components are the outer-casing, the hardware and circuitry, and lastly the code to make sure the hardware operates properly.

System tests have indicated that the feed dispenser is able to provide one week’s worth of feed to the end user with no human interference

Thawing Out: The Role Of The Arctic Council Service In A Melting Arctic, Taylor J. Enos

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

With the changing natural and political climate of the Arctic, conflicts over resource extraction and navigation will become inevitable. Empowering an intergovernmental institution like the Arctic Council Service may be the only solution. This paper analyzes the importance and history of the Arctic as a political environment, which is prone to abuse in the very near future at the hands of Russia and the United States.

Application Of Recycled Media And Algae-Based Anaerobic Digestate In Scenedesmus Cultivation, Xinyi E, Czarena Crofcheck, Mark Crocker

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

To make large-algae cultivation systems sustainable, commercial fertilizer inputs should be minimized. One means of achieving this is to maximize the recycle of nutrients used in algae cultivation. In addition to recycling nutrient-containing water from algae harvesting and dewatering, after harvesting algal biomass can be used as a substrate for anaerobic digestion, which can then generate mineralized nutrients to be used for further cultivation. In this study, the effect of recycling media and using mineralized nutrients during Scenedesmus cultivation was investigated. The recycled media proved to be able to support cell growth with nutrient replenishment, and it could be recycled …

Long-Term Trend Analysis Of Precipitation And Air Temperature For Kentucky, United States, Somsubhra Chattopadhyay, Dwayne R. Edwards

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Variation in quantities such as precipitation and temperature is often assessed by detecting and characterizing trends in available meteorological data. The objective of this study was to determine the long-term trends in annual precipitation and mean annual air temperature for the state of Kentucky. Non-parametric statistical tests were applied to homogenized and (as needed) pre-whitened annual series of precipitation and mean air temperature during 1950–2010. Significant trends in annual precipitation were detected (both positive, averaging 4.1 mm/year) for only two of the 60 precipitation-homogenous weather stations (Calloway and Carlisle counties in rural western Kentucky). Only three of the 42 temperature-homogenous …

Ecosystem Evapotranspiration: Challenges In Measurements, Estimates, And Modeling, D.M. Amatya, Suat Irmak, P. Gowda, G. Sun, J.E. Nettles, K.R. Douglas-Mankin

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Evapotranspiration (ET) processes at the leaf to landscape scales in multiple land uses have important controls and feed backs for local, regional, and global climate and water resource systems. Innovative methods, tools, and technologies for improved understanding and quantification of ET and crop water use are critical for adapting more effective management strategies to cope with increasing demand for freshwater resources under global climate change. This article introduces an ASABE Special Collection of 12 articles on ET monitoring and modeling research for multiple land uses and scales. The collection focuses on recent advances in four critical topical areas: (1) reference …

Glucocorticoid Cell Priming Enhances Transfection Outcomes In Adult Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Abby M. Kelly, Sarah A. Plautz, Janos Zempleni, Angela K. Pannier

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are one of the most widely researched stem cell types with broad applications from basic research to therapeutics, the majority of which require introduction of exogenous DNA. However, safety and scalability issues hinder viral delivery, while poor efficiency hinders nonviral gene delivery, particularly to hMSCs. Here, we present the use of a pharmacologic agent (glucocorticoid) to overcome barriers to hMSC DNA transfer to enhance transfection using three common nonviral vectors. Glucocorticoid priming significantly enhances transfection in hMSCs, demonstrated by a 3-fold increase in efficiency, 4–15-fold increase in transgene expression, and prolonged transgene expression when compared …

Switchgrass (Panicum Virgatum) Fermentation By Clostridium Thermocellum And Clostridium Saccharoperbutylacetonicum Sequential Culture In A Continuous Flow Reactor, Noelia M. Elia, Sue E. Nokes, Michael D. Flythe

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

The study was conducted to evaluate fermentation by Clostridium thermocellum and C. saccharoperbutylacetonicum in a continuous-flow, high-solids reactor. Liquid medium was continuously flowed through switchgrass (2 mm particle size) at one of three flow rates: 83.33 mL h⁻¹ (2 L d⁻¹), 41.66 mL h⁻¹ (1 L d⁻¹), and 20.833 mL h⁻¹ (0.5 L d⁻¹). The cellulolytic phase was initiated by culturing C. thermocellum (63 °C, 24 h). The temperature was decreased (35) and C. saccharoperbutylacetonicum was inoculated. When metabolism decreased (96 h), the temperature was increased (63 °C; 24 h) …

Informative Spectral Bands For Remote Green Lai Estimation In C3 And C4 Crops, Oz Kira, Anthony L. Nguy-Robertson, Timothy J. Arkebauer, Raphael Linker, Anatoly A. Gitelson

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Green leaf area index (LAI) provides insight into the productivity, physiological and phenological status of vegetation. Measurement of spectral reflectance offers a fast and nondestructive estimation of green LAI. A number of methods have been used for the estimation of green LAI; however, the specific spectral bands employed varied widely among the methods and data used. Our objectives were (i) to find informative spectral bands retained in three types of methods, neural network (NN), partial least squares (PLS) regression and vegetation indices (VI), for estimating green LAI in maize (a C4 species) and soybean (a C3 species); (ii) to assess …

2016 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.

Analyses, Calibration And Validation Of Evapotranspirationmodels To Predict Grass-Reference Evapotranspiration In Thesenegal River Delta, Koffi Djaman, Hossein Tabari, Alpha B. Balde, Lamine Diop, Koichi Futakuchi, Suat Irmak

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Study region: Grass-reference evapotranspiration estimation by the Penman-Monteithmethod (PM-ETo) requires a number of climate variables which are not always availableat all weather stations. Different alternative ETo equations have been developed and theirutilization for various local climate conditions requires analyses of their accuracy as com-pared to the standardized Penman-Monteith method. There is a significant lack of data andinformation on this topic in the Senegal River Delta (SRD). Study focus: The objective of this study was to evaluate, calibrate and validate six EToequations ((Trabert, Mahringer, Penman1948, Albrecht, Valiantzas1 and Valiantzas2) forthe SRD. Although all six equations showed good agreement with the PM-ETo …

Control Architecture For Multi-Robot System, John H. Posselius, Christopher A. Foster, Santosh K. Pitla, Scott A. Shearer, Joe D. Luck, Michael P. Sama, Rodrigo S. Zandonadi

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

A multiple robot control architecture including a plurality of robotic agricultural machines including a first and second robotic agricultural machine. Each robotic agricultural machine including at least one controller configured to implement a plurality of finite state machines within an individual robot control architecture (IRCA) and a global information module (GIM) communicatively coupled to the IRCA. The GIMs of the first and second robotic agricultural machines being configured to cooperate to cause said first robotic agricultural machine and said second agricultural machine to perform at least one agricultural task.

Direct And Indirect Effects Of Climatic Variations On The Interannual Variability In Net Ecosystem Exchange Across Terrestrial Ecosystems, Junjiong Shao, Xuhui Zhou, Yiqi Luo, Bo Li, Mika Aurela, David Billesbach, Peter D. Blanken, Rosvel Bracho, Jiquan Chen, Marc Fischer, Yuling Fu, Lianhong Gu, Shijie Han, Yongtao He, Thomas Kolb, Yingnian Li, Zoltan Nagy, Shuli Niu, Walter C. Oechel, Krisztina Pinter, Peili Shi, Andrew Suyker, Margaret Torn, Andrej Varlagin, Huimin Wang, Junhua Yan, Guirui Yu, Junhui Zhang

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Climatic variables not only directly affect the interannual variability (IAV) in net ecosystem exchange of CO2 (NEE) but also indirectly drive it by changing the physiological parameters. Identifying these direct and indirect paths can reveal the underlying mechanisms of carbon (C) dynamics. In this study, we applied a path analysis using flux data from 65 sites to quantify the direct and indirect climatic effects on IAV in NEE and to evaluate the potential relationships among the climatic variables and physiological parameters that represent physiology and phenology of ecosystems. We found that the maximum photosynthetic rate was the most important factor …

A Generalized Spatial Measure For Resilience Of Microbial Systems, Ryan S. Renslow, Stephen R. Lindemann, Hyun-Seob Song

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The emergent property of resilience is the ability of a system to return to an original state after a disturbance. Resilience may be used as an early warning system for significant or irreversible community transition; that is, a community with diminishing or low resilience may be close to catastrophic shift in function or an irreversible collapse. Typically, resilience is quantified using recovery time, which may be difficult or impossible to directly measure in microbial systems. A recent study in the literature showed that under certain conditions, a set of spatial-based metrics termed recovery length, can be correlated to recovery time, …

Switchgrass Storage Effects On The Recovery Of Carbohydrates After Liquid Hot Water Pretreatment And Enzymatic Hydrolysis, Noaa Frederick, Mengxing Li, Danielle Julie Carrier, Michael D. Buser, Mark R. Wilkins

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Perennial grasses that would be used for bioenergy and bioproducts production will need to be stored for various periods of time to ensure a continual feedstock supply to a bioprocessing facility. The effects of storage practices on grass composition and the response of grasses to subsequent bioprocesses such as pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis needs to be understood to develop the most efficient storage protocols. This study examined the effect of outdoor storage of round switchgrass bales on composition before and after liquid hot water pretreatment (LHW) and enzymatic hydrolysis. This study also examined the effect of washing LHW pretreated biomass …

Ecosystem Evapotranspiration: Challenges In Measurements, Estimates, And Modeling, D.M. Amatya, Sibel Irmak, P. Gowda, G. Sun, J.E. Nettles, K.R. Douglas-Mankin

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Evapotranspiration (ET) processes at the leaf to landscape scales in multiple land uses have important con- trols and feedbacks for local, regional, and global climate and water resource systems. Innovative methods, tools, and technologies for improved understanding and quantification of ET and crop water use are critical for adapting more effective management strategies to cope with increasing demand for freshwater resources under global climate change. This article introduces an ASABE Special Collection of 12 articles on ET monitoring and modeling research for multiple land uses and scales. The collection focuses on recent advances in four critical topical areas: (1) reference …

Objective Climatological Analysis Of Extreme Weather Events In Arizona During The North American Monsoon, Jeremy J. Mazon, Christopher L. Castro, David K. Adams, Hsin-I Chang, Carlos M. Carrillo, John J. Brost

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Almost one-half of the annual precipitation in the southwestern United States occurs during the North American monsoon (NAM). Given favorable synoptic-scale conditions, organized monsoon thunderstorms may affect relatively large geographic areas. Through an objective analysis of atmospheric reanalysis and observational data, the dominant synoptic patterns associated with NAM extreme events are determined for the period from 1993 to 2010. Thermodynamically favorable extreme-weather-event days are selected on the basis of atmospheric instability and precipitable water vapor from Tucson, Arizona, rawinsonde data. The atmospheric circulation patterns at 500 hPa associated with the extreme events are objectively characterized using principal component analysis. The …

Critical Factors Affecting The Integration Of Biomass Gasification And Syngas Fermentation Technology, Karthikeyan D. Ramachandriya, Dimple K. Kundiyana, Ashokkumar M. Sharma, Ajay Kumar, Hasan K. Atiyeh, Raymond L. Huhnke, Mark R. Wilkins

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Gasification-fermentation is a thermochemical-biological platform for the production of fuels and chemicals. Biomass is gasified at high temperatures to make syngas, a gas composed of CO, CO2, H2, N2 and other minor components. Syngas is then fed to anaerobic microorganisms that convert CO, CO2 and H2 to alcohols by fermentation. This platform offers numerous advantages such as flexibility of feedstock and syngas composition and lower operating temperature and pressure compared to other catalytic syngas conversion processes. In comparison to hydrolysis-fermentation, gasification-fermentation has a major advantage of utilizing all organic components of biomass, including lignin, to yield higher fuel production. Furthermore, …