O presente trabalho teve como principal objetivo selecionar uma linhagem termotolerante de Kluyveromyces marxianus e avaliar a sua aplicação em processos de produção de etanol a partir da celulignina de palha de arroz. Inicialmente, foram avaliadas oito diferentes linhagens de K. marxianus em meio semissintético contendo 50 g/L de glicose sob temperatura de 45 °C. De acordo com os principais parâmetros fermentativos obtidos, a linhagem K. marxianus NRRL Y-6860 foi selecionada e o efeito da oxigenação do meio sobre os parâmetros fermentativos desta levedura foi realizado de acordo com um planejamento experimental 22. Os resultados revelaram que a produção de etanol foi favorecida nas menores condições de agitação e aeração estudadas (100 rpm e relação Vfrasco/Vmeio de 2,5) sendo obtido um valor de conversão de glicose em etanol (YP/S) de 0,44 g/g e produtividade volumétrica em etanol (QP) de 3,63 g/L.h. Nestas condições, K. marxianus NRRL Y-6860 foi também capaz de fermentar elevada concentração de glicose (112 g/L), apresentando valores de YP/S = 0,42 g/g e QP = 3,24 g/L.h. Numa segunda etapa, ensaios de sacarificação da celulignina (8% m/v) permitiram definir a carga de Cellubrix (25 FPU/g) e Novozyme 188 (25 UI/g) as quais promoveram um rendimento de hidrólise de aproximadamente 50 % em 12 horas. A celulignina foi obtida após o pré-tratamento da palha de arroz com H2SO4 diluído e apresentou a seguinte composição (g/100g de matéria seca): celulose (54,9), hemicelulose (7,9), lignina (24,9) e cinzas (8,0). Para os ensaios de sacarificação e fermentação da celulignina com a levedura K. marxianus NRRL Y-6860 duas estratégias foram avaliadas: 1) sacarificação e fermentação em separado (SHF), com e sem inativação das enzimas e 2) sacarificação e fermentação simultânea (SSF) em que o inóculo e as enzimas foram adicionados no início do processo. Os resultados revelaram que na estratégia SHF a inativação das enzimas antes da inoculação não influenciou o desempenho fermentativo da levedura. Além disso, o emprego de um maior teor de celulignina (12 % m/v) proporcionou um ganho de 42 % na produtividade total do processo (QPT) em relação ao teor de 8 % (m/v), atingindo o valor de 0,97 g/L.h. O emprego da estratégia SSF a partir de 8 % (m/v) de celulignina permitiu um incremento de 177 % e 287 % nos valores de QPT quando comparados ao processo SHF com 12 e 8 % de celulignina (m/v), respectivamente. Ensaios de SSF com Saccharomyces cerevisiae mostraram que para ambas as temperaturas avaliadas (30 °C ou 45 °C) a termotolerante K. marxianus NRRL Y-6860 mostrou-se superior com relação a produtividade total do processo. Com os resultados do presente trabalho pode-se concluir que a levedura termotolerante K. marxianus NRRL Y-6860 é um micro-organismo em potencial para produção de etanol celulósico a partir da estratégia SSF devido aos elevados valores de produtividade volumétrica (QPT = 2,69 g/L.h) obtidos a partir da celulignina de palha de arroz. / This work aimed to select a thermotolerant strain of Kluyveromyces marxianus and evaluate its application on ethanol production by using rice straw cellulignin. Initially, were evaluated eight different strains of K. marxianus on semi-synthetic media containing 50 g/L of glucose at 45 °C. According to the main fermentation parameters, the strain K. marxianus NRRL Y-6860 was selected and the effect of oxygenation on ethanol production by this yeast was investigated through a 22 factorial design. The best results of ethanol yield factor (YP/S = 0.44 g/g) and ethanol volumetric productivity (QP = 3.63 g/L.h) were found at the lowest agitation and aeration conditions (100 rpm and 2.5 Vflask/Vmedium ratio) employed. Under this conditions, K. marxianus NRRL Y-6860 was also able to ferment at high glucose concentration (112 g/L), with values of YP/S = 0.42 g/g and QP = 3.24 g/L.h. In a second step, the effect of Cellubrix loading and its supplementation with Novozyme 188 on the cellulignin saccharification were evaluated. The results showed that the highest hydrolysis yield (50 %) was attained when a load of Cellubrix (25 FPU/g dry matter) and Novozyme 188 (25 IU/g dry matter) was used. The cellulignin obtained from dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment of rice straw showed the following composition (g/100g dry matter): cellulose (54.9), hemicellulose (7.9), lignin (24.9) and ash (8.0). For the studies of cellulignin saccharification and fermentation with K. marxianus NRRL Y-6860 two strategies were evaluated: 1) Separate Hydrolysis and Fermentation (SHF), with and without inactivation of enzymes, which inoculum was added after the hydrolysis step and 2) Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation (SSF), which inoculum and enzymes were added at the beginning of the process. The results revealed that the enzyme inactivation step prior to inoculation in SHF did not influence the yeast\'s fermentation performance. In addition, the use of a higher loading of cellulignin (12 % w/v) increased the overall ethanol productivity (QPT) in 42 %, reaching a value of 0.97 g/L.h as compared to the loading of 8 % (w/v). The SSF process from 8 % (w/v) of cellulignin increased the values of QPT in 177 % and 287 % when compared to SHF loading of 12 and 8 % (w/v), respectively. By using Saccharomyces cerevisiae in SSF process under different temperatures (30 °C or 45 °C) the overall ethanol productivity was lower in relation with the thermotolerant K. marxianus NRRL Y-6860. Based on the experimental results of this work, it can be concluded that K. marxianus NRRL Y-6860 herein selected represents a potential microorganism to application on ethanol production from lignocellulosic materials in SSF process due to its high fermentative potential at elevated temperatures.

An increasing emphasis on mitigating global climate change (global warming) over the last few decades has created interest in a broad range of sustainable or alternative energy systems to replace fossil fuel combustion. Biomass, when harvested responsibly, is a renewable fuel with many uses in replacing fossil fuels. Cofiring biomass with coal in traditional large-scale coal power plants represents one of the lowest risk, least costly, near-term methods of CO2 mitigation. Simultaneously, it is one of the most efficient and inexpensive uses of biomass. Alternatively, biomass can be transformed into useful products through gasification to produce clean syngas for highly efficient gas turbines, or feedstock to produce light gases, fuels, chemicals or other products. A large portion of this investigation focused on the effect of cofiring biomass on the near burner region of a commercial coal flame. This research included first-of-their-kind field measurements of flame structure and particle properties in front of a full-scale burner fired with biomass and coal, including measurements of particle size and composition, gas velocity, composition, and temperature in the near-burner region of multiple cofired flames in a 350 MWe full-scale power plant in Studstrup, Denmark. A novel sampling and analysis technique was developed enabling the estimation of the fraction of biomass in the flow as a function of position and the burnout of biomass and coal particles separately. These data show that biomass particles do not follow gas stream lines to the same extent that coal particles do. This is consistent with the larger sizes, slower heating and reaction rates, and higher momentum of biomass particles. This research also includes first-of-their-kind single particle continuous measurements of particle mass, surface and internal temperature, size, shape, during biomass pyrolysis and gasification. The single particle measurements provided among the most highly resolved and repeatable biomass gasification results reported to date for wood, switchgrass and corn stover. All three samples showed greater gasification reactivity to H2O than to CO2. The experiments included results in both reactants individually and combined. One of the most important findings of this work was the experimental confirmation that as the char particles gasify, their ash fractions increase and reaction rates decrease on both an intrinsic and external surface area basis. The analyses in this work show that this decrease in burnout quantitatively corresponds to the change in the predicted fraction of the surface that is ash and does not reflect any change in organic reactivity. Reaction rate parameters suitable for relatively simple power-law models based on external surface area describe all the data reasonably well.

The anti-plastic straw movement uses the sea turtle to bring an empathetic symbol to broaden the scope of the plastics problem in the ocean, giving the public a powerful visual image for the first time in the history of the anti-plastics movement. In this thesis, I build on existing conversations on charismatic megafauna and flagship species, to explore the emerging anti-plastic straw movement and its use of the sea turtle as a symbol. I also provide an analysis of the imagery and comments on social media sites of green marketing companies and non-governmental organizations. These social media sites, such as Instagram, are the primary vehicle for attracting clients, supporters, and donations.

Straw phonation is a semi-occluded vocal tract exercise (SOVTE) that has long been used as a therapeutic device for the voice. The purpose of this study was to compare outcomes following voice lessons that included a straw phonation protocol to those that did not include a protocol. The primary outcome measures were the shortened version of the Singing Voice Handicap Index (SVHI-10), which is a validated health status instrument for singers, and Perceived Vocal Efficiency (PVE). Ten student singers in a large college of music consented into the study and participated in both lesson conditions, serving as their own control. They completed six voice lessons over a six week period with lessons alternating between the straw phonation protocol and no straw phonation protocol conditions. Outcome measures were collected following all six lessons. Repeated measures one-way analysis of variance (RM-ANOVA) revealed no statistically significant effect of the straw phonation protocol on either dependent variable. However, a small effect was found for PVE, indicating that straw phonation led to a perceived improvement in vocal efficiency. There was significant variation in individual responses to straw phonation and participants who had more prior experience with the SOVT experienced less perceptual change across lesson conditions. Most singers reported finding straw phonation a useful addition to their voice lesson and felt it improved their vocal efficiency. These results indicate that straw phonation could be regularly integrated into voice lessons and may be most helpful to students who find the SOVTE worthwhile. Future studies should examine the effects of a similar protocol using multiple SOVTEs, tailored to what is most efficacious for individuals, and should use a separate control group.

[Typescript] Includes bibliography.

Bibliography: leaves 134-148. The objectives of this study are to determine if and how inorganic matrices influence organic matter decomposition with particular emphasis on the biochemical changes which occur as decomposition progresses. The influence of inorganic matrices (sand, sand + kaolin and loamy sand) on the decomposition of straw and Eucalyptus litter during incubations was followed by various chemical and spectroscopic methods to aid in the understanding of the mechanism of physical protection of organic matter in soils.

This study experimentally evaluated wheat straw slurry pipelines. Tests were conducted to determine the particle properties of the biomass mixed in water over time. The saturated particle density of 1,060kg/m3 was reached after 24 hours, while the saturated moisture contents of 78.5% and 79.5% were later reached for particle sizes of 1/8 and 3/4" respectively. A pipeline loop was redesigned to operate with 1/8, 1/4", and 3/4" straw particle slurries at up to 30% wet basis concentrations. The modifications allowed measurements of pressure loss through a length of pipe. These measurements which show the influences of drag reducing fibre suspension. Straw particles added to water lowered the pressure loss, by suppressing turbulence at lower concentrations or higher velocities. Additional straw further improved the result, until the maximum concentration was reached. High concentrations create plugs, increasing the pressure loss. Longer straw particles can further reduce losses, but have lower maximum concentrations. / Engineering Management

Thermoplastic composites using natural fibres are studied intensively and widely used in applications including automotive, packaging, consumer goods and construction. Good balance of mechanical properties, processability and low cost are great advantages of these materials on top of the environmental benefits. Recently, there have been various efforts to amplify the positive effects on the environment by replacing the conventional polymers by bio-derived renewable polymers in the composites. Recent studies conducted from our research group showed competitiveness of plant fibre-thermoplastic composites. Implementing the promising results and experience, a new composite design using renewable polyethylene as the matrix material was studied. This polyethylene is a renewable thermoplastic that was derived from sugar cane ethanol. The objectives of this study were to employ renewable high density polyethylene (HDPE) into composites using wheat straw and flax fibre to extend the range of properties of the HDPE while keeping the amount of renewable content to nearly 100%. The chemical resistance of these materials has not been reported before and it was investigated here by measuring and comparing the properties before and after accelerated chemical ageing. Both wheat straw and flax fibre had two different grades in size. Each of them was compounded with HDPE and additives (antioxidant and coupling agent) in a co-rotating twin screw extruder. The concentrations of fibres were varied from 0 to 30 wt-%. Then, injection molded samples were prepared for measurement of properties: tensile, flexural, impact tests. The effects of reinforcing fibre size were studied first. Both length and aspect ratio were considered. For both types of fibre composites, a general trend was observed. There was no clear evidence of improvements in flexural (strength and modulus) and tensile (strength, percentage elongation at break) properties with respect to the change in fibre size. However, impact (IZOD impact strength, Gardner impact failure energy) properties showed some improvements. This result was due to no substantial difference in size and aspect ratios in post-processed fibres that were actually residing in the matrix. There were remarkable improvements in flexural strength and modulus when the fibre content increased. However, minor decreases in tensile properties were observed. Furthermore, the impact properties were very sensitive to the concentration of fibres. As the fibre concentration went up, there were significant decreases in both IZOD impact strength and Gardner impact failure energy. Chemical resistance of these composites was studied by exposing them in six different chemical solutions (hydrochloric acid, acetic acid, sodium hydroxide, ethyl alcohol, industrial detergent, water) for up to thirty days. The increase in weight and leaching behaviour was observed. As the fibre content increased within the composites, the weight gain was more rapid during chemical ageing. Because there were more fibres exposed on the surface after chemical ageing, it is likely that they contributed to the higher flux of liquids (used for chemical ageing) inside the sample. Among the physical properties, tensile properties were most susceptible to the chemical ageing. One possible reason could be due to the exposed surface area to volume ratio, which was the highest in tensile bars and therefore faster mass transfer taking place into the matrix per volume. Finally, morphological study using scanned electron spectroscopy (SEM) revealed the damage on the surface when exposed to the chemicals. The fibres on the surface had been leached out in the sodium hydroxide solution leaving empty spaces. The fractured surface was also monitored via SEM. Though there was not enough evidence of strong interfacial interactions between the fibre and the polymer, good dispersions were observed.

Graduation date: 1993

<p>The purpose of this study was to develop an analytical model that could be used by the designers of a rotary feeding and cutting system (RFCS) to identify the power demand of the RFCS with limited or no required field or laboratory data. Two separate RFCS were investigated, incorporated with either a low-speed cutting process (LSCP) or a high-speed cutting process (HSCP). The results from the laboratory and field trials were used to create and validate the analytical model.</p> <p>Laboratory tests were completed with the LSCP RFCS and these concluded that counter-knife sharpness, serrations and bevel angle all had significant effects on the specific energy required by the LSCP RFCS when processing cereal straw and alfalfa. The specific energy required by the LSCP RFCS, while processing cereal straw, increased by 0.35 kWâh/tonne (or 96%) when the sharpness of the counter-knives decreased from 0.13 to 0.63 mm (where the sharpness was recorded by the leading-edge-width of the counter-knives). With the same decrease in sharpness, the specific energy required by the LSCP RFCS while processing alfalfa increased by 0.04 kWâh/tonne (or 32%). The specific energy required by the LSCP RFCS while processing cereal straw with sharp counter-knives (counter-knives with a leading edge width of 0.13 mm) increased by 0.11 kWâh/tonne (or 51%) when serrated counter-knives were used instead of un-serrated counter-knives. However, counter-knife serrations did not have a significant effect on the specific energy demand of the LSCP RFCS when sharp counter-knives were used to process alfalfa. The increase in bevel angle from 15 to 90&#x00B0; caused the specific energy required to process cereal straw and alfalfa to approximately triple. The moisture content of alfalfa also had a significant effect on the specific energy required to process alfalfa with the LSCP RFCS. The specific energy demand of the LSCP RFCS was at a maximum when alfalfa at a moisture content of 53% on a wet basis (w.b.) was processed and decreased slightly (approximately 0.04 kWâh/tonne or 10%) when dryer and wetter alfalfa was processed.</p> <p>Field tests were completed with the HSCP RFCS and it was concluded that in general, there was a direct relationship between the specific energy required by the HSCP RFCS and the moisture content of the straw, counter-knife engagement and throughput. Further, it was also concluded that the specific energy requirements of the HSCP RFCS were more sensitive to counter-knife engagement when higher moisture content straw was processed. Depending on the type of chopper used, the specific energy required by the HSCP RFCS increased anywhere from 0.15 to 0.77 kWâh/tonne (or 22 to 61%) when the counter-knife engagement was increased from 0 to 100% (or fully removed to fully engaged). Again, depending on the type of chopper used, when the moisture content of the straw processed by the chopper increased from approximately 7 to 25% w.b. the specific energy required by the chopper increased by 0.14 to 0.96 kWâh/tonne (or 28 to 84%). The effect of throughput on the specific energy demand of the HSCP RFCS was dependent on the type of chopper used. For one of the choppers, an increase in throughput from 10.5 to 13.5 tonne/h caused the specific energy required by the HSCP RFCS to increase by 0.24 kWâh/tonne (or 35%); however for a different chopper, an increase in throughput from 12 to 13 tonne/h caused the specific energy demand of the HSCP RFCS to decrease by 0.16 kWâh/tonne (or 19%).</p> <p>The analytical model was validated using a subset of the data that were collected while employing each cutting device under field conditions and the data collected with the use of a custom-designed material properties test stand. The output of the analytical model fell within the 95% confidence interval of the measured power demand for each of the rotary feeding and cutting systems, and the analytical model was therefore deemed sufficiently accurate.</p> <p>Based on the analytical model, the total power demand of both the LSCP and HSCP rotary feeding and cutting systems was largely attributed to the power required to transport plant material. Further, the power required to transport the plant material along the sides of the counter-knives was much greater than the power required to transport the plant material along the rotor bed and along the leading edge of the tines. Because of the excessive power required to transport plant material along the sides of the counter-knives, three techniques were identified as potential strategies to decrease the power demand of the RFCS. The first technique involved removing half of the tines from the RFCS, and modifying the remaining tines to decrease the amount of plant material that is entrapped between sides of the counter-knives and the tines. The second technique involved coating the inside surface of the tines with a baked Teflon, to decrease the coefficient of friction between the plant material and the RFCS. The third technique involved reshaping the counter-knives, to decrease the surface area over which plant material was transported along the side of the counter-knives. According to the analytical model, employing any of the three techniques would result in the total power demand of the RFCS to decrease by 15 to 26%. </p> <p>For the HSCP RFCS, a stochastic model was developed to identify which of the four choppers tested during field trials would have the best performance when subjected to the same operating conditions. The chopper with the best performance was the WR chopper as its use resulted in the minimum geometric mean length of material exiting the combine harvester while also consuming the least amount of specific energy.</p>