NewCarbon Innovation for the production and application of biochar, wood vinegar and energy

NewCarbon (Pty) Ltd is a South African company developing innovative technological solutions for the African and global markets. Due to world-wide transformational trends, such as population growth, economic development and climate change, energy shortages, water pollution and land degradation, resources are increasingly under pressure to support societal development and to maintain necessary services[1] NewCarbon\u27s technology provides an integrated solution approach to address key aspects of the world’s food-water-energy-crisis. NewCarbon has developed a novel and innovative three-stage thermal pyrolysis-based technology to transform various forms of waste biomass into biochar, activated bio-carbon, wood vinegar, energy and other valuable products. Our technology is designed to be transportable and placed in a 20-50km radius from the biomass source[2], transporting raw products to regional facilities that process raw products into final packaged products for market distribution. Our uniquely produced biochar and activated bio-carbon has been extensively tested in various markets including water purification, livestock farming and soil remediation. The demand for a consistent and high quality locally produced biochar and activated bio-carbon is growing daily, with municipality of the City of Cape Town utilizing 500 tons per annum in their water purification works at 4 different sites. The value of high-grade biochar in livestock farming and soil remediation is also gaining momentum with universities and farmers alike. A unique selling point and value add of our technology innovation is the extraction of high purity wood vinegar (liquid wood smoke), wood tar and bio-oils from the biomass before being transformed to a high-grade biochar and activated bio-carbon product in our pyrolysis activation unit. Our superior wood vinegar product is used in boosting seed germination, organic fertilizer production to stimulate root and leaf growth in plants and applied elsewhere on a large scale as an organic pest repellent while improving crop growth. The NewCarbon Innovation will advance the Southern African strategy to move towards lower-carbon economies, create growth and jobs, promote science and innovation partnerships and expertise, provide focused opportunities for environment and food security, enhance science and technology capacity building and address the challenges of climate change. 1 Walking the Nexus Talk: Assessing the Water-Energy-Food Nexus, in the Context of the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative Climate, Energy and Tenure Division (NRC) Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations July 2014. 2 Waste biomass sources include forestry waste, alien invasive plants, municipal green waste, saw mill waste and agricultural farms that produce biomass wastes such as macadamia nut and maroela farms

NewCarbon innovation for sustainable agriculture, soil remediation and water / effluent purification

NewCarbon Pty Ltd, a South African company working towards developing sustainable economic growth and climate change resilience solutions, has developed an innovative technology to produce biochar in a novel, clean and cost effective way using biomass from forestry, sawmill and municipal garden waste. Please click on the file below for full content of the abstract

A comparative survey of cursorial spider communities in indigenous afromontane forests and in pine plantations

A survey of ground-living spiders was conducted at Ngome State Forest, northern Natal. The area is situated on the southern African escarpment. The survey started in January 1992 and ended in January 1993. Five different habitat types were sampled with 180 pitfall traps. Pitfall traps were open continuously and were cleared once a month. Contents were sorted under a dissection microscope and all spiders were sorted into morphospecies, most of which were later identified. The habitat types that were compared were grass, open forest, dense forest, ecotone and pine. Grass, open forest and dense forest represented indigenous vegetation while pine represented exotic vegetation. Ecotone consisted of a mixture of indigenous forest plants and pine trees. Multivariate analysis of the data showed the different habitat types to support different ground-living spider communities. The composition of spider communities in pine differed most from all other habitat types. This result supports the hypothesis that the planting of pine trees largely affects the composition of ground-living spider communities. Spider diversity and richness indices indicated grass to be the most diverse habitat type, while pine was the least diverse habitat type (for ground-living spiders) . However, due to the large variation in spider diversity within habitat types, the differences in spider diversity between habitat types were not clearly defined and the results do not unambiguously support the hypothesis that exotic vegetation has lower ground-living spider diversity than indigenous vegetation. The habitat preferences and phenology of the 10 most abundantly trapped spider species were graphically represented and discussed as to make a contribution to these species's autecological relationships. The need for more surveys of this kind in order to identify larger scale ecological patterns is stressed.Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 1994.Zoology and EntomologyMScUnrestricte

Harmonic mixer analysis and design

Thesis (MScEng) -- Stellenbosch University, 2002.Some digitised pages may appear illegible due to the condition of the original hard copy.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Harmonic mixers are capable of extended frequency operation by mixing with a harmonic of the LO (local oscillator) signal, eliminating the need for a high frequency, high power LO. Their output spectra also have certain characteristics that make them ideal for a variety of applications. The operation of the harmonic mixer is investigated, and the mixer is analyzed using an extension of the classic mixer theory. The synthesis of harmonic mixers is also investigated, and a design procedure is proposed for the design and realization of a variety of harmonic mixers. This design procedure is evaluated with the design and realization of two harmonic mixers, one in X-band and the other in S-band. Measurements suggest that the procedure is successful for the specific applications.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Harmoniese mengers kan by hoer frekwensies gebruik word as gewone mengers deurdat hulle gebruik maak van ‘n harmoniek van die LO. ‘n Hoe-frekwensie, hoe-drywing LO word dus nie benodig nie. Die mengers se uittreespektra het ook ‘n aantal karakteristieke wat hulle goeie kandidate maak vir ‘n verskeidenheid van toepassings. Die werking van die harmoniese menger word ondersoek deur uit te brei op die klassieke menger-teorie. Die ontwerp van die harmoniese menger word vervolgens ondersoek, waama ‘n ontwerpsprosedure voorgestel word vir die ontwerp van ‘n verskeidenheid van harmoniese mengers. Hierdie prosedure word getoets met die ontwerp en realisering van twee harmoniese mengers, een in X-band en die ander in S-band. Vanuit die metings is dit duidelik dat die ontwerpsprosedure geslaagd is vir die spesifieke geval

Traditional Norwegian Kveik Are a Genetically Distinct Group of Domesticated Saccharomyces cerevisiae Brewing Yeasts

The widespread production of fermented food and beverages has resulted in the domestication of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeasts specifically adapted to beer production. While there is evidence beer yeast domestication was accelerated by industrialization of beer, there also exists a farmhouse brewing culture in western Norway which has passed down yeasts referred to as kveik for generations. This practice has resulted in ale yeasts which are typically highly flocculant, phenolic off flavor negative (POF-), and exhibit a high rate of fermentation, similar to previously characterized lineages of domesticated yeast. Additionally, kveik yeasts are reportedly high-temperature tolerant, likely due to the traditional practice of pitching yeast into warm (>28°C) wort. Here, we characterize kveik yeasts from 9 different Norwegian sources via PCR fingerprinting, whole genome sequencing of selected strains, phenotypic screens, and lab-scale fermentations. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that kveik yeasts form a distinct group among beer yeasts. Additionally, we identify a novel POF- loss-of-function mutation, as well as SNPs and CNVs potentially relevant to the thermotolerance, high ethanol tolerance, and high fermentation rate phenotypes of kveik strains. We also identify domestication markers related to flocculation in kveik. Taken together, the results suggest that Norwegian kveik yeasts are a genetically distinct group of domesticated beer yeasts with properties highly relevant to the brewing sector

SNAPSHOT USA 2019 : a coordinated national camera trap survey of the United States

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.With the accelerating pace of global change, it is imperative that we obtain rapid inventories of the status and distribution of wildlife for ecological inferences and conservation planning. To address this challenge, we launched the SNAPSHOT USA project, a collaborative survey of terrestrial wildlife populations using camera traps across the United States. For our first annual survey, we compiled data across all 50 states during a 14-week period (17 August - 24 November of 2019). We sampled wildlife at 1509 camera trap sites from 110 camera trap arrays covering 12 different ecoregions across four development zones. This effort resulted in 166,036 unique detections of 83 species of mammals and 17 species of birds. All images were processed through the Smithsonian's eMammal camera trap data repository and included an expert review phase to ensure taxonomic accuracy of data, resulting in each picture being reviewed at least twice. The results represent a timely and standardized camera trap survey of the USA. All of the 2019 survey data are made available herein. We are currently repeating surveys in fall 2020, opening up the opportunity to other institutions and cooperators to expand coverage of all the urban-wild gradients and ecophysiographic regions of the country. Future data will be available as the database is updated at eMammal.si.edu/snapshot-usa, as well as future data paper submissions. These data will be useful for local and macroecological research including the examination of community assembly, effects of environmental and anthropogenic landscape variables, effects of fragmentation and extinction debt dynamics, as well as species-specific population dynamics and conservation action plans. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite this paper when using the data for publication.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Foraging ecology of squirrels: Caching behavior, food preference and predation risk.

Foraging ecology of squirrels: Caching behavior, food preference and predation risk

The size, branching pattern and anatomical relationships of the dorsal pedal aretery on the dorsum of the foot: a cadaver study

Surgical techniques such as ankle arthroscopy and reconstructive flap surgery have made detailed knowledge of the dorsal pedal artery (DPA) and the deep fibular nerve (DFN) on the foot dorsum essential. The aims of this study were to determine the size, branching pattern of the DPA and its relations to the DFN and inferior extensor retinaculum (IER). Forty cadaver ankles were dissected to expose the contents of the anterior tarsal tunnel. The size of the DPA and branches were measured with a Vernier caliper and the branching pattern and relationship of the DPA to the DFN and IER were noted. The size of the DPA were 3.90 mm +/- 0.2 mm (n=40). No significant difference were seen between the sexes (T-test, p>0.05). The branching pattern of the DPA can be described in 3 categories. In 27.5% the DPA had branches above the IER, 62.5% underneath IER and 10% below the IER. No significant difference was noted between the sexes (T-test, p>0.05). The bifurcation of the DPA was mostly underneath IER (57.5%), followed by 37.5% below the IER. In 2.5% the distal branching was above the IER or absent. The bifurcation of DFN is similar as the majority (55.0%) was located underneath the IER, while 27.5% was located above the IER and 17.5% of bifurcations were observed below the IER. A distance of 7.79 +/- 2.9mm was recorded between the bifurcation of DPA and DFN. No significant difference was observed when comparing male and female as well as age groups (T-test, p>0.05). In some cases, the arterial branching lead to the formation of trunks, while 'loops' were observed in the branching pattern of the DFN. The measurements and patterns noted increases the awareness of the possible variations and should assist surgeons during vascular and reconstructive surgeryPoster presented at the University of Pretoria Health Sciences Faculty Day, August 2009, Pretoria, South Afric