Theoretical analysis of the spatial variability in tillage forces for fatigue analysis of tillage machines

This paper presents a new theoretical model to describe the spatial variability in tillage forces for the purpose of fatigue analysis of tillage machines. The proposed model took into account both the variability in tillage system parameters (soil engineering properties, tool design parameters and operational conditions) and the cyclic effects of mechanical behavior of the soil during failure ahead of tillage tools on the spatial variability in tillage forces. The stress-based fatigue life approach was used to determine the life time of tillage machines, based on the fact that the applied stress on tillage machines is primarily within the elastic range of the material. Stress cycles with their mean values and amplitudes were determined by the rainflow algorithm. The damage friction caused by each cycle of stress was computed according to the Soderberg criterion and the total damage was calculated by the Miner's law. The proposed model was applied to determine the spatial variability in tillage forces on the shank of a chisel plough. The equivalent stress history resulted from these forces were calculated by means of a finite element model and the Von misses criterion. The histograms of mean stress and stress amplitude obtained by the rainflow algorithm showed significant dispersions. Although the equivalent stress is smaller than the yield stress of the material, the failure by fatigue will occur after a certain travel distance. The expected distance to failure was found to be df=0.825×106km. It is concluded that the spatial variability in tillage forces has significant effect on the life time of tillage machines and should be considered in the design analysis of tillage machines to predict the life time. Further investigations are required to correlate the results achieved by the proposed model with field tests and to validate the proposed assumptions to model the spatial variability in tillage force

Evaluating management zone maps for variable rate fungicide application and selective harvest

Currently the majority of crop protection approaches are based on homogeneous rate fungicide application (HRFA) over the entire field area. With the increasing pressures on fungicide applications, associated with increased environmental impact and cost, an alternative approach based on variable rate fungicide application (VRFA) and selective harvest (SH) is needed. This study was undertaken to evaluate the economic viability of adopting VRSA and SH in winter wheat and the environmental benefit in terms of chemical reduction is also discussed. High resolution data of crop canopy properties, yellow rust, fusarium head blight (FHB), soil properties and yield were subjected to k-means cluster analysis to develop management zone (MZ) maps for one field in Bedfordshire, UK. Virtual cost-benefit analysis for VRFA was performed on three fungicide application timings, namely, T1 and T2 focused on yellow rust, and T3 focused on FHB. Cost-benefit analysis was also applied to SH, which assumed different selling prices between healthy and grain downgraded due to mycotoxin infection. Results showed that in this study VRFA allowed for fungicide reductions of 22.24% at T1 and T2 and 25.93% at T3 when compared to HRFA. SH reduced the risk of market rejection due to low quality and high mycotoxin content. Gross profit of combining SH and VRFA was £83.35 per hectare per year, divided into SH £48.04 ha−1, and VRFA £8.8 ha−1 for T1 and T2 and £17.7 ha−1 for T3. Total profit when considering soil and crop scanning costs would be £66.85 ha−1 per year, which is roughly equivalent to €80 or $90 ha−1 per year. This study was restricted to a single field but demonstrates the potential of fungicide reductions and economic viability of this MZ concept

Critical evaluation of oil palm fresh fruit bunch solid wastes as soil amendments: Prospects and challenges

Sustainable land use has been identified as one way of tackling challenges related to climate change, population expansion, food crisis and environmental pollution. Disposal of oil palm fresh fruit bunch (FFB) solid wastes is becoming a challenge with an increased demand and production of palm oil. Whilst this poses a challenge, it could be turned into an opportunity by utilising it as a resource and fully valorise it to meet soil and crop demands. This review presents the potentials of FFB solid wastes, which include empty fruit bunch (EFB), mesocarp fibre (MF), palm kernel shell (PKS), as soil ameliorants. The major findings are the following: 1) pyrolysis, gasification, combustion, and composting are processes that can enhance the value of FFB solid wastes. These processes lead to new products including biochar, ash, and compost, which are valuable resources that can be used for soil improvement. 2) The application of EFB mulch, ash from EFB, MF and PKS, biochar from EFB, and PKS, and compost of EFB, and MF led to improvement in soil physico-chemical properties, and growth and performance of sweet corn, mushroom, oil palm, sweet potato, cauliflower plant, banana, maize, cocoa, cassava, eggplants, and pepper. However, reports show that EFB compost and ash led to decrease in growth and performance of okra. Therefore, the use of appropriate conversion technology for FFB solid wastes as soil ameliorants can significantly improve crop yield and soil properties, reduce environmental pollution, and more importantly increase income of oil mill processors and savings for farmers

Using Science and Technology to Unveil The Hidden Delicacy Terfezia arenaria, a Desert Truffle

Terfezia arenaria is a desert truffle native to the Mediterranean Basin region, highly appreci- ated for its nutritional and aromatic properties. Despite the increasing interest in this desert truffle, T. arenaria is not listed as an edible truffle authorized for trade in the European Union. Therefore, our objective was to showcase T. arenaria’s nutritional and chemical composition and volatile profile. The nutritional analysis showed that T. arenaria is a good source of carbohydrates (67%), proteins (14%), and dietary fibre (10%), resulting in a Nutri-Score A. The truffle’s volatile profile was domi- nated by eight-carbon volatile compounds, with 1-octen-3-ol being the most abundant (64%), and 29 compounds were reported for the first time for T. arenaria. T. arenaria’s nutritional and chemical compositions were similar to those of four commercial mushroom and truffle species, while the aromatic profile was not. An electronic nose corroborated that T. arenaria‘s aromatic profile differs from that of the other four tested mushroom and truffle species. Our data showed that T. arenaria is a valuable food resource with a unique aroma and an analogous composition to meat, which makes it an ideal source for plant-based meat products. Our findings could help promote a sustainable future exploitation of T. arenaria and ensure the quality and authenticity of this delicacy.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evaluating oil palm fresh fruit bunch processing in Nigeria

Three routes of oil palm fresh fruit bunch (FFB) processing in Nigeria namely, industrial, small-scale and traditional were compared by means of determining fruit losses associated with each route. The fruits that are not recovered after each process were hand-picked and quantified in terms of crude palm oil (CPO), palm kernel (PK), mesocarp fibre (MF) and palm kernel shell (PKS). The energy value of empty fruit bunch (EFB), MF and PKS were used to determine the value of energy lost for each route. Additionally, the environmental implications of disposal of EFB were estimated, and socio-economics of the industrial and small-scale routes were related. The analysis showed that 29, 18, 75 and 27 kg of CPO, PK, MF and PKS were lost for every 1000 kg of FFB processed with the industrial route, whereas 5.6, 3.2, 1.4 and 5.1 g were lost with the small-scale route, respectively. Approximately 89 kWh and 31 kWh more energy were lost from MF and PKS with the industrial route than the other two routes, respectively. An equivalent of 6670 tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent of methane and nitrogen oxide was released due to the disposal of 29,000 tonnes of EFB from one palm oil mill. The monetary value of lost CPO per 1000 kg of FFB processed in the industrial route is more than the labour cost of processing 1000 kg of FFB in the small-scale route. The advantages of the industrial route are high throughput in terms of FFB processed per hour and high quality of CPO; however, high fruit loss is associated with it and therefore, the poorly threshed EFB is recommended to be fed into the small-scale route

Towards enhancing sustainable reuse of pre-treated drill cuttings for construction purposes by near-infrared analysis : a review

Sustainable reuse of pre-treated drill cuttings (a hazardous waste) as part substitute for fine aggregate in concrete for construction purposes is becoming increasingly attractive; however, issues remain. With recent studies focusing on the use of near-infrared spectroscopic technique for non-invasive determination of chloride concentration in concrete structures, this review examines the applicability of this new technique in the rapid determination of other equally important physicochemical characteristics of concrete produced with this hazardous waste. The nature, source, composition, ecological effects of, and management options for drill cuttings are reviewed. Furthermore, the principles of near-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy are highlighted and lessons from its practical applications in soil science and petrochemical, environmental, and civil engineering are discussed. A framework for a rapid near-infrared analysis of concrete produced with pre-treated drill cuttings for enhanced sustainability as a construction material is also proposed

Rapid detection of alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in oil-contaminated soil with visible near-infrared spectroscopy

Recent developments and applications of rapid measurement tools (RMTs) such as visible near‐infrared (vis–NIR) spectroscopy confirmed that these technologies can provide ‘fit for purpose’ and cost‐effective data for risk assessment and management of oil‐contaminated sites. Although vis–NIR spectroscopy has been used frequently to predict total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs), it has had limited use for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and there has been none for alkanes. In the present study, the potential of vis–NIR spectroscopy (350–2500 nm) to measure PAHs and alkanes in 85 fresh (wet, unprocessed) oil‐contaminated soil samples collected from three sites in the Niger Delta, Nigeria, was evaluated. The vis–NIR signal and alkanes and PAHs measured in the laboratory by sequential ultrasonic solvent extraction followed by gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC‐MS) were then used to develop calibration models using partial least squares regression (PLSR) and random forest (RF) modelling tools. Prior to model development, the pre‐processed spectra were divided into calibration (75%) and prediction (25%) sets. Results showed that the prediction performance of RF calibration models for both alkanes (a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.58, a root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of 53.95 mg kg−1 and a residual prediction deviation (RPD) of 1.59) and PAHs (R2 = 0.71, RMSEP = 0.99 mg kg−1 and RPD = 1.99) outperformed PLSR (R2 = 0.36, RMSEP = 66.66 mg kg−1 and RPD = 1.29, and R2 = 0.56, RMSEP = 1.21 mg kg−1 and RPD = 1.55, respectively). The RF modelling approach accounted for nonlinearity of the soil spectral responses and therefore resulted in considerably greater prediction accuracy than the linear PLSR. Adoption of vis–NIR spectroscopy coupled with RF is recommended for rapid and cost‐effective assessment of PAHs and alkanes in contaminated soil