Tech. Report: Use of Treated Effluent Water in Cellulosic Ethanol Production

Abstract: The bioethanol industry exerts a significant demand on water supplies. Current water consumption rate in corn dry grind ethanol plants is 3 to 4 gallons of water per gallon of ethanol produced (gal/gal) and 6 to 10 gal/gal for cellulosic ethanol plants. The main goal of this study was to examine the use of treated wastewater effluent in place of potable freshwater for cellulosic ethanol production. The effects of using two different types of filtered treated effluent; Bloomington- Normal, IL (Residential type) and Decatur, IL (Industrial/Residential Mix type); on the rate of fermentation and final ethanol yield from a pure cellulosic substrate were evaluated. Final ethanol concentration with Bloomington- Normal and Decatur effluent and our control study using de-ionized water were similar, resulting in 4.57 0.22 % v/v (0.36 g/g, db), 4.74 0.13 % v/v (0.37 g/g, db) and 4.55 0.28 % v/v (0.36 g/g, db), respectively. Residual glucose concentrations were <0.04 % w/v at 48 hr in all cases, suggesting complete fermentation. Further study with Decatur effluent using 0.08 mm finely ground Miscanthus as the substrate resulted in a final ethanol concentration of 0.46 0.008 % v/v (0.14 g/g db) which was similar to ethanol concentration of 0.52 0.07 % v/v (0.17 g/g db) obtained with control treatment using de-ionized water. These findings suggest that with proper characterization studies and under appropriate conditions, the use of treated effluent water in cellulosic ethanol production is feasible.



Please see full report here:

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/handle/2142/42595

New York’s Homelessness Worst Since The Great Depression

As the WSJ reports, more than 21,000 children an unprecedented 1% of the citys youth slept each night in a city shelter in January, an increase of 22% in the past year; as homeless families now spend more than a year in a shelter, on average, for the first time since 1987. New York City has seen one of the steepest increases in homeless families in the past decade, advocates said, growing 73% since 2002, and is facing a homeless crisis worse than any time since the Great Depression.



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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324539404578340731809639210.html

Sequestration cuts only 0.3 % of spending. GOV decides NOT to cut their spending, instead guts taxpayer benefit programs

CapitolWords

: "Mr. Speaker, today we find ourselves in the midst of yet another manufactured crisis that threatens our economic recovery. Last Friday marked the beginning of $85 billion in arbitrary, across-the-board cuts to key domestic priorities and defense programs. How did we get here? The Budget Control Act of 2011 created an automatic sequestration plan that was designed to be so senseless and so painful that Democrats and Republicans would be left with no choice but to come together to craft an alternative. Yet, the sequestration that was never supposed to happen has begun. The impact of these cuts will be real. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that sequestration will reduce GDP by .6% and cost about 750,000 jobs by the fourth quarter of this year. These alarming figures don't even take into account the impact cuts will have on federal protections and services for American families. They include: Reductions in FDA funding that will result in fewer scheduled food safety inspections and delays in new drug approvals. Reductions in substance abuse and mental health programs that will result in nearly 400,000 adults and children with serious mental illnesses going without treatment. Reductions in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF), resulting in delayed or halted scientific and medical research. Reductions in funding for the Aids Drug Assistance Program, resulting in thousands fewer patients having access to HIV medications, and reductions in funding for Centers for Disease Control (CDC), resulting in over 400,000 fewer AIDS tests being conducted this year. Reductions in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), resulting in cuts in public health and environmental protections, including reductions in safe drinking water and wastewater treatment projects, water quality permitting, air quality monitoring, and hazardous waste cleanups. Nearly 4 million individuals receiving federally funded unemployment benefits will ...



resulting in delayed or halted scientific and medical research. Reductions in funding for the Aids Drug Assistance Program, resulting in thousands fewer patients having access to HIV medications, and reductions in funding for Centers for Disease Control (CDC), resulting in over 400,000 fewer AIDS tests being conducted this year. Reductions in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), resulting in cuts in public health and environmental protections, including reductions in safe dri..."

Resources Original Text

A 5653: Establishes a moratorium on until 120 days after federal EPA issues report

A 5653: Establishes a moratorium on conducting hydraulic fracturing for the extraction of natural gas or oil until 120 days after federal EPA issues report thereon : See Original Text

Half of Americas largest companies are bringing manufacturing back from China

The advent of truly sophisticated and relatively cheap industrial robotics and automation technology is beginning to change the global economic landscape.



Nextbigfuture covered a 60 Minutes segment which looked at the jobless recovery and the replacement of workers with automation and robotics.

Nextbigfuture looked at distribution warehouse automation which are several times more efficient and productive than older warehouses.

A little over two years ago Terry Gou

the CEO of Foxconn announced that over the next three years his company was going to begin phasing in up to 3 million industrial robots with an eye towards increasing efficiency and reducing labor costs. This announcement, from the world's largest electronics contract manufacturer, sent waves through the media and business community. Foxconn employs over 1.5 million people in China, in hundreds of plants and facilities, scattered around the country.



Foxconn has managed to deploy significant numbers of its new robotic workers. Over the course of last year, Foxconn managed to install 30,000-50,000 new robots in its factories, and is aiming for 300,000 more by 2014.



In 2011, Foxconn was targeting 1 million robots by 2014, so Foxconn's schedule has slipped.

What is astounding about this information is the impact it already has had. According to Liu Kun, a spokesman for Foxconn, "We have canceled hiring entry level workers, a decision that is partly associated with our efforts in production automation." Moreover according to the International Federation of Robotics the growth of industrial robotics in China has been exceeding 40% to 50% a year, an unprecedented level of growth. The question that springs to mind is: What would happen if Foxconn actually had 3 million robots?



Read more at NBF

CDC Warns Of Spread Of Deadly Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria via @CBSMiami

(@CBSMiami) An antibiotic-resistant family of bacteria continues to spread throughout the U.S. health care system and is now prompting warnings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.



The bacteria, Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), kill up to half of the patients who get the bloodstream infections from the disease. The disease has evolved a resistance to carbapenems, also called last-resort antibiotics.



In addition, the CRE bacteria can reportedly transfer its resistance to other bacteria within its family. The transfer of resistance can create additional life-threatening infections for patients in hospitals, longer-term health care facilities, and possibly otherwise healthy people,according to the CDC



Please continue reading at:

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2013/03/05/cdc-warns-of-spread-of-deadly-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria/