Rice Straw

Este trabalho teve por objetivo comparar a produção de frutos e de estolhos do morangueiro (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) cv. Campinas IAC-2712, em função de três sistemas de condução em ambiente protegido (solo, hidropônico-NFT e hidroponia em casca de arroz carbonizada em colunas verticais). O experimento foi realizado no período de junho de 2000 a fevereiro de 2001, na Estação Experimental de Agronomia de Jundiaí (latitude: 23 o 06'S, longitude: 46 o 55'W, altitude média: 715 m, clima Cwa), do Instituto Agronômico, seguindo-se o delineamento de parcelas subdivididas com três repetições, em casa de vegetação modelo semi-arco com abertura zenital superior. Nos dois sistemas hidropônicos foram usadas duas composições de soluções nutritivas, respectivamente, para a fase de crescimento vegetativo e para a produção de frutos. Os resultados obtidos permitiram concluir que no sistema vertical, embora as produções de frutos e de estolhos por planta tenham sido menores que nos demais sistemas estudados, há possibilidade de melhor aproveitamento interno do ambiente protegido, com reflexos positivos no aumento do rendimento por área e maior facilidade de manejo da cultura, incluindo as operações de transplante, limpeza das plantas e colheitas de frutos e remoção de estolhos. Essas vantagens também se aplicam ao sistema hidropônico-NFT mesmo não tendo apresentado diferenças de produção em relação ao cultivo convencional. Palavras-chave: Fragaria x ananassa Duch., substrato, hidroponia, qualidade de frutos, nutrição mineral. ABSTRACT FRUIT AND RUNNER TIPS PRODUCTION OF STRAWBERRY PLANTS GROWN ON DIFFERENT CROPPING SYSTEMS UNDER PROTECTED CULTIVATION The objective of this work was to compare the strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) fruit and runner tips production in function of three types of cropping systems (conventional soil, NFT hydroponics, and vertical bags with carbonized rice straw as substrate) under protected cultivation. The cultivar used was 'Campinas IAC-2712'. The experiment was done in a greenhouse during the period from June 2000 to February 2001, at Agronomy Experimental Station of Jundiai (latitude-23 o 06'S, longitude-46 o 55'W, mean altitude-715 m, and climate Cwa), Agronomic Institute, following the statistical experimental design of split plot model with three replications as blocks. Two compositions of the nutrient solutions were used for the two hydroponics systems according to the plant vegetative and fruiting stages, respectively. The results allowed to conclude that in the vertical system, although the fruit and runner tips productions per plant were lower than the other systems, there is a possibility to increase the internal space of a protected environment. This would promote increase in the production per area and also give better crop management including transplanting, cleaning and harvesting of fruits and runner tips. These advantages also apply to the NFT hydroponics system despite it did presented any difference in production compared to the conventional soil cropping system.

Rice straw was treated with a mixed solution of acetic acid and propionic acid to enhance its biodegradability. The effect of acid concentration, pretreatment time, and the ratio of solid to liquid on the delignification performance of rice straw were investigated. It was found that the optimal conditions for hydrolysis were 0.75 mol/L acid concentration, 2 h pretreatment time and 1:20 solid to liquid ratio. Batch methane fermentation of untreated rice straw, pretreated rice straw, and the hydrolysates (the liquid fraction) of pretreatment were conducted at 35°C for 30 days, and the results indicated that methane production of rice straw can be enhanced by dilute organic acid pretreatment. Moreover, most of the acid in hydrolysates can also be converted into methane gas.

Introduction The use of non-conventional feedstuffs is gaining recognition especially in developing countries. Ensiled cattle manure with other feedstuffs has been used in ruminant feeding. Vermicomposting, a tool for manure management can be employed as a means for manure treatment with the aim of enhancing nutritive value of forage. The objectives of the study were to determine the nutritive value of cattle manure vermicast (CMV) and to observe gas production in vitro due to CMV inclusion on rice straw at different proportions. Results Vermicomposting of cattle manure at 2, 4 and 6 weeks linearly increased (P \ 0.05) significantly crude protein and ash, while it linearly decreased (P \ 0.05) significantly organic matter, neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and acid detergent fibre. The result showed that, gas production decline with an increased in CMV content (P \ 0.05). CMV addition to rice straw had no significant (P [ 0.05) effect on rumen pH and microbial crude protein production in vitro. CMV inclusion reduced dry matter degradability and increased partitioning factor at 48 h. 5 % inclusion level of CMV gave the highest results while 30 % CMV had the least results. Conclusion Vermicomposting of cattle manure increased its nutritive value, with increase in crude protein content and decrease in NDF and ADF. Results of in vitro gas production and rumen fermentation profiles from this study indicated that inclusion of CMV reduced gas production and DMD; however, it increased PF 48 , with no significant changes in MCP. Vermicomposting has the potential of being used as another tool for forage treatment and addition of CMV could be expected to reduce ruminant gas production, increase ME and microbial protein synthesis.

Composting is an alternative for recycling agricultural residues and sewage sludge, and the end pro- duct can be used as fertilizer for land application. In order to study the composting process with sludge from water sewage treatment plants and rice straw, environmental factors should be controlled. The aim of our study was to investigate the optimum C/N ratio, moisture and pH to maximize microbial activity. The incubation of sewage sludge and rice straw mixtures were conducted using an experiment design with three different C/N ratios (17, 24 and 41), moistures (40, 60 and 70 %) and pH (5.65, 6.65 and 8.75). The micro- bial activity was measured as manometric measurement of oxygen consumption. The enhancement of microbial activity is induced by low C/N ratio, high moisture content, and pH basic. Our results suggest that the initial blend with these raw materials must be about 17 C/N ratio, while moisture content must be between 60 % and the pH 8.75 in the composting process.

The elite anaerobic fungal cultures Neocallimastix sp GR-1, Piromyces sp WNG-12 and Orpinomyces sp C-14 were isolated from wild blue bull and cattle respectively of grazing and browsing goat. Attempts were made to grow these cultures in normal media or using stress conditions by keeping them at lower or higher temperature than 39oc or using a complex media; Normal media produced maximum number of fungal zoospores after 120 hrs of incubation. The in- vitro dry matter, acid detergent fibre, neutral detergent fibre digestibility were studied using fresh zoospores; or those being kept at normal; lower or higher temperature than 39oC. Based on in vitro digestibility of DM, NDF and ADF of wheat straw and wheat straw based total mixed rations. The Neocallimastix sp GR-1was found better as compared to Piromyces sp WNG-12 and Orpinomyces sp C-14as this anaerobic fungi produced maximum numbers of zoospores and also proved to be best performing for its ability to degrade lignified feed material.

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Size distributions of particulate hopanes, steranes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in the exhaust from four heavy-duty diesel vehicles (HDDVs) operated under idle, creep, transient, and two highspeed driving modes. Particulate matter was collected using a chassis dynamometer and a dilution sampling system equipped with cascade impactors and filter samplers. Samples were extracted using organic solvents and analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Size distributions of hopanes and steranes were functions of engine load conditions and vehicle technology. Hopanes and steranes peaked in size ranges larger than 0.18 µm aerodynamic particle diameter under light load conditions and less than 0.10 µm aerodynamic particle diameter under heavier load conditions. The eight hopane size distributions emitted from newer technology (>1998) vehicles were unimodal while the four hopane size distributions emitted from older technology vehicles (<1992) were bimodal. Similar trends between older and newer vehicles were not observed for sterane size distributions. The PAH composition emitted from HDDVs was a function of driving cycle and vehicle technology. Light driving cycles produced quantifiable emissions of 3, 4, 5, and 6 ring PAHs (including coronene). Heavier driving cycles produced only the 3 and 4 ring PAHs in quantifiable amounts. PM1.8 and PM0.1 source profiles constructed using the relative abundance of hopanes and steranes to total organic carbon were functions of vehicle load condition. Increasing load reduced the relative abundance of motor oil tracers in the PM1.8 size fraction and increased the abundance of these tracers in the PM0.1 size fraction. The relative abundances of PAHs in the PM0.1 and PM1.8 size fractions emitted from the oldest vehicle tested (1985 HDDV) were significantly higher than for any other vehicle tested.

Silica nanoparticles have been prepared through dissolution-precipitation process from rice straw ash (RSA) for different electronic applications. The dissolution of silica from RSA was carried out using alkali leaching process by sodium hydroxide. The precipitation of silica from the produced sodium silicate solution was carried out using sulphuric acid at pH 7. The factors affecting the precipitation process of the sodium silicate solution of dissociated RSA; such as; sodium silicate concentration, sulfuric acid concentration and addition of anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS) on the particle size of the precipitated silica were studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), specific surface area S BET and transmission electron microscope (TEM) have been used for the characterization of the produced nano-silica. The results showed that the optimum conditions of the dissolution efficiency of the silica of about 99% was achieved at 100 • C for 4 h, and NaOH/SiO 2 molar ratio three. The particle size of the precipitated silica gel was decreased with increasing Na 2 SiO 3 and SDS concentrations, while H 2 SO 4 concentration had insignificant effect. Particle size of about 16 nm can be achieved at 30% Na 2 SiO 3 , 4% H 2 SO 4 and 200 ppm SDS. The produced silica had 99.93% purity, amorphous and nanosphere particles with narrow size distribution. The produced silica can be used in many applications especially for chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) slurries for semiconductors industries.

Burning of rice straw is a common practice in northwest India, where rice–wheat cropping system is extensively followed. The practice results in loss of nutrients, atmospheric pollution and emission of greenhouse gases. A field experiment was conducted at Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India during the rabi season (November to April) of 2002–2003 to evaluate the efficacy of the various modes of rice straw recycling in soil in improving yield and soil fertility and reducing not only carbon dioxide emission but also nitrous oxide (N2O) emission. The treatment with no rice straw incorporation and application of recommended doses of fertilizer (120, 26 and 50 kg N, P and K ha−1, respectively), gave the highest yield of wheat. Treatments with the incorporation of rice straw at 5 Mg ha−1 with additional amount of inorganic N (60 kg N ha−1) or inoculation of microbial culture had similar grain yields to that of the treatment with no straw incorporation. The lowest yield was recorded in the plots where rice straw was incorporated in soil without additional inorganic N and with manure application. All the treatments with rice straw incorporation had larger soil organic C despite the effect on the mineralisation of soil organic matter. Emission of N2O was more when additional N was added with rice straw and secondary when straw was added to the soil because of higher microbial activity. The study showed that burning of rice straw could be avoided without affecting yield of wheat crop by incorporating rice straw in soil with an additional dose of inorganic N or microbial inoculation. However, the reduction of N2O emission due to avoiding burning is in part counterbalanced by an increase in emission during the subsequent wheat cultivation.

To address the dispensing of this growing volume, a study on utilization of jatropha (Jatropha curcas) deoiled cake through compost production was carried out. The deoiled cake was composted with rice straw, four different animal dung (cow dung, buffalo dung, horse dung and goat dung) and hen droppings in different proportions followed by assessment, and comparison of biochemical characteristics among finished composts. Nutrient content in finished compost was within the desired level whereas metals such as copper, lead and nickel were much below the maximum allowable concentrations. Although a few finished material contained phorbol ester (0.12 mg/g), but it was far below the original level found in the deoiled cake. Such a study indicates that a huge volume of jatropha deoiled cake can be eliminated through composting.

Xylanase production by Aspergillus foetidus MTCC 4898 was carried out under solid state fermentation using wheat bran and anaerobically treated distillery spent wash. Response surface methodology involving Box-Behnken design was employed for optimizing xylanase production. The interactions among various fermentation parameters viz. moisture to substrate ratio, inoculum size, initial pH, effluent concentration and incubation time were investigated and modeled. The predicted xylanase activity under optimized parameters was 8200-8400 U/g and validated xylanase activity was 8450 U/g with very poor cellulase activity. Crude xylanase was used for enzymatic saccharification of agroresidues like wheat straw, rice straw and corncobs. Dilute NaOH and ammonia pretreatments were found to be beneficial for the efficient enzymatic hydrolysis of all the three substrates. Dilute NaOH pretreated wheat straw, rice straw and corncobs yielded 4, 4.2, 4.6 g/l reducing sugars, respectively whereas ammonia treated wheat straw, rice straw and corncobs yielded 4.9, 4.7, 4.6 g/l reducing sugars, respectively. The hydrolyzates were analysed by HPTLC. Xylose was found to be the major end product with traces of glucose in the enzymatic hydrolyzates of all the substrates.

The potential of water extracts produced from rice straw (RST) and empty fruit bunch of oil palm (EFB) composts fortified with Trichoderma harzianum for the control of Choanephora wet rot of okra caused by Choanephora cucurbitarum was studied under field conditions. Disease severity was lowest in plants treated with Trichoderma-fortified RST extracts (9.56%) with a disease index of 1, mancozeb (Dithane M-45 s (2 g l À1 of water), Trichoderma-fortified EFB compost extracts, extracts of RST and EFB, and an aqueous suspension of T. harzianum recorded disease severity values of 10.25%, 19.38%, 37.56%, 53.71% and 56.36%, with a disease index of 1, 1, 2, 3 and 3, respectively. There was a reduction of 85.04% in Choanephora wet rot severity on okra treated with Trichoderma-fortified RST extracts during 12 weeks of assessment in the field, which was comparable to the conventional fungicide Dithane M-45 s , suggesting that application of extracts produced from well-matured compost fortified with biocontrol agents could be an alternative control strategy. r

MSc. Thesis by Saja I. Abid, supervised by Prof. Dr. Ali A. Saeed
Abstract
This study was conducted to investigate the possibility of improving nutritive value of rice straw by ensiling and to make use of desired taste of good quality silage. In addition to possibility of improving chemical composition by addition of urea and ruminant manure. Samples of rice straw silage were prepared in nutrition laboratory of Animal Production Department-College of Agriculture- Alqasim Green University. Straw was chopped manually to 1-2 cm and treated with treatment solution.  This solution was prepared by addition of 10% of low quality date honey as a source of soluble carbohydrates and commercial urea as a source of non-protein nitrogen at rate of 2%. Manure was used to substitute different ratios of urea on basis of nitrogen content. Accordingly 6 combinations were formed of urea: manure, 100:0, 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40 and 50:50. Treatment solution was diluted with estimated quantity of water to adjust dry matter content to about 40%. Silage components were packed in double plastic bags which were well compressed to exclude air and were tightly closed and stored underground for 60 days.
Results revealed that samples of rice straw silage prepared by addition of sheep manure were characterized with lower (P˂0.01) dry matter loss as compared with other samples. Samples prepared with cow manure recorded higher (P˂0.01) crude protein content as compared with those treated with sheep and buffalo manure, 3.59, 3.44 and 3.26% respectively. Increase protein content was noticed in all samples prepared with addition of manure as compared with samples prepared with addition of urea only (combination 100:0). Regarding cell wall components, samples prepared by addition of sheep manure recorded (P˂0.01) lower content of acid detergent fiber (39.98%), and higher (P˂0.01) content of hemicellulose as compared with samples prepared by addition of cow and buffalo manure, 74.45, 74.31 and 72.50% respectively. Reduction (P˂0.01) in content of acid detergent fiber and cellulose was recorded with combinations of 50:50, 60:40 and 70:30 in comparison with other combinations. Increase (P˂0.01) in hemicellulose and lignin was recorded with increasing level of manure in studied combination. Results of current study revealed different trend in neutral detergent fiber, lower values (P˂0.05) were associated with samples prepared with combination of 70:30 of urea: manure.
Regarding parameters of silage fermentation, results showed improvement due to addition of sheep manure as evidenced by reduction in pH values and concentration of ammonia nitrogen (5.04 and 0.642) as compared with values of samples prepared by addition of cow manure (5.17 and 0.679) and buffalo (5.31 and 0.682 g/100 g total nitrogen).  Samples prepared with addition of cow manure were characterized with higher (P˂0.01) concentration of total vaporized fatty acids. Reduction (P˂0.01) in pH was noticed with increasing level of manure as compared with combination of 100:0 which recorded higher (P˂0.01) value (6.16) and higher (P˂0.01) concentration of ammonia nitrogen as well. Samples prepared with combinations of 70:30, 60:40 and 50:50 were characterized with higher (P˂0.01) concentration of total vaporized fatty acids, 1.994, 2.126 and 2.018 % of dry matter respectively.
In microbial evaluation, samples prepared by addition of buffalo manure were characterized with lower (P˂0.01) number of yeasts, molds, aerobic bacteria, 4.46, 3.62 and 5.84, beside higher (P˂0.01) number of lactic acid bacteria. Lower number of these microbes and anaerobic bacteria were recorded in samples prepared with combination of 100:0 of urea: manure.                     
Concerning quality parameters, samples prepared by addition of sheep and cow manure recorded higher (P˂0.01) Fleig points as compared with those prepared by addition of buffalo manure, 60/42, 55.58 and 49.59 respectively.  Reduction (P˂0.01) in this parameter was noticed in samples prepared with combination of 100:0. Regarding aerobic stability, results revealed that there was a reduction (P˂0.01) in samples prepared by addition of sheep manure by 15 and 13 hours in comparison with samples prepared by addition of cow and buffalo manure respectively. Samples prepared with combination of 100:0 were prior (P˂0.01) as compared with other samples. Results also showed increase (P˂0.01) in in vitro digestibility of organic matter in samples prepared by addition of sheep manure in comparison with samples prepared by addition of cow and buffalo manure, 49.99, 44.59 and 42.77% respectively. Samples prepared with combination of 100:0 recorded lower (P˂0.05) decrease in in vitro digestibility of dry matter as compared with combinations of 70:30 and 60:40 of urea: manure, 40.52, 45.36 and 45.94% respectively. All silage samples recorded different improvement in in vitro digestibility of organic matter as compared with straw pre-ensiling. However, better values (P˂0.01) were achieved in combinations of 50:50 and 60:40 (46.82 and 46.78% respectively).

Agroindustrial and forestry residues, which are by-products of key industrial and economical activities, stand out as potential raw materials for the production of renewable fuels, chemicals and energy. The use of wastes is advantageous as their availability is not hindered by a requirement for arable land for the production of food and feed. In addition, waste utilization prevents its accumulation, which is of great environmental concern due to its potential for contamination of rivers and underground water. In Brazil, the agroindustry of corn (13767400 ha), sugarcane (7080920 ha), rice (2890930 ha), cassava (1894460 ha), wheat (1853220 ha), citrus (930591 ha), coconut (283205 ha), and grass (140000 ha) collectively occupies an area of 28840726 ha (FAOSTAT, http://www. faostat.fao.org/site/567/default.aspx#ancor) and generates 597 million tons of residue per year. By itself, this scale of operation calls for new solutions aiming for the appropriate utilization of these valuable resources. However, innovative dealings must be environmentally and economically acceptable and, most importantly, have social meaning. Indeed, great social benefits could draw from novel yearround activities as alternatives for the typical seasonal jobs in agroindustry. Considering the production of biomass ethanol, the abundance of feedstock near the site of processing must be taken into account, as low-density biomass involves significant handling and transportation costs. Within this context, the crushed stalk of sugar cane (bagasse) and straw are obvious choices, although bagasse is often burned for the production of steam (heat) and power/electricity in sugar-ethanol mills and important amounts of straw are needed to keep the soil nutrients balance. Other agricultural by-products of importance in Brazil, such as corn straw, wheat straw, rice straw and rice hulls, grass and forestry materials and residues from citrus, coconut and cassava processing, also deserve attention as local feedstock for the development of new and profitable activities. As each type of feedstock demands the development of tailor-made technology, the diversity of the aforementioned raw materials could allow for new solutions for the production of chemicals, fuels and energy in accordance with the local availability of these materials.

Pretreatment technology is a prerequisite to facilitate the release of sugars from a lignocellulosic biomass prior to fermentation. Recently, some pretreatment methods have been tried with ionic liquids, but they were still expensive and unpractical. In this study, an efficient pretreatment method using ammonia and ionic liquid was developed for the recovery of bio-digestible cellulose from a lignocellulosic byproduct, rice straw, and the increase of ionic liquid utilization. The combined use of ammonia and ionic liquid ([Emim]Ac) treatment exhibited a synergy effect for rice straw with 82% of the cellulose recovery and 97% of the enzymatic glucose conversion. This cooperative effect showed over 90% of the glucose conversion even with a reduced enzyme usage and incubation time. The ionic liquid was successfully recycled more than 20 times. The 20th-recycled ([Emim]Ac) showed 74% of the cellulose recovery and 78% of the glucose conversion to rice straw. Compared with the conventional pretreatment, our combined method for lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment was an economical and eco-friendly.

Straw, as a fiber, has been used as part of building materials for several thousand years. With the invention of the mechanical baler in the early 1900&#39;s it became possible for compressed straw to be used as the primary building block of exterior building walls. Although strawbale (SB) houses were popular for a short while in a local area of Nebraska, they lost favor for nearly half a century. There has recently been a rebirth in SB house construction and interest. In many cases the interest stems from the highly insulating, simple, and sustainable nature of SB walls. Although there is a large and growing body of empirical evidence that strawbale buildings can be used very successfully, the scientific justification and explanation is lacking, and hence accepted engineering approaches to design, testing, and inspection have not been well developed. To support the growing volume of rice straw agricultural waste the State of California supported a research program to improve the le...

Bagasse, corn cob, and rice straw agricultural wastes were found to consist of 37, 39 and 34% cellulose and 24, 41 and 22% hemicellulose, respectively, on a dry solid (w/w) basis and thus have the potential to serve as a low cost foodstock for ethanol production. Hydrolysates produced by dilute-acid pretreatment followed by cellulase digestion were evaluated as substrates for ethanol fermentation bySaccharomyces cerevisiae. After pretreatment by 141 mM sulphuric acid, bagasse waste released glucose (134 mg/g) at a higher level than that from corn cob (75 mg/g) and rice straw (8 mg/g). Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) levels derived from acid pretreatment of bagasse (1.5 g/l), but not corn cob (0.8 g/l) or rice straw (0.1 g/l) attained levels likely to be toxic (1.5 g/l) forS. cerevisiae growth and ethanol fermentation rates. All three agricultural wastes released likely non-toxic levels of furfural (<0.5 g/l) and lactic acid (negligible for bagasse and rice straw and 0.7 g/l for corn cob). After cellulase saccharification of the dilute-acid pretreated agricultural wastes, the glucose content of corn cob hydrolysates (13 ± 0.17 g/l) was marginally higher than that of bagasse (12 ±0.27 g/l) or rice straw (11 ± 0.07 g/l), yet the ethanol conversion yield byS. cerevisiae on corn cob hydrolysate (0.45 ± 0.006 g/g) was lower than that attained with bagasse hydrolysate (0.49 ± 0.007 g/g). Synergistic adverse effects between furfural and HMF with weak acids, or other lignin derived products in the corn cob hydrolysate are proposed as the effective inhibitor (s) for ethanol fermentation byS. cerevisiae.

Cultivation of the oyster mushroom, Pleurotus sajor-caju, on rice and wheat straw without nutrient supplementation was investigated. The eects of straw size reduction method and particle size, spawn inoculation level, and type of substrate (rice straw versus wheat straw) on mushroom yield, biological eciency, bioconversion eciency, and substrate degradation were determined. Two size reduction methods, grinding and chopping, were compared. The ground straw yielded higher mushroom growth rate and yield than the chopped straw. The growth cycles of mushrooms with the ground substrate were ®ve days shorter than with the chopped straw for a similar particle size. However, it was found that when the straw was ground into particles that were too small, the mushroom yield decreased. With the three spawn levels tested (12%, 16% and 18%), the 12% level resulted in signi®cantly lower mushroom yield than the other two levels. Comparing rice straw with wheat straw, rice straw yielded about 10% more mushrooms than wheat straw under the same cultivation conditions. The dry matter loss of the substrate after mushroom growth varied from 30.1% to 44.3%. The straw ®ber remaining after fungal utilization was not as degradable as the original straw ®ber, indicating that the fungal fermentation did not improve the feed value of the straw. Ó

Rice straw is produced as a by-product from rice cultivation, which is composed largely of lignocellulosic materials amenable to general biodegradation. Lignocellulolytic actinobacteria can be used as a potential agent for rapid composting of bulky rice straw. Twenty-five actinobacteria isolates were isolated from various in situ and in vitro rice straw compost sources. Isolates A2, A4, A7, A9 and A24 were selected through enzymatic degradation of starch, cellulose and lignin followed by the screening for their adaptability on rice straw powder amended media. The best adapted isolate (A7) was identified as Micromonospora carbonacea. It was able to degrade cellulose, hemicelluloses and carbon significantly (P B 0.05) over the control. C/N ratio was reduced to 18.1 from an initial value of 29.3 in 6 weeks of composting thus having the potential to be used in large scale composting of rice straw.

In this study, rice straw-wood particle composite boards were manufactured as insulation boards using the method used in the wood-based panel industry. The raw material, rice straw, was chosen because of its availability. The manufacturing parameters were: a specific gravity of 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8, and a rice straw content (10/90, 20/80, and 30/70 weight of rice straw/wood particle) of 10, 20, and 30 wt.%. A commercial urea-formaldehyde adhesive was used as the composite binder, to achieve 140-290 psi of bending modulus of rupture (MOR) with 0.4 specific gravity, 700-900 psi of bending MOR with 0.6 specific gravity, and 1400-2900 psi of bending MOR with a 0.8 specific gravity. All of the composite boards were superior to insulation board in strength. Width and length of the rice straw particle did not affect the bending MOR. The composite boards made from a random cutting of rice straw and wood particles were the best and recommended for manufacturing processes. Sound absorption coefficients of the 0.4 and 0.6 specific gravity boards were higher than the other wood-based materials. The recommended properties of the rice straw-wood particle composite boards are described, to absorb noises, preserve the temperature of indoor living spaces, and to be able to partially or completely substitute for wood particleboard and insulation board in wooden constructions.

Highly mesoporous activated carbons (ACs) with a mesopore fraction ranging from 42 to 73% were obtained by activation of rice straw (RS) with ortho-phosphoric acid (PA). Due to such a high mesoporosity, these ACs can be successfully used for pollutant removal in aqueous phase. The ACs were prepared at activation temperatures (T) ranging from 350 to 500 • C, using PA to RS weight ratios (R) from 0 to 1.6 and activation times from 0 to 2 h. They were characterised by nitrogen adsorption at −196 • C, SEM-EDX, and methylene blue adsorption. RS is a very heterogeneous material with a variable content of mineral matter: using the product of activated carbon yield multiplied by surface area (C × S BET ) as the performance criterion, the best AC was produced at T = 450 • C and R ≥ 1. These conditions lead to S BET higher than 500 m 2 g −1 and a C × S BET around 270 m 2 g −1 . (V. Fierro). sodium hydroxide on the other hand [7]. In our previous paper [5], three pre-treatment protocols were tested: mechanical, chemical (by NaOH pulping), and a combination of both, followed by a further activation with KOH according to either one or two steps. Employing the combined mechanical-chemical pre-treatment method and a 2-steps KOH activation process, surface areas as high as 1917 m 2 g −1 could be obtained. However, the use of such complex activation protocol working at temperatures as high as 800 • C makes RS-based AC production rather expensive.

Miscanthus sinensis L. was fractionated by different reagents (ethanol, soda and soda-ethanol) in order to obtain cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin. Characterization of original M. sinensis fibres (66.6% holocellulose, 36.1% ␣-cellulose, and 15.5% lignin) was done and compared with other biomass species chemical composition (alternative raw materials, agriculture residues, coniferous and leafy plants). Obtained solid fractions were chemically characterized and compared with solid fractions from other biomass products (palm oil empty fruit bunches (EFB) and rice straw) generated by similar fractionation processes (soda and organosolv). Soda process produced the solid fraction with the highest content in ␣-cellulose and lowest content in lignin revealing a strong fractionation effect. On the contrary, soda-ethanol process was found to present low fractionation capability. Obtained cellulose samples were characterized by FTIR to complete the chemical structure analysis. Lignin samples isolated from the liquid fractions were submitted to FTIR, 1 H NMR, GPC, DSC and TGA in order to suggest suitable applications for the products based on their properties.

The main objective of this work is to evaluate the suitability of rice straw and sodaeanthraquinone (sodaeAQ) pulping process to produce pulp and paper. To reach this aim, it was used a central composite factorial design to study the influence of operational variables (temperature (155e185 C), cooking time (30e90 min), soda concentration (10e20%), anthraquinone concentration (0e1%) and liquid/solid ratio (6e8)), in sodaeanthraquinone cooking of rice straw on pulps and paper sheets properties obtained.

Rice straw is an attractive lignocellulosic material for bioethanol production since it is one of the most abundant renewable resources. It has several characteristics, such as high cellulose and hemicelluloses content that can be readily hydrolyzed into fermentable sugars. But there occur several challenges and limitations in the process of converting rice straw to ethanol. The presence of high ash and silica content in rice straw makes it an inferior feedstock for ethanol production. One of the major challenges in developing technology for bioethanol production from rice straw is selection of an appropriate pretreatment technique. The choice of pretreatment methods plays an important role to increase the efficiency of enzymatic saccharification thereby making the whole process economically viable. The present review discusses the available technologies for bioethanol production using rice straw.

The influence of soda ratio on pulp properties was used as a guideline for calcn. of the min. dose of chems. for producing bleached pulps for writing and printing papers. Pulps obtained by the shortcycle pressure method were compared with those from a pressureless method. The short method produced pulps of higher screened yield, better opacity, brightness stability, and higher bulk more efficiently than the pressureles method. The strength characteristics were approx. the same for the 2 methods. In-creasing the pulping chem. ratio to >9% NaOH did not increase the delignification rate although bleachability was improved by ≤13% NaOH.

Paper for coaster of glasses way handmade paper from ricestraw which cooked by coustic process at the open air and room temperature. Cooking way done by using NAOH 5% for 4 hours. The yield way obtained at 65,6%. Handmade papermaking way done at basis weight of 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175, and 200 gsm. The result of characterization showed that the best coaster of glasses can be obtained from the basis weight of 175 and 200 gsm.

The availibility of grass feed as a main source for ruminant feed, can not meeet the demand especially in dry season. Moreover it is worsen by land conversion from grass land into infrastructure purposes. Rice straw which is abundant can be used as a source of high nutritive feed, through several enrichment process. Research result showed that rice straw has to be chopped into 2 -5 cm length to make it increase homogen and the microorganism process. Rice straw structure is fibrous especially dry straw could cause chopped in process rather difficult. Design and development of chopper using vertical blade against straw feeding direction. Result design of chopper consist of 5 main component that are main frame, feeding unit, chopping unit, outlet unit and transmission system. The machine powered by 7.5 Hp diesel engine, having capacity 401.13 kg/hour for dry straw and 1126.06 kg/hour for fresh straw. The average fuel consumption was 1,34 l/hourr, chopped straw length 2 -5 cm, operational cost Rp.61.4/kg has BEP 178.66 hour/year.

Various agricultural residues, such as corn fiber, corn stover, wheat straw, rice straw, and sugarcane bagasse, contain about 20-40% hemicellulose, the second most abundant polysaccharide in nature. The conversion of hemicellulose to fuels and chemicals is problematic. In this paper, various pretreatment options as well as enzymatic saccharification of lignocellulosic biomass to fermentable sugars is reviewed. Our research dealing with the pretreatment and enzymatic saccharification of corn fiber and development of novel and improved enzymes such as endo-xylanase, b-xylosidase, and a-L-arabinofuranosidase for hemicellulose bioconversion is described. The barriers, progress, and prospects of developing an environmentally benign bioprocess for large-scale conversion of hemicellulose to fuel ethanol, xylitol, 2,3-butanediol, and other valueadded fermentation products are highlighted.

Take a moment and look around you. You will see that there are a lot of things made out of paper. Paper is used for various purposes in our everyday lives, but these papers destroy the environment, the problem came from us as humans are the only creature who cuts the trees, made paper, and then wrote "SAVE TREES" on it. Do you know that one ton of sheets destruct 17 trees, deforest eight cubic feet and consume 26.281 Liter of fresh water and 4077 kilowatts per hour?!  To prevent this misbehave, we made system depends on agricultural residues (rice straw and bagasse) in its paper production with the recovery process to reuse water, chemicals and energy. The quality of this solution is reflected in achieving our design requirements which are: efficiency, cost, availability, safety, area efficient, reliability, eco-friendly and testability. In order to achieve these design requirements, we constructed a prototype to show our idea. We made a container with mixer to reflect the function of a digester. Later on we tested the efficiency and the environmental impact, then got positive result as we produced pulp with efficiency increased to 78.4% and made the recovery process with total efficiency increased to 92.85%. Finally, we conclude that our solution is successful and it can solve paper industry problems which affect other grand challenges in Egypt. As our solution provides pulp without destroying the forests, with no risky by-product to the environment, has low cost, low energy consumption and efficient area.

The surplus availability of rice straw, its limited usage, and environmental pollution caused by its ineffi cient burning has fostered research for its valorization to biofuels. This review elucidates the current status of rice straw potential around the globe along with recent advances in revealing the critical factors responsible for its recalcitrance and chemical properties. The role and accumulation of high silica content in rice straw has been elucidated with its impact on enzymatic hydrolysis in a biorefi nery environment. The correlation of different pre-treatment approaches in modifying the physi-ochemical properties of rice straw and improving the enzymatic accessibility has also been discussed. This study highlights new challenges, resolutions, and opportunities for rice straw based biorefi neries.

Liquid and solid cattle manures are major waste streams in Egypt. The main objective of this research was maximising the net energy production from these wastes by using a solar energy heating system. High concentration of ammonia can strongly affect the gross methane production via inhibition of methanogenesis and reduced hydrolysis. The latter is only limited addressed so far in literature and therefore taken as a second objective of this study.

ABSTRACT
Lettuce is one of the widely used salad vegetables in Egypt and the world. However, there is a dearth of
information pertaining to organic lettuce production. An experiment was conducted in the experimental Farm of
Arid Land Agricultural Research and Service Center (ALARC), Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University,
Egypt to assess the effect of compost and compost tea on organic production of head lettuce grown in sandy
soil. The head lettuce seedlings cultivar Chianti were planted in sandy soil during mid of October 2011 and
2012. Four rates of compost (50, 75, 100 and 125% as recommended dose of nitrogen) with and without
addition of compost tea were investigated on yield, quality and minerals content of head lettuce comparing to
mineral fertilizer (control). The results showed that the rates of compost 75, 100 and 125 % with addition of
compost tea gave significant superiority in growth, yield and some of head lettuce quality compared to control.
Compost rates of 100% and 125% with added compost tea gave the highest content of macronutrients (N, P, K)
and micronutrients (Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu). All rates of compost with or without compost tea reduced nitrate content
in lettuce heads. Using 100 and 125% compost with or without added compost tea increased the heavy metal
contents in the lettuce heads, but still less than the critical limits in normal vegetables. It is recommended that
organic production of head lettuce in sandy soil can be performed successfully using rate of 75 or 100% of
compost with addition of compost tea to get high yield and quality with low nitrate content of head lettuce.

Rice straw causes many environmental problems in different world countries. In Egypt, every year, rice straw causes severe environmental pollution in terms of black clouds caused by burning process. In this study, Egyptian rice straw was used as a reinforcement material in polymer composites. Rice-straw/epoxy [RS/E] and glass-fiber/rice-straw/epoxy hybrid [G/RS/E] composites were studied. Pure epoxy [E] and glass-fiber/epoxy [G/E] specimens were also fabricated for comparison purpose. Composite plates were fabricated by hand lay-up technique in a mold and cured under light pressure for 24 hr, followed by curing at room temperature for 21 days. All composites plates were made with a total weight of 960 grams and dimension of 400 x 400 mm with different thickness by varying the weight fraction of the constituent materials. Tensile strength, tensile modulus, bending strength, bending modulus and compressive strength were determined experimentally. Failure modes of all specimens were investigated. RÉSUMÉ La paille de riz provoque de nombreux problèmes environnementaux dans les différents pays du monde. En Egypte, chaque année , de la paille de riz provoque rompre pollution de l'environnement en termes de nuages noirs causés par les processus de combustion. Dans cette étude , la paille de riz égyptien a été utilisé comme matériau de renforcement dans les composites polymères. Rice-straw/epoxy [RS / E] et glass-fiber/rice-straw/epoxy hybrides [g / RS / E] composites ont été étudiés. Pur époxy [E] et glass-fiber/epoxy [G / E] spécimens ont également été fabriqués à des fins de comparaison. Des planches composites ont été fabriqués à la main technique mise en place dans un moule et durcis sous une légère pression pendant 24 h , suivie d'un durcissement à température ambiante pendant 21 jours. Toutes les plaques composites ont été réalisées avec un poids total de 960 grammes et la dimension de 400 x 400 mm avec une épaisseur différente en faisant varier la fraction de poids des matériaux constitutifs. Résistance à la traction, le module de traction, résistance à la flexion , module de flexion et à la compression ont été déterminées expérimentalement. Les modes de défaillance de tous les échantillons ont été étudiés.

Oyster mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq.:Fr.) Kumm. ITCC 3308 (collected from Indian Type Culture Collection, IARI, New Delhi, India, 110012) was grown on dry weed plants, Leonotis sp, Sida acuta, Parthenium argentatum, Ageratum conyzoides, Cassia sophera, Tephrosia purpurea and Lantana camara. Leonotis sp. was the best substrate in fruit body production of P. ostreatus when it was mixed with rice straw (1:1, wet wt/wet wt) for mushroom cultivation. The fruiting time for P. ostreatus was also less on Leonotis sp. than on any other weed substrates tested in the present investigation. T. purpurea was the least suited weed for oyster mushroom cultivation. The main problem of oyster mushroom cultivation on weed substrates was found to be low yield in the second Xush that could be overcome by blending weed plants with rice straw. The protein contents of the fruit bodies obtained from Cassia sophera, Parthenium argentatum and Leonotis sp. were not only better than rice straw but also from the rice straw supplemented weeds.

Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) was prepared from local agricultural residues, namely, bagasse, rice straw, and cotton stalks bleached pulps. Hydrolysis of bleached pulps was carried out using hydrochloric or sulfuric acid to study the effect of the acid used on the properties of the produced microcrystalline cellulose such as degree of polymerization (DP), crystallinity index (CrI), crystallite size, bulk density, particle size, and thermal stability. The mechanical properties of tablets made from microcrystalline cellulose of different agricultural residues were tested and compared to a commercial-grade MCC. The use of rice straw pulp in different proportions as a source of silica to prepare silicified microcrystalline cellulose (SMCC) was investigated. The effect of the percent of rice straw added on the mechanical properties of tablets before and after wet granulation was studied.

Pengaruh kondisi inkubasi terhadap produksi enzim selulase merupakan tujuan penelitian ini. Enzim selulase merupakan enzim yang berperan dalam degradasi tumbuhan materi selulosa menjadi gula sederhana. Tahapan pembuatan enzim selulase ini meliputi pemilihan dan pengembangbiakan mikroba selulotik, pretreatment fisik pada jerami padi hingga didapatkan bubuk jerami padi, proses inkubasi, serta pemanenan enzim dengan sistem sentrifugasi. Mikroba selulotik yang digunakan adalah mikrofungi Trichoderma reesei, sedangkan substrat bubuk jerami padi varietas Ciherang yang telah lolos ayakan 100 mesh. Inkubasi dilakukan pada 27 0 C, 30 0 C, dan 35 0 C dalam waktu 4,6, dan 8 hari dengan pH larutan nutrisi 4,5,6. Aktivitas enzim diuji dengan metode CMCase menggunakan reagen Dinitrosalicylic Acid (DNS), sedangkan kadar protein menggunakan metode Biuret. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa kondisi optimal pertumbuhan enzim selulase diperoleh pada suhu 35 0 C, waktu inkubasi 8 hari, pH larutan nutrisi 6 dengan aktivitas enzim mencapai 1,0313 IU/mL dan kadar protein 393,178 µg/mL.

This study was designed to determine effect of various plant protein sources in high-quality feed block (HQFB) on feed intake, rumen fermentation, and microbial population in swamp buffalo. Four rumen-fistulated swamp buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) were randomly assigned according to a 4 × 4 Latin square design. Four kinds of plant protein sources (coarse rice bran (CRB), cassava hay (CH), Phaseolus calcaratus hay, and mulberry hay (MH)) were mixed in the HQFB. HQFBs were allowed to be licked at free choice, and urea–lime-treated rice straw (ULRS) were fed ad libitum. It was found that bacterial population and fungal zoospores in CH-fed group tended to be higher than those in other groups. Moreover, protozoal population in CH, P. calcaratus hay, and MH were lower than those in CRB supplemented group (P < 0.05). Cellulolytic bacterial population was highest in CH-fed group while proteolytic bacteria population was highest in P. calcaratus hay-fed group (P < 0.05). CH-fed group had higher ULRS intake than those in other groups (P < 0.05). Nutrient digestibility of CP, NDF, and ADF in CH-fed group was significantly higher than those in other groups (P < 0.05). Total VFA was highest in CH-fed group (P < 0.05). N absorption was highest in CH-fed group (P < 0.05). Based on this study, it could be concluded that cassava hay, P. calcaratus hay, and mulberry hay are potential to be used as protein sources in the HQFBs especially cassava hay.

Carbonaceous sorbent from rice-straw that can be used as adsorbents for
the purification of water were prepared and evaluated. Effects of charring
temperature and activation of charring rice straw by acid and alkali on
textural and adsorption were investigated. The adsorptive capacities of
charring rice straws were measured by Pb ion adsorption. The charring
was characterized by electronmicroscope (SEM) and IR spectrum; roundshaped
and porous structures were formed by activation.

In the present study, pressurised liquid extraction and ultrasound probe sonication, for the latter in combination with a mixed enzymatic treatment in case of rice and straw samples, were applied as sample preparation prior to arsenic speciation analysis by high pressure liquid chromatography coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric detection (HPLC-ICP-MS). A significant number of samples as different as rice, straw, soil, nail and hair, all coming from the heavily arsenic-contaminated Middle and Lower Ganga plain area, could be investigated with validated methods, supported by high speed extraction methods. For rice and paddy samples, inorganic arsenic counted up to 70-98% of the total arsenic content, being the major species As (III). The levels of arsenic obtained from straw and soil samples are significantly higher than the background levels, being the may or species As (V), thus increasing human exposure to arsenic via the soil-plant-animal-human pathway. Concentrations found in hair and nails were significantly higher than their background levels: 39-and 20-fold for hair and nails, respectively. These samples contained mainly inorganic arsenic in its tri-and pentavalent forms. Results indicate that, under the local frame conditions, arsenic mainly enters into the food chain via its more problematic inorganic forms. Arsenic speciation analysis proves to be a powerful tool for a complete analytical assessment in epidemiological studies covering the endemic areas. 5 10