Experimental Evaluation of the Sustainability of Dwarf Bamboo (Pseudosasa usawai) Sprout-Harvesting Practices in Yangminshan National Park,Taiwan

Sustainable harvest of natural products that meets the needs of local people has been viewed by many as an important means for sustaining conservation projects. Although plants often respond to tissue damage through compensatory growth, it may not secure long-term sustainability of the populations because many plants enhance individual well-being at the expense of propagation. Sustainability may further be threatened by infrequent, large-scale events, especially ill-documented ones. We studied the impacts of sprout harvesting on sprout growth in a dwarf bamboo (Pseudosasa usawai) population that has seemingly recovered from an infrequent, large-scale masting event. Experimental results suggest that although a single sprout harvest did not significantly alter the subsequent abundance and structure of sprouts, culm damage that accompanied sprout harvesting resulted in shorter, thinner, and fewer sprouts. Weaker recovery was found in windward, continually harvested, and more severely damaged sites. These findings suggest that sprout growth of damaged dwarf bamboos is likely non-compensatory, but is instead supported through physiological integration whose strength is determined by the well-being of the supplying ramets. Healthy culms closer to the damage also provided more resources than those farther away. Sustainable harvesting of sprouts could benefit from organized community efforts to limit the magnitude of culm damage, provide adequate spacing between harvested sites, and ensure sufficient time interval between harvests. Vegetation boundaries relatively resilient to infrequent, large-scale events are likely maintained by climatic factors and may be sensitive to climate change. Continual monitoring is, therefore, integral to the sustainability of harvesting projects.     

The effects of preozonation on the biodegradability of mixed phenolic solution using a new gas-inducing reactor

In this study, the effects of preozonation on the biodegradability of mixed 2-chlorophenol/4-cresol solution were investigated using a new gas-inducing reactor, which can provide high ozone utilization efficiency. The decomposition rate of phenolic mixture, COD removal and TOC removal increases with increasing pH. A half-order overall kinetic model can correctly describe the decomposition of phenolic mixture. The BOD(5)/COD ratio of the preozonized solutions increases with increasing preozonation time, indicating that preozonation can enhance the biodegradability. Based on high ozone utilization rate, it is concluded that the best characteristic time can be chosen at the rapid increase of ozone gas outlet concentration. Since the ozone gas outlet concentration can be easily monitored, it is a useful real-time control parameter in preozonation.     

Co-surfactant of ethoxylated sorbitan ester and sorbitan monooleate for enhanced flushing of tetrachloroethylene

This work evaluated the flushing efficiency of tetrachloroethylene (PCE) using the co-surfactant of non-ionic ethoxylated sorbitan ester (Tween) and oilphilic sorbitan monooleate (Span 80), which formed more hydrophobic micelles than Tween alone. The flushing efficiency was evaluated with laboratory columns filled with silica and aquifer sand. Results from column flushing were also compared to those of batch solubility experiments to study the removal mechanism by the co-surfactant solution. Compared to Tween 80 alone, the molar solubilization ratio and the affinity between the micelles and PCE increased 84% and 90%, respectively, by the co-surfactant solution of Tween 80 and Span 80 mixed at a 4:1 ratio. Flushing with 1% Tween 80 solution yielded a steady PCE recovery of 7% for both silica and aquifer sand in each pore volume (PV). Flushing with co-surfactant of 1% Tween 80 + Span 80 (4:1) further increased PCE recovery to 10% for silica sand and 13% for aquifer sand per PV. A comparison of results from column flushing and batch solubility tests indicated that the primary flushing mechanism of PCE using the co-surfactant solution of Tween 80 + Span 80 (4:1) was micellar solubilization.     

The application and evaluation research of coffee residue ash into mortar

Coffee residue is usually regarded as a kind of agriculture waste; as its quantity increases the treatment of coffee residue will become an environmental problem. This research is innovative in that it derives the possibility of recycle application using coffee residue ash for cement replacement. In this research, coffee residue is burned in an electronic oven to three kinds of coffee residue ash at 500, 600 and 700 °C, and then appropriate apparatus is used to check the chemical and physical properties of these three types of coffee residue ash. After a general comparison, this study selected 500 and 600 °C coffee residue ashes with 2, 3, 5, 10 and 15 % cement replacements to make 5 cm³ cube mortar specimen to test different curing ages’ compressive strength. Through measurement and experiment, this research found that the compressive strength decreased by adding 500 or 600 °C coffee residue ash into the mortar. By considering waste reduction and practice application, this research derives that using the 600 °C coffee residue ash with 10 % replacement is better than others application, such using result also can get valuable efficiencies of financial and CO₂ reduction.     

Effects of sedimentation on the gorgonian <Emphasis Type="Italic">Subergorgia suberosa</Emphasis> (Pallas, 1766)

Effects of oceanic and terrestrial sediment suspensions on the behavioral traits activity, colony expansion, and mucus formation of the gorgonian octocoral Subergorgia suberosa (Pallas, 1766) were studied in the laboratory. Increased sediment concentration significantly changed the logits of activity indices (as colony expansion) and was correlated with decreased activity. For both sources of sediments, the activity index decreased as the concentration of sediment increased. The level of decrease was more significance for terrestrial sediments. The activity index showed no clear time pattern for the control group, but a decrease over time occurred in both sediment treatment groups. Activity change was linearly correlated with exposure time and concentration of terrestrial and ocean sediments. The activity indices of polyps were negatively correlated with the formation of mucus sheets (correlation = −0.536, p = 0.048). For both sources of sediments, the frequency of mucus sheet formation (MSF) increased with sediment concentration. Increases in terrestrial sediment loads resulted in more striking effects. The probability for MSF under different sediment groups at different concentrations over time was modeled by regressions. Frequency of polyp activity is suggested as a suitable biomarker to monitor the effects of sedimentation stress.     

Effect of composting on characterization and leaching of copper, manganese, and zinc from swine manure.

This research was conducted to study the influence of composting on the concentrations, water solubility, and phase association of Cu, Mn, and Zn from swine (Sus domesticus) feces. Composting of separated swine manure was performed in two piles for 122 days. The metal concentrations increased rapidly during the first 49 days and leveled off thereafter. All metal concentrations increased approximately 2.7-fold in the final compost due to decomposition of organic matter. A sequential extraction protocol was used to evaluate the humification process and partition metals into water-soluble, exchangeable, organically complexed, organically bound, solid particulate, and residual fractions. Temporal changes in the water-soluble fractions of Cu, Mn, and Zn were reflected by water-soluble organic C concentrations, which rapidly increased to a maximum at Day 18 and declined thereafter. An increase in the humic acid/fulvic acid ratio in Na4P2O7 or NaOH extracts at various stages of composting represented the humification process. During composting, the major portions of Cu, Mn, and Zn were in the organically-bound, solid particulate, and organically complexed fractions, respectively. Metal distributions in different chemical fractions were generally independent of composting age and, thus, independent of respective total metal concentrations in the composts.     

Plasma versus Thermal Effects in Flue Gas NOx Reduction Using Ammonia Radical Injection

Abstract

A plasma-assisted ammonia injection technique was previously demonstrated as having the potential to remove NO_x from combustion flue gases at SCR-comparable levels without the use of catalysts. However, these demonstrations did not prove the advantage of plasma assistance because they did not explicitly account for enhanced radical production by bulk thermal heating. An experiment using hot ammonia injection was performed to separate this thermal effect from the effect of radical production via interaction with a plasma. Under excess air conditions, results show that a thermal effect does provide improved NO_x reduction, but not to the level achieved with the use of a plasma source. However, heating the injection gases provides only a minor improvement in NO_x reduction at NH₃/NO_x ratios and temperatures typical of commercial cold SNCR applications. The plasma effect in ammonia radical injection was also found to be significant, accounting for an additional 15% to 35% of absolute NO_x reduction beyond any thermal benefit at typical excess air conditions. The ammonia radical injection technique continues to show promise as an effective NO_x reduction alternative.