Search Results (21)

Food waste (FW) sourced from treatment facilities is predominantly in solid form, with low water content and high variations in organic content. High organic content in FW is ideal in anaerobic digestion for bioenergy applications, but proper monitoring during start-up operations should be employed to avoid imbalance in the acidogenic/methanogenic population due to volatile fatty acid (VFA) accumulation in the system. The seed inoculum (5 L) in each horizontal anaerobic reactor (HAR) was fed with food waste without effluent flow (filling-up phase) until it reached the final working volume of 10 L (continuous phase). The pH, alkalinity, chemical oxygen demand (COD), VFA, biogas production, methane concentration, and microbial community dynamics were set as stability indicators during reactor operation. The results revealed that introducing fluctuations in FW concentrations does not negatively affect the biogas production (1.7 ± 0.2 L/L_R/d) and methane concentration (59.0 ± 2.5%). Acclimatization of the methanogenic and bacterial population was also observed. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of fluctuating FW concentrations on the process performance of horizontal anaerobic reactors, focusing on process stability, microbial dynamics, and biogas output during filling-up and continuous phases. Full article

This research examines the shifting geography of small firm innovation in the U.S. by tracking the location of small business innovation research (SBIR) and small business technology transfer (STTR) awardees between 2010 and 2024. The SBIR and STTR are “seed fund” awards coordinated by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and funded through 11 U.S. federal agencies. Of particular interest is whether the number of individual SBA awards, awarded firms, and/or funding amounts are (1) becoming increasingly concentrated within regional innovation hubs and (2) exhibiting a shift toward or away from urban centers and other walkable, transit-accessible urban neighborhoods, particularly since 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic. While the rise of remote work and pandemic-related fears may have reduced the desirability of urban spaces for both living and working, there remain significant benefits to spatial agglomeration that may be especially crucial for startups and other small firms in the knowledge- or information-intensive industries. The results suggest that innovative activity of smaller firms has indeed trended toward more centralized, denser, and walkable urban areas in recent years while also remaining fairly concentrated within major metropolitan innovation hubs. The pandemic appears to have resulted in a measurable, though potentially short-lived, cessation of these trends. Full article

Anaerobic digestion (AD) has gained broad interest as a sustainable organic waste management and resource recovery method. However, the complexity of the AD process could pose serious risks in real-scale applications. One of the most critical phases in the operation of AD systems is the start-up phase, including the seeding strategy of the digesters. This study aims to assess the effect of digestate post-treatment before seeding on the start-up of thermophilic AD systems. Two anaerobic digesters (R1 and R2) were started using two different thermophilic inocula and were kept operational for 17 weeks under identical conditions. Lab digesters were seeded with digestates sampled from a thermophilic full-scale reactor (R2) and a post-treatment mesophilic tank (R1). The start-up strategies exhibited satisfactory stability and high productivity, achieving mean weekly methane-based biodegradability rates of 61 and 64% of the feed’s theoretical biomethane potential (BMP), respectively, in R1 and R2. However, R2 showed greater resilience to high and sudden organic loads applications, making it more suitable for rapid and aggressive start-ups. These results are expected to assist full-scale anaerobic digester operators in selecting an appropriate inoculum based on the characteristics of its source. Full article

Anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox) is considered an efficient and low-energy biological nitrogen removal process. However, there are limited studies addressing the changes in antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) during the startup of an anammox reactor inoculated with activated sludge. In this study, an up-flow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactor was initiated with synthetic wastewater at room temperature (20–28 °C). Metagenomic sequencing was employed to analyze the shifts in the bacterial community, nitrogen removal functional genes, and ARGs in both the seeding sludge and anammox sludge. The results show that the reactor achieved anammox activity after 122 days of cultivation, with NH₄⁺-N and NO₂⁻-N removal rates reaching 99.8% and 99.6%, respectively. Compared to those in inoculated sludge, the relative abundance of the anammox bacterium Candidatus kuenenia increased from 0.01% to 50.86%, while the relative abundance of denitrifying Acidovorax bacteria decreased from 8.02% to 1.77%. Meanwhile, the relative abundance of Nitrosomonas declined from 2.91% to 1.87%. The functional genes hzs, hdh, nirK, and nirS increased in relative abundance in the anammox sludge, while the ARGs decreased in relative abundance from 294.77 RPKM to 155.62 RPKM in the sludge. These findings offer valuable insights into the initiation of the anammox process using ordinary activated sludge as an inoculum and provide a scientific basis for the mitigation of ARGs through anammox technology. Full article

Guayule (Parthenium argentatum, A. Gray) is a perennial desert shrub with ratoon-cropping potential for multiple harvests of its natural rubber, resin, and bagasse byproducts. However, yield expectations, water use requirements, and irrigation scheduling information for ratooned guayule are extremely limited. The objectives of this study were to evaluate dry biomass (DB), contents of rubber (R) and resin (Re) and yields of rubber (RY) and resin (ReY) responses to irrigation treatments, and develop irrigation management criteria for ratooned guayule. The water productivity (WP) of the yield components were also evaluated. Guayule plants that were direct-seeded in April 2018 were ratooned and regrown starting in April 2020, after an initial 2-year harvest at two locations in Arizona: Maricopa and Eloy on sandy loam and clay soils, respectively. Plots were irrigated with subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) at 50, 75, and 100% replacement of crop evapotranspiration (ET_c), respectively, and furrow irrigation at 100% ET_c replacement, as determined by soil water balance measurements. The Eloy location did not include the 100% irrigation treatment under SDI due to unsuccessful regrowth for this specific treatment. The irrigation treatments at the locations were replicated three times in a randomized complete block design. After 21–22 months of regrowth, the guayule plants were harvested in plots. The results showed that DB increased with the amount of total water applied (TWA, irrigation plus precipitation), while R and Re were reduced at the highest TWA received at both locations. Ultimately, the SDI treatments with 75% ET_c replacement resulted in the best irrigation management in terms of maximizing RY and ReY, and WP for both locations and soil types. Compared to the initial 2-year direct-seeded guayule crop, ratooned guayule required less TWA and attained higher DB, RY, and ReY, as well as higher WP, with average increases of 25% in dry biomass, 33% in rubber yield, and 32% in resin yield. A grower’s costs for planting the initial direct-seeded guayule crop would be offset by the additional yield revenue of the ratooned crop, which would have comparatively small startup costs. Full article

Purpose: The alliance project “Physics for Food” aims to invent new physical technologies for sustainable agriculture and food production in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, an agrarian region in northern Germany. This article may serve as an example of good practice for regional collaboration and funding acquisition between academia and the industry, especially SMEs, that may be replicated in other rural contexts. Approach: The project consortium consists of a triple-helix setting of scientists from university and research institutes as well as technology suppliers, seed producers, and farmers. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) funds the project in a special program called “WIR!” that addresses innovation and structural transformation of lagging regions in Germany. Findings: The program encourages development of regional innovation concepts and supports confederations that cross disciplinary, industrial, institutional, and administrative boundaries and thrive on civic involvement. Today already, there is huge potential and an increasing demand for the development and the supply of novel non-chemical alternatives in plant and storage protection in agriculture and food production. Originality: The project aims to lay the foundation for startup companies based in the region to act as innovative technology providers and to create jobs in the region while making the new technologies available nationally and internationally. The application of physical methods will decrease costs, conserve resources, and eventually contribute to protecting the environment. Full article

Wastewater from factories producing polysulfone-based membranes mainly contains the used organic solvent, i.e., dimethylacetamide (DMAc). Due to the environmental impact of DMAc, wastewater treatment is mandatory. Several biological treatment options based on the activated sludge process are described in the literature. Due to artificial aeration, these techniques have high energy requirements. Near-nature processes such as vertical flow constructed wetlands (VF wetlands) have a low energy demand, high tolerance to load fluctuations, and low maintenance requirements. Therefore, high-loaded, two-stage VF wetlands are an efficient option for treating wastewater. However, constructed wetlands have so far only been used to a limited extent for the treatment of industrial wastewater. In the present study, the ability of laboratory-scale, high-load, two-stage VF wetlands to treat DMAc was investigated. This included their DMAc degradation efficiency and corresponding pathways, removal of the total organic carbon (TOC), nitrification and denitrification of the nitrogen, as well as the ecotoxicological effects (mutagenicity, genotoxicity, reactive oxygen species) of untreated and treated wastewater. The focus was to determine the effect of different grain size distributions on removal rates, the maximum inflow loading, and the effect of high inflow concentrations on effluent concentrations. In general, DMAc was completely degraded using VF wetlands, with dimethylamine (DMA) identified as the main intermediate. TOC removal rates reached more than 99%. The nitrogen bound to DMAc was completely nitrified. However, the start-up of the VF wetlands without seeded filter material temporarily leads to high nitrite accumulation. This may affect the mutagenicity of the treated wastewater. The results show that high-loaded, two-stage VF wetlands are an effective option for treating wastewater containing DMAc with higher efficiency than comparable biological processes. Full article

In this study, predominant bacterial and archaeal populations and their roles during anaerobic mono-digestion of food waste (FW) and co-digestion of FW with straw pellets (SP) at thermophilic temperature (53 ± 1 °C) were assessed by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) analysis at organic loading rates (OLRs) of 3.0 and 7.0 gVS/L/d. Depending on the seed; results revealed that Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria were, respectively the most prevalent bacterial phyla at both OLRs investigated. On the other hand, Euryarchaeota was dominated by methanogens playing crucial role in biogas production and correlated mainly with the activities of Methanobacteria and Methanomicrobia at class level. Acetoclastic Methanosaetae was the predominant genus at OLR = 3.0 gVS/L/d; however, shared the same predominance with hydrogenotrophic methanogens Methanospirillium at the highest OLR. Although no clear effect in response to straw addition at OLR of 3.0 gVS/L/d could be seen in terms of methanogenic archaea at genus level, hydrogenotrophic methanogens revealed some shift from Methanobacterium to Methanospirillium at higher OLR. Nevertheless, no prominent microbial shift in the presence of wheat straw at increased OLR was likely due to adapted inoculation at start-up which was also demonstrated by relatively stable biogas yields during co-digestion. Full article

Business accelerators have emerged as an important innovation intermediary, with their primary role identified as stimulating premature startups through mentorship and training programs. However, despite significant improvement and 17 years of working history, there are still gaps in working behavior, business accelerator forms, organizational structure, operations, and outcomes. This systematic review aims to boost the understanding of seed accelerators in innovation and entrepreneurial activities. The Context, Intervention, Mechanism, and Outcome (CIMO) framework was used to collect data from the 53 articles published in the last 17 years. In this current systematic review of applying a CIMO analysis to business accelerators, we retrieved 53 articles for further detailed studies, out of which 21 articles were assessed for the risk of bias analysis. The current review highlights that by providing learning opportunities, idea validation, increased access to growth, and innovation, startup accelerators achieved their goals. Moreover, the study also identified gaps in the literature and opportunities for cohort-based, short-term mentorship programs. The outcomes of the present study will provide suggestions for policymakers, entrepreneurs, managers, and investors. Full article

The aerobic granulation, pollutant removal, and microbial community in real textile wastewater (TWW) treatment were compared using conventional activated sludge (CAS) and preformed aerobic granular sludge (AGS) in synthetic wastewater as seed in two reactors, reactor-1 (R1) and reactor-2 (R2), respectively. The results showed that complete granulation was achieved in R1 (sludge volume index at 5 min (SVI₅) and 30 min (SVI₃₀): 19.4 mL/g; granule size: 210 μm) within 65 days, while it only required 28 days in R2 (SVI₅ and SVI₃₀: 27.3 mL/g; granule size: 496 μm). The removal of COD, NH₄⁺-N and TN in R1 (49.8%, 98.8%, and 41.6%) and R2 (53.6%, 96.9%, and 40.8%) were comparable in 100% real TWW treatment, but stable performance was achieved much faster in R2. The real TWW had an inhibitory effect on heterotrophic bacteria activity, but it had no inhibition on ammonia-oxidizing bacteria activity. AGS with a larger particle size had a higher microbial tolerance to real TWW. Furthermore, filamentous Thiothrix in the AGS in R2 disappeared when treating real TWW, leading to the improvement of sludge settleability. Thus, seeding preformed AGS is suggested as a rapid start-up method for a robust AGS system in treating real TWW. Full article

Examining and comparing the FinTech investment environments of major economies has untapped potential when it comes to comparing their innovativeness in the financial sector. Therefore, this paper examines the development of FinTech companies from Germany and Russia by investigating funding circumstances and by analyzing equity investments. The goal of the article is to analyze the growth and development of equity funding in FinTech companies in both countries. The underlying hypothesis for this investigation is the applicability of an exponential growth model for the examined funding rounds. The analysis shows that the German market has more FinTech start-ups pursuing equity funding rounds. From Pre-Seed to Series D funding, the considered investment market is about 18 times larger in Germany than it is in Russia. The German market shows strong evidence of exponentially increasing investment tickets based on the behavior of the total data set. This is further supported by testing exponential and linear models on the averages for the investment stages. In this analysis, the exponential model shows a significantly better fit than its linear counterpart. The analysis of the Russian market is not supportive of the hypothesis, as substantial evidence of the superiority of a linear model over an exponential model could be found. This, combined with comparatively compact average funding sizes, signals a more immature equity investment market in Russia. Full article

Waste management has become a pressing environmental, social, and economic issue. In Ghana, the government has decentralized the waste management system to include private sector actors as key players to improve the collection, disposal, and recycling of waste. With this development, a heterogeneous population of entrepreneurs has engaged in waste recycling, achieving mixed results in terms of performance. The aim of this paper is to identify shared personality traits and characteristics of entrepreneurs that make certain firms engage in waste recycling more innovatively than others. An extensive literature review was used to identify these personality traits and characteristics, which were then modeled using upper echelon theory (UET) to investigate their impact on innovation performance. A regression analysis approach was adopted based on the data collected from 157 entrepreneurs’ founders, co-founders, and shareholders among the waste recycling firms in Ghana selected for the annual Supporting Entrepreneurs for Environment and Development (SEED) Award competition. The key contribution of this research is to better understand the relationship between entrepreneur traits and innovation performance. Given the fact that in small start-ups, the founder plays the most important role, this paper serves as a foundation for defining individual-level factors critical in sustaining sustainable innovation performance in the waste recycling sector. The results of this study will help shareholders and policymakers better understand and implement strategies for determining and selecting innovative waste recycling entrepreneurs. Full article

The tremendous input of ammonium and rare earth element (REE) ions released by the enormous consumption of (NH₄)₂SO₄ in in situ leaching for ion-adsorption RE mining caused serious ground and surface water contamination. Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) was a sustainable in situ technology that can reduce this nitrogen pollution. In this research, in situ, semi in situ, and ex situ method of inoculation that included low-concentration (0.02 mg·L⁻¹) and high-concentration (0.10 mg·L⁻¹) lanthanum (La)(III) were adopted to explore effective start-up strategies for starting up anammox reactors seeded with activated sludge and anammox sludge. The reactors were refrigerated for 30 days at 4 °C to investigate the effects of La(III) during a period of low-temperature. The results showed that the in situ and semi in situ enrichment strategies with the addition of La(III) at a low-concentration La(III) addition (0.02 mg·L⁻¹) reduced the length of time required to reactivate the sludge until it reached a state of stable anammox activity and high nitrogen removal efficiency by 60–71 days. The addition of La(III) promoted the formation of sludge floc with a compact structure that enabled it to resist the adverse effects of low temperature and so to maintain a high abundance of AnAOB and microbacterial community diversity of sludge during refrigeration period. The addition of La(III) at a high concentration caused the cellular percentage of AnAOB to decrease from 54.60 ± 6.19% to 17.35 ± 6.69% during the enrichment and reduced nitrogen removal efficiency to an unrecoverable level to post-refrigeration. Full article

Biotech startup firms developing pharmaceutical seeds from scientific and technological innovation are burdened by significant Research & Development (R&D) expenses, long-term R&D operations, and low probability of R&D success. To address these challenges while sustainably creating innovations and new drugs, business alliances with existing pharmaceutical companies are one of the most important issues on the management agenda. The present study explores the necessity and significance of business alliances with pharmaceutical companies for the development of drug-discovery by Japanese biotech startup firms under high uncertainty. This study investigates the types of alliances to understand the origins of sustainability of these creative activities. First, we investigate and analyze the details of the partnership and its impact on the products under development based on the publicly available information of 16 drug discovery biotech startup firms in Japan that had become public since 2010. As a result, all firms continued their operations with the funds obtained from the business alliances with pharmaceutical firms at the time of their initial public offering (IPO). In addition, 56% of these firms’ alliance projects (n = 73) were seeded-out, and 32% seeded-in, indicating that they had adopted flexible alliance strategies not limited to seed-out ones. For sustainable going concern of the biotech startup business, it is valuable to consider multiple strategic options: “in-licensing and value up”, “best-in-class”, “platform leadership” and “first-in-class” depending on the characteristics of seeds and environmental restrictions. Full article

How can higher education increase the employability of university students? We present a case study on an innovative training itinerary aimed to promote the participation of teaching staff to stimulate the creativity of students and enhance their employability skills. Students acquire the entrepreneurship competences by applying the problem-solving methodology to their innovative projects based on sustainable development. The participation in the contest shows a growing importance, with topics ranging from the more technical ones, such as nutrition innovation, science innovation, or sustainability, to the social projects, related to social services, inclusion, or services against gender violence, harassment, and bullying. The percentage of multidisciplinary teams increased from 38% in 2015 to 76% in 2019 and even more in finalist teams, a positive trend in improving soft skills. According to some testimonies, the acquisition of these entrepreneurship competences partially compensates for students’ lack of professional experience by enriching their curriculum vitae (CV) and, for some students, lays the groundwork for establishing a real business after their participation in the contest. Full article