Biorefining of perennial ryegrass for the production of nano-fibrillated cellulose

This study has demonstrated biorefining steps for ryegrass and silage at a pilot scale to extrude fibre cake for the production of nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC), a potentially green biomaterial for replacing conventional fillers in the manufacture of polymer composites. Further treatments of processed ryegrass fibres with mechanical shearing, microfluidising, hydrochloric acid (HCl)/ sulphuric acid and a four stage {ethylenediaminetetra-acetic acid, sodium hydroxide, sodium hypochlorite and HCl} hydrolysis yielded 43.8, 36.1, 25.6 and 39.8 kg t21 DM of NFCs respectively. The NFCs were characterised using microscopy, X-ray diffraction, dynamic light scattering, spectroscopy and thermogravimetry. The NFC had diameters from 3.0–9.1 nm and length 308 nm– 4.6 mm. NFC-polyvinyl alcohol composites containing NFC (5 wt%) exhibited enhanced Young’s modulus and thermal stability by factors of 2.5 and 2 respectively compared with control. The mass, energy, water and chemical balances of the four process steps were assessed to evaluate technical feasibility and also to provide baseline production data for scaling up. The microfluidised product has been identified as the best NFC product, but production cost needs to be reduced.

The Role of Subjectivity and Knowledge Power Struggles in the Formation of Public Policy

There is a growing incentive for sociologists to demonstrate the use value of their research. Research ‘impact’ is a driver of research funding and a measure of academic standing. Academic debate on this issue has intensified since Burawoy’s (2004) call for a ‘public’ sociology. However the academy is no longer the sole or primary producer of knowledge and empirical sociologists need to contend with the ‘huge swathes’ of social data that now exist (Savage and Burrows, 2007). This article furthers these debates by considering power struggles between competing forms of knowledge. Using a case study, it specifically considers the power struggle between normative and empirical knowledge, and how providers of knowledge assert legitimacy for their truth claims. The article concludes that the idea of ‘impact’ and ‘use-value’ are extremely complex and depends in the policy context on knowledge power struggles, and on how policy makers want to view the world. © The Author(s) 2012

Accumulation or production of arsenobetaine in humans?

Arsenobetaine has always been referred to as a non-toxic but readily bioavailable compound and the available data would suggest that it is neither metabolised by nor accumulated in humans. Here this study investigates the urine of five volunteers on an arsenobetaine exclusive diet for twelve days and shows that arsenobetaine was consistently excreted by three of the five volunteers. From the expected elimination pattern of arsenobetaine in rodents, no significant amount of arsenobetaine should have been detectable after 5 days of the trial period. The arsenobetaine concentration found in the urine was constant after 5 days and varied between 0.2 and 12.2 microg As per L for three of the volunteers. Contrary to the established belief that arsenobetaine is neither accumulated nor generated by humans, the presented results would suggest that either accumulated arsenobetaine in the tissues is slowly released over time or that arsenobetaine is a human metabolite of dimethylarsinic acid or inorganic arsenic from the trial food, or both. Either possibility is intriguing and raises fundamental questions about human arsenic metabolism and the toxicological and environmental inertness of arsenobetaine.

A biofuel strategy for Ireland with an emphasis on production of biomethane and minimization of land-take

Increasing energy consumption has exerted great pressure on natural resources; this has led to a move towards sustainable energy resources to improve security of supply and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, the rush to the cure may have been made in haste. Biofuels in particular, have a bad press both in terms of competition with good agricultural land for food, and also in terms of the associated energy balance with the whole life cycle analysis of the biofuel system. The emphasis is now very much on sustainable biofuel production; biofuels from wastes and lignocellulosic material are now seen as good sustainable biofuels that affect significantly better greenhouse gas balances as compared with first generation biofuels. Ireland has a significant resource of organic waste that could be a potential source of energy through anaerobic digestion. Ireland has 8% of the cattle population of the EU with less than 1% of the human population; as a result 91% of agricultural land in Ireland is under grass. Residues such as slurries and slaughter waste together with energy crops such as grass have an excellent potential to produce biogas that may be upgraded to biomethane. This biomethane may be used as a natural gas substitute; bio-compressed natural gas may then be an avenue for a biofuel strategy. It is estimated that a maximum potential of 33% of natural gas may be substituted by 2020 with a practical obtainable level of 7.5% estimated. Together with biodiesel from residues the practical obtainable level of this strategy may effect greater than a 5% substitution by energy of transport. The residues considered in this strategy to produce biofuel (excluding grass) have the potential to save 93,000 ha of agricultural land (23% of Irish arable land) when compared to a rapeseed biodiesel strategy. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Production of polyclonal antibodies directed to recombinant methionyl bovine somatotropin

The administration of recombinant methionyl bovine somatotropin (rMbST) to dairy cows to increase milk yield remains a common practice in many countries including the USA, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and Korea, whereas it has been forbidden within the European Union (EU) since 1999. A rapid screening immunoanalytical method capable of the unequivocal determination of rMbST in milk would be highly desirable in order to effectively monitor compliance with the EU-wide ban for home-made or imported dairy products. For decades, the production of specific antibodies for this recombinant isoform of bovine somatotropin (bST) has remained elusive, due to the high degree of sequence homology between both counterparts (e.g. methionine for rMbST in substitution of alanine in bST at the N-terminus). In this study, we compared several immunizing strategies for the production of specific polyclonal antibodies (pAbs), based on the use of the full-length recombinant protein, an rMbST N-terminus peptide fragment and a multiple antigen peptide (MAP) which consists of an oligomeric branching lysine core attached to the first two N-terminus amino acids of rMbST, methionine and phenylalanine (MF-MAP). The immunization with KLH-conjugated MF-MAP led to the production of the pAb with the highest rMbST/bST recognition ratio amongst the generated battery of antibodies. The pAb exhibited a specific binding ability to rMbST in a competitive antigen-coated ELISA format, which avidity was further improved after purification by rMbST N-terminus peptide-based affinity chromatography. These results suggest that immunodiscrimination between structurally related proteins can be achieved using immuno-enhanced immunogens such as MAPs. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

An Ethical Production of Place:A Case for Economy in Architectural Design

Architects typically interpret Heidegger to mean that dwelling in the Black Forest, was more authentic than living in an industrialised society however we cannot turn back the clock so we are confronted with the reality of modernisation. Since the Second World War production has shifted from material to immaterial assets. Increasingly place is believed to offer resistance to this fluidity, but this belief can conversely be viewed as expressing a sublimated anxiety about our role in the world – the need to create buildings that are self-consciously contextual suggests that we may no longer be rooted in material places, but in immaterial relations.
This issue has been pondered by David Harvey in his paper From Place to Space and Back Again where he argues that the role of place in legitimising identity is ultimately a political process, as the interpretation of its meaning is dependent on whose interpretation it is. Doreen Massey has found that different classes of people are more or less mobile and that mobility is related to class and education rather than to nationality or geography. These thinkers point to a different set of questions than the usual space/place divide – how can we begin to address the economic mediation of spatial production to develop an ethical production of place? Part of the answer is provided by the French architectural practice Lacaton Vassal in their book Plus. They ask themselves how to produce more space for the same cost so that people can enjoy a better quality of life. Another French practitioner, Patrick Bouchain, has argued that architect’s fees should be inversely proportional to the amount of material resources that they consume. These approaches use economics as a starting point for generating architectural form and point to more ethical possibilities for architectural practice

A proposed method for evaluating the artisanal production of recycled plastic paving blocks in West Africa

Plastic wastes, and particularly plastic bags and sachets, are a major concern for urban and rural environment in African countries. In the last years some actions have been started for the plastic recycling like the artisanal production of paving blocks with melted plastic bags and sand, albeit with differences in production processes. Nevertheless, the environmental and economic impact of such activities is still to be confirmed. The aim of this study is to propose a methodology for assessing and comparing the environmental and energetic performances of artisanal methods, and for defining the overall quality of the produced blocks. This methodology has been shaped through the analysis of
production processes operated by artisans/small enterprises in West Africa and through physic-mechanical tests on the blocks. A questionnaire which allows an insight into the process and on the product has been developed and tested over five processes. Results show that a high input energy level is observed through all the processes, while considerable savings of energy could be achieved. Moreover, tests results confirmed the importance of the utilised plastic concerning thermal dilatation, mechanical resistance at higher temperature and cooling-shrinkage effects. In conclusion, doubts remain about the technical and environmental effectiveness of the sampled experiences, durability of the products and sustainability of this approach. Nevertheless, being the collection and recycling of plastic wastes a potential income generation activity for marginalised social groups in urban environment, a process optimisation could improve the impact of blocks production. Alternative recycling activities should also be considered.

Coal Combustion Residuals valorisation through the production of compressed masonry brick

The Niger Coal Society (Societé Nigérienne de Charbon – SONICHAR) produces electricity for local consumption in Tefereyre, 75 km north-west from Agadez, Niger. The coal combustion residuals production is about 150,000 tons per year. In order to reduce this environmental burden and to valorize these by-products, a study focusing on their physical and chemical features as well as on the mechanical resistance of compressed brick has been undertaken. Physical characterization of coal slag, chemical and lixiviation tests have been carried out, assessing the material main parameters, verifying the presence of hazardous composites and elements and comparing the obtained results with the findings of an in-deep literary review. Cement powder has been chosen as stabilizing agent as a preliminary option. Four different dosages have been tested and bricks have been produced with a hand-operated press. Compressive strength has been tested at different days of curing. Results show remarkable uniaxial compressive strengths (UCS) for all the mixes after cure, ranging from 4MPa up to more than 20MPa for the highest stabilization ratio. UCS higher than 5MPa have been observed for 20% and 30% cement stabilization ratios after only 7 days of cure, reaching respectively about 11MPa and 13MPa after 45 days. In conclusion obtained bricks show good mechanical resistance and low weight. No health threat has been detected from the obtained sample. Study developments are oriented towards the feasibility of the utilization of low-cost, locally available stabilization means, notably clay and cohesive soils, and on thermal properties assessment.

Production of a broad specificity antibody for the development and validation of an optical SPR screening method for free and intracellular microcystins and nodularin in cyanobacteria cultures

A highly sensitive broad specificity monoclonal antibody was produced and characterised for microcystin detection through the development of a rapid surface plasmon resonance (SPR) optical biosensor based immunoassay. The antibody displayed the following cross-reactivity: MC-LR 100%; MC-RR 108%; MC-YR 68%; MC-LA 69%; MC-LW 71%; MC-LF 68%; and Nodularin 94%. Microcystin-LR was covalently attached to a CM5 chip and with the monoclonal antibody was employed in a competitive 4min injection assay to detect total microcystins in water samples below the WHO recommended limit (1µg/L). A 'total microcystin' level was determined by measuring free and intracellular concentrations in cyanobacterial culture samples as this toxin is an endotoxin. Glass bead beating was used to lyse the cells as a rapid extraction procedure. This method was validated according to European Commission Decision 96/23/EC criteria. The method was proven to measure intracellular microcystin levels, the main source of the toxin, which often goes undetected by other analytical procedures and is advantageous in that it can be used for the monitoring of blooms to provide an early warning of toxicity. It was shown to be repeatable and reproducible, with recoveries from spiked samples ranging from 74 to 123%, and had % CVs below 10% for intra-assay analysis and 15% for inter-assay analysis. The detection capability of the assay was calculated as 0.5ng/mL for extracellular toxins and 0.05ng/mL for intracellular microcystins. A comparison of the SPR method with LC-MS/MS was achieved by testing six Microcystis aeruginosa cultures and this study yielded a correlation R(2) value of 0.9989.

Taguchi optimisation approach for production of activated carbon from phosphoric acid impregnated palm kernel shell by microwave heating

Taguchi method was applied to investigate the optimal operating conditions in the preparation of activated carbon using palm kernel shell with quadruple control factors: irradiation time, microwave power, concentration of phosphoric acid as impregnation substance and impregnation ratio between acid and palm kernel shell. The best combination of the control factors as obtained by applying Taguchi method was microwave power of 800 W, irradiation time of 17 min, impregnation ratio of 2, and acid concentration of 85%. The noise factor (particle size of raw material) was considered in a separate outer array, which had no effect on the quality of the activated carbon as confirmed by t-test. Activated carbon prepared at optimum combination of control factors had high BET surface area of 1,473.55 m² g-1 and high porosity. The adsorption equilibrium and kinetic data can satisfactorily be described by the Langmuir isotherm and a pseudo-second-order kinetic model, respectively. The maximum adsorbing capacity suggested by the Langmuir model was 1000 mg g-1.