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Industrial wastewater poses significant environmental and health risks due to its diverse pollutant composition. This study investigates the effectiveness of coagulation-flocculation treatment using aluminum sulfate (alum) for treating paper and pulp wastewater. The results highlight the significance of pre-biological treatment, pH optimization, alum dosages, and pre-filtration in enhancing removal efficiency for total solids (TS), total dissolved solids (TDS), total organic carbon (TOC), and ion concentrations. Pre-filtration significantly improved treatment performance, resulting in a 67% reduction in TS. Ion chromatography provided insights into post-treatment ion concentration changes. Under optimal conditions, including a treatment with 500 ppm alum dosage, alkaline pH of 11, and pre-filtration, the highest TS and TOC removal efficiencies were (52%) and (77%), while TDS reduction reached a maximum of 40% at lower alum dosages (100 mg/L). This study contributes crucial insights into optimizing alum coagulation-flocculation for paper and pulp wastewater treatment, offering potential solutions to mitigate industrial pollution and secure water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed at studying the feasibility of using a sediment model built in HEC – HMS incorporating Modified Universal Soil Loss Equation (MUSLE) in aiding the separation of sediment contribution as point and non-point, an important aspect in sediment pollution control. The model was developed and verified using a representative sub-catchment and a canal reach of a tropical climate. The field observations and model developed had a good agreement and indicated about 16% and 35% of total sediments in the canal may be from nonpoint sources for the dry and wet seasons, respectively. Results suggested that a major fraction of eroded sediment ended up in the main canal through the dense drainage network across the catchment. This meant sediment trapping should focus tributary drainage ditches or at point source inputs to canal rather than the main canal banks. The study recognized that HEC – HMS is also capable of simulating sediment generation with acceptable errors. Being a free software package, HEC – HMS would be an effective sediment modelling tool for jurisdictions where sediment analysis has been constrained by cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of China Condiment is the property of China Condiment and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Fruit salad is a healthy food because it is rich in fiber and vitamins. To give flavor to fruit salad, salad dressing can be added. One of the ingredients that can be added as a salad dressing is soygurt. However, in making soygurt, skim milk used to increase total solids is not fat so it needs to be re-evaluated using organoleptic test, pH value and total solids to be used as fruit salad dressing. This research aims to fill the knowledge gap by systematically investigating the effect of soygurt addition on organoleptic quality, pH value, and total soluble solids in fruit salad dressing. The method used in this research is an experiment conducted with three formulations, namely, 25%, 50%, and 75%. The way to determine the quality of soygurt addition to fruit salad dressing is organoleptic test, pH value, and total soluble solids. The results showed that the addition of soygurt by 50% in fruit salad dressing products produced the best quality in the aspects of color, aroma, viscosity, sweetness, sourness, and soybean languish. The total soluble solids test showed a significant difference with the 75% percentage having the highest value, which was 15.33 brix°. Organoleptic assessment of the quality of color, aroma, viscosity, sweetness, sourness, and soybean tartness showed that there was no significant difference between the addition of 25%, 50%, and 75% soygurt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, the OFMSW was utilized for ethanol and methane production in a two-stage process. First, the OFMSW was fermented by adjusting different levels of total solids (10%, 20%, and 29%) and a yeast dose (6, 12, and 24 g/kgOFMSW) for bioaugmentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A control treatment without bioaugmentation was used for benchmarking. In the self-fermentation of the OFMSW with its indigenous microbiota, lactic acid was mainly produced, followed by ethanol and acetic acid, where a maximum ethanol production of 113 ± 2 gCOD/kgTS, corresponding to 10.8 ± 0.4 g/L, at 20% of total solids was observed. The results showed that in all treatments with bioaugmentation, regardless of the content of total solids, the main metabolites were ethanol, lactic acid, and acetic acid, which represented more than 95% of the total metabolites. The ethanol concentration was increased by increasing the total solids and the yeast dose. The highest ethanol production was 407 ± 3 gCOD/kgTS with the bioaugmentation of 24 g/kgOFMSW and 20% of total solids, whereas the maximum ethanol concentration of 43.4 ± 0.1 g/L was obtained with bioaugmentation of 12 g/kgOFMSW and 29%. The methane potential of the raw OFMSW was 329 ± 5 NL-CH4/kgVS, whereas the solid digestates resulting from the fermentation exhibited similar or even higher methane yields than raw OFMSW. A maximum methane potential of 464 ± 2 NL-CH4/kgVS from the solid digestate obtained after fermentation of the OFMSW with bioaugmentation of 6 g/kgOFMSW of yeast and 10% of total solids was achieved. Thus, large amounts of ethanol and methane were achieved without the application of pretreatment and/or enzymatic hydrolysis, which implies a low-cost alternative for the production of biofuels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Misr Journal of Agricultural Engineering is the property of Egyptian National Agricultural Library (ENAL) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Waste management is one of most important challenges in environmental protection. Much effort is put into the development of waste treatment methods for further use. A serious problem is the treatment of municipal sewage sludge. One method that is useful for this substrate is composting. However, it is reasonable to compost a sewage sludge mixed with other substrates, such as maize straw. To carry out the composting process properly, it is necessary to control some parameters, including the total solids and volatile solids content in the composted mixture. In this paper, a method for the determination of the total solids and volatile solids content based on image analysis and neural networks was proposed. Image analysis was used for the determination of the colour and texture parameters. The three additional features describing the composted material were percentage of sewage sludge, type of maize straw, and stage of compost maturity. The neural models were developed based on various combinations of the input parameters. For both the total solids and volatile solids content, the most accurate models were obtained using all input parameters, including 30 parameters for image colour and texture and three features describing the composted material. The uncertainties of the developed models, expressed by the MAPE error, were 2.88% and 0.59%, respectively, for the prediction of the total solids and volatile solids content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) are efficient at solid waste capture and collection but generate a concentrated waste stream. Anaerobic digestion (AD) could be one potential treatment option for RAS facilities. However, the concentration of organic matter in the sludge can significantly affect the biogas quality from AD. This study evaluated the effect of fish sludge (FS) solid concentration on biogas quality. Three FS treatments consisted of different initial total solid concentrations (1.5%, 2.5%, and 3.5%) from a mixture of sludge produced by Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Methane (CH4) production was measured, quantified, and normalized on a volatile solids (VS) basis. The highest solid concentration treatment produced 23% more CH4 than the lowest solid concentration (519 mL/g VS versus 422 mL/g VS, respectively). Peak CH4 production occurred on Day 7 for the lowest FS concentration (78.2 mL/day), while the highest FS concentration peaked on Day 11 (96 mL/day). Peak hydrogen sulfide (H2S) concentrations ranged from 1803–2074 ppm across treatments, signifying the requirement of downstream unit processes for H2S removal from biogas. Overall, this study demonstrated that increasing the FS concentration can significantly enhance CH4 production without affecting the stability of the digestion process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the consumption of milk and dairy products has dramatically increased in several parts of the world. Different livestock plays an essential role in global milk production. This study was designed to evaluate different chemical and physical components of milk in four groups of livestock, including cows, buffalos, sheep, and goats. To this end, 200 raw milk samples were collected from cows, buffalos, sheep, and goats (n=50) across Dhi-Qar Governorate, Iraq, for a period of one year (from 01.10.2018 to 01.06.2019). The findings showed sheep and buffalos’ milk samples had a significantly higher percentage of total solids (TS%), compared to cows and goats’ milk samples (P

Pumice stone is used as a filter in the green wastewater treatment process, in an animal slaughter center. The problem of turbidity in wastewater, high concentrations total suspended solids, chemical oxygen demand and biochemical oxygen demand, does not allow the wastewater treatment system to have an efficient mechanism. The objectives were: a) to compare the retention of total suspended solids (mg/L) in the filters of varying concentrations of pumice stone (kg/cm3), in the green wastewater treatment process and b) to contrast the efficiency of the removal treatments of chemical oxygen demand (mgO2/L) and biochemical oxygen demand (mg/L) from green wastewater, filtered in varying concentrations of pumice stone. The methodology was to build a mini-plant pilot system, which consisted of installation of five 35 L PVC tanks, with connections through PVC pipes to five pumice filter pools with different quantities. The results were: (a) The concentrations of total suspended solids decreased from 4672 to 2458 mg/L, which translates into a decrease of 47.4%. (b) The decrease in chemical oxygen demand was significant from 4940 to 1690 mg/L, and the decrease in biochemical oxygen demand was also significant from 2950 to 700 mg/L. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in using high quantities of milk or milk replacer (MR) in heat-stressed calves to alleviate the negative effects of high environmental temperatures on their performance. However, observations have indicated a decline in growth performance in the weaning and post-weaning period, which might be optimized with increasing total solids (TS) in milk and weaning age. This study aims to optimize the effects of higher quantities of milk on late weaned calves' performance by increasing TS concentration or delivery route in summer conditions. Method Forty-eight newborn Holstein calves were used in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement with the factors of pre-weaning total plane of milk (PM) intake (low vs. high) and milk TS content (12% vs. 17%). The treatments were (1) low PM (LPM) intake with 12% TS (TS intake = 45.9 kg), (2) LPM intake with 17% TS (TS intake = 65.1 kg), (3) high PM (HPM) intake with 12% TS (TS intake = 63.7 kg); and (4) HPM intake with 17% TS (TS intake = 90.3 kg). Calves were weaned at d 83, and the study was terminated at d 103 of age. Performance data (every 10 day), skeletal growth (d 80 and 100), ruminal fermentation parameters (d 48 and 91), and behavioral measurements (d 69, 70, 93 and 94) were analyzed as repeated measurements with PROC MIXED of SAS 9.4 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC). Results Calves receiving HPM consumed less PMR from d 44 to 83 of age, but they had higher ADG from d 24 to 53 of age compared to those fed LPM (PM × age, P

Kitchen waste from hotels and homes is one of the major problems for urban and rural environment and could be one of the best sources of renewable energy by producing biogas through anaerobic digestion. A research work was undertaken to assess the methane potential of kitchen waste at different total solids (TS) content. Kitchen wastes such as spoiled rice, brinjal, potato, papaya, tomato, fish and poultry parts etc., which are easily decomposed, were selected for this study. Batch experiments were set up under ambient temperature. Kitchen waste was added to the batch digester at different TS content (5, 7, 10, 12 and 15%) and sealed for 146 days until the gas production stopped. Substrate characteristics were analyzed before and after the anaerobic digestion. The highest methane yield was 78.12 L/kg VS at 15% TS content followed by 12, 10, 7 and 5%. Different kinetic parameters were determined using a logistic model and the model showed a good fit with the experimental results. After modelling using Minitab®, the optimum TS content for kitchen waste was found to be 14.90%. HIGHLIGHTS Performance of anaerobic digestion at different solid concentrations of kitchen waste were investigated.; The total solids content was optimized to maximize yield.; Significant variation in methane yield was observed at different total solids.; The optimum total solids was found to be 14.90% with methane yield of 78.23 L/kg VS.;

Dewatering is an important step in sludge treatment process; it reduces the quantity and valorize the quality of the produced sludge. This paper aims to discuss the use of screw press machine for dewatering sludge mixture from primary and secondary clarifiers in Jabal Asfar wastewater treatment plant (JAWWTP). The study was conducted using a pilot scale with capacity of 52 m3/h. Inlet and outlet samples were collected and transferred to the laboratory of JAWWTP for analysis. The speed of the screw press (rpm), the polymer dose (g) and the inlet TS% were monitored as operational parameters. Results showed that the screw press can dewater sewage sludge with lower total solids (TS) reached 0.5%. The optimum conditions for operating were regarded to the higher TS% in the outlet cake and the lower-energy and polymer consumption. Sewage sludge quantity entering the screw press fluctuated between 3.8 and 15.5 m3/h. Inlet TS ranged from 0.5% to 0.9% and the polymer consumption ranged from 2.7 to 18.6 g for each kg of dewatered sludge. Cost of dewatering processes ranged from US$ 0.009 to 0.064 for each kg of dewatered sludge depending on the polymer and energy consumption. TS outlet fluctuated between 13.12% and 21.6% depending on the TS inlet, the speed of the conveyer rotation and the polymer dose. The produced sludge will be dried and used for various purposes. It can be concluded that mechanical dewatering systems are suitable alternatives for conventional drying beds especially in highly populated cites, and screw press can dewater sludge with low TS content reached 0.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aim:As recommended by WHO, breastfeeding is the best choice and safe for infants. The formula for infants plays an imperative role in the infant's diet and remains an excellent alternative for breast milk. The milk formula for most infants has been increasingly changed with various compositions to create a similar breast milk production. This study aims to analyze and determine the chemical composition of a few milk formulas available in the Saudi Arabian market.Materials and MethodsThirty-five milk formula samples for infants of different age categories were collected from Riyadh City and analyzed for protein, fat, carbohydrates, lactose, total solids, total non-fat solids, calcium, iron, and zinc. Among batches collected, there were 15 branded products suitable for those of age 0–6 months, five for those of age 0–12 months, four for those of age 1–3 years, and 11 for those of age 6–12 months.ResultsFor infants, the milk formula sample parameters investigated varied significantly (p ≤ 0.05). A significantly high protein value was 22.72% for a brand for infants with an age of 0–6 months, and the lowest was 11.31% for a brand for those of age 0–12 months. Fat content was high in a brand (26.92%) for infants of age 0–6 months and low in a brand (17.31%) for those aged 6–12 months. The high value of carbohydrates was found in a brand (60.64%) for those of age 0–6 months and a low one (44.97%) in a brand for those of age 0–12 months. The total energy, lactose, total solids, total non-fat solids, and minerals (calcium, iron, zinc) were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) varied between milk formulas at the same age.ConclusionThere were significant variations between milk formulas of the same ages. According to age groups, some nutrients were not identical to the reference values for children's food.

Waste management is one of most important challenges in environmental protection. Much effort is put into the development of waste treatment methods for further use. A serious problem is the treatment of municipal sewage sludge. One method that is useful for this substrate is composting. However, it is reasonable to compost a sewage sludge mixed with other substrates, such as maize straw. To carry out the composting process properly, it is necessary to control some parameters, including the total solids and volatile solids content in the composted mixture. In this paper, a method for the determination of the total solids and volatile solids content based on image analysis and neural networks was proposed. Image analysis was used for the determination of the colour and texture parameters. The three additional features describing the composted material were percentage of sewage sludge, type of maize straw, and stage of compost maturity. The neural models were developed based on various combinations of the input parameters. For both the total solids and volatile solids content, the most accurate models were obtained using all input parameters, including 30 parameters for image colour and texture and three features describing the composted material. The uncertainties of the developed models, expressed by the MAPE error, were 2.88% and 0.59%, respectively, for the prediction of the total solids and volatile solids content.

To address some challenges of food security and sustainability of the poultry processing industry, a sequential membrane process of ultrafiltration (UF), forward osmosis (FO), and reverse osmosis (RO) is proposed to treat semi-processed poultry slaughterhouse wastewater (PSWW) and water recovery. The pretreatment of PSWW with UF removed 36.7% of chemical oxygen demand (COD), 38.9% of total phosphorous (TP), 24.7% of total solids (TS), 14.5% of total volatile solids (TVS), 27.3% of total fixed solids (TFS), and 12.1% of total nitrogen (TN). Then, the PSWW was treated with FO membrane in FO mode, pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) mode, and L-DOPA coated membrane in the PRO mode. The FO mode was optimal for PSWW treatment by achieving the highest average flux of 10.4 ± 0.2 L/m2-h and the highest pollutant removal efficiency; 100% of COD, 100% of TP, 90.5% of TS, 85.3% of TVS, 92.1% of TFS, and 37.2% of TN. The performance of the FO membrane was entirely restored by flushing the membrane with 0.1% sodium dodecyl sulfate solution. RO significantly removed COD, TS, TVS, TFS, and TP. However, TN was reduced by only 62% because of the high ammonia concentration present in the draw solution. Overall, the sequential membrane process (UF-FO-RO) showed excellent performance by providing high rejection efficiency for pollutant removal and water recovery.

In the anaerobic digestion world, the dry matter (DM) and organic matter (OM) contents of the samples are major data for the design, handling, and maintenance of the processing of biogas plants. Volatile compounds, such as volatile fatty acids and ammonia, are likely to volatilize during drying at 105 °C and, thus, distort DM values; they have been described at length in the literature. On the other hand, the partial decomposition of bicarbonate, present in the digestion media, has been little described in the scientific literature. In this work, it appears that, in accordance with the stoichiometry of the partial decomposition of bicarbonate into CO2 and H2O, about 37% is volatilized as early as 70 °C and a fortiori at 105 °C, whether in aqueous solutions of pure bicarbonate or in different real digester media. With freeze-drying, no degradation of bicarbonate was observed, confirming the thermo-dependence of this reaction. This decomposition leads to an underestimation of DM measurements and some erroneous DM mass balances. It also led to an indirect overestimation of the OM, when expressed as a percentage of the DM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestic biogas technology is a promising source of renewable energy for cooking in developing countries. It is popular in Nepal's rural and peri-urban areas and can be scaled-up to replace solid fuel cookstoves. This study focused on the technical assessment of installed biogas plants such as structural components, pipelines and valves, stove and burner, biogas production and utilization, and effluent disposal system in 303 homes in Kavre district, Nepal. Furthermore, it evaluated the feedstock material's physical and chemical parameters to ascertain their implications on biogas production. The plants' problems were mainly due to faulty components and lack of proper operation and maintenance. About 18% of plants were nonfunctional, out of which 9% of the plants were damaged due to the 2015 mega-earthquake. The highest number of damages was found in the mixture of the inlet structure. About 55% of mixtures were nonfunctional. Almost 77% of users used cow dung and toilet waste either individually or in combination with animal urine as feedstock materials in the digester. The Carbon: Nitrogen (C: N) ratio of feedstock materials ranged from 5:1–24:1, with only 4% of samples measuring C: N greater than 20:1. Similarly, pH (7.7) levels were on the higher side. • About 55% of mixtures and 30% of main valves were nonfunctional. • Above 80% users were not satisfied with the performance of biogas plants. • Faulty components and inadequate operation caused Inefficient plants' performance. • 18% of plants were nonfunctional, of which 9% were damaged due to 2015 mega-earthquake. • The C: N ratio of feedstock materials and pH were not in the desirable range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomass from various sources such as cow dung is a significant source of renewable energy (as biogas) in many regions globally, especially in India, Africa, Brazil, and China. However, biogas production from biomass such as cattle dung is a slow, inefficient biochemical process, and the specific biogas produced per kg of biomass is relatively small. The improvement of specific biogas production efficiency using various dilution ratios (and, hence, total solids [TS]) is investigated in this work. A wide range of feed dilution (FD) ratios of cow dung: water (CD: W) was tested in batch biogas digesters with total solids ranging from 1% to 12.5% and FD ratio ranging from 2:1 to 1:20. To further verify the results from the above batch experiments, semi-batch experiments representative of field-scale biodigesters were conducted. Semi-batch reactors have a steady-state process, unlike batch reactors, which have an unsteady state process. Our results suggested that specific biogas production (mL/g VS) increased continuously when the total solids decreased from 12.5% to 1% (or when dilution increased). Our experiments also indicate that the commonly used 1:1 feed dilution ratio (TS ~ 10% for cow dung) does not produce the maximum specific biogas production. The possible reason for this could be that anaerobic digestion at higher total solids is rate limited due to substrate inhibition, mass transfer limitations, and viscous mixing problems that arise at higher total solids concentration. Hence, a higher feed dilution ratio between 1:2 and 1:4 (TS between 4 and 6.7%) is recommended for a more efficient biomass utilization of cowdung. Empirical relationships were also developed for variation of specific biogas yield with the total solids content of the cow dung slurry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the consumption of milk and dairy products has dramatically increased in several parts of the world. Different livestock plays an essential role in global milk production. This study was designed to evaluate different chemical and physical components of milk in four groups of livestock, including cows, buffalos, sheep, and goats. To this end, 200 raw milk samples were collected from cows, buffalos, sheep, and goats (n=50) across Dhi-Qar Governorate, Iraq, for a period of one year (from 01.10.2018 to 01.06.2019). The findings showed sheep and buffalos’ milk samples had a significantly higher percentage of total solids (TS%), compared to cows and goats’ milk samples (P<0.05). However, there were no significant differences in the TS% between sheep and buffalos’ milk samples. Furthermore, the mean TS% values in cows, buffalos, sheep, and goats’ milk samples were determined at 11.14%, 12.87%, 13.26%, and 11.33%, respectively. As for fat percentage (F%), buffalos’ milk samples had significantly higher F% (4.80%), compared to milk samples of cows, sheep, and goats (P<0.05). Additionally, sheep’s milk samples had significantly higher F% (P<0.05) than cows and goats’ milk samples determined at 2.78%, 4.20%, and 2.98%, respectively. The findings showed the percentage of solids not fat (SNF%) was significantly higher in sheep’s milk (8.97%), compared to milk samples of cows, buffalos, and goats (P<0.05). Additionally, it was found that the SNF% was significantly higher (P<0.05) in Buffalos’ milk samples, compared to cows and goats’ milk samples determined at 8.36%, 8.60%, and 8.35%, respectively. Moreover, the results revealed that the percentage of milk protein content in sheep’s milk was significantly higher than the cows, buffalos, and goats’ milk (P<0.05). Recorded data also showed no significant differences in the percentage of milk lactose among cows, buffalos, sheep, and goats’ milk samples (P<0.05). Furthermore, the findings illustrated that the percentage of milk ash (Ash%) in sheep’s milk samples was significantly higher than the cows, buffalos, as well as goats’ milk samples (P<0.05), and no significant differences were observed among cows, buffalos, and goats’ milk samples in the Ash% (P<0.05). In addition, there were no significant differences in the specific gravity among different milk samples (P<0.05). Finally, the results displayed no significant differences between cows and goats’ milk samples in all the studied traits (P<0.05). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) are efficient at solid waste capture and collection but generate a concentrated waste stream. Anaerobic digestion (AD) could be one potential treatment option for RAS facilities. However, the concentration of organic matter in the sludge can significantly affect the biogas quality from AD. This study evaluated the effect of fish sludge (FS) solid concentration on biogas quality. Three FS treatments consisted of different initial total solid concentrations (1.5%, 2.5%, and 3.5%) from a mixture of sludge produced by Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Methane (CH4) production was measured, quantified, and normalized on a volatile solids (VS) basis. The highest solid concentration treatment produced 23% more CH4 than the lowest solid concentration (519 mL/g VS versus 422 mL/g VS, respectively). Peak CH4 production occurred on Day 7 for the lowest FS concentration (78.2 mL/day), while the highest FS concentration peaked on Day 11 (96 mL/day). Peak hydrogen sulfide (H2S) concentrations ranged from 1803–2074 ppm across treatments, signifying the requirement of downstream unit processes for H2S removal from biogas. Overall, this study demonstrated that increasing the FS concentration can significantly enhance CH4 production without affecting the stability of the digestion process.

The methane production rate of high solid anaerobic digestion (HSAD) was poor although it was a promising technology with the advantages of small reactor, low energy consumption, and less digestate. In our research before, thermal treatment was proved to enhance HSAD's methane production rate via both batch experiments and continuous experiments of swine manure. However, the effect or investigation of thermal treatment's temperature-time combinations was not yet reported. In this study, swine manure was firstly thermally treated in 500-mL glass bottles with 400-mL work volume at 45–65 °C for 1–4 days. HSAD experiment of 10% solid content was then set up. The VS ratio of substrate to inoculum was 1:1. Thermal treatment at 45 °C (3 days), 55 °C (1 day), and 65 °C (3 days) could obtain the highest methane production rate, which was around 40% higher. Kinetics analysis suggested that the degradation of swine manure was quite different at different temperatures. Furthermore, energy assessment indicated that "thermal treatment + HSAD" had significant advantages in improving HSAD economic feasibility, because the improved methane production rate could compensate for the extra energy utilized for thermal treatment. Heat treatment at 45 °C (4 days) was preferred when the heating equipment was limited. Heat treatment at 55 °C (1 day) was preferred when the floor space and reactor volume were restricted. Heat treatment at 65°C (3 days) was preferred when the requirement of the digestate's sanitary condition is strict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the research presented in this Research Communication was to access the environmental impact of the Latvian dairy industries. Site visits and interviews at Latvian dairy processing companies were done in order to collect site-specific data. This includes the turnover of the dairy industries, production, quality of water in various industrial processes, the flow and capacity of the sewage including their characteristic, existing practices and measures for wastewater management. The results showed that dairy industries in Latvia generated in total approximately 2263 × 103 m3 wastewater in the year 2019. The Latvian dairy effluents were characterized with high chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD) and total solids (TS). Few dairy plants had pre-treatment facilities for removal of contaminants, and many lacked onsite treatment technologies. Most facilities discharged dairy wastewater to municipal wastewater treatment plants. The current study gives insight into the Latvian dairy industries, their effluent management and pollution at Gulf of Riga due to wastewater discharge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in using high quantities of milk or milk replacer (MR) in heat-stressed calves to alleviate the negative effects of high environmental temperatures on their performance. However, observations have indicated a decline in growth performance in the weaning and post-weaning period, which might be optimized with increasing total solids (TS) in milk and weaning age. This study aims to optimize the effects of higher quantities of milk on late weaned calves' performance by increasing TS concentration or delivery route in summer conditions. Method: Forty-eight newborn Holstein calves were used in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement with the factors of pre-weaning total plane of milk (PM) intake (low vs. high) and milk TS content (12% vs. 17%). The treatments were (1) low PM (LPM) intake with 12% TS (TS intake = 45.9 kg), (2) LPM intake with 17% TS (TS intake = 65.1 kg), (3) high PM (HPM) intake with 12% TS (TS intake = 63.7 kg); and (4) HPM intake with 17% TS (TS intake = 90.3 kg). Calves were weaned at d 83, and the study was terminated at d 103 of age. Performance data (every 10 day), skeletal growth (d 80 and 100), ruminal fermentation parameters (d 48 and 91), and behavioral measurements (d 69, 70, 93 and 94) were analyzed as repeated measurements with PROC MIXED of SAS 9.4 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC). Results: Calves receiving HPM consumed less PMR from d 44 to 83 of age, but they had higher ADG from d 24 to 53 of age compared to those fed LPM (PM × age, P < 0.001). In addition, calves receiving milk with 17% TS had lower PMR intake from d 14 to 83 of age, but greater ADG from d 34 to 53 compared to those receiving milk with 12% TS (TS × age, P < 0.001). Calves that received HPM had greater skeletal growth parameters compared to LPM-fed calves, with a similar effect evident for calves fed milk with 17% TS compared with those fed milk with 12% TS. Calves receiving milk with 17% TS had greater fecal scores and diarrhea occurrence than those fed milk with 12% TS in HPM, but not LPM. Conclusions: Increasing PM and milk TS concentration improved growth in summer-exposed calves as demonstrated by increased pre-weaning ADG, pre- and post-weaning BW, and structural growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Aami river is one of the most prominent rivers in Gorakhpur. The river can play a vital role to contribute social-economic structure of Gorakhpur. The study was conducted to assess the physical and chemical water quality parameters of the Aami River. The water samples were collected in a plastic container of 2 liters capacity from three different sites, one each from upstream, midstream and downstream along the river in 2020 during summer, winter and rainy season. Maghar was selected for upstream (Site-1), Chataye bridge was selected for midstream (Site-2) and Sahgaura village was selected for downstream (Site-3) sampling sites in the present study. A number of physicochemical water quality parameters including water temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO) biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), pH, suspended solids and total solids were measured in laboratory base analysis. The mean values of such respective parameters in all were compared with the water quality before the Covid 19 and during the covid-19 lockdown period. The study result revealed that comparatively river water quality improved in several parameters, during covid-19 lockdown period than before covid-19 lockdown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cervico-vaginal mucus (CVM) is a viscoelastic substance continuously produced by secretory cells of the endocervix and the vagina of cows. Its physicochemical composition varies depending on the hormonal status of the estrous cycle. In veterinary medicine refractometry is a widely diffused technique to determine total solids (TS) content of biological samples, but there are not published data of CVM total solids from refractometric measures. Refractometric TS determination contributes to the qualitative constituents analysis of CVM, additionally it is an easier and more inexpensive technique than gravimetric TS determination. The main goal of the present paper was to validate a refractometric method to estimate TS concentration of the soluble fraction of CVM samples. Samples were collected from seventy-three Holando Argentino cows of Santa Fe province farms in Argentina. Cows were classified in three experimental groups: healthy, subclinical (SE) and clinical endometritis (CE) group. To achieve a solubilisation protocol for CVM samples, four Triton™ X-100 concentrations were tested. Refractive index (RI) and gravimetric total solid (gTS) concentration of solubilised samples were determined for the three experimental groups. A mathematical equation was determined with the experimental data from the healthy group, in order to obtain calculated total solid concentration (cTS) from refractivity (R) values. To validate the RI method for CVM samples, cTS concentrations were compared with gTS concentrations from endometritis group samples. Triton™ X-100 0.01% (V/V) improved CVM samples handling and did not change physicochemical parameters (gTS, Na+ and K+ concentration, and RI values). The linear regression equation obtained was: cTS (g/dL) = (R – 0.67)/16.2, r2 = 0.91. Correlation between gTS and cTS concentration was: r = 0.97 for SE group and r = 0.97 for CE group. The homogenization protocol allowed the measurement of physicochemical parameters without altering their values. A high correlation coefficient between cTS and gTS postulates refractometry as an accurate method to determine TS concentration for solubilised CVM samples.

Waste diapers (WD) handling and disposal in Mexico are typically based on their burial in dumping sites and landfills. Practically reclaiming and recycling of WD are non-existent. The clean diapers are composed of cellulose fibres (37–43% db), hemicellulose (5–9%), lignin (4–7%), protein (

Introduction. The production and commercialization of raw milk in Nariño, Colombia, follows microbiological and compositional standards on which payment for quality is made. However, quality can be affected during its transport after milking. Objective. To describe the microbiological and compositional quality of raw milk in the highland tropic. Materials and methods. The study was carried out in seven municipalities in the department of Nariño, Colombia, during the rainy season between February and July of 2017. Two milk samples from the same milk can were collected, one after milking (farm; n = 10), and the second at the collection point (tank; n = 10). In each sample, the following variables were evaluated: height above the sea level of the collection site, aerobic mesophilic count (CFU), total coliform count (COL), milk temperature, fat (FAT), protein (PC) and total solids (TS). Results. The temperature of the milk was higher on the farm compared to the tank (30±0.68 vs. 23±0.87 °C, respectively). The aerobic mesophilic count was higher in the tank vs. farm (116,470 vs. 41,388 CFU ml-1, respectively). The temperature of the milk was negatively correlated with the distance and the transport time of the milk (-0.86 and -0.84, respectively). The compositional quality of the milk was not affected by transport conditions. Conclusion. In the high tropic conditions, the microbiological quality of raw milk was negatively affected by the increase in the aerobic mesophilic counts.

Copyright of Revista do Instituto de Laticínios Cândido Tostes is the property of Revista do Instituto de Laticinios Candido Tostes and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Tecnología y Ciencias del Agua is the property of Instituto Mexicano de Tecnologia del Agua (IMTA) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this study, an integrated system of siphon-driven self-agitated anaerobic reactor (SDSAR) and anaerobic fixed bed reactor (AFBR) was conducted for the treatment of wastewater from food waste disposer (FWD), and the effect of influent total solids (TS) concentration on the process performance was evaluated. When the influent TS concentration increased from 7.04 to 15.5 g/L, the methane gas production rate increased from 0.45 to 0.92 L-CH4/L/day. However, with the influent TS concentration of food waste (FW) further increased to 23.5 g/L, a large amount of scum formed and accumulated in the SDSAR. According to the result of chemical oxygen demand (COD) recovery, the proportion of COD remained in the effluent at different TS concentrations was only around 2%. On the other hand, with an increase in TS concentration, the proportion of COD remained in the reactors increased significantly. Our results demonstrated that effluent from the integrated system can meet the water quality requirements recommended by Japan Sewage Works Association (JSWA) for wastewater from FWD. In addition, to enhance the process stability, the influent TS concentration should be maintained below 15.5 g/L. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study performed bench scale studies on anaerobic co-digestion of cheese whey and septage mixed with biochar (BC) as additive at various dosages (0.5 g, 1 g, 2 g and 4 g) and total solids (TS) concentrations (5%, 7.5%, 10%,12.5% and 15%). The experimental results revealed 29.58% increase in methane yield (486 ± 11.32 mL/gVS) with 27% reduction in lag phase time at 10% TS concentration and 50 g/L of BC loading. The mechanistic investigations revealed that BC improved process stability by virtue of its robust buffering capacity and mitigated ammonia inhibition. Statistical analysis indicates BC dosage had a more pronounced effect (P < 0.0001) compared to the impact of TS concentrations. Additionally, the results were modelled using Gompertz model (GM) and artificial neural network (ANN) algorithm, which revealed the outperformance of ANN over GM with MSE 17.96, R2 value 0.9942 and error 0.27%. These findings validated the practicality of utilizing a high dosage of BC in semi-solid anaerobic digestion conditions. [Display omitted] • Biochar addition significantly enhanced methane generation by reducing lag phase time in anaerobic digestion of cheese whey. • Adding biochar improves methane generation, especially at low solids concentrations. • Gompertz model and artificial neural network (ANN) model were compared. • Optimal ANN model 2-9-1 attained MSE 18.96 and R2 value 0.9942. • Excellent fit of the Gompertz model with MSE of 24.10 and R2 of 0.9702. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the anaerobic digestion world, the dry matter (DM) and organic matter (OM) contents of the samples are major data for the design, handling, and maintenance of the processing of biogas plants. Volatile compounds, such as volatile fatty acids and ammonia, are likely to volatilize during drying at 105 °C and, thus, distort DM values; they have been described at length in the literature. On the other hand, the partial decomposition of bicarbonate, present in the digestion media, has been little described in the scientific literature. In this work, it appears that, in accordance with the stoichiometry of the partial decomposition of bicarbonate into CO2 and H2O, about 37% is volatilized as early as 70 °C and a fortiori at 105 °C, whether in aqueous solutions of pure bicarbonate or in different real digester media. With freeze-drying, no degradation of bicarbonate was observed, confirming the thermo-dependence of this reaction. This decomposition leads to an underestimation of DM measurements and some erroneous DM mass balances. It also led to an indirect overestimation of the OM, when expressed as a percentage of the DM.

Rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) is a specie of late yield performance. This makes breeding programs long-term and the decisions taken are based in the base population genetic parameters. The aim of this research was to determinate a genetic potential of a rubber segregating population through the use of repeatability as a parameter, in order to make decisions to start a breeding program, with the purpose of increasing the total solids. In addition, to describe the target population and to explore the relation between total solids yield and climate variables. This research was carried out in a segregating population with 3395 trees in 12,000 m2 divided into nine plots located in the research center El Nus of Corpoica. Ten evaluations of total solids were recorded in the period between October 2014 and September 2016. The repeatability of total solids was determined from the estimation of individual and temporal environments variance using the Bayesian approach. Descriptive statistics for the total solid mean were used per plot and the correlation between total solids and climate variables were obtained. The repeatability estimate value was between 0.64 and 0.66. The plots had a total solids variation coefficient among 64.76 and 86.51%. Total solids and cumulate photosynthetic active radiation had a direct correlation (0.25) for 15 and 30 days prior period, while mean relative humidity had an inverse correlation of -0.44 and -0.42 with total solid in the same periods. There is a good probability that for this population the total solid can be inherited in a high proportion.

Highlights • Sensory properties of cooked rice are important for consumer acceptance. • Autoclaving mainly affects stickiness of cooked rice, not hardness. • Sensory properties controlled by molecular structure of leached starch. • Molecular structure of leached starch is slightly affected by the cooking method. • Stickier texture of autoclaved rice from more amylopectin leaching during cooking. Abstract Autoclave cooking is used to produce "convenience" rice. In this study, autoclaving effects on sensory properties are investigated, and mechanistic explanations in terms of the underlying molecular structure are explored by analyzing this structure by size-exclusion chromatography and fitting the results with models based on biosynthetic processes. Compared to steam cooking, autoclaving produces stickier texture, and slightly affects hardness. It is found that molecular sizes of leached starch of both autoclaved and steam cooked rice are similar, but significantly smaller than that of the parent grain starch; model fitting parameters of leached amylopectin and amylose structures between autoclaved rice and steam cooked rice display no large variations. The amount of leached amylopectin (an important texture-controlling parameter) of autoclaved rice is higher than that of steam cooked rice. Correlation analysis indicates that, compared to steam-cooked rice, the stickier texture of autoclaved rice is caused by more amylopectin leaching during autoclaving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biochar can be used to improve the anaerobic digestion (AD) of agricultural wastes for higher methane production. However, the interaction of biochar addition with other factors of the anaerobic co-digestion (Co-AD) process has rarely been investigated. In this study, process models based on response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN) were compared in modeling the methane yield (MY, mL CH 4 /g VS added) from the Co-AD of poultry litter and wheat straw with biochar addition. Box-Behnken design was applied, with the controlling parameters being carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N), total solids (TS, %), and biochar addition (Biochar, % TS). Numerical optimization and genetic algorithm (GA) were used as optimization tools for RSM and ANN, respectively. A significant second-order quadratic model was built by RSM (R2 = 0.9981 and RMSE = 0.91), which demonstrated significant interactions between C/N and TS (p < 0.0001), and between C/N and Biochar (p < 0.05). The trained ANN (3−3−1) was less accurate (R2 = 0.9926, RMSE = 1.80) compared to RSM. The optimization results by RSM and ANN coupled with GA (ANN-GA) were both validated with prediction errors <0.5%. The optimization results by ANN-GA should be used since it generated a higher maximum MY of 290.7 ± 0.2 mL CH 4 /g VS added , under the optimal conditions of C/N ratio 24.46, TS 5.03%, and Biochar 8.73% TS, showing an improvement of 20.6% (compared to the control) through process optimization. The methods can also be applied in other scenarios for process modeling and optimization. The optimized results could support real applications of using additives including biochar, active carbon, nanoparticles, etc., to promote the bioenergy production from AD of agricultural wastes. [Display omitted] • Poultry litter and wheat straw were co-digested for bioenergy (methane) production. • Biochar-improved anaerobic co-digestion was modeled based on a Box-Behnken design. • Response surface methodology and artificial neural network (ANN) were compared. • RSM indicated a significant interaction between biochar addition and substrate carbon-to‑nitrogen ratio. • Optimal methane yield was determined by ANN coupled with genetic algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of subclinical infection by agents of tick fever in dairy cattle on milk parameters, such as production, composition, and quality. Materials and methods. The study was conducted in a private farm with 75 free-stall-housed dairy cows, from which 37 were evaluated. Monthly, individual milk samples were collected for compositional (fat, lactose, protein, and total solids) and quality (somatic cell counts (SCC)) analyses. In addition, blood samples were collected in order to identify cows that were tick fever-negative and positive by PCR for one or more of the following etiological agents: Babesia bovis, Babesia bigemina and Anaplasma marginale. Results. The results showed increased SCC in positive animals for at least one of the agents when compared to non-infected cows (p

The milk quality depend of a good feeding, good health and adequate management. The aim of this research was to evaluate the physical, chemical and sanitary characteristics of bovine milk from ASOPROLEA M.C. it was determinated 17.44±2.06 and 16.22±4.22 of oDornic, 1.025±0.002 and 1.030 to 1.034 g/cm3 of density, 6.55±0.55 and 6.71±0.36 of pH, 10.25±0.3 and 9.80±0.54 % of total solids, 3.65±0.56 and 3.55±0.60 % of fat, 2.82±0.11 and 2.66±0.21 % of protein, 4.05±0.4 and 3.90±0.35% of lactose, 0.75±0.05 and 0.73±0.15% of minerals for milkcan and milktank respectively. About TRAM 48.2 % of samples are reducted in less than 2 h and 51.8 % of milk samples are reducted in more than 3 h. The high problem seems to be the microbial contamination in milkcans and in the milktank of this community, it could be necessary to review the milktank.