Human drivers,biophysical changes,and climatic variation affecting contemporary cropping proportions in the northern prairie of the U.S

Grassland to cropland conversion in the northern prairie of the United States has been a topic of recent land use change studies. Within this region more corn and soybeans are grown now (2017) than in the past, but most studies to date have not examined multi-decadal trends and the synergistic web of socio-ecological driving forces involved, opting instead for short-term analyses and easily targeted agents of change. This paper examines the coalescing of biophysical and socioeconomic driving forces that have brought change to the agricultural landscape of this region between 1980 and 2013. While land conversion has occurred, most of the region’s cropland in 2013 had been previously cropped by the early 1980s. Furthermore, the agricultural conditions in which crops were grown during those three decades have changed considerably because of non-biophysical alterations to production practices and changing agricultural markets. Findings revealed that human drivers played more of a role in crop change than biophysical changes, that blending quantitative and qualitative methods to tell a more complete story of crop change in this region was difficult because of the synergistic characteristics of the drivers involved, and that more research is needed to understand how farmers make crop choice decisions.     

Ethanol From Corn: Clean Renewable Fuel for the Future,or Drain on Our Resources and Pockets?

It is shown here that one burns 1 gallon of gasoline equivalent in fossil fuels to produce 1 gallon of gasoline equivalent as ethanol from corn. When this corn ethanol is burned as a gasoline additive or fuel, its use amounts to burning the same amount of fuel twice to drive a car once. Therefore, the fuel efficiency of those cars that burn corn ethanol is halved. The widespread use of corn ethanol will cause manifold damage to air, surface water, soil and aquifers. The overall energy balance of corn conversion to ethanol demonstrates that 65% of the input energy is lost during the conversion. Carbon dioxide sequestration by corn is nullified when corn ethanol is burned, and there will be additional carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides, and sulfur oxide emissions from the fossil fuels used to produce the ethanol. Students in the Spring 2003 CE24 Freshman Seminar offered at U.C. Berkeley by the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

Performance analysis of different orc power plant configurations using solar and geothermal heat sources

ABSTRACT

Energy optimization is performed on hybrid solar-geothermal power plant working according to Organic Rankine Cycle and installed in southern Tunisia. The performances of four different configurations of the power plant are studied. Mass and energy balances are established for the different compounds. The effects of the main operating parameters such as the geothermal water temperature, ambient temperature and direct normal irradiation on the power plant performances are analyzed. A code is established using Engineering Equation Solver software (EES) to perform the required calculations. Obtained results show that the hybrid solar-geothermal power plant with a heat recovery system is the most suitable configuration design giving a better overall energy efficiency of 15.77 and13.11% and a maximum net power of 1089 and 1882 kW in winter and summer, respectively. However, in the summer season, using a heat recovery system can valuable only when the water temperature is higher than 66°C. For air-cooled condenser, the suitable condensing pressure is 1 bar in winter and 1.9 bars in summer.     

Inerting effect of N2 on explosion of LDPE dust/ethylene hybrid mixtures

Explosion flame propagation characteristics and overpressure distribution of low density polyethylene (LDPE) dust and ethylene hybrid mixture were investigated under N₂ inerting conditions using a custom-designed 12 L cylindrical explosion tank. The results showed that a small amount of ethylene could promote the explosion characteristics of LDPE dust. N₂ inerting had different inhibitory effects on the explosion flame of LDPE dust and its mixture with ethylene. The explosion overpressure strength of the LDPE dust/ethylene hybrid mixture decreased with increasing N₂ concentration. The overall suppression effect of N₂ on the explosion overpressure of the LDPE dust was better than that of the LDPE dust/ethylene hybrid mixture explosion. As the ethylene concentration increased from 0% to 2.5%, the limiting oxygen concentration decreased by 13% oxygen. This small amount of ethylene restricted the traditional inerting process. The study conclusions can provide further scientific basis for the inerting and explosion proofing design of production process equipment involving LDPE dust.     

玉米粒为载体的流化床生物膜反应器处理印染废水

以废弃玉米粒为载体,在生物膜流化床试验装置上进行印染废水处理试验研究。结果表明,与炉渣载体比较成膜时间缩短2 d;形成的生物膜生长到载体内部,结合牢固;曝气量(20~30 L/h.L)受流化状况控制,比非生物质载体时略大,玉米粒含量为2~4 g/L时,COD、色度和浊度的去除率分别为72%、85%和86%。     

模拟大气中CO2浓度增加对玉米产量和品质影响的试验研究

利用ＯＴＣ－１型开顶式气室对玉米进行了不同ＣＯ２浓度处理的试验研究。结果表明，ＣＯ２浓度增加，对玉米发育期和株高几乎没有影响，生物产量和籽粒产量呈上升趋势，籽粒成分变化较为复杂；ＣＯ２浓度增加，对玉米籽粒粗蛋白、粗纤维和总糖含量的影响呈负效应，对淀粉的影响呈正效应。     

试论黄淮海地区的自然资源及国家级作物商品基地的建设

根据中国主要农业区--黄淮海地区的自然和社会经济条件,分析了该区小麦、玉米、大豆、棉花等在气候-土壤生态适应性的基础上,采用逐级生产力估算方法,计算出四大作物的商品量,论证了该地区建设为全国性四大作物商品基地的可能性。     

MBBR泥膜复合系统泥膜竞争关系的影响因素

为探究MBBR泥膜复合硝化系统内泥膜竞争关系，通过小试试验研究了水处理过程中常规因素（污泥浓度、DO、温度、C/N）对MBBR泥膜复合系统硝化效果的影响，分析了系统内污泥容积负荷和移动床生物膜反应器（MBBR，Moving-Bed Biofilm Reactor）生物膜容积负荷变化趋势，进而得出泥膜竞争规律.结果表明，MBBR泥膜复合系统容积负荷均大于单一污泥或MBBR生物膜系统的容积负荷.在一定范围内，污泥浓度、DO、温度与MBBR泥膜复合系统容积负荷呈现正相关，且系统内活性污泥在与MBBR生物膜在竞争DO和基质时优势明显，而MBBR生物膜则具有更强的耐低温能力.进水C/N与MBBR泥膜复合系统硝化负荷呈负相关，且活性污泥在应对进水C/N过高时较MBBR生物膜更具优势，MBBR的“镶嵌”则强化了系统SND效果.微生物群落变化显示MBBR泥膜复合系统内的硝化细菌优势菌属为Nitrospira，且悬浮载体生物膜对其富集能力明显高于活性污泥.     

作物重金属铜污染的HHT边际谱特征与污染预测模型

为了解读作物受重金属污染的光谱响应与光谱特征,以不同浓度梯度硫酸铜（CuSO₄·5H₂O）胁迫土壤的盆栽玉米培养胁迫实验为研究对象,依据不同胁迫梯度下玉米叶片反射光谱以及叶片中Cu²⁺含量的测定数据,采用希尔伯特-黄变换（HHT）方法,研究了玉米叶片在不同Cu²⁺胁迫梯度下光谱的Hilbert边际谱变化特征与污染程度预测方法.通过构建玉米叶片光谱的边际谱熵（MSE）,边际谱幅值（MSA）、边际谱陡坡斜率（MSSS）和边际谱包围面积（MSEA）等特征参量,分析叶片在不同Cu²⁺污染程度下的边际谱变化;同时基于边际谱特征参量值与叶片中Cu²⁺含量的相关性分析和逐步回归统计,提出了玉米叶片重金属污染的Cu²⁺含量预测指数模型.实验结果表明,不同Cu²⁺胁迫梯度下,玉米叶片光谱的边际谱为分布在100Hz频率以内的连续谱;MSE值表现出与叶片中Cu²⁺含量呈负相关的变化趋势,而MSA、MSSS和MSEA值都表现出与叶片中Cu²⁺含量呈正相关的变化趋势;由于MSEA值与叶片中Cu²⁺含量的相关性最好,可把MSEA作为监测作物重金属污染衡量或预测的最优指标;根据MSE、MSA、MSSS和MSEA值构建的Cu²⁺含量预计指数模型应用结果比较,证明MSEA指数模型具有最优的预测能力.     

玉米淀粉废水短程硝化快速启动及其稳定性

采用SBR反应器,以玉米淀粉企业废水处理站厌氧段出水(C/N 0.93~1.53)为对象,研究了利用高温、高pH和低DO等抑制因素,快速启动短程硝化的方法;针对启动的短程硝化系统,进一步研究了取消高pH及高温抑制因素后系统短程硝化的稳定性及其控制策略.结果表明,控制温度为(30±1)℃、pH为7.8~8.2、正常硝化段DO为0.7~1.0 mg·L~(-1),同时结合pH和DO参数对硝化过程的在线控制,可以经过17个周期的驯化培养,快速启动短程硝化(NO_2~--N积累率超过80%);对于已启动的短程硝化系统,取消对高pH及高温的限制,在碱度充足、温度为23~24℃和正常硝化段DO为0.7~1.0 mg·L~(-1)的条件下,并结合对硝化过程的在线控制,最终可以获得NO_2~--N积累率超过98%的短程硝化长期稳定运行.先采用高温、高pH和低DO等抑制因素快速启动短程硝化,然后再取消对系统高pH及高温限制的控制策略,对于具备较高氨氮浓度和较高温度的现场玉米淀粉废水实现长期稳定的短程硝化具有现实意义.