Creating Designer Manure: Technology to Control Phosphorus

Jactone Arogo Ogejo Midwest Manure Summit

March 24-25, 2009March 24 25, 2009Lambeau Field,

Green Bay, Wisconsin

Outline

• Acknowledgementso Disclaimer

• What we know about P

• Methods to remove P

• Case studies

• Discussion

Acknowledgements

Sources of information:1. Vic Johnson; Sales Manager, Agricultural and Environmental

Services; Kemira Water Solutions; vic.johnson@kemira.com2. Tim Rensch; Vice President, Integrity Agricultural Systems;

trensch@integrityagsystems comtrensch@integrityagsystems.com3. AWS Final Report to Farm Pilot Project Coordination,

Inc

Some pictures used in this presentation are from these sources and may not be acknowledged directly on the image

Disclaimer

Use of names of companies, organizations, equipment, chemicals e.t.c. is not an endorsement or advertisement endorsement or advertisement

We know that ….

Dairy cows need P for:Growth (bone mineralization)Milk production

Energy and maintenance

We know that ….• Livestock use P in feed inefficiently

60 to 80% - Excreted

• Dairy cows are generally fed 20 to 25 % more P than recommended

Majority of P brought on farm as feed stays on Majority of P brought on farm as feed stays on the farm

• Improved feed management can reduce manure P and N without negatively impacting herd health, reproduction, or milk

We know that ….

• Manure is a good source of (N, P, & K) and that …

►Nutrients N and P do a good job growing plants in both land and water

• Manure managed properly minimizes negative impacts to the quality of the environment

► Water , Air, Soil

We know that ….Manure is typically land applied to supply nutrients (N, P, K) for crop growth

► N and P not in right proportions relative to crop needs

► Manure application based on crop N needsMay result in over-application of P

► Manure application based on crop P needsMay result in over-application of PLarger land area for manure application

We know that ….

For sustainable agriculture and continued use of manure as a fertilizer, there is a NEED to balance manure N and P to match crop needsmatch crop needs

…… and so, Designer Manure!

What is Designer Manures?The art of removing and/or distributing manure nutrients in the liquid, sludge, and solid phases in compositions to meet compositions to meet the intended needs e.g. crop fertilizer(Knowlton, Arogo, et al.)

Methods to manage manure P ….• Feed

• Physical: Separators (Screens, Mechanical, Centrifuges)

• Chemical: Metal salts – Aluminum, Iron, C l i P lCalcium; Polymers

• Biological: Enhanced biological P removal or Luxury uptake of P; Aquatic plants – algae

• Combination: Physical and Chemical; Biological and Chemical

Managing manure P: Forms of P

Total P

Ortho-P Organic-P Polyphosphates

• Ortho P: is the inorganic soluble component; takes part in most chemical reactions; biologically available

• Organic P: can be converted to ortho-P or polyphosphate

• Polyphosphates: Condensed forms or ortho-P and can be used in chemical and biological reactions

Methods to Remove P ….• Physical

Separators (Screens, Mechanical, Centrifuges)

• ChemicalMetal salts – Aluminum, Iron, CalciumPolymersPolymers

• BiologicalEnhanced biological P removal or Luxury uptake of P

• CombinationPhysical and ChemicalBiological and Chemical

Creating Designer Manure: Chem 101 ….

Aluminum Calcium

Phosphate

Chemical P removal: Based on the principle of “OPPOSITES ATTRACT”

Iron Polymers

p

Creating Designer Manure: Chem 101 ….

Chemical Formula Molecular Weight(g/mole)

Aluminum sulfate (alum) Al2(SO4)3.14H2O 594Aluminum chloride AlCl3 133 5

Commonly used chemicals (Coagulants)

Aluminum chloride AlCl3 133.5Ferric chloride FeCl3 162.2Ferric sulfate Fe2(SO4)3.9H2O 562Calcium hydroxide (lime) Ca(OH)2 74.1

Reaction: Metal Salt Ortho-P Metal Phosphate

Creating Designer Manure: Chem 101 ….

• Charge (positive or cationic, negative or anionic) • Molecular Weight (high, medium, low)

Polymers (Flocculants)

B id iBridging

Chem 101: How much Chemical?

• Depends on nutrient reduction required

Step 1

A little bit science … a little bit art

q• Depends on what else is in

manure that puts demand on the chemical

• Conduct a bench scale test to determine the chemical dose

Collect sample of manure to treat

Chem 101: How much Chemical?

Step 2:Apply different chemical doses

Step 3:Select desired chemical combination for the desired removal

Where to add Chemical and Polymers• Before solids separation• After solids separation• After anaerobic digestion

Barn

Separator

Treatment(anaerobic aerobic)

Chemical Polymer

(anaerobic, aerobic)

Separator/ Clarifier

Storage

Separate Chemically Bound Phosphorus

Screening

Band Press Separators

g

Screw Press

Case Study I: Kemira 812

• On dairy farms in Pennsylvania and Idaho

• Uses a combination of chemicals (alum, ferric chloride; ferric sulfate) and polymer

• Separator – Belt Filter and Screw Press

Case Study I: Kemira 812 – The Process Flow

1. Chopper 4. Mixer 7. Stirrer 10 & 11. Liquid manure2. Feed pump 5. Polymer 8. Belt Filter 12. Screw press3. Coagulant 6. Polymer blender 9. Pump 13. Solids

Case Study I: Kemira 812 – The Process

• Manure < 8% total solids• Separate 10,000 tons slurry

per year @ 15-17 hrs/weekS it bl f f > 500• Suitable for farms > 500 cows

• Mobile or stationary

Case Study I: Kemira 812 – The Process

• 0.7 kwh/265 gal liquid treated• Polymer and chemical quantity

based on nutrient reduction required

• 50 99% P in solid stream• 50 – 99% P in solid stream• 1 – 50% P in liquid stream• Not very efficient in sand systems• Economics may make more sense

with > 1,000 cows (Tim Rensch –Integrity Ag Systems)

Case Study II: AWS Belt Press

• On dairy farms in Georgia, New York, and Vermont

• Used belt press with polymer and polymer + Iron chloride

• GA and VT: Raw scrapped manuremanure

• NY: Anaerobic digester effluent

• Single belt press: NY & VT• Two stage belt press: GA

Case Study II: AWS Belt Press

Parameter Scraped Raw Digested ManureTS (%) 15.5 7.3

TP (mg/L) 480 580

Manure Characteristics

TKN (mg/L) 3,940 4,120TAN (mg/L) 1,900 2,420

Case Study II: AWS Belt Press

Parameter Scraped Raw Digested Manure1-Stage no

polymer1-Stage + polymer

2-stage no polymer

1-Stage no polymer

1-Stage + polymer

Solids 60 80 99 7 36 75

Solids and nutrient capture (%)

Solids 60 80 99.7 36 75

Total P 25 79 - 28 93

N (TKN) 25 71 - 13 61

Case Study III: Batch Chem Application - VT

11

2 34

5

6 7

89

urce

: Dr.

M. B

arne

s

1. Flush Tanks 2. Reception pit3. Separator

4. Storage shed for separated solids and composting

5. Settling basin

6. Tank 17. Tank 28. Tank 39. Pump house

3

Sou

Case Study III: Batch Chem Application - VT

Determined the quantity of chemical needed for 600,000 gal

Before Chemical Treatment

• Mixed for about 30 min. before chemicals applied

Chemical and Polymer Delivery

• Full strength Superfloc 4512 in tote

• Quantity – Total 275 gal.

• Bulk aluminum chloride (AlCl3) solution

• Quantity – 1,200 gal.• Strength – 28%

Quantity Total 275 gal.

• Discharged directly into manure tank

• 1,200 gal discharged in

Applying Aluminum Chloride (AlCl3)

approximately 10 min.• Mixing continued as aluminum

chloride was applied

Applying Polymer – Superfloc 4512

• About 85 gal applied after AlCl3• Used a P-6100T variable speed chemical

metering pump for about 30 min. but delivery was too slow

Tried mixing polymer with water and then dumping into tank but method was too slow and messy

Applying Polymer – Superfloc 4512

Applying Polymer – Superfloc 4512

Finally – resorted to dumping directly into tank using buckets

Mixing during AlCl3 and Polymer addition

• Used PTO pump to mix from the surface and 6 ft. from the bottom of tank

Scum, sludge, flocculation during AlCl3 addition Scum, sludge, flocculation at the end of Polymer addition

Sampling before and during treatment Sampling after treatment

After settling for 24 hrs• Sludge depth was determined (4.5 to 5 ft)• Samples – sludge and supernatant taken for

analysis

Sampling after treatment

Scum thickness (layer at top) – approx. 1.5 in.

After treatment (24 h settling)Before Treatment (lbs/1,000 gal.)

Ammonia N: 3.84Org N: 3.76P2O5 : 2.98K2O: 10.27

Ortho-P: 0.30

Sludge Supernatant

(lbs/1,000 gal.)Ammonia N: 3.92

Org N: 8.76P2O5 : 7.72K2O: 9.85

Ortho-P: 0.19

(lbs/1,000 gal.)Ammonia N: 3.50

Org N: 1.42P2O5 : 0.73K2O: 9.82

Ortho-P: 0.13

Land Application - Trucks

4,000 gal tank

6,000 gal tank

Land Application - Loading

4,000 gal tank(30 min to fill, transport

& land apply)

6,000 gal tank(35 min to fill, transport

& land apply)

Land Application – Transport Land Application

Application rate3 000 l3,000 gal per acre

Pasture: 30 acresAlfalfa: 27 acres

Land Application – Manure on land Empty Tank: 6 inches of residual sludge

Struvite Recovery from Dairy Manure

• Magnesium Ammonium Phosphate

• Currently under study• Washington State, Idaho,

Virginia Tech• Challenges: Calcium

interference; Suspended material; appropriate treatment

Enhanced Biological P Removal from Dairy Manure

How it works

• A group of bacteria (phosphorus accumulating organisms - PAOs) under the right environmental conditions and feeding will take more phosphorus than they need for growth – Luxury uptake

• Harvest the bacteria after taking up excess P

Enhanced Biological P Removal from Dairy Manure

• Not aware of full scale systems on dairy farms

• Virginia Tech: Testing pilot scale system for liquidVirginia Tech: Testing pilot scale system for liquid dairy manure in a sequencing batch reactor with prefermentation to enhance volatile acid production in manure fed to the reactor

EBPR from Dairy Manure

Waste tank

SBR 2 Fermenter 2 SBR 1 Fermenter 1 Feed tank

EBPR from Dairy Manure – emerging results

Ortho-P concentration in Feed, Effluent, and mixed liquor

EBPR from Dairy Manure – emerging results

Total P concentration in Feed, Effluent, and mixed liquor

Summary

• You can make designer manure using chemicals and polymers

o In a continuous flow systemo Batch Systems

• Amount of chemicals used will depend onAmount of chemicals used will depend on the extent of nutrient reduction required

• Biological methods are still under development but can be very effective just like the chemical methods

Thank You

Questions?

Source: Moffatt B., AgStar Conference 2007

Contact:Jactone Arogo OgejoBiological Systems EngineeringVirginia Tech(540) 231 6815arogo@vt.edu