Greenhouse gas performance of biodiesel production from straw: Soil carbon changes and time-dependent climate impact

Background: Use of bio‑based diesel is increasing in Europe. It is currently produced from oilseed crops, but can also be generated from lignocellulosic biomass such as straw. However, removing straw affects soil organic carbon (SOC), with potential consequences for the climate impact of the biofuel. This study assessed the climate impacts and energy balance of biodiesel production from straw using oleaginous yeast, with subsequent biogas production from the residues, with particular emphasis on SOC changes over time. It also explored the impact of four different scenarios for returning the lignin fraction of the biomass to soil to mitigate SOC changes. Climate impact was assessed using two methods, global warming potential (GWP) and a time‑dependent temperature model (∆Ts) that describes changes in mean global surface temperature as a function of time or absolute temperature change potential (AGTP). Results: Straw‑derived biodiesel reduced GWP by 33–80% compared with fossil fuels and primary fossil energy use for biodiesel production was 0.33–0.80 MJprim/MJ, depending on the scenario studied. Simulations using the time‑dependent temperature model showed that a scenario where all straw fractions were converted to energy carriers and no lignin was returned to soil resulted in the highest avoided climate impact. The SOC changes due to straw removal had a large impact on the results, both when using GWP and the time‑dependent temperature model. Conclusions: In a climate perspective, it is preferable to combust straw lignin to produce electricity rather than returning it to the soil if the excess electricity replaces natural gas electricity, according to results from both GWP and time‑dependent temperature modelling. Using different methods to assess climate impact did not change the ranking between the scenarios, but the time‑dependent temperature model provided information about system behaviour over time that can be important for evaluation of biofuel systems, particularly in relation to climate target deadlines

Energy performance of compressed biomethane gas production from co-digestion of Salix and dairy manure: factoring differences between Salix varieties

Biogas from anaerobic digestion is a versatile energy carrier that can be upgraded to compressed biomethane gas (CBG) as a renewable and sustainable alternative to natural gas. Organic residues and energy crops are predicted to be major sources of bioenergy production in the future. Pre-treatment can reduce the recalcitrance of lignocellulosic energy crops such as Salix to anaerobic digestion, making it a potential biogas feedstock. This lignocellulosic material can be co-digested with animal manure, which has the complementary effect of increasing volumetric biogas yield. Salix varieties exhibit variations in yield, composition and biomethane potential values, which can have a significant effect on the overall biogas production system. This study assessed the impact of Salix varietal differences on the overall mass and energy balance of a co-digestion system using steam pre-treated Salix biomass and dairy manure (DaM) to produce CBG as the final product. Six commercial Salix varieties cultivated under unfertilised and fertilised conditions were compared. Energy and mass flows along this total process chain, comprising Salix cultivation, steam pre-treatment, biogas production and biogas upgrading to CBG, were evaluated. Two scenarios were considered: a base scenario without heat recovery and a scenario with heat recovery. The results showed that Salix variety had a significant effect on energy output-input ratio (R), with R values in the base scenario of 1.57-1.88 and in the heat recovery scenario of 2.36-2.94. In both scenarios, unfertilised var. Tordis was the best energy performer, while the fertilised var. Jorr was the worst. Based on this energy performance, Salix could be a feasible feedstock for co-digestion with DaM, although its R value was at the lower end of the range reported previously for energy crops

Cryopreserved platelets in bleeding management in remote hospitals: A clinical feasibility study in Sweden

BackgroundBalanced transfusions, including platelets, are critical for bleeding patients to maintain hemostasis. Many rural hospitals have no or limited platelet inventory, with several hours of transport time from larger hospitals. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of using cryopreserved platelets that can be stored for years, in remote hospitals with no or limited platelet inventory.Material and methodsThree remote hospitals participated in a prospective study including adult bleeding patients where platelet transfusions were indicated. Cryopreserved platelets were prepared in a university hospital, concentrated in 10 ml, transported on dry ice, and stored at −80°C at the receiving hospital. At request, the concentrated platelet units were thawed and diluted in fresh frozen plasma. The indications, blood transfusion needs, and laboratory parameters pre- and post-transfusion, as well as logistics, such as time from request to transfusion and work efforts in preparing cryopreserved platelets, were evaluated.ResultsTwenty-three bleeding patients were included. Nine patients (39%) were treated for gastrointestinal bleeding, five (22%) for perioperative bleeding, and four (17%) for trauma bleeding. The transfusion needs were 4.9 ± 3.3 red blood cell units, 3.2 ± 2.3 plasma units, and 1.9 ± 2.2 platelet units, whereof cryopreserved were 1.5 ± 1.1 (mean ± SD). One patient had a mild allergic reaction. We could not show the difference in laboratory results between pre- and post-transfusion of the cryopreserved units in the bleeding patients. The mean time from the order of cryopreserved platelets to transfusion was 64 min, with a range from 25 to 180 min.ConclusionCryopreserved platelets in remote hospitals are logistically feasible in the treatment of bleeding. The ability to have platelets in stock reduces the time to platelet transfusion in bleeding patients where the alternative often is many hours delay. Clinical effectiveness and safety previously shown in other studies are supported in this small feasibility study

Optimized utilization of Salix-Perspectives for the genetic improvement toward sustainable biofuel value chains

Bioenergy will be one of the most important renewable energy sources in the conversion from fossil fuels to bio-based products. Short rotation coppice Salix could be a key player in this conversion since Salix has rapid growth, positive energy balance, easy to manage cultivation system with vegetative propagation of plant material and multiple harvests from the same plantation. The aim of the present paper is to provide an overview of the main challenges and key issues in willow genetic improvement toward sustainable biofuel value chains. Primarily based on results from the research project "Optimized Utilization of Salix" (OPTUS), the influence of Salix wood quality on the potential for biofuel use is discussed, followed by issues related to the conversion of Salix biomass into liquid and gaseous transportation fuels. Thereafter, the studies address genotypic influence on soil carbon sequestration in Salix plantations, as well as on soil carbon dynamics and climate change impacts. Finally, the opportunities for plant breeding are discussed using willow as a resource for sustainable biofuel production. Substantial phenotypic and genotypic variation was reported for different wood quality traits important in biological (i.e., enzymatic and anaerobic) and thermochemical conversion processes, which is a prerequisite for plant breeding. Furthermore, different Salix genotypes can affect soil carbon sequestration variably, and life cycle assessment illustrates that these differences can result in different climate mitigation potential depending on genotype. Thus, the potential of Salix plantations for sustainable biomass production and its conversion into biofuels is shown. Large genetic variation in various wood and biomass traits, important for different conversion processes and carbon sequestration, provides opportunities to enhance the sustainability of the production system via plant breeding. This includes new breeding targets in addition to traditional targets for high yield to improve biomass quality and carbon sequestration potential

Novel automated preparation and cold storage of buffy-coat-derived platelets in additive solutions : In vitro studies

This thesis focuses on (i) the in vitro quality of platelets (PLTs) prepared by novel automated techniques using the OrbiSac and the Atreus 2C+ systems; and (ii) evaluation of the ability to store PLTs for a prolonged time at 4ºC in an attempt to optimize the conditions under which PLTs are prepared and stored. There has been an increase in the demand for supportive PLT transfusion therapy and in the search for a procedure for preparation of PLTs from pooled whole blood (WB)-derived buffy coats (BCs) for transfusion. Until now, this technique, which includes a sequence of manual steps, has been laborious and non-standardized, and has resulted in significant variance in PLT yield. This has led us to evaluate a novel automated system (OrbiSac) for the preparation of PLTs from BCs derived from WB and a novel automated system (Atreus 2C+) for preparation of BCs from WB, by studying PLT counts, and recovery and storage effects. The results of our in vitro studies suggest (i) that the OrbiSac technique is equivalent to the standard manual method regarding in vitro PLT characteristics during storage for 7 days, with uniform recovery of PLTs; and (ii) that PLTs derived from BCs produced using the novel automated Atreus 2C+ system to separate either fresh WB or WB stored overnight are equivalent to PLTs prepared using a semi-automated fresh WB separation process. Work detailed in this thesis (Papers I and IV) demonstrates that the Atreus 2C+ and the OrbiSac systems used in combination allow for automated production of PLTs with maintenance of in vitro PLT quality during 7 days of storage. The development of the processing systems (Papers I and IV) was followed by an attempt to tackle the problem of how to refrigerate PLTs for transfusion (Papers II and III). Platelets are traditionally stored at 22ºC, which facilitates bacterial growth, and bacterial sepsis is regarded as the main risk of transfusion-transmitted diseases. For this reason, PLT storage is limited to 5 days. Storage at 4ºC would reduce not only the risk of bacterial growth, but may also delay the impairment of PLTs. Since the 1970s, considerable improvements have been made concerning processing and storage of PLTs, resulting in longer survival and better function, and providing an option for prolonged storage at 4ºC. Work detailed in this thesis demonstrates (i) that PLTs stored without agitation at 4ºC largely maintain their metabolic and cellular characteristics for 21 days of storage. We confirm that they lose their discoid shape and show that this loss of discoid shape during storage at 4ºC is associated with reductions in metabolic rate, and a decreased release of α-granule content. Furthermore (ii), we demonstrate that cold-induced activation, occurring at 4ºC, is not associated with increased expression of PLT membrane proteins and activation markers during long-term storage. Our findings concerning the ability of cold temperatures to preserve PLT quality and prolong the storage period under modern blood bank conditions suggest that cold storage of PLTs may be possible in the future. However, this ability of PLTs to circulate and function in vivo remains to be demonstrated

Security Assessment and *nix Package Vulnerabilities

Background. Vulnerabilities in software provides attackers with the means to fulfill unlawful behavior. Since software has so much power, gaining control over vulnerabilities can mean that an attacker gains unauthorized powers. Since vulnerabilities are the keys that let attackers attack, vulnerabilities must be discovered and mitigated. Scanning vulnerable machines is not enough, and scanning data results must be parsed to prioritize vulnerability mitigation and conduct security assessment. Objectives. Creating a parser is the first objective, a tool that takes in input, filters it and gives output specified by the parser. The second objective is to have the parser connect found packages to known vulnerabilities. And the last objective is to have the parser give the output more information, sort them by severity and give information on what areas they are vulnerable. Methods. The interviews are conducted on experienced employees at Truesec AB. A parser is implemented with guidance from the supervisor at Truesec. The parser is experimented with to check practicality of parser. Results. The parser can find vulnerabilities from the Centos tests and does not find any from the Debian tests. From the interviews, we see that more information strengthens a security assessment. Expanding the scanning results will provide more information to the person(s) conducting security assessment. Conclusions. The amount of information gathered in security assessment needs to be expanded to make the assessment more reliable. Packages found can be connected with vulnerabilities by implementing a vulnerability database to match packages. The parser developed does not help in security assessment since the output is not reliable enough, this is caused by the phenomenon backporting

Security Assessment and *nix Package Vulnerabilities

Background. Vulnerabilities in software provides attackers with the means to fulfill unlawful behavior. Since software has so much power, gaining control over vulnerabilities can mean that an attacker gains unauthorized powers. Since vulnerabilities are the keys that let attackers attack, vulnerabilities must be discovered and mitigated. Scanning vulnerable machines is not enough, and scanning data results must be parsed to prioritize vulnerability mitigation and conduct security assessment. Objectives. Creating a parser is the first objective, a tool that takes in input, filters it and gives output specified by the parser. The second objective is to have the parser connect found packages to known vulnerabilities. And the last objective is to have the parser give the output more information, sort them by severity and give information on what areas they are vulnerable. Methods. The interviews are conducted on experienced employees at Truesec AB. A parser is implemented with guidance from the supervisor at Truesec. The parser is experimented with to check practicality of parser. Results. The parser can find vulnerabilities from the Centos tests and does not find any from the Debian tests. From the interviews, we see that more information strengthens a security assessment. Expanding the scanning results will provide more information to the person(s) conducting security assessment. Conclusions. The amount of information gathered in security assessment needs to be expanded to make the assessment more reliable. Packages found can be connected with vulnerabilities by implementing a vulnerability database to match packages. The parser developed does not help in security assessment since the output is not reliable enough, this is caused by the phenomenon backporting