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Advances in manufacturing technology coupled with the increased potency of new biotherapeutic modalities have created an external environment where continuous manufacturing (CM) can address a growing need. Amgen has successfully implemented a hybrid CM process for a commercial lifecycle program. In this process, the bioreactor, harvest, capture column, and viral inactivation/depth filtration unit operations were integrated together in an automated, continuous module, while the remaining downstream unit operations took place in stand‐alone batch mode. CM operations are particularly suited for so‐called "high mix, low volume" manufacturing plants, where a variety of molecules are manufactured in relatively low volumes. The selected molecule fit this mold and was manufactured in a low‐capital micro‐footprint suite attached to an existing therapeutic production facility. Use of a hybrid process within an already operating facility required less capital and minimized complexity. To enable this hybrid CM process, an established fed‐batch process was converted to a perfusion process with continuous harvest. Development efforts included both process changes and the generation of a novel cell line adapted to long‐term perfusion. Chromatography resins were updated, and purification processes adapted to handle variable inputs due to the fluctuations in harvest titer from the lengthy production process. A novel automated single‐use (SU) viral inactivation (VI) skid was introduced, which entailed the development of a robust pH verification and alarm system, along with procedures for product isolation to allow discard of specific cycles. The CM process demonstrated consistent performance, meaning it met predefined performance criteria (including product quality attributes, or PQAs) when operated within established process parameters and manufactured according to applicable procedures. Using a 75% reduction in scale, it resulted in a five‐fold reduction in process media and buffer usage, a fifteen‐fold increase in mass per thaw, and an overall process productivity increase of 45‐fold (as measured by grams drug substance per liter per day.) The hybrid CM process also enabled increased material demand to be met with no change in cost of goods manufactured or plant capacity, due to the repurposing of existing facility space and the flexible duration of the hybrid CM harvest. Overall, the success of the hybrid CM platform represents an exciting opportunity to reduce costs and increase process efficiency in industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Production is a daily activity carried out by companies, making the most of available resources, depending on the production capacity of the production plant to deliver a final product that generates customer satisfaction. The objective of this article is to evaluate the productive capacity of a footwear company in Ambato, Ecuador. The applied methodological procedure considers the calculation of the productive capacities in the four productive processes (Cutting, Setting, Assembly and Finishing) that the company has. Through the study of 51 operations that the production plant has in its entirety, the limiting point is found in the Aparado process. Based on the results, alternative solutions are proposed such as: mobilizing personnel from other areas where demand exceeds or, in turn, outsourcing in order to meet monthly demand. These strategies allow the company to meet its demand and increase the productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial cell factories provide vital platforms for the production of chemicals. Advanced biotechnological toolboxes have been developed to enhance their efficiency. However, these tools have limitations in improving physiological functions, and therefore boosting the efficiency (e.g. titer, rate, and yield) of microbial cell factories remains a challenge. In this review, we propose a strategy of microbial physiological engineering (MPE) to improve the efficiency of microbial cell factories. This strategy integrates tools from synthetic and systems biology to characterize and regulate physiological functions during chemical synthesis. MPE strategies mainly focus on the efficiency of substrate utilization, growth performance, stress tolerance, and the product export capacity of cell factories. In short, this review provides a new framework for resolving the bottlenecks that currently exist in low-efficiency cell factories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photosynthetic biomanufacturing is a promising route for green production of biofuels and biochemicals utilizing carbon dioxide and solar energy. Cyanobacteria are important microbial platforms for constructing photosynthetic cell factories. Toward scaled outdoor cultivations in the future, high light and high temperature tolerances of cyanobacterial chassis strains and cell factories would be determinant properties to be optimized. We proposed a convenient strategy for rapidly improving high light and high temperature tolerances of an important cyanobacterial chassis Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 and the derived cell factories. Through introduction and isolation of an AtpA-C252F mutation, PCC 7942 mutants with improved high light and high temperature tolerances could be obtained in only 4 days with an antibiotics-free mode. Adopting this strategy, cellular robustness and sucrose synthesizing capacities of a PCC 7942 cell factory were successfully improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the end of 2015, the rupture of an iron ore tailings dam resulted in the standstill of a pelletizing plant in the city of Anchieta, southeastern Brazil. Despite the negative environmental impact due to the dam rupture, the pelletizing plant standstill has provided a valuable opportunity for the assessment of the changes in local air quality. This work presents a statistical analysis of the spatial and temporal patterns of PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2, and O3, between 2012 and 2018, aiming to identify the trends in the air quality since the pelletizing plant standstill. This work also shows the analysis of the short-term and long-term exposures and the exceedances of the local air quality standards (AQS), as well as the study of the directional patterns of the pollutants associated with the prevailing winds. Since 2016, a meaningful improvement in the air quality of Anchieta was observed, coinciding with the pelletizing plant standstill. Since then, PM10 annual averages have decreased between 10 and 30%, while SO2 annual averages have decreased between 38 and 64%, depending on the monitoring station, which has led to a significant reduction in the exceedances of the AQS thresholds for these pollutants. Besides, the results suggest, qualitatively, a strong influence of the industrial emissions on the health of the Anchieta's population. The restart of the pelletizing plant production is expected in 2020; nevertheless, the results suggest the need for major improvements in the pollution control systems of the pelletizing plant before its resumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The original version of this article unfortunately contains mistakes introduced during the production phase. Figures 7, 8, and 10 were incorrectly captured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field latex is an important raw material in Thailand, produced by a large number of smallholders and handled by numerous local traders. This diversity of stakeholders involved along the production and marketing chain could result in the variability of the latex quality delivered to the factories. Latex processing industries need a raw material with consistently specified properties. Therefore, it is crucial to identify the factors that could affect latex properties. However, a complete description of the practices from the farmer to the factory is missing. Thus, a study was conducted to (1) characterise the upstream practices, (2) identify variable practices and (3) analyse farmers' and traders' perceptions of field latex quality that are believed to influence their practices. A survey was conducted with 398 field latex producers and 182 field latex traders distributed in eight provinces of Southern Thailand. The results showed that some agronomic practices in the mature plantations presented homogeneity (planting material, weed control, management of the inter-row of the plantations) while others (fertilisation, tapping panel treatment, harvesting practices) presented important diversity. Farmers' and traders' post-harvest practices presented limited sources of contamination. Nonetheless, for both stakeholders, an important possible source of variability was the quantity of latex preservative used. Finally, the analysis of the practices and the perception of the stakeholders clearly showed that field latex quality was determined both before and after harvesting. Research is still needed to analyse the impact of some agronomic practices on field latex quality. Latex traders also appeared as key stakeholders dealing with the quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) is classified as group 1 carcinogenic to humans by the International Agency for Research for Cancer (IARC). In 2012, USEPA promulgated a new VCM emission standard as part of National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and copolymer plants. The standard was set by benchmarking of peer plants with maximum achievable control technology (MACT). This study performs an emission assessment of a world-class PVC plant in Taiwan according to the MACT analysis. The emission data obtained were then benchmarked with baseline emission estimates of 15 PVC plants in the USA. Results of this study show seven types of VCM emissions: stripped resin of suspension/dispersion, wastewater, process vent, heat-exchange system, storage tank, equipment leaks, and other sources (gasholder). All the emission factors are complied with their MACT emission limitations (MEL) and ranked either #1 or #2 among the 15 plants. They are also summed and benchmarked against the production capacity of each plant, showing a negative power function with a fair correlation (R2 = 0.73). Among seven types of emissions, stripped resin contributes the highest (51.7%) by average emission factor of the 15 plants plus this study plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) industry is paying attention to innovation for a more sustainable production and it is getting sophisticated to reach high grade of energetic efficiency coupled with high quality product. For mushroom cultivation the environmental conditions must be controlled therefore in some phases the heat needs to be provided and in other ones it needs to be removed. The objective of this study was to investigate the current growing methodology used at an industrial mushroom farm site for a quantification of energy consumption. Mushroom growing parameters such as temperature and relative humidity were monitored during the production process placing sensors for a continuous data recording of these parameters in different and crucial positions throughout the entire production cycle. Heat is massively produced by the compost/mycelium system and the goal was to quantify the amount of energy needed to remove it through a cooling system and a forced air system that pulls cold air in the cultivation room and picks up the warmer and more humid air. Often, the heat produced by the cultivation room is not enough to reach the optimal growth conditions. In this case the application of an air heating system is necessary. The study was focused on evaluating the energy exchanges during a 41-day period corresponding to a growth cycle of three flushes to quantify the energy requirements of the conditioning system. A total energy of 5483 kWh/cycle was quantified for a mushroom production of 25,000 kg, corresponding to a specific energy requirement of 0.22 kWh/kg, 0.18 for cooling and 0.04 for heating. Results showed that the electric power consumption represents a crucial cost for the mushroom production, therefore an optimization of the energy requirements of the production plant is desirable and it can lead to relevant economic savings. A scenario considering a more efficient air conditioning system was proposed for a more sustainable mushroom production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of the Digital Factory consists of the design of an automated manufacturing system with elements of autonomy within the concept of Industry 4.0. This study origin was inspired with the production of drumsticks. For the intended purposes, manufacturing system designs for Factories of Future are created. The system consists of elements that are part of the digital production with automated functions that serve to communicate and interconnect the equipment located inside the factory as well as its external parts - buildings. Together, they should create a comprehensive set of automated elements and autonomous production in Smart Future Factories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to propose a multi-period multi-product supply chain network design which takes the sustainability dimensions into consideration in both strategic and operational decisions. Several critical issues in planning of supply chain networks are considered in the model such as the capacity of facilities, the minimum acceptable rate for the social score of manufacturing plants and distribution centers, the maximum coverage radius, and the limited budget. In order to obtain an effective and efficient network design, different categories of uncertainty are also taken into account, including the provider-side uncertainty reflected in the capacity of constructed facilities, as well as the economic, environmental, social, and technical parameters, the receiver-side uncertainty reflected in the demand, and the in-between uncertainty reflected in the transportation cost and the maximum coverage radius. To deal with different sources of uncertainty in the concerned problem, a chance constrained fuzzy programming approach is employed. Several test problems are used to analyze the characteristics of the proposed problem. The computational results can help decision makers to design supply chain networks from economic, environmental, and social perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant diversity in Palestine in general, and in the West Bank in particular, requires elaborated investigations to highlight the status the existent plant species and the factors by which they are affected. Among the urgent issues that have emerged lately is the detection of the status of plant diversity in the Tulkarm area due the allocation of the Gishori Industrial Complex in this area. This was achieved via conducting floristic analysis to detect the possible effects of the presence of the Gishori Industrial Complex on different plant taxa levels in the Tulkarm area. Therefore, plant specimens were collected from an experimental area (Ertah: opposite to the factory) and a control area (Thenabeh: far from the factory) for which a floristic analysis, plant life-form examination as well as a comparative study were carried out in this research. The obtained results of the floristic analysis revealed the presence of fifty-seven and 110 plant species belonging to forty-five and eighty-nine genera and eighteen and thirty-five families in Ertah and Thenabeh, respectively. The plant life-form analysis showed that the dominant plant life-forms in Thenabeh and Ertah areas separately are annuals, hemicryptophytes, and chamaephytes (74 and 65 %; 31.4 and 25.4 % and 10.1 and 5.2 %, respectively). In conclusion, the higher plant diversity in Thenabeh compared with the Ertah area at different studied taxa levels can be attributed to the nearness of Ertah to the Gishori Industrial Complex in comparison to the remoteness of Thenabeh to this industrial complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays we talk about Dark factories, IOT and Industry 4,0. Together with these concept, every step for "Dark Auxiliary Facilities" is getting big importance. High purity water, which is needed by many industrial plants, especially energy, chemical, pharmaceutical and electronics, can now be produced with fully electrical energy without the need for chemical regeneration by acid and caustic thanks to the Electrodeionization (EDI) technology instead of the classical "Miksbed resin" systems. EDI system in the future is the candidate to be a "Dark auxiliary facilities" equipment. It is environmental friendly and has cost advantages. In this report, we mentioned the points of use the Electrodeionization technology in industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Mapping the variations in process gas and available excess heat of an integrated steel mill. • Investigation of the effects of steel mill operation variations on the performance of a chemical absorption CO 2 plant. • The capture plant responds to changes very differently depending on the season and the type of variation. • Implementing CO 2 capture with chemical absorption in an integrated steel mill requires flexible operation of the capture plant. Abstract The present work aims to map the variations in process gas and available excess heat of an integrated steel mill and to investigate the effects of these variations on the performance of a chemical absorption CO 2 plant. Two time-scales are considered for the variations: seasonal and hourly changes. Dynamic process simulations are used to investigate the dynamic interactions between the steel mill and the capture unit. This includes the effect that periodic variations in the reboiler heat duty have on the performance of the capture plant and the effect of implementing a control strategy. The mapping of the operation of the steel mill reveals numerous variations on an hourly basis that are important for the design and operation of the capture plant, including decreases in the blast furnace gas (BFG) flow to 0% on approximately 10 occasions per year and variations of ±30 MW in the available heat more than 40 times per year. The simulations show that the capture unit responds very differently depending on the season, with a generally slower response during winter operation due to a lower level of circulation of the solvent. The capture unit shows also non-linearity in its response to changes in heat load - the deviation from the steady-state value is more pronounced when the heat is increased than when it is decreased. Thus, the simulation results indicate that implementing CO 2 capture with chemical absorption in an integrated steel mill requires flexible operation of the capture plant. Dynamic simulations over a two-week period with historical (hourly) boundaries demonstrate that the capture process can operate in the presence of the steel mill variations. Implementation of a decentralized control strategy increases the amount of captured CO 2 by 1.2%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vacuum technology was applied for the first time at industrial scale to the mechanical extraction processes of virgin olive oil (VOO). The study was carried out using an industrial plant with a working capacity of 4 tons of olives. The use of high vacuum conditions during the malaxation process induced an intense mass transfer into the olive paste that improved the coalescence phenomena of oil droplets with a significant increase in oil extractability for four different cultivars (Arbequina, Arbosana, Koroneiki and Picual). The evaluation of the quality characteristics of the Picual VOO showed an enhancement in the hydrophilic phenol fraction mainly related to the oleacein content. The low temperature set during the vacuum treatment (16 ± 1 °C for 30 min of malaxation) limited the stripping process of the main aldehydes, alcohols and esters. In contrast, other negative volatile compounds related to off-flavoured VOO (ethanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, ethyl acetate and acetic acid) were significantly reduced. • High vacuum technology applied to VOO extraction industrial plant. • Vacuum system increases the oil extractability of four cultivars. • Picual VOO improves their hydrophilic phenol content and antioxidant activity. • Low operative temperature limits the stripping phenomena of Picual volatile compounds. • Vacuum treatment reduces negative volatile compounds related to Picual VOO off-flavoured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanisms of alumina trihydrate precipitation and controlling parameters, and the methods and technologies affecting liquor yield/productivity in alumina refining, have been described in several publications [e.g., Refs. Alamdari et al. ( Light Metals 1998, pp. 133-137, ), Moretto and Power ( Proc. 1990 Alumina Quality Workshop, Perth, Australia, pp. 154-165, )]. However, the relationship between increasing liquor yield, on the one hand, and plant production capacity increases and related energy savings, on the other, has been under-emphasized. This article addresses this issue and provides estimates of plant production capacity increases and steam and power energy savings as a function of precipitation yield increases resulting from the implementation of plant adaptations. Conclusions are that increasing precipitation yield in an alumina refinery results overall in a significant improvement of project economics and interestingly improves a refinery's direct and indirect environmental performance, thus, addressing two of the three 'pillars' of sustainable development (economic, environmental, and social). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There have been a number of suggested driving factors for Late Miocene expansion of C 4 plant coverage, including a decline in atmospheric CO 2 concentrations, enhanced aridity and seasonality, shifts in fire regimes, and tectonic uplift. In order to identify and discriminate the driving factors of vegetation changes, continuous records from the same section or basin are required. We present micro-charcoal-based fire history and C 4 vegetation abundance records spanning the Miocene from the Yanwan Section in the Tianshui Basin, on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau (NE TP). Based on statistical analyses, the micro-charcoal concentrations were relatively low before ~10 Ma, and after that time, there was an exponential increase. The C 4 plant abundance shows a strong increase after 8 Ma, about 2 million years after the micro-charcoal concentrations started increasing. We compare our records with published CO 2 , pollen, seasonality, herbivorous mammalian fossil and tectonic records from the same section and basin. We find that C 4 vegetation, fire intensities, and opening landscapes increased simultaneously after 8 Ma. This indicates that a fire-grassland feedback, initially driven by aridification, was the trigger for the Late Miocene expansion of C 4 plants. We speculate that herbivorous mammalian species may also have played a minor role. During the Miocene, there is a trend towards enhanced seasonality and a decline in atmospheric CO 2 concentrations, which were also necessary preconditions for the expansion. • A Miocene micro-charcoal record from northeastern Tibetan Plateau was obtained. • The Miocene fire history was reconstructed based on the micro-charcoal record. • The frequency and intensity of fire activity were correlated to drying. • The intensified fire activity during the late Miocene facilitated C 4 plant expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing manufacturing flexibility is a key strategy for efficiently improving market responsiveness in the face of uncertain future product demand. Process flexibility results from being able to build different types of products in the same plant or production facility at the same time. In Part I of this paper, we develop several principals on the benefits of process flexibility. These principles are that 1) limited flexibility (i.e., each plant builds only a few products), configured in the right way, yields most of the benefits of total flexibility (i.e., each plant builds all products) and 2) limited flexibility has the greatest benefits when configured to chain products and plants together to the greatest extent possible. In Part II, we provide analytic support and justification for these principles. Based on a planning model for assigning production to plants, we demonstrate that, for realistic assumptions on demand uncertainty, limited flexibility configurations (i.e., how products are assigned to plants) have sales benefits that are approximately equivalent to those for total flexibility. Further, from this analysis we develop a simple measure for the flexibility in a given product-plant configuration. The measure is II(M*), the maximal probability over all groupings or sets of products (M) that there will be unfilled demand for a set of products while simultaneously there is excess capacity at plants building other products. This measure is easily computed and can be used to guide the search for good limited flexibility configurations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rowa Group company Tramaco, a German manufacturer of foaming agents, additive masterbatches, adhesion promoters and surface primers, has relocated its operations from Pinneberg to Tornesch. According to the company, modernized production, laboratory and service areas at the new site enable a significant increase in capacity as well as the scope for future expansions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As sessile organisms, plants have evolved unique patterns of growth and development, elaborate metabolism and special perception and signaling mechanisms to environmental cues. Likewise, plants have complex and highly special programs for transcriptional control of gene expression. A case study for the special transcription control in plants is the expansion of general transcription factors, particularly the family of Transcription Factor IIB (TFIIB)-like factors with 15 members in Arabidopsis. For more than a decade, molecular and genetic analysis has revealed important functions of these TFIIB-like factors in specific biological processes including gametogenesis, pollen tube growth guidance, embryogenesis, endosperm development, and plant-microbe interactions. The redundant, specialized, and diversified roles of these TFIIB-like factors challenge the traditional definition of general transcription factors established in other eukaryotes. In this review, we discuss general transcription factors in plants with a focus on the expansion and functional analysis of plant TFIIB-like proteins to highlight unique aspects of plant transcription programs that can be highly valuable for understanding the molecular basis of plant growth, development and responses to stress conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exotic species especially Asteraceae plants severely invade wetlands in Shenzhen Bay, an important part of the coast wetland in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Bay Area, China. However, the reasons causing their expansion are unclear. The leaf traits and expansion indices of six invasive Asteraceae plants from the Overseas Chinese Town (OCT) wetland were studied and the results showed that nearly 45% of the total plant species (31 out of 69 species) in the OCT wetland, belonging to 15 families and 27 genera, were exotic invasive species. The expansion indices of six Asteraceae species negatively correlated with their leaf construction cost based on mass (CCM), caloric values and carbon concentration, but their relations with ash content were positive. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that CCM was the most important factor affecting the expansion of an exotic species, indicating CCM may be an important reason causing the expansion of exotic species in coastal wetlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Severe virus outbreaks are occurring more often and spreading faster and further than ever. Preparedness plans based on lessons learned from past epidemics can guide behavioral and pharmacological interventions to contain and treat emergent diseases. Although conventional biologics production systems can meet the pharmaceutical needs of a community at homeostasis, the COVID-19 pandemic has created an abrupt rise in demand for vaccines and therapeutics that highlight the gaps in this supply chain's ability to quickly develop and produce biologics in emergency situations given a short lead time. Considering the projected requirements for COVID-19 vaccines and the necessity for expedited large scale manufacture the capabilities of current biologics production systems should be surveyed to determine their applicability to pandemic preparedness. Plant-based biologics production systems have progressed to a state of commercial viability in the past 30 years with the capacity for production of complex, glycosylated, "mammalian compatible" molecules in a system with comparatively low production costs, high scalability, and production flexibility. Continued research drives the expansion of plant virus-based tools for harnessing the full production capacity from the plant biomass in transient systems. Here, we present an overview of vaccine production systems with a focus on plant-based production systems and their potential role as "first responders" in emergency pandemic situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural stone has been used for various purposes, such as for building stone, megaliths, ornamental stone, hunting, and grinding, throughout history. Upon the advent of industrial-scale production for natural stone, both quarries and stone processing plants began to generate a high quantity of waste in large bulk. Natural stone waste is a current worldwide environmental problem. It is imperative to use natural stone waste in other industries and to declare the amount of waste generated by users. This study presents an on-site industrial analysis of the natural stone production process for natural stone waste which has not previously been quantitatively and qualitatively examined on an industrial scale. The study was conducted in nineteen natural stone processing plants, generating almost 98% of the marble produced in the province of Bilecik and 11% of that produced in Turkey. The resulting daily amount of waste generated was calculated on a monthly basis based on current production capacity. Following an analysis, the industrial waste was quantified, with the waste generation mechanism being analyzed and the types of waste being classified by size and quality. The results suggest that a natural stone processing plant generates nearly 1044 tons (solid and sludge) of natural stone waste a day. The waste generated was divided in two parts as sludge waste and large-size solid waste, and then analyzed under three categories. In addition, the samples collected from the plants were evaluated via physical-mechanical tests and XRD analyses. According to the figures of the marble processing plants, it can be said that a mid-scale marble processing plant with a monthly production capacity of 10.000 m2, on average generates a total of 50 tons of waste, comprising 25 tons of solid waste and 25 tons of sludge. It was also observed that natural stone waste was 28% in block cutting and 20% in gangsawing, as a result of cutting operations performed to turn one cubic meter of natural stone into a block. This translates into 756 kg and 540 kg of waste, respectively. Additionally, the storage of natural stone waste dispatched from various plants should be revised, and new categorized landfill areas and storage models should be introduced to individually store solid waste and sludge. • Natural stone waste amount in the Bilecik region was determined. • The waste formation mechanism was investigated in natural stone processing plants. • By cutting 1 m3 stone block, 20–28% of the block is converted to waste. • The cut of the 1 m3 block produces about 540–750 kg of waste. • Producing an average of 2000–3000 m2 of stone per day generates 50 tons of waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to determine the optimal indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) concentration in a nutrient solution to increase the bioactive compounds while enhancing the plant growth of A. rugosa grown hydroponically. Twenty-eight-day-old plants were transplanted in a plant factory for 32 days. The plants were subjected to various IAA concentrations (10−11, 10−9, 10−7, and 10−5 M) from 8 days after transplanting, and the control treatment (without IAA). Shoot and root fresh weights were effectively improved under 10−7 and 10−9 IAA treatments. Leaf gas exchange parameters were increased under 10−7 and 10−9 IAA treatments. Four of the IAA treatments, except 10−11 IAA treatment, significantly increased the rosmarinic acid (RA) concentration, as well as the tilianin concentration was significantly increased at all IAA treatments, compared with that of the control. Especially, the tilianin concentration of the 10−11 IAA treatment was significantly (1.8 times) higher than that of the control. The IAA treatments at 10−5 and 10−7 significantly raised the acacetin concentrations (1.6- and 1.7-times, respectively) compared to those of the control. These results suggested that 10−7 concentration of IAA in a nutrient solution was effective for enhancing plant growth and increasing bioactive compounds in A. rugosa, which offers an effective strategy for increasing phytochemical production in a plant factory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given their ability to harness chemical energy from the sun and generate the organic compounds necessary for life, photosynthetic organisms have the unique capacity to act simultaneously as their own power and manufacturing plant. This dual capacity presents many unique challenges, chiefly that energy supply must be perfectly balanced with energy demand to prevent photodamage and allow for optimal growth. From this perspective, we discuss the energy balancing network using recent studies and a quantitative framework for calculating metabolic ATP and NAD(P)H demand using measured leaf gas exchange and assumptions of metabolic demand. We focus on exploring how the energy balancing network itself is structured to allow safe and flexible energy supply. We discuss when the energy balancing network appears to operate optimally and when it favors high capacity instead. We also present the hypothesis that the energy balancing network itself can adapt over longer time scales to a given metabolic demand and how metabolism itself may participate in this energy balancing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental reporting by companies is becoming increasingly important for measuring sustainability performance, but biodiversity impacts are still largely unaccounted for due to the complexity of assessing such impacts. Energy production by power plants causes nitrogen emissions that may affect nature areas. To assess the impact of power plants on the biodiversity of Natura 2000 areas and to estimate compensation costs, we developed an analytical framework and applied it to four single power plants in the Netherlands. These plants differed according to production capacity and fuel source (natural gas and biomass). The plants affected between 77 and 537 km2 of Natura 2000 nature areas. To estimate cost of biodiversity loss and compensation, three approaches were applied: costs of restoration, 'insetting' costs incurred by creating new nature areas within the current Natura 2000 network, and offsetting costs, including land purchase of former agricultural land. Depending on the nitrogen exceedance levels of vegetation, compensation areas ranged between 6.5 and 23.6 ha. The estimated total cost per power plant varied from € 38,430 to € 1,753,261 annually. Depending on the cost method applied, biodiversity cost of energy production by single power plants ranged from 0.06 €.MWh−1 to 1.65 €.MWh−1. This cost largely depends on the type and location of the vegetation affected, which indicates that a spatial analysis is needed to measure the biodiversity footprint of business operations in environmental reporting. • Biodiversity impacts of business operational activities are hardly assessed. • A framework is presented to measure biodiversity impacts and compensation costs. • The framework is applied to four single power plants to assess the impacts of nitrogen emissions on biodiversity. • The spatial configuration of power plants have distinctive effects on impacted vegetation and compensation costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymer additives and colorants producer Milliken & Co is investing in the construction of a new, state-of-the-art chemical manufacturing plant and knowledge centre in Singapore in order to meet increasing demand across the Asian region. The new facility is expected to commence operations in the first quarter of 2021 but no further details concerning the scale of the investment or the plant's capacity have been revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]