Effects of roughage type on particle separation, rumination, fiber mat characteristics, in situ degradation, and ruminal fermentation parameters in beef steers

Six ruminally cannulated steers (average BW = 791 + 71 kg) were used in a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square experiment to determine the effects of roughage type on rumination, fiber mat characteristics, and rumen fermentation variables. Three roughages were included at 7% (DM basis) in a steam flaked corn-based diet; cotton burrs (CB), wheat silage (WS), or corn stalks (CS). Steers were fitted with a sensory collar to record rumination behaviors in 2-h intervals at the beginning of the experiment. Each 30-d period consisted of a 7-d of recovery, 14-d of diet adaptation, 7-d of rumination data collection (daily and bi-hourly average rumination), 1-d of rumen fluid collection, and 1-d of rumen evacuations. In situ degradation of individual roughages was determined for 4-d after period 3 evacuations. During rumen evacuations, ruminal contents were removed; the rumen fiber mat (RF) was separated from the liquid portion with a 2 mm sieve, weighed, and a subsample was dried. Data were analyzed using the MIXED procedure of SAS with steer as the experimental unit and roughage (CB, WS, and CS) as the main effect. Dry matter intake (DMI) was not different for CB and WS (P = 0.25) and greatest for steers consuming CS diet (P < 0.01). Roughage type did not influence the weight of the RF dry matter (%; DM; P = 0.92), RF weight (P = 0.69), or RF:DMI ratio (P = 0.29). Daily rumination (min/d) did not differ among roughages (P = 0.40), but min of rumination/kg of DMI was greatest for CS (18.0 min), min/kg of NDF was greatest for WS (89.8 min; P = 0.02), and min/kg of peNDF was greatest for CS (132.4 min; P < 0.01). Wheat silage had the greatest percentage of soluble DM and CB-R and CS-R (P < 0.01) had the greatest ruminal degraded DM fraction. Rumen fiber mat did not differ for roughages, although rumination min/kg of DMI and peNDF was greatest for steers consuming CS and WS. In situ degradation determined that CB-R and CS-R had the greatest percentage of ruminal degraded DM. Based on the objective of the experiment, roughage type did not influence daily rumination or fiber mat characteristics.

Thermal measurement and degradation quantification of teeming ladle refractories and the effects on the process

The key objective of the thesis was to quantify the heat loss caused to the liquid steel due to the cooling effect of the teeming ladle refractories. It was previously hypothesised that the in-situ degradation of insulation layer would increase this cooling effect. To determine the cooling effect of the degraded insulation material it was first thermally characterised with in-situ thermocouple measurements. Post-mortem samples were recovered from the teeming ladles used for the thermocouple measurements during their regular production cycles in a BOS plant. The post-mortem samples were then tested for their thermophysical properties. From this it was possible to determine the density increased from 260kg/m3 to 759.6 kg/m3, the thermal conductivity increased from 0.039W/m.K to 0.15W/m.K and the specific heat capacity decreased by 40% compared to its original state. These findings were then used to calculate the increased heat loss rate of the refractory material in the teeming ladle, which then in turn causes increased heat loss to the steel transported by the ladle. A thermal model was used to determine the heat flux stored in a fully saturated ladle and then different time periods of cooling with and without a lid. The effect of teeming ladle lids reduced the heat losses by up to 11°C per cycle compared to a ladle without a lid. Whereas the heat loss due to the insulative layer degradation was calculated to be <1°C for the initial heats before the ladle reached production temperatures and, therefore, had minimal effect. However, the degradation did show an increase in teeming ladle shell temperatures, which needs to be taken into account for service temperature monitoring. The thermal profiles of the modelled scenarios showed that if an accurate hot face measurement could be achieved it would be possible to accurately predict the cooling effect of each teeming ladle in production. This study was able to accurately measure the refractories and slag taken from a teeming and utilise the geometry of the ladle to reduce the error from thermal imaging. Previously predictions were used that could cause errors up to ±175°C when taking thermal images of the teeming ladle hot face. Through the method adopted in this study it was possible to take accurate measurements of the hot face within ±5°C. This can now be utilised by a thermal model to make accurate real time predictions of the heat loss caused by teeming ladle refractories. Thereby reducing the reheating required and improving the quality of steel produced.

Determination of in situ degradation parameters and feeding level of pineapple (Ananas comosus L.) cannery by-product to Hanwoo steers

Objective: The objectives of this study were to determine the <i>in situ</i> degradation parameters and appropriate feeding level of pineapple cannery by-products (PCB) based on the growth performance and blood parameters of growing Hanwoo (<i>Bos taurus coreanae</i>) steers fed various levels of PCB.Methods: Two ruminally cannulated Holstein cows were used for <i>in situ</i> disappearance rate measurements. Nylon bags (5×10 cm, 45 μm pore size) filled with 5 g of PCB in triplicate were inserted into the ventral sac of the two cannulated Holsteins cows and incubated for 0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24, and 48 h. A total of 16 castrated growing Hanwoo steers (12.5±0.5 months old, 302.9±25.7 kg of initial body weight [BW]) were used for the experiment. Animals were stratified by initial BW and then randomly assigned to one of four experimental diets (0%, 1.5%, 3.0%, or 6.0% of PCB, on the dry matter [DM] basis) fed for 91-d, including 30-d of adaptation.Results: Soluble fraction <i>a</i> of DM and crude protein (CP) was 61.9% and 86.0%, fraction <i>b</i> of DM and CP was 32.7% and 11.2%, and indigestible fraction <i>c</i> of DM and CP was 5.4% and 2.8%. The 6.0% PCB feeding group showed lower productivity compared to animals in the other treatments. Increasing the dietary level of PCB did not alter DM intake, but it was numerically lowest in the 6.0% feeding group. The gain to feed ratio was linearly decreased by increasing of PCB. The quadratic broken-line test estimated that 2.5% (DM basis) was the maximum feeding level of PCB in growing Hanwoo steers (y = 0.103 – 0.001×[1.245–x]², R² = 0.18).Conclusion: Diets containing up to 2.5% PCB can be fed to growing Hanwoo steers without adverse effects on growth performance.

Construction of in situ degradation bacteria of corn straw and analysis of its degradation efficiency

Purpose The highly efficient degradation bacteria were selected from the humus from the very cold straw in China for many years to construct the in situ degradation bacteria, and the degradation efficiency of corn straw was determined by process optimization. Methods According to the main components of corn straw, through morphological, physiological, and biochemical screening, three highly efficient complementary degradation strains were selected to construct the compound flora, and the degradation efficiency was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, field emission scanning electron microscope, and X-ray diffractometer. Result The corn straw selected in this paper is mainly composed of cellulose (31.99%), hemicellulose (25.33%), and lignin (14.67%). Through the determination of enzyme activity, strain Streptomyces sp. G1T has high decomposition ability to cellulose and hemicellulose but weak utilization ability to lignin; strain Streptomyces sp. G2T has the strongest decomposition ability to cellulose and hemicellulose among the three strains. The decomposition ability of strain Streptomyces sp. G3T to lignin was the strongest among the three strains. Therefore, by compounding the three strains, the decomposition ability has been greatly improved. The optimal process conditions obtained by single factor and response surface method are as follows: pH is 7, temperature is 30 °C, inoculation amount is 5%, rotational speed is 210 rpm, and the weight loss rate of straw is 60.55% after decomposing for 7 days. A large amount of degradation of corn straw can be seen by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, field emission scanning electron microscope, and X-ray diffractometer. Conclusion Streptomyces sp. G1T, Streptomyces sp. G2T, and Streptomyces sp. G3T screened from straw humus in very cold areas were used to construct in situ degradation bacteria, which had good straw degradation activity and had the potential to be used for straw treatment in cold areas after harvest. This characteristic makes the complex bacteria become a strong competitive candidate for industrial production, and it is also an effective biotechnology in line with the current recycling of resources.