A second collaborative study on acid-detergent fiber and lignin has been completed involving 10 laboratories and 6 samples including timothy, alfalfa, soybean meal, barley straw, orchardgrass, and wheat straw. Results from 7 laboratories appeared normal according to the Youden collaborative test and yielded a mean duplicate error of 0.40±0.31, a standard error between laboratories of 0.40, and a coefficient of variation of 1.02%. The duplicate error for lignin was 0.23±0.31, the standard error between laboratories, 0.28, and the coefficient of variation, 4.26%. Results indicate problems with filtering, handling fritted glass crucibles in a uniform weighing procedure, and reliably preparing asbestos used in the preparation of lignin. Modifications of the previously published method include reduction of sample size to 1 g, elimination of the use of decalin, rigorous definition of filtration and weighing procedures, use of P2O5 or Mg(ClO4)2 as desiccant, and determination of a lignin blank. Problems in filtration can be overcome by not using more vacuum than is necessary, making all additions with vacuum off, and allowing 15–30 sec settling before applying suction. The modified acid-detergent fiber and lignin method has been adopted as official first action.

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This review article focuses on an assessment of the innovative Gas Separation Membrane Bioreactor (GS-MBR), which is an emerging technology because of its potential for in-situ biohydrogen production and separation. The GS-MBR, as a special membrane bioreactor, enriches CO directly from the headspace of the anaerobic H fermentation process. CO can be fed as a substrate to auxiliary photo-bioreactors to grow microalgae as a promising raw material for biocatalyzed, dark fermentative H-evolution. Overall, these features make the GS-MBR worthy of study. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the GS-MBR has not been studied in detail to date; hence, a comprehensive review of this topic will be useful to the scientific community.

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