Assessment of the Effect of Dimethyl Ether (DME) Combustion on Lettuce and Chinese Cabbage Growth in Greenhouse

Jayanta Kumar Basak,Waqas Qasim,강호민,Frank Gyan Okyere,이용진,Elanchezhian Arulmozhi,박지훈,조원준,김현태 (사) 한국생물환경조절학회 2019 시설원예‧식물공장 Vol.28 No.4

The experiment was conducted to determine the performance of DME combustion gas when used as a fuel for DME burner for raising temperature and CO2 concentration in greenhouse and also to examine its effects on chlorophyll content, and fresh and dry weight of lettuce and Chinese cabbage. DME-1 and DME-2 treatments consisted of average DME flow quantity in duct were 17.4 m3 min-1 and 10.2 m3 min-1 respectively to greenhouse-1 and greenhouse2 and no DME gas was supplied to greenhouse-3 which was left as control (DME-3). DME supply times were 0.5 hr day-1, 1 hr day-1, 1:30 hrs day-1 and 2 hrs day-1 on week 1, 2, 3, and 4 respectively. Chlorophyll content and fresh and dry weight of lettuce and Chinese cabbage were measured for each treatment and analyzed through analysis of variance with a significance level of P<0.05. The result of the study showed that CO2 concentration increased up to 265% and 174% and the level of temperature elevated 4.8oC and 3.1oC in greenhouse-1 and 2, respectively as compared to greenhouse-3 due to application of DME combustion gas. Although, the same crop management practices were provided in greenhouse-1, 2 and 3 at a same rate, the highest change (p<0.05) of chlorophyll content, fresh weight and dry weight were found from the DME-1 treatment, followed by DME-2. As a result, DME combustion gas that raised the level of temperature and CO2 concentration in the greenhouse-1 and greenhouse-2, might have an effect on growth of lettuce and Chinese cabbage. At end of experiment, the highest fresh and dry weight of lettuce and Chinese cabbage were measured in greenhouse-1 and followed by greenhouse-2. Similarly chlorophyll content of greenhouse-1 and greenhouse-2 were more compared to greenhouse-3. In general, DME was not producing any harmful gas during its combustion period, therefore it can be used as an alternative to conventional fuel such as diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for both heating and CO2 supply in winter season. Moreover, endorsed quantify of DME combustion gas for a specified crop can be applied to greenhouse to improve the plant growth and enhance yield. Additional

Examining dimethyl ether and boiler machine heating efficiency for greenhouse applications

( Jayanta Kumar Basak ),( Myeong Yong Kang ),( Hyeon Tae Kim ) 한국농업기계학회 2023 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.28 No.2

In the current study, we evaluated the dynamic variations in internal environmental conditions, including temperature, humidity, and CO2 concentration, by employing two heating systems. To conduct the experiment, three greenhouses, each measuring 12 meters in width, 20 meters in length, and 4 meters in height, were used. Greenhouse-1 (GH-1) and greenhouse-2 (GH-2) were equipped with a DME burner and a boiler machine as their respective heating systems, while greenhouse-3 (GH-3) served as the control group and remained without any heating system. In this study, we employed DME gas as the fuel source for the DME burner and kerosene oil for the boiler machine. Carbon dioxide, temperature, and humidity levels were monitored using Lutron MCH-383SD electrochemical sensors placed at three distinct heights. Data collection occurred at 10-minute intervals, and the recorded data were subsequently averaged for further analysis and interpretation. Both heating systems were activated for 30 minutes every hour, following a predetermined schedule from 10:30 AM to 5:30 PM each day. Furthermore, a fuel cost analysis was conducted to assess the cost-effectiveness of both systems. The study's findings revealed that both systems generated nearly equivalent levels of heat. Over a 15-day period, the average temperature increase during the experiment was 10.7% with the DME burner and 12.4% with the boiler machine, in comparison to the control condition. However, it was observed that operating the boiler machine incurred more than a 20% higher fuel cost compared to the DME burner. Notably, the study demonstrated that the DME burner not only provided effective greenhouse heating but also supplied ample CO2 without any significant buildup of toxic gases. Additionally, this research suggests the potential for further experiments utilizing DME gas burners in greenhouses to assess the growth performance of various crops.

Relationships between Ambient Environment and Thermal Status of Pig Body in Livestock Barn

( Jayanta Kumar Basak ),( Jihoon Park ),( Elanchezhian Arulmozhi ),( Fawad Khan ),( Frank Gyan Okyere ),( Yong Jin Lee ),( Hyeon Tae Kim ) 한국농업기계학회 2018 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.23 No.2

There is a growing interest in measuring body surface temperature of animal and ambient environment in order to determine thermal comfort zone of livestock barn. The aim of the study was to observe the changing pattern of humidity, CO₂ concentration and temperature in pig barn related to body temperature change. Six pigs of one month age were tested over a period of 60 days at the Gyeongsang National University. Infrared Sensor (IR), a non-invasive method, has been used to measure body surface temperature in different body sides: left side (LS), right side (RS), forehead (FH) and back side (BS). Inside ambient environmental parameters like humidity, CO₂ concentration and temperature was measured by using LEMS and PT100Ώ temperature sensors during the experiment. The study found strong correlation between temperature-humidity index (THI) and body surface temperature (0.89). Experimental results showed that there were no significant difference (p<0.01) of temperature in different body areas of the pigs. However, CO₂ concentration were more than two times higher in inside than outside that might effect the body surface temperature of pig. The collected data on different sections of pig body may be further used to identify the symptoms of diseases, when it exceeds the normal temperature range as well as changing behavior in different life stages such as eating, moving, and pregnancy stage etc.

Monitoring Predictive and Informative Indicators of Body Surface Temperature of Pig in the Context of Thermal Comfort Zone of Livestock Barn Using Infrared Sensor

( Jayanta Kumar Basak ),( Elanchezhian Arulmozhi ),( Ji-hoon Park ),( Fawad Khan ),( Frank Gyan Okyere ),( Yong-jin Lee ),( Deok-hyeon Lee ),( Hyeon-tae Kim ) 한국농업기계학회 2019 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.24 No.1

Temperature and relative humidity are the most pivotal parameters for life, and governs maximum factors of whole-animal performance and fitness. The aim of this experimental work was to examine and to prove the correlation between body surface temperature of pig and ambient environment in order to determine thermal comfort zone of livestock barn. The study evaluated the performance of four different models, including temperature model (T model), relative humidity model (H model), temperature-humidity model (TH model), and temperature-humidity index model (THI model) for monitoring and predicting body surface temperature. In total, six 10-week-old Hampshire species pigs with an initial body weight of 30.3±0.85 kg were obtained over a period of 92 days during two years (2017-2018) to develop and evaluate the four models. For this experiment, skin surface temperature was measured using infrared sensor (IR) from a fixed distance (20 cm) and position perpendicular to pig’ body at different locations: left side (LS), right side (RS), forehead (FH) and back side (BS). Livestock environment management systems (LEMS) data reception confirmation were installed to collect data of temperature and humidity, carbon dioxide, smoke and wind speed. The mean environmental temperature and humidity in livestock barn during the experimental period 2017 were 23.11±3.4°C and 64.33± 7.2% respectively and 21.95±3.3°C and 64.31±10.24% respectively in 2018. With respect to the regions analyzed by IR sensor, there were no significant difference (p>0.05) of temperatures in different body areas of the pigs. It was found that THI model was selected as the best model to make more accurate prediction in both training (R²=0.72, RMSE=0.80 ,RSE=0.26 and MAPE=2.08) and validation (R²=0.74, RMSE=1.10, RSE=0.40 and MAPE=2.80) stages. The applicability of the suggested equations to other animals, changing management conditions on different environmental condition should be tested.

The Application of Artificial Neural Networks and Multiple Linear Regression Models to Estimate Body Weight of Yorkshire Pig

( Jayanta Kumar Basak ),( Elanchezhian Arulmozhi ),( Thavisack Sihalath ),( Fawad Khan ),( Anil Bhujel ),( Deog Hyun Lee ),( Hyeon Tae Kim ) 한국농업기계학회 2020 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.25 No.1

Body weight of pig is an important indicator for their biological functions and the readiness for market. In pig production, it is essential to know pig’s body weight (PBW) for optimized management and feeding practices as well as genetic improvement of animals. Therefore, the experiment was conducted to build-up and evaluate the predictive performance of artificial neural networks (ANNs) and multiple linear regression (MLR) based models for predicting PBW and to analyze the sensitivity of the input variables to identify the influential factors that affect PBW. Two independent experiments were performed in a pig barn located at Gyeongsang National University. The experiment was conducted from 15 September to 15 December in 2018 and 2019 with ten 10-week-old Yorkshire breed pigs. The performance of the models in predicting pig’s body temperature was determined using statistical quality parameters, including coefficient of determination (R²), root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). The result of the study showed that the Feed Forward Back-propagation (FFBP) model with Levenberg-Marquardt training function, tan-sigmoid transfer function and two hidden layers with 16 neurons was selected as the best model. It is also found from the sensitivity analysis, the length of pig (LP) is the most influential factor in predicting PBW in the MLR/ANN models. In conclusion, the input variables may not always be same when associated with PBW. Therefore, further studies on viable alternative breeds with other growth factors under different management conditions might be considered for development of MLR/ANN models.

Regression Analysis to Estimate Morphology Parameters of Pepper Plant in a Controlled Greenhouse System

Jayanta Kumar Basak,Waqas Qasim,Frank Gyan Okyere,Fawad Khan,이용진,박지훈,김현태 한국농업기계학회 2019 바이오시스템공학 Vol.44 No.2

Purpose Regression analysis to predict growth indices of plant is essential for understanding the relationship between the total leaf area, production of fresh weight and dry matter, and expansion of the plant growth. Methods An experiment was conducted to develop regression models for estimating leaf area, fresh weight, and dry weight from measurements of plant height at the vegetative phase of hot pepper (Capsicum annuum Linnaeus) grown in biodegradable pots in a greenhouse. Five models were evaluated and compared: linear regression model, two-order polynomial regression model (P. order 2), three-order polynomial regression model (P. order 3), four-order polynomial regression model (P. order 4), and power regression model. The models were compared using the coefficient of determination (R2), Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r), root mean square error (RMSE), relative standard error (RSE), and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). Results Power regression involving plant height demonstrated the highest R-square among the other models with minimum error estimate for the expected leaf area (R2 > 0.96, r > 0.98, RMSE < 1.2, RSE < 0.04, and MAPE < 11.8); however, P. order 2 had a more accurate calculation of the fresh weight (R2 > 0.98, r > 0.99, RMSE < 0.26, RSE < 0.04, and MAPE < 16.07) and dry weight (R2 > 0.97, r > 0.98, RMSE < 0.03, RSE < 0.02, and MAPE < 11.7) of the plant considering both the fit and degree of adjustment, and the interpretation of the model. Conclusions This study creates scope for further experimentation on various species of crops by changing management practices under different environmental conditions to enhance knowledge and understanding of the growing patterns of plants.

Estimation of Heating Efficiency of Dimethyl Ether (DME) Burner and Boiler Machine in Controlled Greenhouse

( Jayanta Kumar Basak ),( Fawad Khan ),( Frank Gyan Okyere ),( Elanchezhian Arulmozhi ),( Jihoon Park ),( Deokhyeon Lee ),( Junhyeon Lee ),( Gyeongmun Choi ),( Hyeon Tae Kim ) 한국농업기계학회 2019 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.24 No.1

An experiment was conducted to determine the heating efficiency of Dimethyl ether (DME) burner and boiler machine in controlled greenhouse. In this study, we assessed the changing pattern of inside ambient environmental temperature by using two types of heating systems. This experiment was performed in three identical greenhouses (width 12 m, length 20 m, height 4 m). In greenhouse-1 (GH-1) and greenhouse-2 (GH-2), heating system was operated by DME burner and boiler machine respectively and no heating system was provided to greenhouse-3 (GH-3) which was left as control. We used DME gas as a fuel for DME burner and kerosene used for boiler machine. For carbon dioxide, temperature and humidity determination Lutron MCH-383SD electrochemical sensors were set at three different heights of greenhouses. Data were checked at 10-min intervals and recorded data were averaged for further analysis and interpretation. We operated the both system in 30 minutes after every one hour interval within a fixed rate from 10:30 to 17.30 in a day. Fuel cost was also estimated for cost benefit analysis of the two systems. The finding of the study showed that the heating performance of the both system was almost same. Average 7 days data on temperature during the experimental period showed that temperature was increased up to 10.7% and 12.4% treated with DME burner and boiler machine respectively compared to control condition during time intervals at 10:30 to 17.00 o’clock. However, the fuel cost for operating boiler was more than 20% compared to DME burner. Even though the current study found that gases produced by the DME burner was not only provide heating facility in greenhouse but also provide sufficient CO2 without any high concentration of toxic gases. Moreover, this study creates a scope for further experiment using DME gas burner in greenhouses to measure growth performance of different crops.

Assessment of Heating efficiency of Boiler machine and Dimethyl ether burner for growing crops in greenhouse

( Jayanta Kumar Basak ),( Fawad Khan ),( Elanchezhian Arulmozhi ),( Deog Hyun Lee ),( Byeong Eun Moon ),( Hyeon Tae Kim ) 한국농업기계학회 2020 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.25 No.2

The experiment was conducted to determine the heating efficiency of boiler machine and Dimethyl ether (DME) burner in three greenhouses. The present study assessed the changing pattern of inside ambient environmental temperature, humidity and CO2 concentration by using the two types of heating systems. Three identical greenhouses (width 12 m, length 20 m, height 4 m) were used to conduct the experiment. In greenhouse-1 (GH-1) and greenhouse-2 (GH-2), heating system was operated by DME burner and boiler machine respectively and no heating system was provided to greenhouse-3 (GH-3) which was left as control. In the current study, DME gas was used as a fuel for DME burner and kerosene oil for boiler machine. Carbon dioxide, temperature and humidity was recorded using Lutron MCH-383SD electrochemical sensors. The sensors were set at three different heights of greenhouses. Data were checked at 10-min intervals and recorded data were averaged for further analysis and interpretation. The both systems were operated in 30 minutes after every one hour interval within a fixed rate from 10:30 to 17.30 in a day. Fuel cost was also estimated for cost benefit analysis of the two systems. The finding of the study showed that heat generated from the both system was almost same. Average 15 days data on temperature during the experimental period showed that temperature was increased up to 10.7% and 12.4% treated with DME burner and boiler machine, respectively compared to control condition. However, the fuel cost for operating boiler machine was more than 20% compared to DME burner. Even though the current study found that DME burner was not only provide heating facility in greenhouse but also provide sufficient CO2 without any high concentration of toxic gases. Moreover, this study creates a scope for further experiment using DME gas burner in green houses to measure growth performance of different crops.

Assessment of Changing Pattern of Temperature and CO2 by Using DME Combustion Gas for Enhanced Growth of Pepper Plant in Greenhouse

( Jayanta Kumar Basak ),( Qasim Waqas ),( Fawad Khan ),( Frank Gyan Okyere ),( Jihoon Park ),( Elanchezhian Arulmozhi ),( Yong Jin Lee ),( Hyeon Tae Kim ) 한국농업기계학회 2018 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.23 No.2

This experiment was conducted to assess the changing pattern of temperature and carbon dioxide concentration by using Dimethyl Ether (DME) combustion gas as a fuel for DME burner for observing those effects on height of hot pepper (Capsicum annuum) in winter season. To achieve the objectives of the study, we assayed three treatments for the three control greenhouses. DME-1 and DME-2 treatments consisted of average DME flow quantity in duct were 17.4 ㎥/min and 10.2 ㎥/min respectively to greenhouse-1 and greenhouse-2 and no DME gas was supplied to greenhouse-3 which was left as control (DME-3). We measured the daily temperature and CO₂ concentrations using sensors located in three different places with fixed three distinct heights in each greenhouse. In most ways, and perhaps in virtually all, we provided all crop management practices to each greenhouse at a same time in a fixed rate. Twenty plants from each greenhouse were collected randomly after 15 days of germination and were used to measure root and shoot length for eight weeks for each treatment. The study found that the concentration of CO₂ increased up to 290% and 205% and temperature raised up to 5.5°C and 3.5°C treated with DME at 17.4 ㎥/min and 10.2 ㎥/min respectively compared to control condition. There was a significant relationship observed between the rate of DME application and growth of pepper plant. Mean (±sd) plants height (mm) at vegetative phase of pepper plant after 8 week were 272±3.83, 264±5.19 and 255±7.64 for DME-1, DME-2 and DME-3 respectively. A comparison of relative growth rates among the treatments indicated more rapid relative growth rate at vegetative phase of pepper plant implying better yield.

Impacts of DME Combustion Gas on Physiological Parameters of Pepper in Control Greenhouse

( Jayanta Kumar Basak ),( Waqas Qasim ),( Frank Gyan Okyere ),( Fawad Khan ),( Yong Jin Lee ),( Hyeon Tae Kim ) 한국농업기계학회 2018 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.23 No.1

Complementary use of different resources can enhance the productivity of crop through optimum use of those resources. Some of gases like Carbon dioxide, Oxygen and Hydrogen have a significant role in plants production therefore DME (Dimethyl Ether) with chemical formula (C₂H₆O) may be effective for plant growth. An experiment was conducted to study the impacts of DME combustion gas on physiological parameters of hot pepper grown under same size of biodegradable pots in a control environment in greenhouse of Gyeongsang National University. The experiment was conducted with and without DME (Dimethyl Ether) gas in control greenhouse. The average DME flow quantity was 27.6 m3/min and its supply time was 2hrs/day (1 hr. at 9:00am, 1 hr. at 9:00pm). This study estimated pepper physiological parameters like, Germination rate (GR), Leaf area index (LAI), Crop growth rate (CGR), Relative growth rate (RGR), Net assimilation rate (NAR) in both conditions with and without DME gas. We compared the advantages and disadvantages of the DME combustion gas on assimilation of pepper physiological data in different growing stages. Moreover, the experiment showed a detailed comparative study on moisture content in a fixed interval. This study showed that DME gas had a substantial effect on the crop physiological parameters in control greenhouse.