Cotton Stalk Research Articles

Design and Numerical Simulation Study of Film Rod Reparation Device for Residual Film Recycling Machine

For the residual film recycling machine work, after the recovery of residual film, cotton stalks, crushed soil, and other impurities are not easy to separate; it is challenging to realize the secondary use of the problem. A waste film and impurity wind selection device were designed to recognize waste film recycling and separate soil film rods. The overall structure and working principles of the machine are described. A three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model of a film rod separation device was developed. The flow field within the film rod separation unit was analyzed by numerical simulation using 2023 R1 ANSYS Fluent software. Based on the differences of impurities such as residual film, soil, and cotton stalks in terms of density, suspension velocity, and their characteristics, the pressure distribution and velocity distribution of the internal flow field of soil, residual film, and cotton stalks at the site were investigated. The air inlet velocity, screen cylinder rotation, and main shaft rotation velocity were changed. Experiments were conducted to obtain wind selection parameters for suitable soil, residual film, and cotton stalk separators. Analysis of orthogonal experiments, polar variance of analysis, and analysis of variance yielded a better combination of working parameters: when the drum sieve velocity is 25 r/min, the spindle velocity is 35 r/min, and inlet wind velocity is 14 m/s, after the separation of residual film impurity rate of 8.9%. The results of the study can provide a theoretical basis for the development of film separation equipment.

Effect of agricultural waste on nutritional composition of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus)

The oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) was cultivated on diverse substrates, encompassing wheat straw (T1), paddy straw (T2), groundnut leaves and straw (T3), sugarcane bagasses (T4), cotton stalk (T5), coconut husk (T6), pigeon pea straw (T7), and banana pseudostem (T8). The study comprised of the estimation of proximate composition, antioxidants, and mineral content of the sun-dried mushrooms during the initial two harvests. The average values of nutritional parameters were as follows: moisture (90.93 to 85.18 %), ash (7.62 to 4.86%), carbohydrates (37.57 to 20.10%), crude protein (45.45 to 23.10%), crude fiber (29.08 to 19.29%), crude fat (2.68 to 1.63%), total phenol (14.23 to 9.12 mg/g) and ascorbic acid (11.58 to 8.72 mg/100g). The average mineral content exhibited the trend K>P>Mg>Ca>Zn>Fe>Cu. Upon consideration of average values from both harvests, the groundnut leaves and straw had the highest crude protein (45.45 %), total phenol (14.23 mg/g), ascorbic acid (11.58 mg/100g), phosphorous (0.43 %), iron (7.12 mg/100g) and zinc (12.43 mg/100g). The paddy straw resulted in the highest crude fiber (29.08 %) and crude fat (2.68 %), while the wheat straw resulted in the highest potassium (1.52 %) and calcium (179.65 mg/100g). The various substrates had an impact on nutritional parameters as seen by either an increase or decrease in various parameters which can be reflected in turn by the composition of the substrates itself. In conclusion, groundnut leaves and straw (T3) along with paddy straw (T2) and wheat straw (T1) resulted in significant improvement of nutritional composition compared to other treatments. This study underscores the environmentally friendly utilization of nutrients from agricultural waste for mushroom production.

A comparative cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment of three cotton stalk waste sustainable applications

This paper presents a novel approach to utilizing agricultural waste. It compares three different applications for cotton stalks: fabrication of wood composites, bioethanol production, and biogas cradle-to-gate Life cycle assessment production processes. Cotton cultivation generates a lot of debris, mostly cotton stalks, which are incinerated or landfilled, Sustainable resource management is critical for maintaining the ecosystem, and economic stability, and promoting social fairness since it ensures the long-term availability of resources while minimizing environmental damage. The investigation uses the Ecological Footprint, Impact 2002 +, Global Warming Damage Potential, Greenhouse Gas Protocol, Recipe Midpoint, Ecosystem Damage Potential, and CML IA Baseline—open LCA-enabled environmental sustainability assessments. The analysis showed that bioethanol has a lower carbon footprint and climate change impact than both wood composite and biogas production processes, as a result, this could cause a preference for bioethanol production as an environmentally friendly strategy for cotton stalks utilization. While human toxicity was higher in the biogas production process, it emits less fossil CO2 than biogenic CO2. The total climate change of wood composite, bioethanol, and biogas production processes was 0.01761, 0.011300, and 0.01083 points, respectively. This research helps accomplish wider ecological and economic aims by giving insights into sustainable waste management practices.

Performance Evaluation of Tractor Operated Cotton Stalk Shredder Cum Uprooter

A large amount of cotton stalk is generated in India every year. Cotton stalks are burned in the fields as crop residues due to a labour shortage and high investment costs. Global warming will be caused by burning the agricultural residues in the field and also by the loss of nutrients in the stalk. Cotton residue management is thus the best solution. To shred the cotton stalk into pieces and uproot the stubble left in the field, a cotton stalk shredder and cum uprooter are used. A performance study was conducted in the cotton field. The purpose of the experiment was to assess the performance of a cotton stalk shredder cum uprooter. The performance parameters considered for the study were uprooting efficiency, power requirement, draft requirement and fuel consumption with respect to type of uprooter blade, viz., cross, sweep and curved and rake angle viz., 10o, 20o and 30o. The best results were observed for curved blade at a rake angle of 10o. The draft, power requirement, fuel consumption and uprooting efficiency were found to be 1.78 kN, 1.48 kW, 2.38 l h-1 and 99.6 per cent, respectively.

Co-pyrolysis of PCB and cotton stalk: Towards enhanced phenol production and debromination of pyrolysis oil

Co-pyrolysis of PCB and cotton stalk: Towards enhanced phenol production and debromination of pyrolysis oil

A novel method for seed cotton color measurement based on machine vision technology

Color of seed cotton is one of the key indexes of seed cotton quality, which greatly affects the price, grading, storage, and processing of seed cotton. Currently, there are shortage of mature color measurement methods and equipment specifically for seed cotton. Therefore, a color measurement method for seed cotton based on machine vision technology was proposed in this research. To solve the problem of color difference in images, a color difference correction algorithm based on multiple linear regression was proposed, which significantly reduced the color difference by 54.19%. To segment large impurities and large hard particles (cotton seeds, cotton stalks, and boll shells) that are easy to produce shadows from seed cotton images, a quadratic dynamic thresholding segmentation algorithm based on multi-channel fusion was proposed, which significantly improved the segmentation accuracy. The verification results showed that the average value of the intersection over union was 0.9. In the calculation of the color indexes of seed cotton, a correction algorithm based on the BP neural network was used to correct the indexes by taking standard tiles as a reference to reduce the difference caused by system error. The results of the machine vision method were compared with those of the detection of corresponding lint by HVI 1000 and spectrophotometer HX-410. The coefficients of determination (R2) of the Reflectance degree (Rd) and Yellowness (+b) measured by HVI 1000 were 0.790 and 0.865, respectively. The R2 for Rd and +b measured by HX-410 were 0.809 and 0.879, respectively. In addition, the analysis results of the effect of impurities and shadows on seed cotton color showed that both impurities and shadows had a negative effect on Rd. However, the effect of shadows on +b was negative and the effect of impurities was positive. This study indicated that it was feasible to detect seed cotton color using machine vision method.

Investigating Verticillium wilt occurrence in cotton and its risk management by the direct return of cotton plants infected with Verticillium dahliae to the field.

Verticillium wilt is one of the most crucial diseases caused by Verticillium dahliae that threatens the cotton industry. Statistical results showed that the return of cotton plants infected with V. dahliae to the field might be an essential cause of the continuous aggravation of cotton Verticillium wilt. The correlation among the cotton plants infected with V. dahliae returning to the field, the occurrence of Verticillium wilt, and the number of microsclerotia in rhizosphere soil need further investigation. A potted experiment was carried out to explore the effects of the direct return of cotton plants infected with Verticillium dahliae to the field on the subsequent growth and Verticillium wilt occurrence in cotton. As a risk response plan, we investigated the feasibility of returning dung-sand (i.e., insect excreta) to the field, the dung-sand was from the larvae of Protaetia brevitarsis (Coleoptera: Cetoniidea) that were fed with the V. dahliae-infected cotton plants. The results demonstrated that the return of the entire cotton plants to the field presented a promotional effect on the growth and development of cotton, whereas the return of a single root stubble or cotton stalks had an inhibitive effect. The return of cotton stalks and root stubble infected with V. dahliae increased the risk and degree of Verticillium wilt occurrence. The disease index of Verticillium wilt occurrence in cotton was positively correlated with the number of microsclerotia in the rhizosphere soil. The disease index increased by 20.00%, and the number of soil microsclerotia increased by 8.37 fold in the treatment of returning root stubble infected with V. dahliae to the field. No Verticillium wilt microsclerotia were detected in the feed prepared from cotton stalks and root stubble fermented for more than 5 days or in the transformed dung-sand. There was no risk of inoculation with Verticillium wilt microsclerotia when the dung-sand was returned to the field. The indirect return of cotton plants infected with V. dahliae to the field by microorganism-insect systems is worthy of further exploration plan of the green prevention and control for Verticillium wilt and the sustainable development of the cotton industry.

Productivity of Bt Cotton under Different Levels of Irrigation and Nitrogen in Alfisols

Aims: To determine the optimum irrigation schedule and nitrogen level for Bt cotton in alfisols in Southern Telangana.
 Study Design: Split plot design.
 Place and Duration of Study: ARI, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad during kharif 2014.
 Methodology: The experiment was laid out with three irrigation schedules (I1- 0.8 IW/CPE, I2 - 0.4 IW/CPE and I3 - Rainfed) as main plots and four nitrogen levels (N1- 0 kg ha-1, N2 - 75 kg ha-1, N3 - 150 kg ha-1 and N4 - 225 kg ha-1) as sub plot treatments replicated thrice. Treatments imposed as per the schedule and data recorded on yield, yield attributes, nitrogen uptake by adopting standard procedures
 Results: Irrigation at 0.8 IW/CPE recorded significantly higher plant height (79 cm), drymatter at first picking (195 g plant-1), bolls plant-1 (16), seed cotton yield (1435 kg ha-1), lint yield (541 kg ha-1), stalk yield (2057 kg ha-1) and nitrogen uptake (63 kg ha-1) and was not differed significantly with 0.4 IW/CPE and these were significantly superior to rainfed cotton. Among nitrogen levels, significantly higher plant height (90 cm), drymatter at first picking (214 g plant-1) stage, days to reach boll development (90) stage, bolls plant-1 (15), boll weight (5.3 g), seed index (9.9 g), seed cotton yield (1435 kg ha-1), lint yield (547 kg ha -1) and stalk yield (2214 kg ha -1) were found with application of nitrogen at 225 kg ha-1 was comparable with 150 kg N ha-1 and were significantly superior over lower levels of nitrogen application. The substantial increase in yield and yield attributes might be due to favorable effect on growth attributes like plant height, increased bolls plant-1, drymatter accumulation plant-1 and its subsequent translocation towards sink improved the seed cotton yield.
 Conclusion: It can be concluded that, higher seed cotton yield can be obtained with the irrigation scheduled at 0.4 IW/CPE and application of nitrogen at 150 kg ha-1 in Bt cotton grown in alfisols.

Improvement of hydrochar/biochar pellets prepared from cotton stalk by hydrothermal pretreatment process

Hydrothermal (HT) pretreatment can change the internal components of biomass to efficiently improve the comprehensive utilization value of the resource. In this paper, cotton stalk (CS) was hydrothermally pretreated firstly at 180–280 °C and densified into hydrochar pellet and then pyrolyzed at 400 °C to prepare biochar pellet. A variety of the characterization analyses (SEM, XRD, etc.) were conducted to investigate the effect of the evolution behavior of the main components (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin) in CS during HT process on the physicochemical property of the resulted biofuel pellets. The results show that HT process improves significantly the quality of the resulted biomass. As HT temperature increasing from 180 °C to 280 °C, the carbon content of the hydrochar increases from 46.91% to 67.26%, while the oxygen content decreases from 46.61% to 26.0%. Meanwhile, the alkali metal content of CS decreases significantly during HT process. HT process promotes the significant decompositions of the hemicellulose below the process temperature of 230 °C and cellulose below 280 °C and the aromatization growth of the resulted CS. Crystalline cellulose is the major contributor to the mechanical properties of the hydrochar and biochar pellets. Compared with the hydrochar pellet, the biochar pellet has the much lower properties due to the decomposition of the crystalline cellulose during the pyrolysis process. The combustion characteristic of the hydrochar decreases significantly due to the decreasing cellulose content with HT intensity, while the correlation between them is severely weakened by the pyrolysis process. HT process significantly improves HHV of the resulted hydrochar pellet and the lignin is responsible for the increasing HHV. However, HHV of the resulted biochar pellet shows a slowly downward trend with the increasing HT temperature. The hydrochar and biochar pellets with the maximum energy density both were prepared from CS pretreated at 230 °C and HT process improves the energy density of the resulted hydrochar pellet and biochar pellet to different certain. The apparent density has a crucial effect on the quality of the biofuel pellet. Thus, the quality of the biochar pellet can be improved greatly by HT process.

Influence of nickel doping and cotton stalk activated carbon loading on structural, optical, and photocatalytic properties of zinc oxide nanoparticles

In the current study, the photodegradation of brilliant green (BG) dye has been studied in relation to the comparative photocatalytic activity of pure ZnO and Ni-doped ZnO/CSAC (cotton stalk activated carbon), which was produced using a chemical precipitation method. The structural, optical, morphological, and functional characteristics of Ni-doped ZnO/CSAC have been investigated. The XRD patterns demonstrated the hexagonal wurtzite structure of the Ni-doped ZnO/CSAC sample. The XPS scan supported a Ni2+ oxidation state for the Ni ions incorporated into the ZnO lattice. The optical features of the Ni-doped and loaded sample demonstrated a red shift in the light absorption and reduced the recombination rate of charge carriers. The FE-SEM was used to examine the morphology of the synthesized all the samples, and EDAX spectroscopy was used to determine their composition. In comparison to pure ZnO, Ni doped, and Ni (0.075 M) doped ZnO/CSAC exhibited a greater photocatalytic degradation of 91.47 % after 120 min under visible light irradiation. This result suggests that Ni-doped ZnO/CSAC may be an effective wastewater treatment material.

Efficient hydrogenolysis of lignin over CeO2/AC catalyst prepared by a simple impregnation method

There are limited renewable sources of aromatic chemicals, with lignin being one of the most prominent, accounting for approximately 30% of the planet's organic carbon. Due to its intricate and irregular structure, lignin is recalcitrant to chemical conversion, often resulting in low yields of mixtures of products when it is depolymerized. This study synthesized a CeO2/AC catalyst via an impregnation technique and then explored its ability to depolymerize lignin via an oxidation-reduction strategy. The CeO2/AC catalyst efficiently depolymerized lignin by an oxidation-reduction strategy. At 200 °C, an argon pressure of 1 MPa, and a reaction time of 4 h, the conversion of the lignin model compound reached 98.5%. When using lignin derived from poplar, birch, pine, and cotton stalk, the total yields of phenolic monomers were 36.2 wt.%, 31.2 wt.%, 17.4 wt.%, and 12.1 wt.%, respectively. The CeO2/AC catalyst exhibited a higher surface oxygen vacancy concentration than CeO2, which was crucial for facilitating the hydrogenolysis of lignin.

Development and Experiment of an Innovative Row-Controlled Device for Residual Film Collector to Drive Autonomously along the Ridge.

The field harvesting process of harvesting machinery is often affected by high workload and environmental factors that can impede/delay manual rowing, thereby leading to lower efficiency and quality in the residual film collector. To address this challenge, an automatic rowing control system using the 4mz-220d self-propelled residual film collector as the experimental carrier was proposed in this study. Cotton stalks in the ridges were chosen as the research object, and a comprehensive application of key technologies, machinery, and electronic control was used, thereby incorporating a pure tracking model as the path-tracking control method. To achieve the automatic rowing function during the field traveling process, the fuzzy control principle was implemented to adjust the forward distance within the pure tracking model dynamically, and the expected steering angle of the steering wheel was determined based on the kinematic model of the recovery machine. The MATLAB/Simulink software was utilized to simulate and analyze the proposed model, thus achieving significant improvements in the automation level of the residual film collector. The field harvesting tests showed that the average deviation of the manual rowing was 0.144 m, while the average deviation of the automatic rowing was 0.066 m. Moreover, the average lateral deviation of the automatic rowing was reduced by 0.078 m with a probability of deviation within 0.1 m of 95.71%. The research study demonstrated that the designed automatic rowing system exhibited high stability and robustness, thereby meeting the requirements of the autonomous rowing operations of residual film collectors. The results of this study can serve as a reference for future research on autonomous navigation technology in agriculture.

Optimization of Hot-Air and Microwave Combined Drying Technical Parameters for Extruded Cotton Stalks Based on Response Surface Methodology

Drying is an important process of cotton-stalk reconstituted material. The aim of this study was to find the best drying process of extruded cotton stalks by using three drying methods and applying single-factor experiments combined with response surface methodology (RSM). For experimental design, the central composite design approach was used. The hot-air temperature, moisture content at the conversion point, and microwave power were selected as influencing factors; the drying rate and energy consumption per unit precipitation were selected as experimental indexes. The regression equation between each experimental factor and the performance index was established, and the optimization calculation was carried out. The experimental results showed that the optimum drying parameters were as follows: hot-air temperature 95 °C, moisture content at the conversion point 57%, and microwave power 700 W. With these experimental conditions, it was verified that the drying rate was 4.14 kg (100 kg min)−1 and the energy consumption per unit precipitation was 70.89 MJ kg−1, which were 106.7% and 10.4% lower than that of hot-air drying and microwave drying, respectively. The research results will provide a theoretical and technical basis for the large-scale drying process of cotton stalks and the design of drying equipment.

Qualitative and Quantitative Investigation of Biochar-Cu0 Composite for Nickel Adsorption.

The current investigation deals with the treatment of water pollution that is caused by the leaching of nickel ions from the metallurgical industry and new-energy batteries. Therefore, an eco-friendly treatment of nickel through the use of a composite of cotton stalk biochar with nanozerovalent copper has been presented in this investigation signifying the impact of zerovalent copper in enhancing the adsorption capacity of biochar for nickel adsorption. Thermogravimetric analysis data showed the adsorbent to be significantly stable in the higher thermal range, whereas transmission electron microscopy analysis confirmed the particles to be 27 nm and also showed the cubic geometry of the particles. A much closer scanning electron microscopy analysis shows the morphology of particles to be cubic in shape. Batch adsorption indicated a positive influence of pH increase on adsorption due to the electrostatic attraction between positive nickel ions and post point of zero charge (pHPZC) negative surface of copper biochar composite (pH > 5.5). A high adsorption rate was observed in the first 60 min, whereas adsorption increased with the increase in temperature from 303 to 318 K. Kinetic modeling confirmed the pseudo-first-order to fit best to the data. The apparent activation energy (11.96 kJ mol-1) is indicative of the chemical nature of the process. The adsorption data fitted well to the Langmuir adsorption model. The negative values of apparent ΔG° and the positive values of apparent ΔH° indicate the spontaneity and endothermicity of the process, respectively, whereas the positive values of apparent ΔS° point toward increased randomness during the process. Postadsorption XPS suggests the adsorption of nickel on the surface of biochar composites in the form of Ni(OH)2 and NiO(OH).

Effects of Integrated Weed Management Practices on Weed Parameters and Yield of Bt Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

Aim: To know the effect of integrated weed management on weed parameters and yield of bt cotton.
 Study Design: Randomized complete block design.
 Place and Duration of Study: College of Agriculture Farm, Bheemaraynagudi between July 2021 and Feb 2022.
 Methodology: The field experiment was conducted during Kharif 2021 at Experimental block, College of Agriculture, Bheemarayanagudi. The soil of the experiment field was deep black clayey in texture. The experiment comprises 11 weed management practices viz., T1: Pendimethalin 38.7% CS @ 750 g a.i./ha as PE + Hand weeding @ 20-25 DAS and Intercultivation @ 55-60 DAS, T2: Pendimethalin 38.7 % CS @ 750 g a.i./ha as PE fb Pyrithiobac Sodium 10 EC @ 75g a.i./ha + Quizalofop ethyl 5 EC @ 37.5g a.i./ha as PoE @ 25 DAS and Intercultivation @ 55-60 DAS. (Tank mix), T3 : Pendimethalin 38.7 % CS @ 750 g a.i./ha as PE fb Pyrithiobac Sodium 10 EC @ 50g a.i./ha + Quizalofop ethyl 5 EC @ 25 g a.i./ha as PoE @ 25 DAS and Intercultivation @ 55-60 DAS, T4 :Pendimethalin 38.7 % CS @ 750 g a.i./ha as PE fb Pyrithiobac Sodium 10 EC @ 75g a.i./ha + Quizalofop ethyl 5 EC @ 37.5g a.i./ha as PoE @ 25 DAS and Intercultivation @ 55-60 DAS, T5 : Pendimethalin 38.7 % CS @ 750 g a.i./ha as PE fb Pyrithiobac Sodium 10 EC @ 100g a.i./ha + Quizalofop ethyl 5 EC @ 50g a.i./ha as PoE @ 25 DAS and Intercultivation @ 55-60 DAS, T6 : Pyrithiobac Sodium 10 EC @ 50g a.i./ha + Quizalofop ethyl 5 EC @ 25g a.i./ha as PoE @ 25 DAS and Intercultivation @ 55-60 DAS, T7: Pyrithiobac Sodium 10 EC @ 75g a.i./ha + Quizalofop ethyl 5 EC @ 37.5g a.i./ha as PoE @ 25 DAS and Intercultivation @ 55-60 DAS, T8: Pyrithiobac Sodium 10 EC @ 100g a.i./ha + Quizalofop ethyl 5 EC @ 50g a.i./ha as PoE @ 25 DAS and Intercultivation @ 55-60 DAS, T9: Farmers practice (Hand weeding @ 25 DAS and 2 intercultivations @ 50 and 75 DAS), T10: Weedy check, T11: Weed free check.
 Results: Among the treatments, application of pendimethalin 38.7 % CS @ 750 g a.i./ha as PE fb pyrithiobac sodium 10 EC @ 100 g a.i./ha + quizalofop ethyl 5 EC @ 50 g a.i./ha as PoE (combi-product) @ 25 DAS and intercultivation @ 55-60 DAS recorded significantly lower weed density and higher weed control efficiency (82.39 %), also recorded higher seed cotton yield (2495 kg ha-1) and stalk yield (4056 kg ha-1) over other treatments.
 Conclusion: Application of Pendimethalin 38.7 % CS @ 750 g a.i./ha as PE fb Pyrithiobac Sodium 10 EC @ 100g a.i./ha + Quizalofop ethyl 5 EC @ 50g a.i./ha as PoE @ 25 DAS and Intercultivation @ 55-60 DAS was found effective in controlling the weeds with coupled with higher seed cotton yield .

Effect of Various Levels of Phosphorus on Growth Attributing Characters, Yield and Nutrient Uptake by Cotton in Vertisol

This study was carried out at Research Farm of Cotton Research Unit of Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth Akola during the kharif season of 2021-2022 to evaluate the "Effect of various levels of phosphorus on growth attributing characters yield and nutrient uptake by cotton in Vertisol". The experiment used Randomized Block Design, with eight treatments replicated thrice. The prescribed fertilizer dose of 120:60:60 NPK kg ha-1 was administered according to the treatments. The research experiment used the cotton variety PDKV JKL116. Similarly, Depending on the treatment, nano DAP was applied during seed treatment and foliar spray at 30 DAS. Before and after harvesting, samples of the soil and cotton plants were collected and analyzed using procedures’. The results concluded that the application of 100% NPK achieved the highest plant height, branch number boll number seed cotton yield, and cotton stalk yield.

Sowing Time and Spacing Influenced Yield, Quality and Economics of Bt Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

A field study was conducted in the 2019 kharif season at the Agronomy Instructional Farm, SDAU, SKNagar, Gujarat, India. To investigate that the sowing time and spacing influenced yield, quality and economics of Bt cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in loamy sand soil. Twelve treatment combinations were examined, involving three sowing times (T1: 3rd week of May, T2: 1st week of June, T3: 3rd week of June) and four plant spacings (S1: 90 cm × 60 cm, S2: 90 cm × 45 cm, S3: 60 cm × 60 cm, S4: 60 cm × 45 cm). Four replications of a split plot design were used for the experiment. The third week of May was consistently the best time to sow cotton, according to the results, producing the maximum yields of seed cotton and stalk cotton. The quantity of monopodial branches/plant, harvest index and plant population as well as quality parameters such as oil content and ginning percentage were not significantly impacted by sowing time. The 3rd week of May sowing also yielded the highest benefit cost ratio and net realization. In terms of plant spacing, the spacing of 60 cm × 45 cm promoted highest plant population, taller plants and increased yield attributes like the bolls/plant, boll weight and seed cotton yield/plant. The highest seed cotton yield and stalk yield were achieved with this spacing. Harvest index and quality parameters were unaffected by plant spacing. The narrow spacing of 60 cm × 45 cm also resulted in the highest benefit cost ratio and net realization. The interaction effect between sowing time and plant spacing did not significantly influence growth, yield, yield attributes and quality parameters of Bt cotton.

A multicriteria approach for biomass availability assessment and selection for energy production in Burkina Faso: A hybrid AHP-TOPSIS approach

Burkina Faso's agricultural and industrial sectors are sources of biomass production which are not well tapped. However, the exact quantities available and mobilizable with connection to recovery technologies are not available in the literature. Also, there is very little data on the criteria for the optimal selection of the biomasses to be valorized. In this article, quantification of the main biomasses produced in Burkina Faso has been carried out. Additionally, sustainable biomass selection criteria have been established. A hybrid (AHP-TOPSIS) multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach was used to prioritize suitable biomass resources based on defined criteria for bioenergy production. Based on expert opinions and an in-depth review of the literature, six main biomass selection criteria were established: i) biomass availability and accessibility, ii) competitive uses, iii) pollution potential related to residue accumulation, iv) economic impact, v) biomass energy content, and vi) availability of appropriate biomass conversion technologies. Moreover, five potential biomasses were investigated, including cotton stalks, rice husks, cashew nutshells, mango peels, and mango pits. The results of the evaluation showed that cotton stalks were the best option.

Enhancement of Kevlar fiber-polypropylene composite by the inclusions of cotton stalk and granite particle: characteristics study

Enhancement of Kevlar fiber-polypropylene composite by the inclusions of cotton stalk and granite particle: characteristics study

Pyrolysis-catalysis of medical waste over metal-doping porous biochar to co-harvest jet fuel range hydrocarbons and H2-rich fuel gas

This study developed a dual-stage pyrolysis-catalysis pathway to valorize disposal syringe waste into liquid hydrocarbons and H2-rich fuel gas. Two typical biomass sources (corn stover and cotton stalk) were used to synthesize metal-doping porous biochar catalysts through in situ carbothermal reduction treatment. For corn stover-derived biochar catalysts, Fe/C1 (Fe-doping corn stover biochar catalyst) presented a high yield (61.06 wt%) of liquid hydrocarbons with over 78% of jet fuel range (C8 – C16) hydrocarbons, and the 2,4-dimethyl-1-heptene (C9H18) yield reached 101.6 mg/gsyringe. Bimetallic Zn-Fe/C1 (Zn-Fe co-doped corn stover biochar catalyst) was in favor of H2 production, with a proportion of over 37 vol%. Among the cotton stalk-derived biochar catalysts, bimetallic Zn-Fe/C2 (Zn-Fe co-doped cotton stalk biochar catalyst) achieved a highest yield (62.76 wt%) of liquid hydrocarbons, indicating a positive synergistic effect of bimetallic Zn-Fe composite on liquid hydrocarbons production. However, Fe/C2 (Fe-doping cotton stalk biochar catalyst) was responsible for a high yield (over 93 mg/gsyringe) of 2,4-dimethyl-1-heptene and a high selectivity (over 76%) of jet fuel range hydrocarbons. Additionally, a logical reaction mechanism was provided for dual-stage pyrolysis-catalysis of syringe waste over metal-doping porous biochar catalysts. Briefly, this work provides a green route by using metal-doping biochar for valorization of medical wastes into liquid hydrocarbons and H2-rich fuel gas.