Biological investigation and predictive modelling of foaming in anaerobic digester

Anaerobic digestion (AD) of waste has been identified as a leading technology for greener renewable energy generation as an alternative to fossil fuel. AD will reduce waste through biochemical processes, converting it to biogas which could be used as a source of renewable energy and the residue bio-solids utilised in enriching the soil. A problem with AD though is with its foaming and the associated biogas loss. Tackling this problem effectively requires identifying and effectively controlling factors that trigger and promote foaming. In this research, laboratory experiments were initially carried out to differentiate foaming causal and exacerbating factors. Then the impact of the identified causal factors (organic loading rate-OLR and volatile fatty acid-VFA) on foaming occurrence were monitored and recorded. Further analysis of foaming and nonfoaming sludge samples by metabolomics techniques confirmed that the OLR and VFA are the prime causes of foaming occurrence in AD. In addition, the metagenomics analysis showed that the phylum bacteroidetes and proteobacteria were found to be predominant with a higher relative abundance of 30% and 29% respectively while the phylum actinobacteria representing the most prominent filamentous foam causing bacteria such as Norcadia amarae and Microthrix Parvicella had a very low and consistent relative abundance of 0.9% indicating that the foaming occurrence in the AD studied was not triggered by the presence of filamentous bacteria. Consequently, data driven models to predict foam formation were developed based on experimental data with inputs (OLR and VFA in the feed) and output (foaming occurrence). The models were extensively validated and assessed based on the mean squared error (MSE), root mean squared error (RMSE), R2 and mean absolute error (MAE). Levenberg Marquadt neural network model proved to be the best model for foaming prediction in AD, with RMSE = 5.49, MSE = 30.19 and R2 = 0.9435. The significance of this study is the development of a parsimonious and effective modelling tool that enable AD operators to proactively avert foaming occurrence, as the two model input variables (OLR and VFA) can be easily adjustable through simple programmable logic controller

Chapter 3: Herdsman+: artificial intelligence enabled systems and services for livestock farming : Herdsman+ artificial intelligence enabled systems and services for livestock farming

The application of artificial intelligence coupled with the growth in the availability of cost- effective low power computing platforms, has accelerated the adoption of on-farm technologies that support the decision making of farmers. An exemplar of the evolution is encapsulated by the development of activity monitors for dairy cattle, migrating from simple step counting devices designed to identify the onset of oestrus to systems that continuously monitor individual cattle and provide insights into the time spent eating, ruminating, calving and other key welfare events such as lameness and mastitis. The Chapter illustrates how the use of digital technologies has brought benefit to the livestock farming industry, presenting the current state-of-the-art with emphasis on accentuating the potential for cloud based platforms to support the integration of multiple on-farm data streams, the foundation for the provision of a mix of data-driven animal-centric services that bring further benefits to the livestock community

Modern meat: the next generation of meat from cells

Modern Meat is the first textbook on cultivated meat, with contributions from over 100 experts within the cultivated meat community. The Sections of Modern Meat comprise 5 broad categories of cultivated meat: Context, Impact, Science, Society, and World. The 19 chapters of Modern Meat, spread across these 5 sections, provide detailed entries on cultivated meat. They extensively tour a range of topics including the impact of cultivated meat on humans and animals, the bioprocess of cultivated meat production, how cultivated meat may become a food option in Space and on Mars, and how cultivated meat may impact the economy, culture, and tradition of Asia

Cattlemen\u27s Day 2022, Beef Cattle Research

This report includes research on beef cattle management, reproduction, nutrition, and meat science conducted at Kansas State University

Monitoring and control of anaerobic digesters treating industrial effluents

Increasing charges by the private utilities for the treatment of industrial waste water are making on-site effluent treatment more attractive. On-site anaerobic digestion is increasingly being used by food processing factories as a cost effective solution to waste liquid waste disposal. Discharge of treated effluent to sewer or water course requires compliance to a maximum admissible concentration (MAC) value, therefore, there is a need for careful control of on-site waste water treatment. This research investigates the treatment of effluent from instant coffee production. This results in a liquid waste that contains recalcitrant and toxic compounds formed during the roasting process. This waste varies in strength and composition according to the different processes that are performed in the manufacture of instant coffee. Anaerobic filters are particularly attractive for wastes containing recalcitrant or inhibitory compounds requiring a long sludge age. Therefore, this study was aimed at firstly investigating the treatability of coffee waste, using anaerobic filters; and secondly monitoring and control of the digestion process in order to maintain a constant effluent quality. [Continues.

Sustainability assessment of chicken meat production

PhD ThesisAs the global appetite for chicken meat grows, the competition for scarce land, water and other natural resources intensifies, whilst virtually all aspects of the environment are adversely affected. There is also increasing public concern over the standards of farm animal welfare. Hence, the aim of this thesis was to assess the sustainability of the poultry industry, identify its future challenges and evaluate potential solutions. Artificial selection of chickens for commercial objectives has been employed at an unprecedented magnitude over recent decades. In terms of sustainability, feed provision represents the poultry industry's biggest challenge. Thus, understanding the interactions between genetic change and energy use efficiency was necessary to quantifying the industry’s future impacts. Modern chickens reach slaughter weight more quickly than in the past and therefore less energy overall is used in metabolic processes. However, continuing artificial selection for efficiency will be subject to both biological limits and animal welfare concerns. Using an analytical energy flow modelling approach, the potential genetic improvement in energy use efficiency was shown to be small relative to past progress. To understand fully the environmental impacts of the poultry industry, a holistic diet formulation methodology was developed, which employed both Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and linear programming to account for environmental burdens and bird nutritional requirements. Europe presented much opportunity to reduce the environmental impacts associated with the poultry industry via changing the formulation of the feed. Both conventional and novel ingredients were considered; the latter presented enormous potential for use as alternatives to conventional feed protein sources, mitigating the increased environmental burdens inherent in transitioning towards a high welfare chicken meat production system in the future. Finally, an innovative methodology that can account for bird welfare within a social LCA framework was developed. By applying this methodology, an association was found between the number of birds reared together in a building and the negative welfare impacts related to chicken meat production in Europe. The methodologies developed in this thesis facilitate the development of sustainable feeding strategies and animal management choices for future livestock production systems.Doctoral Training Award from Newcastle University. The research was also aided, in part, by both the Feed-a-Gene (grant agreement number: 633531) and PROHEALTH (grant agreement number: 613574) projects, which received funding from the European Union

Sustainable Production of Feed for Recirculating Aquaculture using Black Solider Flies and Microalgae

The demand for high-quality, nutritious food continues to increase as human populations grow. As wild fisheries are depleted, aquaculture production is growing to meet the demand for seafood. Sustainable alternatives to wild caught fish meal are increasingly valued for aquaculture feed production. Microalgae and insect larvae are both valuable sources of fatty acids in aquaculture feed. Black soldier fly larvae, Hermetia illucens (L.) are used to convert organic waste streams into insect-based animal feeds. We tested their ability to retain alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) from feeding substrates, which has important implications for their use in aquaculture. When supplementing a chicken feed diet with increasing concentrations of salmon oil (0 - 42%) over an increasing number of days (0 - 8), the concentrations of the three Ω-3 acids in larvae increased significantly. Larval survival and biomass accumulation were not affected. Supplementing a chicken feed diet with increasing concentrations (0 – 14%) of Tetraselmis chuii microalgae paste also significantly increased ALA and EPA contents of the harvested larvae. However, microalgae also decreased survival, harvested biomass, and individual growth of larvae feeding on the diet with the highest supplement concentration (14%). DHA was not detected in any microalgae diet or subsequent larval tissue samples. An automated, 1,700L photobioreactor system for microalgae production is described along with its performance in producing Tetraselmis chuii. A second system is described for producing black soldier fly larvae with automated moisture control of rearing substrate. The performance of the system is also described

OCM 2021 - Optical Characterization of Materials : Conference Proceedings

The state of the art in the optical characterization of materials is advancing rapidly. New insights have been gained into the theoretical foundations of this research and exciting developments have been made in practice, driven by new applications and innovative sensor technologies that are constantly evolving. The great success of past conferences proves the necessity of a platform for presentation, discussion and evaluation of the latest research results in this interdisciplinary field