Browsing by Subject "Urea"
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Item An investigation of urea decomposition and selective non-catalytic removal of nitric oxide with urea(Texas A&M University, 2004-09-30) Park, Yong HunThe use of urea (NH2CONH2) to remove nitric oxide (NO) from exhaust streams was investigated using a laboratory laminar-flow reactor. The experiments used a number of gas compositions to simulate different combustion exhaust gases. The urea was injected into the gases as a urea-water solution. The decomposition processes of the urea-water solutions and urea powder were examined. For both the nitric oxide removal and the urea decomposition experiments, a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer was used to determine the concentrations of the product species. The products from the decomposition were examined every 50 K from 500 K to 800 K. The dominant products were ammonia (NH3), isocyanuric acid (HNCO) and carbon dioxide (CO2). In case of urea-water solution decomposition, for gas temperatures between 550 and 650 K, the highest concentrations were for NH3 and HNCO. On the other hand, the concentrations of CO2 were highest for gas temperatures of about 500 - 550 K. For temperatures above about 650 K, the amount of these three dominant prod-ucts slightly decreased as temperature increased. ivFor the nitric oxide removal (SNCR) experiments, the gas mixture was heated to temperatures between 800 K and 1350 K. Depending on the temperature, gas composition, residence time, and urea feed rate, removal levels of up to 95% were obtained. Other by-products such as N2O were detected and quantified. The effects of the urea/NO (beta) ratio were determined by varying the urea concentration for a constant NO con-centration of 330 ppm. The effects of the levels of oxygen (O2) in the exhaust gases and the residence time also were investigated. Increasing the urea/NO ratio and residence time resulted in higher NO removal and increased the temperature window of the nitric oxide removal.Item Determination of Energy Efficiency of Beef Cows under Grazing Conditions Using a Mechanistic Model and the Evaluation of a Slow-Release Urea Product for Finishing Beef Cattle(2012-02-14) Bourg, Brandi MarieThe cow/calf phase of production represents a large expense in the production of beef, and efficient beef cows use fewer resources to obtain the same outcome in a sustainable environment. The objective of study 1 was to utilize a mechanistic nutrition model to estimate metabolizable energy requirement (MER) of grazing cows based on changes in cow body weight (BW) and fatness measurements (body condition score, BCS) along with calf age and BW, as well as forage quality and quantity. In addition, an energy efficiency index (EEI), computed as MER of the cow and calf divided by calf weaning BW, was used to rank cows within a herd based on their efficiency of utilizing available forage to meet their maintenance requirements and support calf growth. Data were collected from one herd of approximately 140 Santa Gertrudis cows over a four-year period, and analyzed per calving cycle, conception to weaning. The model's estimation of EEI appears to be moderately heritable and repeatable across years, and efficient cows might have greater peak milk and be leaner. In typical feedlot diets, the rates of ruminal fermentation of highly processed grains and the hydrolysis rate of urea may not match. Asynchronous utilization of carbohydrate and protein would result in some portion of the urea unknot being utilized by the ruminal microbes and ultimately the animal. The use of slow-release urea (SRU) products offers a unique opportunity to synchronize ruminal fermentation of carbohydrate with non-protein nitrogen (NPN) release rate. Two experiments were conducted to examine the impact of source, urea or SRU, and level of dietary NPN on 1) performance and carcass characteristics and 2) N balance of finishing cattle. Steers had lower initial F:G when SRU was used as the only source of feed N (treatment 3), suggesting that SRU may replace both NPN and true protein feeds in finishing cattle diets. High levels of either NPN source had greater N intake and urinary N excretion, as well as N absorption and no major differences were observed between SRU and urea, suggesting that SRU can replace urea at different levels of N intake.Item Genetic analysis of nitrogen assimilation in the Texas brown tide Aureoumbra lagunensis(2010-05) Agostoni, Marco; Erdner, Deana L.; Brand, Jerry J.; Villareal, Tracy A.The initiation, persistence, and termination of harmful algal blooms (HABs) can all be influenced by nutrient availability. Recent studies have highlighted the role of both organic and inorganic nitrogen sources in HAB dynamics. The pelagophyte Aureoumbra lagunensis causes ecosystem disruptive algal blooms and is responsible for the longest recorded harmful algal bloom (1989-1997). Because of Aureoumbra's small size and its inability to use nitrate, it has been hypothesized that its ability to use ammonium and organic nitrogen, especially at low concentrations, contributed to the unusual persistence of this bloom. This project aimed to assess the response of Aureoumbra to inorganic and organic nitrogen sources by examining the expression of genes responsible for nitrogen assimilation, with an eventual intent of developing expression assays that are indicative of nitrogen source use and/or sufficiency in Aureoumbra. Large volume batch cultures of Aureoumbra were grown with either ammonium or urea as a nitrogen source. Physiological characteristics (C:N, chlorophyll [alpha] cell⁻¹, and Fv/Fm) were monitored throughout the growth period, and the expression of the AMT-1, AMT-2 and UREC genes was assayed at early-, mid- and late-exponential phases. The results show that Aureoumbra can use both ammonium and urea, and that it is well adapted to low-nutrient environments. Only one gene, AMT-1, appeared to be transcriptionally regulated in response to changing nitrogen concentration, and only to ammonium. The results of this study contribute to our understanding of how algae in general cope with low nutrient availability and should ultimately help to define the dynamics of these HAB events.