Formula turns liquid manure into fertilizer

0
BGSU junior Sarah Jindra
mixing a solution inside the Math Science building. (Photos: J.D. Pooley/Sentinel-Tribune)

While crude oil can be considered "black gold," an ongoing research project at Bowling Green
State University is seeking to transform liquid manure to brown gold.
The hope is the research could lead to the eventual use of small manure treatment facilities at each
large-scale farm for safe processing of animal waste.
The project currently involves extensive lab work treating and drying the manure into an easily handled
and more economic form of crop nutrients. The work is under the supervision of Dr. Bob Midden, an
associate professor of chemistry, with the assistance of students involved in the research.
Animal waste has been used as a fertilizer on farmland for centuries; however, with the proliferation of
increasingly large animal farms, the use of liquid manure, also called slurry, has become a common way
of fertilizing a field. But there are a variety of inherent dangers.
The BGSU research project is currently focusing on dairy manure and is beginning to progress from the
laboratory to field testing at the Ohio State Northwest Ohio Agricultural Research Center near
Hoytville.
"This has a chance to have a huge impact on the environment," said Kali Irvin, a BGSU sophomore
from the Dayton area.
Midden was initially contacted by officials in Ottawa, located in Putnam County, to see his interest in
the project. An abundance of manure at the mega dairies located there, combined with frozen fields and a
lack of safe ways to disperse the manure, was wreaking havoc. Midden was sought to see if using an
unused wastewater treatment facility as well as drying down the manure could be optimized to make it a
viable solution for the slurry.
A scientific grant was obtained with additional funding now being sought to further the testing on the
project.
Midden explained in its simplest terms that although the liquid manure has quality nutrients, because of
the weight and volume needed to be useful for fields, it is not economically viable to transport the
slurry at great distance.
The students are converting slurry into dried, processed manure which they refer to as cakes. The lighter
fertilizer can be transported more economically and the testing is creating a time-release version which
will provide phosphorous and nitrogen in a form which can be better used by crops.

BGSU student Kali Irvin
holds processed manure "cakes" inside the Match Science building.

"We have to provide something that will mix well and not wash away with the rains into the
streams," Midden said.
"We are working to get the costs as reasonable as possible. Our goal is to reduce the costs to two
cents per gallon. That is comparable to other costs of material," Midden said. "We want to see
if it is possible the material could be profitable."
Though Midden describes the process as "relatively simple," even his explanation is very
complex.
In short, lime and a polymer are added to allow the dried manure to be used optimally.
When the experiments go to the field, the students will test whether what they found in the lab works in
the field.
While it is not likely to develop quickly, Midden says it is possible with proper funding and everything
falling into place that practical use could begin as early as the summer of 2015.
"There is a lot more work to be done," Midden said, knowing current testing is being done with
dairy cow manure. There are a lot of different soils and a lot of different types of animal manure to be
considered.
Midden says the students involved come from a variety of different studies and programs. Some get course
credit, while others receive payment in scholarships through the Building Ohio’s Sustainable Energy
Future and the Science and Math Education in ACTION, which is designed to provide "innovative
opportunities to prepare the best science and mathematics teachers in the State of Ohio."
In the lab is a variety of sophisticated equipment which processes and analyzes the various mixtures.
Along one wall is a long line of soil samples where the completed products are added to the soil. Rain
is simulated to test how the product is absorbed under various conditions.
"Our goal is to provide the best scientific information possible," Midden said. "We are
not trying to prove anything right or wrong."
"This is important for me as it puts me ahead of a lot of others. It gives me the ability to do
research as an undergrad," Irvin added.
Sarah Jindra, a BGSU junior from Brunswick, enjoys the hands-on aspects of the lab work.
"I learn more in the labs than I do in the classroom," she said. "I like the environmental
aspect of this project and how it impacts everyone around us."
Rebecca Shroka, a sophomore from Cleveland concurred.
"It’s really rewarding work because we are impacting a bigger picture," Shroka said.
Jordan Truitt, a first-year student in this program, noted her adjustment to the surprise of working with
manure. "At first the manure is kind of gross. It smells really bad, but after a while you get used
to it," she said.

No posts to display