Biomechanism and Bioenergy Research
Volume:1 Issue: 1, Winter and Spring 2022

TIn the present study, a parabolic trough solar collector (PTC) was coupled with a modified flat plate solar collector (FPC) to serve as a greenhouse heating system. The modified FPC was located inside the greenhouse for two purposes working as the heat exchanger during the night and also generating solar thermal energy during the day. Heat transfer models were established to describe the performance of the system components and a set of experiments were conducted to validate the models. The results showed that there was a fair agreement between the theoretical and experimental data with respect to the correlation coefficient and the root mean square percent deviation criteria. The average thermal efficiency of the PTC decreased when the FPC was engaged. Raising the fluid flow rate through the PTC increased the amount of stored energy at the off-FPC mode while it led to a decrease in stored energy when the system was at on-FPC mode.

Biochar is a mineral compound with a low cost of production. This compound can also be used as a fertilizer in agriculture to help plants grow faster and is a main source of bioenergy for heating and cooking. The goal of this study was to investigate how replacement of biochar with a mineral supplement, as well as its interaction with vitamin C, would affect eggshell quality of laying hens. In a 5×2 factorial treatment design, 400 laying hens were randomly assigned to 10 treatments, 5 replications, and 8 laying hens for each repetition. Factors tested included biochar levels (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 percent replacement with mineral supplements of diet) and vitamin C levels (0 and 100 mg/kg of diet). The results showed that different experimental diets had no significant effect on eggshell quality (shell breaking strength, shell weight, eggshell thickness, and eggshell ash) of laying hens. The results revealed that biochar, due to its availability and easy production, can replace mineral supplements in laying hens’ diet, with no adverse effects on eggshell quality traits.

Remote sensing has attracted the attentions by providing a broad and comprehensive view of the world. The use of remote sensing in various fields such as agriculture is constantly expanding. Spectral bands in visible and infrared ranges can be used to discriminate between phenomena and ground cover by computing various spectral indices. Investigating plant physiology is essential to know the physiological and ecological aspects of plant functions. In this study, images of Sentinel-2 satellite were used to compute spectral indices and correlate them with phenological stages of wheat crop in two agricultural centers in Fars province, Iran. Zadoks scale is one of the most reputed methods to state growth stages of wheat crop. The Zadoks scale uses two-digit codes to demonstrate different phenological processes. In this study, nine growing stages were carefully identified using ground truth method. After calculating two spectral indices of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI) on satellite images of various dates during the growing season, NDVI and SAVI time series were generated. Each time series image consisted of nine bands, each band being an image obtained from a wheat growing stage. Study the trend between NDVI and SAVI indices and the Zadoks scale showed that the phenological stages of wheat can be identified using remote sensing technology.

Measurement of mechanical properties of biocomposites is a good method for evaluating their effectiveness of adhesion between fiber and polymer matrix. In this research, the effects of four different chemical treatments of flax fiber on some mechanical properties of their biocomposites was investigated. Initially, the flax fiber was soaked in alkaline, silane, benzoyle and peroxide solution and the fiber were dried in an air-cabinet drier at 70°C. After grinding, each group were separately mixed with HDPE powder at a ratio of 10% flax fiber and 90% HDPE. From these mixture, composite plates were prepared through extruding, pelleting, and rotational molding. The resulting composites were tested for their various mechanical properties using tensile tests. The test results indicated the maximum strain was 6.22%, maximum supported load at yield point was 582 N, maximum stress at yield pint was 20.26 MPa and maximum modulus of elasticity was 467.75 MPa all for alkaline treatment. It was found that all tested mechanical properties for HDPE were significantly lower than the composites made from fiber containing biocomposites. However there was no significant difference between the mechanical strength of composites produced from various chemical treatments.

Pyrolysis is a thermochemical process by which biomass is decomposed by heating in the absence of oxygen and the resulting emitted gases and settled bio-char are used for energy supply. Cypress pruning residues due to their gums content are a good source for pyrolysis. In this study, a reactor equipped with a screw conveyor was built and used for pyrolysis of stems and leaves of cypress tree. Then the effects of temperature and residence time of the reactor on their thermal decompositions was investigated using factorial experiments based on a completely randomized design. In these experiments, temperature was set at 5 levels from 300 to 500°C, with 50 degrees intervals and the residence time was set from 5 to 30 minutes with 5 minute intervals. The results showed that, at 1% significant level, both resident time and reactor temperature and their interaction had significant effects on bio-char yields for both stem, and leaves. The analysis of TG/DTG diagrams showed that the bio-char was formed from 200 to 500°C. The highest rate of decomposition of hemicellulose was at 340°C, and it was 450°C and 580°C for cellulose and lignin, selectively. The final rich carbon content of bio-char was formed after 750°C which resulted 23% for the stems and 28% for the leaves. The pyrolysis experiments with different retention time in the reactor indicated that, in general, the amount of bio-char decreases as the retention time increased.

Photovoltaic-thermal (PV-T) solar air/water collectors have received increasing attention in recent years. Efficiency is the most important parameter usually considered in PV-T technologies. The present paper expressed energy efficiency and thermal-electrical exergy of PV-T collectors, and compared the studies of researchers on the performance of these systems. The figures are provided to give an overview of how PV-T performance is improved. Changes in heat transfer fluid play a major role in electrical and thermal efficiency. A brief overview of the most promising fluids used in PV-T is reported in this article. Nowadays, improving PV- T performance by optimizing the adsorbent plate and cooling fluid and using nanofluid has been considered by researchers. The application of these schemes in implementation, especially in agriculture, can help significantly in increasing the efficiency of solar radiation. Therefore, future work should be aimed at increasing efficiency and reducing costs to increase their competitiveness and use as a renewable and environmentally friendly energy device.

The aim of this study was to compare the fertilizer properties of anaerobic digestion residues (digestate) of chicken manure and fresh chicken manure with the aim of benefiting from the produced biogas and alleviating the environmental problems of fresh chicken manure. The study was conducted in a completely randomized design. In addition to the control treatment, experimental treatment groups were Fresh Chicken Manure (FCM), Chicken Manure Digestate (CMD) and Enriched Chicken manure (ECM), each at three levels and with 3 replications. A total of 30 experimental pots were used for soil treatments and wheat planting. At the end of the growing season, soil variables including nitrogen, organic carbon, absorbable phosphorus, and pH, and physical properties of wheat including dry weight of shoots, seeds and roots were measured. The results were analyzed using SPSS statistical software. CMD application relatively increased soil nitrogen, organic carbon and phosphorus, kept the soil pH neutral, and improved wheat yield components. Compared to FCM, not only has the quality of CMD as biofertilizer not decreased, but it has also improved in some respects. CMD is superior to ECM in all studied indicators. The results are also better or at least equal in comparison with FCM. Due to the environmental benefits of anaerobic digestion of chicken manure and also the production of biogas as a valuable product and proving that the quality of the resulting fertilizer is not reduced, the use of CMD as organic fertilizer has more advantages than the use of FCM and even ECM.

The increase in worldwide energy consumption and the issues arising from the use of fossil fuels have drawn attention towards sustainable energy sources. Bioenergy is a sustainable energy source that can help accomplish the goals of sustainable development. Aimed at the bibliometric analysis of articles on bioenergy, this study explored a total of 16,773 articles published in the Scopus database from 2000 to 2020. The cooperation of the authors and countries was established and studied by using social network analysis based on co-authorship. Also, to check the hot topics, the keywords and their interrelations were assessed based on co-occurrences. Additionally, the interrelationship of the keyword clusters was studied. The relevant research institutions, sponsors, and journals were addressed as other dimensions. The research showed that although the United States is the pioneer, China has made extensive investments and has put a special focus on bioenergy. This research shows the increasing importance and attention to bioenergy and, analyzes various aspects of bioenergy and illustrates the trend and progress of this subject over the last two decades. It would also help researchers develop bioenergy by identifying the most recent hot topics and their interrelations