L'essor de la blockchain dans l'agriculture

La blockchain est arrivée dans nos vies avec une promesse : la possibilité de réaliser des transactions financières entre parties non-certifiées et distribuées sans l'intervention d'intermédiaires comme les banques. Son potentiel est grand pour le futur de l'agriculture. Plusieurs projets et initiatives ont déjà été lancés et illustrent l'impact de cette technologie sur le secteur

Anàlisi de la distribució espacial de densitats de producció de dejeccions ramaderes i dels factors limitants per a l’aplicació de tecnologies de tractament

Informe sobre identificació de zones prioritàries de Catalunya on implantar sistemes de tractament de dejeccions ramaderes, realitzat per a l'ICAEN (Institut Català d'Energia)L’objectiu d’aquest treball és, en una primera fase, el de caracteritzar la tipologia i distribució territorial de les dejeccions ramaderes. Els mapes de densitats de producció de nitrogen d’origen ramader per a tot Catalunya, segons diferents escales, han estat posteriorment comparats amb mapes d’excedents de nitrogen amb la finalitat d’establir les zones en que coincideix una elevada densitat amb excedents de nitrogen. El creuament d’aquestes dades amb la vulnerabilitat i les infraestructures necessàries per a la instal·lació de plantes centralitzades de tractament presents a cada zona permet establir una primera caracterització territorial de la problemàtica a resoldre i definir zones prioritàries d’actuació. En aquestes zones s’aporta una valoració numèrica sobre la idoneïtat dels processos de digestió anaeròbia i de compostatge.Preprin

The rise of blockchain technology in agriculture

Blockchain appeared in our lives as a modern technology that promises ubiquitous business transactions among distributed untrusted parties, without the need of intermediaries such as banks. Several ongoing projects and initiatives now illustrate the impact blockchain technology is having on agriculture and suggest it has great potential for the future

Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Sites: Is There Something More Than Exophiala xenobiotica? New Insights into Black Fungal Diversity Using the Long Cold Incubation Method

Human-made hydrocarbon-rich environments are important reservoirs of microorganisms with specific degrading abilities and pathogenic potential. In particular, black fungi are of great interest, but their presence in the environment is frequently underestimated because they are difficult to isolate. In the frame of a biodiversity study from fuel-contaminated sites involving 30 diesel car tanks and 112 fuel pump dispensers (52 diesel and 60 gasoline, respectively), a total of 181 black fungal strains were isolated. The long cold incubation (LCI) of water-suspended samples, followed by plating on Dichloran Rose Bengal Chloramphenicol Agar (DRBC), gave isolation yields up to six times (6.6) higher than those of direct plating on DRBC, and those of enrichment with a phenolic mix. The sequencing of ITS and LSU-rDNA confirmed the dominance of potentially pathogenic fungi from the family Herpotrichiellaceae and Exophiala xenobiotica. Moreover, other opportunistic species were found, including E. opportunistica, E. oligosperma, E. phaeomuriformis, and Rhinocladiella similis. The recurrent presence of E. crusticola, Knufia epidermidis, Aureobasidium melanogenum, Cladosporium spp., and Scolecobasidium spp. was also recorded. Interestingly, 12% of total isolates, corresponding to 50% of taxa found (16/32), represent new species. All the novel taxa in this study were isolated by LCI. These findings suggest that black fungal diversity in hydrocarbon-rich niches remains largely unexplored and that LCI can be an efficient tool for further investigations.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Electrochemical Characterization of a Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) that Utilizes Cow Manure as Energy Source

Postprint (published version

Characterization of microbial community dynamics during the anaerobic co-digestion of thermally pre-treated slaughterhouse wastes with glycerin addition

Microbial community dynamics during the anaerobic co-digestion of pig manure, pasteurized slaughterhouse waste and glycerin were studied in a lab-scale CSTR. The feed composition was optimized through progressive co-substrate additions for enhanced methane production and organic matter removal without accumulation of intermediate compoundsPostprint (author's final draft

Combined Acidification and Solar Drying of Pig Slurries for Nutrient Recovery and Controlled Atmospheric Emissions

The solar drying of pig slurries was tested in a pilot-scale greenhouse (10 m2 footprint), operated with forced ventilation under low and high solar irradiation in Mediterranean conditions. Gaseous emissions were prevented through slurry acidification and by the biofiltration of exhaust gases. Air relative humidity and temperature in and out the greenhouse, as well as the weight of a slurry sample, were monitored online to command the ventilation regime. Daily average drying rate values ranged from 0.3 to 2.8 kg m−2 d −1 and displayed a direct dependency with solar radiation until the pig slurry lost a 60% of its initial weight, with a solar energy efficiency of about 26%. Upon further drying, the water content from pig slurries stabilized at around 10%. Mass balances between the initial slurry and dried product were closed for total solids and organic matter, but the recovery of nutrients ranged from 69% to 81%, apparently because of precipitation and incrustation phenomena. The NPK composition of the final product was 4.3–2.5–3.8 and fulfilled current regulations for solid organic fertilizers. Operational costs of the drying process and fertilizing quality parameters were also discussed.This research was supported by the CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya. The assistance of the Catalan Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food is also acknowledged. The authors from IRTA and the Universitat de Lleida belong to the Consolidated Research Group TERRA (ref. 2017 SGR 1290)

Microbial community dynamics in two-chambered microbial fuel cells: effect of different ion exchange membranes

The utilization of different kinds of ion exchange membrane is a common practice in bioelectrochemical systems such as two-chambered microbial fuel cells (MFCs). However, little is known on the effect of the membrane materials on the anodic microbial community diversity.ResultsThe effect of two cationic and one anionic exchange membranes (Nafion N-117, Ultrex CMI-7000, and Ultrex AMI-7000) on the microbial community dynamics of Eubacteria and Archaea has been assessed in two-chambered MFCs. The experimental results indicated that the eubacterial community in the anodic chamber was not affected by the membrane materials, being predominant populations of Bacteroidetes (Porphyromonadaceae) and β-proteobacteria (Alcaligenaceae and Comamonadaceae). On the other hand, the archaeal counterpart appears to be highly dependent on the type of membrane used, as it was evidenced by the selective enrichment of Methanosarcina sp. in the MFC equipped with the membrane Nafion N-117 which was the MFC that showed the highest current production.Conclusions The results obtained in the present study suggest that membrane materials affect archaeal diversity whereas both anodofilic eubacteria and methanogenic archaea populations could play an important role on the overall MFC process performance

Black Fungi and Hydrocarbons: An Environmental Survey for Alkylbenzene Assimilation

Environmental pollution with alkylbenzene hydrocarbons such as toluene is a recurring phenomenon. Their toxicity and harmful effect on people and the environment drive the search for sustainable removal techniques such as bioremediation, which is based on the microbial metabolism of xenobiotic compounds. Melanized fungi present extremophilic characteristics, which allow their survival in inhospitable habitats such as those contaminated with hydrocarbons. Screening methodologies for testing the microbial assimilation of volatile organic compounds (VOC) are scarce despite their importance for the bioremediation of hydrocarbon associated areas. In this study, 200 strains of melanized fungi were isolated from four different hydrocarbon-related environments by using selective methods, and their biodiversity was assessed by molecular and ecological analyses. Seventeen genera and 27 species from three main orders, namely Chaetothyriales, Cladosporiales, and Pleosporales, were identified. The ecological analysis showed a particular species distribution according to their original substrate. The isolated strains were also screened for their toluene assimilation potential using a simple and inexpensive methodology based on miniaturized incubations under controlled atmospheres. The biomass produced by the 200 strains with toluene as the sole carbon source was compared against positive and negative controls, with glucose and with only mineral medium, respectively. Nineteen strains were selected as the most promising for further investigation on the biodegradation of alkylbenzenes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Microbial community dynamics in two-chambered microbial fuel cells : effect of different ion exchange membranes

BACKGROUND: The utilization of different kinds of ion exchange membrane is a common practice in bioelectrochemical systems such as two-chambered microbial fuel cells (MFCs). However, little is known about the effect of membrane materials on the anodic microbial community diversity.; RESULTS: The effect of two cationic and one anionic exchange membranes (Nafion N-117, Ultrex CMI-7000, and Ultrex AMI-7000) on the microbial community dynamics of Eubacteria and Archaea has been assessed in two-chambered MFCs. The experimental results indicated that the eubacterial community in the anodic chamber was not affected by the membrane materials, being predominantly populations of Bacteroidetes (Porphyromonadaceae) and -proteobacteria (Alcaligenaceae and Comamonadaceae). On the other hand, the archaeal counterpart appears to be highly dependent on the type of membrane used, as was evidenced by the selective enrichment of Methanosarcina sp. in the MFC equipped with the membrane Nafion N-117 which was the MFC that showed the highest current production.; CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained in the present study suggest that membrane materials affect archaeal diversity whereas both anodofilic eubacteria and methanogenic archaea populations could play an important role in the overall MFC process performance.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author’s final draft