The esterification of rice straw fiber with acetic anhydride, using sulphuric acid as catalyst, under mild conditions in glacial acetic acid, has been investigated. Acetylation conditions, such as dosage of chemicals and catalyst, and time and temperature of acetylation, were optimized. The preferred reaction parameters of acetylation reaction are described as follows: weight ratio of rice stra...

Soil management practices, such as tillage method or straw return, could alter soil organic carbon (C) contents. However, the effects of tillage method or straw return on soil organic C (SOC) have showed inconsistent results in different soil/climate/cropping systems. The Yangtze River Delta of China is the main production region of rice and wheat, and rice-wheat rotation is the most important ...

This study examines the effects of straw management and winter flooding on soil N dynamics and crop N uptake in California rice (Oryza sativa L.) systems. Experiments were established in two locations in northern California with main plot treatments being winter flooding or no flooding; and four straw management practices (burn, remove, incorporate, and roll) as subplot treatments. Fertilizer w...

Rice straw is an important roughage resource for ruminants in many rice-producing countries. In this study, a rice brittle mutant (BM, mutation in OsCesA4, encoding cellulose synthase) and its wild type (WT) were employed to investigate the effects of a cellulose synthase gene mutation on rice straw morphological fractions, chemical composition, stem histological structure and in situ digestibi...

Curing tobacco causes deforestation in developing countries around the world. In Bangaldesh, curing tobacco is responsible for 30% of deforestation. Many approaches have been taken to curb tobacco related deforestation, including afforestation, solar power, and energy efficiency. The Rocket Barn, an energy efficient curing barn, has shown promise. However, the Rocket Barn still uses firewood. T...

Two pilot composting experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of low initial C/N ratio on the composting of swine manure with rice straw by measuring physical and chemical parameters. The results showed that the thermophilic duration of bin 1 and bin 2 was long enough to satisfy the sanitary standard, and swine manure could reach maturity. Bin 1 containing larger amount of swine man...

batch adsorption experiments were performed to study adsorption potential of agricultural residues viz. rice straw, wheat straw and salvinia plant biomass for removal of heavy metals such as cr, ni, and cd. plant materials were used in different combinations. heavy metal removal efficiency was more at low metal concentration (35 mg/l). salvinia biomass possessed higher efficiency for removing h...