Differences In Plant Size Research Articles

Assessment of transient hydrogen sulfide peak emissions caused by biogas plant operation

Odor nuisance is a major impediment for public acceptance and wider implementation of biogas plants. Knowledge on composition and dynamics of emissions from these plants is highly needed for development of robust mitigation solutions. In this study, odorant emissions were investigated from two biogas plants of different sizes and capacities. Measurements using proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometer (PTR-MS) revealed that hydrogen sulfide was the main odorant and constituted 82% and 71% of the odor activity sums (SOAV) at the two studied plants, respectively. Long-term time-resolved measurements furthermore revealed that emissions were highly dynamic with distinct short-term emission peaks. By deploying an array of electrochemical sensors, the main sources of hydrogen sulfide emission were subsequently identified and correlated with operational data to identify the major causes for the highly fluctuating emissions. Addition of biomasses in the form of animal slurry to pre-tanks, were shown to be the major cause of periodic hydrogen sulfide emission within the range of 50–1200 ppm. Such hydrogen sulfide peak emissions could challenge odor abatement from biogas plants and should be taken into account when designing odor abatement technologies for biogas plants.

Product-Service System business model for plastics industry

Traditional business models increasingly less accurately accommodate changes taking place in the market. Growing competition, sharing economy, digital transformation, corporate environmental responsibility, and increasing customer requirements exert pressure on enterprises to change their business mentality. One can easily observe the need for integrated, environment-friendly solutions that generate new value added to customers. To achieve that, we need new business models that would allow to discover new potential in new markets.In the face of dynamic market changes, traditional business models are increasingly less capable of addressing the growing competition, sharing economy, digital transformation, corporate environmental responsibility, and the rising demands of customers. There is a clear need for integrated, environmentally friendly solutions that generate new added value for customers. Achieving this goal requires the development of new business models that enable the discovery of potential in new markets.Therefore, searching for and creating new business models that would stand up to requirements is vital. These problems could be solved by a PSS considered a personalized business model operating in an extended time horizon. PSS is an opportunity to sell product functions and availability, as well as a perspective for multiple uses of products.This paper presents a pioneering attempt to develop a Product-Service System (PSS) business model specifically tailored for the plastics industry. An innovative approach consists in the integration of a machinery and a tool into a production unit and adding an array of services to it. This groundbreaking research, unprecedented in its scale, involved a comprehensive questionnaire-based study conducted across 60 plastics processing plants employing prevalent production techniques. The study is unique in its extensive scope and depth, as such an analysis of PSS business models within the plastics industry has not been previously explored in the open literature. The research methodology applied is thorough, covering a wide range of practical aspects crucial for the effective implementation of PSS in the plastics sector. This paper stands out for its detailed examination of 60 enterprises in the plastics industry, focusing on their interest in 95 services essential for the optimal operation of plastics processing plants and their engagement with representatives from the plastics industry. This extensive study offers valuable insights into the usage of machines and tools in plastics processing, as well as the specific needs, requirements, and challenges faced by businesses in this sector.Results of analyses demonstrate that interest in services differs depending on the size of an enterprise, processing technique, having a toolroom or not, product range, and the duration of breakdowns. A new PSS business model for plastics processing was built based on the analysis of PSS design methods and sectors to which they are addressed, PSS used in practice, plastics processing sector, questionnaire-based studies conducted among plastics processing plants, statistical analyses, advice and consultancy sessions with experts from the investigated industry, finances and trade patterns for machines. Until to date the question of precise design of such a business model for the plastics processing sector has neither been examined nor discussed or evidenced. The paper aims to bridge this gap. The approach to the issue was innovative, based on a questionnaire survey and consultations with experts which allowed to faithfully reproduce the current condition of the investigated sector. In addition, each service added on to the production unit underwent a detailed statistical analysis. The hereto presented business model is extremely comprehensive as it can be used in plastics processing plants of different sizes.

Optimization of physicochemical parameters for lipopeptides surfactin production by Bacillus halotolerans under oat straw medium using Box-Behnken design and artificial neural networks

The primary objective of this study was to produce lipopeptide surfactin using Bacillus halotolerans (GenBank accession: ON204239), which was isolated from the rhizosphere of pine trees in the El Baaraouia forest in Eastern Algeria. B. halotolerans demonstrated the capacity to biosynthesize surfactants when cultured on a blood agar medium, resulting in the formation of clear zones around the colonies. Antagonism tests were conducted using the culture supernatant on two liquid media: LB (Luria-Bertani) and a natural medium (OSM) with oats as the sole carbon source. The results showed significant inhibition zones (15 mm) on LB medium compared to larger zones (25 mm) on OSM after 24 h. In vivo, antagonistic activity under field conditions after 12 weeks revealed that B. halotolerans inoculated in OSM effectively enhanced and protected tomato plants against F. napiforme compared to the LB medium and the control group. The results exhibited notable differences in plant size, number of leaves, number of discolored leaves, and root mass, all favoring the OSM-inoculated plants. The study utilized a combination of Box-Behnken design within the response surface methodology (BBD-RSM), artificial neural networks (ANNs), and the genetic algorithm (GA) to optimize culture conditions and achieve maximum surfactin production. The optimal conditions for surfactin production included a substrate concentration of 7 g, incubation time of 30 h, pH of 2.31, and a temperature of 37.4 °C. Under these conditions, the antagonism test against phytopathogenic F. napiforme (GenBank accession: ON204349) using the culture supernatant revealed a significant inhibition zone of 18.5 mm after 24 h. UPLC-MS analysis of the lipopeptides produced by B. halotolerans cultured on an oat straw medium confirmed the production of various surfactin analogs. Seven analogs (C12, C13, C14, C15, C16, C17, and C18) were identified. Notably, the production of surfactin analogs by B. halotolerans in the Luria-Bertani medium yielded fewer analogs (C12, C13, C14, C15, and C16) in comparison. In summary, this study successfully optimized surfactin production conditions using BBD-RSM, ANNs, and GA, leading to enhanced antagonistic activity against F. napiforme and the identification of multiple surfactin analogs.

Variações de vazão em escala sub-diária (hydropeaking) decorrentes da operação de reservatórios no Brasil

ABSTRACT International studies have focused on the hydrological impacts on an hourly or sub-daily scale that hydroelectric plants can cause through hydropeaking operations. However, this topic is still underexplored in Brazil, despite its large number of hydroelectric plants. Thus, to bring it to the Brazilian context, this study initially presents a literature review to characterize hydropeaking, its impacts and proposed mitigating measures, and research conducted in Brazil. Next, it was demonstrated that hydropeaking operations occur throughout the entire national territory, in hydroelectric plants of different sizes, that can cause changes increasing up to 450% of the base flow. Conflicts related to hydropeaking in Brazil are also brought up and, despite their occurrences and records of specific thresholds for their mitigation, this has not been addressed in environmental impact studies for licensing Small Hydropower Plants (SHPs) or legislation. Thus, the present study seeks to bring to light the importance of further research on hydropeaking in Brazil.

Unraveling the secrets of plant roots: Simplified method for large scale root exudate sampling and analysis in Arabidopsis thaliana

Background Plants exude a plethora of compounds to communicate with their environment. Although much is known about above-ground plant communication, we are only beginning to fathom the complexities of below-ground chemical communication channels. Studying root-exuded compounds and their role in plant communication has been difficult due to the lack of standardized methodologies. Here, we develop an interdisciplinary workflow to explore the natural variation in root exudate chemical composition of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. We highlight key challenges associated with sampling strategies and develop a framework for analyzing both narrow- and broad-scale patterns of root exudate composition in a large set of natural A. thaliana accessions. Methods Our method involves cultivating individual seedlings in vitro inside a plastic mesh, followed by a short hydroponic sampling period in small quantities of ultrapure water. The mesh makes it easy to handle plants of different sizes and allows for large-scale characterization of individual plant root exudates under axenic conditions. This setup can also be easily extended for prolonged temporal exudate collection experiments. Furthermore, the short sampling time minimizes the duration of the experiment while still providing sufficient signal even with small volume of the sampling solution. We used ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS) for untargeted metabolic profiling, followed by tentative compound identification using MZmine3 and SIRIUS 5 software, to capture a broad overview of root exudate composition in A. thaliana accessions. Results Based on 28 replicates of the Columbia genotype (Col-0) compared with 10 random controls, MZmine3 annotated 354 metabolites to be present only in Col-0 by negative ionization. Of these, 254 compounds could be annotated by SIRIUS 5 software. Conclusions The methodology developed in this study can be used to broadly investigate the role of root exudates as chemical signals in plant belowground interactions.

Ectopic Expression ofDistinct PLC Genes Identifies 'Compactness' as a Possible Architectural Shoot Strategy to Cope with Drought Stress.

Phospholipase C (PLC) has been implicated in several stress responses, including drought. Overexpression (OE) of PLC has been shown to improve drought tolerance in various plant species. Arabidopsis contains nine PLC genes, which are subdivided into four clades. Earlier, OE of PLC3, PLC5 or PLC7 was found to increase Arabidopsis' drought tolerance. Here, we confirm this for three other PLCs: PLC2, the only constitutively expressed AtPLC; PLC4, reported to have reduced salt tolerance and PLC9, of which the encoded enzyme was presumed to be catalytically inactive. To compare each PLC and to discover any other potential phenotype, two independent OE lines of six AtPLC genes, representing all four clades, were simultaneously monitored with the GROWSCREEN-FLUORO phenotyping platform, under both control- and mild-drought conditions. To investigate which tissues were most relevant to achieving drought survival, we additionally expressed AtPLC5 using 13 different cell- or tissue-specific promoters. While no significant differences in plant size, biomass or photosynthesis were found between PLC lines and wild-type (WT) plants, all PLC-OE lines, as well as those tissue-specific lines that promoted drought survival, exhibited a stronger decrease in 'convex hull perimeter' (= increase in 'compactness') under water deprivation compared to WT. Increased compactness has not been associated with drought or decreased water loss before although a hyponastic decrease in compactness in response to increased temperatures has been associated with water loss. We propose that the increased compactness could lead to decreased water loss and potentially provide a new breeding trait to select for drought tolerance.

Foliar fungal communities in agroecosystems depend on crop identity and neighboring vegetation

Agricultural intensification causes plant diversity loss and environmental homogenization, which may result in changes to plant-microbiome interactions mediating plant growth and stress tolerance. We hypothesized that foliar fungal microbiomes would depend on plant traits and environmental filters, constrained by neighboring vegetation expected to serve as a fungal source. Thus, we sampled foliar fungi from four crops (three annual and one perennial), four sites per crop, and three varieties per annual crop, across a 500-km expanse in North Carolina, USA and tested the role of host traits, environmental traits, and vegetative landcover on foliar fungal community structure. Crop species and site were major determinants of community structure, primarily due to differences in plant size and growing season. Site consistently explained 10× more variation in community structure than host variety across the annual crops. Finally, reduced natural vegetative cover surrounding farms was correlated with decreased fungal richness and more homogeneous microbiome assembly. Based on these results, we posit that foliar fungal assembly in crops results from host and environmental filters acting on inputs from the nearby vegetation. Future efforts at agricultural microbiome management must therefore consider landscape management and will require an improved understanding of how agricultural intensification alters microbial source pools.

Unraveling the secrets of plant roots: Simplified method for large scale root exudate sampling and analysis in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Background: Plants exude a plethora of compounds to communicate with their environment. Although much is known about above-ground plant communication, we are only beginning to fathom the complexities of below-ground chemical communication channels. Studying root-exuded compounds and their role in plant communication has been difficult due to the lack of standardized methodologies. Here, we develop an interdisciplinary workflow to explore the natural variation in root exudate chemical composition of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. We highlight key challenges associated with sampling strategies and develop a framework for analyzing both narrow- and broad-scale patterns of root exudate composition in a large set of natural A. thaliana accessions. Methods: Our method involves cultivating individual seedlings in vitro inside a plastic mesh, followed by a short hydroponic sampling period in small quantities of ultrapure water. The mesh makes it easy to handle plants of different sizes and allows for large-scale characterization of individual plant root exudates under axenic conditions. This setup can also be easily extended for prolonged temporal exudate collection experiments. Furthermore, the short sampling time minimizes the duration of the experiment while still providing sufficient signal even with small volume of the sampling solution. We used ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS) for untargeted metabolic profiling, followed by tentative compound identification using MZmine3 and SIRIUS 5 software, to capture a broad overview of root exudate composition in A. thaliana accessions. Results: Based on 28 replicates of the Columbia genotype (Col-0) compared with 10 random controls, MZmine3 identified 354 metabolites to be present only in Col-0 by negative ionization. Of these, 254 compounds could be annotated by SIRIUS 5 software. Conclusions: The methodology developed in this study can be used to broadly investigate the role of root exudates as chemical signals in plant belowground interactions.

AIseed: An automated image analysis software for high-throughput phenotyping and quality non-destructive testing of individual plant seeds

Seed quality is the key to seedling development, which affects field yield. Researchers, breeders, and processors may need to investigate seed quality on a large scale, which requires high-throughput methods, which are currently lacking. To address this bottleneck, we have developed a novel software named AIseed that automatically captures and analyzes great traits, such as the shape, color, or texture features of individual seeds, which are rarely effortlessly and stably determined by conventional measurements. The AIseed software is based on machine vision technology and enables high-throughput handling and phenotyping of various-sized plant seeds. After phenotyping for a total of 54 features, AIseed numbers each seed to facilitate further seed quality assessment or grain detection. In addition, AIseed includes modules for seed quality detection and prediction, such as seed clarity, purity, vigor, and viability testing, which are based on machine learning or deep learning models developed by analyzing the associations between seed quality indicators and the features obtained by the software. Through a series of experiments, this paper has confirmed that AIseed has a high performance in extracting phenotypic features and testing seed quality from images for seeds of several plants of different sizes, with high speed and high precision in separating seeds from the background and then analyzing them. In summary, it is a non-destructive and highly effective software for accurate seed phenotyping and seed quality assessment, which is essential for both breeding and yield improvement.

Unraveling the secrets of plant roots: Simplified method for large scale root exudate sampling and analysis in Arabidopsis thaliana

Background: Plants exude a plethora of compounds to communicate with their environment. Although much is known about above-ground plant communication, we are only beginning to fathom the complexities of below ground chemical communication channels. Studying root-exuded compounds and their role in plant communication has been difficult due to a lack of standardized methodologies. Here, we develop an interdisciplinary workflow to explore the natural variation in root exudate chemical composition of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. We highlight key challenges associated with sampling strategies and develop a framework for analyzing both narrow and broad scale patterns of root exudate composition in a large set of natural A. thaliana accessions. Methods: Our method involves cultivating individual seedlings in vitro inside a plastic mesh, followed by a short hydroponic sampling period in small quantities of ultrapure water. The mesh makes it easy to handle plants of different sizes and allows for large-scale characterization of individual plant root exudates in axenic conditions. This setup can also be easily extended for prolonged temporal exudate collection experiments. Furthermore, the short sampling time minimizes the duration of the experiment while still providing sufficient signal even with a small volume of sampling solution. We used ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS) for untargeted metabolic profiling, followed by tentative compound identification using MZMine3 and SIRIUS 5 software, to capture a broad overview of root exudate composition in A. thaliana accessions. Results: Based on 28 replicates of Columbia genotype (Col-0) compared with 10 random biological controls, MZMine3 identified 354 metabolites to be present only in Col-0 by negative ionization. Of these, 313 compounds could be annotated by SIRIUS 5 software. Conclusions: The methodology developed in this study can be used to broadly investigate the role of root exudates as chemical signals in plant belowground interactions.

Environmental impact of milk and electricity production from dairy farms with biogas plants of different size and feeding system

Anaerobic digestion is an effective method to decrease the environmental impact of milk production and to generate renewable energy. A dairy farm with an annexed biogas plant produces three outputs, milk, meat and electricity, and should be considered as a single system for the evaluation of the environmental impact. The aim of this study was to investigate to what extent the size and feeding methods of the biogas plants in three dairy farms with different features affect the environmental impact related to the milk and electricity produced. The first farm was characterized by a biogas plant of 300 kW fed only with cattle manure, the second farm had a plant of 526 kW fed with cattle manure, maize silage and waste of maize grain production, while the third farm had a biogas plant of 999 kW fed with cattle and poultry manure, maize and triticale silage, and fats from slaughterhouse waste. The Life Cycle Assessment involved the environmental impact of Fat Protein Corrected Milk (FPCM), in the first instance with meat and electricity from biogas considered with an economic allocation, and then considered a credit. Successively, the environmental consequences of electricity were evaluated considering milk and meat as credits. With the economic allocation, Carbon Footprint (CFP) of one kg of FPCM was 0.82, 0.85 and 0.72 kg CO2 eq in the first, second and third farm, respectively. In all the three farms, electricity generation from biogas determined a reduction in the environmental impact of milk production thanks to a credit of emissions provided by the production of renewable energy. Milk CFP in the three farms was 0.82, 0.91 and 0.13 kg CO2 eq respectively, with mitigation from biogas of 11%, 11% and 85%. The best performances were obtained in the third farm thanks to higher levels of electricity generation, covered digestate storage and the large use of agri-industrial waste. Electricity CFP in the farms was −0.74, −0.68 and −0.06 kg CO2 eq/kWh respectively. Environmental consequences of electricity production from biogas plants were compensated in all the farms thanks to the credits provided by milk; this compensation was as greater as the ratio between milk and electricity production and the first farm reached better outcomes. In the context of reducing the environmental impact of animal foods and implementing an ecological transition to reach national and European goals for renewable energy production, the work could be beneficial to assess which combination between dairy and energy products should be promoted.

Technical advances for measurement of gas exchange at the whole plant level: Design solutions and prototype tests to carry out shoot and rootzone analyses in plants of different sizes

To measure gas exchange at the whole plant (WP) level, design solutions were provided and prototypes of gas-exchange systems (GESs) were tested to carry out shoot and rootzone analyses in plants of different sizes. A WP-GES for small herbaceous plants was tested on the ability to maximize the net assimilation rate of CO2 in lettuce plants grown either under blue-red light or upon full spectrum artificial light. A WP-GES for large woody plants was tested during an experiment describing the drought stress inhibition of grapevine transpiration and photosynthesis. Technical advances pointed to optimize: i) the choice of cuvette material and its technical configuration to allow hermetic isolation of the interface shoot-rootzone, to avoid contamination between the two compartments, and to allow climate control of both shoot and rootzone cuvettes, ii) accurate measurements of the mass air-flow entering both cuvettes, and iii) an adequate homogenization of the cuvette air volume for stable and accurate detection of CO2 and H2O concentration in cuvettes before and after CO2 and H2O contamination of the air volumes exerted by plant organs.

Wastewater treatment plant operators report high capacity to support wastewater surveillance for COVID-19 across New York State, USA.

Wastewater surveillance for infectious disease expanded greatly during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a collaboration between sanitation engineers and scientists, the most cost-effective deployment of wastewater surveillance routinely tests wastewater samples from wastewater treatment plants. To evaluate the capacity of treatment plants of different sizes and characteristics to participate in surveillance efforts, we developed and distributed a survey to New York State municipal treatment plant supervisors in the summer and fall of 2021. The goal of the survey was to assess the knowledge, capacity, and attitudes toward wastewater surveillance as a public health tool. Our objectives were to: (1) determine what treatment plant operators know about wastewater surveillance for public health; (2) assess how plant operators feel about the affordability and benefits of wastewater surveillance; and (3) determine how frequently plant personnel can take and ship samples using existing resources. Results show that 62% of respondents report capacity to take grab samples twice weekly. Knowledge about wastewater surveillance was mixed with most supervisors knowing that COVID-19 can be tracked via wastewater but having less knowledge about surveillance for other public health issues such as opioids. We found that attitudes toward wastewater testing for public health were directly associated with differences in self-reported capacity of the plant to take samples. Further, findings suggest a diverse capacity for sampling across sewer systems with larger treatment plants reporting greater capacity for more frequent sampling. Findings provide guidance for outreach activities as well as important insight into treatment plant sampling capacity as it is connected to internal factors such as size and resource availability. These may help public health departments understand the limitations and ability of wastewater surveillance for public health benefit.

Plant community analysis along environmental gradients in moist afromontane forest of Gerba Dima, South-western Ethiopia

BackgroundThis study was carried out in Gerba Dima Forest, South-Western Ethiopia, to determine the floristic composition, species diversity and community types along environmental gradients. Identifying and interpreting the structure of species assemblages is the main goal of plant community ecology. Investigation of forest community composition and structure is very useful in understanding the status of tree population, regeneration, and diversity for conservation purposes.MethodNinety sample plots having a size of 25 × 25 m (625 m2) were laid by employing stratified random sampling. Nested plots were used to sample plants of different sizes and different environmental variables. All woody plant species with Diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 2.5 cm and height ≥ 1.5 m were recorded in 25 m × 25 m plots. Hierarchical (agglomerative) cluster analysis was performed using the free statistical software R version 3.6.1 using package cluster to classify the vegetation into plant community types. Redundancy Analysis (RDA) ordination was used in describing the pattern of plant communities along an environmental gradient.ResultOne hundred and eighty plant species belonging to 145 genera, 69 families and comprising of 15 endemic species were recorded. Of these, 52 species (28.9%) were trees, 6 species (3.33%) were Trees/shrubs, 31 species (17.22%) were shrubs, 76 species (42.22%) were herbs, and 15 species (8.33%) were Lianas. Rubiaceae, Acanthaceae and Asteraceae were the richest family each represented by 11 genera and 11 species (6.11%), 9 genera and 11 species (6.11%), 6 genera and 11 species (6.11%), respectively of total floristic composition. Cluster analysis resulted in five different plant communities and this result was supported by the ordination result. RDA result showed altitude was the main environmental variable in determining the plant communities. The ANOVA test indicated that the five community types differ significantly from each other with regard to Electrical Conductivity and Potassium.ConclusionsDescription of floristic diversity of species in Gerba Dima forest revealed the presence of high species diversity and richness. The presence of endemic plant species in the study forest shows the potential of the area for biodiversity conservation.

Determination of Emergency Planning Zones distances and scaling-based comparison criteria for downsized Nuclear Power Plants

Nuclear Small Modular Reactors (SMR) present innovative features in design and safety compared to existing Nuclear Power Plants (NPP). Some of these features may turn into a reduction in radioactive releases –both in magnitude and frequency.It seems reasonable to think that smaller plants, i.e. featuring lower power levels, should present lower radioactive releases and offsite consequences. However, how small is small enough cannot be addressed through direct comparison. Furthermore, since multiple nuclear sites to compensate for the same amount of power provided by a single, large nuclear site, might be needed, such direct comparison is ill-conceived.Scaling-based criteria to facilitate comparison of radioactive releases between plants of different size –i.e. power– are proposed. Such criteria set limits to radioactive releases and offsite radioactive risk for SMRs so that offsite consequences of replacing large NPPs by a wider set of SMR sites are not exceeded when assessed globally, i.e. in terms of power generation.The first, deterministic-oriented criterion looks at the radioactive source strength of the SMR based on the maximum size of the SMR Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) in order not to exceed the EPZ of another NPP when normalizing the EPZ to the power generating unit. The second, risk-informed criterion, looks at the sum of the radioactive harm caused by any event considered under probabilistic analysis application weighted by its frequency, i.e. standard definition of risk.Aside from these two scaling-based criteria for offsite nuclear hazard comparison between nuclear sites of different size, this paper presents two different methods for the determination of EPZ distances. The first method is straightforward based on plant-specific data for dose-consequence calculation, whereas the second, inverse method, builds on extrapolating the EPZ distance of a reference, large NPP down to the SMR.The scaling-based criteria and the methods for the determination of the EPZ distance are put into practice in an application exercise for an integral Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) SMR.

Densities, plant sizes, and spatial distributions of six wild populations of Lophophora williamsii (Cactaceae) in Texas, U.S.A.

Lophophora williamsii (Cactaceae) is thought to be threatened by habitat loss and overharvesting. However, basic demographic and habitat information to evaluate its conservation status have been lacking. We surveyed six wild populations of this species, three in South Texas and three in West Texas, to begin to address this gap. We found high levels of heterogeneity in plant presence and density at multiple spatial scales. While plant densities were not consistently different between South and West Texas, plants were significantly larger in West Texas. The two regions differ strongly in precipitation, temperature, elevation, and topography, all of which are correlated at the regional scale. Therefore, it was not possible to identify which of these variables, or other factors such as competition and human harvesting, may be responsible for the regional differences in plant size. However, our results provide initial information for determining the conservation status of this species.

Thickening and Storage of Sewage Sludge Contribute to the Degradation of LAS and EOX and the Humification of Organic Matter

Land application of sewage sludge on agricultural soils can be sustainable only if pollutant contents and organic matter quality meet the requirements imposed by minimization of environmental risks. This study investigated the degradation of linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LAS) and extractable organic halogens (EOX) and the formation of humic substances (HS) during the thickening and storage phases of sewage sludge treatment. Changes in spectroscopic properties (UV-Vis, FT-IR, and excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence) of HS were also evaluated to assess the occurrence of biological activities during these curing phases of sewage sludge (SS). Humic acids (HA), fulvic acids (FA), EOX, and LAS were extracted from sewage sludge sampled from four municipal wastewater treatment plants of different size and treatment sequence, before and after 90 days of aerobic or anaerobic storage. During storage, the loss of organic C in the SS ranged from almost null to 31%. No significant changes of FA were registered, whereas HA increased in almost all samples, up to 30%. The amount of humic substances synthesized during storage correlated with the percentage of C lost. Spectroscopic changes of FA and HA showed an increase in their aromaticity, with a corresponding decrease in the aliphatic contribution. These changes show the improved agronomical quality of SS. LAS decreased during storage up to 30%, surprisingly more under anaerobic than aerobic conditions, whereas EOX decreased significantly in all samples, even up to 81%. In conclusion, although storage may be normally considered not influencing the quality of SS, their organic matter quality improved and contamination decreased during 90 days of storage, whatever the conditions of oxygen availability applied.

Showcasing the potential of wastewater-based epidemiology to track pharmaceuticals consumption in cities: Comparison against prescription data collected at fine spatial resolution

While the extent of pharmaceutical consumption within a society/community is of high relevance to its health, economy and general wellbeing, this data is often not readily available. Herein, we strengthen a wastewater–based epidemiology (WBE) approach as a way to track the consumption of pharmaceuticals within the sampled community. This method is less laborious than established questionnaire or databases approaches and allows a higher temporal and spatial resolution. The WBE approach was conducted by sampling influent wastewater from two wastewater treatment plants of different size. A total of 39 targeted compounds were quantified by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. The number of prescriptions and the defined daily doses for each prescription was obtained from the reference database of The Catalan Health System to validate the wastewater-based approach. The wastewater sampling and the data inquiry were both executed during the same period (October 2019) and standardised for comparison to treatments per 1,000 inhabitants per day. The back-calculation parameters were improved from previous studies by including the faecal excretion rate of the pharmaceuticals. For prescription only pharmaceuticals, where prescription numbers are expected to be a good estimate of consumption, our WBE approach agreed with 27 out of 32 (<0.7 order of magnitude). Common over-the-counter pharmaceuticals such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen and naproxen showed much higher values for treatments per day per 1,000 inhabitant in wastewater than prescribed, reflecting the usefulness of WBE in obtaining an estimate of the total consumption i.e. with and without a prescription.

Scalable model for industrial coffee roasting chamber

Abstract The temperature profile of the coffee beans during the roasting phase determines the colour, aroma and flavour of the coffee. In order to reproduce these desired characteristics, the control of the coffee beans temperature has a key role in the roasting process. A proper model of the plant is required to design an intelligent control. Recently, several physical models that share the main physical equations have been proposed, but they have physical parameters specific of each process. In such scenario, each plant requires an ad hoc identification of the model parameters. This work proposes a model of the roasting chamber that can be used on plants of different sizes by scaling only geometrical parameters directly measurable on the roasting plant. The proposed model was identified on a 120 kg plant and then applied to a 360 kg one. The obtained results show in both cases similar accuracy (FIT = 75.49%, MPE=4.66%).

Unravelling the environmental and economic impacts of innovative technologies for the enhancement of biogas production and sludge management in wastewater systems

The retrofitting of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) should be addressed under sustainability criteria. It is well known that there are two elements that most penalize wastewater treatment: (i) energy requirements and (ii) sludge management. New technologies should reduce both of these drawbacks to address technical efficiency, carbon neutrality and reduced economic costs.In this context, the main objective of this work was to evaluate two real plants of different size in which major modifications were considered: enhanced recovery of organic matter (OM) in the primary treatment and partial-anammox nitrification process in the secondary treatment. Plant-wide modelling provided an estimate of the input and output flows of each process unit as well as the diagnosis of the main performance indicators, which served as a basis for the calculation of environmental and economic indicators using the LCA methodology.The combination of high-rate activated sludge (HRAS) + partial nitrification Anammox can decrease the environmental impacts by about 70% in the climate change (CC) category and 50% in the eutrophication potential (EP) category. Moreover, costs can be reduced by 35–45% depending on the size of the plant. In addition, the enhanced rotating belt filter (ERBF) can also improve the environmental profile, but to a lesser extent than the previous scenario, only up to 10% for CC and 15% for EP. These positive results are only possible considering the production of energy through biogas valorization according to the waste-to-energy scheme.