The Dairy Cow Slurry Composition Used as Organic Fertilizer Is Influenced by the Level and Origin of the Dietary Protein

Less than 30% of dairy cattle’s nitrogen ingested is retained in milk. Therefore, large amounts of nitrogen can be excreted in manure and urine with a potential environmental impact. In addition, some legume forages can be more susceptible to proteolysis during the silage process than grasses, and dairy cows fed these legume silages would excrete a larger quantity of nitrogen in slurry. The objectives of this work were to evaluate the amount of nitrogen excretion in dairy cows fed different protein levels and legume silages with a view to improve the slurry quality as a co-product that can be used as fertilizer. Two double 3 × 3 Latin square trials were carried out in order to study three different protein levels (high, medium, and low) and three different silages (grass, faba bean, and field pea). Dry matter intake, milk production, and composition were not affected by treatments. The excretion of ammonia-N in the urine was almost four times lower in the diet with the lowest protein level. The ammonia-N in the urine was twice as high with the pea silage than faba bean and grass silages. In conclusion, the diet containing 13% of protein meets the protein requirement for lactating cows producing 31 kg daily, with low nitrogen excretion in the urine, and the main pathway for the excretion of surplus nitrogen from legume silages is through urine and the metabolization of pea silage protein goes toward ammonia-N.

The Effect of Thixotropic Additive on the Properties of the G Class Cement

<em>In oil, gas, and geothermal drilling activities, the casing cementing process is always carried out in order to fulfill its function properly and safely. Therefore, everything that supports these activities must be carefully thought out. Before the actual cementing process is applied in the oil, gas, and geothermal field, laboratory-scale simulation must first be carried out by conducting experiments and testing several formulations of cement, water mixture, and additives to be used. The author chooses thixotropic additives, besides functioning as an accelerator, thixotropic can also strengthen the cement itself. With a number of experiments, an optimal cement slurry composition formulation will be obtained, in the sense that by using as few additives as possible, the requirements of the physical characteristics will meet the required standards for conditions (temperature and pressure) of the formation in the well to be cemented. All cementing activities are expected to run well, smoothly, and on time.</em>

Asymmetric LSCF Membranes Utilizing Commercial Powders

Powders of constant morphology and quality are indispensable for reproducible ceramic manufacturing. In this study, commercially available powders were characterized regarding their microstructural properties and screened for a reproducible membrane manufacturing process, which was done by sequential tape casting. Basing on this, the slurry composition and ratio of ingredients were systematically varied in order to obtain flat, crack-free green tapes suitable for upscaling of the manufacturing process. Debinding and sintering parameters were adjusted to obtain defect-free membranes with diminished bending. The crucial parameters are the heating ramp, sintering temperature, and dwell time. The microstructure of the asymmetric membranes was investigated, leading to a support porosity of approximately 35% and a membrane layer thickness of around 20 µm. Microstructure and oxygen flux are comparable to asymmetric La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3−δ (LSCF) membranes manufactured from custom-made powder, showing an oxygen flux of > 1 mL⋅cm−2⋅min at 900 °C in air/Ar gradient.

Correlation between physiological tests and field emergence in treated corn seeds

The objective of this work was to evaluate the degree of linear association between field emergence with the results of germination and vigor of corn seeds belonging to different initial vigor and submitted to agrochemical treatment. Following seed treatments with (i) carbendazim/thiram + imidaclopride/tiodicarbe; (ii) piraclostrobine, methyl tiophanate and fipronil; (iii) methyl tiophanate/fluazinam + bifentrine/imidaclopride; and (iv) metalaxyl-m/fludioxonil + thiamethoxam, seeds belonging to four different corn cultivars were assessed for their physiological potential. The strength of the Pearson correlation between germination and vigor tests with field emergence decreased after the chemical treatment, to a degree depending on the slurry composition, initial vigor and the test’s substrate.