Waste not, want not: Journal
highlights
SCI peer-review journals are accessible online —
browse through the popular papers in the Members’ lounge
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 Greenhouse
safety/Pesticide exposure
Pest Management Science
A study in Thessalonica, Greece, investigated the exposure
of workers to pesticides in greenhouses. This work suggests
that careful regulation, based on further research, may be
required to protect the health of greenhouse workers.
The concentration of pesticides in the air was too low for
the workers to exceed their acceptable daily intake of pesticide
by respiration alone. However, significant concentrations
of most residues were found on the head and chest of the workers,
and on surfaces within the greenhouse. ‘Continuous exposure
of the workers to pesticides may cause serious health problems’,
say the researchers.
Dissipation of three organochlorine and four pyrethroid
pesticides sprayed in a greenhouse environment during hydroponic
cultivation of gerbera, S Hatzilazarou, E Charizopoulos,
E Papadopoulou-Mourkidou, A Economou, Pest Management Science.
DOI: 10.1002/ps.940 (Available on EarlyView).
Novel ways to protect your garden
 A
series of novel treatments for killing or repelling slugs
and snails is showing promise, according to researchers in
Newcastle. The researchers covered the soil surface with cinnamamide,
copper ammonium carbonate, woodchip mulch, urea/formaldehyde
or copper-impregnated matting.
The behaviour of the pests in choice and non-choice experiments
was monitored using time-lapse photography and digital image
tracking, and these treatments were found to be highly effective
at discouraging, irritating, or killing slugs and snails.
The behavioural response of slugs and snails to novel molluscicides,
irritants and repellents.
I Schüder, G Port, J Bennison, Pest Management Science,
DOI: 10.1002/ps.942 (Available on EarlyView).
 Drugs
from soybean oil waste
Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology
The steroid drug manufacturing industry needs around 2000
tonnes of natural sterols annually and there is an increasing
need for cheap sterol raw materials. Scientists at the Russian
Academy of Sciences have found a way to produce the cheap
sterols needed by the industry through bioconversion. Waste
from soybean oil production was treated to produce a major
precursor in the production of steroid drugs. With yields
at ~65% and productivity that is comparable with that of high
quality sterol extraction from wood, it offers cheap sterols
for drug manufacture from an otherwise under utilised source.
Microbial conversion of sterol-containing soybean oil
production waste
M Donova, D Dovbnya, G Sukhodolskaya, S Khomutov, V Nikolayeva,
I Kwon, K Han, Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology,
DOI: 10.1002/jctb.1156 (Available on EarlyView).
Cheap, clean, renewable energy from barley waste
Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have found a way
to use barley husks to produce bioethanol. Bioethanol is a
fuel that is used around the world to power vehicles and generators
and, unlike petrol or diesel, is produced by fermenting sugars
from plants making it a renewable energy source.
Barley is already used to make bioethanol but the husks,
which make up 15–20% of the grain weight, are used as
animal feed. The researchers used a steam and enzyme treatment
to extract sugars from the husks producing 12g of ethanol
for every 100g used. This enables the producers to reduce
a major cost – transportation, by using all the raw material.
Pretreatment of barley husk for bioethanol production,
B Palmarola-Adrados, M Galbe, G Zacchi, Journal of Chemical
Technology and Biotechnology, DOI: 10.1002/jctb.1161 (Available
on EarlyView).
Making money from manure
Researchers at Washington State University have investigated
two-phase anaerobic digestion of dairy manure and its effects
on biogas production. This vast, largely untapped, resource
has the potential to be converted into clean profit. Anaerobic
digestion of manure is advantageous as it reduces the pollution
caused by such waste as well as providing economic benefits,
such as on-site energy generation. Their results bring to
light the potential of two-phase anaerobic digestion to produce
profitable by-products.
Effect of retention time an organic loading rate on anaerobic
acidification and biogasification of dairy manure, G Demirer
and S Chen, Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology,
DOI: 10.1002/jctb.1138 (Available in Earlyview).
 Turning
vine trimmings into lactic acid for commercial use
Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture
Scientists in Spain have developed a method for turning the
trimmings of vineshoots, an agricultural waste, into lactic
acid, an important chemical used in a wide variety of industry
including cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
The technique uses a bacterial species able to ferment the
initial sugar solution into lactic acid. Vine trimmings make
up 93% of the agro-industrial waste in parts of northwestern
Spain. This waste is normally burnt, resulting in substantial
environmental and ecological harm. This technique offers a
profitable and environmental alternative for the utilisation
of vine waste.
Production of fermentable media from vine-trimming wastes
and bioconversion into lactic acid by Lactobacillus pentosus,
G Bustos, A Moles, J Cruz and J Dominguez, Journal of the
Science of Food and Agriculture, DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.1922
(Available in Earlyview).
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