Name: operation of a 25 kwth calcium looping pilot-plant with high oxygen concentrations in the calciner
Uploaded: 2017-10-25T13:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Operation of a 25 KWth Calcium Looping Pilot-plant with High Oxygen Concentrations in the Calciner at JoVE.com

The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community&#39;s Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS) under grant agreement n&#176; RFCR-CT-2014-00007. This work was funded by the UK Carbon Capture and Storage Research Centre (UKCCSRC) as part of Call 2 projects. UKCCSRC is supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) as part of the Research Council&#39;s UK Energy Programme, with additional funding from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS - formerly DECC). The authors would also like to thank Mr. Martin Roskilly for his enormous help throughout the course of this work.

1. Material Preparation
<ol>
	<li>Sieve the limestone (~50 kg of raw material) to the desired particle size distribution (300-400 &#181;m or another distribution depending on the experiment) using a mechanical shaker. Put the sieved material in pots next to the calciner for feeding during the test.</li>
	<li>Prepare the material in batches to be introduced into the reactor. The batches are generally 0.5 L or 1 L (1 L of limestone is roughly 1.5 kg), but this can vary depending on the operating parameters.</li>
</ol>
<p...

<ol>
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H., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Design+and+experimental+testing+of+a+1.9+MWth+calcium+looping+pilot+plant.">Design and experimental testing of a 1.9 MWth calcium looping pilot plant.</a> Energy Procedia. 63, 2100-2108 (2014).</li><li>Reitz, M., Junk, M., Str&#246;hle, J., Epple, B. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Design+and+operation+of+a+300kWth+indirectly+heated+carbonate+looping+pilot+plant.">Design and operation of a 300kWth indirectly heated carbonate looping pilot plant.</a> International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control. 54, 272-281 (2016).</li><li>Mart&#237;nez, A., Lara, Y., Lisbona, P., Romeo, L. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Energy+penalty+reduction+in+the+calcium+looping+cycle.">Energy penalty reduction in the calcium looping cycle.</a> International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control. 7, 74-81 (2012).</li><li>Perej&#243;n, A., Romeo, L. M., Lara, Y., Lisbona, P., Mart&#237;nez, A., Valverde, J. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+calcium-looping+technology+for+CO2+capture:+on+the+important+roles+of+energy+integration+and+sorbent+behavior.">The calcium-looping technology for CO2 capture: on the important roles of energy integration and sorbent behavior.</a> Appl Energy. 162, 787-807 (2016).</li><li>Mantripragada, H. C., Rubin, E. S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Calcium+looping+cycle+for+CO2+capture:+Performance,+cost+and+feasibility+analysis.">Calcium looping cycle for CO2 capture: Performance, cost and feasibility analysis.</a> Energy Procedia. 63, 2199-2206 (2014).</li><li>. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> ASTM C1271-99(2012), Standard Test Method for X-ray Spectrometric Analysis of Lime and Limestone. (2012), C1271-C1299 (2012).</li><li>. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> ASTM C25-11e2, Standard Test Methods for Chemical Analysis of Limestone, Quicklime, and Hydrated Lime. , C25-C11 (2011).</li><li>Alonso, M., Rodr&#237;guez, N., Grasa, G., Abanades, J. 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The operation of the calciner with an inlet of 100% vol oxygen is achievable, based on exploiting the endothermic nature of the calcination reaction, as well as the fact that the solids circulate between the two reactors at different temperatures. This operating mode aims to make the CaL process more economically promising by reducing capital and operating costs. As the recycle of flue gas (mainly CO2, water vapor and unreacted O2) is reduced or even eliminated, the heat consumed to preheat this str...

CO2 emissions and the resulting global warming are critical environmental issues that have attracted a large amount of research in the past years. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been acknowledged as a potential technology for reducing CO2 emissions to the atmosphere1,2. The most challenging part of the CCS chain is the capture of CO2, which is also the most costly stage3. In consequence, there has been a focus on developing new technologies for CO2 capture from power plants and other industrial facilities.
CaL as a post-combustion CO2 capture technology, was first proposed by Shimizu et al.4 CO2 is captured by a CaO-based sorbent at 600-700 &#176;C in a reactor called a carbonator, and released by subsequent calcination at 850-950 &#176;C (in a calciner) according to Eq. (1), to produce a high-purity CO2 stream suitable for sequestration5,6. The CaL cycle utilises fluidized beds, which represent an optimal configuration for this process, since they allow for large amounts of solids to be circulated easily from one reactor to the other4,5,6,7,8.
CaO (s) + CO2 (g) &#8660; CaCO3 (s)&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; &#916;H25 &#176;C = -178.2 kJ/mol&#160; (1)
This concept has been demonstrated at pilot scale by various groups and with different configurations and scales, such as the 0.2 MWth pilot in Stuttgart, the 1 MWth pilot in Darmstadt, the 1.7 MWth pilot in La Pereda and the 1.9 MWth unit in Taiwan9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16. Although this process has been proven, there are still possibilities for increasing its thermal efficiency, such as by modifying the standard operating conditions and changes in the design of the reactor configuration.
The use of heat pipes between the combustor and calciner has been studied instead of oxy-combusting fuel in the calciner. The results for the CO2 capture performance are comparable with those of a conventional CaL pilot-plant, however, this process has higher plant efficiencies and lower CO2 avoidance costs17. Mart&#237;nez et al.18 investigated the heat integration possibilities in order to preheat the solid material entering the calciner and to reduce the heat needed in the calciner. The results showed 9% reduction in the coal consumption when compared with that of the standard case. Other studied possibilities for heat integration have also considered internal and external integration options19.
One of the main problems of the CaL cycle from the economic point of view is to supply the energy needed in the calciner by means of fuel combustion20. Increasing the oxygen concentration in the calciner&#39;s inlet is proposed in order to reduce or even avoid the need of CO2 recycle to the calciner. This alternative reduces the capital costs (reduced size of calciner and air separation units (ASU)), which can significantly improve the competitiveness of this process. The drastic change in the combustion conditions can be attained by exploiting the endothermic calcination reaction and the large CaO/CaCO3 flow circulating from the carbonator operating at lower temperatures (neither advantage is available with the oxy-combustion technology).
This work aims to develop a standard operating procedure for running a CaL pilot plant with a Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) carbonator and a Bubbling Fluidized Bed (BFB) calciner with 100% O2 concentration in the calciner&#39;s inlet. Several experimental campaigns have been run during the commissioning of the pilot plant to ensure proper operation as the oxygen concentration increased. Also, three limestone particle size distributions (100-200 &#181;m; 200-300 &#181;m; 300-400 &#181;m) were studied to investigate how this parameter affects the elutriation of particles and capture efficiency in this operating mode.

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Longcal limestone</td>
			<td>Loncliffe</td>
			<td>Longcal SP52</td>
			<td>n/a</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mechanical Shacker</td>
			<td>SWECO</td>
			<td>LS24S544+C</td>
			<td>Mechanical siever to separate particles</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Oxygen</td>
			<td>BOC</td>
			<td>n/a</td>
			<td>BOC cylinders</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Nitrogen</td>
			<td>BOC</td>
			<td>n/a</td>
			<td>BOC tank</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Carbon dioxide</td>
			<td>BOC</td>
			<td>n/a</td>
			<td>BOC tank</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Natural gas</td>
			<td>n/a</td>
			<td>n/a</td>
			<td>Taken from the line</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

operation of a 25 kwth calcium looping pilot-plant with high oxygen concentrations in the calciner

Calcium looping (CaL) is a post-combustion CO2 capture technology that is suitable for retrofitting existing power plants. The CaL process uses limestone as a cheap and readily available CO2 sorbent. While the technology has been widely studied, there are a few available options that could be applied to make it more economically viable. One of these is to increase the oxygen concentration in the calciner to reduce or eliminate the amount of recycled gas (CO2, H2O and impurities); therefore, decreasing or removing the energy necessary to heat the recycled gas stream. Moreover, there is a resulting increase in the energy input due to the change in the combustion intensity; this energy is used to enable the endothermic calcination reaction to occur in the absence of recycled flue gases. This paper presents the operation and first results of a CaL pilot plant with 100% oxygen combustion of natural gas in the calciner. The gas coming into the carbonator was a simulated flue gas from a coal-fired power plant or cement industry. Several limestone particle size distributions are also tested to further explore the effect of this parameter on the overall performance of this operating mode. The configuration of the reactor system, the operating procedures, and the results are described in detail in this paper. The reactor showed good hydrodynamic stability and stable CO2 capture, with capture efficiencies of up to 70% with a gas mixture simulating the flue gas of a coal-fired power plant.

The experimental set-up is shown in Figure 3. The plant comprises two interconnected fluidized-beds. Namely, the carbonator is a CFB with 4.3 m height and 0.1 m internal diameter (ID); while the calciner is a BFB with 1.2 m height and 0.165 m ID. The solid transport from one reactor to the other is controlled by two loop-seals fluidized with nitrogen. Both reactors are fed a mixture of gas through a preheating line, and both are electrically heated; moreover,...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Operation of a 25 KWth Calcium Looping Pilot-plant with High Oxygen Concentrations in the Calciner at JoVE.com

Operation of a 25 KWth Calcium Looping Pilot-plant with High Oxygen Concentrations in the Calciner

This manuscript describes a procedure for operating a calcium looping pilot-plant for post-combustion carbon capture with high oxygen concentrations in the calciner in order to reduce or eliminate the flue gas recycle.

Operation of a 25 KWth Calcium Looping Pilot-plant with High Oxygen Concentrations in the Calciner

Calcium looping (CaL) is a post-combustion CO2 capture technology that is suitable for retrofitting existing power plants. The CaL process uses limestone ...

The overall goal of this procedure is to determine an operational mode that reduces or even eliminates the recirculation of off-gas into the calciner in a calcium looping pilot plant. This method can help answer key questions in the calcium looping field, such as how to increase the energy needed in the calciner. The main advantage of this operational mode is that it reduces the size of the calciner as well as the amount of fuel and oxygen used.To begin this procedure, use a mechanical shaker to sieve approximately 50 kilograms of limestone to the desired particle size distribution. Place the sieved materials in pots next to the calciner for feeding during the procedure. Next, start a low flow of nitrogen gas in the carbonator, calciner and the loop seals in the rotameters.Turn on the carbonator transformers, manually. Set the temperatures of all carbonator electrical pre-heaters to 600 degrees Celsius. Begin acquiring data for temperature, pressure and gas composition in both reactors.Then, turn on the calciner, gas pre-heaters. Set the heater around the calciner to 600 degrees Celsius, measuring inside the bubbling, fluidized bed, via a thermocouple. Open to calciner's top valve.Add three liters of the sieved limestone into the downpipe and then close the top valve. After this, open the bottom valve so that the material flows into the reactor. Heat the material as outlined in the text protocol.To begin, increase the flow of oxygen to increase the concentration in the calciner from zero to 40%volume. Make sure that the concentration is stable before starting the combustion. Next, use a rotameter to manually start the stoichiometric flow of natural gas.Adjust the rotameter for the natural gas flow to increase the oxygen concentration in the calciner in 20%increments, until 100%oxygen concentration, natural gas combustion is achieved. After this, add seven liters of limestone to the fluidized bed in 0.5 liters increments. Then, increase the flow of nitrogen gas in the carbonator to start the circulation.Calcine all of the material, as outlined in the text protocol before starting carbon dioxide capture. To begin, use the rotatmeter to manually, switch the carbonation gas from nitrogen to 15%volume carbon dioxide. Using the rotameters, manually adjust the flow of natural gas and oxygen to the calciner, until a stable temperature of between 930 and 950 degrees Celsius is achieved.When the material's activity begins to decline, add more limestone. To begin the shut-down procedure, use the rotameter to manually turn off the natural gas flow. Slowly, decrease the flow of oxygen, until it is shut off, then switch the gases in both reactions to nitrogen.Turn off all heaters and let the rig cool overnight. The reactors have to cool overnight to reach room temperature. In this study, a plant comprised of two interconnected, fluidized beds is used to test the process of running from 20%oxygen to 100%oxygen at the calciner inlet.The rig is first tested with 30%oxygen and the limestone fraction between 200 and 300 micrometers circulating between the two reactors. The inferior capture efficiency of 45%is mainly due to there being insufficient heat to calcine all of the limestone in the bubbling fluidized bed. This causes a decrease in the ratio of calcium oxide to calcium carbonate in the carbonator feed.The rig is then tested with 100%oxygen and a limestone fraction of 100 to 200 micrometers. Most of the limestone material ended up in the calciner cyclone. This is likely the cause of the low capture efficiency and suggests that smaller limestone particles do not provide a beneficial effect on system performance.Lastly, the rig is tested with 100%oxygen, a limestone fraction between 300 and 400 micrometers and careful control over the heat and limestone content. As can be seen, a stable capture efficiency of approximately 70%is achieved for over three hours. Thus, it can be determined that a stable run can be achieved with optimized conditions.After it's development, this technique paved the way for researchers in the field of carbon capture to test the calcium looping cycle with high oxygen concentrations in the calciner. After watching this video, you should have a good understanding of how to perform an experiment, running with high oxygen concentrations in the calciner. Don't forget that working with high oxygen concentrations can be extremely hazardous and precautions, such as turning off the gas if combustion is not occurring properly should always be taken while performing this procedure.

operation-25-kwth-calcium-looping-pilot-plant-with-high-oxygen

Research

JoVE Journal

Environment

Determination of Microbial Extracellular Enzyme Activity in Waters, Soils, and Sediments using High Throughput Microplate Assays

Much of the nutrient cycling and carbon processing in natural environments occurs through the activity of extracellular enzymes released by microorganisms. Thus, measurement of the activity of these extracellular enzymes can give insights into the rates of ecosystem level processes, such as organic matter decomposition or nitrogen and phosphorus mineralization. Assays of extracellular enzyme activity in environmental samples typically involve exposing the samples to artificial colorimetric or fluorometric substrates and tracking the rate of substrate hydrolysis. Here we describe microplate based methods for these procedures that allow the analysis of large numbers of samples within a short time frame. Samples are allowed to react with artificial substrates within 96-well microplates or deep well microplate blocks, and enzyme activity is subsequently determined by absorption or fluorescence of the resulting end product using a typical microplate reader or fluorometer. Such high throughput procedures not only facilitate comparisons between spatially separate sites or ecosystems, but also substantially reduce the cost of such assays by reducing overall reagent volumes needed per sample.

Microplate based procedures are described for the colorimetric or fluorometric analysis of extracellular enzyme activity. These procedures allow for the rapid assay of such activity in large numbers of environmental samples within a manageable time frame.

Much of the nutrient cycling and carbon  processing in natural environments occurs through the activity of extracellular  enzymes released by ...

Optimized Negative Staining: a High-throughput Protocol for Examining Small and Asymmetric Protein Structure by Electron Microscopy

Structural determination of proteins is rather challenging for proteins with molecular masses between 40 - 200 kDa. Considering that more than half of natural proteins have a molecular mass between 40 - 200 kDa1,2, a robust and high-throughput method with a nanometer resolution capability is needed. Negative staining (NS) electron microscopy (EM) is an easy, rapid, and qualitative approach which has frequently been used in research laboratories to examine protein structure and protein-protein interactions. Unfortunately, conventional NS protocols often generate structural artifacts on proteins, especially with lipoproteins that usually form presenting rouleaux artifacts. By using images of lipoproteins from cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) as a standard, the key parameters in NS specimen preparation conditions were recently screened and reported as the optimized NS protocol (OpNS), a modified conventional NS protocol 3 . Artifacts like rouleaux can be greatly limited by OpNS, additionally providing high contrast along with reasonably high&#8208;resolution (near 1 nm) images of small and asymmetric proteins. These high-resolution and high contrast images are even favorable for an individual protein (a single object, no average) 3D reconstruction, such as a 160 kDa antibody, through the method of electron tomography4,5. Moreover, OpNS can be a high&#8208;throughput tool to examine hundreds of samples of small proteins. For example, the previously published mechanism of 53 kDa cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) involved the screening and imaging of hundreds of samples 6. Considering cryo-EM rarely successfully images proteins less than 200 kDa has yet to publish any study involving screening over one hundred sample conditions, it is fair to call OpNS a high-throughput method for studying small proteins. Hopefully the OpNS protocol presented here can be a useful tool to push the boundaries of EM and accelerate EM studies into small protein structure, dynamics and mechanisms.

More than half of proteins are small proteins (molecular mass &#60;200 kDa) that are challenging for both electron microscope imaging and three-dimensional reconstructions. Optimized negative staining is a robust and high-throughput protocol to obtain high contrast and relatively high resolution (~1 nm) images of small asymmetric proteins or complexes under different physiological conditions.

Structural determination of proteins is rather challenging for proteins with molecular masses between 40 - 200 kDa. Considering that more than half of ...

A Simple Approach to Manipulate Dissolved Oxygen for Animal Behavior Observations

The ability to manipulate dissolved oxygen (DO) in a laboratory setting has significant application to investigate a number of ecological and organismal behavior questions. The protocol described here provides a simple, reproducible, and controlled method to manipulate DO to study behavioral response in aquatic organisms resulting from hypoxic and anoxic conditions. While performing degasification of water with nitrogen is commonly used in laboratory settings, no explicit method for ecological (aquatic) application exists in the literature, and this protocol is the first to describe a protocol to degasify water to observe organismal response. This technique and protocol were developed for direct application for aquatic macroinvertebrates; however, small fish, amphibians, and other aquatic vertebrates could be easily substituted. It allows for easy manipulation of DO levels ranging from 2 mg/L to 11 mg/L with stability for up to a 5 min animal-observation period. Beyond a 5 min observation period water temperatures began to rise, and at 10 min DO levels became too unstable to maintain. The protocol is scalable to the study organism, reproducible, and reliable, allowing for rapid implementation into introductory teaching labs and high-level research applications. The expected results of this technique should relate dissolved oxygen changes to behavioral responses of organisms.

This article describes a simple and reproducible protocol to manipulate dissolved oxygen conditions in a laboratory setting for animal behavior studies. This protocol may be used in both teaching and research laboratory settings to evaluate organismal response of macroinvertebrates, fishes, or amphibians to changes in dissolved oxygen concentration.

The ability to manipulate dissolved oxygen (DO) in a laboratory setting has significant application to investigate a number of ecological and organismal ...

Methods of Soil Resampling to Monitor Changes in the Chemical Concentrations of Forest Soils

Recent soils research has shown that important chemical soil characteristics can change in less than a decade, often the result of broad environmental changes. Repeated sampling to monitor these changes in forest soils is a relatively new practice that is not well documented in the literature and has only recently been broadly embraced by the scientific community. The objective of this protocol is therefore to synthesize the latest information on methods of soil resampling in a format that can be used to design and implement a soil monitoring program. Successful monitoring of forest soils requires that a study unit be defined within an area of forested land that can be characterized with replicate sampling locations. A resampling interval of 5 years is recommended, but if monitoring is done to evaluate a specific environmental driver, the rate of change expected in that driver should be taken into consideration. Here, we show that the sampling of the profile can be done by horizon where boundaries can be clearly identified and horizons are sufficiently thick to remove soil without contamination from horizons above or below. Otherwise, sampling can be done by depth interval. Archiving of sample for future reanalysis is a key step in avoiding analytical bias and providing the opportunity for additional analyses as new questions arise.

Repeated soil sampling has recently been shown to be an effective way to monitor forest soil change over years and decades. To support its use, a protocol is presented that synthesizes the latest information on soil resampling methods to aid in the design and implementation of successful soil monitoring programs.

Recent soils research has shown that important chemical soil characteristics can change in less than a decade, often the result of broad environmental ...

Measuring and Mapping Patterns of Soil Erosion and Deposition Related to Soil Carbonate Concentrations Under Agricultural Management

Spatial patterns of soil erosion and deposition can be inferred from differences in ground elevation mapped at appropriate time increments. Such changes in elevation are related to changes in near-surface soil carbonate (CaCO3) profiles. The objective is to describe a simple conceptual model and detailed protocol for repeatable field and laboratory measurements of these quantities. Here, accurate elevation is measured using a ground-based differential global positioning system (GPS); other data acquisition methods could be applied to the same basic method. Soil samples are collected from prescribed depth intervals and analyzed in the lab using an efficient and precise modified pressure-calcimeter method for quantitative analysis of inorganic carbon concentration. Standard statistical methods are applied to point data, and representative results show significant correlations between changes in soil surface layer CaCO3 and changes in elevation consistent with the conceptual model; CaCO3 generally decreased in depositional areas and increased in erosional areas. Maps are derived from point measurements of elevation and soil CaCO3 to aid analyses. A map of erosional and depositional patterns at the study site, a rain-fed winter wheat field cropped in alternating wheat-fallow strips, shows the interacting effects of water and wind erosion affected by management and topography. Alternative sampling methods and depth intervals are discussed and recommended for future work relating soil erosion and deposition to soil CaCO3.

Spatial patterns of soil erosion and deposition can be inferred from differences in ground elevation mapped at appropriate time increments. Such changes in elevation are related to changes in near-surface soil carbonates. Repeatable methods for field and laboratory measurements of these quantities and data analysis methods are described here.

Spatial patterns of soil erosion and deposition can be inferred from differences in ground elevation mapped at appropriate time increments. Such changes ...

High-throughput, Microscale Protocol for the Analysis of Processing Parameters and Nutritional Qualities in Maize (Zea mays L.)

Maize is an important grain crop in the United States and worldwide. However, maize grain must be processed prior to human consumption. Furthermore, whole grain composition and processing characteristics vary among maize hybrids and can impact the quality of the final processed product. Therefore, in order to produce healthier processed food products from maize, it is necessary to know how to optimize processing parameters for particular sets of germplasm to account for these differences in grain composition and processing characteristics. This includes a better understanding of how current processing techniques impact the nutritional quality of the final processed food product. Here, we describe a microscale protocol that both simulates the processing pipeline to produce cornflakes from large flaking grits and allows for the processing of multiple grain samples simultaneously. The flaking grits, the intermediate processed products, or final processed product, as well as the corn grain itself, can be analyzed for nutritional content as part of a high-throughput analytical pipeline. This procedure was developed specifically for incorporation into a maize breeding research program, and it can be modified for other grain crops. We provide an example of the analysis of insoluble-bound ferulic acid and p-coumaric acid content in maize. Samples were taken at five different processing stages. We demonstrate that sampling can take place at multiple stages during microscale processing, that the processing technique can be utilized in the context of a specialized maize breeding program, and that, in our example, most of the nutritional content was lost during food product processing.

High-throughput, Microscale Protocol for the Analysis of Processing Parameters and Nutritional Qualities in Maize Zea mays L.

Here, we present a microscale protocol for processing grain samples and for incorporating this microscale approach into a high-throughput analytical pipeline. This is a higher throughput adaptation of currently available protocols.

Maize is an important grain crop in the United States and worldwide. However, maize grain must be processed prior to human consumption. Furthermore, whole ...

Sampling, Sorting, and Characterizing Microplastics in Aquatic Environments with High Suspended Sediment Loads and Large Floating Debris

The ubiquitous presence of plastic debris in the ocean is widely recognized by the public, scientific communities, and government agencies. However, only recently have microplastics in freshwater systems, such as rivers and lakes, been quantified. Microplastic sampling at the surface usually consists of deploying drift nets behind either a stationary or moving boat, which limits the sampling to environments with low levels of suspended sediments and floating or submerged debris. Previous studies that employed drift nets to collect microplastic debris typically used nets with &#8805;300 &#181;m mesh size, allowing plastic debris (particles and fibers) below this size to pass through the net and elude quantification. The protocol detailed here enables: 1) sample collection in environments with high suspended loads and floating or submerged debris and 2) the capture and quantification of microplastic particles and fibers &lt;300 &#181;m. Water samples were collected using a peristaltic pump in low-density polyethylene (PE) containers to be stored before filtering and analysis in the lab. Filtration was done with a custom-made microplastic filtration device containing detachable union joints that housed nylon mesh sieves and mixed cellulose ester membrane filters. Mesh sieves and membrane filters were examined with a stereomicroscope to quantify and separate microplastic particulates and fibers. These materials were then examined using a micro-attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (micro ATR-FTIR) to determine microplastic polymer type. Recovery was measured by spiking samples using blue PE particulates and green nylon fibers; percent recovery was determined to be 100% for particulates and 92% for fibers. This protocol will guide similar studies on microplastics in high velocity rivers with high concentrations of sediment. With simple modifications to the peristaltic pump and filtration device, users can collect and analyze various sample volumes and particulate sizes.

Most microplastic research to date has occurred in marine systems where suspended solid levels are relatively low. Focus is now shifting to freshwater systems, which may feature high sediment loads and floating debris. This protocol addresses collecting and analyzing microplastic samples from aquatic environments that contain high suspended solid loads.

The ubiquitous presence of plastic debris in the ocean is widely recognized by the public, scientific communities, and government agencies. However, only ...

Composition and Distribution Analysis of Bioaerosols Under Different Environmental Conditions

Variable microorganisms in particulate matter (PM) under different environmental conditions may have significant impacts on human health. In this study, we described a protocol for multiple analyses of the biological compositions in environmental PM. Five experiments are presented: (1) PM number monitoring by using a laser particle counter; (2) PM collection by using a cyclonic aerosol sampler; (3) PM collection by using a high-volume air sampler with filters; (4) culturable microbes collection by the Andersen six-stage sampler; and (5) detection of biological composition of environmental PM by bacterial 16SrDNA and fungal ITS region sequencing. We selected hazy days and a livestock farm as two typical examples of the application in this protocol. In this study, these two sampling methods, cyclonic aerosol sampler and filter sampler, showed different sampling efficiency. The cyclonic aerosol sampler performed much better in terms of collecting bacteria, while these two methods showed the same efficiency in collecting fungi. Filter samplers can work under low temperature conditions while cyclonic aerosol samplers have a sampling limitation for temperature. A solid impacting sampler, such as an Andersen six-stage sampler, can be used to sample bioaerosols directly into the culture medium, which increases the survival rate of culturable microorganisms. However, this method mainly relies on culture while more than 99% of microbes cannot be cultured. DNA extracted from the culturable bacteria collected by the Andersen six-stage sampler and samples collected by cyclonic aerosol sampler and filter sampler were detected by bacterial 16S rDNA and fungal ITS region sequencing.All the methods above may have wide application in many fields of study, such as environmental monitoring and airborne pathogen detection. From these results, we can conclude that these methods can be used under different conditions and may help other researchers further explore the health impacts of environmental bioaerosols.

Understanding the biological composition of environmental particulate matter is important for the study of its significant impacts on human health and disease spread. Here, we used three types of bioaerosol sampling methods and a biological analysis of airborne microbes to better explore airborne microbial communities under different environmental conditions.

Variable microorganisms in particulate matter (PM) under different environmental conditions may have significant impacts on human health. In this study, ...

Evaluation of the Productivity of Social Wasp Colonies (Vespinae) and an Introduction to the Traditional Japanese Vespula Wasp Hunting Technique

For vespine wasps, colony productivity is typically estimated by counting the number of larval cells. This paper presents an improved method that enables researchers to estimate more accurately the number of adults produced, counting the number of meconia (the stools left in the cells by wasp larvae when pupating into adults, per 100 cells) in each comb. This method can be applied before or after colony collapse (i.e., in active or inactive nests). The paper also describes how to locate wild Vespula wasp colonies by &#34;flagging&#34; wasp baits and chasing the wasp collecting them, using a method traditionally performed by local people in central Japan (as illustrated in the associated video). The Vespula chasing method described has several advantages: it is easy to reinitiate the chase from a point where the forager flying back to the nest was lost, and it is easy to pinpoint the nest location as marked wasps often lose their flag at the nest entrance. These methods for estimating colony productivity and collecting nests can be valuable for researchers studying social wasps.

Evaluation of the Productivity of Social Wasp Colonies Vespinae and an Introduction to the Traditional Japanese Vespula Wasp Hunting Technique

This methodological paper evaluates the productivity of a social wasp colony by examining the number of meconia per 100 cells of comb, to estimate the total number of adults the wasps produced. The associated video describes how to search for Vespula wasp nests, a method developed by amateur wasp chasers.

For vespine wasps, colony productivity is typically estimated by counting the number of larval cells. This paper presents an improved method that enables ...

A High-throughput Assay for the Prediction of Chemical Toxicity by Automated Phenotypic Profiling of Caenorhabditis elegans

Applying toxicity testing of chemicals in higher order organisms, such as mice or rats, is time-consuming and expensive, due to their long lifespan and maintenance issues. On the contrary, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) has advantages to make it an ideal choice for toxicity testing: a short lifespan, easy cultivation, and efficient reproduction. Here, we describe a protocol for the automatic phenotypic profiling of C. elegans in a 384-well plate. The nematode worms are cultured in a 384-well plate with liquid medium and chemical treatment, and videos are taken of each well to quantify the chemical influence on 33 worm features. Experimental results demonstrate that the quantified phenotype features can classify and predict the acute toxicity for different chemical compounds and establish a priority list for further traditional chemical toxicity assessment tests in a rodent model.

A High-throughput Assay for the Prediction of Chemical Toxicity by Automated Phenotypic Profiling of Caenorhabditis elegans

A quantitative method has been developed to identify and predict the acute toxicity of chemicals by automatically analyzing the phenotypic profiling of Caenorhabditis elegans. This protocol describes how to treat worms with chemicals in a 384-well plate, capture videos, and quantify toxicological related phenotypes.

Applying toxicity testing of chemicals in higher order organisms, such as mice or rats, is time-consuming and expensive, due to their long lifespan and ...