Densification of rice straw such as compacting and pelletizing is an important process to increase the density of rice straw resulting in a reduction of transportation cost. Within this research, we conducted a techno-economic investigation of rice straw densification to produce compressed bales and pellets, which are later used for animal feed. In line with the main deliverable of the performance of rice straw compacting and pelletizing processes, we also looked into the quality of the product in terms of uptake and digestibility of the cattle feed which could be improved by adding amendments such as urea during the compacting process. The compacting technology resulted in a 400% increase of bale density (from 94 to 390 kg.m-3). This could reduce transportation costs by about 60% for a 60 km driving distance using trucks. The net profit that resulted from compacted bales was USD 0.0062 kg-1. Although the pelletizing technology increased the cost of the densified product by 40–50%, its density increases by 700%, from 94 to 666 kg.m-3. The enriched-rice straw pellets contained 12.1% protein, 2.8% lipid, 32.7% raw fibre, and 11.2% ash. In addition, a test of this product for cattle feeding illustrated an increase in its eating desirability for cows. Findings from this study contribute to reducing feedstock cost and developing densified rice straw products. These, therefore, provide more alternative options to increase the benefits from rice production and thus, reduce the unsustainable burning of rice straw in the field. / Nén ép rơm là quá trình quan trọng và cần thiết để tăng khối lượng thể tích với mục đích giảm chi phí vận chuyển. Trong nghiên cứu này, chúng tôi đã thực hiện nghiên cứu đánh giá tính khả thi về kỹ thuật và kinh tế đối với nội dung nén ép rơm cuộn và ép viên rơm. Cùng với mục đích chính là tăng dung trọng của sản phẩm từ rơm, chúng tôi cũng đánh giá chất lượng sản phẩm làm thức ăn cho bò giúp cho tăng kích thích quá trình tiêu hóa. Kết quả nén ép cuộn rơm đã làm tăng dung trọng của kiện rơm đến 400% (từ 94 đến 398.7 kg.m-3). Qua đó, đã giảm được chi phí vận chuyển 60% được ước tính cho 60 km khoảng cách vận chuyển. Đối với ép viên rơm, dung trọng tăng đến 700% (từ 94 đến 666 kg.m-3). Hàm lượng dinh dưỡng của viên nén hỗn hợp rơm gồm protein (12,1%), chất béo (2,8%), chất xơ (32,7%), và lượng tro tổng (11,2%). Ngoài ra, kết quả thử nghiệm cho bò ăn sản phẩm viên nén này cho thấy bò có cảm giác thích và ăn hết toàn bộ viên nén. Kết quả của nghiên cứu đã góp phần giảm chi phí khi sản xuất thức ăn cho bò, tăng thu nhập cho người nông dân và từ đó giảm tác động môi trường do việc đốt rơm trên đồng.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Animal Sciences and Industry / Mike Tokach / In 11 experiments, 7,325 pigs were used to determine the effects of: 1) diet type and form on finishing pig growth performance and carcass fat iodine value (IV); 2) pellet quality and feeder adjustment on pig growth performance; 3) corn particle size and diet form on finishing pig growth performance and carcass characteristics; and 4) dietary acidification, diet complexity, and feed-grade antibiotics on nursery pig growth performance. Feeding diets with wheat middlings and dried distillers grains with solubles all the way until marketing decreased G:F and carcass yield, and worsened carcass fat IV. Withdrawing these ingredients 17 d prior to market restored carcass yield, but resulted in small improvements in IV. Pelleting diets improved growth performance; however, a novel finding is that pelleting diets fed to finishing pigs increased belly fat IV. Feeding nursery pigs from a wide feeder gap may improve ADG and ADFI, with no negative effects on G:F. For finishing pigs, reducing feeder gap reduced feed disappearance and improved G:F. In all experiments, feeding pelleted diets improved G:F, but the greatest improvements occurred when the percentage of fines was minimized. Grinding corn finer than 650 microns decreased ADFI and improved G:F for finishing pigs fed meal diets, but not for pigs fed pelleted diets. Pelleting diets improved ADG and G:F, but the greatest magnitude of G:F improvement to pellets occurred when pigs were fed diets containing the largest particle size corn. Thus, grinding corn finer than 650 microns improved feed efficiency for finishing pigs fed meal diets, but provided no additional benefit for pigs fed pelleted diets. When dietary supplementation of benzoic acid was evaluated, added benzoic acid in nursery pig diets did not influence growth performance in university conditions, whereas feeding complex diets or antimicrobials improved growth. In the commercial setting, acidifiers improved growth in one experiment but not the other. The varying response to acidifiers is likely influenced by health status, age, or starting weight of pigs.

Within the PANDA experiment, proton anti-proton collisions will be studied in order to gain knowledge about the strong interaction. One interesting aspect is the production and decay of charmed hadrons. The charm quark is three orders of magnitude heavier than the light up- and down-quarks which constitue the matter we consist of. The detection of charmed particles is a challenge since they are rare and often hidden in a large background. There will be three different targets used at the experiment; the cluster-jet, the untracked pellet and the tracked pellet. All three targets meet the experimental requirements of high luminosity. However they have different properties, concerning the effect on beam quality and the determination of the interaction point. In this thesis, simulations and reconstruction of the charmed D-mesons using the three different targets have been made. The data quality, such as momentum resolution and vertex resolution has been studied, as well as how the different targets effect the reconstruction efficiency of D-meson have been analysed. The results are consistent with the results from a similar study in 2006, but provide additional information since it takes the detector response into account. Furthermore, a new target distribution have been implemented in the software package. This is the first results obtained from a cylindrical target distribution. The results are very important for PANDA since they show the limitations of different target types regarding the possibilities to reduce background. Simulations with the new target distribution have been made for all three targets and the results are presented.

Bioenergy is one of many contributors to reducing the use of fossil fuels in order to mitigate climate change by decreasing CO2-emissions, and the potential for biofuels are large. The wood fuel pellets are a refined biofuel made of sawdust, which is dried and compressed to achieve improved fuel and transportation properties. In 2007 the amount of wood fuel pellets used for heating purposes in Sweden was 1715000 tons. The aims of this work was: to examine the moisture content and emission of monoterpenes during the drying and pelletising steps of the pellets production (Paper I); to investigate how the recirculation of drying gases affects the energy efficiency of rotary dryers and how the energy efficiency is related to the capacity of the dryer. (Paper II); to analyse the causes of the problems encountered by household end-users of pellets and investigate whether an improved pellet quality standard could reduce these problems (Paper III); to investigate how the energy consumption of the pelletising machine and chosen pellet quality parameters were affected using an increased amount of rapeseed cake in wood fuel pellets (Paper IV); and to identify gaps of knowledge about wood fuel pellet technology and needs for further research on quality, environmental and health aspects throughout the wood fuel pellet chain, from sawdust to heat. (Paper V).

De nyttor som människan får direkt och indirekt från ekosystemen kallas ekosystemtjänster. Mänsklighetens påverkan på ekosystemen idag leder till degradering av tjänsterna och då mänskligheten ytterst är beroende av vad de tillför, är bevarandet av dessa tjänster viktig. Livscykelanalys, LCA, är ett väletablerat verktyg som används för att fastställa miljöpåverkan från olika produktprocesser men få ekosystemtjänster beaktas i LCA. Det finns därför ett behov av att vidare undersöka och utveckla möjligheterna att med livscykelbaserade metoder analysera påverkan på ekosystemtjänster. Huvudsyftet med denna studie har varit att undersöka om det är möjligt att integrera ekosystemtjänstbegreppet i LCA-metodik. Detta har kartlagts med hjälp av en fallstudie på pelletsproduktion, som bl.a. identifierat berörda ekosystemtjänster och möjligheten att kvantifiera dem, vilka ekosystemtjänster som går att studera med LCA idag samt möjliga sätt att analysera påverkan på ekosystemtjänster med LCA. Ett delmål har varit att grundligt beskriva både ekosystemtjänster och LCA samt aspekter som kan koppla ihop dessa områden. En omfattande litteraturstudie och en LCA modellering rörande pelletsproduktion utgjorde grund för arbetet. I dagsläget är det inte möjligt att integrera ekosystemtjänstbegreppet i LCA-metodiken med undantag för de fåtal ekosystemtjänster som i LCA-metodiken redan beaktas i viss utsträckning. Det stora hindret är att det inte finns någon fullständig och enhetlig metodik för kartläggning, klassificering och kvantifiering av ekosystemtjänsterna, vilket anses nödvändigt för att kunna analysera påverkan på dem. Ett stort antal ekosystemtjänster såsom klimatreglering, näringsflöden, biodiversitet och rekreation kan kopplas till pelletsproduktion men påverkan på dem är inte möjlig att fullt ut analysera med LCA. Detta illustreras av LCA-modelleringen av pelletsproduktion där endast påverkan på tjänsterna förnybara energikällor och vattenanvändning ingår. Då kunskapen rörande olika ekosystemtjänster skiljer sig mycket åt varierar förutsättningarna för att inkludera dem i LCA-metodiken. Befintliga tillvägagångssätt för att försöka analysera påverkan på ekosystemtjänster med hjälp av LCA föreslår nya miljöpåverkanskategorier och samlandet av tjänsterna i gemensamma enheter såsom exergi och solekvivalenter. Metoderna är dock begränsade och täcker inte in ekosystemtjänsterna på ett fullgott sätt. Mer forskning behövs för att bättre utveckla tillvägagångsätten för analys av påverkan på ekosystemtjänster genom LCA. / The profits humankind obtains directly and indirectly from ecosystems are called ecosystem services. The impact human activities have on ecosystems lead to degradation of the ecosystem services and since humankind fully depends on what the ecosystems provide, the preservation of these services is crucial. Lifecycle assessment, LCA, is a well-established tool used to assess environmental impacts from different product processes but few ecosystem services are considered. Thus, there is a need to study and develop the possibilities to analyze ecosystem services through LCA based methods. The project aimed to determine whether it is possible to integrate the ecosystem-service concept into LCA-methodology. A case study on pellet production was carried out to identify relevant ecosystem services and the possibilities to quantify them, which ecosystem services that could be analyzed in LCA today and also available approaches to study impacts on ecosystem services with LCA. An intermediate goal was to present a comprehensive description of both ecosystem services and LCA and to map common aspects that connect the two fields. The analysis was based on a comprehensive literature study, and a specific LCA-modeling of pellet production. At present, it is not possible to integrate the ecosystem-service concept into LCA-methodology, except for the few ecosystem services that to some extent already are covered in the methodology. The main obstacle is the lack of coherent approaches to map, classify, and foremost quantify ecosystem services, which is considered crucial for analyzing the impact on them. A large number of ecosystem services such as climate regulation, nutrient cycling, biodiversity and recreation can be influenced by pellet production but it is not possible to fully analyze these impacts with LCA. This is illustrated by the LCA-modeling on pellet production where only impacts on the services renewable resources and water use could be included. The possibilities to analyze ecosystem services within LCA vary due to the variation in knowledge about certain services. The present approaches for analyzing more services with LCA propose new environmental impact categories an aggregation of services into common units such as exergy and solar equivalents. The methods are limited due to the fact that they are not able to cover the diversity of the services. More research is needed to develop the approaches for analyzing impacts on ecosystem services through LCA.

The global problems of climate change, by the emissions of CO2 have over the past decenniums, led to a development of new innovations of renewable energy technologies, with the goal to phase out fossil fuels such as coal and oil. Many forms of renewable energy have already solved part of the energy consumption problems, but there are still large energy intensive industries that rely heavily on fossil fuels. One possible renewable product that could phase out fossil fuels in these industries is the black pellet, which is a processed bioenergy product. If commercialized, the black pellet could change major parts of the industry, thus making it a radical innovation.   One alternative to produce the black pellet is by using the torrefaction technology. The torrefaction technology has a historical record of many failed introductions. The step from pilot production to full scale commercialization is problematic in many ways, especially for a smaller developer. This study is focusing on the external commercialization problems for a radical innovation, the product black pellet and the technology torrefaction. The thesis aim to understand which these external barriers are for a torrefaction developer in Sweden and to answer our research question:   “What is the industry specific external barrier for a new entry-firm to commercialize black pellet with torrefaction technology?”   The theoretical framework is structured in two parts. The first one has a broad focus of theories regarding external barriers for commercialization of radical innovations, with a focus on small- and medium size enterprises. The second part focuses on general effects of industry structure and these two parts are combined in a conceptual theoretical framework. The findings in the study are based on empirical data collected through a total of six interviews with a supplier of torrefaction and black pellet, potential customers and market experts in Sweden.   The study’s analysis combines the theoretical and empirical data together with the industrial chapter, to create an understanding of the external barriers to commercialize black pellet with torrefaction technology. From the analysis we have understood many barriers, which could be summarized in four main barriers; lack of credibility, political incitements, strategic leadership and the costs of commercialization.   The answer to our research question, regarding the industry specific external barrier within the case of torrefaction and black pellet, is that black pellet and especially the torrefaction technology suffers from a lack of credibility by the actors in the market. From this answer, we have contributed with extended theoretical insights, that failures by previous actors create an external barrier for the current and future actors in their commercialization of a new technology.

Master of Science / Department of Animal Sciences and Industry / Joe D. Hancock / Nine experiments were completed to evaluate the effects of feed manufacturing practices on milling characteristics of diets and growth performance and stomach morphology in pigs. In Exp. 1 and 2, reducing the particle size of sorghum from 800 to 400 μm improved (P < 0.04) efficiency of gain in finishing pigs by 5% but had negative effects on cost of milling and stomach morphology. In Exp. 3 and 4, finishing pigs fed diets with 10 mg/kg of ractopamine HCl, had improved (P < 0.05) ADG, G:F, HCW, dressing percentage, and percentage carcass lean. However, increasing mix time of the diet from 0 to 360 s did not affect (P > 0.06) the response of finishing pigs to ractopamine HCl. In Exp. 5 and 6, adding ground and cracked corn to a pelleted supplement for nursery pigs decreased (P < 0.01) growth performance compared to feeding a complete pellet. In Exp. 7, increasing the percentage of cracked corn in a diet for finishing pigs decreased development of stomach lesions but also had a generally negative effect on efficiency of gain. In Exp. 8, adding cracked corn to a pelleted supplement (as done for the nursery pigs) decreased milling costs and improved health of stomach tissue. But, G:F was decreased by 6% (P < 0.05) which will make this technology unattractive to swine producers. In our final experiment (Exp. 9), pigs fed pellets tended to have the greatest growth performance, pigs fed mash the worst, and pigs fed pellets for only part of the grow-finish phase fell in between. In conclusion, grinding sorghum-based diets for finishing pigs improved efficiency of growth but extensive mixing to maximize diet uniformity had no effect on growth performance or carcass measurements. Use of cracked corn in diets does decrease diet costs and improve stomach health in finishing pigs but feeding of complete pellets for the entire finishing period supports maximum rate and (or) efficiency of gain.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering / Zhijian Pei / Donghai Wang / The U.S. economy has been depending on petroleum-based liquid transportation fuels (such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuels). Currently, about 50% of petroleum used in the U.S. is imported. Petroleum is a finite and non-renewable energy source and its use emits greenhouse gases. Therefore, it is extremely important to develop domestic sustainable alternatives for petroleum-based liquid transportation fuels. Ethanol produced from cellulosic biomass can be such an alternative. However, several technical barriers have hindered large-scale, cost-effective manufacturing of cellulosic ethanol. One such barrier is related to the low density of cellulosic feedstocks, causing high cost in their transportation and storage. Another barrier is low efficiency in conversion of cellulose to fermentable sugar (pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis are two major conversion processes), causing high cost in pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulosic biomass. Ultrasonic vibration-assisted (UV-A) pelleting increases both density and sugar yield of cellulosic feedstocks. Incorporating UV-A pelleting into cellulosic ethanol manufacturing may help realize cost-effective manufacturing of cellulosic ethanol. This PhD dissertation consists of 13 chapters. An introduction is given in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 presents a literature review on related topics. Experimental studies regarding effects of input parameters (such as particle size, pressure, and ultrasonic power) on output parameters (density, durability, stability, and sugar yield) are presented in Chapters 3–4. In Chapters 5–6, comparisons are made between UV-A pelleting and ring-die pelleting (a traditional pelleting method) in terms of pellet properties (density and durability), power consumption, and sugar yield under different conditions. Next, effects of input parameters (such as biomass type, particle size, moisture content, pelleting pressure, and ultrasonic power) on power consumption are studied in Chapters 7–9. Chapter 10 presents an investigation on biomass temperature in UV-A pelleting. Chapter 11 presents an investigation on effects of UV-A pelleting on sugar yield and chemical composition of cellulosic biomass. Chapter 12 presents an investigation on influence of UV-A pelleting on biomass characteristics (such as crystallinity index, thermal properties, and morphological structure). Finally, conclusions are presented in Chapter 13.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Biological & Agricultural Engineering / Donghai Wang / Lignocellulosic biomass such as agricultural residues tends to be a sustainable feedstock for production of biofuels and biobased products in the long term due to its high availability and relative low cost. However, conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to biofuels faces significant technical challenges. One of the major challenges is biomass logistics. The agricultural residues are often harvested during a limited harvest season and stored as bales with low bulk density, making them difficult to handle, transport, store, and use in their natural forms. Densification of biomass by pelleting process could significantly improve the bulk density of biomass and thus improve handling efficiency and reduce transportation and handing costs. The main focus of this research was to better understand the impacts of pelleting process as well as pelleting conditions on physical properties, chemical compositions, biomass structure, and fermentable sugar yield of sorghum stalk, corn stover, wheat straw, and big bluestem. Results showed that pelleting process can increase biomass density up to 9-12 folds. Pelleting condition such as hammer mill screen size and ring-die pelleting mill die thickness had significant effects on bulk density, true density, and durability of biomass pellets. Although the pelleting process did not show significant effects on chemical composition of biomass before dilute-acid pretreatment process, glucan content of biomass pellets increased with the increase in ring-die pelleting mill die thickness and decreased with the increase in mill screen size after dilute-acid pretreatment. Opposite trend was observed for xylan content of biomass pellets as affected by pelleting conditions after dilute-acid pretreatment process. Biomass crystallinity increased after pelleting process, but not in a significant level. Softened surface region of biomass was removed after pelleting process, making the biomass more amendable to enzymatic attack. In this study, the optimum pelleting conditions were to grind the biomass feed using a 6.5-mm mill screen and to pellet biomass using a 44.5-mm ring-die pelleting mill die thickness. Under this optimum pelleting condition, the enzymatic conversion of cellulose of wheat straw pellets was the highest (94.1%), followed by corn stover pellet (93.1%), sorghum stalk pellet (92.1%), and big bluestem pellet (91.1%).

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Grain Science and Industry / Keith C. Behnke / A series of experiments was conducted to compare methods used to evaluate the durability of animal feed pellets, as well as to investigate the potential for modeling the effects of formulation and processing factors on both pellet durability index (PDI) and pelleting energy consumption, measured in kilowatt hours per ton (kWh/ton). Seven different factors, including ground corn particle size, added fat level, inclusion of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), feed rate, steam conditioning temperature, conditioner retention time, and pellet die thickness (L:D ratio) were examined. Each factor was evaluated at two levels, and treatments were developed in order that all factor to factor comparisons could be made. Pellet samples were analyzed according to the standard method as described in ASAE S269.4, a modification of this method, and by using the NHP100 pellet tester set to each of its four testing intervals (30, 60, 90, and 120 seconds). The standard method was found to provide the most consistent and repeatable determinations of pellet durability, and was found to correlate well with the modified method, as well as with the NHP100 results at 30 and 60 seconds. Physical attributes of feed pellets, such as pellet hardness, bulk density, and moisture content were found to have significant, but weak correlations with pellet quality. Pellet quality was found to be significantly influenced by all factors other than ground corn particle size and feed rate. Higher fat level, lower conditioning temperature, and the thinner pellet die most significantly lowered pellet quality, with increasing effect respectively. A regression model was developed that was able to predict pellet durability within an average of 1.1 PDI. Pelleting energy consumption was found to be significantly influenced by all seven factors, with the higher fat level, thinner pellet die, and higher conditioning temperature most improving efficiency, with increasing effect respectively. A regression model was developed that was able to predict energy consumption within an average of 0.3 kWh/ton. The successful creation of regression equations demonstrates that there is potential for modeling and optimizing pellet quality and energy consumption within a pelleting operation.