Effects of tillage systems on compaction and crop yield of Albic Luvisol in Croatia

This four-year experiment was conducted in north-west Slavonia (agricultural area of Croatia) to evaluate the effects of different tillage systems on compaction of silty loam soil (Albic Luvisol). The compared tillage systems were: (1) conventional tillage (CT), (2) conservation tillage (CM), (3) no-tillage system (NT), and the crop rotation was corn (Zea mays L.) – winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) – corn – winter wheat. For detecting the soil compaction, bulk density and penetration resistance were measured during the growing seasons. In all seasons and tillage systems, the bulk density and penetration resistance increased with depth and the greatest increase from surface to the deepest layer in average was observed at CT system. The bulk density and penetration resistance increased at all tillage systems during the experiment, but the greatest increase was also observed at CT system. The greatest bulk density (1.66 Mg m⁻³) and the greatest increase of 6.4% were observed at CT system in the layer 30–35 cm. In the first season, the bulk density was the greatest at NT system, but during the experiment the lowest average increase of 1.9% was observed at this system. The greatest penetration resistance of all measurements (5.9 MPa) was observed in the last season at CT system in depth of 40 cm. The lowest average increase of penetration resistance 11.4% was also observed at NT system. The highest yield of corn in the first season was achieved with CT system while in other seasons the highest yield of winter wheat and corn was achieved with CM system.     

Optimization of Oxygen Parameters for Determination of Carbon and Nitrogen in Biochar Materials

Recently, there has been increased focus on biochar materials due to their ability to sequester carbon for long-term in soil. In the production of biochar or charcoal, plant biomass is heated in a low or no oxygen environment. This process results in a product with unique characteristics. But there is limited research on the standardization of methods for determining total carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in the biochar materials whose properties vary by feedstock type and pyrolytic conditions. The objective of this study was to determine the oxygen dosing time (OT) and dose (OD) for total organic carbon (TC) and nitrogen (TN) analysis in biochar materials by dry combustion method (using Vario Max CNS analyzer). Central composite rotatable design was used to determine the effect of five levels of oxygen dosing time (OT) and dosing level (OD) on measurement of total carbon and total nitrogen in four types of plant originated biochars. OT and OD level interaction had significant impact on the measurement of TC and TN in all types of biochar materials. Optimum levels of OT and OD were determined as 103 to 110 sec and 180 to 232 ml/min, respectively.     

Microwave-assisted pyrolysis of biomass: Catalysts to improve product selectivity

This study was intended to evaluate the effects of catalysts on product selectivity of microwave-assisted pyrolysis of corn stover and aspen wood. Metal oxides, salts, and acids including K₂Cr₂O₇, Al₂O₃, KAc, H₃BO₃, Na₂HPO₄, MgCl₂, AlCl₃, CoCl₂, and ZnCl₂ were pre-mixed with corn stover or aspen wood pellets prior to pyrolysis using microwave heating. The thermal process produced three product fractions, namely bio-oil, gas, and charcoal. The effects of the catalysts on the fractional yields were studied. KAc, Al₂O₃, MgCl₂, H₃BO₃, and Na₂HPO₄ were found to increase the bio-oil yield by either suppressing charcoal yield or gas yield or both. These catalysts may function as a microwave absorbent to speed up heating or participate in so-called “in situ upgrading” of pyrolytic vapors during the microwave-assisted pyrolysis of biomass. GC–MS analysis of the bio-oils found that chloride salts promoted a few reactions while suppressing most of the other reactions observed for the control samples. At 8 g MgCl₂/100 biomass level, the GC–MS total ion chromatograms of the bio-oils from the treated corn stover or aspen show only one major furfural peak accounting for about 80% of the area under the spectrum. We conclude that some catalysts improve bio-oil yields, and chloride salts in particular simplify the chemical compositions of the resultant bio-oils and therefore improve the product selectivity of the pyrolysis process.     

Can delignification decrease cellulose digestibility in acid pretreated corn stover?

It has previously been shown that the improved digestibility of dilute acid pretreated corn stover is at least partially due to the removal of xylan and the consequent increase in accessibility of the cellulose to cellobiohydrolase enzymes. We now report on the impact that lignin removal has on the accessibility and digestibility of dilute acid pretreated corn stover. Samples of corn stover were subjected to dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment with and without simultaneous (partial) lignin removal. In addition, some samples were completely delignified after the pretreatment step using acidified sodium chlorite. The accessibility and digestibility of the samples were tested using a fluorescence-labeled cellobiohydrolase (Trichoderma reesei Cel7A) purified from a commercial cellulase preparation. Partial delignification of corn stover during dilute acid pretreatment was shown to improve cellulose digestibility by T. reesei Cel7A; however, decreasing the lignin content below 5% (g g⁻¹) by treatment with acidified sodium chlorite resulted in a dramatic reduction in cellulose digestibility. Importantly, this effect was found to be enhanced in samples with lower xylan contents suggesting that the near complete removal of xylan and lignin may cause aggregation of the cellulose microfibrils resulting in decreased cellulase accessibility.     

Extraction and characterization of native heteroxylans from delignified corn stover and aspen

Dimethylsulfoxide-solubilized polysaccharides from delignified corn stover and aspen were characterized. The biomass was delignified by two different techniques; a standard acid chlorite and a pulp and paper QPD technique comprising chelation (Q), peroxide (P), and acid-chlorite (D). Major polysaccharides in all fractions were diversely substituted xylan. Xylan acetylation was intact after chlorite delignification and, as expected, xylan from QPD-delignified fraction was de-acetylated by the alkaline peroxide step. The study of DMSO-extractable xylans from chlorite-delignified biomass revealed major differences in native acetylation patterns between corn stover and aspen xylan. Xylan from cell walls of corn stover contains 2-O- and 3-O-mono-acetylated xylan and [MeGlcA-α-(1 → 2)][3-OAc]-xylp units. In addition, aspen xylan also contains 2,3-di-O-acetylated xylose. 1,4-β-d-xylp residues substituted with MeGlcA at O-2 position are absent in chlorite-delignified aspen xylan. Sugar composition in accord with NMR-spectroscopic data indicated that corn stover xylan is arabinosylated while aspen xylan is not. We have shown that corn stover xylan has similar structure with xylans from other plants of Poales order. No evidence was found to indicate the presence of 1,4-β-d-[MeGlcA-α-(1 → 2)][Ara-α-(1 → 3)]-xylp in corn stover xylan fractions.     

Technoeconomic analysis of the dilute sulfuric acid and enzymatic hydrolysis process for the conversion of corn stover to ethanol

Technoeconomic analysis has been used to guide the research and development of lignocellulosic biofuels production processes for over two decades. Such analysis has served to identify the key technical barriers for these conversion processes so that research can be targeted most effectively on the pertinent challenges. The tools and methodology used to develop conceptual conversion processes and analyze their economics are presented here. In addition, the current process design and economic results are described for dilute acid pretreatment followed by enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation. Modeled ethanol costs of $1.33/gallon (in consistent year 2007 dollars) are being targeted for this commercial scale corn stover conversion process in 2012. State of technology models, which take actual research results and project them to commercial scale, estimate an ethanol cost of $2.43/gallon at present. In order to further reduce costs, process improvements must be made in several areas, including pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, and fermentation. As the biomass industry develops, new fuels and new feedstocks are being researched. Technoeconomic analysis will play a key role in process development and targeting of technical and economic barriers for these new fuels and feedstocks.

Correlating detergent fiber analysis and dietary fiber analysis data for corn stover collected by NIRS

There exist large amounts of detergent fiber analysis data [neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL)] for many different potential cellulosic ethanol feedstocks, since these techniques are widely used for the analysis of forages. Researchers working in the area of cellulosic ethanol are interested in the structural carbohydrates in a feedstock (principally glucan and xylan), which are typically determined by acid hydrolysis of the structural fraction after multiple extractions of the biomass. These so-called dietary fiber analysis methods are significantly more involved than detergent fiber analysis methods. The purpose of this study was to determine whether it is feasible to correlate detergent fiber analysis values to glucan and xylan content determined by dietary fiber analysis methods for corn stover. In the detergent fiber analysis literature cellulose is often estimated as the difference between ADF and ADL, while hemicellulose is often estimated as the difference between NDF and ADF. Examination of a corn stover dataset containing both detergent fiber analysis data and dietary fiber analysis data predicted using near infrared spectroscopy shows that correlations between structural glucan measured using dietary fiber techniques and cellulose estimated using detergent techniques, and between structural xylan measured using dietary fiber techniques and hemicellulose estimated using detergent techniques are high, but are driven largely by the underlying correlation between total extractives measured by fiber analysis and NDF/ADF. That is, detergent analysis data is correlated to dietary fiber analysis data for structural carbohydrates, but only indirectly; the main correlation is between detergent analysis data and solvent extraction data produced during the dietary fiber analysis procedure.     

估测作物冠层生物量的新植被指数的研究

冠层鲜生物量是指示作物长势状况的重要指标,可用于诊断作物氮素营养状况。但常规测定生物量的方法需要破坏性取样,不利于帮助精准施肥管理决策。遥感技术作为快速分析手段可用于估测作物多种生理、生化参数,特别是借助植被指数。研究表明归一化差值植被指数(normalized difference vegetationindex,NDVI)、最优土壤调节指数(optimization of soil-adjusted vegetation index,OSAVI)等现已构建植被指数可用于准确估测中低生物量信息,但在较高冠层生物量条件下,它们的估测能力显著下降。文章旨在提出更通用的新植被指数用于估测冠层生物量,以提高遥感技术在较高生物量条件下的预测准确度。试验在加拿大魁北克省的St-Jean-sur-Richelieu地区进行,5年(2004~2008)试验中采集了玉米及小麦不同生育期的地面高光谱数据及对应生物量信息,并在2005年获取航空机载高光谱影像一景(compact airborne spectro-graphic imager,CASI)。研究提出了红边三角植被指数(red-edge triangular vegetation index,RTVI),并将其与一些常见植被指数进行比较分析。结果表明RTVI是最好的估测冠层生物量的指数,在较高生物量条件下仍保持其对生物量变化的高敏感性,其与生物量间的决定系数为0.96。基于CASI影像,RTVI预测生物量值与实际测定值间的决定系数(R2)为0.58,预测标准误差为0.44 kg.m-2,取得了较好的结果。     

重金属铜胁迫下玉米的光谱特征及监测研究

农作物重金属污染监测是当今高光谱遥感研究的重要内容之一,旨在设计一种新的窄带植被指数,以实现不同培育期的两种玉米品种的重金属铜胁迫监测。研究设计了不同浓度的铜污染实验,采用SVCHR-1024I型高性能地物光谱仪测量不同浓度铜离子（Cu2+）胁迫下玉米叶片的光谱反射率,并同步获取了玉米叶片中Cu2+含量数据。首先,对玉米叶片原始光谱数据进行一阶差分处理,并计算一阶差分反射率与叶片中Cu2+含量的相关系数（r）,筛选对铜胁迫敏感的波段。计算结果显示,489~497,632和677 nm波长附近的一阶差分反射率与叶片中Cu2+含量显著相关,可将其视为敏感波段。其次,根据以上3个敏感波段,建立基于一阶差分反射率的铜胁迫植被指数（dVI）。对所有可能的dVIs和Cu2+含量进行一元回归分析,并采用决定系数（R2）和均方根误差（RMSE）对回归结果进行评估,以筛选最佳指数。最后,采用不同生长年份的玉米实验数据对敏感波段的稳定性及dVI的适用性进行了验证评估;同时,通过与归一化植被指数（NDVI）、红边叶绿素指数（CI_red-edge）、红边位置（REP）、光化学反射指数(PRI)等常规重金属胁迫植被指数进行应用比较,证明dVI更具有优越性。结果表明：一阶差分处理后,在450~500,630~680和677 nm波长处的叶片反射率与Cu2+含量的相关系数明显增大。基于一阶差分反射率的特征波段具有稳定性,对于不同生长年份的玉米叶片数据,特征波段的波长位置不变。一元回归分析结果表明,结合497,632和677 nm波长的一阶差分反射率的指数与Cu2+含量具有显著的相关性,对于不同生长年份的2种玉米品种数据集,R2都高达0.75以上。另外,与常规植被指数比较结果表明,该研究所提出的dVI具有更好的鲁棒性及有效性,可为冠层尺度的重金属胁迫监测提供理论基础。     

反相高效液相色谱法测定玉米中玉米赤霉烯酮

建立了反相高效液相色谱法检测玉米中玉米赤霉烯酮的分析方法.该方法的标准曲线回归方程为y=2.97×103 5.23×104ρ(r=0.9998);玉米样品3个水平的加标回收率分别为84.8%,86.7%和89.2%;相对标准偏差分别为4.0%,5.2%和4.4%;加标浓度为50 ng/g的玉米样品日内相对标准偏差为0.69%;玉米样品日间相对标准偏差为2.6%;方法检出限为3.0 ng/g.