Cultivation Unit Research Articles

Significantly enhanced energy efficiency through reflective materials integration in plant factories with artificial light

Plant factory with artificial light (PFAL) based on vertical farming is a promising technology for resource-efficient plant production, especially in urban areas or arid regions. However, the lighting system of PFAL requires a large amount of energy, which makes the total energy cost much higher than open-field and greenhouse farming. To address this issue, in this work, a cultivation system integrated with highly reflective materials is demonstrated in PFAL, which reduces light energy consumption by more than 36 %. A low-cost reflective film is fabricated with an overall reflectivity of 96.5 % in the entire photosynthetically active radiation spectrum. The effectiveness of this reflective film in reducing energy consumption is further demonstrated with optical simulation analysis and the corresponding computational fluid dynamics simulation based on an experimental cultivation rack. The corresponding field experiments of 3 different types of lettuce, Crunchy, Butterhead and Grand Rapids, under different light intensities are conducted in the cultivation unit. With reflective film properly installed, a 36 % reduction of light energy consumption is demonstrated while the dry weight and fresh weight still increase. An additional benefit is that the light reception area of lettuce becomes larger due to the more uniform lighting with the integration of reflective material. This work presents a simple yet reliable strategy for enhancing the energy efficiency in PFAL systems and can achieve the cost-effective daily production of lettuce with significantly reduced energy input.

Dynamics of micro and macronutrients in a hydroponic nutrient film technique system under lettuce cultivation

While hydroponics is considered an efficient vegetable production system, there is a compelling need to investigate the efficiency of the current generic nutrient dosing recommendation primarily based on electrical conductivity (EC) measurements. Such information is critical to fine-tune and optimize the current hydroponic management practices for improved nutrient uptake efficiency. This study investigated the dynamics of some micro and macronutrients (N, P, Ca, Mg, K, Fe, and Mn) in a recirculating nutrient film technique (NFT) hydroponic system under lettuce cultivation. The research was conducted in an indoor controlled environment growth chamber with lettuce grown in different EC levels (1.2 and 1.6 dS m−1). Each treatment had four hydroponic cultivation units, each one with 24 plants. Nutrient solution and tissue samples were collected two to three times per week. Nutrient dynamics, including nutrient uptake efficiencies and environmental losses, were calculated using a mass balance approach. The effects of EC level on fresh and dry lettuce biomass and nutrient uptake were insignificant. Observed variations in nutrient solution composition during lettuce cultivation included the almost complete removal of ammonia nitrogen, nitrate decreases towards the end of the experiment, consistent increases in aqueous Ca concentration, and corresponding decreases in K and Mn. Average N losses ranged between 27 and 40 %, presumably through denitrification, while 10–14 % of N was assimilated into the plant biomass. The remaining N in the recirculating nutrient solution was estimated to be between 50 and 59 %. The average P loss was 11–35 %, likely due to precipitation, while 52–77 % remained in the nutrient solution. Nutrient uptake efficiencies averaged 19–31 % K, 12–21 % P, 9–16 % Mn, 4–6 % Ca, 3–4 % Mg, and 2–4 % Fe. These results suggest that elevated nutrient concentrations in recirculating nutrient solutions led to losses and underutilization. Findings from this study provide a comprehensive dataset critical to improving hydroponic nutrient management beyond N and P. Hydroponic nutrient management should target providing essential nutrients needed by plants at the correct proportions considering the plant growth stage.

Growth, productivity and quality of colored capsicum (Capsicum annuum L.) as influenced by hybrids and plant growth regulators under controlled environment conditions

In developing countries like India, rapid urbanisation was under way and the diet habits of the people have been changing day to day. Under this transformation, a section of the population is focused on nutritional security where vegetables play a major role in daily diet. Among different vegetables coloured bell pepper which is commonly known as capsicum, has importance due to its nutritional quality and market demand. The quality and productivity of coloured capsicum can be improved by choosing the best performing hybrids and exogenous application of plant growth regulators. Considering the above, the present study was conducted from November to April of 2020-21 and 2021-22 at the Protected Cultivation Unit of Centurion University of Technology and Management, Paralakhemundi, Odisha under controlled environment conditions. The experiment was laid out in factorial randomized block design consisting of two hybrids, namely, Orobelle (yellow colored) and Bomby (red colored); and eight treatments of growth regulators which were GA3 @ 25 ppm, GA3 @ 50 ppm, GA3 @ 75 ppm, GA3 @ 100 ppm, NAA @ 20 ppm, NAA @ 40 ppm, NAA @ 60 ppm and NAA @ 80 ppm. A total of 16 treatment combinations were worked out in the experiment which were replicated thrice. The results of the experiment revealed that there was no significant variation among the hybrids cultivated with respect to yield attributes, yield, quality parameters and growth attributes excluding plant height and number of leaves per plant at 60 DAS and 90 DAS. However, there was a significant impact of plant growth regulators on growth attributes, yield attributes, yield and quality parameters. The application of NAA @ 80 ppm resulted in early flowering (43.8 days after planting). Moreover, the maximum number of flowers per plant (32.5 flowers/plant), flower to fruit ratio (52.9), fruits per plant (19.5) and weight of the fruit (133.6 g) recorded in GA3 @ 100 ppm application. There was a significant interaction effect among treatment combinations in fruit yield where the highest value was recorded in Bomby hybrid with GA3 @ 100 PPM application. From the study it may be concluded that cultivation of both the hybrids can be considered as per the fruit colour and market demand along with the application of GA3 @ 100 ppm under controlled environment conditions.

民办高校党建工作学生样板支部培育创建研究——以武汉工程科技学院学生支部为例

In the grassroots party building work system of universities, the party building work of students in private universities occupies an important position, and is also an indispensable part of ensuring the development and progress of China's higher education cause. Strengthening and promoting the cultivation and construction of model branches is of great significance for enhancing the combat fortress function of student party organizations. Taking the student branch of Wuhan University of Engineering and Technology as an example, as one of the first selected model branch cultivation and creation units in Hubei Province, it has successfully explored a student party branch cultivation model with “four modernizations” as its core feature, namely standardized party member training mode, current affairs party building activity guidance, normalized volunteer service practice, and guided exemplary incentives. This innovative practice provides a new perspective, strategy, and path for the theory and practice of grassroots student party building work, effectively promoting the innovative development of student party building work.

Evaluation of the growth, flower quality, yield and vase life of gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii L.) cultivars under open ventilated saw-tooth type polyhouse

Cultivation of crops under protected conditions can enhance the yield and quality of agricultural produce. Gerbera is one of the high-value cut flowers which can be commercially cultivated under greenhouse conditions in tropical and subtropical regions. The choice of commercially viable cultivars is essential for obtaining its marketability. Moreover, cultivars of gerbera should be highly productive. Considering the above facts, the present study was conducted in 2020-2022 in the Protected Cultivation Unit of the Centurion University of Technology and Management where 10 cultivars were chosen as treatments. They were Intense, White house, Stanza, Dune, Dana-ellen, Artist, Sunway, Silvester, Pre-intenzz and Ankur. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design and replicated three times. The data collected on the growth parameters, quality, yield, and vase life revealed that among all the cultivars of gerbera, Dana-ellen showed its superiority over others in terms of plant height and number of leaves (49.3 cm and 31.0 at 120 days after sowing respectively), days to first flowering (84.3), flower stalk length (64.8 cm), flower stalk girth (67.2 cm), ray floret length (8.7 mm) and suckers per plant (3.4); however, it remained on par with Dune, Intense, and Silvester in expression of most of the crop parameters. Similarly, the same variety Dana-ellen registered the highest yields (27.3, 33.7 and 34.7 flowers per plant during first, second and third years of the study respectively) among all the cultivars. Moreover, the variety Dune recorded the maximum vase life of 8.4 days and 9.2 days with citric acid and sucrose solutions, respectively. The study concluded that the cultivation of Dana-ellen, Dune, Silvester, and Artist under open-ventilated saw-tooth polyhouse conditions can be commercially viable for achieving higher flower quality and yield.

Feasibility of aquaculture cultivation of elkhorn sea moss (Kappaphycus alvarezii) in a horizontal long line in the Tropical Eastern Pacific

Seaweed aquaculture has become a profitable and an attractive alternative of cultivation thanks to its quick biomass production for food, feed, and other non-food applications. In addition, the ecosystem services generated by seaweed cultivation towards carbon fixation represents a more sustainable solution to the ocean’s acidification. The growth of elkhorn sea moss (Kappaphycus alvarezii) was evaluated in three plots with 200 propagules during a period of 70 days in a floating raft system covered by a fishing net underneath. Initial weight of propagules was 159.3 ± 12.74 g in wet biomass and 15.3 ± 1.43 g in dry biomass and were sampled up to 19 days (in the lag growth phase; period I), up to 33 days (in the exponential growth phase; period II) and up to 70 days (in the stationarity growth phase; period III). The variations of sea surface water temperature, salinity, turbidity (Secchi depth), total ammonium, nitrites, nitrates, and phosphate were determined. The growth increase was more evident in the exponential phase II when a dry biomass of 28.0 ± 2.48 (1153.3 ± 6.25 g in wet mass) was reached, more than 7 times the biomass of propagules with an average daily growth rate of 15.2% g.day–1. The carrying capacity of the zone was estimated at 86.2% in the area where 53 cultivation units would be projected. The economic analysis presented a financial feasibility with a net profit of 19% over the projected income and an IRR of 16.5%, recovering the investment in an estimated period of 4.3 years. We recommend to continue with larger-scale studies to optimize the cultivation of K. alvarezii in the study area.

The Sensitivity of Fungi Colonising Buckwheat Grains to Cold Plasma Is Species Specific.

Fungi are the leading cause of plant diseases worldwide and are responsible for enormous agricultural and industrial losses on a global scale. Cold plasma (CP) is a potential tool for eliminating or inactivating fungal contaminants from biological material such as seeds and grains. This study used a low-pressure radiofrequency CP system with oxygen as the feed gas to test the decontamination efficacy of different genera and species commonly colonising buckwheat grains. Two widely accepted methods for evaluating fungal decontamination after CP treatment of seeds were compared: direct cultivation technique or contamination rate method (%) and indirect cultivation or colony-forming units (CFU) method. For most of the tested fungal taxa, an efficient decrease in contamination levels with increasing CP treatment time was observed. Fusarium graminearum was the most susceptible to CP treatment, while Fusarium fujikuroi seems to be the most resistant. The observed doses of oxygen atoms needed for 1-log reduction range from 1024-1025 m-2. Although there was some minor discrepancy between the results obtained from both tested methods (especially in the case of Fusarium spp.), the trends were similar. The results indicate that the main factors affecting decontamination efficiency are spore shape, size, and colouration.

Photosynthetic performance of Chlamydopodium (Chlorophyta) cultures grown in outdoor bioreactors.

The microalga Chlamydopodium fusiforme MACC-430 was cultured in two types of outdoor pilot cultivation units-a thin-layer cascade (TLC) and a raceway pond (RWP) placed in a greenhouse. This case study aimed to test their potential suitability for cultivation scale-up to produce biomass for agriculture purposes (e.g., as biofertilizer or biostimulant). The culture response to the alteration of environmental conditions was evaluated in "exemplary" situations of good and bad weather conditions using several photosynthesis measuring techniques, namely oxygen production, and chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence. Validation of their suitability for online monitoring in large-scale plants has been one of the objectives of the trials. Both techniques were found fast and robust reliable to monitor microalgae activity in large-scale cultivation units. In both bioreactors, Chlamydopodium cultures grew well in the semi-continuous regime using daily dilution (0.20-0.25 day-1). The biomass productivity calculated per volume was significantly (about 5 times) higher in the RWPs compared to the TLCs. The measured photosynthesis variables showed that the build-up of dissolved oxygen concentration in the TLC was higher, up to 125-150% of saturation (%sat) as compared to the RWP (102-104%sat). As only ambient CO2 was available, its shortage was indicated by a pH increase due to photosynthetic activity in the thin-layer bioreactor at higher irradiance intensities. In this setup, the RWP was considered more suitable for scale-up due to higher areal productivity, lower construction and maintenance costs, the smaller land area required to maintain large culture volumes, as well as lower carbon depletion and dissolved oxygen build-up. KEY POINTS: • Chlamydopodium was grown in both raceways and thin-layer cascades in pilot-scale. • Various photosynthesis techniques were validated for growth monitoring. • In general, raceway ponds were evaluated as more suitable for cultivation scale-up.

Stem cell culture and differentiation in 3-D scaffolds.

Conventional two-dimensional (2-D) cultivation are easy to utilize for human pluripotent stem (hPS) cell cultivation in standard techniques and are important for analysis or development of the signal pathways to keep pluripotent state of hPS cells cultivated on 2-D cell culture materials. However, the most efficient protocol to prepare hPS cells is the cell culture in a three dimensional (3-D) cultivation unit because huge numbers of hPS cells should be utilized in clinical treatment. Some 3-D cultivation strategies for hPS cells are considered: (a) microencapsulated cell cultivation in suspended hydrogels, (b) cell cultivation on microcarriers (MCs), (c) cell cultivation on self-aggregated spheroid [cell aggregates; embryoid bodies (EBs) and organoids], (d) cell cultivation on microfibers or nanofibers, and (e) cell cultivation in macroporous scaffolds. These cultivation ways are described in this chapter.

Adoption Behaviour of Climate-resilient Agricultural Practices in Punjab under NICRA Project

An integrated package of climate-resilient technologies was demonstrated in one village per 4 selected districts namely Bathinda, Faridkot, Roopnagar and Fatehgarh Sahib of Punjab. The major objective was to augment the resilience of agricultural systems, both crop production and livestock farming to climate vulnerability. From 2011-2020, major interventions made in crop production system were; crop residue management, zero tillage, quality seed, green manuring, biofertilizers and promotion of water saving technologies such as laser land levelling, direct seeded rice, short to medium duration rice varieties, etc. Major interventions made in livestock production system included green fodder production round the year, silage making, mineral mixture, uromin lick availability and regular vaccinations. To improve livelihood, subsidiary occupations like dairy farm, backyard poultry, piggery, jaggery production and protected cultivation units were established in the NICRA villages. Farmers were highly convinced to adopt the recommended practices but adoption level of demonstrated natural resource management technologies was variable and specific to a district. The satisfying results were witnessed under the NICRA project and there was an increase in the adaptive capacities, and enhanced incomes. NICRA villages functioned as model villages and became knowledge hubs/centres for out-scaling technologies in large areas.

Macroepiphyte biodiversity on Kappaphycus alvarezii surface and its interaction with environment in cultivation centers on Lombok Island, Indonesia

Abstract. Ghazali M, Widoretno W, Arumingtyas EL, Retnaningdyah C. 2022. Macroepiphyte biodiversity on Kappaphycus alvarezii surface and its interaction with environment in cultivation centers on Lombok Island, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 23: 6284-6292. The aims of this paper are to investigate the influence of environmental factors on the diversity of macroepiphytes in Kappaphycus alvarezii. Macroepiphyte sampling was carried out at four cultivation centers: Seriwe Bay, Ekas Bay, Gerupuk Bay, and Siwak of Lombok Island, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Several stations were placed at each location, and at each station were used one to three cultivation units with five replications. Environmental data measurements were carried out at the time of sampling. Some parameters were measured: pH, temperature, salinity, current velocity, brightness, DO, BOD, nitrate, phosphate, and TSS. Data analysis was performed using several diversity indices. In addition, a biplot analysis was performed using PCA to analyze the correlation between environmental factors and environmental factors to macroepiphytes. The results showed that the most dominant species was Polysiphonia spaerocharpa, and the second was Ceramium sp1. The highest richness and abundance were found in Ekas Bay. The highest species dominance was in Siwak. The highest diversity index was in Ekas Bay. The correlation between environmental factors showed that hemeroby harmed depth, phosphate, and DO and positively affected BOD and the thallus surface structure. The principal correlation analysis showed that the abundance of macroepiphyte was influenced by BOD, the roughness of host thallus, and the hemeroby index.

The Cultivation of Water Hyacinth in India as a Feedstock for Anaerobic Digestion: Development of a Predictive Model for Scaling Integrated Systems

A novel, integrated system is proposed for the cultivation and co-digestion of the invasive macrophyte water hyacinth (WH) with cow manure (CM) for the production of biogas for cooking in rural India. This study investigates the pre-treatment approaches and performs a techno-economic analysis of producing biogas in fixeddome digesters as a replacement for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Methodologies have been developed for the cultivation of WH collected from wild plants in the Indrayani River, Pune, India. Cultivation trials were performed in 350 litre tanks using water, which was nutrient fed with CM. Cultivation trials were performed over a 3 week period, and growth rates were determined by removing and weighing the biomass at regular time intervals. Cultivation results provided typical yields and growth rates of biomass, allowing predictions to be made for cultivation scaling. Samples of cultivated WH have been co-digested with CM at a 20:80 ratio in 200 L anaerobic digesters, allowing for the prediction of bio-methane yields from fixed-dome anaerobic digesters in real world conditions, which are commonly used in the rural locations of India. A calculator has been developed, allowing us to estimate the scaling requirements for the operation of an integrated biomass cultivation and anaerobic co-digestion unit to produce an equivalent amount of biogas to replace between one and three LPG cylinders per month. A techno-economic analysis of introducing WH into fixed-dome digesters in India demonstrated that the payback periods range from 9 years to under 1 year depending on the economic strategies. To replace between one and three LPG cylinders per month using the discussed feedstock ratio, the cultivation area of WH required to produce sufficient co-feedstock ranges within 10–55 m2.

Study of Vitamin D2 accumulation potential of two edible mushrooms from North-East India

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that plays an important role in calcium absorption from the intestinecontributing to bone health and many other functions leading to health improvement. There are mainlytwo forms of Vitamin D, namely Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol) and Vitamin D2 (Ergocalciferol). Ergocalciferol(Vitamin D2) is a form of Vitamin D found in food, especially mushrooms. Mushrooms contain ergosterolin their cell membrane; exposure to sunlight/ultraviolet (UV) light causes a photochemical reaction thatisomerizes ergosterol to Vitamin D2. Mushrooms are extensively grown in North-East India from timeimmemorial by the ethnic people. In this study, Vitamin D2 from fruiting bodies of two Oyster Mushroomspecies, namely Pleurotus florida and Pleurotus cornucopiae, is quantified using a spectrophotometer at 264nm.This study aimed to determine the Vitamin D2 accumulation potential of both the species and to select thebest species with the highest Vitamin D2 accumulation potential. Fresh cultures of P. florida and P. cornucopiaewere maintained in CSIR-North East Institute of Science &Technology (CSIR-NEIST) Mushroom GermplasmUnit, Jorhat, Assam, India and cultivated in the cultivation unit. A total of 24 treatments were given to eachsample by exposing it to UV rays ranging from UV-A (365nm and 395nm) and UV-B (280nm and 310nm)for different time periods. It was observed that Vitamin D2 levels varied with different wavelengths used.In both the species, Vitamin D2 levels increased in the UV-B range than in the UV-A range. Moreover,between the two species under study, P. florida showed the highest Vitamin D2 accumulation potential at280nm when exposed for 120 minutes. The level of Vitamin D2 increased to an optimum level at 120 minutesof UV exposure and then declined upon the increase in the time period. The recommended daily allowanceof Vitamin D is 400-800 IU/day according to WHO. In this study, post-UV treatment, the Vitamin D2 levelsdrastically increased to a range of 1000-6000 IU approximately which is safe and can be used in thepreparation of Vitamin D supplements in future.

Sentinel-2 Enables Nationwide Monitoring of Single Area Payment Scheme and Greening Agricultural Subsidies in Hungary

The verification and monitoring of agricultural subsidy claims requires combined evaluation of several criteria at the scale of over a million cultivation units. Sentinel-2 satellite imagery is a promising data source and paying agencies are encouraged to test their pre-operational use. Here, we present the outcome of the Hungarian agricultural subsidy monitoring pilot: our goal was to propose a solution based on open-source components and evaluate the main strengths and weaknesses for Sentinel-2 in the framework of a complex set of tasks. These include the checking of the basic cultivation of grasslands and arable land and compliance to the criteria of ecological focus areas. The processing of the satellite data was conducted based on random forest for crop classification and the detection of cultivation events was conducted based on NDVI (Normalized Differential Vegetation Index) time series analysis results. The outputs of these processes were combined in a decision tree ruleset to provide the final results. We found that crop classification provided good performance (overall accuracy 88%) for 22 vegetation classes and cultivation detection was also reliable when compared to on-screen visual interpretation. The main limitation was the size of fields, which were frequently small compared to the spatial resolution of the images: more than 4% of the parcels had to be excluded, although these represent less than 3% of the cultivated area of Hungary. Based on these results, we find that operational satellite-based monitoring is feasible for Hungary, and expect further improvements from integration with Sentinel-1 due to additional temporal resolution.

Application of Analytic Hierarchy Process in the Selection of Botryococcus braunii Cultivation Technology for Bio-crude Oil Production

Bio-crude oil is a way to utilize bioenergy that can reduce the Indonesian government's dependence on fossil energy. Bio-crude oil can be obtained by carrying out a thermochemical process of biomass. Microalgae is a potential source of biomass and Botryococcus braunii is one of the promising types of microalgae for this matter. One of the units required in the conversion process of microalgae into bio-crude oil is the cultivation unit. The objective of this study is to determine the most effective and optimal cultivation technology to be applied to the bio-crude oil refinery plant. Location of the cultivation system is in Cilacap, Central Java, Indonesia. A study was conducted for this purpose using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. The cultivation systems proposed to be the alternatives were open raceway pond, flat panel photo-bioreactor, hybrid, and membrane photo-bioreactor. The AHP results showed that the open raceway pond was selected to be applied to the bio-crude oil refinery process. The biomass production potential of Botryococcus braunii from the cultivation unit in this study was 19.8795 ton/year/ha which could be processed into 11.5301 ton of bio-crude oil with a high heating value (HHV) of 553,448.8 MJ.

The Assessment of the Real-Time Radiative Properties and Productivity of Limnospira platensis in Tubular Photobioreactors.

The development of tools to predict the photobioreactors’ (PBRs) productivity is a significant concern in biotechnology. To this end, it is required to know the light availability inside the cultivation unit and combine this information with a suitable kinetic expression that links the distribution of radiant energy with the cell growth rate. In a previous study, we presented and validated a methodology for assessing the radiative properties necessary to address the light distribution inside a PBR for varying illuminating conditions through the cultivation process of a phototrophic microorganism. Here, we sought to utilise this information to construct a predictive tool to estimate the productivity of an autotrophic bioprocess carried out in a 100 [L] tubular photobioreactor (TPBR). Firstly, the time-dependent optical properties over ten batch cultures of L. platensis were calculated. Secondly, the local volumetric rate of photon absorption was assessed based on a physical model of the interaction of the radiant energy with the suspended biomass, together with a Monte Carlo simulation algorithm. Lastly, a kinetic expression valid for low illumination conditions has been utilised to reproduce all the cultures’ experimentally obtained dry weight biomass concentration values. Taken together, time-dependent radiative properties and the kinetic model produced a valuable tool for the study and scaling up of TPBRs.

Optimization of the Sowing Unit of a Piezoelectrical Sensor Chamber with the Use of Grain Motion Modeling by Means of the Discrete Element Method. Case Study: Rape Seed

Nowadays, in the face of continuous technological progress and environmental requirements, all manufacturing processes and machines need to be optimized in order to achieve the highest possible efficiency. Agricultural machines such as seed drills and cultivation units are no exception. Their efficiency depends on the amount of sowing material to be used and the patency of seed transport tubes or colters. Most available control systems for seed drills are optical ones whose operation is not effective when working close to the ground due to large dusting. Thus, there is still a need to provide seed drills with sensors to be equipped with control systems suitable for use under conditions of massive dusting that would shorten the time of reaction to clogging and be affordable for every farmer. This study presents an analysis of grain motion in the sowing system and an analysis of the operation efficiency of an original piezoelectric sensor with patent application. The novelty of this work is reflected in the new design of a specially designed piezoelectric sensor in the sowing unit, for which an analysis of indication errors was carried out. A seed arrangement of this type has not been described so far. An analysis of the influence of the seed tube tilt angle and the type of its exit hole end on the coordinates of the grain point of collision with the sensor surface and erroneous indications of the amount of sown grains identified by the piezoelectric sensor is presented. Low values of the sensor indication errors (up to 10%), particularly for small tilt angles (0° and 5°) confirm its high grain detection efficiency, comparable with other sensors used in sowing systems, e.g., photoelectric, fiber or infrared sensors and confirm its suitability for commercial application. The results presented in this work broaden the knowledge on the use of sensors in seeding systems and provide the basis for the development of precise systems with piezoelectric sensors.

Bioconversion of chemically captured carbon dioxide into microalgal lipids, a potential source of biodiesel: An integrated technique

The rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration due to extensive anthropogenic activity besides rapid exhaustion of non-renewable energy sources demands evolution of clean and ecofriendly alternative fuel source. Recently, lipid rich microalgal biomass is being considerably researched for generation of biodiesel conversely, the expenses incurred on production of microalgal biomass is a substantial obstacle. Almost 80 % of the production cost is generated from the cultivation medium which majorly consists of carbon, nitrogen and phosphate. CO2 absorption by means of aqueous amine solvents is known to be a mature technology and could be integrated with microalgal cultivation unit for efficient utilization of the captured CO2. In this current investigation, piperazine (PZ) promoted aqueous blend of methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) having mass percentage ratio of (8/22 wt%) was used a CO2 capturing agent and then the captured CO2 was utilized as an inorganic carbon source for growing Chlorella sorokiniana BTA 9031 for biodiesel production. The CO2 absorption rate was governed by series of process variables namely, absorption temperature, initial CO2 concentration, solvent flow rate, gas flow rate and the optimal conditions were 315 K, 15 kPa, 3.6 × 10−4 m3 min−1 and 4 × 10−3 m3 min−1 respectively. The highest biomass strength of Chlorella sorokiniana BTA 9031 was observed to be 1.20 ± 0.028 g L−1. The fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) profile was determined after acid transesterification of the extracted microalgal lipids. It was observed to contain fatty acids suitable for biodiesel production.

Analysis on Transporting Methods of Cultivation Unit for Vertical Cultivation in Plant Factory

Automatic transport can improve the operational efficiency in plant factory production and reduce the use of labor. However, a determination of a plant factory automation operation mode should comprehensively consider the economic strength of the enterprise, operation objects and operation mode, production scale, technical strength, labor costs, and other factors. In this study, a logistics transport system comprising a set of cultivation units was developed for plant factories, using a mode based on shelf-end delivery without power inside the shelf. Moreover, an analysis was conducted on four modes of common transportation methods for the cultivation units for vertical cultivation in plant factories. The results showed that, when comparing the progressive transport type and warehousing/reciprocating transport type for cultivation units, the transport productivity of the former is higher than that of the latter, and the difference in the two transport productivities is proportional to the capacity for cultivation units in each layer. When the capacities for cultivation units in each layer are 20 and 40, the transport productivity of the former is 115–200% and 130–250% higher than that of the latter, respectively. Moreover, the logistics transport system developed herein reaches an input (output) transport productivity of 330 (270) cultivation units h−1.

Integrated design of biopharmaceutical manufacturing processes: Operation modes and process configurations for monoclonal antibody production

Monoclonal antibodies are leading the growing biopharmaceutical markets. To sustain the increasing demand, manufacturing processes should be optimized to increase efficiency and flexibility. This work investigates the impacts of the application of single-use equipment in batch, continuous, and hybrid scenarios. Operating costs and time are compared at different production scales from clinical to commercial manufacturing for individual unit operations and for the final integrated scenarios. A modified kinetic model is presented for the main cultivation unit. The model is validated using experimental data from literature and from a pilot facility using Chinese hamster ovary cells. Integrated scenarios with fed-batch cultivation and continuous capture have the lowest operating costs. The selection of operating modes across production scales is discussed along with further considerations for the design of integrated processes. The presented models could be used for the development of process design, control, and scheduling efforts for achieving sustainable biopharmaceutical manufacturing.