Hello BESTers,

Tomorrow, we have our own Ryan Graunke- the resident food waste expert-
giving a presentation on his masters research. His talk will detail the
science and practicalities of anaerobically digesting food waste and the
benefits it holds for the human ecology.

The presentation starts at 1:55pm in 112 Newins-Ziegler (NZH), see the
announcement below for more details.

Hope to see everyone there!

Cheers,
Scott J. Edmundson


>Seminar Announcement, Interdisciplinary Ecology Tuesday, 1-Feb-2011, 7th
>period (1:55 to 2:45 p.m.), 112 Newins-Ziegler Hall
>
>
>Ryan Graunke, Master's Thesis in Interdisciplinary Ecology
>
>Mechanical pretreatment for enhanced food waste solubilization and
>anaerobic digestion
>
>
>The unsustainable disposal of food waste presents many environmental and
>social challenges as populations and waste generation increase.
>Anaerobic digestion offers a sustainable, closed-loop solution to divert
>food waste from landfills while producing renewable fuel as biogas and
>recovering organic nutrients as biofertilizer. Food waste represents an
>ideal feedstock for anaerobic digestion because of its high energy and
>nutrient content. However, for high solid feedstocks, such as food
>waste, the overall digestion rate is considered limited by hydrolysis.
>Therefore, this study examines the enhancement of food waste
>solubilization and anaerobic digestion through mechanical grinding as a
>practical pretreatment method.
>
>
>
>
>Dr. Stephen R. Humphrey, Director,
>School of Natural Resources and Environment,
>Box 116455, 103 Black Hall, University of Florida
>Gainesville, FL 32611-6455 USA
>Tel. 352-392-9230, Fax 352-392-9748
>http://snre.ufl.edu<http://snre.ufl.edu/>
>
>8-Feb
>
>Poverty alleviation and its consequences for your future - a discussion
>
>Stephen Humphrey, Director, School of Natural Resources and Environment
>
>
>15-Feb
>
>William Kanapaux, PhD Dissertation in Interdisciplinary Ecology
>
>The QnD simulation model as a tool for adaptively managing
>human-environment interactions in South Carolina's ACE Basin
>
>
>22-Feb
>
>Nikolay Kazakov, PhD Dissertation in Interdisciplinary Ecology
>
>Local community capacity to conserve
>
>
>1-Mar
>
>Jennifer Arnold, PhD Dissertation in Interdisciplinary Ecology
>
>
>
>
>15-Mar
>
>Patricia Mupeta, PhD Dissertation in Interdisciplinary Ecology
>
>Democratization of wildlife management: a comparative study of Botswana
>and Zambia
>
>
>22-Mar
>
>Laura Schreeg, PhD Dissertation in Interdisciplinary Ecology
>
>
>
>
>29-Mar
>
>Atanu Mukherjee, PhD Dissertation in Interdisciplinary Ecology
>
>Characterization of laboratory produced biochars and importance towards
>soil fertility
>
>
>5-Apr
>
>Andrew Woolum, PhD Dissertation in Interdisciplinary Ecology
>
>Personality, sensitivity, and satisfaction in a natural resource agency
>
>
>12-Apr
>
>Natalie Hooton, Master's Thesis in Interdisciplinary Ecology
>
>Importance of vegetative wrack on sea oats survival and natural
>recruitment
>
>
>19-Apr
>
>Amy Teague, Master's Thesis in Interdisciplinary Ecology
>
>Using robust design models to detect changes in manatee use of a winter
>refuge