Progress 09/01/24 to 08/31/25
Outputs
Target Audience:Sep 25, 2024: Ten students in Water and Wastewater Treatment class learned how to operate cartridge anaerobic digester and Gas Chromatography. Oct 18, 2024: One graduate student and one undergraduate student presented a poster at the 2024 Sustainability Research Conference organized by Illinois Innovation Network. Over 100 conference attendees. 10/31/2024: 11 students in AGR346/446 Organic Crop Production class learned how to operate cartridge anaerobic digestion and gas chromatography. Nov 2024: One graduate student presented a poster at the 2024 ASA, CSSA, SSSA conference in San Antonio, TX. About 30 people listened to this presentation. Mar 4, 2025-May 1, 2025: 22 students in AGR225 Renewable Energy and Agriculture class worked on a long-term anaerobic digestion lab and learned how to operategas chromatography. July 28, 2025: Co-PI Dr. Kopsell presented a poster "Biochar-absorbed Nutrients from Anaerobic Digestion Affect the Growth and Quality of Lactuca sativa 'Newham'" at the 2025 ASHS annual conference. Aug 24, 2025: A manuscript was submitted the journal "Biomass and Bioenergy". A webpage was created to share the project activities: https://about.illinoisstate.edu/lyang/project-updates/. The webpage ispublic. Changes/Problems:We do not foresee any major changes to the project. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One graduate student and two undergraduate students were trained to work on this project. We conducted three lab sessions to teach undergraduate students how to operate digester and how use gas chromatography. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We presented at two national conferences and one state conference. One graduate student participated in the university 3MT (3 minute thesis) competition and won "People's Choice" award. We provided tourto one group of high school students. A manuscript has been submitted the journal "Biomass and Bioenergy". Currently under review. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We have been approved for an one year no-cost extention. We plan to involve more students in educational learning activities during Fall 2025 and Spring 2026, in order to strengthen the quality of the data for publication.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Research tasks: We completed the pilot-scale cartridge anaerobic digester experiment using vegetable waste as feedstock and added biocharto recover nutrients. Recovered nutrients were reused in a greenhouse vegetable growing experiment in fall 2024. We growed two leafy greens, kale and lettuce, in 1-L pots.One control (synthetic fertilzer) and five treatments (with nutrientsrecycled from digester) were applied, for total 108 pots.During plant growth, media Electrical Conductivity (EC) and leaf Soil Plant Analysis Development (SPAD) were measured every five days. Media EC decreased (P≤0.001) and leaf SPAD increased (P≤0.001) across all treatments during growth. Lettuce was harvested at 50 days post-seeding when it reached marketable size. At harvest, shoot and root fresh mass were measured, and fresh tissue was dried at 60ºC for dry mass determination. For lettuce, total biomass, shoot FM, root FM, shoot DM, and root DM at harvest all decreased, and then increased quadratically (P≤0.001) as Fertilizer:Biochar ratios changed from 100%:0% to 70%:30%. The highest lettuce per plant total biomass was 176.92 g per plant under 100% commercial fertilizer. Harvest EC increased linearly (P≤0.001) and SPAD decreased, then increasing quadratically (P≤0.001) as Fertilizer:Biochar ratios changed from 100%:0% to 60%:40%. We also completed the batch anaerobic digestion of vegetable wastes using 0.5-L digesters. Gas chromatography has been intensively used for volatile fatty acids analysis, which is part of the thesis completed by one graduate student. We deliveredpresentations at three conferences: 2024 ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting, 2024 Sustainability Research Conference organized by Illinois Innovation Network, and 2025 American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) Conference. Teaching tasks We finilized our teaching modules. Students in three classes learned how to operate anaerobic digesters and how to use gas chromatography to analyze liquid samples for volatile fatty acids. One lab was started on Mar 4, 2025 and completed on May 1, 2025. Students were trained to conduct basic operations such as making a small digester, analyzing biogas, measuing volatile fatty acids, operating a pilot scale reactor, and analyzing data.Students were surveyed before and after the learning sessions. In addition, we demonstrated our digesters to 12 high school students. Evaluation We held one meetingwith the evaluation teams, consisting of Dr. Rob Rhykerd and Mr. Michale Brown in May 2025. We were on track to complete research and education tasks. However, we thought extending the project for one year would allow us conduct more education and outreach activities.
Publications
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2025
Citation:
Tuba Yasmin Lubna. 2025. Converting Cover Crop Biomass to Biogas and Volatile Fatty Acids (VFAs). Thesis, Illinois State University.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2025
Citation:
T.Y. Lubna, D. Kopsell, L. Yang, M. Hasan, A. Gorsage, and C. Miller. 2025 Biochar-absorbed Nutrients from Anaerobic Digestion Affect the Growth of Lactuca sativa Newham. American Society for Horticultural Science 2025 Annual Conference. July 28 - August 1, New Orleans, LA.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
T. Y. Lubna, M. Hasan, A. Gorsage, R. Rhykerd, N. Heller, and L. Yang. 2024. Converting Cover Crop Biomass to Biogas and Volatile Fatty Acids. ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting. Nov 12, San Antonio, TX.
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Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:On Oct 4, 2023, the PIs presented this project to Illinois State University "Water Wednesday". About 25 people attended this event. Audiences include Illinois State University students and faculty members. On Oct 27, 2023, the PIs visited the Spence Farm, the oldest family farm in Livingston County, IL, and discussed with Mr. Marty Travis and his son Will Travis on partnership and cartridge digestion demonstration. On Nov 16, 2023, 7 Illinois State University students toured the research lab and learned about anaerobic digestion. On Nov 6, 2023, 17 Illinois State University students toured the research lab and learned about anaerobic digestion. On Mar 1, 2024, PI Dr. Yang presented this projectat the College Research and Innovation Networking Event. About 30 faculty and staff attended this event. On Apr 15, 2024: The PIs showed the cartridge digester to Dr. Theoneste Nzaramyimana, Assistant Professor for Urban Agriculture from Kentucky State University, and his graduate students. On Jun 21, 2024, Co-PIDr. Kopsell presented this project at the Spence Farm Down to Earth workshop, about 50 growers attended this workshop. On July 31, 2024, PI Dr. Yang presented "Energy and nutrient recovery from vegetable farm wastes using a cartridge anaerobic digester" at the 2024 ASABE annual international meeting, at Anaheim, CA. About 20 people attended this session. They are professionals in Agricultural and Biological Engineering areas. A webpage was created to share the project activities: https://about.illinoisstate.edu/lyang/project-updates/. The webpage is public. Changes/Problems:We do not foresee any major changes to the project. We faced a challenge with the acquisition of the gas chromatography system in 2023, as the purchasing process took longer than expected. Part of the delay was due to the need to coordinate with another funding source to cover some of the costs. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The PIs and two graduate students received training from thegas chromatographyvendor. In Spring 2024, we conducted one lab session to teach undergraduate students how to use gas chromatography to analyze volatile fatty acids in liquid samples. Additionally, tours have been provided to three groups of students and faculty members. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The project outcomes have been presented in the following events. More information can be found on the "Target audience" page. 1. Dr. Yang presented this project at the College Research and Innovation Networking Event. 2. Dr. Kopsell presented this project at the Spence Farm Down to Earth workshop in Illinois. 3. Dr. Yang presented "Energy and nutrient recovery from vegetable farm wastes using a cartridge anaerobic digester" at the 2024 ASABE annual international meeting, at Anaheim, CA. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Research tasks: we plan to continue operating the cartridge digester with biochar and conduct the vegetable growing experiment with the recycled nutrients. Teaching Tasks: We plan to conduct additional lab sessions for various student groups to learn about gas chromatography, the cartridge digester, and the hydroponic system for vegetable production. Outreach: we plan to disseminate the results to more communities of interest, including vegetable growers and other Ag professionals. Evaluation: we will continue to meet with our evaluation team and make improvements/adjustments based on their suggestions.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Research tasks: The cartridge anaerobic digester was fabricated in February 2024. We completed the initial tests in March. Since then, it has been used for the digestion of vegetable waste for several months. A semi-continuous operation with four cartridges was started on April 12, 2024, and is currently in its 19th week. Every week, 2.8 kg of mixed vegetable wastes, mainly lettuce, cabbage, and celery, are added to one cartridge. Each week, one cartridge is rotated out. No biochar was added for the first 12 weeks. Since week 13, 80 g of biochar powder has been added to control the ammonia nitrogen level in the liquid and to recycle NPK nutrients. Spent biochar is collected with the spent vegetables after 4 weeks in the digester. Biogas is collected in bags and analyzed daily for composition and volume measurement. Liquid samples are collected and analyzed weekly for pH, ammonia nitrogen, total nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. So far, we have observed a stable biogas yield and it appears that biochar can effectively control ammonia nitrogen in the reactor. Biochar leachate tests have been conducted to evaluate the availability of NPK nutrients. A greenhouse hydroponic test system has been built and will be used to assess the effects of the recycled biochar nutrients on vegetables grown this fall. Additionally, anaerobic digestion of vegetable waste in small 0.5-liter reactors has begun. This test will be completed in three weeks, and the results will be compared to those from the cartridge digester. The gas chromatography system was installed in December 2023. It took us a few weeks to pass the initial quality test due to a malfunctioning part, which was identified and resolved in January 2024. Calibration curves for five short-chain fatty acids were created using a series of standard solutions. Since then, the gas chromatography system has been used intensively for teaching and research projects to measure volatile fatty acids. Educational Tasks Learning modules, including slides and lab handouts, for the gas chromatography lab and the cartridge digester lab have been developed. In spring 2024, we conducted a lab session to teach undergraduate students how to use gas chromatography to analyze volatile fatty acids in liquid samples. This is one semester ahead of our planned schedule. Student evaluations were administered before and after the lab. Additional lab sessions are planned for fall 2024 and spring 2025. Evaluations We held two meetings with the evaluation teams, consisting of Dr. Rob Rhykerd and Mr. Michale Brown--one in January 2024 and another in July 2024. The evaluation teams have provided reports for both evaluations. We are on schedule with the first year's activities.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
L. Yang, D. Kopsell, and T. Yasmin. 2024. Energy and nutrient recovery from vegetable farm wastes using a cartridge anaerobic digester. ASABE Annual International Meeting. 7/29-7/31. Anaheim, CA.
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