Harvesting Of Products Research Articles

Cut-to-Length Harvesting Prediction Tool: Machine Learning Model Based on Harvest and Weather Features

Weather is a significant factor influencing forest health, productivity, and the carbon cycle. However, our understanding of these effects is limited for many regions and ecosystems. Assessing the impact of weather variability on harvester productivity from plantation forests may assist in forest planning through the use of data modeling. We investigated whether weather data combined with timber harvesting attributes could be used to create a high-performance model that could accurately predict harvester productivity in Eucalyptus plantations using machine learning. Furthermore, we aimed to provide an online application to assist forest managers in applying the model. For the modeling, we considered 15 weather and timber harvesting attributes. We considered productivity as the target attribute. We subjected the database to 24 common algorithms in default mode and compared them according to error metrics and accuracy. From the timber harvesting features combined with weather features, the Catboost model can predict the productivity of harvesters in a tuned mode, with a coefficient of determination of 0.70. The use of weather data combined with timber harvesting attributes in the model is an accurate approach for predicting harvester productivity in Eucalyptus plantations, allowing for the creation of an online, free application to assist forest managers.

Impact of mechanical weed control on soil N dynamics, soil moisture, and crop yield in an organic cropping sequence

Mechanical weed control is a major element of weed suppression in organic farming systems. In addition to the direct effect on weed growth, mechanical weeding, such as harrowing or hoeing, is known to induce side effects on several soil- and crop-related properties. In this study, we investigated the impact of mechanical weeding on soil mineral nitrogen (SMN), soil moisture, and crop yield in an organic crop rotation of grass-clover (Lolium multiflorumLam., Trifolium pratense L.), silage maize (Zea mays L.) and winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). The experiment was conducted in two consecutive years (2021, 2022), where each crop was grown in each year on a Plaggic Anthrosol with sandy loam in North-West Germany. Two weed control treatments (mechanical: harrowing, hoeing; chemical: herbicide application) were implemented in a randomized block design with four replications. Greater net nitrogen (N) mineralization in maize compared to winter barley were attributed to the incorporation of grass-clover residues before sowing of maize and greater mineralization potential during the maize growing season. Higher weed growth in maize after mechanical weeding resulted in a reduction of up to 47% in SMN content in the topsoil. In barley, no differences in weed suppression were observed between the treatments and only small effects on SMN were determined after mechanical weeding. The soil water content in the mechanically weeded plots was significantly higher at several events in both years and for both crops, which was attributed to increased water infiltration by disrupting the soil crust. Neither crop yield nor N uptake in harvest products was affected by the different treatments.

PENERAPAN K-MEANS CLUSTERING UNTUK PEMETAAN PRODUKTIVITAS PADI DAN PREDIKSI PANEN DI KABUPATEN INDRAMAYU

Indonesia is a country where the majority of people consume rice, making the issue of rice harvest productivity a concern for many parties. Efforts to maintain food security, especially the availability of rice, are a shared responsibility, where efforts that can be made are to maintain and predict rice production results in areas that are National Rice Granaries. Indramayu is one of the national rice producing districts, which has 31 sub-districts with varying amounts of rice production. The large difference in rice production between sub-districts is an important problem that affects rice harvests in Indramayu, so improvements need to be made, including clustering, namely grouping sub-districts based on harvest potential using K-Means clustering by looking at historical harvest data for the past 5 years between 2019–2023. Then compared using the orange data mining application. K-Means clustering either manually or using orange3 produces three clusters with the same sub-district cluster results. This data is also used to predict future harvest results using the random forest algorithm in Orange3. Analysis of K-Means clustering results and prediction results shows that sub-districts in the lower cluster have the potential for a greater percentage reduction in harvest than clusters with a higher harvest category.

Growth and productivity of stevia variety Cibodas Manis 3 (Stevia rebaudiana) in 40 days planting with agroforestry

Abstract. Choeriah MN, Wijayanto N, Batubara I. 2024. Growth and productivity of stevia variety Cibodas Manis 3 (Stevia rebaudiana) in 40 days planting with agroforestry. Biodiversitas 25: 3277-3283. Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni.) is a shrub plant that can be used as a substitute for sugar cane and has the potential to be cultivated in agroforestry ways. This study aims to analyze the growth and productivity of stevia in agroforestry systems compared to monocultures. Stevia was planted in 2 types of land, namely agroforestry and monoculture. The research location's soil and area's climatic conditions were observed stevia agroforestry was grown under pine, eucalyptus, and coffee trees. During stevia planting, the height was measured. Stevia was harvested 40 days after planting, and leaf area, number of leaves, leaf weight, and harvest productivity were measured. In addition, chlorophyll and stevioside yields were analyzed using UV VIS and LC-MS/MS spectrometry. Stevia in agroforestry land had higher chlorophyll and stevioside content than monoculture, although not as good as stevia in monoculture, which had higher height, number of leaves, leaf area, wet weight, dry weight, and productivity compared to agroforestry. The total stevioside produced from agroforestry land was 1.63 kg/ha, while it was 2.19 kg/ha from monoculture land. Stevia in agroforestry land also has a higher secondary metabolite content than in monoculture. This is related to the growing conditions that stress stevia. Pearson correlation test results also show a relationship between the amount of chlorophyll and the stevioside content in stevia plants.

Development of an Information System for Wood Harvesting Planning

The article presents the results of developing a software system for production planning in the field of wood harvesting. The objects of research are the planning of harvesting operations, forest transport, construction, repair and maintenance of forest roads, as well as solving various related problems. The purpose of the work is to develop a native specialized software system for production planning in the field of wood harvesting, which is integrated with existing accounting and monitoring systems and is based on solving complex optimization problems of large dimensions using original specially developed methods and algorithms that take into account all the features of wood harvesting production in the Russian Federation. As a result of this work, an approach to creating such а system was developed, which includes a set of requirements for the software product, as well as formulations of the main tasks to be solved, listing the necessary initial data and information obtained as an output. The proposed approach was implemented by Russian IT-company Opti-Soft in the form of software product Opti-Wood — a multipurpose Decision Support System (DSS) designed for the use at forestry enterprises as a tool for optimizing production planning, management and control. The Opti-Wood system was developed in close contact with a large wood harvesting enterprise in the Republic of Karelia. The system is based on original algorithms for solving several optimization problems of increased complexity. Using the system allows one to increase the efficiency of logging processes by reducing costs in supply chains, the volume of warehouse stocks, the number of required vehicles; by mutual agreement of plans for harvesting operations, forest transport, road construction, etc., as well as by significantly reducing the time for taking management decisions. Increased profitability occurs due to the identification of additional options for the sale of products.

A three-years survey of microbial contaminants in industrial hemp inflorescences from two Italian cultivation sites

BackgroundThe use of industrial Cannabis sativa L. for recreational, cosmeceutical, nutraceutical, and medicinal purposes has gained momentum due to its rich content of valuable phytochemicals, such as cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabigerol (CBG). However, there are concerns regarding the risk of microbial contamination in plants grown outside controlled environments. Microbes associated with hemp can be either epiphytes or endophytes and may pose a risk of infectious illness for humans.MethodsSeven Italian hemp genotypes, including Bernabeo, Carmagnola, Carmaleonte, Codimono, CS, Eletta Campana, and Fibranova, were cultivated in two distinct geographic locations, Catania and Rovigo, for three consecutive years from 2019 to 2021. Total aerobic microbes (TAMC), total combined yeasts/moulds (TYMC), the presence of bile-tolerant Gram-negative bacteria, and the absence of Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. were evaluated and compared. The main phytocannabinoid content was measured and correlated with microbial contamination.ResultsMost samples analyzed in this study did not meet the European Pharmacopoeia microbiological limits. The detection of potential pathogens, such as E. coli and Salmonella spp., in the samples indicates that the use of inflorescences may represent a possible source of infection. Microbial contamination varied among harvesting seasons and production sites, with agroclimatic conditions influencing microbial load and composition. The presence of potentially pathogenic bacteria was less associated with seasonal climate variability and more likely affected by sporadic contamination from external sources. CBD concentration exhibited a negative correlation with bile-tolerant Gram-negative bacteria and total yeasts/moulds levels. Samples with lower CBD content were more contaminated than those with higher CBD levels, suggesting a potential protective effect of this phytochemical on the plant.ConclusionsThe threshing residues (inflorescences, floral bracts, and leaves) of industrial hemp varieties represent a valuable product and a source of beneficial phytochemicals that warrants further exploration. While post-harvest sterilization methods may reduce microbiological risks, they may also degrade heat- and light-sensitive bioactive phytochemicals. The most promising strategy involves implementing best agronomic practices to maintain healthy and uncontaminated cultures. Rigorous monitoring and quality certification protocols are essential to mitigate the microbiological risk associated with the consumption of hemp-derived products.

Stem recovery and harvesting productivity of two different harvesting systems in final felling of Pinus patula

ABSTRACT With the current demand of wood products and industrial requirements, plantation owners need to re-think ways in which harvesting is carried out and identify the most efficient harvesting system that also utilizes small diameter parts of stem per industry’s product specifications. This paper contributes to the discussion by comparing the harvesting productivity and stem recovery between conventional harvesting (CH) and integrated harvesting (IH) systems. CH is harvesting which does not necessarily align with the log dimensional requirements of the customer and only recovers logs with big diameters while IH is based on harvesting and sorting logs according to need in a single operation so that as much volume and value as possible of the stands is realized. The study was carried out at the Sao Hill Forest Plantation in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania. The harvested compartment was purposively selected and divided into IH and CH plots. A total of 39 trees were randomly selected to be harvested from each plot. The findings portray a significant difference in the stem recovery of 75% for IH and 60% for CH. CH had an average cutting productivity of 16 m3/h as compared to 14 m3/h for IH while skidding productivity was 15.3 m3/h and 24.9 m3/h for IH and CH, respectively. In this study, the IH system resulted in higher production in terms of volume recovered, meaning IH had a significant impact on the production and stem recovery of the standard stem-wood for use in different industries.

Comparative study on agronomic and physiological performance of gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii) under drip and aggregate wick systems

Aggregate wick system (AWS) or capillary action technique is a kind of sub-surface irrigation system gaining popularity owing to its profound advantages of improved water and nutrient use efficiency resulting in superior plant growth and development. However, its effect on growth and physiology of gerbera crop has not been studied yet. Therefore, an experiment was conducted during 2021–23 at ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bengaluru, Karnataka to assess the effect of aggregate wick system on growth, flowering, vase life, yield and physiological aspects of gerbera var. Arka Nesara as compared to the conventional drip systems. It was apparent from the results that higher overall factor productivity in terms of number of leaves/plant (12.92), earlier first flower harvest (149.80 days) and copious flower production (38.58/plant/year) with enhanced chlorophyll content and optimal starch content were observed with AWS on the soil bed. However, AWS with pots on the ground resulted in extended vase life (9.20 days) with enhanced leaf area (115.31 cm2), chlorophyll-b, reducing sugars and decreased total and non-reducing sugars in leaves. Therefore, it can be concluded that the improved flower yield and vase life of gerbera in aggregate wick systems might be attributed to the greater chlorophyll production and reducing sugars in the leaves, respectively.

Bio-refinery of palm kernel expeller waste into attached microalgal biodiesel, the life cycle analysis of waste biomass-to-energy

The exploitation of solid carbon waste in the form of palm kernel expeller served two purposes: (i) providing nutrients for microalgal growth and (ii) serving as a medium for the adhesion of microalgal cells. This study examined the life cycle assessment of biodiesel production from attached microalgae, a less explored domain as compared with conventional microalgal system focusing on energy and environmental feasibility aspect. The computed environmental impact indicated that harvesting and lipid production had contributed significantly to the overall impact, though the global warming potential remained low (5.2 × 10−4 kg CO2 eq.). The establishment of scenario analysis had revealed that solvent recovery options resulted in about 48–55 % damage recovery, giving significant decline in the environmental impacts. In terms of energy sustainability, the study revealed a net energy ratio of 0.52, suggesting that the energy output is less than the energy invested. While falling short of ideal energy sustainability, the ratio surpassed that of conventional petroleum diesel and many previous microalgal technologies. Despite challenges, the findings accentuated the importance of continuous improvement in microalgal biofuel processes for enhancing energy efficiency and reducing environmental impact.

Induction of genetic diversity in gepak kuning soybean cultivar and M.1.1.3 line using ethyl methane sulfonate in M1 generation

Abstract Genetic diversity is the main determining factor in plant breeding activities. Various breeding methods can be used to induce plant variability, including mutation breeding. The chemical mutagen commonly used for mutagenesis is Ethyl Methane Sulfonate (EMS). This study explores the effects of EMS mutagen on the morphological and agronomic diversity of gepak kuning cultivar and M.1.1.3 soybean line. The research was conducted in Tambon Tunong Village, North Aceh District, Indonesia, using a single-factor Randomized Block Completely Design (RCBD). Concentrations of 0%, 0.05%, 0.075%, and 0.1% EMS were tested on the gepak kuning cultivar and M.1.1.3 line. Treating gepak kuning soybeans with EMS significantly impacted various variables, including harvesting age, pod number, seed weight, leaf appearance, and production. Additionally, the treatment resulted in changes in the morphology of the plant, particularly in the shape of its branches. The EMS treatment on M.1.1.3 line also significantly affected various variables like plant height, flowering age, harvesting age, and yield components. However, it led to sterile plants in the line.

Laser-Printed Photoanode: Femtosecond Laser-Induced Crystalline Phase Transformation of WO3 Nanorods for Space-Efficient and Flexible Thin-Film Solar Water-Splitting Cells.

Despite its potential for clean hydrogen harvesting, photoelectrochemical (PEC) water-splitting cells face challenges in commercialization, particularly related its harvesting performance and productivity at an industrial scale. Herein, a facile fabrication method of flexible thin-film photoanode for PEC water-splitting to overcome these limitations, based on laser processing technologies, is proposed. Laser-induced graphene, a carbon structure produced through direct laser writing carbonization (DLWC), plays a dual role: a flexible and stable current collector and a substrate for the hydrothermal synthesis of tungsten trioxide (WO3) nanorods (NRs). To facilitate water-splitting, a femtosecond-pulsed laser (fs laser) is focused on the WO3 NRs, converting their crystalline phase from pristine orthorhombic to monoclinic structure without thermal damage. With NiFe layered double hydroxide (LDH) catalyst, the flexible thin-film photoanode exhibits good PEC performance (1.46mAcm-2 at 1.23 VRHE) and retains ≈90% of its performance after 3000 bending cycles. With its excellent mechanical properties, the flexible photoanode can be operated in various shapes with different curvatures, enabling space-efficient PEC water-splitting by loading larger photoanode within a given space. This study is expected to contribute to the advancement of large-scale solar water-splitting cells, introducing a new approach to enhance H2/O2 production and expand its application range.

Agri-food supply chain optimization through a decentralized production process in the olive oil industry

A tactical/operational model is proposed to assist decision-making in harvest planning and olive oil production planning of the different producers in the rural sector, considering allocation and transportation decisions of the kilograms of olives to the production plant with temporary relocation decisions of the mobile olive oil mills through decentralized production activities in the agri-food supply chain. A Mixed Integer Linear Programming model is presented that maximizes the profit of small farmers in the production process of single-varietal extra virgin olive oil. The decisions are based on the geographical dispersion of the different olive growers and the oil concentration of the olive varieties in a certain period, which depends on the climatic conditions of each sector where the olives are cultivated. The mathematical programming model is applied in Coquimbo, Chile, using actual data collected from previous harvest seasons. The computational results of the optimization model indicate that transportation decisions impact olive harvesting and oil production decisions. It is concluded that cooperatives of small producers in the rural sector increase overall profits and reduce transportation costs and the number of kilometers traveled by at least 41% through a decentralized production process with mobile production plants.

油莎豆联合收获机用脱粒清选装置设计与试验

In response to the challenges of difficult separation and incomplete cleaning during the mechanized harvesting of Cyperus esculentus L., a combined threshing and cleaning device consisting of a fruit-picking roller, a cleaning belt, and an air-screening system was designed. The structure and working principle of this device were explained, and the main components and operating parameters were determined through theoretical analysis. Using fruit-picking roller speed, cleaning belt angle, and fan speed as evaluation indicators, a three-factor three-level field experiment was conducted based on the Box-Behnken central composite design principle. Regression models between loss rate, impurity rate, and significant factors were established, and the optimal working parameters were determined using regression equations. The results showed that when the fruit-picking roller speed was 543.7 r/min, the cleaning belt angle was 50.3°, and the fan speed was 532.4 r/min, the loss rate of sesame seed harvesting was 2.67%, and the impurity rate was 2.49%. The results of field validation experiments indicated that the average loss rate of the combined threshing and cleaning device under the optimal parameter combination was 2.88%, and the average impurity rate was 2.41%, which were consistent with the optimization results of the regression model and fully met the requirements of mechanized sesame seed harvesting production.

Perceptions of and adaptation to changing winter weather by logging business owners in northern Minnesota, USA

ABSTRACT Focus groups with northern Minnesota logging business owners were held in spring 2023 to understand perceived and observed winter weather changes, challenges they may be facing due to any winter weather changes, and strategies they are taking to adapt to changing conditions. These discussions focused on logger perceptions of weather-related changes during the winter logging season over the course of their career, impacts of weather-related changes on harvest productivity, changes in business practices due to weather-related changes, and positive impacts due to winter weather changes. Most focus group participants are perceiving changing winter weather conditions and experiencing additional challenges to their winter logging operations due to these changes. They described how winter weather changes are impacting harvesting production and profitability, as well as how they have adapted their logging practices in response to these changes. The evolution of logging equipment and the characteristics of timber tracts available to harvest in winter, as well as greater sensitivity to soil rutting and compaction, make it difficult to discern the extent to which their observed changes in winter logging operations can be attributed solely to weather-related changes.

DESIGN FEATURES OF GRAIN HARVESTING COMBINEERS CASE IH "AXIAL-FLOW" SERIES

Harvesting grain is a very important production process that must be carried out as quickly as possible to obtain high-quality grain. Here it is important that the equipment is adjusted to the structure of the plants, and the plants, in turn, are prepared for machine harvesting. When creating grain harvesting equipment, various factors are taken into account: agrobiological properties and the structure of plant organs, stand height and density, lowness, strength, humidity, size and weight of fruits, weight ratio of grain to non-grain part, stage of maturity and others. Currently, harvesting of grain crops is carried out by direct or separate combining. Direct involves performing several operations: cutting plants, threshing plant mass, separating grain from straw, cleaning grain from various impurities, as well as harvesting grain and non-grain part of the crop. It is important that the harvester performs these processes at the same time in the stage of full maturity of the grain. This harvesting method is suitable for bread mass that is not clogged and has ripened evenly. As for separate combining, here mowing of plants and their threshing are carried out separately. Providing the enterprise with high-performance harvesters and the level of their use significantly affect the gross harvest of agricultural crops. In case of violation of the calendar terms for harvesting grain crops by more than 10–12 days, grain losses can reach 25–30%. In order for such a situation not to arise, agricultural enterprises must have the required number of harvesters of the necessary capacity, which could ensure, in the optimal time, harvesting of agricultural crops. In order to give preference to one or another combine harvester model, you need to know not only its price, but also individual technical and economic characteristics and the cost of threshing a ton of harvest. Because this indicator reflects the cost of the harvester, operating costs, its productivity, reliability and cost of spare parts. Innovation is only accelerating. Over the past 20 years, the average productivity of self-propelled grain harvesters has increased almost four to five times. The level of computerization of mechanized operating technologies also increased. The demand for products of the grain sub-complex is only growing. Ukraine is dominated by a diverse fleet of industrial grain harvesters of foreign production, purchased both new and used, the use of these grain transport systems is expedient and relevant. The question of choosing a modern high-performance grain harvester and the question of its effective use remain relevant.

Understanding the influence of tree size distribution on the CTL harvesting productivity of two different size harvesting machines

Tree size is one of the major factors that determines harvester productivity and is heavily influenced by forest managerial activities. Stand silvicultural management can lead to managing tree size, the distribution of tree size, and tree height amongst others. Understanding the effect of tree size distribution on harvesting productivity is central for optimizing management of operations. To investigate the effects of tree size distribution on harvester productivity, productivity functions for a medium and larger-sized harvester were applied to harvester derived tree size distributions from 35 clearfelled pine stands. These functions were applied to a normal distribution of trees covering the same tree size ranges. Productivity differences were analysed on a stand-by-stand basis. Results showed that for the larger harvester, productivity rates remained constant (67.1 vs. 67.6 m3·PMH− 1) indicating relatively little sensitivity to variations in tree size distributions. Although the standard deviation (SD) halved from 11.6 to 5.6 in the case of the uniform tree distribution. The smaller harvester productivity decreased by 15% from 47.3 to 40.1 m3·PMH− 1 and the coefficient of variation (CV) by 6% in the same transition to a uniform distribution. Further investigation was done on more skewed tree size distributions, a family of nine Weibull distributions was generated, representing combinations of three mean DBH classes (25 cm, 30 cm, and 35 cm) and three levels of CV (15%, 20%, 25%), for each DBH class. Results clearly indicate that different distribution shapes have different effects on different machine sizes, and that a low CV correlates to a higher productivity in larger tree sizes. A more uniform tree size distribution also provides more predictable results (lower CV), which would promote machine scheduling and result in fewer discrepancies on production rates.

Comparing various bio-intensive pest management modules in rice

Rice is the key cereal crop in the tropics, supporting diverse pests and natural enemy populations. Recurrent pest outbreaks and yield losses led farmers to rely on extensive insecticide application, disturbing the stability of rice ecosystems and increasing residues in the harvestable products. A study has been conducted to assess the impact of various modules of Bio-Intensive Pest Management (BIPM) on its conservational potential and sustainability in comparison with Farmers’ Practices (FP) in Nalgonda district of Telangana state during kharif-2020. The BIPM practices included application of farm yard manure; rice husk ash; clipping of seedlings; alleyways and weekly release of Trichogramma japonicum in the main field; wet seed treatment and foliar application with Pseudomonas fluorescens (BIPM 1), Trichoderma asperellum strain TAIK1 (BIPM 2) and Bacillus cabrialesii strain BIK3 (BIPM 3). Whereas, FP 1 with need-based insecticide spraying and FP 2 with schedule-based insecticide spraying and Untreated control with (UC) with no intervention. The observations were taken by visual counts at 15-day intervals. The incidence of Cnaphalocrocis medinalis was highest in UC (9.50), followed by BIPM 1 (7.25) and least in FP 2 (2.50) whereas the highest mean population of Apanteles sp. was found in the untreated control (13.75), followed by BIPM 3 (9.50) and least in FP 2 (4.25). The Benefit Cost Ratios (BCR) of BIPM 3 (1.68) were highest followed by BIPM 1 (1.64) and least in FP 2 (1.40) elucidating that BIPM practices can be more economically feasible. The Shannon-Wiener Index for species diversity and species evenness was higher in BIPM treatments as compared to farmers’ practices indicating the potential of these BIPM treatments in natural pest control and maintaining crop ecosystem stability.

A Stochastic Production Frontier Analysis of Factors That Affect Productivity and Efficiency of Logging Businesses in Virginia

Abstract Understanding the effect of the relationship between timber harvesting attributes on loggers’ productivity and efficiency is crucial for the feasibility and expansion of sustainable forest management and logging. We applied a stochastic production frontier model to firm-level operational data collected from 202 loggers in Virginia, United States, in 2019. Logging equipment value, physiographic region, tract area, number of workers and crews in the woods, college education level, and harvest type statistically increase harvesting productivity. Harvesting productivity in the Coastal Plain was the greatest of all physiographic regions, and pine clearcut productivity was statistically greater than that of hardwood thinning. On the other hand, manual felling reduces harvesting productivity. We found an average efficiency rate of 67% among firms in our sample, which is similar to that found in the literature. The estimated values can show factors that improve forest harvest productivity through better planning and investments while improving the sustainable use of inputs and resources. Study Implications: We empirically analyzed factors affecting logging productivity and efficiency in the southern US state of Virginia. Increased productivity was associated with working in the Coastal Plain physiographic region, investing in logging equipment, increasing the number of workers and crews in the woods, increasing pine clearcut as opposed to hardwood thinning, choosing optimal harvesting tract size, and having a college education as opposed to no high school degree. Manual felling reduces harvesting productivity, and average BMP implementation time does not affect harvesting productivity. Our results can be used as a guide in planning future decisions to increase logging productivity.

Bamboo-Based Biochar: A Still Too Little-Studied Black Gold and Its Current Applications.

Biochar (BC), also referred to as "black gold", is a carbon heterogeneous material rich in aromatic systems and minerals, preparable by the thermal decomposition of vegetable and animal biomasses in controlled conditions and with clean technology. Due to its adsorption ability and presence of persistent free radicals (PFRs), BC has demonstrated, among other uses, great potential in the removal of environmental organic and inorganic xenobiotics. Bamboo is an evergreen perennial flowering plant characterized by a short five-year growth period, fast harvesting, and large production in many tropical and subtropical countries worldwide, thus representing an attractive, low-cost, eco-friendly, and renewable bioresource for producing BC. Due to their large surface area and increased porosity, the pyrolyzed derivatives of bamboo, including bamboo biochar (BBC) or activated BBC (ABBC), are considered great bio-adsorbent materials for removing heavy metals, as well as organic and inorganic contaminants from wastewater and soil, thus improving plant growth and production yield. Nowadays, the increasing technological applications of BBC and ABBC also include their employment as energy sources, to catalyze chemical reactions, to develop thermoelectrical devices, as 3D solar vapor-generation devices for water desalination, and as efficient photothermal-conversion devices. Anyway, although it has great potential as an alternative biomass to wood to produce BC, thus paving the way for new bio- and circular economy solutions, the study of bamboo-derived biomasses is still in its infancy. In this context, the main scope of this review was to support an increasing production of BBC and ABBC and to stimulate further studies about their possible applications, thus enlarging the current knowledge about these materials and allowing their more rational, safer, and optimized application. To this end, after having provided background concerning BC, its production methods, and its main applications, we have reviewed and discussed the main studies on BBC and ABBC and their applications reported in recent years.

A modular and multi-functional purification strategy that enables a common framework for manufacturing scale integrated and continuous biomanufacturing.

Biopharmaceutical manufacture is transitioning from batch to integrated and continuous biomanufacturing (ICB). The common framework for most ICB, potentially enables a global biomanufacturing ecosystem utilizing modular and multi-function manufacturing equipment. Integrating unit operation hardware and software from multiple suppliers, complex supply chains enabled by multiple customized single-use flow paths, and large volume buffer production/storage make this ICB vision difficult to achieve with commercially available manufacturing equipment. Thus, we developed SymphonX™, a downstream processing skid with advanced buffer management capabilities, a single disposable generic flow path design that provides plug-and-play flexibility across all downstream unit operations and a single interface to reduce operational risk. Designed for multi-product and multi-process cGMP facilities, SymphonX™ can perform stand-alone batch processing or ICB. This study utilized an Apollo™ X CHO-DG44 mAb-expressing cell line in a steady-state perfusion bioreactor, harvesting product continuously with a cell retention device and connected SymphonX™ purification skids. The downstream process used the same chemistry (resins, buffer composition, membrane composition) as our historical batch processing platform, with SymphonX™ in-line conditioning and buffer concentrates. We used surge vessels between unit operations, single-column chromatography (protein A, cation and anion exchange) and two-tank batch virus inactivation. After the first polishing step (cation exchange), we continuously pooled product for 6 days. These 6 day pools were processed in batch-mode from anion exchange to bulk drug substance. This manufacturing scale proof-of-concept ICB produced 0.54 kg/day of drug substance with consistent product quality attributes and demonstrated successful bioburden control for unit-operations undergoing continuous operation.