Graham Howell

Analysis of water samples collected by Dr Mike Peacock and collaborators from a) lowland peat sites and b) mesocosm studies. Basic analysis for pH and conductivity, elemental analysis by ICP-OES and TOC, and ions by Ion Chromatography.

Analysis of water samples collected by Dr Mike Peacock and collaborators from a) lowland peat sites and b) mesocosm studies. Basic analysis for pH and conductivity, elemental analysis by ICP-OES and TOC, and ions by Ion Chromatography.

Respirometry to establish effects of a wide moisture of moisture, following up previous results on 3 types of samples

In Wales, ammonia emissions have increased by 8% over the past 17 years. 93% of atmospheric ammonia is emitted from agricultural activities, with 38.7% from cattle manure management consisting of livestock housing, manure storage and outdoor concrete yards. A Farming Facts and Figures, Wales 2022 report indicates that there were 9,300+ dairy and beef holdings in Wales, who will need to reduce their ammonia emissions in the coming years. Currently most concrete FYM stores and all temporary heaps are open to weathering, which increases the production of ammonia. The Ammonia CapChar Wales project aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of covering farmyard manure stores and temporary field heaps with biochar, as well as integrating biochar into an on farm manure composting system to significantly reduce ammonia emissions during storage, by stabilising the material. This project will explore how a new local, circular, sustainable solution can be created to produce biochar via on-farm pyrolysis technology, providing savings and new revenue streams. By deploying this technology, biochar could be used in other agricultural practices leading to further ammonia emission reduction efficiency gains. This project will develop an ammonia emissions reductions evidence pack that will inform Welsh Government and other interested stakeholders on the merits of biochar production and use with cattle manure management systems.

Following discussion with Bulrush staff the following notes program of work is intended to investigate issues reported for potting mix materials. This work is exploratory and intended to establish hypotheses that may be tested in future work, with an intention to publish where appropriate.

Proposed program of work to investigate stability of growing media blended from a range of ingredients. The intention is to aid replacement of peat in growing media products for professional horticulture while avoiding the potential instability in storage that has been found in some blends.

To provide independent checks of REAL Approved Laboratories for conformance with the Compost Certification Scheme (CCS) and Biofertiliser Certification Scheme (BCS) terms and conditions (T&C’s) for Approved Labs.

To provide independent checks of REAL Approved Laboratories for conformance with the Compost Certification Scheme (CCS) and Biofertiliser Certification Scheme (BCS) terms and conditions (T&C’s) for Approved Labs

Waterbeach Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) waste processing plant; environmental monitoring to fulfil contractual schedules. Includes sampling and biodegradability testing of input and output batches from the composting process, composition of input to plant, gaseous emissions from the plant output stack, process gas flows, contributions to plant optimisation and associated research.

EGL Laboratory Services - Laboratory Income for Services

To run tests on a novel bioreactor rig as provided by an external company. This will include modifying the apparatus to some extent. The OU will prepare bacterial growth media, run tests using the control software as supplied, take gas samples and analyse by gas chromatography (GC). The technology is potentially important in greenhouse gas mitigation.

To run tests on a novel bioreactor rig as provided by an external company. This will include modifying the apparatus to some extent. The OU will prepare bacterial growth media, run tests using the control software as supplied, take gas samples and analyse gy gas chromatography (GC). The technology is potentially important in greenhouse gas mitigation.