| The Science and Engineering for a Biobased Industry and Economy | 1020193 | SAES - UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN | RUNGE, TROY | 10/01/2019 | 09/30/2021 | 2020 | COMPLETE | MADISON | Agriculture faces a challenging future due to soil degradation, water quality, and scarcity problems, and climate change impacts driven by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Concurrently, growing populations will continue to drive food demand and, thus, land and farm productivity. Farmers historically responded to demand increases with expansion and intensification, often at the expense of environmental sustainability. The ongoing shift in livestock-crop systems toward consolidation, compounded by decreases in agricultural land has created local areas of imbalance between the cropping and animal systems. With rapidly depleting ecosystem services, it will be critical to adopt agricultural practices which can meet these demands more sustainably. One practice that is of interest is finding more valuable uses of dairy manure to improve profitability and improve nutrient management.The current value-added uses of dairy manure are largely limited to use biochemical processes such as anaerobic digestion and fermentation to produce biomethane and bioethanol and to use thermochemical processes such as pyrolysis and gasification to produce bio-oil, biochar and combustible gases. Moreover, the biochemical process can only utilize part of cellulose and hemicellulose in dairy manure; while the thermochemical process typically requires high temperature. In general, these processes primarily produce relatively low value-added products such as methane and ethanol. Therefore, there is a critical need for additional research devoted to developing new efficient, economically feasible and environmentally benign approaches to tackle the underutilization problem of dairy manure and help enhance farmer benefits and agricultural sustainability.Dairy manures (undigested and anaerobically digested) are abundant, aggregrated, and low-cost lignocellulosic resources as compared to others like wood. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) inventory reported that the number of dairy cows is currently about 9.40 million. In average, dairy cattle can produce about 12 gal of manure per 1000 lb. live weight per day with 14.4 lb. total solids. It was estimated that more than 110 million tons of animal manure are annually produced in the United States. Dairy manure is enriched in cellulose (about 20% - 35%), depending on the diet of cow, separation, process method and conditions of anaerobic digestion if the manure is processed in a digester.Anaerobic digestion systems for dairy farms are growing in popularity across the United States, which can yield a significant mass of cellulose fibers. The anaerobically digested fiber typically contains about 35% cellulose, 9% hemicellulose (xylose, galactose, arabinose and mannose) and 28% lignin, which accounts for approximately 40% of the anaerobic digested effluent total solid.This fiber can be an important low-cost source for value-added products. However, most of the anaerobically digested cellulose fibers is currently underutilized as soil amendment or animal bedding.Previous studies have considered using the carbohydrates in dairy manure to produce monomeric sugars which can be further upgraded into fuel ethanol and other value-added chemicals. However, our studies and others have shown that enzymes can only partially convert cellulose fibers in dairy manure to fermentable sugars due to high levels of ash and lignin both which are enzymatic inhibitors. Instead this research looks to use the cellulose in the manure fibers to produce nanocellulose materials.Nanocellulose materials are nanometer-sized fibers obtained from lignocellulosic biomass obtained from either hydrolysis of cellulose in concentrated acid solution (typically sulfuric or hydrochloric acid) or obtained by mechanical fibrillation of cellulose, or a combination of chemical or enzymatic treatment and mechanical fibrillation of cellulose. Numerous uses for nanocellulose materials have been proposed, including incorporation in fiber-reinforced polymer composites, substrates for flexible electronics and organic solar cells, coatings, membrane systems, and networks for tissue engineering.One of the most promising early uses of nanocellulose materials is in the papermaking industry. These materials may be incorporated as a binder material to improve the strength properties of paper.Nanocellulose can also serve as a renewable and sustainable alternative to synthetic latex and binders in most coating formulation to improve the barrier properties. Finally, cellulose nanofiber can be directly made into cellulose nanopaper, which can surpass ordinary paper in the mechanical, optical and barrier properties and can be used for many high-tech applications such as flexible energy storage and conversion devices, and printed flexible electronics.There is a critical need for additional research devoted to developing new efficient, economically feasible and environmentally benign approaches to tackle the underutilization problem of dairy manure and help enhance farmer benefits and agricultural sustainability. The proposed research will address the underutilization challenge of dairy manure and anaerobically digested dairy manure via effectively extracting nanocellulose products and exploring these materials in paper coating applications. This research will advance the utilization of manure waste generated in an agricultural system and improve sustainable agriculture. | (1) Research and develop technically feasible, economically viable and environmentally sustainable technologies to convert biomass resources into chemicals, energy, materials in a biorefinery methodology including developing co-products to enable greater commercialization potential. |
| Developing a Vacuum Distillation- Acid Absorption System for Recovery of Ammonia from Dairy Manure | 1007832 | FRST - STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK-FORESTRY SCHOOL | Tao, Wendong | 09/04/2015 | 09/30/2015 | 2015 | COMPLETE | ALBANY | • Objective: Dairy farms generate 138 L liquid manure/cow, which has high ammonia concentrations and contributes to air and water pollution due to free ammonia release to air and nitrogen export to water at their production sites and manure-applied land.Anaerobically digested dairy manure has even higher ammonia concentrations. Besides, ammonia accumulation in digesters may inhibit anaerobic digestion at higher organic loading rates. Dairy farms need cost-effective methods to upgrade their nutrient management plans. Traditional wastewater treatment methods are economically prohibitive to remove ammonia from dairy manure. Our goal is to develop an innovative technology coupling vacuum distillation and acid absorption for sustainable recovery of ammonia from anaerobically digested and undigested dairy manure. Ammonia in dairy manure can be distilled under a low vacuum at a temperature below the normal boilingpoint of water and absorbed in a sulfuric acid solution to produce ammonium sulfate as a value-added product. Specific objectives are to 1) evaluate effects of temperature, low vacuum, and solids on ammonia recovery from dairy manure; 2) design an ammonia distillation - acid absorption system to produce ammonium sulfate granules with dairy manure; 3) construct a pilot-scale vacuum distillation - acid absorption system and develop operational parameters; and 4) perform a farm-scale economic analysis of the developed technology across its life cycle. This project will fill a literature gap in the combined effects of temperature, low vacuum, and solids on ammonia distillation. Kinetic study with a pilotscale ammonia recovery system at different feed depth will support design for scale-up,broader applications. Coupling vacuum distillation - acid absorption with anaerobic digestion is anticipated to make ammonia recovery an economically viable technology. The technology to be developed is applicable to dairy farms without anaerobic digesters as well.• Description: Concentrated animal feeding operations need cost-effective technologies to upgrade their nutrient management plans as required by increasingly stringent federal and state regulations. This project will develop a technology to produce a marketable productfrom dairy manure (ammonium sulfate granules as a bio-fertilizer and chemical), thus generating revenues while meeting regulatory requirements for farm nutrient management. By coupling ammonia recovery with anaerobic digestion and biogas energyutilization, heat is recycled, inhibition of ammonia to anaerobic digestion prevented, and greenhouse gas emission reduced. Three graduate students in this P3 team will develop knowledge and skills of sustainable design for wastewater treatment and resource recovery.Undergraduate students and high school students in a Boy Scouts Engineering Camp will gain hands-on skills with the pilot-scale ammonia recovery system and be inspired of sustainable waste management.• Results: A laboratory vacuum distillation - acid absorption assembly will be used to evaluate the efficiency and energy consumption of ammonia distillation under different combinations of temperature and low vacuum with digested and undigested dairy manure that have different salinities as well as manure filtrate. A pilot-scale ammonia recovery system will be operated by batch modes to prove the design concept and determine operational parameters including feed depth and cycle length. The pilot system will include a vacuum still for ammonia vaporization at boiling points lowered by low vacuum, an ammonia absorption column to produce ammonium sulfate granules, and a vacuum pump to bridge the still and absorption column. Cost benefit assessment across life cycle will be performed, taking a large-size dairy farm as an example.Contribution to Pollution Prevention and Control: Animal manure has 0.04-0.88% (wet weight) ammonia, which exists in free ammonia (NH3} and ionized ammonium (NH/). Volatilization of free ammonia may cause air pollution and health risks. Land application of liquid manure may impact on aquatic ecosystems and groundwater resources. Oxidation of ammonia generates greenhouse gas. In combination with anaerobic digestion, the proposed technology will provide dairy farms with a sustainable solution to nutrient management, minimizing the risk of ammonia release and nitrogen export. Ammonia recovery from dairy manure makes productive use of agricultural waste, thus preventing pollution associated with natural gas- and coal-based production of ammonia. The developed technology could also be applied to ammonia recovery from other ammonia-rich wastewater and coupled with anaerobic digestion of other organic wastes such as food waste and municipal sludge.Supplemental Keywords: bio-based feedstock, resource recovery; waste to value; concentrated animal feeding operationsAwarded Start Date: 8/15/2014Sponsor: Environmental Protection Agency | Dairy farms generate 138 L liquid manure/cow, which has high ammonia concentrations and contributes to air and water pollution due to free ammonia release to air and nitrogen export to water at their production sites and manure-applied land.Anaerobically digested dairy manure has even higher ammonia concentrations. Besides, ammonia accumulation in digesters may inhibit anaerobic digestion at higher organic loading rates. Dairy farms need cost-effective methods to upgrade their nutrient management plans. Traditional wastewater treatment methods are economically prohibitive to remove ammonia from dairy manure. Our goal is to develop an innovative technology coupling vacuum distillation and acid absorption for sustainable recovery of ammonia from anaerobically digested and undigested dairy manure. Ammonia in dairy manure can be distilled under a low vacuum at a temperature below the normal boiling point of water and absorbed in a sulfuric acid solution to produce ammonium sulfate as a value-added product. Specific objectives are to 1) evaluate effects of temperature, low vacuum, and solids on ammonia recovery from dairy manure; 2) design an ammoniadistillation - acid absorption system to produce ammonium sulfate granules with dairy manure; 3) construct a pilot-scale vacuum distillation - acid absorption system and develop operational parameters; and 4) perform a farm-scale economic analysis of the developedtechnology across its life cycle. This project will fill a literature gap in the combined effects of temperature, low vacuum, and solids on ammonia distillation. Kinetic study with a pilotscale ammonia recovery system at different feed depth will support design for scale-up,broader applications. Coupling vacuum distillation - acid absorption with anaerobic digestion is anticipated to make ammonia recovery an economically viable technology. The technology to be developed is applicable to dairy farms without anaerobic digesters as well. |
| Accelerated Renewable Energy | 0228524 | UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN SYSTEM | MARKLEY, JOHN | 07/15/2012 | 07/14/2017 | 2012 | COMPLETE | MADISON | A dairy with 1,700 cows produces 15 tons of manure per day. To handle the manure, the dairy must recycle 2.5 million gallons of water per day. The conventional solutions to these problems are wash the manure into a lagoon, dredge and manure solids and haul them to fields. Manure on the fields may not provide the correct nutrients and is subject to running off and polluting rivers. Our goal is to demonstrate the economic feasibility on the scale of a large dairy farm (1,700) cows of converting the manure produced into valuable commodities including methane gas for heating purposes in the farm, fuel ethanol, and custom fertilizer. Part of the farm acreage (5%) will be devoted to oilseed production, which will be converted to biodiesel to power vehicles on the farm. Our approach utilizes biomass processing technology developed by a small Wisconsin business (Soil Net) and engineering and fabrication expertise of another small Wisconsin business (Braun Electric). We foresee a strong potential for commercialization of this technology and its widespread adoption. | We propose a public (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and private (Cottonwood Dairy; Soil Net, LLC; Braun Electric; Resource Engineering Associates, Inc.) collaboration that encompasses both R&D and prototypical farm-based demonstration of the four components of the BRDI FOA: 1. Feedstocks Development: The bioenergy generated will derive primarily from recycled cellulosic components of dairy manure, which have minimal food/fuel issues. 2. Bio-Fuels and Bio-based Products Development: The project will demonstrate/evaluate multiple sub-processes and associated "value added" bio-based co-products -- vegetable oil/meal; oil/biodiesel; cellulosic ethanol; bio-gas/manure digestion; recycled rinse water; low and high P (phosphorus) crop nutrients; and multiple cellulosic manure fiber "fractions" (for mulches, bedding, etc.). 3. Bio-Fuels and Bio-based Products Development Analysis: The project will evaluate (calibrate, implement, validate) economic, environmental, lifecycle, process efficiency, and mass balance analysis and incorporate these into a business decision/management framework. In particular, an analysis of the economics of scale of the various system components will form a major part of the research effort. 4. Use of Oil/Biodiesel for the Production of Grain or Cellulosic Ethanol: The proposed system will be capable of producing oil/biodiesel from vegetable oil seed produced on the farm. Our research will determine the economic benefits of biodiesel vs. purified vegetable oil for direct use in operating farm vehicles and machinery. The expected outcome is the demonstration of cost effective livestock manure separation and processing to produce bio-energy, bio-feedstocks, and value added co-products (mulch/fertilizers) for on-farm and off-farm ("export") markets that can be carried out at a variety of large/medium/small scales. This technology will provide opportunities to exploit readily available, relatively low value potential cellulosic bio-feedstocks-ones that largely avoid food/fuel concerns-to improve economic sustainability: on-farm substitution for purchased energy and feed/fertilizer nutrients or as potential farm revenue diversification; improve environmental sustainability. The approach will reduce GHG/carbon footprint, soil/nutrient losses, and potential manure borne pathogens; and, improve regional economic development. We have shown that a demand exists for many of the manure fiber (mulch/fertilizer) co-products. The flexibility to adopt one (or several) of process/flow components, sequentially, based on the specifics of extant farm infrastructure (manure type/volumes, manure handling/processing, etc.) increases the proposed project's commercialization potential. The extensive process/flow measurement and analysis R&D, at both lab/bench and commercial scale, will provide the analytic/measurement tools to evaluate the economic, environmental, food safety, and regional economic development impacts of this potential commercialization at a variety of resolutions (farm, county, region). |
| Development of Horticultural Containers from Anaerobically Digested Cow manure | 0211231 | FREUND'S FARM, INC. | Gardner, Perry | 09/01/2007 | 08/31/2009 | 2007 | COMPLETE | EAST CANAAN | Freund's Farm, Inc. has developed an innovative process that transforms cow manure into value-added, biodegradable containers for horticultural use. Work performed to date has demonstrated that container pots can be molded from processed manure that offer the desired characteristics of biodegradability and decomposability, allow for exceptional penetration of plant roots through pot walls, and provide nutrient content. Further work is needed to improve the efficiency and consistency of the solids separation done on the discharge from the anaerobic digester since the solids stream is the source of material that is ultimately used to form the pots. Also further work is needed to determine if it is possible to use the bio-gas in a direct fired drying unit without imparting undesirable odor to the horticultural containers. This utilization of the bio-gas will help the product economics if it can be done satisfactorily. The work to be performed under this grant will
characterize and identify the solids separation method that separates solids from the liquid manure discharging from the anaerobic digester. This project will also determine the practicality of direct firing bio-gas fuel generated from the digester to efficiently dry the formed horticultural pots in a manufacturing facility. Prototype horticultural containers will be fabricated using Freund's Farm's existing manure digester and pulp molding equipment. The test pots formed will be tested for horticultural performance and odor at the University of Connecticut and in a greenhouse and farm settings. | The project is broken down into 3 separate but related work efforts called Experiments. EXPERIMENT 1 Solids Separation The objective of Experiment 1 is to research methods of manure solids separation to reduce water content consistently to facilitate composting. The solids separation has been accomplished with a single stage screw press but this alone it is not practical to routinely control the moisture content of the solids separated to the degree and consistency needed. High and inconsistent moisture levels in the solids that feed the in-vessel composter have resulted in inconsistent modification of fiber characteristics. These variations in the fibers cause variation in the quality of the molded pots. Investigation of the options to make the separation a proven two step process will be researched EXPERIMENT 2 Bio-gas fuel The objective of Experiment 2 is to research methods required to replace indirect fired oil heat with direct fired bio-gas in the drying ovens.
Biogas is produced from the Freund manure digester. Biogas is a potential fuel, available for manufacturing horticultural containers. Because bio-gas is a low heat fuel, it is necessary to direct fire a dryer to reasonably use the gas. The primary concern with direct fired bio-gas is that it will impart an odor or other undesirable properties(effecting horticultural performance) to the pots or deposit by -products of combustion that are harmful to plant development EXPERIMENT 3 Phytotoxicity The objective of Experiment 3 is to research the plant growth characteristics using the horticultural containers. Previous trials with different formulations of manure pots have produced inconsistent results. In some trials manure pots were superior to conventional peat pots, and apparently provided available nutrients. In some cases, manure pots were inferior, but the cause was not evident. The production process has evolved to the point that re-evaluation of current process pots is warranted.
The changes induced with the work in experiments 1 and 2 also cause the need to test the effect, if any, of those changes. The objectives of this research are: 1. To evaluate manure pots for effects on plant growth prior to transplant. This objective will include the effects of source material characteristics on the performance of manure fiber pots. The primary focus will be on the potential for growth stimulation from nutrients supplied by the pots, and potential negative effects including stunting or phytotoxicity. 2. To investigate cause(s) if stunting or phytotoxicity is observed. 3. To evaluate physical properties of manure pots relevant to production and transplanting, including durability and root breakthrough. |
| Bio-energy engineering combining nano-technologies and microbial fuel cells | 0198382 | SAES - OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY | Christy, A | 10/01/2009 | 09/30/2014 | 2010 | COMPLETE | COLUMBUS | Microbial fuel cells can generate small but sustainable electrical power by harnessing the natural abilities of some microbes. This research specifically uses the microbes found in the digestive tract of cows which are well suited to using cellulosic materials such as hay and grass as feed and have also been recently found to be electrochemically active. The goal is to increase power production in these fuel cells by using nano-technology and miniaturization techniques. Potential impacts include more economical applications for bio-energy, reduced dependence on non-renewable energy sources, treatment of lignocellulosic agricultural wastes, and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. | The long term goal is to develop a microbial energy conversion process that uses cellulosic waste as its feedstock, does not generate intermediate byproducts such as methane, and produces sufficient electrical power for applications where other forms of electricity are not readily available. The overall objectives of this research are to: (1.) Expand scientific knowledge of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) as a bioenergy option. (2.) Increase power production in MFCs by using nano-technology and miniaturization techniques. |
| Milk Parlor Wastewater Treatment/Reuse - A Pilot Study for the Tropical Island Application | 0196774 | SAES - UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII | Yang, P. Y. | 10/01/2003 | 09/30/2006 | 2004 | COMPLETE | HONOLULU | Centrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) needs to obtain a permit in the year of 2006 to discharge their wastewater. Milk parlor wastewater requires to update the current treatment and reuse technology. This project will provide a pilot study to obtain necessary treatment and reuse information. This project will eliminate the odor problem, improve water quality for reuse, and reuse biogas and fertilizer. | The main objective of this project is to install and investigate a pilot plant study of a simple two-stage of anaerobic bio-nest reactor and a one stage of entrapped mixed microbial cell reactor to be integrated with the existing milk parlor wastewater treatment and reuse systems in order to improve the environmental quality of an animal feeding operation system. Specific objectives for this study are included as follows: 1) To evaluate the process performance of each bioreactor regarding organic and nutrient removal. 2) To develop a set of design and operation criteria for potential integration of existing wastewater treatment/reuse systems to meet the regulatory requirement and promote the friendly agricultural production system. |
| Animal Manure and Waste Utilization, Treatment and Nuisance Avoidance for a Sustainable Agriculture | 0191389 | SAES - UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII | Yang, P. Y. | 10/01/2001 | 09/30/2007 | 2002 | COMPLETE | HONOLULU | Dairy wastewater treatment system for land limited condition has not been evaluated. Consequently, wastewater reuse and byproduct recovery from dairy wastewater cannot be implemented. This project examines effectiveness of thermophilic aerobic treatment with methophilic treatment process for bioenergy production and stabilization of waste materials. Aerobic treatment of liquid portion will be evaluated for wastewater reuse and dispose. | Develop, evaluate, and refine physical, chemical and biological treatment processes in engineered and natural systems for management of manures and other wastes. |