Ammonia emissions during vermicomposting of sheep manure

The effect of C:N ratio, temperature and water content on ammonia volatilization during two-phase composting of sheep manure was evaluated. The aerobic phase was conducted under field conditions. This was followed by Phase II, vermicomposting, conducted in the laboratory under controlled conditions of water content (70% and 80%) and temperature (15 and 22 °C). The addition of extra straw lead to a 10% reduction in NH3 volatilization compared to sheep manure composted without extra straw. Temperature and water content significantly effected ammonia volatilization at 0 day in Phase II, with a water content of 70% and temperature of 22 °C leading to greater losses of ammonia. Nitrogen loss by ammonia volatilization during vermicomposting ranged from 8% to 15% of the initial N content. The addition of extra straw did not result in significant differences in total carbon content following vermicomposting.     

有机物料发酵流体和堆肥对苹果连作土壤环境及平邑甜茶幼苗生物量的影响

为探讨不同有机物料的发酵流体(厌氧发酵产物)和堆肥(有氧发酵产物)对苹果连作土壤环境的影响,以盆栽平邑甜茶幼苗为试验材料,分别设置猪粪+秸秆、鸡粪+秸秆、羊粪+秸秆、猪粪+鸡粪+羊粪+秸秆4个不同有机物料组合并进行厌氧发酵和有氧发酵,并将发酵产物分别施入连作土中,研究其对平邑甜茶幼苗生物量、连作土壤中微生物、土壤酶活性、土壤酚酸等的影响。结果表明:与有机物料堆肥相比,各有机物料发酵流体处理的平邑甜茶幼苗干重、鲜重较高,其中猪粪发酵流体处理显著提高了幼苗干、鲜重,7月份为对照的1.57、1.26倍,9月份为CK的1.55、1.86倍;两类发酵产物均增加了土壤微生物的数量,且发酵流体处理显著增加了土壤中细菌和放线菌的数量,其中羊粪发酵流体效果最明显,分别为CK的2.95倍和2.37倍,在堆肥处理中,真菌数量显著增高;两类发酵产物也影响了土壤中酚酸总量,表现为猪粪、鸡粪发酵流体和猪粪堆肥处理含量下降,至9月份分别下降到CK的0.45、0.39倍和0.36倍。     

Inhibition of selected fungi by bacterial isolates fromTripsacum dactyloides L.

Summary In an incubation study addition of green manure caused a reduction in the ammonia volatilized initially from both sodic and reclaimed soils but extensive volatilization occurred from the sodic soil, amended with green manure, after the tenth day till the conclusion of the experiment after 9 weeks. Volatilization from the reclaimed soil was much less. There was a slight build up of organic carbon and ammoniacal nitrogen in both the soils though greater in the reclaimed soil. More of nitrate and nitrite accumulated in the sodic soil.     

Biochar from animal manure: A critical assessment on technical feasibility,economic viability,and ecological impact

Animal manure has been used to manage soil fertility since the dawn of agriculture. It provides plant nutrients and improves soil fertility. In the last decades, animal husbandry has been significantly expanded globally. Its economics were optimized via the (international) trade of feed, resulting in a surplus of animal manure in areas with intensive livestock farming. Potentially toxic elements (PTEs), pathogenic microorganisms, antibiotic residues, biocides, and other micropollutants in manure threaten animal, human, and environmental health. Hence, manure application in crop fields is increasingly restricted, especially in hotspot regions with intensive livestock activities. Furthermore, ammonia volatilization and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during manure storage, field application, and decomposition contribute to air pollution and climate change. Conventional manure management scenarios such as composting and anaerobic digestion partially improve the system but cannot guarantee to eliminate sanitary and contamination risks and only marginally reducing its climate burden. Hence, this review discusses the potential of pyrolysis, the thermochemical conversion under oxygen-limited conditions as an alternative treatment for animal manure providing energy and biochar. Manure pyrolysis reduces the bioavailability of PTEs, eliminates pathogenic microorganisms and organic micropollutants, and reduces GHG emissions. Pyrolysis also results in the loss of nitrogen, which can be minimized by pretreatment, that is, after removing soluble nitrogen fraction of manure, for example, by digestion and stripping of ammonia–nitrogen or liquid–solid separation. However, conclusions on the effect of manure pyrolysis on crop yield and fertilization efficiencies are hampered by a lack of nutrient mass balances based on livestock unit equivalent comparisons of manure and manure biochar applications. Hence, it is essential to design and conduct experiments in more practically relevant scenarios and depict the observations based on the amount of manure used to produce a certain amount of biochar.     

水氮互作对冬小麦田氨挥发损失和产量的影响

2015-2017年利用水肥渗漏研究池,以‘石麦15’(SM15)为材料,采用随机区组设计,设置2个氮肥类型(尿素和有机肥牛粪)、2个施氮水平(180和90 kg·hm^-2)、2个灌溉水平(500和250 mm)进行试验,探讨水、氮及其互作对冬小麦田土壤氨挥发损失量和籽粒产量的影响.结果表明: 施肥以后土壤氨挥发持续7 d左右.2015-2016年施肥后各处理土壤氨挥发损失总量为13.36～46.04 kg·hm^-2,氨挥发氮肥损失率为8.9%～41.1%,2016-2017年各处理土壤氨挥发损失总量为14.78～52.99 kg·hm^-2,氨挥发氮肥损失率为9.2%～45.8%;两年试验内氨挥发损失量最多的处理为W₂U₁(施尿素N 180 kg·hm^-2,灌溉量250 mm),氨挥发损失率最高的处理为W₂U₂(施尿素N 90 kg·hm^-2,灌溉量250 mm),合理的水氮管理可以显著降低土壤氨挥发损失率,施用尿素造成的土壤氨挥发损失为有机肥的2～3倍.两年试验均以W₁M₁(施牛粪N 180 kg·hm^-2,灌溉量500 mm)的小麦产量最高,灌溉量、肥料类型和施氮量互作对冬小麦产量影响极显著.综合氨挥发损失量和冬小麦籽粒产量,本试验条件下,水氮互作效应显著,冬小麦生育期内总灌溉量500 mm、施有机肥180 kg·hm^-2时冬小麦季土壤氨挥发损失率较低,产量最高,施用有机肥的增产效果优于尿素,可作为黄淮海地区冬小麦实际生产中增产增效的水肥优化管理方式.     

Nitrogen transformation under different dissolved oxygen levels by the anoxygenic phototrophic bacterium <Emphasis Type="Italic">Marichromatium gracile</Emphasis>

Marichromatium gracile: YL28 (M. gracile YL28) is an anoxygenic phototrophic bacterial strain that utilizes ammonia, nitrate, or nitrite as its sole nitrogen source during growth. In this study, we investigated the removal and transformation of ammonium, nitrate, and nitrite by M. gracile YL28 grown in a combinatorial culture system of sodium acetate-ammonium, sodium acetate-nitrate and sodium acetate-nitrite in response to different initial dissolved oxygen (DO) levels. In the sodium acetate-ammonium system under aerobic conditions (initial DO?=?7.20–7.25 mg/L), we detected a continuous accumulation of nitrate and nitrite. However, under semi-anaerobic conditions (initial DO?=?4.08–4.26 mg/L), we observed a temporary accumulation of nitrate and nitrite. Interestingly, under anaerobic conditions (initial DO?=?0.36–0.67 mg/L), there was little accumulation of nitrate and nitrite, but an increase in nitrous oxide production. In the sodium acetate-nitrite system, nitrite levels declined slightly under aerobic conditions, and nitrite was completely removed under semi-anaerobic and anaerobic conditions. In addition, M. gracile YL28 was able to grow using nitrite as the sole nitrogen source in situations when nitrogen gas produced by denitrification was eliminated. Taken together, the data indicate that M. gracile YL28 performs simultaneous heterotrophic nitrification and denitrification at low-DO levels and uses nitrite as the sole nitrogen source for growth. Our study is the first to demonstrate that anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria perform heterotrophic ammonia-oxidization and denitrification under anaerobic conditions.     

Ammonia volatilization from tropical legume mulches and green manures on unlimed and limed soils

In the humid tropics, legumes are harvested and surface applied as mulch or incorporated as green manure. Studies on N dynamics and budgets from these systems report unaccounted losses of N. Ammonia volatilization may account for a significant percentage of these unexplained N deficits. The main objectives of this study were to: 1) determine the rate and amount of ammonia volatilization from organic amendments, both incorporated (green manure) and unincorporated (mulch), 2) compare ammonia volatilization of organic amendments on both acid (unlimed) and limed soils, and 3) correlate quality, i.e. polyphenolic and lignin concentration and carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, of the organic amendments with ammonia volatilization and net N mineralization. In an incubation experiment, ammonia volatilization losses and net N mineralization were measured from fresh leaflets of 10 legumes over a three-week period. Ammonia volatilization losses for the 10 species ranged from 3.4 to 11.8% of the total N applied in the organic amendment. Lignin content was negatively correlated to ammonia volatilization. Ammonia volatilized from mulches but not green manures, on both unlimed and limed soils, suggesting that ammonia volatilization is a surface phenomenon and not affected by soil pH. Net N mineralization was affected by species and soil pH, but was unaffected by placement (green manure or mulch). For the farmer in low-input agriculture where N tends to be limiting, volatilization losses of N from legume mulch systems could be on the same order of magnitude as crop removal.     

NOB suppression and adaptation strategies in the partial nitrification–Anammox process for a poultry manure anaerobic digester

Poultry manure contains high levels of ammonia, which result in a suboptimal bioconversion to methane in anaerobic digesters (AD). A simultaneous process of nitrification, Anammox and denitrification (SNAD) in a continuous granular bubble column reactor to treat the anaerobically digested poultry manure was implemented. Thus, two strategies to achieve high efficiencies were proposed in this study: (1) ammonia overload to suppress nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) and (2) gradual adaptation of the partial nitrification–Anammox (PN–A) biomass to organic matter. During the NOB-suppression stage, microbial and physical biomass characterizations were performed and the NOB abundance decreased from 31.3% to 3.3%. During the adaptation stage, with a nitrogen loading rate of 0.34 g L⁻¹ d⁻¹, a hydraulic retention time of 1.24 d and an influent COD/N ratio of 2.63 ± 0.02, a maximum ammonia and total nitrogen removal of 100% and 91.68% were achieved, respectively. The relative abundances of the aerobic and the anaerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria were greater than 35% and 40% respectively, during the study. These strategies provided useful design tools for the efficient removal of nitrogen species in the presence of organic matter.     

Use of electrodialysis and reverse osmosis for the recovery and concentration of ammonia from swine manure

This project aimed at producing a concentrated nitrogen fertilizer from liquid swine manure using electrodialysis (ED) and reverse osmosis (RO), as a mean to help resolve the excess nutrient problem faced by many swine producers, and offer an alternative to chemical nitrogen fertilizer production. Different types of ED membranes were evaluated based on the NH4+ transfer rate, current efficiency and membrane stability. A combination of CMB/AMX membranes was retained due to its high NH4+ transfer rate and chemical stability. The maximum total ammonia concentration (NH3-N) achievable by ED was limited by water transport from the manure to the concentrate compartment, and ammonia volatilization (17%) from the open concentrate compartment. Results suggested that, under the conditions of this experiment, a maximum total NH3-N concentration of about 16g/L could be reached with the ED system. An ED concentrate (8.7g/L of total NH3-N) was also fed to TFC-HF reverse osmosis membranes. A mass balance analysis revealed that the RO permeate, which represented 49.6% of the initial volume, contained 8.6% of the ammonia. However, the RO concentrate contained only 66.6% of the initial total NH3-N, suggesting that 21.2% of the ammonia was volatilized during the concentration test with RO membranes. Ammonia concentration in the RO concentrate reached approximately 13g/L, which is similar to the maximum concentration that could be achieved by ED. These results suggest that the use of ED and RO membranes to recover and concentrate ammonia is potentially interesting but the process must include an approach to minimize ammonia volatilization or trap volatilized ammonia.     

Air-side ammonia stripping coupled to anaerobic digestion indirectly impacts anaerobic microbiome

Air-side stripping without a prior solid–liquid phase separation step is a feasible and promising process to control ammonia concentration in thermophilic digesters. During the process, part of the anaerobic biomass is exposed to high temperature, high pH and aerobic conditions. However, there are no studies assessing the effects of those harsh conditions on the microbial communities of thermophilic digesters. To fill this knowledge gap, the microbiomes of two thermophilic digesters (55°C), fed with a mixture of pig manure and nitrogen-rich co-substrates, were investigated under different organic loading rates (OLR: 1.1–5.2 g COD l⁻¹ day⁻¹), ammonia concentrations (0.2–1.5 g free ammonia nitrogen l⁻¹) and stripping frequencies (3–5 times per week). The bacterial communities were dominated by Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes phyla, while the predominant methanogens were Methanosarcina sp archaea. Increasing co-substrate fraction, OLR and free ammonia nitrogen (FAN) favoured the presence of genera Ruminiclostridium, Clostridium and Tepidimicrobium and of hydrogenotrophic methanogens, mainly Methanoculleus archaea. The data indicated that the use of air-side stripping did not adversely affect thermophilic microbial communities, but indirectly modulated them by controlling FAN concentrations in the digester. These results demonstrate the viability at microbial community level of air side-stream stripping process as an adequate technology for the ammonia control during anaerobic co-digestion of nitrogen-rich substrates.     

Volatilization of selenium from a dewatered seleniferous sediment: A field study

Summary One of the major concerns in central California (San Joaquin Valley) is the level of selenium (Se) in evaporation ponds containing agricultural drainage water. The objective of this work was to determine if volatilization of Se could be used as a bioremediation program to detoxify a saline seleniferous sediment of a dewatered evaporation pond. The dewatered sediment was rototilled, divided into subplots, and amended with various organic materials including citrus (orange) peel, cattle manure, barley straw and grape pomance. Some of the subplots were fertilized with nitrogen [(NH₄)₂SO₄] and zinc (ZnSO₄). Selenium volatilization was monitored in the field with a flux chamber system utilizing alkaline peroxide to trap the gas. Overall, the greatest emission of gaseous Se was recorded in the summer months and the lowest emission during the winter months. The background emission of volatile Se averaged 3.0 g Se h^–1 m^–2. The most effective organic amendment was cattle manure with an avg. Se emission of 54 g Se h^–1 m^–2. Composite soil samples from each subplot (upper 15 cm) were analyzed for total Se on a monthly interval during the course of this field study. After 22 months, the application of water plus tillage alone removed 32.2% of the Se content while the cattle manure treatment removed 57.8%. Among the parameters which enhanced volatilization of Se were an available C source, aeration, moisture, and high temperatures. This field study indicates promising results in detoxifying seleniferous sediments via microbial volatilization once environmental conditions have been optimized.     

Detoxification of furfural in Corynebacterium glutamicum under aerobic and anaerobic conditions

The toxic fermentation inhibitors in lignocellulosic hydrolysates raise serious problems for the microbial production of fuels and chemicals. Furfural is considered to be one of the most toxic compounds among these inhibitors. Here, we describe the detoxification of furfural in Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC13032 under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Under aerobic culture conditions, furfuryl alcohol and 2-furoic acid were produced as detoxification products of furfural. The ratio of the products varied depending on the initial furfural concentration. Neither furfuryl alcohol nor 2-furoic acid showed any toxic effect on cell growth, and both compounds were determined to be the end products of furfural degradation. Interestingly, unlike under aerobic conditions, most of the furfural was converted to furfuryl alcohol under anaerobic conditions, without affecting the glucose consumption rate. Both the NADH/NAD⁺ and NADPH/NADP⁺ ratio decreased in the accordance with furfural concentration under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. These results indicate the presence of a single or multiple endogenous enzymes with broad and high affinity for furfural and co-factors in C. glutamicum ATCC13032.     

秸秆在土壤内分解初期氮素矿化与固持的模拟测定

利用模拟软件Modelmaker对3种作物秸秆在土壤内分解初期氮素循环转化过程进行了模拟,取得了土壤铵态氮、硝态氮、微生物氮及其¹⁵N丰度等个变量模拟值和测定值的良好一致性.模型模拟对氮转化速率测定的结果表明,土壤微生物主要固持铵态氮,对硝态氮固持非常微弱.氮矿化主要发生于作物秸秆,腐殖质氮的矿化极其微弱.一级动力学方程对秸秆氮素矿化过程的描述优于零级动力学方程.微生物固持氮的再矿化过程落后于氮固持过程,假定再矿化不发生或认为再矿化与固持化同时进行可导致氮矿化与固持速率测定的严重误差.忽略氮硝化过程和挥发损失将导致氮矿化和固持速率的测定值偏低.净固持或净矿化的产生不仅与秸秆碳氮比有关,而且与秸秆在土壤内分解时间有关.     

The optimized CO2-added ammonia explosion pretreatment for bioethanol production from rice straw

A CO₂-added ammonia explosion pretreatment was performed for bioethanol production from rice straw. The pretreatment conditions, such as ammonia concentration, CO₂ loading level, residence time, and temperature were optimized using response surface methodology. The response for optimization was defined as the glucose conversion rate. The optimized pretreatment conditions resulting in maximal glucose yield (93.6 %) were determined as 14.3 % of ammonia concentration, 2.2 MPa of CO₂ loading level, 165.1 °C of temperature, and 69.8 min of residence time. Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that pretreatment of rice straw strongly increased the surface area and pore size, thus increasing enzymatic accessibility for enzymatic saccharification. Finally, an ethanol yield of 97 % was achieved via simultaneous saccharification and fermentation. Thus, the present study suggests that CO₂-added ammonia pretreatment is an appropriate process for bioethanol production from rice straw.     

Effect of fungal consortium and animal manure amendments on phosphorus fractions of paddy-straw compost

The study was conducted to reveal the type of phosphorus (P) fractions present in mature compost prepared by co-composting paddy straw (P.S) with cattle manure (CM), farm yard manure (FYM) and poultry manure (PM), each added separately as nitrogen (N) and P source. A consortium of phytate mineralizing fungi developed by including Aspergillus niger ITCC 6719, Aspergillus flavus ITCC 6720 and Trichoderma harzianum ITCC 6721 was applied for recovery of P from plant and animal residues. Chemical evaluation of compost after 4 months of aerobic decomposition revealed that inoculation improved the sodium bicarbonate-extractable P content of CM and FYM supplemented P.S compost by 32.3% and 23.5% respectively compared with their respective un-inoculated control. However, the peak values for water soluble-P fractions were recorded in CM–straw compost followed by PM–straw compost. Fungal inoculation also improved the agronomic quality of PM–straw compost as the latter had the highest total P content and lowest C:N and E4/E6 ratio of 18:1 and 5.36:1 respectively. The recovery of organic P from agricultural residue has the potential to reduce the application of synthetic P fertilizer. P-enriched organic manure can offer potential environment and economic benefits to farmers under sustainable agriculture.     

Influence of bovine lactoferrin on the growth of selected probiotic bacteria under aerobic conditions

Bovine lactoferrin (bLf) is a natural glycoprotein, and it shows broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. However, reports on the influences of bLf on probiotic bacteria have been mixed. We examined the effects of apo-bLf (between 0.25 and 128 mg/mL) on both aerobic and anaerobic cultures of probiotics. We found that bLf had similar effects on the growth of probiotics under aerobic or anaerobic conditions, and that it actively and significantly (at concentrations of >0.25 mg/mL) retarded the growth rate of Bifidobacterium bifidum (ATCC 29521), B. longum (ATCC 15707), B. lactis (BCRC 17394), B. infantis (ATCC 15697), Lactobacillus reuteri (ATCC 23272), L. rhamnosus (ATCC 53103), and L. coryniformis (ATCC 25602) in a dose-dependent manner. Otherwise, minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were 128 or >128 mg/mL against B. bifidum, B. longum, B. lactis, L. reuteri, and L. rhamnosus (ATCC 53103). With regard to MICs, bLf showed at least four-fold lower inhibitory effect on probiotics than on pathogens. Intriguingly, bLf (>0.25 mg/mL) significantly enhanced the growth of Rhamnosus (ATCC 7469) and L. acidophilus (BCRC 14065) by approximately 40–200 %, during their late periods of growth. Supernatants produced from aerobic but not anaerobic cultures of L. acidophilus reduced the growth of Escherichia coli by about 20 %. Thus, bLf displayed a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on the growth of most probiotic strains under either aerobic or anaerobic conditions. An antibacterial supernatant prepared from the aerobic cultures may have significant practical use.     

Manure composition affects net transformation of nitrogen from dairy manures

The plant available nitrogen (PAN) content of dairy manure is commonly calculated using concentration and availability coefficients for organic nitrogen (N) and ammonium N (NH₄), but the carbon (C) fraction of the manure also influences the availability of N over time. We evaluated the interactive effect of manure C and N from nine dairy manures during a 176 days aerobic incubation. All of the manures had appreciable NH₄ content, and varied widely in fibrous C. The incubation was conducted using sandy loam (coarse-loamy, mixed, frigid, Typic Haplorthod) and silt loam (fine, illitic, non-acid, frigid, Aeric Epiaquepts) soils at 25°C and 60% water-filled pore space. There were clear differences in nitrate (NO₃) accumulation over time, including manures that resulted in net nitrification and net immobilization. For both soils, the rate of nitrification at 7 and 56 days after application, and the amount of NO₃ accumulated at the end of the incubation (176 days) were strongly correlated (r = –0.88) with C: NH₄ and also to the ratio of neutral detergent fiber (NDF):NH₄ (r = –0.90). The addition of manure C also resulted in significant net immobilization, compared to addition of mineral N fertilizer alone. These studies demonstrate that increased understanding of manure C and N interactions may lead to improved prediction of manure PAN.     

施肥对露地菜地氨挥发和氧化亚氮排放的影响

为探究施氮量和不同肥料调控措施对露地菜地土壤氨(NH₃)挥发和氧化亚氮(N₂O)排放的影响,在华北地区典型露地菜地设置了不同施氮水平和肥料调控措施的田间试验.结果表明: 春播黄瓜生育期内减氮20%和50%分别比常规施氮量降低氨挥发25.7%和48.0%;添加抑制剂(脲酶抑制剂+硝化抑制剂)和生物炭分别比等氮量氮肥处理氨挥发降低10.0%和6.1%;春播黄瓜生育期内减氮20%和50%分别使N₂O排放量比常规施肥处理降低28.8%和61.0%;等氮量条件下添加联合抑制剂使N₂O排放降低58.9%,而添加生物炭处理的N₂O排放增加14.1%;在同样的条施覆土施肥方法下,与纯化学氮肥处理相比,有机肥替代30%氮肥对氨挥发和N₂O减排的作用效果都不显著.对于集约化菜地,合理控制氮肥用量是降低土壤氨挥发及N₂O排放的最有效措施.     

Patterns of ammonia volatilization from a forest soil

Summary Ammonia volatilization from urea-treated soils was estimated under field and laboratory conditions. Acid-washed filter papers were hung in the air in a spruce stand treated with N and P fertilizers in a factorial design. In the laboratory, moss sods were incubated to quantify ammonia volatilization.Ammonia volatilization increased with the level of N applied and more ammonia was absorbed by filter papers at 0.6 m above the ground than those at 1.2 m. Maximum rates of ammonia volatilization in urea-treated plots were observed between the third and fourth day after fertilizer application and similar absorption patterns were observed in areas not treated with urea. It is, therefore, suggested that ammonia volatilized from urea-treated plots can move to untreated areas. Addition of P along with urea significantly reduced ammonia volatilization under field conditions.Laboratory experiments showed that addition of urea to moss sods increased the pH of the organic layer from about 3.6 to 8.8. Sphagnum moss sods volatilized more ammonia (about 1.7 per cent of the added material) than feather moss sods (about 0.8 per cent). At higher incubation temperatures, however, the rate of ammonia volatilization decreased in sphagnum moss sods but increased in feather moss sods.     

Influence of carbon and buffer amendment on ammonia volatilization in composting

Laboratory-scale experiments were carried out to test a mathematical model of the nitrogen dynamics in a composting process. The main ingredients of composting materials were wheat straw and dairy manure. The influence of (a) two carbon amendments, i.e. molasses and office paper, and (b) two chemicals forming buffer solutions on ammonia volatilization were investigated. Nitrogen losses amounted to 12-25% of initial nitrogen, in which ammonia volatilization accounted for 60-99%. Addition of molasses, a readily available form of carbon, reduced cumulative ammonia emissions substantially, but office paper, i.e. cellulose, had only a small influence. The addition of buffering chemicals did not significantly reduce ammonia volatilization.