• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.685-693
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• 1997

We have studied the reforming of carbon dioxide with methane over various supported nickel catalysts. The nickel supported on natural zeolite showed the highest activity and the nickel on acidic support showed higher activity and slow deactivation compared to nickel on basic support. The activity of nickel on natural zeolite increased with increasing loading ratio and showed almost constant activity above 10wt.% loading of nickel. The conversion and yield of products were affected by the mole ratio of reactants and the highest yields of CO and $H_2$ were obtained at $CH_4/CO_2=1$. The deactivation of catalyst was caused by deposition of coke which was formed by the decomposition of methane. The shape of coke was shown to be whisker tripe carbon, and it brought out the slow deactivation of catalyst.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.59-67
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• 1988

Anaerobic digestion at the temperature of $35-55^{\circ}C$ was conducted using an artificial sludge of uniform composition. The hydraulic retention time of 5 days was chosen because the temperature effect was effectively shown at a high loading. Inhibition of the methane fermentation decreased as the temperature increased. Acid fermentation was prevalent at the mesophilic and intermediate temperatures, while active methane fermentation took place at $55^{\circ}C$. Temperature not only affects activity of the microorganisms, but also affects physical and chemical properties of the sludge, Digestion inhibition was much reduced when the feed sludge was diluted, and active methane fermentation was possible at all temperatures. The digestion efficiency was governed by the organic loading rate as well as the hydraulic 10ading rate. No reduction of the digestion efficiency at $40-45^{\circ}C$, which had been referred to a critical temperature range, was observed. The digestion efficiency increased monotonically from mesophilic to thermophilic range. Improved settling properties of digested sludge was also recorded at higher temperatures.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.12
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• pp.1721-1725
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• 2014

The objective of this study was to evaluate the in vitro effects of coconut materials on ruminal methanogenesis and fermentation characteristics, in particular their effectiveness for mitigating ruminal methanogenesis. Fistulated Holstein cows were used as the donor of rumen fluid. Coconut materials were added to an in vitro fermentation incubated with rumen fluid-buffer mixture and timothy substrate for 24 h incubation. Total gas production, gas profiles, total volatile fatty acids (tVFAs) and the ruminal methanogens diversity were measured. Although gas profiles in added coconut oil and coconut powder were not significantly different, in vitro ruminal methane production was decreased with the level of reduction between 15% and 19% as compared to control, respectively. Coconut oil and coconut powder also inhibited gas production. The tVFAs concentration was increased by coconut materials, but was not affected significantly as compared to control. Acetate concentration was significantly lower (p<0.05), while propionate was significantly higher (p<0.05) by addition of the coconut materials than that of the control. The acetate:propionate ratio was significantly lowered with addition of coconut oil and coconut powder (p<0.05). The methanogens and ciliate-associated methanogens in all added coconut materials were shown to decrease as compared with control. This study showed that ciliate-associated methanogens diversity was reduced by more than 50% in both coconut oil and coconut powder treatments. In conclusion, these results indicate that coconut powder is a potential agent for decreasing in vitro ruminal methane production and as effective as coconut oil.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.261-268
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• 2014

Leachate quality and methane emission from pilot-scale lysimeters operated under semi-aerobic and anaerobic conditions were monitored for 650 days. Two semi-aerobic lysimeters were filled with un-compacted and compacted municipal solid wastes whereas two anaerobic lysimeters containing compacted wastes were operated with leachate storage at 50% and 100% of waste height, respectively. Despite having high moisture in wastes and operating under tropical rainfall events, leachate stabilization in semi-aerobic lysimeters took place much faster resulting in BOD reduction by 90% within 60 days, significantly shorter than 180-210 days observed in anaerobic lysimeters. Nitrogen concentration in leachate from semi-aerobic lysimeter could be reduced by 90%. In term of gas emission, semi-aerobic lysimeter with un-compacted wastes had much lower methane emission rate of $2.8g/m^2/day$ compare to anaerobic lysimeters ($62.6g/m^2/day$) through seasonal fluctuation was observed. Nevertheless, semi-aerobic lysimeter with waste compaction has similar performance to anaerobic lysimeter.

• Journal of Climate Change Research
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.443-450
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• 2016

The major greenhouse gases (GHGs) in agricultural sector are methane ($CH_4$), nitrous oxide ($N_2O$), carbon dioxide ($CO_2$). GHGs emissions are estimated by pertinent source category in a guideline book from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) such as methane from rice paddy, nitrous oxide from agricultural soil and crop residue burning. The methods for estimation GHGs emissions in agricultural sector are based on 1996 and 2006 IPCC guideline, 2000 and 2003 Good Practice Guidance. In general, GHG emissions were calculated by multiplying the activity data by emission factor. The total GHGs emission is $10,863Gg\;CO_2-eq$. from crop cultivation in agricultural sector in 2013. The emission is divided by the ratio of greenhouse gases that methane and nitrous oxide are 64% and 34%, respectively. Each gas emission according to the source categories is $7,000Gg\;CO_2-eq$. from rice paddy field, $3,897Gg\;CO_2-eq$. from agricultural soil, and $21Gg\;CO_2-eq$. from field burning, respectively. The GHGs emission in agricultural sector had been gradually decreased from 1990 to 2013 because of the reduction of cultivation. In order to compare with indirect emissions from agricultural soil, each emission was calculated using IPCC default factors (D) and country specific emission factors (CS). Nitrous oxide emission by CS applied in indirect emission, as nitrogen leaching and run off, was lower about 50% than that by D.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.14-20
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• 2019

The power to gas (P2G) is one of the energy storage technologies that can increase the storage period and storage capacity compared to the existing battery type. One of P2G technologies produces hydrogen by decomposing water from renewable energy (electricity) and the other produces $CH_4$ by reacting hydrogen with $CO_2$. The objective of this study is the reaction of $CO_2$ methanation which synthesized methane by reacting carbon dioxide and hydrogen. The effect of $CO_2$ conversion and $CH_4$ selectivity on reaction temperature, pressure, and methane contents over 40% Ni catalyst was mainly investigated throughout this study. As a result, the activity of this catalyst appeared to be the highest in $CH_4$ yield at around $400^{\circ}C$ and the selectivity of $CH_4$ increased with increasing reaction pressure. The methane content was not significantly influenced below 3% of all componets. As the space velocity increases from 10,000 to 30,000/hr, the $CO_2$ conversion rate tends to decrease.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.615-621
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• 2010

The viability of low-temperature sulfate reduction with hydrogen as electron donor was studied with a bench-scale gas-lift bioreactor (GLB) operated at $9^{\circ}C$. Prior to the GLB experiment, the temperature range of sulfate reduction of the inoculum was assayed. The results of the temperature gradient assay indicated that the inoculum was a psychrotolerant mesophilic enrichment culture that had an optimal temperature for sulfate reduction of $31^{\circ}C$, and minimum and maximum temperatures of $7^{\circ}C$ and $41^{\circ}C$, respectively. In the GLB experiment at $9^{\circ}C$, a sulfate reduction rate of 500-600 mg $l^{-1}d^{-1}$, corresponding to a specific activity of 173 mg ${SO_4}^{2-}g\;VSS^{-1}d^{-1}$, was obtained. The electron flow from the consumed $H_2$-gas to sulfate reduction varied between 27% and 52%, whereas the electron flow to acetate production decreased steadily from 15% to 5%. No methane was produced. Acetate was produced from $CO_2$ and $H_2$ by homoacetogenic bacteria. Acetate supported the growth of some heterotrophic sulfate-reducing bacteria. The sulfate reduction rate in the GLB was limited by the slow biomass growth rate at $9^{\circ}C$ and low biomass retention in the reactor. Nevertheless, this study demonstrated the potential sulfate reduction rate of psychrotolerant sulfate-reducing mesophiles at suboptimal temperature.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.10
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• pp.1389-1394
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• 2012

Sheanut cake (SNC), expeller (SNE) and solvent extractions (SNSE) samples were evaluated to determine their suitability in animal feeding. The CP content was highest in SNSE (16.2%) followed by SNE (14.7%) and SNC (11.6%). However, metabolizable energy (ME, MJ/kg) was maximum in SNC (8.2) followed by SNE (7.9) and SNSE (7.0). The tannin phenol content was about 7.0 per cent and mostly in the form of hydrolyzable tannin (HT), whereas condensed tannin (CT) was less than one per cent. The in vitro gas production profiles indicated similar y max (maximum potential of gas production) among the 3 by-products. However, the rate of degradation (k) was maximum in SNC followed by SNE and SNSE. The $t^{1/2}$ (time taken for reaching half asymptote) was lowest in SNC (14.4 h) followed by SNE (18.7 h) and SNSE (21.9 h). The increment in the in vitro gas volume (ml/200 mg DM) with PEG (polyethylene glycol)-6000 (as a tannin binder) addition was 12.0 in SNC, 9.6 in SNE and 11.0 in SNSE, respectively. The highest ratio of $CH_4$ (ml) reduction per ml of the total gas, an indicator of the potential of tannin, was recorded in SNE (0.482) followed by SNC (0.301) and SNSE (0.261). There was significant (p<0.05) reduction in entodinia population and total protozoa population. Differential protozoa counts revealed that Entodinia populations increased to a greater extent than Holotricha when PEG was added. This is the first report on the antimethanogenic property of sheanut byproducts. It could be concluded that all the three forms of SN byproducts are medium source of protein and energy for ruminants. There is a great potential for SN by-products to be incorporated in ruminant feeding not only as a source of energy and protein, but also to protect the protein from rumen degradation and suppress enteric methanogenesis.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.471-478
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• 2011

The objectives were to compare the ability of various rumen microbial fractions to reduce nitrate and to assess the effect of nitrate on in vitro fermentation characteristics. Physical and chemical methods were used to differentiate the rumen microbial population into the following fractions: whole rumen fluid (WRF), protozoa (Pr), bacteria (Ba), and fungi (Fu). The three nitrogen substrate treatments were as follows: no supplemental nitrogen source, nitrate or urea, with the latter two being isonitrogenous additions. The results showed that during 24 h incubation, WRF, Pr and Ba fractions had an ability to reduce nitrate, and the rate of nitrate disappearance for the Pr fraction was similar to the WRF fraction, while the Ba fraction needed an adaptation period of 12 h before rapid nitrate disappearance. The WRF fraction had the greatest methane ($CH_4$) production and the Pr fraction had the greatest prevailing $H_2$ concentration (p<0.05). Compared to the urea treatment, nitrate diminished net gas and $CH_4$ production during incubation (p<0.05), and ammonia-N ($NH_3$-N) concentration (p<0.01). Nitrate also increased acetate, decreased propionate and decreased butyrate molar proportions (p<0.05). The Pr fraction had the highest acetate to propionate ratio (p<0.05). The Pr fraction as well as the Ba fraction appears to have an important role in nitrate reduction. Nitrate did not consistently alter total VFA concentration, but it did shift the VFA profile to higher acetate, lower propionate and lower butyrate molar proportions, consistent with less $CH_4$ production by all microbial fractions.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.327-334
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• 2014

Emission reduction of $CH_4$ (methane gas) from rice paddy soil is a very important measure for climate change mitigation in agricultural sector. In this study, we investigated the changes in crop yield and $CH_4$ emissions in response to application of biochar and fertilizers. The experimental site is located in Hwasung, Kyunggido and experimental design is the split-plot method with three replicates. Treatments included rice straw (RS) and biochar (BC) amendments nested with the conventional NPK fertilizer (NPK) and slow release fertilizer (SRF). Control was also prepared with the soil with the conventional NPK fertilization with no amendment. Measurement of $CH_4$ emission was conducted during the growing season of 2014 using a dynamic chamber method. The results showed that application of rice straw increased daily $CH_4$ emission rate by 15%, while application of biochar reduced daily $CH_4$ emission rate by 38%. When we combined biochar application with slow release fertilizer, $CH_4$ emission was reduced by 45%. Further, the crop yield was also increased in all treatments compared with the control except for the treatment of rice straw application with slow release fertilizer. Overall results imply that biochar amendment to agricultural soil can be an effective strategy to decrease annual $CH_4$ emission with no reduction in crop yield.