Estimation of methane and nitrous oxide emissions from rice field with rice straw management in Cambodia.

To estimate the greenhouse gas emissions from paddy fields of Cambodia, the methodology of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines, IPCC coefficients, and emission factors from the experiment in Thailand and another country were used. Total area under rice cultivation during the years 2005-2006 was 2,048,360 ha in the first crop season and 298,529 ha in the second crop season. The emission of methane from stubble incorporation with manure plus fertilizer application areas in the first crop season was estimated to be 192,783.74 ton higher than stubble with manure, stubble with fertilizer, and stubble without fertilizer areas. The fields with stubble burning emitted the highest emission of methane (75,771.29 ton) followed by stubble burning with manure (22,251.08 ton), stubble burning with fertilizer (13,213.27 ton), and stubble burning with fertilizer application areas (3,222.22 ton). The total emission of methane from rice field in Cambodia for the years 2005-2006 was approximately 342,649.26 ton (342.65 Gg) in the first crop season and 36,838.88 ton (36.84 Gg) in the second crop season. During the first crop season in the years 2005-2006, Battambang province emitted the highest amount of CH(4) (38,764.48 ton) and, in the second crop season during the years 2005-2006, the highest emission (8,262.34 ton) was found in Takeo province (8,262.34 ton). Nitrous oxide emission was between 2.70 and 1,047.92 ton in the first crop season and it ranged from 0 to 244.90 ton in the second crop season. Total nitrous oxide emission from paddy rice field was estimated to be 9,026.28 ton in the first crop season and 1,091.93 ton in the second crop season. Larger area under cultivation is responsible for higher emission of methane and nitrous oxide. Total emission of nitrous oxide by using IPCC default emission coefficient was approximately 2,328.85 ton. The total global warming potential of Cambodian paddy rice soil is 11,723,217.03 ton (11,723 Gg) equivalents of CO(2).

Enhancing waste decomposition and methane production in simulated landfill using combined anaerobic reactors.

The design of leachate recirculation to enhance municipal solid waste decomposition, methane production and microbial activities was taken into account in this study by using the combined anaerobic reactors of a simulated high organic content landfill reactor and a stabilized fixed film anaerobic reactor. The latter aimed to treat high strength leachate from the simulated landfill reactor before recirculation back to the former reactor. The results showed the possibility to apply this technique to high organic waste landfill where rapid and accumulative acids formed in the leachate were removed and treated by a fixed film anaerobic reactor. In addition, the treated leachate when circulated back to the simulated bioreactor landfill helps accelerate waste decomposition and methane production by providing buffer capacity as well as diluting organic content in the leachate to achieve the favourable conditions for acidogen and methanogen, respectively, to rapidly enter into the methanogenesis phase.

The effects of leachate recirculation with supplemental water addition on methane production and waste decomposition in a simulated tropical landfill.

In order to increase methane production efficiency, leachate recirculation is applied in landfills to increase moisture content and circulate organic matter back into the landfill cell. In the case of tropical landfills, where high temperature and evaporation occurs, leachate recirculation may not be enough to maintain the moisture content, therefore supplemental water addition into the cell is an option that could help stabilize moisture levels as well as stimulate biological activity. The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of leachate recirculation and supplemental water addition on municipal solid waste decomposition and methane production in three anaerobic digestion reactors. Anaerobic digestion with leachate recirculation and supplemental water addition showed the highest performance in terms of cumulative methane production and the stabilization period time required. It produced an accumulated methane production of 54.87 l/kg dry weight of MSW at an average rate of 0.58 l/kg dry weight/d and reached the stabilization phase on day 180. The leachate recirculation reactor provided 17.04 l/kg dry weight at a rate of 0.14l/kg dry weight/d and reached the stabilization phase on day 290. The control reactor provided 9.02 l/kg dry weight at a rate of 0.10 l/kg dry weight/d, and reached the stabilization phase on day 270. Increasing the organic loading rate (OLR) after the waste had reached the stabilization phase made it possible to increase the methane content of the gas, the methane production rate, and the COD removal. Comparison of the reactors' efficiencies at maximum OLR (5 kgCOD/m(3)/d) in terms of the methane production rate showed that the reactor using leachate recirculation with supplemental water addition still gave the highest performance (1.56 l/kg dry weight/d), whereas the leachate recirculation reactor and the control reactor provided 0.69 l/kg dry weight/d and 0.43 l/kg dry weight/d, respectively. However, when considering methane composition (average 63.09%) and COD removal (average 90.60%), slight differences were found among these three reactors.

Mitigation of methane and nitrous oxide emissions from drained irrigated rice fields.

One of the important cultural practices that affect methane and nitrous oxide emissions from tropical rice plantations is the water drainage system. While drainage can reduce methane emissions, it can also increase nitrous oxide emissions, as well as reduce yields. In this experiment, four different water drainage systems were compared in a rice field in central Thailand including: (1) continuous flooding, (2) mid-season drainage, (3) multiple drainage and (4) a local method (drainage was done according to local cultural practice) in order to find a system of drainage that would optimize yields while simultaneously limiting methane and nitrous oxide emissions. Methane and nitrous oxide emission were observed and compared with rice yield and physical changes of rice plants. It was found that drainage during the flowering period could reduce methane emission. Interestingly, nitrous oxide emission was related to number of drain days rather than the frequency of draining. Fewer drain days can help reduce nitrous oxide emission. The mid-season drainage and the multiple drainage, with 6.9% and 11.4% reduction in rice yield, respectively, had an average methane emission per crop 27% and 35% lower when compared to the local method. Draining with fewer drain days during the flowering period was recommended as a compromise between emissions and yield. The field drainage can be used as an option to reduce methane and nitrous oxide emissions from rice fields with acceptable yield reduction. Mid-season drainage during the rice flowering period, with a shortened drainage period (3 days), is suggested as a compromise between the need to reduce global warming and current socio-economic realities.

Effect of moisture content on fed batch composting reactor of vegetable and fruit wastes.

Vegetable and fruit wastes mixed with sawdust were composted in a laboratory scale reactor by controlling the waste feeding rate at 21 kg m(-3) day(-1) and aeration rate at 10.6 l m(-3) min(-1). The effects of initial moisture content on organic matter degradation and process performance of fed batch composting were investigated. The absolute amount of removal, removal percentage, and removal rate of dry mass obtained were substantially different among the initial moisture contents. The rapid rise of moisture content and the lowest absolute amount of removal observed were achieved in the 50% condition. The initial moisture content yielding the largest absolute amount of removal in both feeding and curing stage was 30% whereas the removal percentage and rate constant of waste decomposition were highest in the 50% condition. Examined by traditional soil physics method, the moisture content at 50-55% was suitable for satisfying the degree of free air space (65-70%) of compost during the fed batch composting. Most degradable organic matter was mainly consumed in the feeding stage as indicated by a higher removal rate of dry mass in all cases. It is recommended that the initial moisture content of 30% and mode of aeration and agitation should be adopted for achieving practical fed batch composting of vegetable and fruit wastes. The study also demonstrated that the composting kinetics of vegetable and fruit wastes mixed with sawdust can be described by a first order model.

Evaluation of metal hydroxide sludge for reactive dye adsorption in a fixed-bed column system.

The capacity and performance of small-scale column, containing coarse particles of metal hydroxide sludge, were evaluated using 30mgl(-1) dye solutions of C.I. Reactive Red 141. The studied bed depths were 2.5-20cm and the studied flow rates were 1.1, 2.2 and 3.3mlmin(-1)cm(-2). At the breakthrough point of 0.1C(t)/C(0), the breakthrough volume was increased with increasing bed depth or decreasing flow rate, due to an increase in empty bed contact time (EBCT). The data followed the bed depth service time model, and the adsorption capacity was 24-26mgcm(-3) or 27-29mgdyesg(-1) adsorbent. The minimum bed depths should be higher 1.02, 2.04 and 2.59cm with flow rates of 1.1, 2.2 and 3.3mlmin(-1)cm(-2), respectively, while the ratio of bed depth to diameter should not be higher than 6. With EBCT above 5min, the usage rate of metal hydroxide sludge was 1.3gl(-1). Using the bed depth of 5cm and the flow rate of 0.55mlmin(-1)cm(-2), 87% of dominant colour, 78% of COD, and 99% of SS could be removed from the textile wastewater, and the leachate of toxic heavy metals was under the standard limitations.

Application of 'waste' metal hydroxide sludge for adsorption of azo reactive dyes.

The capacity and mechanism of metal hydroxide sludge in removing azo reactive dyes from aqueous solution was investigated with different parameters, such as charge amount of dyes, system pH, adsorbent particle size, and adsorbent dosage. The three anionic dyes used were CI Reactive Red 2, CI Reactive Red 120, and CI Reactive Red 141, increasing in number of sulfonic groups, respectively. Only 0.2% (w/v) of powdered sludge (<75microm) achieved color removal from 30 mg l(-1) reactive dye solutions within 5 min without pH adjustment. The larger the charge amount of the dyes, the greater the adsorption (>90%) on the metal hydroxide sludge. The system pH played a significant role in the adsorption on metal hydroxides and formation of dye-metal complexes. The optimum system pH for dye adsorption was 8-9 which was close to the pH(zpc) of the sludge while the precipitation of dye-metal complexes occurred at system pH 2. The maximum adsorption capacity (Q degrees ) of the sludge for the reactive dyes was 48-62 mg dye g(-1) adsorbent. The Langmuir and Freundlich models showed that the higher charged dyes had a higher affinity of adsorption. The smaller particle size and the greater amount of adsorbent showed the faster process, due to an increase in surface area of adsorbent. Desorption studies elucidated that metal hydroxide sludge had a tendency for ion exchange adsorption of sulfonated azo reactive dyes. Leaching data showed that the treated water was nontoxic at a system pH above 5 or a solution pH above 2.

Multiple forms of a glucoamylase inhibitory factor fromAspergillus niger and its elution after adsorption onto raw wheat starch.

An inhibitory factor (IF) fromAspergillus niger, that inhibited the action of glucoamylase on raw starch, was adsorbed tightly onto raw starch but was almost completely desorbed by 0.02M sodium borate. The IF was a glycoprotein and was partially purified by ion exchange chromatography into three active fractions.

Effect of adsorption of an inhibitory factor on raw starch hydrolysis by glucoamylase.

An inhibitory factor (IF) produced byAspergillus niger strain 19, and which inhibits the action of glucoamylase on starch, has the ability to be tightly adsorbed on to various raw starches, though the amount differs from starch to starch. Based on the hydrolysis of the IF-starch complex by glucoamylase, the inhibitions per unit IF adsorbed are similar for some varieties of starch. The effectiveness ratio of IF (% hydrolysis inhibition per % IF adsorbed on raw starch) for corn, sweet potato, waxy rice and waxy corn starches are 1.1, 1.0, 0.85 and 0.96, respectively. These results support the hypothesis that both glucoamylase and IF are adsorbed on to a common binding site on raw starch. However, the effectiveness ratio of IF for cassava and wheat starches are 0.71 and 1.65, respectively, which differ significantly from other varieties of starch.