Metals discharged from abandoned mines are a major source of pollution in many parts of the world. As a result, there is a growing need for suitable low-cost remediation methods. While a large literature base exists demonstrating the efficacy of biochar to remove metals from solution, most studies are confined to the laboratory. This study examines the effects on the biochar quality when scaling up production from laboratory to pilot scale. Pilot scale biochars were produced using a 600 kg batch pyrolysis reactor, these chars were then deployed in the field using a series of 100 mm x 1200 mm cylindrical treatment cells installed at the point of discharge from an abandoned mine site. Most biochars produced at a pilot removed more zinc under laboratory conditions, however all of the biochars showed a reduced performance when tested in the field, this ranged from a 14% to an 85% reduction depending on the biochar.

Biochar application to soil is widely claimed to increase plant productivity. However, the underlying mechanisms are still not conclusively described. Here, we aim to elucidate these mechanisms using stable isotope probing.

There is international recognition that developing a climate-smart bioeconomy is essential to the continuation of economic development, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and adaptation to climatic change; Bio-based products have an important role in making this transition happen. Supporting policy interventions have been put forward at European and national levels to support innovation and development of bio-based products and services. This study asks whether suggested policy interventions reflect the needs of stakeholders and examines how these needs vary between European regions. This consultation was performed through an online survey of 447 experts actively involved in bio-based research, industry, and governance across Europe. The majority of responses received were from stakeholders in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK which are examined in greater depth. Climate change was clearly an important driver for bio-based innovation as 86% of the respondents considered climate change to be a significant threat. There were clear differences between regions but also areas of consensus between stakeholders across the European regions surveyed. In particular there was consensus regarding the need for improved access to financial support and the need to ensure continuity of policy. The need to build investor confidence through demonstration of bio-based technologies, the provision of greater clarity regarding best conversion routes for specific feedstocks, and the need to promote a culture of industrial symbiosis were also regarded as important interventions. (c) 2016 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining published by Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The objective of this work was to identify biomass feedstocks and optimum pyrolysis process conditions to produce a biochar capable of adsorbing metals from polluted groundwater. Taguchi experimental design was used to determine the effects of slow-pyrolysis process conditions on char yield and zinc adsorption. Treatments were repeated using six candidate feedstocks (Lolium perenne, Lolium perenne fibre, Miscanthus x giganteus, Salix viminalis, Fraxinus excelsior and Picea sitchensis) and the resultant chars were tested for metal adsorption performance. Chars produced from L. perenne and its extracted fibre displayed the greatest zinc adsorption performance and removed 83.27-92.96% respectively. Optimum process conditions in terms of both char yield and zinc adsorption performance were achieved from slow-pyrolysis at 300 degrees C for 2 h using a feedstock with a particle size of less than 1 mm. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Waste biomass is generated during the conservation management of semi-natural habitats, and represents an unused resource and potential bioenergy feedstock that does not compete with food production. Thermogravimetric analysis was used to characterise a representative range of biomass generated during conservation management in Wales. Of the biomass types assessed, those dominated by rush (Juncos effuses) and bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) exhibited the highest and lowest volatile compositions respectively and were selected for bench scale conversion via fast pyrolysis. Each biomass type was ensiled and a sub-sample of silage was washed and pressed. Demineralization of conservation biomass through washing and pressing was associated with higher oil yields following fast pyrolysis. The oil yields were within the published range established for the dedicated energy crops miscanthus and willow. In order to examine the potential a multiple output energy system was developed with gross power production estimates following valorisation of the press fluid, char and oil. If used in multi fuel industrial burners the char and oil alone would displace 3.9 x 10(5) tonnes per year of No. 2 light oil using Welsh biomass from conservation management. Bioenergy and product development using these feedstocks could simultaneously support biodiversity management and displace fossil fuels, thereby reducing GHG emissions. Gross power generation predictions show good potential. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

IntroductionThe UK’s bioeconomy has the potential to be world leading. However, political, economic, and social barriers are holding back innovation in this sector. Key interventions are needed to allow bioeconomic innovation to flourish. Caitlin Burns and Adrian Higson of the NNFCC The Bioeconomy Consultants, and Edward Hodgson of Aberystwyth University, make five recommendations to help the UK catch up with global competitors and stimulate investment in innovative bioeconomy. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Willow, a leading bioenergy feedstock, may be planted for bioremediation and has been used, more recently, as the biomass feedstock in the manufacture of biochar for agricultural applications. Here, we present a detailed study of the physical and chemical factors affecting willow char properties, where the feedstock is a by-product of bioremediation, potentially transferring pollutants such as heavy metals to the wood feed. Biochar samples were produced via pyrolysis of short-rotation coppice willow, grown on contaminated land, using several treatment times at heat treatment temperatures (HTTs) in the range 350–650 °C, under a constant flow of argon, set at either 100 or 500 mL min −1 . The samples were analysed for yield, elemental analysis and structural characteristics, including surface area and pore size distribution, surface functionality and metal content. All chars obtained have high fixed carbon contents but vary in surface characteristics with a marked increase in basic character with increasing HTT, ascribed to the removal of surface oxygen moieties. Results indicate a minimum pyrolysis temperature of 450 °C is required to produce a defined mesoporous structure, as required to facilitate oxygen transport, HTT ≥ 550 °C produces total surface area of >170 m 2 g −1 and, more importantly, an appreciable external surface area suitable for microbial colonisation. The data show that selection and optimisation of char properties is possible; however, the interplay of factors may mean some compromise is required.

Species and hybrids of Miscanthus are a promising energy crop, but their outcrossing mating systems and perennial life cycles are serious challenges for breeding programs. One approach to accelerating the domestication of Miscanthus is to harness the tremendous genetic variation that is present within this genus using phenotypic data from extensive field trials, high-density genotyping and sequencing technologies, and rapidly developing statistical methods of relating phenotype to genotype. The success of this approach, however, hinges on detailed knowledge about the population genetic structure of the germplasm used in the breeding program. We therefore used data for 120 single-nucleotide polymorphism and 52 simple sequence repeat markers to depict patterns of putatively neutral population structure among 244 Miscanthus genotypes grown in a field trial near Aberystwyth (UK) and delineate a population of 145 M. sinensis genotypes that will be used for association mapping and genomic selection. Comparative multivariate analyses of molecular marker and phenotypic data for 17 traits related to phenology, morphology/biomass, and cell wall composition revealed significant geographic patterns in this population. A longitudinal cline accounted for a substantial proportion of molecular marker variation (R-2=0.60, P=3.4x10(-15)). In contrast, genetic variation for phenotypic traits tended to follow latitudinal and altitudinal gradients, with several traits appearing to have been affected by divergent selection (i.e., Q(ST)>>F-ST). These contrasting geographic trends are unusual relative to other plants and provide opportunities for powerful studies of phenotype-genotype associations and the evolutionary history of M. sinensis.

Fifteen Miscanthus genotypes grown in five locations across Europe were analysed to investigate the influence of genetic and environmental factors on cell wall composition. Chemometric techniques combining near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) and conventional chemical analyses were used to construct calibration models for determination of acid detergent lignin (ADL), acid detergent fibre (ADF), and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) from sample spectra. Results generated were subsequently converted to lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose content and used to assess the genetic and environmental variation in cell wall composition of Miscanthus and to identify genotypes which display quality traits suitable for exploitation in a range of energy conversion systems. The NIRS calibration models developed were found to predict concentrations with a good degree of accuracy based on the coefficient of determination (R2), standard error of calibration (SEC), and standard error of cross-validation (SECV) values. Across all sites mean lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose values in the winter harvest ranged from 76–115gkg−1, 412–529gkg−1, and 235–338gkg−1 respectively. Overall, of the 15 genotypes Miscanthus x giganteus and Miscanthus sacchariflorus contained higher lignin and cellulose concentrations in the winter harvest. The degree of observed genotypic variation in cell wall composition indicates good potential for plant breeding and matching feedstocks to be optimised to different energy conversion processes.

Biomass from forage and energy crops can provide a renewable source of meat, milk, and wool, or power, heat, transport fuels and platform chemicals, respectively. Whilst in forage grasses some improvements have been made, the potential of energy grasses is limited because plant varieties have not yet been selected for this purpose. There are distinct challenges to determine and improve quality traits which increase ultimate energy yield but experience from forage crops can help. Energy grasses offer the potential to be utilised through either thermal or biological conversion methods with the route chosen being largely determined by the calorific value, moisture content and the ratio of soluble to structural carbohydrates. Plant chemical composition underlies these characteristics, for example whichever way grass feedstocks are converted the major determinates of energy are lignin, cell wall phenolics and the soluble and cell wall carbohydrates. These components affect the efficiency of the energy conversion process to meat, milk, wool, energy, platform chemicals and the end quality of certain liquid fuels such as pyrolysis oils. To associate phenotype to genotype for such underlying chemical composition, it is necessary to develop both DNA based molecular markers and high throughput methods for compositional analysis. The genetic resources available in forage and energy grasses are limited in comparison with several model grasses including maize and for some traits it may be appropriate to work initially on such a model and then translate this research back to the forage or bioenergy crop. However not all traits will be present in the model, and so genetic and genomic resources are and will have to be developed in the crops themselves. As part of the EU project GRASP, SNP based markers have been developed in carbohydrate associated genes which map to soluble carbohydrate QTL in Lolium perenne (perennial ryegrass) and these have been used in association studies in a synthetic population of L. perenne to measure allele shifts. High throughput calibration models have been developed using near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (LAIRS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) in the mid-infrared spectral range which allow accurate predictions of a number of composition traits including lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose contents in several forage and energy grasses including Miscanthus, L. perenne and related species. These calibrations have allowed a comparison of chemical composition from different grass genotypes, species and environments. Both tools and genetic resources for the optimisation of biomass as forage and energy feedstocks are therefore being developed to enable association of phenotype with genotype.

Two energy grass species, switch grass, a North American tuft grass, and reed canary grass, a European native, are likely to be important sources of biomass in Western Europe for the production of biorenewable energy. Matching chemical composition to conversion efficiency is a primary goal for improvement programmes and for determining the quality of biomass feed-stocks prior to use and there is a need for methods which allow cost effective characterisation of chemical composition at high rates of sample through-put. In this paper we demonstrate that nitrogen content and alkali index, parameters greatly influencing thermal conversion efficiency, can be accurately predicted in dried samples of these species grown under a range of agronomic conditions by partial least square regression of Fourier transform infrared spectra (R2 values for plots of predicted vs. measured values of 0.938 and 0.937, respectively). We also discuss the prediction of carbon and ash content in these samples and the application of infrared based predictive methods for the breeding improvement of energy grasses.

Fifteen Miscanthus genotypes grown in five locations across Europe were analysed to investigate the influence of genetic and environmental factors on cell wall composition. Chemometric techniques combining near infrared reflectance spectroscopy and conventional chemical analyses were used to construct calibration models for determination of acid detergent lignin, acid detergent fibre, and neutral detergent fibre from sample spectra. The developed equations were shown to predict cell wall components with a good degree of accuracy and significant genetic and environmental variation was identified. The influence of nitrogen and potassium fertiliser on the dry matter yield and cell wall composition of M. x giganteus was investigated. A detrimental affect on feedstock quality was observed to result from application of these inputs which resulted in an overall reduction in concentrations of cell wall components and increased accumulation of ash within the biomass. Pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and thermo-gravimetric analysis indicates that genotypes other than the commercially cultivated M. x giganteus have potential for use in energy conversion processes and in the bio-refining. The yields and quality parameters of the pyrolysis liquids produced from Miscanthus compared favourably with that produced from SRC willow and produced a more stable pyrolysis liquid with a higher lower heating value. Overall, genotype had a more significant effect on cell wall composition than environment. This indicates good potential for dissection of this trait by QTL analysis and also for plant breeding to produce new genotypes with improved feedstock characteristics for energy conversion.

Clifton-Brown, J. C., Robson, P. R. H., Allison, G. G., Lister, S. J., Sanderson, R., Morris, C., Hodgson, E., Farrar, K., Hawkins, S., Jensen, E. F., Jones, S. T., Huang, L., Roberts, P. C., Youell, S. J., Jones, B. R., Wright, A., Valentine, J., Donnison, I. S. (2008). Miscanthus: breeding our way to a better future. Pp. 199-206 in: Aspects of Applied Biology 90. Biomass and Energy Crops III. Booth, E., Green, M., Karp, A., Shield, I., Stock, D., Turley, D. (Eds). Biomass and Energy Crops III conference, Sand Hutton, UK, 10-12 December 2008.

Mankind's spacefaring future demands the ability to work freely and frequently in space. Traditional spacesuit systems burden both the spacefarer and the mission, limiting the extent to which this is possible. The spacefarer is burdened by a pressure suit designed for isolation from the environment and a life support system designed to replace everything our environment normally provides. The space mission is burdened by this equipment and the expendable materials to operate and maintain it. We aren't free to work in space as frequently, as long, or in all of the locations envisioned. The NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) has sponsored research on an alternative concept, the "Chameleon Suit", that seeks to liberate future explorers and missions from these limitations. The Chameleon Suit system works with the environment in an adaptive fashion to minimize hardware and expendable materials. To achieve this, functions of the life support system are integrated with the pressure suit using emerging materials and design technology. Technologies under study include shape change polymers and electroemissive materials to modify heat transfer characteristics of the spacesuit "skin" achieving thermoregulation analogous to that in natural biological systems. This approach was shown to be feasible for many space missions during the Phase 1 study program. The current Phase 2 program is investigating more aggressive concepts aimed at eliminating most of the hardware currently included in the spacesuit's life support backpack. This paper describes the concept, study results to date, and possible impacts on future human space exploration.

p46 Proceedings, 27th EUCARPIA Symposium on Improvement of Fodder Crops and Amenity Grasses, Copenhagen, 19-23 August 2007 RONO: 1310 6215