Economic simulation modeling of reprocessing alternatives for corn masa byproducts

Increasing production of corn masa for tortillas, chips, and related snack foods is resulting in large quantities of organic residuals requiring environmentally sound management. These byproduct streams appear suitable for use as livestock feed material, thus eliminating landfilling costs. Possibilities for developing livestock feed include direct shipping to livestock feeding facilities, blending prior to shipping, extrusion processing, pellet mill processing, and dehydration. To assess the viability of these options for reprocessing masa byproducts as livestock feed materials, an economic model was developed and applied to each of these alternatives. Through a series of simulation runs with this model, it was determined that direct shipping was by far the most inexpensive means of recycling masa processing residuals (10–57 $/Mg). Other alternatives examined in increasing order of costs included blending prior to shipping, extrusion, pellet mill processing (3–15, 5–18, and 4–18 times greater than direct shipping, respectively), while dehydration was clearly cost-prohibitive (33–81 times greater). Bagged feed was slightly more expensive to produce than bulk feed (1.1 times greater), and reprocessing costs increased as delivery distance increased, due to increased labor, equipment, and fuel costs, but decreased as byproduct generation rate increased, due to the development of the economies of scale. Alternately, based on a tipping fee of 50 $/Mg, the total estimated cost to landfill ranged from 65 to 112 $/Mg. Based on this cost analysis, direct shipping and feeding to livestock is the recycling option of choice for masa processing byproducts. Although specific details of process configurations and associated costs will vary, similar results are likely for other high moisture food processing residuals destined for utilization as livestock feed or components thereof.     

COALBED METHANE PRODUCT WATER CHEMISTRY IN THREE WYOMING WATERSHEDS1

ABSTRACT: The Powder River Basin in Wyoming has become one of the most active areas of coalbed methane (CBM) development in the western United States. Extraction of methane from coalbeds requires pumping of aquifer water, which is called product water. Two to ten extraction wells are manifolded into one discharge point and product water is released into nearby unlined holding ponds. The objective of this study was to evaluate the chemistry, salinity, and sodicity of CBM product water at discharge points and associated holding ponds as a function of watershed. The product water samples from the discharge points and associated holding ponds were collected from the Cheyenne River (CHR), Belle Fourche River (BFR), and Little Powder River (LPR) watersheds during the summers of 1999 and 2000. These samples were analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), alkalinity, sodium (Na), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), sulfate (SO₄^2‐), and chloride (C^1‐). From the chemical data, practical sodium adsorption ratio (SARp) and true sodium adsorption ratio (SARt) were calculated for the CBM discharge water and pond water. The pH, EC, TDS, alkalinity, Na, Ca, Mg, K, SARp, and SARt of CBM discharge water increased significantly moving north from the CHR watershed to the LPR watershed. CBM discharge water in associated holding ponds showed significant increases in EC, TDS, alkalinity, Na, K, SARp, and SARt moving north from the CHR to the LPR watershed. Within watersheds, the only significant change was an increase in pH from 7.21 to 8.26 between discharge points and holding ponds in the LPR watershed. However, the LPR and BFR exhibited larger changes in mean chemistry values in pH, salinity (EC, TDS), and sodicity (SAR) between CBM product water discharges and associated holding ponds than the CHR watershed. For instance, the mean EC and TDS of CBM product water in LPR increased from 1.93 to 2.09 dS/m, and froml,232 to 1,336 mg/L, respectively, between discharge and pond waters. The CHR exhibited no change in EC, TDS, Na, or SAR between discharge water and pond water. Also, while not statistically significant, mean alkalinity of CBM product water in BFR and LPR watersheds decreased from 9.81 to 8.01 meq/L and from 19.87 to 18.14 meq/L, respectively, between discharge and pond waters. The results of this study suggest that release of CBM product water onto the rangelands of BFR and LPR watersheds may precipitate calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) in soils, which in turn may decrease infiltration and increase runoff and erosion. Thus, use of CBM product water for irrigation in LPR and BFR watersheds may require careful planning based on water pH, EC, alkalinity, Na, and SAR, as well as local soil physical and chemical properties.     

GROUND WATER NITRATE REDUCTION IN GIANT CANE AND FOREST RIPARIAN BUFFER ZONES1

ABSTRACT: Ground water contamination by excess nitrate leaching in row‐crop fields is an important issue in intensive agricultural areas of the United States and abroad. Giant cane and forest riparian buffer zones were monitored to determine each cover type's ability to reduce ground water nitrate concentrations. Ground water was sampled at varying distances from the field edge to determine an effective width for maximum nitrate attenuation. Ground water samples were analyzed for nitrate concentrations as well as chloride concentrations, which were used as a conservative ion to assess dilution or concentration effects within the riparian zone. Significant nitrate reductions occurred in both the cane and the forest riparian buffer zones within the first 3.3 m, a relatively narrow width. In this first 3.3 m, the cane and forest buffer reduced ground water nitrate levels by 90 percent and 61 percent, respectively. Approximately 40 percent of the observed 99 percent nitrate reduction over the 10 m cane buffer could be attributed to dilution by upwelling ground water. Neither ground water dilution nor concentration was observed in the forest buffer. The ground water nitrate attenuation capabilities of the cane and forest riparian zones were not statistically different. During the spring, both plant assimilation and denitrification were probably important nitrate loss mechanisms, while in the summer nitrate was more likely lost via denitrification since the water table dropped below the rooting zone.     

Assessing Anchor Damage on Coral Reefs: A Case Study in Selection of Environmental Indicators

Because environmental conservation can remove scarce natural resources from competing uses, it is important to gain support for conservation programs by demonstrating that management actions have been effective in achieving their goals. One way to do this is to show that selected significant environmental variables (indicators) vary between managed and unmanaged areas or change over time following implementation of a management regime. However, identifying indicators that reflect environmental conditions relevant to management practices has proven difficult. This paper focuses on developing a framework for choosing indicators in a coral reef habitat. The framework consisted of three phases: (1) information gathering to identify candidate variables; (2) field-testing candidate variables at sites that differ in intensity of human activity, thus identifying potential indicators; and (3) evaluating potential indicators against a set of feasibility criteria to identify the most useful indicators. To identify indicators suitable to measure the success of a management strategy to reduce anchor damage to a coral reef, 24 candidate variables were identified and evaluated at sites with different intensities of anchoring. In this study, measures that reflected injuries to coral colonies were generally more efficient than traditional measures of coral cover in describing the effects of anchoring. The number of overturned colonies was identified as the single most useful indicator of coral reef condition associated with anchoring intensities. The indicator selection framework developed here has the advantages of being transparent, cost efficient, and readily transferable to other types of human activities and management strategies.     

IMPLICATIONS OF ON‐GROUND NITROGEN LOADING AND SOIL TRANSFORMATIONS ON GROUND WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT1

ABSTRACT: This paper presents a modeling approach based on a geographic information system (GIS) to estimate the variability of on‐ground nitrogen loading and the corresponding nitrate leaching to ground water. The methodology integrates all point and nonpoint sources of nitrogen, the national land cover database, soil nitrogen transformations, and the uncertainty of key soil and land use‐related parameters to predict the nitrate mass leaching to ground water. The analysis considered 21 different land use classes with information derived from nitrogen sources such as fertilizer and dairy manure applications, dairy lagoons, septic systems, and dry and wet depositions. Simulations were performed at a temporal resolution of one month to capture seasonal trends. The model was applied to a large aquifer of 376 square miles in Washington State that serves more than 100,000 residents with drinking water. The results showed that dairy manure is the main source of nitrogen in the area followed by fertilizers. It was also seen that nitrate leaching is controlled by the recharge rate, and there can be a substantial buildup of soil nitrogen over long periods of time. Uncertainty analysis showed that denitrification rate is the most influential parameter on nitrate leaching. The results showed that combining management alternatives is a successful strategy, especially with the use of nitrification inhibitors. Also, change in the land use pattern has a noticeable impact on nitrate leaching.     

SIMULATING THE IMPACT OF DRAINAGE DESIGN IN A COLD CLIMATE WITH ADAPT1

ABSTRACT: Surface and subsurface drainage make crop production economically viable in much of southern Minnesota because drainage allows timely field operations and protects field crops from extended periods of flooded soil conditions. However, subsurface drainage has been shown to increase nitrate/nitrogen losses to receiving waters. When engaging in drainage activities, farmers are increasingly being asked to consider, apart from the economic profit, the environmental impact of drainage. The Agricultural Drainage and Pesticide Transport model (ADAPT) was used in this study to evaluate the impact of subsurface drainage design on the soil water balance over a two‐year period during which observed drainage discharge data were available. Twelve modeling scenarios incorporated four drainage coefficients (DC), 0.64 cm/d, 0.95 cm/d, 1.27 cm/d, and 1.91 cm/d, and three drain depths, 0.84 m, 1.15 m, and 1.45 m. The baseline condition corresponded to the drainage system specifications at the field site: a drain depth and spacing of 1.45 m and 28 m, respectively (DC of 0.64 cm/d). The results of the two‐year simulation suggested that for a given drainage coefficient, soils with the shallower drains (but equal DC) generally have less subsurface drainage and can produce more runoff (but reduced total discharge) and evapotranspiration. The results also suggested that it may be possible to design for both water/nitrate/nitrogen reduction and crop water needs.     

MODELING THE IMPACTS OF WATER LEVEL CHANGES ON A GREAT LAKES COMMUNITY1

ABSTRACT: Recent research that couples climate change scenarios based on general circulation models (GCM) with Great Lakes hydrologic models has indicated that average water levels are projected to decline in the future. This paper outlines a methodology to assess the potential impact of declining water levels on Great Lakes waterfront communities, using the Lake Huron shoreline at Goderich, Ontario, as an example. The methodology utilizes a geographic information system (GIS) to combine topographic and bathymetric datasets. A digital elevation surface is used to model projected shoreline change for 2050 using water level scenarios. An arbitrary scenario, based on a 1 m decline from February 2001 lake levels, is also modeled. By creating a series of shoreline scenarios, a range of impact and cost scenarios are generated for the Goderich Harbor and adjacent marinas. Additional harbor and marina dredging could cost as much as CDN $7.6 million. Lake freighters may experience a 30 percent loss in vessel capacity. The methodology is used to provide initial estimates of the potential impacts of climate change that can be readily updated as more robust climate change scenarios become available and is adaptable for use in other Great Lakes coastal communities.