EMISSIONS OF NH3, CH4 AND N2O DURING STORAGE AND AFTER APPLICATION OF UNTREATED AND ANAEROBICALLY DIGESTED SLURRY

The paper presents the investigations results of the effect of anaerobic digestion on emissions of NH3, N2O and CH4 during storage and after application of slurry. Dairy cattle and pig slurry was stored in concrete tanks (12 m3) over a period of 100 days. Gaseous emissions were collected continuously by a large open dynamic chamber. Gas concentrations (NH3, N2O and CH4) were analysed by high resolution FTIR-spectrometry. After storage, the slurries were surface applied on permanent grassland. NH3 emissions were followed for two days by a large open-dynamic-chamber. N2O and CH4 emissions were quantified with closed chambers until day 20 after application. 65 – 95 % of net total NH3 emissions were lost after slurry application. NH3 abatement will therefore be effective, if low emission application techniques are used. This is especially important when anaerobically digested slurry is applied. More than 90 % of net total CH4 emissions from untreated slurry were lost during slurry storage. Anaerobically digested slurry still emitted methane during storage. These emissions can be totally avoided if the secondary fermentation tank and the slurry store are connected with the gas bearing system of the biogas plant. Then, CH4 produced in these tanks is collected and used as renewable energy source. In conclusion it can be assumed that biogas plants will play a major role in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as they generate renewable energy and reduce CH4 emissions during manure storage. Furthermore, anaerobic digestion improves the fertiliser value of animal manures

A General Approach for Predicting the Filtration of Soft and Permeable Colloids: The Milk Example

Membrane filtration operations (ultra-, microfiltration) are now extensively used for concentrating or separating an ever-growing variety of colloidal dispersions. However, the phenomena that determine the efficiency of these operations are not yet fully understood. This is especially the case when dealing with colloids that are soft, deformable, and permeable. In this paper, we propose a methodology for building a model that is able to predict the performance (flux, concentration profiles) of the filtration of such objects in relation with the operating conditions. This is done by focusing on the case of milk filtration, all experiments being performed with dispersions of milk casein micelles, which are sort of ″natural″ colloidal microgels. Using this example, we develop the general idea that a filtration model can always be built for a given colloidal dispersion as long as this dispersion has been characterized in terms of osmotic pressure Π and hydraulic permeability k. For soft and permeable colloids, the major issue is that the permeability k cannot be assessed in a trivial way like in the case for hard-sphere colloids. To get around this difficulty, we follow two distinct approaches to actually measure k: a direct approach, involving osmotic stress experiments, and a reverse-calculation approach, that consists of estimating k through well-controlled filtration experiments. The resulting filtration model is then validated against experimental measurements obtained from combined milk filtration/SAXS experiments. We also give precise examples of how the model can be used, as well as a brief discussion on the possible universality of the approach presented here

Effects of conservation tillage drills on soil quality indicators in a wheat‐oilseed rape rotation: organic carbon, earthworms and water stable aggregates

The effects of five conservation tillage drills with crop residue levels covering between 17% and 79% of the soil, and tillage depths ranging from 25 mm to 200 mm, were examined over three years. The tillage systems ranged from a relatively disruptive Farm System to a Low Disruption system, with three intermediate treatments labelled Sumo DTS, Claydon, and Mzuri. The study involved field sites on a clay or clay loam soil, where winter wheat and oilseed rape were grown in rotation. In the clay field, the Mzuri and Low Disruption treatments, which produced the highest residue coverage, showed the greatest increase in surface total soil organic carbon (1.1 and 0.48 Mg C ha−1 respectively) between year 1 and 3. The least disruptive tillage system also resulted in the highest density of earthworms (181‐228 m−2), and the most disruptive system produced the lowest densities (75‐98 m−2). In the third year, the least disruptive system also showed a higher proportion of water stable aggregates (29.8%) than the other treatments (22.7‐25.3%). Linear regressions showed positive relationships of both soil organic carbon and earthworm density with surface residue cover, and of the proportion of water stable aggregates with soil organic carbon

Calcium Triggered Lα-H2 Phase Transition Monitored by Combined Rapid Mixing and Time-Resolved Synchrotron SAXS

BACKGROUND: Awad et al. reported on the Ca(2+)-induced transitions of dioleoyl-phosphatidylglycerol (DOPG)/monoolein (MO) vesicles to bicontinuous cubic phases at equilibrium conditions. In the present study, the combination of rapid mixing and time-resolved synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) was applied for the in-situ investigations of fast structural transitions of diluted DOPG/MO vesicles into well-ordered nanostructures by the addition of low concentrated Ca(2+) solutions. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Under static conditions and the in absence of the divalent cations, the DOPG/MO system forms large vesicles composed of weakly correlated bilayers with a d-spacing of approximately 140 A (L(alpha)-phase). The utilization of a stopped-flow apparatus allowed mixing these DOPG/MO vesicles with a solution of Ca(2+) ions within 10 milliseconds (ms). In such a way the dynamics of negatively charged PG to divalent cation interactions, and the kinetics of the induced structural transitions were studied. Ca(2+) ions have a very strong impact on the lipidic nanostructures. Intriguingly, already at low salt concentrations (DOPG/Ca(2+)>2), Ca(2+) ions trigger the transformation from bilayers to monolayer nanotubes (inverted hexagonal phase, H(2)). Our results reveal that a binding ratio of 1 Ca(2+) per 8 DOPG is sufficient for the formation of the H(2) phase. At 50 degrees C a direct transition from the vesicles to the H(2) phase was observed, whereas at ambient temperature (20 degrees C) a short lived intermediate phase (possibly the cubic Pn3m phase) coexisting with the H(2) phase was detected. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The strong binding of the divalent cations to the negatively charged DOPG molecules enhances the negative spontaneous curvature of the monolayers and causes a rapid collapsing of the vesicles. The rapid loss of the bilayer stability and the reorganization of the lipid molecules within ms support the argument that the transition mechanism is based on a leaky fusion of the vesicles

Evaluation of a quality improvement intervention to reduce anastomotic leak following right colectomy (EAGLE): pragmatic, batched stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized trial in 64 countries

Background: Anastomotic leak affects 8 per cent of patients after right colectomy with a 10-fold increased risk of postoperative death. The EAGLE study aimed to develop and test whether an international, standardized quality improvement intervention could reduce anastomotic leaks. Methods: The internationally intended protocol, iteratively co-developed by a multistage Delphi process, comprised an online educational module introducing risk stratification, an intraoperative checklist, and harmonized surgical techniques. Clusters (hospital teams) were randomized to one of three arms with varied sequences of intervention/data collection by a derived stepped-wedge batch design (at least 18 hospital teams per batch). Patients were blinded to the study allocation. Low- and middle-income country enrolment was encouraged. The primary outcome (assessed by intention to treat) was anastomotic leak rate, and subgroup analyses by module completion (at least 80 per cent of surgeons, high engagement; less than 50 per cent, low engagement) were preplanned. Results: A total 355 hospital teams registered, with 332 from 64 countries (39.2 per cent low and middle income) included in the final analysis. The online modules were completed by half of the surgeons (2143 of 4411). The primary analysis included 3039 of the 3268 patients recruited (206 patients had no anastomosis and 23 were lost to follow-up), with anastomotic leaks arising before and after the intervention in 10.1 and 9.6 per cent respectively (adjusted OR 0.87, 95 per cent c.i. 0.59 to 1.30; P = 0.498). The proportion of surgeons completing the educational modules was an influence: the leak rate decreased from 12.2 per cent (61 of 500) before intervention to 5.1 per cent (24 of 473) after intervention in high-engagement centres (adjusted OR 0.36, 0.20 to 0.64; P < 0.001), but this was not observed in low-engagement hospitals (8.3 per cent (59 of 714) and 13.8 per cent (61 of 443) respectively; adjusted OR 2.09, 1.31 to 3.31). Conclusion: Completion of globally available digital training by engaged teams can alter anastomotic leak rates. Registration number: NCT04270721 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov)

Improved cooperativity of spin-Labile iron(III) centers by self-assembly in solution

Supramolecular principles have been applied for improving the spin crossover activity of metal centers due to cooperative effects in solution. Thus, incorporation of alkyloxy tails at the phenyl group of Fe(sal₂trien) 2a provides amphiphilic complexes Fe(sal-OR₂trien) 2b−d (b, R = C₆H₁₃; c, R = C₈H₁₇; d, R = C₁₈H₃₇) comprising an apolar group for supramolecular organization and a polar headgroup with potential spin crossover activity due to the presence of a spin-labile iron(III) center. Self-assembly of these complexes in solution resulted in the formation of microsize and submicrosize particles when the alkyl chain was long enough (2d) but not with shorter chains (2a−c). Solutions of 2d showed enhanced spin crossover activity as compared to complexes 2a−c, both in terms of transition temperature and steepness of the transition. This observation has been correlated to an improved cooperativity of the metal centers in 2d due to self-assembly, thus facilitating a tandem spin transition

Improved Cooperativity of Spin-Labile Iron(III) Centers by Self-Assembly in Solution

Improved Cooperativity of Spin-Labile Iron(III) Centers by Self-Assembly in Solutio