Decentralized management of organic household wastes in the Kathmandu Valley using small-scale composting reactors

The sustainable management of municipal solid waste in the Kathmandu Valley has always been a challenging task. Solid waste generation has gone rapidly high in the Kathmandu Valley over the last decade due to booming population and rapid urbaniza-tion. Finding appropriate landfill sites for the disposal of solid wastes generated from the households of the Kathmandu Valley has always been a major problem for Nepalese government. 65 % of total generated wastes from the households of Nepal consist of organic materials. As large fractions of generated household wastes are organic in na-ture, composting can be considered as one of the best sustainable ways to recycle organ-ic wastes generated from the households of Nepal. Model Community Society Development (MCDS), a non-governmental organization of Nepal carried out its small-scale project in five households of the Kathmandu Valley by installing composting reactors. This thesis is based on this small-scale project and has used secondary data provided by MCDS Nepal for carrying out the study. Proper man-agement of organic wastes can be done at household levels through the use of compost-ing reactors. The end product compost can be used as soil conditioners for agricultural purposes such as organic farming, roof-top farming and gardening. The overall average organic waste generation in the Kathmandu Valley is found to be 0,23 kg/person/day and the total amount of organic household wastes generated in the Kathmandu Valley is around 210 Gg/yr. Produced composts from five composting reac-tors contain high amount of moistures but have sufficient amount of nutrients required for the fertility of land and plant growth. Installation of five composting reactors in five households have prevented 2,74 Mg of organic wastes going into the landfills, thus re-ducing 107 kg of methane emissions which is equivalent to 2,7 Mg of carbondioxide.

Structure and dynamics of a woody plant community of a tropical semi-deciduous seasonal forest in the "Estação Ecológica do Panga", municipality of Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Studies of plant community dynamics are essential in understanding the demographic patterns of species since changes in demographic rates can affect the floristic composition and future structure. The purpose of the present study was to analyze the changes in the community structure and floristic composition of woody plants in a tropical semi-deciduous forest in Uberlândia in central Brazil, during a 10-years period. The data were collected in 1989 and in 2000 in 50 quadrats (10 m x 10 m) where all trees with a minimum circumference at breast height of 10 cm were sampled. In 1989, 93 species and 1103 individuals were registered. Over a period of 10 years, seven new species were added to the community, although eight disappeared. The main change that occurred during this period in the floristic composition was the replacement of savannah species occurring in forest gaps by those from the forest understory.

Influence of soil properties on the abundance of plant species in ferruginous rocky soils vegetation, southeastern Brazil

Ferruginous "campos rupestres" are a particular type of vegetation growing on iron-rich primary soils. We investigated the influence of soil properties on plant species abundance at two sites of ferruginous "campos rupestres" and one site of quartzitic "campo rupestre", all of them in "Quadrilátero Ferrífero", in Minas Gerais State, southeastern Brazil. In each site, 30 quadrats were sampled to assess plant species composition and abundance, and soil samples were taken to perform chemical and physical analyses. The analyzed soils are strongly acidic and presented low fertility and high levels of metallic cations; a principal component analysis of soil data showed a clear segregation among sites due mainly to fertility and heavy metals content, especially Cu, Zn, and Pb. The canonical correspondence analysis indicated a strong correlation between plant species abundance and soil properties, also segregating the sites.

Utilization of steelmaking waste materials for production of calcium carbonate (CaCO3)

The steel industry produces, besides steel, also solid mineral by-products or slags, while it emits large quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2). Slags consist of various silicates and oxides which are formed in chemical reactions between the iron ore and the fluxing agents during the high temperature processing at the steel plant. Currently, these materials are recycled in the ironmaking processes, used as aggregates in construction, or landfilled as waste. The utilization rate of the steel slags can be increased by selectively extracting components from the mineral matrix. As an example, aqueous solutions of ammonium salts such as ammonium acetate, chloride and nitrate extract calcium quite selectively already at ambient temperature and pressure conditions. After the residual solids have been separated from the solution, calcium carbonate can be precipitated by feeding a CO2 flow through the solution. Precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) is used in different applications as a filler material. Its largest consumer is the papermaking industry, which utilizes PCC because it enhances the optical properties of paper at a relatively low cost. Traditionally, PCC is manufactured from limestone, which is first calcined to calcium oxide, then slaked with water to calcium hydroxide and finally carbonated to PCC. This process emits large amounts of CO2, mainly because of the energy-intensive calcination step. This thesis presents research work on the scale-up of the above-mentioned ammonium salt based calcium extraction and carbonation method, named Slag2PCC. Extending the scope of the earlier studies, it is now shown that the parameters which mainly affect the calcium utilization efficiency are the solid-to-liquid ratio of steel slag and the ammonium salt solvent solution during extraction, the mean diameter of the slag particles, and the slag composition, especially the fractions of total calcium, silicon, vanadium and iron as well as the fraction of free calcium oxide. Regarding extraction kinetics, slag particle size, solid-to-liquid ratio and molar concentration of the solvent solution have the largest effect on the reaction rate. Solvent solution concentrations above 1 mol/L NH4Cl cause leaching of other elements besides calcium. Some of these such as iron and manganese result in solution coloring, which can be disadvantageous for the quality of the PCC product. Based on chemical composition analysis of the produced PCC samples, however, the product quality is mainly similar as in commercial products. Increasing the novelty of the work, other important parameters related to assessment of the PCC quality, such as particle size distribution and crystal morphology are studied as well. As in traditional PCC precipitation process, the ratio of calcium and carbonate ions controls the particle shape; a higher value for [Ca2+]/[CO32-] prefers precipitation of calcite polymorph, while vaterite forms when carbon species are present in excess. The third main polymorph, aragonite, is only formed at elevated temperatures, above 40-50 °C. In general, longer precipitation times cause transformation of vaterite to calcite or aragonite, but also result in particle agglomeration. The chemical equilibrium of ammonium and calcium ions and dissolved ammonia controlling the solution pH affects the particle sizes, too. Initial pH of 12-13 during the carbonation favors nonagglomerated particles with a diameter of 1 μm and smaller, while pH values of 9-10 generate more agglomerates of 10-20 μm. As a part of the research work, these findings are implemented in demonstrationscale experimental process setups. For the first time, the Slag2PCC technology is tested in scale of ~70 liters instead of laboratory scale only. Additionally, design of a setup of several hundreds of liters is discussed. For these purposes various process units such as inclined settlers and filters for solids separation, pumps and stirrers for material transfer and mixing as well as gas feeding equipment are dimensioned and developed. Overall emissions reduction of the current industrial processes and good product quality as the main targets, based on the performed partial life cycle assessment (LCA), it is most beneficial to utilize low concentration ammonium salt solutions for the Slag2PCC process. In this manner the post-treatment of the products does not require extensive use of washing and drying equipment, otherwise increasing the CO2 emissions of the process. The low solvent concentration Slag2PCC process causes negative CO2 emissions; thus, it can be seen as a carbon capture and utilization (CCU) method, which actually reduces the anthropogenic CO2 emissions compared to the alternative of not using the technology. Even if the amount of steel slag is too small for any substantial mitigation of global warming, the process can have both financial and environmental significance for individual steel manufacturers as a means to reduce the amounts of emitted CO2 and landfilled steel slag. Alternatively, it is possible to introduce the carbon dioxide directly into the mixture of steel slag and ammonium salt solution. The process would generate a 60-75% pure calcium carbonate mixture, the remaining 25-40% consisting of the residual steel slag. This calcium-rich material could be re-used in ironmaking as a fluxing agent instead of natural limestone. Even though this process option would require less process equipment compared to the Slag2PCC process, it still needs further studies regarding the practical usefulness of the products. Nevertheless, compared to several other CO2 emission reduction methods studied around the world, the within this thesis developed and studied processes have the advantage of existing markets for the produced materials, thus giving also a financial incentive for applying the technology in practice.

The Effect of Plant Closures on Market Value: Empirical Evidence from Pulp and Paper Industry 2004-2012

The aim of this study was to research how plant closure announcements affect the market value of the largest pulp and paper industry companies in the world. Also the effect of announcements on competitors was researched and whether the location of plants, timing, reasons for the closures, and characteristics of the closing firms and competitors have an impact on the results. The overall sample included 57 events in the years 2004-2012 and event study was used as a research method. Main theories were signaling theory and spillover effect. According to empirical results, investors consider plant closure announcements as a positive signal for market value. The spillover effect on competitors was, on average, positive and characteristics of the firms and closures had an effect on the results. Furthermore, the market generally predicted the closures and overreacted to them on the announcement day and after it. It is possible for corporate management and investors to learn from the results and use them as support for their decision making.

Chemical composition, acetylcholinesterase inhibitory and antifungal activities of Pera glabrata (Schott) Baill. (Euphorbiaceae)

Pera glabrata (Schott) Baill. was selected for this study after showing a preliminary positive result in a screening of Atlantic Forest plant species in the search for acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and antifungal compounds. The bioassays were conducted with crude ethanol extract of the leaves using direct bioautography method for acetylcholinesterase and antifungal activities. This extract was partitioned with hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate solvents. The active chloroform fraction was submitted to silica gel chromatography column affording 12 groups. Caffeine, an alkaloid, which showed detection limits of 0.1 and 1.0 µg for anticholinesterasic and antifungal activities, respectively, was isolated from group nine. After microplate analyses, only groups four, nine, 10, 11 and 12 showed acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity of 40% or higher. The group 12 was purified by preparative layer chromatography affording four sub-fractions. Two sub-fractions from this group were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-flame ionization detector. The first sub-fraction showed anticholinesterasic activity and contained two major compounds: 9-hydroxy-4-megastigmen-3-one (84%) and caffeine (6%). The second sub-fraction presented five major compounds identified as 9-hydroxy-4-megastigmen-3-one, isololiolide, (-) loliolide, palmitic acid and lupeol and did not show activity.

Plant-plant associations and population structure of four woody plant species in a patchy coastal vegetation of Southeastern Brazil

We examined plant population structure and interspecific associations for juveniles and adults of four woody species (Andira legalis (Vell.) Toledo, Clusia hilariana Schltdl., Protium icicariba (DC.) Marchand and Vernonia crotonoides Sch. Bip. ex Baker) in a patchy vegetation on a sandy coastal plain (restinga) in SE - Brazil. We found 101 vegetation patches in a 0.5 ha grid and these were divided into two distinct size classes, with large patches (> 20 m²) containing the majority of adult individuals of the species studied. The most abundant species, P. icicariba (465 individuals) and C. hilariana (312), had actively regenerating populations, whereas A. legalis (20) and V. crotonoides (338) showed evidence of intermittent regeneration. The regeneration niches of the four species differed as did their investment in vegetative reproduction: for instance, 81% of C. hilariana seedlings were found growing inside tank-bromeliads contrasting with only 3% of P. icicariba in this habitat. Additionally, 28% of regenerants of C. hilariana originated vegetatively, contrasting with only 6% for P. icicariba. All significant associations between species found in the study were positive. There was a positive association between adults of C. hilariana and P. icicariba, as well as between adults of C. hilariana and juveniles of both. This suggests that P. icicariba is successfully establishing under the canopy of C. hilariana and highlights the role of C. hilariana in generating vegetation cover that will be later dominated by other woody plant species, as an important process for maintenance of plant diversity in this restinga vegetation.

Effectiveness of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria in facilitating lead and nutrient uptake by little seed canary grass

We investigated the effectiveness of Nitroxin inoculation on lead (Pb) and nutrient uptakes by little seed canary grass. The factors tested included inoculation (or not) with Nitroxin and different soil concentrations of Pb (0, 200, 400 and 800mgPbkg-1 soil). Increasing soil concentrations of Pb decreased stem, leaf and root dry weights. Shoot phosphorus concentrations increased in parallel with increasing soil Pb concentrations. Nitroxin inoculation did not alter the phosphorus concentration of the roots. The Pb translocation factor was >1 in inoculated treatments in the Pb soil concentration range of 200 to 400mgkg-1; the translocation factor for 800mgPbkg‑1 with no inoculation of Nitroxin was, however, <1. Our results indicated that the Pb bioaccumulation factor for little seed canary grass was <1, indicating that it is a Pb excluding plant.

Callus induction and plant regeneration by Brazilian triticale and wheat genotypes

In order to determine the in vitro behavior of Brazilian triticale, 16 triticale genotypes, and three wheat genotypes used as checks, were sown in June 1994. The explants used were immature embryos. In addition to the genotype tests, two culture media for callus induction were also evaluated, i.e., MS (Murashige and Skoog, Physiol. Plant. 15: 473-497, 1962) medium containing 2.0 mg 2,4D/l, and MS medium containing 4.0 mg 2,4D/l. The plant regeneration protocol used was the one employed at the Laboratório de Cultura de Tecidos, Departamento de Plantas de Lavoura, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, for wheat. Differences in plant regeneration were observed both among triticale and wheat genotypes, with triticale usually showing better regeneration than wheat. No differences were observed between the callus induction media.

Plant height reduction in populations of triticale (X triticosecale Wittmack) by induced mutations and artificial crosses

Induced mutations by gamma radiation (0, 5, 10, 20 and 40 kR doses) and reciprocal crosses were tested as mechanisms of enhancing genetic variability for plant height in two triticale cultivars, BR4 and EMBRAPA18. The reciprocal crosses and all doses of radiation showed similar increase in genetic amplitude for this trait, being suitable for increasing variability in breeding programs. Genotypes showed different responses as the gamma ray doses were increased, expressing shorter plant height. The decision of using induced mutations or artificial crosses depends on the resources available and the selection method to be used

Calculation of breed direct and maternal genetic fractions and breed specific direct and maternal heterozygosity for crossbreeding data

Teaching, research, and herd breeding applications may require calculation of breed additive contributions for direct and maternal genetic effects and fractions of heterozygosity associated with breed specific direct and maternal heterosis effects. These coefficients can be obtained from the first NB rows of a pseudo numerator relationship matrix where the first NB rows represent fractional contributions by breed to each animal or group representing a specific breed cross. The table begins with an NB x NB identity matrix representing pure breeds. Initial animals or representative crosses must be purebreds or two-breed crosses. Parents of initial purebreds are represented by the corresponding column and initial two-breed cross progeny by the two corresponding columns of the identity matrix. After that, usual rules are used to calculate the NB column entries corresponding to breeds for each animal. The NB entries are fractions of genes expected to be contributed by each of the pure breeds and correspond to the breed additive direct fractions. Entries in the column corresponding to the dam represent breed additive maternal fractions. Breed specific direct heterozygosity coefficients are entries of an NB x NB matrix formed by the outer product of the two NB by 1 columns associated with sire and dam of the animal. One minus sum of the diagonals represents total direct heterozygosity. Similarly, the NB x NB matrix formed by the outer product of columns associated with sire of dam and dam of dam contains breed specific maternal heterozygosity coefficients. These steps can be programmed to create covariates to merge with data. If X represents these coefficients for all unique breed crosses, then the reduced row echelon form function of MATLAB or SAS can be used on X to determine estimable functions of additive breed direct and maternal effects and breed specific direct and maternal heterosis effects

Toimintamalli kuormantarkastukseen ja kaatopaikkakelpoisuuden arviointiin

Vuoden 2016 alusta alkaen astuu Suomessa voimaan orgaanisen jätteen kaatopaikkakielto, joka rajoittaa voimakkaasti biohajoavan tai muun orgaanisen aineksen sijoittamista kaatopaikalle. Kiellon tavoite on ohjata orgaaniset jätevirrat hyödyntämiskäsittelyyn ja vähentää kaatopaikkasijoituksen ympäristövaikutuksia. Tämän diplomityön tavoitteena oli orgaanisen jätteen kaatopaikkakieltoon varautumiseksi luoda toimintamalli jätekuormien vastaanottoon, tarkastukseen ja käsittelyyn Keltakankaan jätekeskuksessa. Vuonna 2016 käyttöön otettavassa toimintamallissa kaatopaikalle sijoitetaan vain kaatopaikkakelpoiseksi todistettuja teollisuuden jätteitä ja asbestijätettä, epäorgaanisia jakeita sekä sekalaisen jätteen lajittelussa tai mekaanisessa käsittelyssä syntyviä hyödyntämiskelvottomia rejektejä. Usea tällä hetkellä kaatopaikalle sijoitettava jätelaji ohjautuu vaihtoehtoiseen käsittelyyn. Toimintamallin mukaan kaikki jätekeskukseen vastaanotettavat sekalaiset jätekuormat ohjataan tarkastettavaksi, esikäsiteltäväksi ja tarvittaessa mekaaniseen lajittelulinjastoon kaatopaikkasijoittamisen sijaan. Ongelmallinen jae on hyödyntämiskelvoton PVC-muovi, joka nostaa rejektien orgaanisen aineksen pitoisuutta. Niin kauan kuin PVC:lle ei ole olemassa hyötykäyttökohdetta, se ohjautunee poikkeusluvalla jätteenkäsittelyn rejektien mukana kaatopaikalle. Aiemmin sekalaisesta jätteestä 70–80 % on sijoitettu kaatopaikalle, mutta uusi lajittelulinjasto mahdollistaa käsiteltävän jätemäärä voimakkaan kasvattamisen. Toimintamallin testausvaiheessa vastaanotetuista sekalaisista kuormista luokiteltiin 11 % energiahyödynnettäviksi kotitalousjätteen kaltaisiksi, 69 % lajittelulinjastossa käsiteltäviksi ja 20 % hyödyntämiskelvottomaksi kaatopaikkajätteeksi. Kaatopaikalle sijoitettava kokonaisjätemäärä on uuden toimintamallin myötä mahdollista puolittaa, kun sekalaisen jätteen käsittelyä lisätään ja useat muut jätelajit ohjautuvat vaihtoehtoiseen käsittelyyn.

Fibrinolytic action on fresh human clots of whole body extracts and two semipurified fractions from Lonomia achelous caterpillar

The severe bleeding diathesis produced by intoxication with the venom of Lonomia achelous caterpillars is characterized by prolonged bleeding from superficial skin wounds as well as massive hemorrhage into body cavities. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the crude venom and its fibrinolytic fractions on in vitro lysis of whole blood clots. Venom fractions with fibrinolytic activity were obtained by gel filtration chromatography on Sephadex G75 using imidazole buffer, pH 7.4, at a flow rate of 24 ml/h. Four peaks with fibrinolytic activity were obtained by this method. The highest activity was found in the first two peaks (both peaks were used for the experiments). The results show that the caterpillar venom degraded the preformed clots at a slower rate than plasmin. In addition, plasma protease inhibitors of the fibrinolytic system (a2-antiplasmin, a2-macroglobulin, PAI, etc.) only weakly inhibited the lytic effect of the caterpillar venom. These characteristics, as well as the pattern of fibrinogen degradation products, the delay period on fibrin plate lysis and amidolytic activity on chromogenic substrate, reported previously, indicate that the caterpillar enzymes are different from plasmin and trypsin.

High quality human immunoglobulin G purified from Cohn fractions by liquid chromatography

In order to obtain intravenous immunoglobulin G (iv IgG) of high quality from F-I+II+III or F-II+III pastes prepared by the Cohn method, we developed a chromatography process using ion exchange gels, Q-Sepharose FF and CM-Sepharose FF, and Sephacryl S-300 gel filtration. Viral inactivation was performed by incubating the preparation with pepsin at pH 4.0 at 35oC for 18 h. The characteristics of 28 batches produced by us were: yield 4.3 ± 0.2 g/l plasma, i.e., a recovery of 39.1 ± 1.8%; IgG subclasses distribution: IgG1 = 58.4%, IgG2 = 34.8%, IgG3 = 4.5% and IgG4 = 2.3%; IgG size distribution was 98.4% monomers, 1.2% dimers and 0.4% polymers and protein aggregates; anticomplement activity was less than 0.5 CH50/mg IgG, and prekallikrein activator activity (PKA) was less than 5 IU/ml. These characteristics satisfied the requirements of the European Pharmacopoea edition, and the regulations of the Brazilian Health Ministry (M.S. Portaria No. 2, 30/10/1998).

Stability of Natural Colorants of Plant Origin

In recent years, there have been studies that show a correlation between the hyperactivity of children and use of artificial food additives, including colorants. This has, in part, led to preference of natural products over products with artificial additives. Consumers have also become more aware of health issues. Natural food colorants have many bioactive functions, mainly vitamin A activity of carotenoids and antioxidativity, and therefore they could be more easily accepted by the consumers. However, natural colorant compounds are usually unstable, which restricts their usage. Microencapsulation could be one way to enhance the stability of natural colorant compounds and thus enable better usage for them as food colorants. Microencapsulation is a term used for processes in which the active material is totally enveloped in a coating or capsule, and thus it is separated and protected from the surrounding environment. In addition to protection by the capsule, microencapsulation can also be used to modify solubility and other properties of the encapsulated material, for example, to incorporate fat-soluble compounds into aqueous matrices. The aim of this thesis work was to study the stability of two natural pigments, lutein (carotenoid) and betanin (betalain), and to determine possible ways to enhance their stability with different microencapsulation techniques. Another aim was the extraction of pigments without the use of organic solvents and the development of previously used extraction methods. Stability of pigments in microencapsulated pigment preparations and model foods containing these were studied by measuring the pigment content after storage in different conditions. Preliminary studies on the bioavailability of microencapsulated pigments and sensory evaluation for consumer acceptance of model foods containing microencapsulated pigments were also carried out. Enzyme-assisted oil extraction was used to extract lutein from marigold (Tagetes erecta) flower without organic solvents, and the yield was comparable to solvent extraction of lutein from the same flowers. The effects of temperature, extraction time, and beet:water ratio on extraction efficiency of betanin from red beet (Beta vulgaris) were studied and the optimal conditions for maximum yield and maximum betanin concentration were determined. In both cases, extraction at 40 °C was better than extraction at 80 °C and the extraction for five minutes was as efficient as 15 or 30 minutes. For maximum betanin yield, the beet:water ratio of 1:2 was better, with possibly repeated extraction, but for maximum betanin concentration, a ratio of 1:1 was better. Lutein was incorporated into oil-in-water (o/w) emulsions with a polar oil fraction from oat (Avena sativa) as an emulsifier and mixtures of guar gum and xanthan gum or locust bean gum and xanthan gum as stabilizers to retard creaming. The stability of lutein in these emulsions was quite good, with 77 to 91 percent of lutein being left after storage in the dark at 20 to 22°C for 10 weeks whereas in spray dried emulsions the retention of lutein was 67 to 75 percent. The retention of lutein in oil was also good at 85 percent. Betanin was incorporated into the inner w1 water phase of a water1-in-oil-inwater2 (w1/o/w2) double emulsion with primary w1/o emulsion droplet size of 0.34 μm and secondary w1/o/w2 emulsion droplet size of 5.5 μm and encapsulation efficiency of betanin of 89 percent. In vitro intestinal lipid digestion was performed on the double emulsion, and during the first two hours, coalescence of the inner water phase droplets was observed, and the sizes of the double emulsion droplets increased quickly because of aggregation. This period also corresponded to gradual release of betanin, with a final release of 35 percent. The double emulsion structure was retained throughout the three-hour experiment. Betanin was also spray dried and incorporated into model juices with different pH and dry matter content. Model juices were stored in the dark at -20, 4, 20–24 or 60 °C (accelerated test) for several months. Betanin degraded quite rapidly in all of the samples and higher temperature and a lower pH accelerated degradation. Stability of betanin was much better in the spray dried powder, with practically no degradation during six months of storage in the dark at 20 to 24 °C and good stability also for six months in the dark at 60 °C with 60 percent retention. Consumer acceptance of model juices colored with spray dried betanin was compared with similar model juices colored with anthocyanins or beet extract. Consumers preferred beet extract and anthocyanin colored model juices over juices colored with spray dried betanin. However, spray dried betanin did not impart any off-odors or off-flavors into the model juices contrary to the beet extract. In conclusion, this thesis describes novel solvent-free extraction and encapsulation processes for lutein and betanin from plant sources. Lutein showed good stability in oil and in o/w emulsions, but slightly inferior in spray dried emulsions. In vitro intestinal lipid digestion showed a good stability of w1/o/w2 double emulsion and quite high retention of betanin during digestion. Consumer acceptance of model juices colored with spray dried betanin was not as good as model juices colored with anthocyanins, but addition of betanin to real berry juice could produce better results with mixture of added betanin and natural berry anthocyanins could produce a more acceptable color. Overall, further studies are needed to obtain natural colorants with good stability for the use in food products.