NDSU Theses & Dissertations

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Research performed to achieve a formal degree from NDSU. Includes theses, dissertations, master's papers, and videos. The Libraries are currently undertaking a scanning project to include all bound student theses, dissertations, and masters papers.

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Advanced Evapotranspiration Measurement for Crop Water Management in the Red River Valley
(North Dakota State University, 2019) Niaghi, Ali Rashid
As the main component of terrestrial energy and water balance, evapotranspiration (ET) moves a large amount of water and energy in the form of latent heat flux from bare soil and vegetated surfaces into the atmosphere. Despite the development of many methods and equations through past decades, accurate ET estimation is still a challenging task, especially for the Red River Valley of the North (RRV) that has limited updated information on ET either for landscape or agricultural water management. The overall objective of first study was to evaluate the ASCE-EWRI reference ET (ETo) method by developing an accurate crop coefficient (Kc) using an eddy covariance (EC) system over an unirrigated turfgrass site. The results showed that with mean ETgrass/ETo ratio as 0.96 for the entire growing seasons of turfgrass, the ASCE-EWRI ETo method is valid for guiding the turfgrass irrigation management in cold climate conditions. In a Controlled drainage with subirrigation (CD+SI) field, an EC system was used to measure and quantify energy flux components along with soil water content (SWC) and water table depth (WTD) measurements during four corn growing. This study showed that the subsurface drainage along with the CD + SI system can be used for optimal water management with an improvement of 26.7% and 6.6% of corn yield during wet and dry year, respectively. For the final task, ET was measured using EC, Bowen ratio system (BREB), and soil water balance (SWB) method during the corn growing season. The comparison of the EC and the BREB system illustrated the advantages of using the residual method to close the energy balance closure of EC. Among the different time approaches for SWB method, ET by the SWB method using the average soil water contents between 24:00 to 2:00 time period showed non-significant differences (alpha = 0.05) compared to the BREB system during the observation periods.
Agricultural Field Applications of Digital Image Processing Using an Open Source ImageJ Platform
(North Dakota State University, 2019) Shajahan, Sunoj
Digital image processing is one of the potential technologies used in precision agriculture to gather information, such as seed emergence, plant health, and phenology from the digital images. Despite its potential, the rate of adoption is slow due to limited accessibility, unsuitability to specific issues, unaffordability, and high technical knowledge requirement from the clientele. Therefore, the development of open source image processing applications that are task-specific, easy-to-use, requiring fewer inputs, and rich with features will be beneficial to the users/farmers for adoption. The Fiji software, an open source free image processing ImageJ platform, was used in this application development study. A collection of four different agricultural field applications were selected to address the existing issues and develop image processing tools by applying novel approaches and simple mathematical principles. First, an automated application, using a digital image and “pixel-march” method, performed multiple radial measurements of sunflower floral components. At least 32 measurements for ray florets and eight for the disc were required statistically for accurate dimensions. Second, the color calibration of digital images addressed the light intensity variations of images using standard calibration chart and derived color calibration matrix from selected color patches. Calibration using just three-color patches: red, green, and blue was sufficient to obtain images of uniform intensity. Third, plant stand count and their spatial distribution from UAS images were determined with an accuracy of ≈96 %, through pixel-profile identification method and plant cluster segmentation. Fourth, the soybean phenological stages from the PhenoCam time-lapse imagery were analyzed and they matched with the manual visual observation. The green leaf index produced the minimum variations from its smoothed curve. The time of image capture and PhenoCam distances had significant effects on the vegetation indices analyzed. A simplified approach using kymograph was developed, which was quick and efficient for phenological observations. Based on the study, these tools can be equally applied to other scenarios, or new user-coded, user-friendly, image processing tools can be developed to address specific requirements. In conclusion, these successful results demonstrated the suitability and possibility of task-specific, open source, digital image processing tools development for agricultural field applications.
Anaerobic Co-digestion of Dairy Manure with Canola Meal
(North Dakota State University, 2011) Atandi, Eric Michieka
There has been an increase of confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) generating large amounts of manure. When this manure is not handled properly, it generates greenhouse gases (GHGs), odors and water pollution. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is touted as an acceptable approach to address manure management and associated environmental problems. Biogas production from manure alone is limited by low volumes of biogas yield, thus it has a poor economic reputation. Co-digestion of dairy manure with other agricultural wastes has emerged as a promising strategy to enhance the economic viability of AD. Among the agricultural wastes, canola meal (a by-product from extraction of oil from canola seed) was considered as a potential candidate for co-digestion with dairy manure. The purpose of this research was to investigate the suitability and appropriate ratios of canola meal for anaerobic co-digestion with dairy manure. In this study, various proportions of canola meal: dairy manure (100:0, 10:90, 40:60, 20:80, 0:100) by volume-basis were co-digested in 0.5 L batch bioreactors at a temperature of 35±1 °c for 25 d. Two types of canola meal were used in the study; high oil content (HOC) and low oil content (LOC) canola meal with oil contents of 8.0% and 2.5%, respectively. For HOC, the total solids (TS) were high organic loading (HOL, 7.5±2% TS) and low organic loading (LOL, 4.5±2% TS). LOC trials were done at HOL only. In addition, the pretreatment of the canola meal with caustic solution and digestion at high temperature (60±2°C) were evaluated. Results from this study indicated that at HOL, canola meal is not a viable candidate for anaerobic co-digestion with manure as it lowers biogas production. Manure only digestion performed better than bioreactors augmented with canola meal. The specific methane yield was 352 L/kg VS for manure only and 84 L/kg VS for LOC canola meal only digestion. Nonetheless, at LOL, both 10% and 20% HOC canola meal resulted in increased specific methane of 535 L/kg VS and 445 L/kg VS, respectively. This is 78% and 48% higher than 300 L/kg VS obtained in manure only digestion. Hence, canola meal is beneficial in dairy manure co-digestion at LOL. At all organic loading levels, canola meal alone digestion had the lowest cumulative biogas production (0.9 L per 0.35 L bioreactor) and specific methane yield (83 L/kg VS). For HOL, the cumulative biogas yield and specific methane yield decreased as the canola meal ratio increased, while at LOL, the decrease was only noted for bioreactors with 40% canola meal. This is suspected to be caused by elevated levels of total volatile fatty acids (VF As) of more than 4000 mg/L. Two factors are suspected to impact the accumulation of VF As: the ratio of canola-to-manure in the bioreactor and the organic loading or oil content in the canola meal. In future it will be necessary to look into ways of overcoming the inhibition caused by elevated VF As.
Application of Nanoparticles in Livestock Manure for Understanding Hydrogen Sulfide and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Mechanism
(North Dakota State University, 2018) Sarker, Niloy Chandra
The agricultural sector is one of the sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emission, especially methane (CH4), and contributing approximately 250 million metric ton carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent emission per year. Almost 70% of CH4 emission from this sector is enteric fermentation, while 26% is from the livestock manure management. Both rumen and animal manure are the impending sources of carbon (C), sulfur (S), and water (H2O) and microbial populations utilize these constituents to produce GHGs, and hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Nanoparticles (NPs) application in manure is a promising treatment option for mitigating GHG and H2S gases, but limited information is available on how the reduction mechanism occurs. In this study, zinc silica nanogel (ZnSNL), copper silica nanogel (CuSNL), and nano acetyl cysteine (NACL) coated zinc oxide quantum dots (Qdots), zinc oxide (nZnO), and silver (nAg) NPs were tested in manure stored under anaerobic conditions to understand the reduction mechanism of GHG and H2S resulting from NPs application. Additionally, in vitro study with nZnO and two types of feed (alfalfa and corn silage) were conducted to investigate the efficacy of nZnO in mitigating ruminal gas emission. Methane and CO2 concentrations were measured using an SRI-8610 gas chromatograph and H2S was measured using a Jerome 631X meter. Microbial populations were characterized using both plate counts and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Application of NPs reduced gas volumes ranging 16 to 99%, and concentrations reduced by 49 to ~100% for H2S, and 20.24 to ~100% for GHGs. Application of NPs reduced 38.49 to 94.32% aerobic- and 7.43% to 82.04% anaerobic-microbial populations. Furthermore, the qRT-PCR analysis showed that reduction of gases was due to the inhibition of gas specific microbial population. Overall, nZnO based treatments reduced 8.80 to 55.64% methyl coenzyme M reductase (mcrA) gene copies and 0.74 to 25.16% dissimilatory sulfide reductase (DSR). Contrariwise, compared to the control treatment, in vitro study demonstrated 4.89 to 53.65% H2S and GHGs concentration reduction with the applied nZnO inclusion rates. Additionally, alfalfa as feed exhibited 37 to 45% cumulative gas reduction than corn silage but increased GHGs generation 2.17 to 23.17% and ~60% H2S concentration.
Application of SWAT for Impact Analysis of Subsurface Drainage on Streamflows in a Snow Dominated Watershed
(North Dakota State University, 2011) Rahman, Mohammed Mizanur
The wet weather pattern since the early 1990's has created two problems for the people living in the Red River Valley (RRV): (1) wet field conditions for farmers and (2) more frequent major spring floods in the Red River system. Farmers in the region are increasingly adopting subsurface drainage practice to remove excess water from their fields to mitigate the first problem. However, it is not clear whether subsurface drainage will deteriorate or mitigate the spring flood situation, the second problem. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was applied to evaluate the impacts of tile drainage on the Red River's streamflows. The model was calibrated and validated against monthly streamflows at the watershed scale and against daily tile flows at the field scale. The locations and areas of the existing and potential tile drained (PTD) areas were identified using a GIS based decision tree classification method. The existing and maximum PTD areas were found to be about 0.75 and 17.40% of the basin area, respectively. At the field scale, the range of Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) for model calibration and validation was 0.34-0.63. At the watershed scale, the model showed satisfactory performance in simulating monthly streamflows with NSE ranging from 0.69 to 0.99, except that the model under-predicted the highest spring flood peak flows in three years. The results of modeling a 100% tiled experimental field showed that about 30-40% of water yield was produced as tile flow. Surface runoff and soil water content decreased about 34% and 19%, respectively, due to tile drainage. However, the impact of subsurface drainage on evapotranspiration (ET) and water yield was mixed. ET slightly decreased in a wet year and slightly increased in a dry year, while the pattern for water yield was opposite to that of ET. The watershed-scaled modeling results showed that a tiling rate of 0.75-5.70% would not have significant effects on the monthly average streamflows in the Red River at Fargo. For the 17.40% tiling rate, the streamflow in the Red River at Fargo might increase up to 1% in April and about 2% in Fall (September to November), while decreasing up to 5% in the remaining months. This SWAT modeling study helped to better understand the impact of subsurface drainage on the water balance and streamflows in the Red River of the North basin. The findings will also help watershed managers in making decisions for the purpose of managing agricultural drainage development in the RRV and other snow dominated watersheds around the world.
Bioavailability and Biodegradability of Dissolved Organic Nitrogen Originated From Municipal and Animal Wastewater
(North Dakota State University, 2015) Sun, Jingyi
Due to the increased concern on dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in surface waters, it is necessary to understand the biodegradability and bioavailability of DON in point and non-point sources. In this study, algae and bacteria were applied under lab condition to undestand the impact of DON to water environment. Biodegradable DON (BDON) was determined using bacteria while bioavailable DON (ABDON) was determined using green algae Selenastrum capricornutum, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, and Chlorella vulgaris and/or mixed culture bacteria in municipal and animal wastewaters. In both wastewater sources, ABDON efficiencies (%) for all three algae were not significantly different indicating that Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Chlorella vulgaris can be used as a test species for nitrogen determination similar to Selenastrum capricornutum. Results showed that, the ranges of BDON and ABDON in municipal wastewaters were 50-60% and 30-77%, respectively, while the ranges of BDON and ABDON in animal wastewaters were 48-54% and 40-81%, respectively.
Characterization of Biochar from Different Feedstocks under Low and High Temperature and Their Effects on Greenhouse Gas Emission and Ammonia Volatilazation from Soil Incubation
(North Dakota State University, 2020) Rahman, Syed MD Wahidur
Biochar is a potential soil amendment that likely to reduce GHG emissions from land application to soil, but their properties depend on biomass types and pyrolysis temperature. In this study, biochars were produced from different biomasses (wet distiller grains (WDG), dry distiller grains (DDG), and corn stover (CS)) at two temperatures (low & high). Biochars were analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity, proximate and ultimate analysis, elemental analysis, and morphological structure. Also, biochar's efficacy on GHGs and ammonia (NH3) emission were measured from soil and manure incubated at 25℃ for 76 days. DDG and CS derived biochar properties outperformed other biochars. Manure treated with high-temperature DDG biochar emitted the lowest amount of N2O (0.09 mg N2O-N kg−1), and CH4 (0.04 mg CH4-C kg−1). Biochar application also reduced CO2 emission from 11 to 59%, but resulted in higher cumulative NH3 volatilization. Overall, biochars reduced GHG emissions when applied with N treatments.
Combined Effect of Densification and Pretreatment on Cellulosic Ethanol Production
(North Dakota State University, 2012) Rijal, Binod
Biomass densification enhances material stability, improves flowability, and decreases both handling and transportation costs. The effect of densification, before or after pretreatment, was tested to determine the effect on cellulosic ethanol processing. Pelleting increased glucose yields of non-pretreated materials by 210% and pelleting followed by acidic and alkaline pretreatments had significant positive impacts on hydrolysis rates or yields. The increase in sugar yields was attributed predominantly to grinding of biomass within the pellet mill. The effects of low pressure densification following AFEX pretreatment were tested under several enzyme loadings both with and without prolonged storage. Densification had no adverse effects on ethanol yields from switchgrass or corn stover; however, prairie cordgrass yields were reduced by 16%. High enzyme loading (15 FPU/g-glucan) produced 15-20% higher ethanol yields than low enzyme loading (5 FPU/g-glucan). Biomass storage by 6-months did not have any negative effects on ethanol yields of AFEX-treated and densified biomass.
Design and Development of an Automatic Steering System for Agricultural Towed Implements
(North Dakota State University, 2022) Delavarpour, Nadia
While an auto steered tractor can improve the overall accuracy and efficiency of an operation, for operations that involve towing an implement, a significant portion of the efficiency reduction comes from uncontrolled motions of the towed implement. Therefore, there is a crucial need to study auto steering system for towed implement as well. In this study different requirements of an auto steering system for a towed implement were developed and studied. In this study the guiding performance of two local positioning sensors (Tactile and Ultrasonic sensors) under similar conditions were studied for reading different trajectories at different traveling speed. Furthermore, a fuzzy logic control algorithm was developed to continually generate correction steering signals and keep the tractor and towed implement within a certain boundary of the reference trajectory. Finally, the designed controller was implemented in a hardware-in-loop (HIL) system to analyze the performance of the controller in real world conditions. The result of this study showed that although the local guidance sensors could locate the tractor or towed implement positions with respect to plant rows accurately, limitations to the performance of sensors were also observed in certain conditions. Sensors were prone to various noises and digital filters were required to apply to collected data. Data analysis showed that at lower speeds (less than 1.79 m/s) the accuracy of sensors was ±2 cm or better. The fuzzy logic controller improved the trajectory tracking accuracy at slow speeds (1-5 m/s) for following non-complex trajectories while no major improvements were achieved for complex trajectories at these speeds. Therefore, the controller had an acceptable accuracy following straight trajectory with negligible deviations at slow speeds. Moreover, experimental results showed that the hydraulic cylinder followed the controller signals with sufficient accuracy. During the experiment the angular displacements remained in the range of ±10˚ and never hit the constraint of maximum achievable angle, which was ±30˚. The satisfactory results showed that the designed automatic steering control system has a good tracking performance with a fast response, thus meeting the navigation control requirement of agricultural equipment to a certain extent.
Developing a New Powered Seed Delivery System with Constant Seed Release Speed Using Two Confronting Belts
(North Dakota State University, 2018) Ahmadi, Mojtaba
Seed delivery devices are aimed to carry seeds down to open furrow that might affect uniformity of plant stand and spacing. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a new seed delivery system utilizing a two-belt mechanism configuration for sunflower (Helianthus annuus). A prototype were fabricated and tested with MeterMax® Ultra Test Stand in order to evaluate the new seed delivery system. The outcomes show that dependent variables like seed population, singulation, skips, and multiples rates were not affected by planting speed levels (Pvalues > 0.05), while planting speed had a negative effect on seed spacing consistency (P-values < 0.05). In addition, due to facing broken seeds during test process, multiples rate were between 8.0 to 9.5% and consequently affected other variables as well. To improve this mechanism and avoid the systematic error that caused by broken seeds, this system should be redesigned in a single-belt form.
Effect of Water Table Level on Soybean Water Use, Growth and Yield Parameters
(North Dakota State University, 2018) Fidantemiz, Yavuz F.
Responses of soybean (Glycine max) water uptake and crop growth to four constant water table depths (30, 50, 70, and 90 cm) were studied under a controlled environment using lysimeters. Additionally, control lysimeters with irrigation and no water table were used for comparison. A randomized complete block design (RCBD) was used with six replications in each treatment. The results indicated that the water table depths of 30, 50, 70 and 90 cm contributed to 77, 71, 65 and 62% of soybean water use, respectively. Thus, the water use efficiency, total grain yield (g lysimeter-1) per unit water use (mm) was 0.008, 0.022, 0.018, 0.025, and 0.031 for irrigation, 30, 50, 70, and 90 cm water table depth treatments, respectively. Soybean was found to be tolerant to shallow groundwater conditions, and root mass distribution in the soil profile was significantly influenced by the presence of shallow water table depths.
Effects of Calcium Based Surface Amendments on Hydraulic Conductivity and Selected Physical Properties of Subsurface Drained Sodic Soils
(North Dakota State University, 2016) Wamono, Anthony Walekhwa
Managing excess soil water in agricultural fields in the Northern Great Plains through subsurface drainage increases the risk of sodification in high-risk soils. Leaching sodic soils with low electrical conductivity (EC) water, rainfall, may result in the swelling of soil, dispersion of clay particles and consequently the breakdown of soil structure leading to changes in physical and mechanical properties of soils (e.g., reduced infiltration, hard-setting and reduced trafficability). In this dissertation, the effectiveness of calcium amendments of gypsum and spent lime, a byproduct of the processing sugar beets, with water-management treatments of free drainage (FD) and no drainage (ND) on improving physical properties of the soil were examined. The first objective was to evaluate the effects of drainage and surface treatments on the penetration resistance (PR). The second objective was to use infiltration tests with a mini-disk tension infiltrometer and a Cornell sprinkle infiltrometer to investigate changes in hydraulic properties. Lastly, a drawbar dynamometer was used to measure draft on a chisel plow as it was pulled across the plots by a tractor equipped with an auto-guidance system and instrumentation interfaced with the controller area network of the tractor. The results show that the PR values of plots with gypsum application at high rate of 22.4 Mg ha-1 (GH) were significantly higher than other surface amendments. GH increased the hydraulic conductivity of the soil matrix compared to spent lime application at rate of 22.4 Mg ha-1 (SL); however, the overall flow of water through the soil profile, including the soil matrix and the macropores, was not affected. Both GH and gypsum application at high rate of 11.2 Mg ha-1 (GL) lowered the drawbar power requirements compared to spent lime application. For many farmers, drainage enables early planting and the adding of ameliorants will safeguard against further sodification of their fields.
Efficacy and Recovery of Cellulases Immobilized on Polymer Brushes Grafted on Silica Nanoparticles
(North Dakota State University, 2014) Samaratunga, Ashani Rangana
Cellulosic biofuels can be more economical if cellulases are recovered and reused. Cellulase and β-glucosidase were immobilized on poly(acrylic acid) brush particles. Impact of brush enzyme density on efficacy and recovery was tested. Use of free enzymes led to higher sugar concentrations than the attached for both the enzymes. Increasing cellulase density on the brushes did not impact efficacy. Higher proportions of cellobiose in hydrolyzates suggest differential attachment or efficacy of attached enzymes. Higher β-glucosidase density on brushes led to increased glucose concentrations. Density on brushes did not impact β-glucosidase recovery and [approximately] 66% was recovered. Effect of pH and temperature on hydrolysis rates and enzyme recovery was modeled. Free β-glucosidase was more stable with temperature than attached. Optimal pH for attached cellulase and β-glucosidase was 4.98 and 4.39, respectively. Recovery of β-glucosidase decreased with increasing pH and was not impacted by temperature.
Evaluating Standard Wet Chemistry Techniques and NIR Spectroscopic Models for Determining Composition and Potential Ethanol Yields of Multi-Species Herbaceous Bioenergy Crops
(North Dakota State University, 2011) Monona, Ewumbua Menyoli
Herbaceous perennials represent a considerable portion of potential biomass feedstocks available for the growing bioenergy industry. Their chemical composition and biomass yields, which are important in determining ethanol potential on an area and mass basis, vary with plant variety and type, environment, and management practices. Therefore, a study was conducted to assess the variability of lignin and carbohydrate content, biomass yields, and theoretical ethanol yields on an area basis among different herbaceous perennial species combinations grown in Minot (2008) and Williston (2008, 2009, and 2010), North Dakota (ND). After wet chemistry compositional analysis was done, the carbohydrate contents were used to determine theoretical ethanol potential on a mass basis. Using the dry-matter yield, the theoretical ethanol yield on an area basis was also calculated for these biomass species. Total carbohydrate content for the biomass samples in Williston and Minot varied from 45 to 61% dry basis. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at a= 0.05 showed that carbohydrate content varied between years and environments. Also an interaction plot shows that no biomass species had consistently higher or lower carbohydrate content in the different environments. Switchgrass (Panicum vigatum L.) grown as single species or together with other perennial grasses had higher dry-matter yield and theoretical ethanol yield potential in Williston irrigated plots while mixtures containing intermediate or tall wheatgrass species (Thinopyrum spp.) produced better yields in Minot non-irrigated plots. Variability in theoretical ethanol yield on a mass basis (3.7% coefficient of variation (CV) in Williston and 9.7% CV in Minot) was much less than the variability in dry-matter yields (27.5% CV in Williston and 14.8% CV Minot). Therefore, biomass production is much more important than composition in choosing species to grow for ethanol production. Recently, many studies have focused on developing faster methods to determine biomass composition using near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. Other NIR models have been developed on single biomass feedstocks but a broad-based model for mixed herbaceous perennials is yet to be developed. Therefore, NIR calibration models for lignin, glucan, and xylan were developed with 65 mixed herbaceous perennial species using a DA 7200 NIR spectrometer (950 - 1,650 nm) and GRAMS statistical software. The models for lignin and xylan had R(2) values of 0.844 and 0.872, respectively, upon validation and are classified as good for quality assurance purposes while glucan model had an R(2) of 0.81 which is considered sufficient for screening. The R(2) and the root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) results showed that it is possible to develop calibration models to predict chemical composition for mixed perennial biomass when compared with results for models developed for single feedstock by Wolfrum and Sluiter (2009) and Liu et al. (2010). Studying the variability in predicting constituents using NIR spectroscopy over time (hours and days), it was observed that the average CV was between 1.4 to 1.6%. The average CV due to repacking (presentation) alone was 1.3%. The CVs for NIR predictions ranged between 1.4 to 5.7% while for wet chemistry ranged between 3.8 to 13.5%; hence, NIR predictions were more precise than wet chemistry analysis.
Evaluating the Economic Feasibility of Canola Biodiesel Production in North Dakota
(North Dakota State University, 2006) Tapasvi, Dhruv, 1981-
Numerous factors have pushed energy from biomass to the forefront of policy and industry discussions. Large harvests of traditional crops, low farm prices, dependence on foreign energy sources, and environmental problems have increased interest in renewable energy sources. Tools are needed to evaluate and compare different available feedstocks and to identify parameters and modifications for the production of renewable fuels such as biodiesel. The first paper examines the development of a biodiesel process model using commonly available spreadsheet software and process-engineering principles. The basis of the model is a continuous process with two stirred-tank reactors and sodium methoxide catalysis. The process is modeled as 27 units with 51 flows and 18 components. Mass flow rates and compositions of the process input and output streams are quantified using mass and component balances, energy balances, stoichiometric relations, and established process parameters. Oil composition and rate, methanol:triglyceride ratio, and expected transesterification of triglyceride are the user-specified inputs in the model. Based on commonly reported parameters (6: 1 methanol:triglyceride ratio and 98% transesterification) and a basis of 100 kg/h crude soybean oil, the model computes inputs of 13.8, 10.8, and 34.7 (in kg/h) for methanol, 10% sodium methoxide in methanol, and process water, respectively; and outputs of 93.5, 10.3, and 55.6 for soy biodiesel, glycerol, and waste stream, respectively. In the second paper, the mass flow rate data from the developed biodiesel process model are linked to cost data for evaluating the economic feasibility of biodiesel production in North Dakota with canola oil as the feedstock. Estimations of capital investment cost and total annual biodiesel product cost are conducted for two canola biodiesel production plants with 5 and 30 million gallons per year (MGY) capacities. These capacities were selected based on North Dakota and neighboring states' biodiesel demands, respectively. Capital investment cost analysis shows the presence of considerable economies of scale for the biodiesel production process for the two capacities. These cost calculations are based on the purchased equipment cost calculated from the equipment specifications. Total annual biodiesel product cost analysis shows that the major portion (>80%) of the total product cost is the raw material cost, similar to the analysis of previous economic feasibility studies. Cost benefits from the economies of scale are still present for the fixed charges, general expenses, and the manufacturing costs (other than the raw material costs) in the annual product cost calculations for the two production plant capacities. Finally, based on the gross profit evaluation for both plants, this study concludes that it is more worthwhile to invest in the 30 MGY production plant because of the greater cost returns from the economies of scale benefits. The results are more encouraging after the incorporation of the federal biodiesel tax incentive and favor the investment for biodiesel production in North Dakota.
Evaluation of Different Techniques to Control Hydrogen Sulfide and Greenhouse Gases from Animal Production Systems
(North Dakota State University, 2015) Gautam, Dhan Prasad
The livestock manure management sector is one of the prime sources for the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and other pollutant gases such as ammonia (NH3) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S), which may affect the human health, animal welfare, and the environment. So, worldwide investigations are going on to mitigate these gaseous emissions. The overall objective of this research was to investigate different approaches (dietary manipulation and nanotechnology) for mitigating the gaseous emissions from livestock manure system. A field study was conducted to investigate the effect of different levels of dietary proteins (12 and 16%) and fat levels (3 to 5.5%) fed to beef cattle on gaseous emission (methane-CH4, nitrous oxide-N2O, carbon dioxide-CO2 and hydrogen sulfide-H2S) from the pen surface. To evaluate the effects of different nanoparticles (zinc oxide-nZnO; and zirconium-nZrO2) on these gaseous emissions from livestock manure stored under anaerobic conditions, laboratory studies were conducted with different treatments (control, bare NPs, NPs entrapped alginate beads applying freely and keeping in bags, and used NPs entrapped alginate beads). Field studies showed no significant differences in the GHG and H2S emissions from the manure pen surface. Between nZnO and nZrO2, nZnO outperformed the nZrO2 in terms of gases production and concentration reduction from both swine and dairy liquid manure. Application of nZnO at a rate of 3 g L-1 showed up to 82, 78, 40 and 99% reduction on total gas production, CH4, CO2 and H2S concentrations, respectively. The effectiveness of nZnO entrapped alginate (alginate-nZnO) beads was statistically lower than the bare nZnO, but both of them were very effective in reducing gas production and concentrations. These gaseous reductions were likely due to combination of microbial inhibition of microorganisms and chemical conversion during the treatment, which was confirmed by microbial plate count, SEM-EDS, and XPS analysis. However, further research are needed to understand the reduction mechanism and to transfer the technology in a real life application.
Evaluation of Storage Techniques to Preserve Fermentable Sugars from Sugar Beets for Ethanol Production
(North Dakota State University, 2012) Vargas-Ramirez, Juan Manuel
New sugar beet varieties may qualify as an advanced biofuel feedstock in the U.S., but new alternatives to conventional pile storage are necessary to preserve fermentable sugars and allow yearlong beet ethanol production. Fermentable sugar preservation was assessed in sugar beets stored under aerobic and anaerobic atmospheres and in raw thick juice stored at acidic (2≤ pH≤ 5) and alkaline (8≤ pH≤11) conditions. Aerobic storage of sugar beets at 4°C for 14 wk resulted in higher fermentable sugar retention (99± 4%) than at 25°C or anaerobic storage at 4° C and 25° C. Raw thick juice retained ≥ 99% of fermentable sugars at pH 3.5 and 9.5 and refractometric dissolved solids content of 64.5° Bx. The changes in fermentable sugars in raw thick juice stored for 24 wk at acidic and alkaline pH were modeled by response surface methodology. Although raw thick juice was stored successfully at acidic and alkaline pH, conditions for high-efficiency fermentation must be developed.
Extracting Carotenoids from Corn Industry Coproducts
(North Dakota State University, 2016) Cobb, Bonnie Finn
Two experiments were completed to develop methods for extracting xanthophylls from corn industry co-products, post fermentation (PF) corn oil and corn gluten meal (CGM). A solid phase extraction (SPE) method was used to fractionate a xanthophyll-rich portion of PF corn oil by varying conditioning and eluting solvents used with a diol SPE column. Conditioning with dichloromethane yielded highest xanthophyll fractionation, 86.5%. The elution solvent selected did not impact fractionation based on a two-way ANOVA. Supercritical fluid extraction of xanthohpylls from CGM was modeled using a Box-Behnken design, varying temperature, pressure, and co-solvent ratio. The optimum conditions were determined to be 40 °C, 6820 psi, and 15% co-solvent, which would extract 85.4 µg lutein/g CGM, 2.6 times more lutein than an ethanol and chloroform: dichloromethane solvent extraction. Co-solvent was the most influential extraction parameter and increasing it further could yield higher xanthophyll recovery. With further studies, this work has industrial potential.
A Field Study on LiDAR Sensor for Unmanned Ground Vehicle Navigation Application in Precision Agriculture
(North Dakota State University, 2022) Pederson, Breeya
LiDAR sensor’s mapping and detection abilities make these sensors an important tool for research on navigation and object detection for robots and vehicles. This study used a ground robot and LiDAR sensor to collect navigational data sets from North Dakota State University Research Extension Center agricultural test plots in Carrington, ND. Three different height and angle combinations were used to study the factors that could potentially affect object detection. Three trials were run for each sensor placement and recorded the distance the laser pulse traveled and the intensity of the laser. The analysis results showed that the data did not have a normal distribution. However, statistical analysis showed a relationship between the return intensity of the laser pulse from the sensor and the distance the object was from the sensor. Thus, this study showed that LiDAR sensors could be a navigation tool for UGV applications in precision agriculture.
Hull Fiber from DDGS and Corn Grain as Alternative Fillers in Polymer Composites with High Density Polyethylene
(North Dakota State University, 2018) Pandey, Pankaj
The steady increase in corn based ethanol production has resulted in a dramatic rise in the supply of its co-product known as distillers’ dried grain with solubles (DDGS). Currently, the main outlet for DDGS is the animal feed industry, but the presence of fibers makes them indigestible by non-ruminants such as swine and poultry. Separation of fiber from DDGS would increase the nutritional value of DDGS with higher protein and fat contents and reduced fiber content. The fiber from DDGS can be separated through a physical separation process known as elusieve. The DDGS fiber has the potential to be used as a fiber filler in thermoplastic composites. This research project evaluates DDGS fiber as a filler in thermoplastic composites. The fibers from corn hull and DDGS have been used as fillers at 30% and 50% fiber loading in high density polyethylene (HDPE) composites and compared against a standard oak fiber filler composites at a lab scale. DDGS and corn fiber composites showed comparable mechanical properties as the oak wood fiber HDPE composites. Further evaluation was completed on the performance of composite samples at commercial scale with six combinations of oak fiber, corn hull fiber and DDGS fiber with fiber loading maintained at 50%, and then samples were exposed to UV accelerated weathering for 2000 h. The UV weathering decreased the mechanical properties of all the exposed samples compared to the unexposed samples. Also, UV weathering resulted in a severe chain scission of the HDPE polymer, increasing their crystallinity. The performance of mercerized or sodium hydroxide (NaOH) treated DDGS fiber as filler was investigated by characterizing the effects of treated and untreated DDGS fibers on physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of HDPE composites. The NaOH treated DDGS fiber at 25% loading showed consistent improvement in flexural and tensile modulus of elasticities of the composites compared to the neat HDPE.

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