Bioclimatic analysis of three buildings for wet processing of coffee in Colombia

This study aimed to perform a bioclimatic comparison of wet processing facilities of coffee in Colombia, with three typical types of Colombian coffee region, through computer simulation, specifically evaluating the effect of heat and steam generated by mechanical drying machines, and natural ventilation area on the temperature and relative humidity within these facilities. The effect of the natural ventilation area was observed, to greater area of natural ventilation, lower temperature and relative humidity, i.e. it was observed that typology b behaved better bioclimatically than typology a. The indoor environment of type a (stepped type), had a greater biological risk of proliferation of fungi and bacteria, with an average temperature of 27.5 °C, and average internal relative humidity of 70.6%. In type c, as its mechanical drying machine protrudes from the building, and expel the vapor and heat produced in the drying process to the external environment, showed the best bioclimate conditions for parchment coffee, with an average temperature of 23.5 °C and average internal relative humidity of 65.5% most of the time.Este estudio tuvo como objetivo llevar a cabo una comparación bioclimática de instalaciones de beneficio húmedo en Colombia, con tres tipologías típicas de la zona cafetera colombiana, a través de simulación computacional, específicamente evaluando los efectos del calor y vapor generados por el secado mecánico, y el área de ventilación natural sobre la temperatura y la humedad relativa en estas instalaciones. Se observó el efecto del área de ventilación natural, a mayor área de ventilación natural, menor temperatura y humedad relativa, es decir, se observó que la tipología b se comportó mejor bioclimáticamente que la tipología a. El ambiente interno de la tipología a (tipología escalonada), tuvo un mayor riesgo biológico de proliferación de hongos y bacterias, con una temperatura promedio de 27,5 °C, y una humedad relativa interna promedio de 70,6%. En el tipo c, como su secadora mecánica sobresale del edificio, y expulsa el vapor y el calor producidos en el proceso de secado al ambiente externo, mostró las mejores condiciones bioclimáticas para el café pergamino, con una temperatura promedio de 23,5 °C y una humedad relativa interna promedio del 65,5% la mayor parte del tiempo

Zootechnical and physiological performance of broilers in the final stage of growth subjected to different levels of heat stress

The objective of this work was to study the influence of different levels of thermal stress from the environment, including comfort levels (25 °C), heat stress (28 °C), moderate heat(31 °C), high heat (34 °C) and severe heat (37 °C), on the performance of broilers in the late growth (22-42 days), housed in environmental chambers. It has been determined the physiological and behavioral parameters of chickens (weight gain (WG), day weight gain (DWG), feed intake (FI), feed conversion ratio (FC), mortality (MORT), percentage of carcass of age as body weight (BW), carcass (CAR), breast (Bre), drumstick (Drum), wings (Win)), according the specific ranges of temperature; and was calculated the Temperature Index Black Globe Humidity (BGHI), for control and evaluation of the thermal environment of the treatments. In general, birds kept in temperature between 25-28 °C, during the three last week of life, performed better than those exposed to other situations, and indicating this would be the ambient temperature to the desired setting for birds in its final phase, compared with the other treatments, including those who remained at recommended temperature as thermal comfort throughout the experimental period.El objetivo de este trabajo fue estudiar la influencia de diferentes niveles de estrés térmico del ambiente, incluyendo niveles de confort (25 °C), estrés por calor (28 °C), calor moderado (31 °C), calor alto (34 °C) y calor severo (37 °C), en el desempeño de pollos de engorde en el la última fase de crecimiento (22-42 días), alojados en cámaras climáticas. Se determinaron los parámetros fisiológicos y de comportamiento de los pollos (ganancia de peso (WG), ganancia de peso diaria (DWG), consumo de alimento (FI), índice de conversión alimenticia (FC), mortalidad (MORT), porcentaje de carcasa con relación a la edad y peso corporal (BW), carcasa (CAR), pecho (Bre), muslos (Drum), alas (Win)), de acuerdo a los rangos específicos de temperatura; y se calculó el Índice de Temperatura de Globo Negro y Humedad (ITGH), para el control y evaluación térmica de los tratamientos. En general, las aves mantenidas en temperatura entre 25-28 °C, durante las tres últimas semanas de vida, se comportaron mejor que las expuestas a otras situaciones, e indicando que esta podría ser la temperatura ambiente deseada para las aves en su fase final, en comparación con los otros tratamientos, incluidos los que se mantuvieron a la temperatura recomendada como confort térmico durante todo el período experimental

Effective microorganisms (EM) as biofeeders for anaerobic digestion

Está faltando o link ou o DOI do artigo. CorrigirSoil micro-organisms called Effective Microorganisms (EM) were first cultivated and used in the 1970s. Researches about these cultures have since then demonstrated their effectiveness in improving soil characteristics and as an alternative for accelerating organic matter decomposition in waste treatment systems. The objective of this study was to test whether the addition of EM to substrates incubated in anaerobic digesters would increase the efficiency of waste treatment and biogas production. EM cultures were obtained from bacterial colonies captured within the A-horizon of a Brazilian forest soil. They were left to grow during 15 days on cooked rice contact with the soil; afterwards, the established colonies were separated according to their colors, discarding all shades of black, gray and white, according to recommendations from related literature. Remaining colonies were further grown in sugarcane broth medium for 18 days, being this the final EM culture. Twelve bench digesters were used, each with a total capacity for three liters. The experiment was composed by four treatments consisting of different concentrations of EM inoculum [15% (T1), 10% (T2), 1% (T3) and 0% (T4)] applied to dairy cattle manure, with three replications per treatment. Anaerobic digestion was carried out under controlled temperature (35 o C) over 99 days. Data collected included concentrations of total, fixed and volatile solids (TS, FS and VS), pH and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD). The pH of the EM inoculum was 3.34 and COD was 24.25 mg L -1 . The best reduction efficiencies for COD and TS removal were 79.44% and 42.50%, respectively, in T4. Among the treatments with EM addition, 1% (T3) resulted in better COD reduction. The maximum accumulated biogas production was 20.60 L biogas L substrate -1 , also for T3. In conclusion, EM as an inoculum in low concentrations may be advantageous to anaerobic digestion.Microrganismos benéficos ao solo, nomeados “Microrganismos Eficientes” (ME) foram cultivados e utilizados nos anos 70. Pesquisas sobre tal cultura tem demonstrado sua eficiência na melhoria das características do solo e também como forma alternativa de acelerar a decomposição da matéria orgânica em sistemas de tratamento de resíduos. O objetivo desse estudo foi testar se a adição da cultura ME como inóculo a substratos incubados em digestores anaeróbios aumentaria a eficiência do tratamento de resíduos. A cultura ME foi obtida de colônias capturadas no horizonte A do solo em uma floresta brasileira. Elas foram desenvolvidas em arroz cozido posto em contato com o solo por um período de 15 dias, após o qual as colônias estabelecidas foram separadas de acordo com padrões de cores, sendo descartadas as de tons cinza, preto e branco, conforme recomendado. As colônias remanescentes foram transferidas para o meio de caldo de cana, onde se desenvolveram por mais 18 dias, sendo esta a cultura ME. Foram utilizados 12 biodigestores de bancada, com capacidade total de três litros cada. Foram aplicados quatro tratamentos, referentes às diferentes adições de ME como inóculo [15% (T1), 10% (T2), 1% (T3) e 0% (T4)] a esterco de bovino de leite, com três repetições por tratamento. A digestão anaeróbia foi conduzida sob condição de temperatura controlada (35oC), durante 99 dias. Os dados coletados incluíram concentrações de sólidos totais, fixos e voláteis (ST, SF e SV), pH e Demanda Química de Oxigênio (DQO). O pH do inóculo ME foi de 3,34 e sua DQO foi de 24,25 mg L -1 . As maiores eficiências de redução de DQO e de ST foram de 79,44% e 42,50%, respectivamente para T4. Dentre os tratamentos com adição de ME, 1% (T3) resultou em melhor eficiência de redução de DQO. A produção máxima acumulada foi de 20,60 L de biogás por L de substrato, também para T3. Concluiu-se que o uso do ME como inóculo, em baixa concentração, pode ser vantajoso para a digestão anaeróbia

Thermal comfort in buildings for wet processing of coffee

This study aimed to assess thermal comfort for workers in three buildings for wet coffee processing in Colombia, using the WBGT index, and temperature and relative humidity analysis through mapping. The limits recommended by the WBGT index were exceeded during the activity of putting fuel in the dryer in Building 3. The three buildings presented spatial hygrothermal variability due to the coffee dryer, as well as problems with ventilation, volume control, and the thermal resistance of materials in Buildings 2 and 3. In order to favor heat transfer from the dryer to the outside environment, and to make the thermal environment of these buildings more homogeneous, it is recommended to install thermal bridges around this area, to make more efficient the evacuation of steam and heat, as well as to increase the natural ventilation area in Buildings 2 and 3, and install ventilation skylights over the dryer

Additives to control the quality of coffee husk poultry litter

The poultry litter keeps the birds comfortable and absorbs the humidity generated in the environment, reducing the feet injuries. Then, its quality is essential. The objective for carrying out the present study was to evaluate the quality of the coffee husk poultry litter, treated with chemical additives, based on its humidity, N-ammonia, pH and bacteria total counting. The experiment was carried out in Minas Gerais state, Brazil, in a coffee producer region. It were used three facilities, in which it were placed circular boxes, each of them divided in seven parts, 2 m 2 each one, where it were put the different types of poultry litter, being these the seven treatments: sawdust and coffee husks litter, being this last, new and untreated or treated with different additives and reused. Twenty-two chicks were distributed in each treatment (154 birds per facility, 11 birds m -2 ). Litter samples were collected at 7, 21 and 42 days of birds age. The experimental design was in randomized blocks, subdivided plots. The results were submitted to ANOVA and Tukey’s test. The hydrated lime increased the pH in the initial phase (7 days) and decreased the moisture of the reused litter, compared to the new one. The gypsum reduced the pH of the litter at the end of the second phase. The N-ammonia content of the reused litter, without treatment, was superior compared to the new one, untreated and treated with lime. There was no effect on the standard counting of bacteria and on the surface temperature of the litter. Then, the use of chemical additives in the poultry litter constitutes a good strategy to control its quality, as well as the environmental conditions to produce poultry meat.A cama de frango mantém as aves confortáveis e absorve a umidade gerada no ambiente, reduzindo assim as injúrias nos pés. Por conseguinte, a qualidade da cama de frango é essencial. O objetivo para realização do presente estudo foi avaliar a qualidade da cama de frango composta a partir de cascas de café, tratada com aditivos químicos. Esta avaliação foi baseada em sua umidade, concentração de N-amônia, pH e contagem bacteriana total. O experimento foi conduzido no estado de Minas Gerais, Brasil, em uma região produtora de café. Foram utilizadas três instalações, nas quais foram instalados boxes circulares, cada um deles dividido em sete partes, de 2 m 2 cada, onde foram colocados os diferentes tipos de cama aviária, correspondendo estas aos sete tratamentos experimentais: casca de café, nova e não tratada; casca de café, nova e tratada com superfosfato simples (30 kg t-1); casca de café, nova e tratada com gesso agrícola (40% do peso total); casca de café, nova e tratada com cal (0,5 kg m-2); casca de café, reutilizada (2 lotes); e serragem. Vinte e dois pintinhos foram distribuídos em cada tratamento, perfazendo um total de 154 aves por instalação, a uma densidade de 11 aves m -2 . Foram coletadas amostras das várias camas aos 7, 21 e 42 dias de idade das aves. O desenho experimental foi em blocos casualizados, parcelas subdivididas. Os resultados foram submetidos à ANOVA e ao teste de Tukey. A cal hidratada proporcionou um aumento do pH na fase inicial do ciclo de produção (7 dias), bem como uma diminuição da umidade na cama reutilizada, em comparação com a nova. O gesso reduziu o pH da cama no final da segunda fase do ciclo de produção. O teor de N-amônia cama reutilizada sem tratamento foi maior em relação à nova, não tratada e tratada com cal. Não houve efeito de condicionadores químicos na contagem bacteriana e na temperatura da superfície da cama. Dessa forma, o uso de condicionadores químicos aplicados à cama de frango constitui uma boa estratégia para o controle de sua qualidade e das condições ambientais para a produção de frangos de corte

A refined protocol for calculating air flow rate of naturallyventilated broiler barns based on co2 mass balance

This study was conducted to evaluate relatively simple protocols for monitoring ventilation rate (VR) in naturally-ventilated barns (NVB). The test protocols were first applied to a mechanically-ventilated broiler barn (MVB), where VR was estimated more accurately and then were used to calculate VR in the NVB. CO2 concentrations were measured with two different sampling schemes: (S1) the average of indoor measurements along the length of the building at two heights of 0.5 m and 1.5 m from the litter floor; and (S2) same as previous but with concentration measurements taken only at 0.5 m from litter. The dynamic metabolic CO2 production rate of the birds was predicted with two different algorithms: (A1) remaining constant throughout the dark and light periods, and (A2) varying with animal activity on an hourly basis. The results demonstrated that the combination of S2 with A1 or A2 yielded the best estimate of building VR in the NVB

Análisis bioclimático de tres instalaciones para el beneficio húmedo de café en Colombia

This study aimed to perform a bioclimatic comparison of wet processing facilities of coffee in Colombia, with three typical types of Colombian coffee region, through computer simulation, specifically evaluating the effect of heat and steam generated by mechanical drying machines, and natural ventilation area on the temperature and relative humidity within these facilities. The effect of the natural ventilation area was observed, to greater area of natural ventilation, lower temperature and relative humidity, i.e. it was observed that typology b behaved better bioclimatically than typology a. The indoor environment of type a (stepped type), had a greater biological risk of proliferation of fungi and bacteria, with an average temperature of 27.5 °C, and average internal relative humidity of 70.6%. In type c, as its mechanical drying machine protrudes from the building, and expel the vapor and heat produced in the drying process to the external environment, showed the best bioclimate conditions for parchment coffee, with an average temperature of 23.5 °C and average internal relative humidity of 65.5% most of the time.Este estudio tuvo como objetivo llevar a cabo una comparación bioclimática de instalaciones de beneficio húmedo en Colombia, con tres tipologías típicas de la zona cafetera colombiana, a través de simulación computacional, específicamente evaluando los efectos del calor y vapor generados por el secado mecánico, y el área de ventilación natural sobre la temperatura y la humedad relativa en estas instalaciones. Se observó el efecto del área de ventilación natural, a mayor área de ventilación natural, menor temperatura y humedad relativa, es decir, se observó que la tipología b se comportó mejor bioclimáticamente que la tipología a. El ambiente interno de la tipología a (tipología escalonada), tuvo un mayor riesgo biológico de proliferación de hongos y bacterias, con una temperatura promedio de 27,5 °C, y una humedad relativa interna promedio de 70,6%. En el tipo c, como su secadora mecánica sobresale del edificio, y expulsa el vapor y el calor producidos en el proceso de secado al ambiente externo, mostró las mejores condiciones bioclimáticas para el café pergamino, con una temperatura promedio de 23,5 °C y una humedad relativa interna promedio del 65,5% la mayor parte del tiempo

Zootechnical and physiological performance of broilers in the final stage of growth subjected to different levels of heat stress

The objective of this work was to study the influence of different levels of thermal stress from the environment, including comfort levels (25 °C), heat stress (28 °C), moderate heat(31 °C), high heat (34 °C) and severe heat (37 °C), on the performance of broilers in the late growth (22-42 days), housed in environmental chambers. It has been determined the physiological and behavioral parameters of chickens (weight gain (WG), day weight gain (DWG), feed intake (FI), feed conversion ratio (FC), mortality (MORT), percentage of carcass of age as body weight (BW), carcass (CAR), breast (Bre), drumstick (Drum), wings (Win)), according the specific ranges of temperature; and was calculated the Temperature Index Black Globe Humidity (BGHI), for control and evaluation of the thermal environment of the treatments. In general, birds kept in temperature between 25-28 °C, during the three last week of life, performed better than those exposed to other situations, and indicating this would be the ambient temperature to the desired setting for birds in its final phase, compared with the other treatments, including those who remained at recommended temperature as thermal comfort throughout the experimental period

Adaptation and validation of a methdology for determing ammoniaflux generated by litter in naturally ventilated poultry houses

The present work aimed to adapt and validate a precise and simple application method defined as the “Saraz method for the determination of ammonia emissions” (SMDAE), based on the method of mass diffusion, to determine ammonia flux due to mass convection from broiler litter. It was found that ammonia flux (N"A) can be obtained by the SMDAE diffusion method. The SMDAE method presents a recovery efficiency for volatilized ammonia of 77 ± 4% and can be used for ammonia concentrations as high as 0.5 ppm.El objetivo del presente trabajo fue avalar y validar un simple y preciso método definido “método Saraz para determinar emisiones de amoniaco” (SMDAE), basado en un método de difusión de masa, para determinar el flujo de amoniaco debido a la convección de la masa (NA”) generada en la cama aviaria. Se encontró que el flujo de amoniaco puede ser obtenido por el método difusivo SMDAE. El método SMDAE presentó una eficiencia en la recuperación del amoniaco volatilizado de 77 ± 4% y puede ser usado con concentraciones de amoniaco mayores 0.5 ppm

Adaptation and validation of a methdology for determing ammonia flux generated by litter in naturally ventilated poultry houses

The present work aimed to adapt and validate a precise and simple application method defined as the “Saraz method for the determination of ammonia emissions" (SMDAE), based on the method of mass diffusion, to determine ammonia flux due to mass convection from broiler litter. It was found that ammonia flux (N"A) can be obtained by the SMDAE diffusion method. The SMDAE method presents a recovery efficiency for volatilized ammonia of 77 ± 4% and can be used for ammonia concentrations as high as 0.5 ppm