Properties of Phragmites australis for Insulating Concrete Application

The common reed, Phragmites australis, is a plant species quite similar to the currently used bio-based aggregates and available on most continents. The purpose of this work is to characterise this common reed and compare its properties to other plants already studied for building use. This study presents the different properties focussing on Phragmites australis chemical composition, hydrophobicity nature and how this character could be explained. To that end, wettability and also water adsorption measurements were carried out on plant flour and aggregates in comparison to miscanthus, wood and hemp shiv properties. Formulations based on reeds of different origins and using different binders (lime and earth) were tested in compression and with thermal conductivity measurements in order to evaluate the behaviour of the reed as a material for building use.

The utilization of lignocellular bio-mass as green building thermal insulation material

In new residential structures and green architecture, it is necessary to maintain the heat of the internal environment to an appropriate level throughout winter conditions with low electricity usage. This work is thus intended to produce environmentally acceptable isolation substances (organic material). Lignocellular biomass, which is also referred to as Poaceae common reed and Phragmites australis and straw, were used as organic material in this study. During testing of its performance under controlled settings, the insulating effectiveness of these organic compounds was assessed. The exploratory project comprises three forms of isolation: organic made from straw and reed, industrial isolation (fibreglass), and brickwork without insulation. An infrared sensor was used to calculate the quality of isolation. For each isolation situation, the temperature characteristic was produced. The findings show that fibreglass was equivalent to the effectiveness of the organic isolation. Furthermore, the efficiency difference was 0. 84 percent comparing the industrial and organic isolation substances, which shows that Lignocellusic Biomass is a viable environmental-friendly replacement to industrial isolation substances.

Geometric and kinematic parameters of vibrating knife in the development of cutting machines

The process of cutting with a blade is largely applied in agricultural equipment and is used to process raw materials with different physical and mechanical properties. Nonetheless, the functional relation between the kinematic parameters of a vibroblade and the crucial power parameters of the vibration processing has not yet been studied in great depth so far. This type of studies is essential to create databases for further investigation and design of novel cutting machinery or technologies to ensure effective processing of vibrocutting. Our objective was to obtain the power characteristics of vibrocutting through laboratory experiments [using the example of vibrocutting of common reed (Phragmites australis)] and define the combination of factors (i.e., vibration amplitude, frequency and the blade feeding speed) at the minimum cutting force. The following relation of the blade feeding speed (V) and vibration speed of the toothed blade (Vt) has been established as optimal kinematic regime: K≅0.004. Tests have indicated that use of toothed blades for vibrocutting of the raw products of plant origin offers a greater advantage over the blades with flat edges. An optimal cutting regime, when energy expenses are at a minimum, was ensured with the following parameters of the vibroblade: vibration amplitude: 14 mm, frequency: 33.32 s–1, the blade feeding speed: 7.5×10–3 m.

Chloride Accumulation in Aboveground Biomass of Three Macrophytes (Phragmites Australis, Juncus Maritimus, and Typha Latifolia) Depending on Their Growth Stages and Salinity Exposure. Application for Cl- Removal and Phytodesalinization.

Anthropogenic activities can be the source of saline solid wastes that need to be treated to reduce their salt load to meet the purposes of reuse, valorization or storage. In this context, chloride remediation can be achieved using high-salt accumulating plants. However, there is very limited information on the comparative potential of different species in the same environment, and only scarce data concerning their efficiency as a function of growth stage. In order to rationalize these selection criteria, three macrophytes i.e. common reed (Phragmites australis), sea rush (Juncus maritimus) and cattail (Typha latifolia) were cultivated at two growth stages (6-months old and 1-year old) for 65 days in Cl- spiked substrates (from 0 up to 24 ‰ NaCl). The plants’ survival and potential capacity for removal of Cl- from substrates and accumulation in shoots were investigated. For the three studied species, mature and juvenile plants display a high tolerance to salinity. However, mature specimens with higher shoot biomass and Cl- contents are capable of greater chloride removal than juvenile plants. The sole exception is P. australis which displays just the same phytoremediation potential for both mature and juvenile specimens. Moreover, P. australis has the lowest potential when compared with other species, being 1.5 and 3 times lower than for J. maritimus and T. latifolia. When considering the plant growth and the shoot biomass production, chloride removal rates from the substrate point that mature J. maritimus should preferentially be used to design an operational chloride remediation system. The results highlight the relevance of considering the growth stage of plants used for Cl- removal.

Microbial Spectra, Physiological Response and Bioremediation Potential of Phragmites australis for Agricultural Production

Common reed (Phragmites australis) can invade and dominate in its natural habitat which is mainly wetlands. It can tolerate harsh environments as well as remediate polluted and environmental degraded sites such as mine dumps and other polluted wastelands. For this reason, this can be a very critical reed to reclaim wastelands for agricultural use to ensure sustainability. The present review manuscript examined the microbial spectra of P. australis as recorded in various recent studies, its physiological response when growing under stress as well as complementation between rhizosphere microbes and physiological responses which result in plant growth promotion in the process of phytoremediation. Microbes associated with P. australis include Proteobacteria, Bacteriodetes, and Firmicutes, Fusobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Planctomycetes families of bacteria among others. Some of these microbes and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi have facilitated plant growth and phytoremediation by P. australis. This is worthwhile considering that there are vast areas of polluted and wasted land which require reclamation for agricultural use. Common reed with its associated rhizosphere microbes can be utilized in these land reclamation efforts. This present study suggests further work to identify microbes which when administered to P. australis can stimulate its growth in polluted environments and help in land reclamation efforts for agricultural use.

Control of invasive Phragmites australis (European common reed) alters macroinvertebrate communities

Wetland restoration often involves invasive plant species suppression to encourage the recovery of native-dominated vegetation communities. However, assessment of recovery is usually focused only on vegetation and the response of other critical wetland biota, such as macroinvertebrates, is seldom assessed. We characterized the aquatic, semi-aquatic, and terrestrial macroinvertebrate communities in remnant, uninvaded marsh to identify restoration targets and compared this to the communities in Phragmites australis-invaded marsh, and in formerly invaded marsh that was treated with the herbicide glyphosate in 2016 to simultaneously evaluate the effects of invasion and of invasive species suppression. We sampled invertebrates in 2017 and 2018 to track two years following herbicide treatment. The invertebrate community composition captured by the emergence traps was similar between P. australis and remnant marsh, suggesting invasion has little effect on macroinvertebrate community structure. There was also high concordance between the aquatic and emerging invertebrate communities in the invaded and uninvaded habitats. In contrast, herbicide-treated sites had a unique community composition, characterized by very high densities of Chironomidae (Diptera) and low taxa richness and evenness. Herbicide-treated sites also exhibited low concordance between the aquatic and emerging invertebrate communities, potentially attributable to the sparse emerging vegetation cover providing limited substrates for emergence. Herbicide-based invasive species control results in considerable changes to the macroinvertebrate community in freshwater marshes for at least two years after treatment, which may have consequences for aquatic food webs and species that rely on macroinvertebrates as prey.