Kenneth Corscadden

The prospects of Jerusalem artichoke in functional food ingredients and bioenergy production

Jerusalem artichoke, a native plant to North America has recently been recognized as a promising biomass for bioeconomy development, with a number of advantages over conventional crops such as low input cultivation, high crop yield, wide adaptation to climatic and soil conditions and strong resistance to pests and plant diseases. A variety of bioproducts can be derived from Jerusalem artichoke, including inulin, fructose, natural fungicides, antioxidant and bioethanol. This paper provides an overview of the cultivation of Jerusalem artichoke, derivation of bioproducts and applicable production technologies, with an expectation to draw more attention on this valuable crop for its applications as biofuel, functional food and bioactive ingredient sources.

The Optimization of Alkali-Catalyzed Biodiesel Production from Camelina sativa Oil Using a Response Surface Methodology

Camelina sativa oil is considered a promising feedstock for biodiesel production. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used to optimize camelina biodiesel production by an alkali-catalyzed transesterification process. The effects of independent factors (temperature, time, molar ratio of methanol/oil, and catalyst concentration) on dependent variables (product yield and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yield), was investigated. Mathematical regression models were developed for prediction of the biodiesel product yield and FAME yield. The camelina biodiesel product yield (97%) and FAME yield (98.9%) were achieved at the optimal reaction conditions of 38.7°C reaction temperature, 40 min reaction time, 7.7 molar ratio of methanol/oil, and 1.5 wt.% catalyst concentration.

Co-liquefaction of spent coffee grounds and lignocellulosic feedstocks

Co-liquefaction of spent coffee grounds (SCG) with paper filter (PF), corn stalk (CS) and white pine bark (WPB) respectively, was examined in subcritical water for bio-crude oil production. The optimum reaction temperature was 250°C, and the mixing biomass ratio was 1:1. SCG and CS was identified to be the best feedstock combination with a significant positive synergetic effect in the co-liquefaction process with 5% NaOH as a catalyst. The yield of bio-crude oil was increased by 20.9% compared to the mass averaged yield from two feedstocks, and the oil quality was also improved in terms of viscosity and relative molecular mass. A negative effect presented in the co-liquefaction of SCG/WPB. The resulting bio-crude oils were characterized by elemental analyzer, GC-MS, GPC and viscometer, indicating that mixing feedstock in the co-liquefaction process also influenced the higher heating value (HHV), viscosity, molecular mass and chemical composition of bio-crude oil.

Computer vision for bulk volume estimation of apple slices during drying

ABSTRACT The accuracy of imaging for bulk volume estimation of apple slices in the process of drying at temperatures from 40 to 80°C was investigated and compared with physical caliper measurements. The initial hypothesis was to estimate bulk volume of cylindrically shaped apple slices from diameter and thickness imaging. Imaging of diameter showed strong agreement with caliper measurements throughout the entire drying process, however imaging of thickness was not accurate due to the irregular shrinkage and bending phenomena. A linear model reflecting the relationship between diameter and bulk volume was developed and validated at temperatures of 40, 60, and 80°C. It showed good correlation between imaging diameter and bulk volume changes in the range of moisture contents from 9.1 to 0.25 g/g. The relative percentage error of the prediction model was approximately 6.45%, which suggests that imaging can be used as a robust tool for bulk volume estimation of apple slices during convective drying.

A Comparative Study on the Performance of Fiber-Based Biosorbents in the Purification of Biodiesel Derived from Camelina sativa

Biodiesel has received great interest as a promising substitute for petrodiesel. Biodiesel purification which follows the transesterification process is typically carried out using a wet washing process that generates large amounts of wastewater. Consequently, alternative methods are emerging as sustainable options for biodiesel purification. One of such methods is a dry washing process. In this paper, the performance of three dry washing media (commercially available BD-Zorb, sawdust and wood shavings) were evaluated as potentially suitable options for the purification of biodiesel derived from Camelina sativa . The results indicate that for the crude camelina biodiesel with an initial soap content of 9007 ppm, BD-Zorb exhibited the best purification performance. The soap removal capacity of BD-Zorb, sawdust, and wood shavings was 51.1 mL/g, 24.4 mL/g, and 9.4 mL/g respectively. The primary mechanism of soap removal using sawdust and wood shavings media was physical filtration and adsorption. While for adsorbent BD-Zorb, soap removal mechanism included adsorption and ion exchange due to the existence of a small amount of resins. The ion exchange led to a high acid number (1 mg KOH/g) of the purified biodiesel, and failed to meet the ASTM D6751 specifications (<0.5 mg KOH/g).

The TREEhouse: A hybrid model for experiential learning in environmental education

ABSTRACT This article addresses the need to integrate experiential learning into environmental and sustainability curriculum and considers the challenges faced by academic institutions in providing relevant experiential learning opportunities at an appropriate scale. Through an experiential case study, this article illustrates how adopting a “hybrid approach” served to expand traditional perception and infrastructure at Dalhousie University, Faculty of Agriculture, while affording graduate students a space for developing knowledge through the experience of doing. This article discusses the barriers and presents the methodology used to achieve a paradigm shift. This overcomes traditional approaches and could be duplicated for infrastructure transformation into active laboratories for the provision of experiential learning tools for environmental education programs.

Energy Projects, Social Licence, Public Acceptance and Regulatory Systems in Canada: A White Paper

This white paper reports on the results of a year-long interdisciplinary collaboration aimed at identifying and summarizing extant research regarding social licence and related concepts, with a particular emphasis on understanding its implications for public acceptance of energy projects in Canada, and their related regulatory processes.

Scale and sustainability: An exploratory study of sheep farming and adding value to wool in Atlantic Canada

ABSTRACT This article presents results of an exploratory study examining potential for adding value to sheep’s wool in a region in which smaller sheep farmers sometimes discard wool because its price is so low. The study is a) a literature scan and farmer survey to determine inventory of wool produced but not marketed in Atlantic Canada; b) an evaluation of sustainability of sheep’s wool insulation products currently marketed globally; and c) an exploration of potential scenarios for manufacturing sheep’s wool insulation. It indicates some potential for adding value to wool, for more profitable sheep farming, but further research is needed on the economic, environmental, and social benefits in a wide range of rural contexts in order to ensure sustainability over the long term.

Qualification of essential components of a FIT scheme

ABSTRACT A study was completed to examine the effectiveness of feed-in tariff (FIT) policy as a mechanism to encourage renewable energy (RE) development. Nine regions were selected with various time frames of RE policy development, demographics, and natural resources for comparison of RE success. Results are based on installed capacity and greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation. This aticle presents three main themes which successful FIT policy incorporates to encourage rapid RE uptake: 1. tariffs based on a reasonable rate of return, 2. government commitment to the policy, and 3. minimization of bureaucratic processes. This is demonstrated by comparing information from various regions around the world. Other observed benefits of RE installations include GHG mitigation compared to conventional electricity generation mechanisms such as coal.