Feasibility of Plug Production Utilizing Digestate from Home-Waste to Energy Systems (H-WEF)

The integration of sustainable technologies in waste management systems has become imperative in addressing the escalating challenges of agricultural productivity and sustainability. Plugs are essential when starting crop production in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) setups and greenhouses. Horticultural crops such as vegetables, fruiting, and ornamental plants that utilize plugs have demonstrated higher success rates, healthier plants, and higher total yields. The APS Laboratory for Sustainable Agriculture explored the innovative utilization of digestate from the Home Water-Energy-Food Systems (H-WEF). The H-WEF system converts household food waste into biogas, electricity, and nutrient-rich digestate. The digestate from the H-WEF system was used to produce agricultural plugs, presenting a novel approach to circular resource utilization. We carried out the growth of Rex Butterhead Lettuce Latuca sativa plugs with 1) control system (synthetic fertilizer) and seven different treatments, 2) 5% Digestate—95% RO Water (5D–95RO);3) 10% Digestate—90% RO Water (10D–90RO);4) 15% Digestate—85% RO Water (15D–85RO);5) 20% Digestate—80% RO Water (20D–80RO);6) 25% Digestate—75% RO Water (25D–75RO);7) 30% Digestate—70% RO Water (30D–70RO);8) 35% Digestate—65% RO Water (35D–65RO). The plugs were cultivated for 15 days in a controlled environment until two leaves had developed after the cotyledon. After 15 days, we collected data on wet weight (g), plug head area (cm2), total leaf area (cm2), total chlorophyll content (mg/cm2), and dry weight (g). In addition, we collected data on the Leaf Area Index (LAI, cm2/cm2) and Specific Leaf Area (SLA, cm2/g). The synthetic fertigation yielded a higher wet weight than the following treatments: 5D–95RO, 10D–90RO, and 35D–65RO. While the 30D–70RO treatment produced a larger plug head than all other treatments. The digestate-based fertilizers were comparable to the synthetic fertilizer at dilutions of 25D–75RO and 30D–70RO. This study underscores the viability of using digestate for plug production, providing crucial insights for growers navigating the challenges of sustainable agricultural practices.

Analysis of the Impact of Big Data Technology on Environmental Pollution Control Audit

As China strives towards the second centenary goal,increasing attention is being paid to environmental pollution and other related issues.Concurrently,with the rapid development of big data technology,many big data solutions have been applied to environmental pollution control audits,exerting a significant impact.This paper presents the current situation of environmental pollution audits,summarizing the application of big data from the perspectives of both domestic and international research.In terms of data collection and data analysis for environmental pollution audits,cloud platform technology,and visualization technology are selected based on multiple data sources.The impact in the field of environmental pollution control audits is further analyzed.It is found that the environmental pollution audit cloud platform is not yet perfect,the technical skills of audit personnel are insufficient,and some technologies are not mature.Relevant suggestions are put forward to provide a reference for the future development of big data technology and its integration with environmental pollution control audits.

Design of Environmental Monitoring and Control System for Large-scale Pig House with Fermentation Bed

The design and assembly of environmental monitoring and control system for large-scale pig house with fermentation bed helped to solve the problem of environmental automatic control in piggery.The sensors would monitor the temperature,humidity,light,wind direction,wind speed,CO2,NH3and other parameters.On-line real-time data collection was achieved.The expert system was constructed to control the temperature in piggery below 30℃,to control the air and mattress humidities higher than 65%.Under the conditions of different season or different wind speed,even in day and night,the control actuators were different.The actuators included fanning wet curtain,lighting,micro spraying,spraying,propeller fan,electric aluminum alloy shutter and spraying systems on the roof.The actuators were integrated,and they control the piggery environment simultaneously.The system also designed the remote video monitor interface,parameter-monitoring curved interface and operation interface,which provided a good man-machine interface.

Controlled Environment Agriculture and Its Ability to Mitigate Food Insecurity

The research objective of this review is to discuss the rationale that led to the development of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) and investigate this agricultural approach as a potential solution to mitigate the increased pressures on food security. It describes the need for urban cultivation systems using controlled environments and how they can be harnessed to address pressures facing food security. The factors that have contributed to the growth of CEAs, education, environmental justice, and the advantages and disadvantages of growing crops in CEAs in urban areas will be discussed. The article reviews global urban cultivation systems using controlled environments, by identifying the technologies needed to establish them. The practice of CEA is being increasingly adopted worldwide and we describe urban agriculture and compare it with traditional growing systems. Indoor farming systems that integrate into existing urban infrastructure such as vertical farming and plant factories using CEAs are discussed. Indoor farming gives urban areas enhanced access to food sources, but the cost is high, however decreasing due to recent technological advances. The current review extends the literature by incorporating recent research on the topic of agriculture in urban areas and food security. This review seeks to provide additional information regarding the viability of CEA in urban areas.

The Comparative Performance of Soil-Based Systems with Hydroponics

Conventional soil-based agriculture is resource-intensive, utilizing large amounts of land and water, thereby placing a strain on Earth’s natural resources. Soil-based agricultural techniques create environmental issues such as soil degradation, deforestation, and groundwater pollution from the mass implementation of fertilizers and pesticides. Agricultural crop production using hydroponics has shown promise to be less resource intensive and provide a faster turnaround in crop production. Soilless cultivation using hydroponics promises to relieve some pressure on Earth’s ecosystems and resources by utilizing lesser land and water footprint. The APS Laboratory for Sustainable Food at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) compared the growth of Lettuce Lactuca sativa “Rex Butterhead” crop grown using soil and soilless methods to analyze the growth performance in each setting. Crops grown in the soil-based medium were raised in the FGCU Food Forest, used a mix of soil and potting mix, watered regularly, and followed standard Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices. Crops grown hydroponically were grown in a thermally insulated grow tent with an artificial lighting source, ventilation, environmental controls, and the Deep-Water Culture (DWC) method. Lettuce plugs were grown for 15 days in controlled environments until two leaves after the cotyledons had developed and were ready for transplant. Plugs were transplanted into a 4 × 6 matrix at the FGCU Food Forest and the DWC growth system. Crops were grown to full bloom and ready for harvest in the soil (60 days) and soilless (30 days) based setups. We collected crop growth data, including wet weight (g), dry weight (g), leaf area (cm2), and chlorophyll concentration (μmol/m2). From the collected data, we derived the Specific Leaf Area (SLA, cm2/g) and biomass productivity (kg/m2). Descriptive statistics were used to describe the collected and derived data. We investigated the slopes of regression lines for each growth curve which derived the differences in biomass and productivity parameters between lettuce grown using soil and hydroponics. Both growing methods can grow lettuce crops to full bloom and to adequate harvest weight. The biomass parameters and productivity differ significantly between the growing methods. The lettuce crops grown using hydroponics increase in wet weight statistically and significantly faster than those grown in soil (p < 0.0001). Therefore, we determined that a hydroponic method of crop production may provide better crop output and biomass indicators measured than soil-based growth.

Research on the Low-carbon-high-value Agriculture Technology in the Comprehensive Improvement of Intra-county Environment Pollution——Taking the Development of Cultivation and Breeding Industry in the Ecological Cyclic Agricultural Garden in Shaoshan Irri

The comprehensive improvement strategy of intra-county environment pollution in the city and countryside was searched.By the research method which combined the microscopic view,the macroscopic view with the dynamic perspective,the seriousness of rural water quality,soil and atmospheric pollution in Xiangxiang,Xiangtan and the surrounding areas in Shaoshan irrigated area was revealed.The control measure which was 'four-dimensional pollution in the city and countryside'—— low-carbon-high-value agriculture and the technology innovation was proposed.The low-carbon-high-value technology innovation industrialization demonstration in three parts which included the pre-production,mid-production and post-production deep-processing of cultivation and breeding industry in the ecological cyclic agricultural garden in Shaoshan irrigated area was the driving force.We tried to propel the low-carbon ecological cultivation and breeding industry which included the paddy rice,grass,tree,medicinal herbs and pig,cow,chick,duck,fish.We wanted to relieve the structural unbalance of previous cultivation and breeding industry,'cheap grain hurting the farmers' and the short-leg problem of social-economic-ecological benefit.The results showed that the low-carbon-high-value agricultural system was a poly-generation technology system which promoted the multi-level and grading utilization,saved the energy,reduced the consumption and cleaned the production based on the ecology.

Integrated controlling technique of ecological environment in Shendong Mining Area

To enclose the interactive relation between the underground mining with suitable protection for surface ecological environments and surface prevention of ecological environments adapting to mining disturbing was researched and developed core of this technique. There are three aspects of controlling ecological environments, to dispose and renew before exploitation, to protect surface ecological environments in the exploitative process and to repair and build up after exploitation. Based on the moving law of overburden strata in shallow seam, the surface subsidence law and the growth law of vegetation in subsidence mine area, the integrated controlling technique has been developed synthetically by methods of theoretic analysis, laboratory simulation, numerical calculation, commercial test etc.. It includes the key techniques of aquifer-protective mining, filtering and purging of mine water through goaf, preventing and extinguishing fire in shallow seam no-rock roadway layout and waste disposal in underground, frame-building ecological functional sphere before exploitation, frame-building the ecological cycle using system after mining and so on.

Characteristics of Growth Rate of Coral Porites from Sanya Bay,Hainan Island and its Relationship to Environmental Variables

The time series of annual and seasonal growth rate of two coral Porites, collected at different sites of fringe reef in the Sanya Bay, Hainan Island have been obtained by analyzing X-radiograph of skeletal band. There are obvious seasonal variations of the growth rate in two corals, the average low rate in winter and the average high rate from spring to autumn. Compared with the time series of environmental variables, the coral growth rate is only correlated statistically with seawater temperature and not related to rainfall and sunshine. Furthermore, the growth rate in spring and summer is correlated directly with seawater temperature of the winter-early spring ( between December and March ) and the other seasonal growth rate has no relationship with seasonal variations of seawater temperature. We propose that seawater temperature is one of the factors affecting the coral growth rate in the area and the low seawater temperature is a primary control of the seasonal growth rate.

Impact of Environmental Regulation on Industrial Upgrading: Analysis Based on Panel Data of 30 Provinces in China

Environmental regulation and industrial upgrading are the key to achieve win-win results for both economy and the environment. After environmental regulation tools are divided into market incentive and command control types,based on the provincial-level data of 30 provinces( cities and regions) in China from 2004 to 2016,the impact of environmental regulation on industrial upgrading and its transmission paths are empirically tested through an intermediary effect model. Technological innovation,FDI and capital market development all meet intermediary conditions,and the market incentive type is more dependent on technological innovation,while the command control type is more dependent on FDI and capital market development.The impact of the two environmental regulation tools on industrial upgrading is further studied. The results show that there is an " inverted U-shaped" relationship between the command control type and industrial upgrading,while there is a " U-shaped" relationship between the market incentive type and industrial upgrading,and there are also certain regional differences in the impact of environmental regulation on industrial upgrading.

High day and night temperatures impact on cotton yield and quality——current status and future research direction

Heat waves,and an increased number of warm days and nights,have become more prevalent in major agricultural regions of the world.Although well adapted to semi-arid regions,cotton is vulnerable to high temperatures,particularly during flowering and boll development.To maintain lint yield potential without compromising its quality under high-temperature stress,it is essential to understand the effects of heat stress on various stages of plant growth and development,and associated tolerance mechanisms.Despite ongoing efforts to gather data on the effects of heat stress on cotton growth and development,there remains a critical gap in understanding the distinct influence of high temperatures during the day and night on cotton yield and quality.Also,identifying mechanisms and target traits that induce greater high day and night temperature tolerance is essential for breeding climate-resilient cotton for future uncertain climates.To bridge these knowledge gaps,we embarked on a rigorous and comprehensive review of published literature,delving into the impact of heat stress on cotton yields and the consequential losses in fiber quality.This review encompasses information on the effects of heat stress on growth,physiological,and biochemical responses,fertilization,cotton yield,and quality.Additionally,we discuss management options for minimizing heat stress-induced damage,and the benefits of integrating conventional and genomics-assisted breeding for developing heat-tolerant cotton cultivars.Finally,future research areas that need to be addressed to develop heat-resilient cotton are proposed.

The Comparative Performance of Plug Preparation Using Different Fertilizer Sources and Concentrations

Plugs are crucial for initiating crop production in greenhouses, soil, and controlled environment agriculture (CEA). Vegetable, fruiting, ornamental, and other horticultural crops that utilize plugs for production have demonstrated superior transplant establishment rate, plant health, and total yield. The APS Laboratory for Sustainable Food at Florida Gulf Coast University investigated the quality of plugs grown based on different concentrations and fertigation sources using synthetic and organic sources. We carried out the growth of “Rex Butterhead” Lettuce (Latuca sativa) plugs with five different fertigation treatments, 1) full-strength synthetic starter fertilizer solution;2) half-strength synthetic starter fertilizer solution;3) full-strength organic starter fertilizer solution;4) half-strength organic starter fertilizer solution, and 5) no fertilizer for control. Fertilizer treatments were formulated following manufacturer recommendations. The seeds were sown in Oasis® Horticubes and saturated every day with the different fertilizer treatments. The plugs were cultivated for 15 days in a controlled environment until two leaves after the cotyledons had developed. After 15 days, we collected data which included wet weight (g), dry weight (g), leaf area (cm2), and chlorophyll concentration (mg/cm2). In addition, we derived data including the Leaf Area Index (LAI, cm2/cm2) and Specific Leaf Area (SLA, cm2/g). Descriptive statistics were used to describe the biomass data. A Tukey’s HSD test was carried out to understand the differences between the fertilizer sources. We determined there was a statistically significant difference (P = 7.34E−29) in the measured plug growth parameters due to the various fertigation sources. We found that all fertilizer treatments produced viable plugs except for the control treatment. Of all the treatments, we concluded the half-strength organic treatment produced the more vigorous plugs with the greatest wet weight (g) and largest total leaf area (cm2) which was statistically significantly different. Results from this study may inform growers about appropriate fertilizer options for plug production.

The Assessment of Growth Performance of Brassica rapa var. chinensis ‘Li Ren Choi’, Spinacia oleracea ‘Auroch’, Eruca sativa ‘Astro’, and Brassica rapa var. japonica Using GREENBOX Technology

Obtaining nutritious food is becoming increasingly difficult due to the growing urban population and the degradation of soil, water, and air from mechanized and industrialized agricultural techniques. More than half the global population resides in urban areas, with not enough surrounding agricultural land to meet food requirements. Food traveling long distances, an average of 1020 miles, has resulted in increased food miles for the average food item in the United States of America, representing wasted resources. The novel GREENBOX technology was invented in response to increasing pressures on food security. Previous studies conducted on GREENBOX technology assessed the technical feasibility of utilizing Lettuce Lactuca sativa ‘Rex Butterhead’. We at the APS Laboratory for Sustainable Food at Florida Gulf Coast University assessed the technical feasibility of growing different leafy green vegetable crops. GREENBOX technology consists of thermally insulated climate-controlled enclosures, an artificial lighting source, a soilless cultivation method (hydroponics), and environmental control modules. We assembled two GREENBOX units to assess the environmental conditions and growth performance of Brassica rapa var. chinensis ‘Li Ren Choi’, Spinach Spinacia oleracea ‘Auroch’, Arugula Eruca sativa ‘Astro’, and Mizuna Brassica Brassica rapa var. japonica. Plugs were cultivated and then transplanted in a randomized manner to the nutrient film technique (NFT) channels, subsequently grown for 30 days to full bloom and ready for harvest. Fertigation was carried out using a standard concentration nutrient solution. Crops were arranged in twelve blocks of four species each. We collected environmental data including daily light integral (DLI, mol/m2∙d), temperature (˚C), relative humidity (%), and vapor pressure deficit (VPD, kPa). Collected biomass data included wet weight (g), dry weight (g), leaf area (cm2), and chlorophyll concentration (mg/cm2). We then derived the Specific Leaf Area (SLA, cm2/g). Descriptive statistics were utilized to understand the differences in biomass parameters between the four crops grown. We also compared the performance parameters of our crops with existing peer-reviewed literature and found it superior, if not comparable to commonly found industrial output. We determined that all crops grew to full bloom, demonstrating that GREENBOX technology may be used to grow a variety of different leafy green vegetable crops.

The Comparative Performance of Nutrient-Film Technique and Deep-Water Culture Method of Hydroponics for GREENBOX Technology

With the rising pressures on food security, GREENBOX technology was developed as an avenue for fresh leafy vegetable crop production in urban settings. GREENBOX units were designed to be thermally insulated and climate controlled, with an artificial lighting source that utilized soilless cultivation techniques. Previous studies conducted on GREENBOX technology used the Nutrient Film Technique (NFT);however, various hydroponic methods exist, such as the Deep-Water Culture (DWC) method being the most used. The APS Laboratory for Sustainable Food at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) compared the crop growth performance between DWC and NFT systems using GREENBOX technology. The following study monitored environmental conditions and compared productivity and biomass data of Rex Butterhead Lettuce crops between DWC and NFT systems. We assembled two GREENBOX units using commercially available materials and the standard nutrient solution for fertigation. The crops grown in DWC and NFT were in a 4 × 6 configuration. The DWC and NFT systems were used to grow Lettuce Lactuca sativa “Rex Butterhead” over 30 days to full bloom from prepared plugs grown for 14 days. We collected environmental data including Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density (PPFD, μmol/m2∙s), Daily Light Integral (DLI, mol/ m2∙d), temperature (˚C), relative humidity (%), and Vapor Pressure Deficit (VPD, kPa). We collected lettuce crop growth data, which included wet weight (g), dry weight (g), leaf area (cm2), and chlorophyll concentration (μmol/m2). We derived data, including the Specific Leaf Area (SLA, cm2/g) and biomass productivity (kg/m2), from previously collected data. We used descriptive statistics to present the collected data. A paired t-test was performed to understand the differences in biomass and productivity parameters between the DWC and NFT-grown lettuce crops. Both the DWC and NFT-grown crops could grow lettuce crops to harvest weight at full bloom. Observed data demonstrated that the biomass parameters and productivity did not differ significantly between the two hydroponics techniques. Therefore, we believe both hydroponic methods may be similar in growth performance and may be used in future iterations of GREENBOX design and prove suitable for fresh vegetable crop production in urban settings.

SYNTHESIS，REGENERATION AND APPLICATIONOF SORPTION RESINS

By means of the synthetic approach of non－polar or weak polar oil－sorbed polymers，the gel sorption resin（GSR） and the multiporous sorption resin（MSR） were prepared．The structure of the resins，sorption power，sorption speed，desorption，and sorption of organic compounds from sewage，exhaust gas and soil were discussed．Moreover，the resins were used to decrease LOD and BOD5 values of water waste from sewage factory．Theyare a klndof potential materials for environmental control．

Optimization of rhizosphere cooling airflow for microclimate regulation and its effects on lettuce growth in plant factory

In plant factories,the plant microclimate is affected by the control system,plant physiological activities and aerodynamic characteristics of leaves,which often leads to poor ventilation uniformity,suboptimal environmental conditions and inefficient air conditioning.In this study,interlayer cool airflow(ILCA)was used to introduce room air into plants’internal canopy through vent holes in cultivation boards and air layer between cultivation boards and nutrient solution surface(interlayer).By using optimal operating parameters at a room temperature of 28℃,the ILCA system achieved similar cooling effects in the absence of a conventional air conditioning system and achieved an energy saving of 50.8% while bringing about positive microclimate change in the interlayer and nutrient solution.This resulted in significantly reduced root growth by 41.7% without a negative influence on lettuce crop yield.Future development in this precise microclimate control method is predicted to replace the conventional cooling(air conditioning)systems for crop production in plant factories.

Numerical Analysis on Ventilating and Air Conditioning Scheme of Shenyang Subway Station

Different cities have different climate conditions and outdoor temperature and humidity, so the scheme of an environment control in subway should be analyzed by considering objective conditions, project cost and operating status. In this paper, a physical and mathematical model is built according to the design of Shenyang subway (line 1), the boundary conditions of the model are defined by the design and experiments, the numerical analysis of ventilating scheme and air conditioning scheme is introduced individually, and the temperature field and air flow field of the two schemes are compared, so that the feasibility of using a ventilating scheme in subway of northeast cities is discussed. Considering comfort and economy, it can be concluded that mechanical ventilation is feasible in subway of northeast cities because the air temperature there is not very high in summer.

Fruit protected cultivation in China

Protected fruit cultivation in China has developed very quickly from the early 1990s, and now it is an important branch in fruit cultivation. A brief review including fruit species, developing history, growing area, output, and distribution in the whole country is made in the paper. Characteristics of the dominant kinds of greenhouse, environmental control methods, and standards of temperature, humidity, light and CO2 for different fruit species are presented. Information on varieties, growing benefits, special management practices and other aspects of the main fruit species used for protected cultivation are also presented.

Theory and Practice of Water Pollution Prevention and Control for Inflowing Rivers in Taihu Valley

The pollutants from the 15 rivers inflowing into Lake Taihu accounted for about 80% of the total amount of the pollutants inflowing into Lake Taihu. Therefore, overall treatment of the inflowing rivers of Taihu Lake is of great importance to the improvement of water environment in the valley and the eutrophication status in th lake. Firstly, the basic ideas, key taches and main methods for water pollution control of inflow rivers of Taihu Lake was put forward in this article, Basic on these theories, the pollutant source status in the comprehensive treatment zone of the 15 major inflow rivers was analysized, the countermeasures of pollution control and main regulation projects were introduced, and the total abatement of pollutants was predicted. With the implement of regulation projects, the number of rivers with water quality worse than Grade V among the 15 major inflow rivers had come from 9 to 3, and the eutrophication status of Taihu Lake had changed from medium level to light level. The overall treatment of the major inflow rivers of the Taihu Lake had achieved initial success.