Influence of the pyrolysis temperature on fresh and pelletised chicken litter with focus on sustainable production and utilisation of biochar

This study focused on determining the influence of temperature (500–700 °C) during pyrolysis of pelletised chicken litter (PCL) and fresh chicken litter (FCL). The composition of all pyrolysis products was analysed, and their potential applications were discussed. An analysis of phosphorus speciation in FCL and PCL along with their derived biochars revealed that the share of water-soluble phosphorus was greatly reduced in the biochar, implying lower risk of eutrophication in agricultural applications of biochar when used as a soil improver. Indeed, water-soluble phosphorus decreased from 60% for PCL to as low as 3% for the biochars. In addition, the concentration of other nutrients and heavy metals in biochar, and its potential for agriculture application was discussed. Heavy metals content was below the upper limits set out in the European Fertilising Products Regulation only for biochars produced at 500 °C, but biochars produced at higher temperatures did not meet the limits for Zn and Ni content. The energy balance analysis showed that pelletisation of chicken litter is not necessary, as the properties of both PCL and FCL allow for energetically sustainable pyrolysis when hot pyrolysis gas is combusted, and biochar recovered for nutrient recycling

Sustainable Valorisation of Animal Manures via Thermochemical Conversion Technologies: An Inclusive Review on Recent Trends

Purpose: With its substantial CO2eq emissions, the agricultural sector is a significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter. Animal manure alone contributes 16% of the total agricultural emissions. With a rapidly increasing demand for animal-based protein, animal wastes are expected to rise if sustainable manure management practices are not implemented. Manures have the potential to be treated to generate valuable products (biofertiliser and biocrude) or feedstock for energy production. Thermochemical conversion technologies such as pyrolysis, combustion, supercritical gasification (SCWG), etc., have demonstrated their potential in manure management and valorisation. This study provides a broader overview of these technologies and envisages future manure valorisation trends. Methods: The paper presents a state-of-the-art review of manure valorisation. Characterisation of manure, modelling and optimisation of thermochemical conversion technologies along with life cycle anaalysis (LCA) are also reviewed. Results: The literature review highlighted that the thermochemical conversion technologies can generate bio-oils, syngas, H2, biofuels, heat, and biochar as carbon-free fertiliser. The reported calorific value of the produced bio-oil was in the range of 26 MJ/kg to 32 MJ/kg. However, thermochemical conversion technologies are yet to be commercialised. The major challenges associated with the scale-up of manure derived feedstocks are relatively high moisture and ash content, lower calorific value and higher concentration of impurities (N, Cl, and S). LCA studies conclude that gasification presents a sustainable option for manure valorisation as it is economical with modest environmental threats. Significance of Study: This review briefly states the current challenges faced in manure management and presents the case for a sustainable valorisation of animal manures using thermochemical technologies. The economic, environmental and societal advantages of these technologies are presented in order to promote the scientific and industrial development of the subject in the academic and research community. Conclusions: Thermochemical conversion technologies are promising for manure valorisation for energy and nutrient recovery. However, their commercialisation viability needs wide-ranging evaluations such as techno-economics, life-cycle analysis, technology take-up and identification of stakeholders. There should be clear-cut policies to support such technologies. It should be advocated amongst communities and industries, which necessitates marketing by the governments to secure a clean energy future for the planet. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Strange Meson Enhancement in PbPb Collisions

The NA44 Collaboration has measured yields and differential distributions of K+, K-, pi+, pi- in transverse kinetic energy and rapidity, around the center-of-mass rapidity in 158 A GeV/c Pb+Pb collisions at the CERN SPS. A considerable enhancement of K+ production per pi is observed, as compared to p+p collisions at this energy. To illustrate the importance of secondary hadron rescattering as an enhancement mechanism, we compare strangeness production at the SPS and AGS with predictions of the transport model RQMD.Comment: 11 pages, including 4 figures, LATE

One and two dimensional analysis of 3pi correlations measured in Pb+Pb interactions

3pi- correlations from Pb+Pb collisions at 158 GeV/c per nucleon are presented as measured by the focusing spectrometer of the NA44 experiment at CERN. The three-body effect is found to be stronger for PbPb than for SPb. The two-dimensional three-particle correlation function is also measured and the longitudinal extension of the source is larger than the transverse extension

India’s contribution to mitigating the impacts of climate change through vegetation management

The changes in natural ecosystems provide opportunity to increase vegetation carbon sink capacity and thereby contribute to mitigation of climate change impacts. The Indian tropics and the large ecological variation within the country afford the advantage of diverse niches and offer opportunities to reveal the role of biotic factors at different levels of organization from populations to ecosystems. The last 4 decades of research and development in the Indian space science community has been primarily application driven in response to the government space programme for national development. The expenditure in R&D over next 5 year suggest that scientific research is higher on the country's agenda. The Indo-UK Terrestrial Carbon Group (IUTCG) comprising both Indian and UK scientists, funded jointly by the Department of Science and Technology, India and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills organised a workshop to explore ways in which Earth observation data can be effectively utilised in mitigating the impacts of climate change through vegetation management. Effective integration of field observations, collected through various monitoring networks, and satellite sensor data has been proposed to provide country-wide monitoring

Search for critical phenomena in Pb - Pb collisions

NA44 uses a 512 channel Si pad array covering $1.5 <\eta < 3.3$ to study charged hadron production in Pb+Pb collisions at the CERN SPS. We apply a multiresolution analysis, based on a Discrete Wavelet Transformation, to probe the texture of particle distributions event-by-event, by simultaneous localization of features in space and scale. Scanning a broad range of multiplicities, we look for a possible critical behaviour in the power spectra of local density fluctuations. The data are compared with detailed simulations of detector response, using heavy ion event generators, and with a reference sample created via event mixing.NA44 uses a 512 channel Si pad array covering $1.5 <\eta < 3.3$ to study charged hadron production in Pb+Pb collisions at the CERN SPS. We apply a multiresolution analysis, based on a Discrete Wavelet Transformation, to probe the texture of particle distributions event-by-event, by simultaneous localization of features in space and scale. Scanning a broad range of multiplicities, we look for a possible critical behaviour in the power spectra of local density fluctuations. The data are compared with detailed simulations of detector response, using heavy ion event generators, and with a reference sample created via event mixing

Systematic rifampicin resistance errors with Xpert® MTB/RIF Ultra : implications for regulation of genotypic assays

No abstract available.https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iuatld/ijtldhj2021Medical Microbiolog

Predicting Academic Performance: A Systematic Literature Review

The ability to predict student performance in a course or program creates opportunities to improve educational outcomes. With effective performance prediction approaches, instructors can allocate resources and instruction more accurately. Research in this area seeks to identify features that can be used to make predictions, to identify algorithms that can improve predictions, and to quantify aspects of student performance. Moreover, research in predicting student performance seeks to determine interrelated features and to identify the underlying reasons why certain features work better than others. This working group report presents a systematic literature review of work in the area of predicting student performance. Our analysis shows a clearly increasing amount of research in this area, as well as an increasing variety of techniques used. At the same time, the review uncovered a number of issues with research quality that drives a need for the community to provide more detailed reporting of methods and results and to increase efforts to validate and replicate work.Peer reviewe

Measurement of the azimuthal anisotropy of Y(1S) and Y(2S) mesons in PbPb collisions at √S^{S}NN = 5.02 TeV

The second-order Fourier coefficients (υ$_{2}$) characterizing the azimuthal distributions of Υ(1S) and Υ(2S) mesons produced in PbPb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV are studied. The Υmesons are reconstructed in their dimuon decay channel, as measured by the CMS detector. The collected data set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 1.7 nb$^{-1}$. The scalar product method is used to extract the υ$_{2}$ coefficients of the azimuthal distributions. Results are reported for the rapidity range |y| < 2.4, in the transverse momentum interval 0 < p$_{T}$ < 50 GeV/c, and in three centrality ranges of 10–30%, 30–50% and 50–90%. In contrast to the J/ψ mesons, the measured υ$_{2}$ values for the Υ mesons are found to be consistent with zero

Measurement of prompt D0^{0} and D‾\overline{D}0^{0} meson azimuthal anisotropy and search for strong electric fields in PbPb collisions at root SNN\sqrt{S_{NN}} = 5.02 TeV

The strong Coulomb field created in ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions is expected to produce a rapiditydependent difference (Av2) in the second Fourier coefficient of the azimuthal distribution (elliptic flow, v2) between D0 (uc) and D0 (uc) mesons. Motivated by the search for evidence of this field, the CMS detector at the LHC is used to perform the first measurement of Av2. The rapidity-averaged value is found to be (Av2) = 0.001 ? 0.001 (stat)? 0.003 (syst) in PbPb collisions at ?sNN = 5.02 TeV. In addition, the influence of the collision geometry is explored by measuring the D0 and D0mesons v2 and triangular flow coefficient (v3) as functions of rapidity, transverse momentum (pT), and event centrality (a measure of the overlap of the two Pb nuclei). A clear centrality dependence of prompt D0 meson v2 values is observed, while the v3 is largely independent of centrality. These trends are consistent with expectations of flow driven by the initial-state geometry. ? 2021 The Author. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY licens