Ammonia Accumulation in Settling Basins

Posted in: Environment by admin on January 1, 2003 | No Comments

Ammonia concentration is believed to increase with time in undrained settling basins, but little data exists on how quickly the ammonia accumulates. This study examined how quickly ammonia accumulates and factors that influence the ammonia accumulation.
At cold temperatures, ammonia concentrations remained at approximately the initial concentration, therefore the warmer the temperature the faster the conversion occurs. In all the tests pH remained essentially constant at approximately 6.8. Swine manure is similar to beef but converts to ammonia at a faster rate making it more important to dewater before conversion occurs. There is also more clean water to dilute the liquid from a solids settling structure immediately after an event when the concentration is the lowest. The results then show that it is important to dewater settling basins as quickly aster a rainfall as possible, before the conversion to ammonia occurs.

Test Manure After Feed Ingredient Change

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In recent research at Iowa State University, including lysine, alone, in swine diets resulted in a reduction of dietary crude protein from 17.4% to 17%. Adding lysine, methionine, threonin and tryptophan to the diet reduced crude protein content even further, to 14.5%. Incorporation of lysine and methionine, though not tested in this study, would have resulted in a dietary crude protein content of approximately 16.2%. The reduced diet content does translate into less manure excretion. Urine nitrogen, where most of the nitrogen is excreted, decreased by 15% by adding the four amino acids. In addition, ammonia emissions were reduced by half. Others have demonstrated similar results. Similar results would be expected following feeding to poultry. However, data that addresses the combined use of lysine and methionine for poultry or swine is somewhat limited.
Nutrient excretion reductions will be site-specific based on how the amino acids are formulated in the diet and which amino acids are used. Producers who want to see how such practices affect their manure values should plan to test their manure before and after implementing such a change. If the change in diet formulation has already taken place, producers should still test their manure to see how composition in their manure storage facility compares to values used by a producer in his/her manure management plan. The change in nitrogen content may have a positive effect on manure management planning.

Short-term effects of manure application on soil leachates in a mountain catchment

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Fluctuations in Manure Nutrient Concentration during Storage Pump-out

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This study was initiated to better understand the changing composition of manure samples within a storage and between different liquid swine manure storages used in Manitoba. In a recent study done by Fitzgerald and Racz, 2001, various storages across Manitoba were sampled and analyzed. This study found large variations between hog type (finisher, nursery, sow) and at different levels in the storage. (top, middle, or bottom) It is well known that stratification, settling of solids, occurs in all types of storages and when agitated the solids are mixed back into the liquids. This project will look at a single-cell, two-cell, and a circular storage system during a typical application and characterize the nutrient composition.

The effect of temperature fluctuations on psychrophilic anaerobic sequencing batch reactors treating swine manure

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Harvesting Winter Forages to Extract Manure Soil Nutrients

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Composting Hog Manure – Is it Right for Your Farm?

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While not completely odour-free, composting does not generate the same kind of manure odours typical of manure collected and stored in pits or earthen storages under anaerobic conditions. Although liquid manure handling systems can be managed in ways that satisfy the rules against liquid manure runoff, they are inherently riskier systems, and many farmers will undoubtedly want to avoid those risks. Composting fits easily into manure handling systems that generate manure with low levels of added water. When managed properly, composting improves the handling characteristics of any organic residue by reducing its moisture content, volume and weight. The process increases the value of raw manures by destroying pathogens and weed seeds and creating a media for the production and proliferation of beneficial organisms. The rate of composting, like the rate of plant or animal growth, can be affected by a number of factors such as: nutrient balance, moisture content, temperature, and aeration. The compost pile must also be turned to restore its porosity and reduce the particle size to increase the surface area of bulking material like straw. Restoring porosity enhances the passive movement of air into the pile and accelerates decomposition. There are a variety of compost turners available for small farm operations and larger self-propelled turners for custom composting operation. Although compost can be turned using a loader, production of quality compost requires the proper equipment. The improper sizing of equipment to perform the function can result in higher cost per tonne of finished compost. The location of the composting site is also important. The site should allow for easy access, a minimum of travel and materials handling and a firm surface to support vehicles under varying weather conditions. The convenience of a particular site must be weighed against factors such as area, proximity to neighbours, visibility, and drainage and runoff control. Good drainage is very important. Poor site drainage leads to ponding of water saturated composting materials, muddy site conditions and excessive run-off and leachate from the site. A muddy composting pad is perhaps the most common site related complaint of composting operators. It is important that the composting operation not be interrupted by rainfall. Consult a soil scientist and an agricultural engineer for a site investigation before establishing a composting site. Run-off control beyond planting a grassed infiltration strip may be necessary to avoid polluting surface or ground water.

Dietary Effects on the Compostion of Pig Slurry and on the Plant Urilization of Pig Slurry Nitrogen

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The composition of animal manure is influenced by the diet fed. Efforts are made to decrease nitrogen emission from pig production by optimizing diet composition. This normally results in a lower proportion of N excreted in urine relative to faeces, and may also influence the turnover and utilization of manure N after field application. The effects of pig feed composition on the excretion of urinary and faecal N, on the dynamics of manure N in soil and on the potential utilization of manure N in the field was studied. Growing pigs and sows were fed 12 different diets with variable contents of fibre and protein (with or without synthetic amino acids). Slurries consisting of a mixture of faeces and urine were stored according to common agricultural practice in Northern Europe. The plant availability of N in the resultant slurries originating from animals fed known diets was tested in small field plots with barley, under conditions with minimal N losses. Separate plots were fertilized with increasing amounts of mineral N. Nitrogen uptake in barley was determined and the utilization of slurry N was compared with that of mineral fertilizer N. The net release of mineral N and C from the slurries in soil was also measured in a parallel incubation study. The mineral fertilizer equivalent of pig slurry N was 72-100% and significantly influenced by feed fibre composition, but not significantly influenced by the protein content. There was a significant positive correlation between enzyme-digestible organic matter in the pig diet (measurement used for feed evaluation) and the plant availability of pig slurry N (R2 = 0.90). The ammonium content of stored pig slurry could not be used.
for prediction of the N availability since the net mineralization of pig slurry N was variable, but there was a significant negative correlation between the pig slurry C/N ratio and the plant availability of slurry N (R2 = 0.86). Increased dietary concentration of fermentable structural carbohydrates (e.g. by including sugar beet pulp in the diet) reduces the excretion of N in urine without affecting the availability of slurry total N, whereas an increased concentration of dietary fibre with a low fermentability (straw) results in less urinary N, but also a lower plant availability of slurry N.

Tips for Reducing Odor

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Odor can be minimized with various management techniques. Minimizing the manure storage surface area, covering manure storage facilities, reducing dust and feed wastage inside buildings, increasing air exchange, filtering odorous air, modifying diets, utilizing pit additives and incorporating manure during land application all help minimize odours.
Over 60% of Iowa producers utilize a “100% containment of manure” system, which greatly reduce odours by storing manure below the buildings in concrete structures. Some final methods of reducing odours include limiting agitation time, limiting the pump outs per year, applying a manure management plan, reducing water and feed losses.

Supplementing Pig Diets with Organic Zinc

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In the swine industry, inorganic zinc is commonly fed in high concentrations to nursery pigs to enhance their growth performance and to prevent diarrhea. This results in large amounts of the nutrient in the manure. When spread on fields it can build up faster than crops can use it, can cause nutrient pollution and water quality concerns. A study was done to determine if lower levels of a commercially available organic zinc-polysaccharide supplement would provide growth performance similar to the inorganic zinc typically fed to pigs. The results show that organic zinc supplements can be fed at rates almost 7 times less than inorganic zinc and still maintain pig growth performance and this could also reduce zinc levels in manure by 76%.
This benefit is not without cost as the organic zinc-polysaccharide costs four times as much per pound as the inorganic zinc. However, since less is rationed out, the additional cost is only 9 cents/pig. For large producers already struggling with nutrient issues, feeding pigs organic zinc could be part of an overall nutrient management plan. It is believed that it is only a matter of time before the Environmental Protection Agency begins to regulate zinc and other micronutrients along with nitrogen and phosphorus.
The next step is to identify the molecular pathways in the pig intestines that are responsible for the differences in organic and inorganic zinc uptake. Learning more about these pathways could further improve utilization of zinc, copper and iron, and lessen potential environmental impacts.