Green biorefinery (GBR) scenarios for a two-cut silage system: Investigating the impacts of sward botanical composition, N fertilisation rate and biomass availability on GBR profitability and price offered to farmers

In Ireland, grass is a readily available bioresource. It has previously been established that Green biorefinery (GBR) could become a potential use of Irish grasslands, and a blueprint for a sustainable GBR industry in Ireland has been developed. The objective of this paper is to use scenario analysis to investigate the sensitivity of the profitability of the GBR blueprint to variations in grass quantity and quality as a function of botanical composition, fertiliser application, and biomass availability. As an outcome of these scenario analyses, the price the GBR can offer to farmers above their production costs (€ t⁻¹ dry matter) was calculated. Results of the scenario analyses determined that GBR systems located in a catchment area of permanent pasture (Lolium perenne > 60%) with annual grass yields in the range of 9-12 t dry matter (DM) ha⁻¹, and supplied with grass biomass with a fibre content of 500-555 g kg⁻¹ DM and a protein content of 110-130 g kg⁻¹ DM, were viable. The most profitable scenarios were generated when nitrogen fertiliser application was greater than 90 kg ha⁻¹ a⁻¹. Biomass availability of less than 30% resulted in reduced profitability and for some scenarios resulted in a loss for both the GBR and farmer due to increased transport costs. Within the scenario assumptions of this study, grass feedstock was valued at €4-€56 t⁻¹ dry matter above production costs. However, this value depended on the yields and biomass availability of the GBR catchment area.     

On the structure of linear codes with covering radius two and three

We obtain new bounds on l(m,r), the minimum length of a linear code with codimension m and covering radius r. All bounds are derived in a uniform way. We employ results from coding theory, some earlier results on covering codes, and combinatorial arguments. We prove the following bounds: l(6, 2)=13, l(7,2)=19, l(8,2)⩾25, l(9,2)⩾34, l(2m-l,2)⩾2^m+1 for m⩾3, l(14,2)⩾182, l(16,2)⩾363, l(18,2)⩾725, l(20,2)⩾1449, l(22,2)⩾2897, l(24,2)⩾5794, l(9,3)⩾17, l(10,3)⩾21, l(12,3)⩾31, l(13,3)⩾38     

Physical aging in plastics and other glassy materials

This paper surveys the basic aspects of physical aging. It shows that aging i s a general and important phenomenon found in all organic and inorganic glasses and in some metals as well. Moreover, the behavior of all these materials is very similar. It further shows that aging cannot be ignored in the testing of plastics, particularly in the prediction of their long-term behavior.     

On Mooney viscosity and Mooney stress relaxation. I

Mooney relaxation is highly nonlinear, strongly differs from stress relaxation at small strains, and can be described by Wagner's nonlinear rheological model for polymer melts. In the practical evaluation, the Mooney Stress Relaxation slope is more accurate than quantities such as t₈₀. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 74: 1207–1219, 1999     

Physical ageing in rigid chain polymers

Torsional and tensile creep properties of a cellulose acetate butyrate ester and the polyimide Kapton-H were studied in order to reveal physical ageing in these rigid chain polymers. The measured shift rates, μ, were 0.75 and 0.5 for cellulose and polyimide respectively, which indicates that physical ageing also occurs in polymers with stiff chains. These values, compared with those already known for most thermoplastics (μ ～ 1), suggest that physical ageing is slowed down by the rigidity of the main chain.     

Changes in fatty acid content and composition in silage maize during grain filling

BACKGROUND: The stage of maturity at harvest has a major effect on the fatty acid (FA) content and composition of forage plants consumed by dairy cows. The present study investigated the dynamics of FA content and composition in stover (leaves and stem) and ears (cob, shank and husks) of two maize genotypes (G2 and G6) grown on sandy and clay soils and harvested at 14, 42, 56, 70 and 84 days after flowering (DAF). In addition, the FA content and composition of six maize genotypes (G1‐G6) grown on the two soil types were compared at the normal harvest time of early genotypes in the Netherlands (70 DAF). RESULTS: The contents of total FAs and major individual FAs in both stover and ears changed significantly (P < 0.001) during the grain‐filling period (14‐84 DAF). In stover the contents of C16:0, C18:2, C18:3 and total FAs declined (P < 0.001) while those of C18:0 and C18:1 increased (P < 0.001) with progressive grain filling. The rate of decline in C18:3 and total FA contents was slower during 14‐56 DAF as compared with 56‐84 DAF. In ears, the contents of C16:0, C18:1, C18:2 and total FAs increased up to 56 DAF and then remained more or less constant until 84 DAF. At 70 DAF the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in both stover and ears did not differ among the six genotypes. However, the average contents of C16:0, C18:3 and total FAs in stover were higher (P < 0.05) on clay soil, whereas those of C18:0 and C18:1 were higher on sandy soil. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate that the maximum PUFA content in silage maize is harvested around 56 DAF, in the present study at a T_sum of 927 °C.d or at an ear dry matter content of 440 g kg^?1, which is before the onset of rapid senescence. Any further delay in harvesting will cause a rapid decline in C18:3 content in maize silages. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

An improvement of the Van Wee bound for binary linear coveringcodes

The Van Wee bound gives a lower bound on the cardinality of (block) codes with a prescribed covering radius. The author presents an improvement of this bound for binary linear codes and compares the results with other bounds mentioned in the literature. Almost all reported bounds can be obtained via the present bound as well; moreover, the present authors obtain a number of new lower bounds     

Nitrogen dynamics in flooded soil systems: an overview on concepts and performance of models

Extensive modelling studies on nitrogen (N) dynamics in flooded soil systems have been published. Consequently, many N dynamics models are available for users to select from. With the current research trend, inclined towards multidisciplinary research, and with substantial progress in understanding of N dynamics in flooded soil systems, the objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the modelling concepts and performance of 14 models developed to simulate N dynamics in flooded soil systems. This overview provides breadth of knowledge on the models, and, therefore, is valuable as a first step in the selection of an appropriate model for a specific application. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.     

The mechanical enhancement of physical aging

The effect of physical aging on the tensile creep properties of rigid PVC and PMMA was investigated at three temperatures between the glass transition temperature T_g and room temperature. The results confirm Sternstein's claim that mechanical stresses may enhance aging, but also our previous conclusion that such effects occur only at strains larger than 0.3–0.5%. It is further shown that the term ‘enhancement’ should, preferably, be avoided.     

Plant neurobiology and green plant intelligence: science,metaphors and nonsense

This paper analyses the recent debates on the emerging science of plant neurobiology, which claims that the individual green plant should be considered as an intelligent organism. Plant neurobiology tries to use elements from animal physiology as elegant metaphors to trigger the imagination in solving complex plant physiological elements of signalling, internal and external plant communication and whole‐plant organisation. Plant neurobiology proposes useful concepts that stimulate discussions on plant behaviour. To be considered a new science, its added value to existing plant biology needs to be presented and critically evaluated. A general, scientific approach is to follow the so‐called ‘parsimony principle’, which calls for simplest ideas and the least number of assumptions for plausible explanation of scientific phenomena. The extent to which plant neurobiology agrees with or violates this general principle needs to be examined. Nevertheless, innovative ideas on the complex mechanisms of signalling, communication, patterning and organisation in higher plants are badly needed. We present current views on these mechanisms and the specific role of auxins in regulating them. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry