Using Statistical Modeling for Assessing Lettuce Crops Contaminated with Zn, Correlating Plants Growth Characteristics with the Soil Contamination Levels

Cârdei, Petru; Nenciu, Florin; Ungureanu, N.; Pruteanu, Mirabela Augustina; Vlăduț, V.; Cujbescu, D.; Găgeanu, I.; Cristea, Oana

doi:10.3390/app11178261

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Straw bale gardening is a specialized soilless agricultural technique that involves using agricultural waste as a growth medium for different crops, offering the benefit of maintaining relatively low costs while maximizing production [28]. It significantly reduces the associated labor costs, with plant seeds being established in different types of bales, which could be both the garden bed and the growing medium.…”

Section: Growing Vegetables In Straw Bales As a Regenerative Technolo...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“Zero-Waste” Food Production System Supporting the Synergic Interaction between Aquaculture and Horticulture

et al. 2022

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Inadequate production practices are widely used in aquaculture management, causing excessive water and energy usage, as well as ecological damage. New approaches to sustainable aquaculture attempt to increase production efficiency, while reducing the quantities generated of wastewater and sludge. The sustainable operating techniques are often ineffective, expensive, and difficult to implement. The present article proposes a zero-waste production system, designed for growing fish and vegetables, using a new circular operational concept that creates synergies between fish farming and horticulture. In order to optimize the operational flows with resources, products, and wastes in an integrated zero-waste food production cluster, a business model was designed associating three ecological production practices: a closed fishing pond, a technology for growing vegetables in straw bales, and a composting system. The design had the role to assist the transition toward multiple circular material flows, where the waste can be fully reintegrated into the production processes. A comparative evaluation was conducted in three alternative growing environments, namely, a soilless culture established in straw bales, a culture grown in soil that had received compost fertilizer, and the conventional farming technique. When compared to conventional methods, experiments showed a significant increase in the cluster’s cumulative productivity, resulting in a 12% improvement in energy efficiency, 18% increase in food production, and 25% decrease in operating expenses.

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Section: Growing Vegetables In Straw Bales As a Regenerative Technolo...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“Zero-Waste” Food Production System Supporting the Synergic Interaction between Aquaculture and Horticulture

et al. 2022

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“…After a maturation process, the product being obtained using the technology presented in the article can be used as a soil amendment, bringing benefits on resource consumption and an increase in agricultural productivity [55,56]. Closed-loop circular food systems, which include composting and usage as a fertilizer, can result in 80% reduction of the energy required for vegetable production [57][58][59].…”

Section: Final Considerations Of the Proposed Technological Solution ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Decentralized Processing Performance of Fruit and Vegetable Waste Discarded from Retail, Using an Automated Thermophilic Composting Technology

Nenciu

Stanciulescu²,

Vlad³

et al. 2022

Sustainability

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Food waste generation is increasing at an exponential rate, affecting the environment, food security, and causing major economic issues worldwide. The main aim of the current research is to investigate a novel composting technology that is still in its early stages of development. The proposed composting technology combining thermophilic composting with the use of advanced automated processing reactors. Starting from a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the waste generated at retail-stores, the most significant difficulties associated to waste management as well as the main characteristics of the discarded waste were identified. The findings allowed to design and evaluate the real operating performance of an automated thermophilic composting prototype (working in a decentralized regime), with the goal of delivering a faster processing system, improving operational efficiency, reducing expenses, and lowering environmental impacts. The proposed operating technique showed a high capacity for pathogens and seeds removal, the waste input mass reduction of 88%, and efficiency in food processing (2235 kg of fruits and vegetables in a 14-days timeframe).

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“…The solid product was used for the restoration of marginal soils; therefore, it needed to allow the bacteria and fungi to hide and grow. In addition, a supply of carbon and minerals was provided to the degraded soil, which helped to reduce the deterioration of arable soils by applying regenerative ecological technologies [40].…”

Section: The Current Situation Of Technologies Used For Transforming Technical Plants Into High-quality Fuels and Chemicalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-Grade Chemicals and Biofuels Produced from Marginal Lands Using an Integrated Approach of Alcoholic Fermentation and Pyrolysis of Sweet Sorghum Biomass Residues

et al. 2021

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New global directions align agricultural land resources towards food production; therefore, marginal lands could provide opportunities for second-generation energy crops, assuming that in the difficult conditions of plant development, productivity can be maintained at relatively high levels. Sustainable bioenergy production on marginal lands represents an ambitious objective, offering high-quality biofuels without competing with the agri-food industry, since it allows successful feedstock production to be performed on unmanaged areas. However, marginal land feedstock production generally shows several agronomic, techno-economic, and methodological challenges, leading to decreases in the obtained quantities of biomass and profitability. Sweet Sorghum is a technical plant that has the needed qualities to produce large amounts of biofuels on marginal lands. It is a high biomass- and sugar-yielding crop, characterized by a high photosynthetic efficiency and low fertilizer requirement, is resistant to drought, and adapts well to different climate areas. Marginal lands and contaminated soils provide a favorable development environment for plants such as sweet sorghum; however, in-depth research studies on biomass productivity must be carried out, as well as advanced quality evaluation of the products, in order to develop combined technologies that use resources efficiently. The present study starts with a comparative evaluation of two sweet sorghum crops established on both marginal and regular lands, assessing plant development characteristics and juice production, and an evaluation of bioethanol generation potential. The vegetal wastes resulting from the processing were treated by pyrolysis, with the aim of maximizing the productivity of high-quality liquid biofuels and chemicals. The charcoal obtained in the thermal processes was considered as an amendment of the soil so that marginal land quality could be improved over time.

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Using Statistical Modeling for Assessing Lettuce Crops Contaminated with Zn, Correlating Plants Growth Characteristics with the Soil Contamination Levels

Cited by 9 publications

References 22 publications

“Zero-Waste” Food Production System Supporting the Synergic Interaction between Aquaculture and Horticulture

“Zero-Waste” Food Production System Supporting the Synergic Interaction between Aquaculture and Horticulture

Decentralized Processing Performance of Fruit and Vegetable Waste Discarded from Retail, Using an Automated Thermophilic Composting Technology

High-Grade Chemicals and Biofuels Produced from Marginal Lands Using an Integrated Approach of Alcoholic Fermentation and Pyrolysis of Sweet Sorghum Biomass Residues

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