Ultrafiltration of Dairy Manure for Phosphorus and Pathogen Control - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Ultrafiltration of Dairy Manure for Phosphorus and Pathogen Control

VPIC 2018 Robert Levine, Ph.D. Matthew Biette

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Harvest Energy │ Capture Nutrients │ Reclaim Water™

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Nutrient Concentrate & Water Reclamation System™

Product Volumes (% of raw manure basis)

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Focus for this proposal

Proposal Summary

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Assemble and operate a pilot-scale ultrafiltration system at three VT dairies to demonstrate the efficacy and cost- effectiveness of a stainless steel, tubular ultrafiltration system to process liquid dairy manure into “UF Permeate” (aka “tea-water”) with very low levels of phosphorus and “UF Concentrate.”

Hub and Spoke Model

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• Collate UF concentrate rich in phosphorus from numerous farms at

a centralized location such as VT Natural Ag (Fosters)

• Process UF concentrate along with other products into value-added

soil amendments and composts

• Export phosphorus-laden products from the watershed
• Possible to replicate across the state by identifying suitable hubs

closest to largest number of cows

Letters of Support from Farms: Monument Farms Dairy, Dubois Dairy, Foster Brother’s Farm Letter of Support from “Hub”: VT Natural Ag Products

Key Benefits of On-Farm Ultrafiltration

For the Watershed

• Reduced runoff of phosphorus into nearby

surface waters due to improved agronomic practices (application timing to maximize uptake, application to soils with lowest phosphorus levels, placement of concentrated fertilizer onto fields is less mobile than more dilute manure)

• Reduction in the spreading of E. coli and
• ther pathogens into groundwater and

surface bodies

• Reduced soil compaction due to improved

spreading practices

• Reduced truck traffic on roads (community

benefits)

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For the Farmer

• Reduced hauling and spreading costs,

especially for bringing manure nutrients to fields that are further away

• Potential to use lower cost spreading

methods for UF permeate (with no suspended solids or pathogens, spreading through irrigation equipment is greatly improved and can be done at lower cost)

• Potential for new revenue source from sale
• f concentrated fertilizer to composters,

fertilizer manufacturers, and/or organic producers

• Potential for higher crop yields due to

improved agronomic practices that reduce runoff

Installation at Majestic Crossing Dairy (2016)

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Multi-stage process to obtain drinking-quality water for Majestic’s cows:

• Screw-pressing to

reclaim fiber

• Ultrafiltration to remove

suspended solids

• Two-Step Reverse

Osmosis™ to remove dissolved solids

• Ultraviolet Disinfection

Fiber Separation

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• FAN Screw-Presses
• 750-micron screen size
• Ideal soil amendment
• Compost feedstock
• Bedding material

Material Analysis

1 Nitrogen Phosphorus (P2O5) Potassium (K2O) Sulfur TOTAL LBS/TON 8.0 2.1 5.1 1.2 16.4 $/TON $1.30 $1.41 $3.03 $0.34 $6.08 Dry Matter Moisture pH Electrical Conductivity 30.1% 69.9% 8.5 1.3 Typically higher value as compost or bedding

Fertilizer Value

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Ultrafiltration Module

18” diameter x 10’ long

View looking inside the module at tubular membranes UF Permeate or “Tea Water” (goes to TSRO) 2

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Ultrafiltration Module

View looking inside the module at tubular membranes UF Permeate or “Tea Water” (goes to TSRO) 2

Key Benefits

• Porous stainless-steel tubular membranes (3/4”)
• Welded and bolted construction in ASME pressure vessel
• Designed to last 10-15 years with little downtime
• No internal moving parts
• Can operate in batch-mode or continuously and be mounted

horizontally or vertically

• NO POLYMERS
• Proudly manufactured in the USA

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Recent analysis of UF permeate

UF Permeate or “Tea Water” 2

Material DM (%) Lbs/1000 gal TN P2O5 K2O S Liquid manure 5.3 28 10 24 2.8 UF Permeate 1.4 14 0.2 19 1.0 % Capture by UF 73% 49% 98% 20% 65%

Also removes >99.9% of bacteria and pathogens

UF permeate ideal for irrigation

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Farm A Farm B Farm C Farm D UF Feed 6.47 8.83 6.93 9.59 UF Permeate 0.19 0.17 0.16 0.27 % Reduction 97.1% 98.1% 97.7% 97.2% 2 4 6 8 10 12 P2O5 (lbs/1,000 gal)

Phosphorus Removal by UF

UF Feed UF Permeate

Ultrafiltration on four other WI dairies

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P2O5 Volume (GPD) Concentration (lbs/1000 gal) Concentration (%) Amount (lbs/year) Percent of Mass in Manure (%) Liquid Manure 15,000 8.8 0.1054 48,180 UF Permeate 12,000 0.17 0.002 745 2% UF Concentrate 3,000 43 0.5 47,435 98%

Estimated Mass Balance for 500-head Farm in VT

(assumes 80% permeate recovery on liquid manure) UF Concentrate:

• Pumpable slurry
• Ideal for hauling further distances to low-P land
• Ideal to centralize for composting/fertilizer manufacturing

Instead of the farm’s 48,100 lbs of P2O5 being distributed in 5,475,000 gallons of manure each year, now nearly all

• f that phosphorus is in just 1,095,000 gallons of UF concentrate.

Automation & Online Dashboard

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• Little to no operator attention required
• Remotely monitored
• Customer dashboard

For more information

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Harvest Energy | Capture Nutrients | Reclaim Water ™

Robert Levine, Ph.D. CEO & Co-Founder robert.levine@digestedorganics.com

Thank You

844-9-DIGEST