The characterization of phosphorus recovered from dairy effluent using biochar and polymer flocculation methods.
EMSL Project ID
39491
Abstract
The current economic climate in conjunction with rising production costs and environmental concerns over phosphorus fertilizer and dairy nutrient management issues requires research to evaluate on-farm sustainability. This can be accomplished by utilizing phosphorus recovery methods to capture nutrients from anaerobic digesters. Polymer flocculation and bio-char derived from pyrolysis are two methods that may sorb phosphorus from lagoons for use as a controlled release fertilizer. Our preliminary data shows recovery of extractable phosphorus, however the use of NMR would allow us to fine tune our characterization of the phosphorus. Our long term goal is to characterize the phosphorus recovered and released from two nutrient recovery techniques, polymer flocculation and low temperature slow Pyrolysis bio-char, and how it can be beneficial for on site dairy nutrient reduction. The objective of this proposal is to characterize the phosphorus fractions sorpted by bio-char and the polymer flocculation material from anaerobic digested dairy manure. Our central hypothesis is that these materials will (1) sorpt phosphate from an anaerobically digested dairy liquid manure effluent, (2) contain higher concentrations of organic verses inorganic P (3)and release it into the soil solution. Our proposal requires running 20 31P samples in 6 months. Our expected contribution is significant because it will fill the gap of knowledge and understanding in the characterization of phosphate recovery from anaerobic digesters and how it can be applied within the farm setting. This understanding will allow us to capture the millions of pounds of nutrients temporarily stored in dairy lagoons throughout the United States then applied to agricultural fields. This could lead the way to improve dairy nutrient management, energy balanced bio-energy production, sustainable agriculture and a lessened dependence on foreign fertilizer supplies.
Project Details
Project type
Exploratory Research
Start Date
2010-06-01
End Date
2011-06-05
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Team Members
Related Publications
Streubel. J.D. 2011. Biochar: Its Characterization and Utility for Recovering Phosphorus from Anaerobic Digested Effluent. Dissertation. Washington State University.
Streubel JD, HP Collins, JM Tarara, and RL Cochran. 2012. "Biochar Produced from Anaerobically Digested Fiber Reduces Phosphorus in Dairy Lagoons." Journal of Environmental Quality 41:1166-1174. doi:10.2134/jeq2011.0131