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Background: Fish entrainment through turbine intakes is one of the major issues for operators of hydropower facilities because it causes injury and/or mortality and adversely affects population abundance. Entrainment reduction strategies have been developed based on the behavior of downstream migrating fishes, particularly diadromous species. However, knowledge of the behavior of migratory fishes has very limited application for reducing the entrainment of resident fishes, including several species that represent important recreational and aboriginal fishery resources in reservoirs. In this study, we used fine-scale acoustic telemetry and state-space modeling to investigate behavioral attributes associated with entrainment risk of resident adult bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) in a large hydropower reservoir in British Columbia, Canada. Results: We found that adult bull trout resided longer in the vicinity of the powerhouse and moved closer to the turbine intakes in the fall and particularly in the winter. Bull trout were more likely to engage in exploratory behavior (characteristic of foraging or reduced activity) during periods when their body temperature was lower or higher than 6°C. We also detected diel changes in behavioral attributes, with bull trout distance to intakes and probability of exploratory behavior slightly increasing at night. Conclusions: We hypothesize that the exploratory behavior in the forebay is associated with foraging for kokanee (nonanadromous form of Oncorhynchus nerka), which have been shown to congregate near the dams of hydropower reservoirs in the winter. Our study findings should be applicable to bull trout populations residing in other reservoirs and indicate that entrainment mitigation (for example, use of deterrent devices) should be focused on the fall and winter. This work also provides a framework for combining acoustic telemetry and state-space models to understand and categorize movement behavior of fish in reservoirs and, more generally, in any environment with fluctuating water levels.

Abstract A new formulation for the evaporation, flashing, condensation processes taking place in the effects of thermal desalination systems which simulates the operation of both forward and parallel/cross configurations is coupled with an exergo-economic model based on the SPECO method. The thermo-economic model uses accurate properties for the seawater, brine, pure water and vapour and is solved with an equation solver which does not require the development of a specific solution algorithm as in most previous studies. This flexible model is used to analyze the influence of the number of effects N and the temperature difference ΔT e between effects on the technical and economic performance of multi-effect desalination systems with ejector vapour compression. In particular, it is shown that the performance calculated by an earlier black-box approach is not attainable by technically and economically realistic systems. It is also shown that for each feed configuration and a given number of effects there exists an optimum value of ΔT e which minimizes the cost of the produced potable water. This last result forms the basis of a procedure that combines black-box results with the optimum value of ΔT e and can be used to select the appropriate system for any specific application.

AbstractA bioreactor system composed of a stirred tank and three tubular bioreactors in series was established, and continuous ethanol fermentation was carried out using a general Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain and a very high gravity medium containing 280 g L−1 glucose, supplemented with 5 g L−1 yeast extract and 3 g L−1 peptone. Sustainable oscillations of glucose, ethanol, and biomass were observed when the tank was operated at the dilution rate of 0.027 h−1, which significantly affected ethanol fermentation performance of the system. After the tubular bioreactors were packed with 1/2″ Intalox ceramic saddles, the oscillations were attenuated and quasi‐steady states were achieved. Residence time distributions were studied for the packed bioreactors by the step input response technique using xylose as a tracer, which was added into the medium at a concentration of 20 g L−1, indicating that the backmixing alleviation assumed for the packed tubular bioreactors could not be established, and its contribution to the oscillation attenuation could not be verified. Furthermore, the role of the packing's yeast cell immobilization in the oscillation attenuation was investigated by packing the tubular bioreactors with packings with significant difference in yeast cell immobilization effects, and the experimental results revealed that only the Intalox ceramic saddles and wood chips with moderate yeast cell immobilization effects could attenuate the oscillations, and correspondingly, improved the ethanol fermentation performance of the system, while the porous polyurethane particles with good yeast cell immobilization effect could not. And the viability analysis for the immobilized yeast cells illustrated that the extremely lower yeast cell viability within the tubular bioreactors packed with the porous polyurethane particles could be the reason for their inefficiency, while the yeast cells loosely immobilized onto the surfaces of the Intalox ceramic saddles and wood chips could be renewed during the fermentation, guaranteeing their viability and making them more efficient in attenuating the oscillations. The packing Raschig rings without yeast cell immobilization effect did not affect the oscillatory behavior of the tubular bioreactors, further supporting the role of the yeast cell immobilization in the oscillation attenuation. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2009;102: 113–121. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Abstract Food waste (FW), primary sludge (PS) and waste activated sludge (WAS) were characterized and found to be complementary in the concentrations of carbohydrates, total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), PO4–P and some metal for biological hydrogen production. Moreover, FW was found to have low pH buffering capacity while the values for PS and WAS were relatively higher. An anaerobic toxicity analysis (ATA) derived from a methanogenic ATA protocol showed that these waste materials had no toxicity to hydrogen production. Adding phosphate buffer to the FW significantly improved hydrogen production while initial pH was 7.0. Co-digestion of FW and sewage sludge was studied using a batch respirometric cultivation system. All combinations of the feedstocks (FW+PS, FW+WAS and FW+PS+WAS) showed enhanced hydrogen production potential as compared with the individual wastes. A mixing ratio of 1:1 was found to be the best among the ratios tested for all three co-digestion groups. A hydrogen yield of 112 mL/g volatile solid (VS) added was obtained from a combination of FW, PS and WAS. This yield was equivalent to 250 mL/g VS added if only FW contributed to hydrogen production. The reason for the enhancement of hydrogen production was postulated to be multifold in which the increase in buffer capacity in the co-digestion mixture was verified.

The objective of this work was to study the kinetics of lipid production at lab scale fermenters by a new isolate of Yarrowia lipolytica SKY7. The model terms glycerol concentration inoculum and C/N ratio with inoculum were found to be significant for lipid production. Lipid production was found to be higher in glycerol 82.5g/L, C/N ratio 75 and inoculum volume 6.25%. Optimized culture conditions were tested at 15L bench scale reactor. The biomass concentration and lipid content obtained was 29.5g/L and 50% (w/w), respectively. The yield coefficients were calculated and found to be 0.332g/g (g biomass/g of glycerol) of biomass and 0.179g/g (g lipid/g glycerol consumed) for lipid. Observed rates of lipid production show lipid production from 30h of fermentation. Out of the total glycerol consumed, 41.1% glycerol was converted into biomass, lipid, and citric acid.

Abstract A dynamic model of vapour compression refrigeration system is developed. The overall model consists of the following basic components: a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, an evaporator, an evaporative cooler and a cool storage. The integrated system is referred to as chilled water cooling system with storage (CWCS). The mathematical modelling of the CWC system undertaken in this study predicts the change in state of refrigerant in the system with respect to time. A computer program is developed to solve the dynamic equations along with empirical correlations describing refrigerant properties. Open-loop tests are carried out to study the performance characteristics of the system under varied cooling load and compressor speed. The model is intended to serve as an analytical design tool and to provide a basis for control analysis. Based on a heuristic method, ‘sub-optimal on–off control’ strategies for the chilled water cool storage system are developed using a reduced order model. The methodology of generating such control profiles is illustrated and the tests for optimality show that the control profiles are near optimal. The on–off control scheme is simulated on the full order CWC system. The operating performance of the system is described under several simulated cases. The results show that the control scheme is capable of maintaining the chilled water temperature in the chosen range.

The objective of the present investigation has been to combine tracer principles and a hydrolytic microbial activity assay using fluorescein diacetate to monitor changes in microbial biomass within subsurface flow wetland mesocosms. The mesocosm hydrolytic activity was referenced to activated sludge concentrations treating a typical domestic wastewater at full scale. Microbial biomass activity levels within four laboratory wetland mesocosms treating a synthetic domestic wastewater were routinely monitored over a 21-week period of plant growth and rhizosphere development. Although above ground plant mass and tracer dispersion numbers suggested progressive root zone development, plant growth did not result in any measurable enhancement in microbial activity when compared to a mesocosm operating without plants. Dispersion numbers also suggested a reduction in the mass transport kinetics in these planted mesocosms. In-situ biomass monitoring enabled the assessment of a characteristic response in terms of the steady-state food to microorganism (F/M) ratio that was observed in mesocosms receiving both low and high organic loading. Wetland treatment performance is sensitive to the degree to which bed volume is exploited in terms of wastewater flow to regions of bioactivity. The in-situ reactive tracer technique for mesocosm biomass monitoring provided an assessment of the collective substratum and rhizosphere microbial biomass in direct contact with wastewater contaminants. Thus, in-situ biomass monitoring has application in further understanding of plant function and strategies for plant implementation in wetland research and development.

In this study, an agroforestry ecosystem project (AEP) is developed for confronting the conflict between agricultural development and forest protection. A fuzzy stochastic programming with Laplace scenario analysis (FSL) is proposed for planning water resources in an AEP issue under uncertainties. FSL can not only deal with spatial and temporal variations of hydrologic elements and meteorological conditions; but also handle uncertainties that are expressed in terms of probability, possibility distributions and fuzzy sets; meanwhile, policy scenario analysis with Laplace’s criterion (PSL) is introduced to handle probability of each scenario occurrence under the supposition of no data available. The developed FSL can be applied to an AEP issue in Xixian county, located in north of China. The result of ecological effects, water allocation patterns, pollution mitigation schemes and system benefits under various scenarios are obtained, which can support policymakers adjusting current strategy to improve regional ecological function with cost-effective and sustainable manners. Meanwhile, it can support generating a robust water plan for regional sustainability in an AEP issue under uncertainties.

The design that is being developed is a Water Monitoring System for Speed and Eramosa Rivers. This design consists of four sensors (turbidity, conductivity, dissolved oxygen and water level) which monitor the Speed and Eramosa Rivers in Guelph, Ontario. The sensors input measurements to a microcontroller which processes the inputs. The software contained on the microcontroller will pass a warning message to a wireless modem which relays the problem to a base station if dangerous contamination levels are reached.