Novel facultative Methylocella strains are active methane consumers at terrestrial natural gas seeps

Natural gas seeps contribute to global climate change by releasing substantial amounts of the potent greenhouse gas methane and other climate-active gases including ethane and propane to the atmosphere. However, methanotrophs, bacteria capable of utilising methane as the sole source of carbon and energy, play a significant role in reducing the emissions of methane from many environments. Methylocella-like facultative methanotrophs are a unique group of bacteria that grow on other components of natural gas (i.e. ethane and propane) in addition to methane but a little is known about the distribution and activity of Methylocella in the environment. The purposes of this study were to identify bacteria involved in cycling methane emitted from natural gas seeps and, most importantly, to investigate if Methylocella-like facultative methanotrophs were active utilisers of natural gas at seep sites

Characteristics of Different Systems for the Solar Drying of Crops

Solar dryers are used to enable the preservation of agricultural crops, food processing industries for dehydration of fruits and vegetables, fish and meat drying, dairy industries for production of milk powder, seasoning of wood and timber, textile industries for drying of textile materials. The fundamental concepts and contexts of their use to dry crops is discussed in the chapter. It is shown that solar drying is the outcome of complex interactions particular between the intensity and duration of solar energy, the prevailing ambient relative humidity and temperature, the characteristics of the particular crop and its pre-preparation and the design and operation of the solar dryer

Drying rate and damage to navy beans

The effect of drying air temperature and relative humidity on the rate of drying and damage to navy beans was investigated. A thin-layer apparatus was developed to dry beans from an initial moisture content of around 25% to 14% wet basis (w.b.) using temperatures between 328 and 62 degrees C and relative humidities between 7.5% and 45%. The rate of moisture diffusion from the beans was mathematically defined as a function of drying air temperature and bean moisture content. The degree of bean damage was inversely proportional to the relative humidity of drying air when it was below 26%. No damage was observed for relative humidities greater than 26% for the range of temperatures used

Optimization of solar grain drying in a continuous flow dryer

The optimum method of using a solar air collector combined with a grain drying system was investigated. Two types of solar collectors, integrated into a roof are considered; one uncovered (flow under absorber) and one covered (flow over absorber). A computer model was developed to minimize the cost of drying and in doing so optimize the geometry of the collector and the specific rate of air flow through the collector. The ratio of the cost of drying in a solar-supplemented system to the cost of drying in a conventional system was minimized. This ratio represents the maximum possible savings for the given drying conditions. Sensitivity analyses were carried out for drying air temperatures in the range 40 to 90°C and for grain initial moisture contents of 16 to 35% d.b.(dry basis). The effect of daily drying times, the length of the drying season and the specific cost of collector and fuel was also investigated. Two types of farm management systems were considered for various drying conditions: use of the dryer to operate for a fixed number of hours per day and, alternatively, drying a given quantity of grain per day. The results show that there is an optimum number of hours of operation per day, optimum drying temperature and optimum initial moisture content for any combination of the other variables. The most critical factors affecting annual savings are the length of the drying season and the specific cost of the collector. The optimum geometry of the collector and the specific flow rate are also functions of these factors

Grain drying in a continuous flow drier supplemented with a microwave heating system

Field losses of wheat grain and sprouting can be reduced by harvesting at higher moisture content than is currently practised. When drying from high moisture content the throughput of continuous flow driers can be increased by preheating the grain at the inlet into the drier, using a microwave heating system. A simulation model was developed to establish the performance and the cost of drying for such a system. The effect of the specific costs of the microwave source, electricity and fuel on the overall cost of drying were investigated. Sensitivity analyses were carried out for drying air temperatures in the range 50 to 90°C and for initial grain moisture contents of 16% to 24% w.b. (wet basis). The most critical factors affecting the cost of drying were the specific costs of the microwave source, electricity and fossil fuel. With the present costs of fuel and electricity of around 0·05 Australian dollars per kWh, the maximum economically viable cost of the microwave component of the drying system is 480 $/kW. The highest saving on the cost of drying was achieved when a microwave-supplemented drier operated at an air temperature of about 75°C and dired 150 t/d, reducing grain moisture from 18% w.b. to 12% w.b

Identification of the Functionally Active Methanotroph Population in a Peat Soil Microcosm by Stable-Isotope Probing

The active population of low-affinity methanotrophs in a peat soil microcosm was characterized by stable-isotope probing. “Heavy” (13)C-labeled DNA, produced after microbial growth on (13)CH(4), was separated from naturally abundant (12)C-DNA by cesium chloride density gradient centrifugation and used as a template for the PCR. Amplification products of 16S rRNA genes and pmoA, mxaF, and mmoX, which encode key enzymes in the CH(4) oxidation pathway, were analyzed. Sequences related to extant type I and type II methanotrophs were identified, indicating that these methanotrophs were active in peat exposed to 8% (vol/vol) CH(4). The (13)C-DNA libraries also contained clones that were related to β-subclass Proteobacteria, suggesting that novel groups of bacteria may also be involved in CH(4) cycling in this soil