Progress 10/01/07 to 09/30/13

Outputs
Target Audience: The target audiences for these projects are animal producers (dairy, swine, and poultry), agricultural consultants, agricultural environmental engineers, renewable energy industries, local and state environmental regulatory agencies, and the general public with interest in protecting the environment from pollution by agricultural productions and promoting "green" energy and operations. Information generated from these projects has been (or will be) disseminated through variety of avenues including workshops, seminars, incorporated into classroom teaching materials, conference and symposium presentations and proceedings, refereed journals, trade magazines, and extension/outreach events and activities. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? For project 1-3 and 8, these projects have just started so it is too early to report the outcomes/impacts with respect to the opportunities for training and professional development. For project 4, training opportunities may exist in educating interested parties using the results from the project. R. oryzae was able to utilize pretreated dairy manure to produce L-lactic acid and the highest concentration and yield were 1210.02mg/L and 40.09% at pH 10, respectively, when ethanol as main byproducts was at a lowest level (74.64 mg/L). The pH not only affected the production of L-lactic acid and ethanol but also had an impact on the morphology of R. oryzae. At higher pH values, small and loose pellets of microorganism formed, which produced more L-lactic acid, while at low pH, ?lamentous mycelia were generated and less L-lactic acid was produced. The research outcomes have paved the way for further research in the subject area. Given the large volume of dairy manure produced annually across the nation, the potential of training stakeholders using dairy manure as substrate for bioenergy and bio-materials production is absolutely significant. For project 5, materials that can be incorporated into training activities are also generated. Preliminary results indicated that pH, HRT and total solids in swine manure (TS) had significant impact on biogas production rate (BPR), hydrogen content (HC), hydrogen production rate (HPR), and hydrogen yield (HY). The maximum BPR, HC, HPR and HY of 32.21 L/d, 30.51%, 2.23 L/d/L and 1.57 mol-H2/mol-sugar were estimated at the pH, HRT, and TS of 5.55, 15.78h, and 0.71% for BPR; 5.22, 12.04, and 0.69 for HC; 5.32, 15.62, and 0.78% for HPR; and 5.36, 17.56, and 0.74% for HY, respectively. The feasibility of co-fermenting swine manure with sugar beet processing wastewater has been confirmed, laying the ground for scaling up the system for commercial production. For project 6, the findings from this research has shed light on a new area of bioenergy production from animal wastes coupled with treatment using microbial fuel cells. An MFC ful?lls biological oxidation at anodes for organic substrates, and electrochemical or biological reduction at cathodes for oxygen or other electron acceptors. The catalytic microorganisms at anodes are capable of handling organic substrates such as glucose, volatile fatty acids, glycerol, and even cellulose, and can thus be used in degrading organic substrates in various types of wastewater. For project 7, educational information is gained for the vast majority of swine producers who are plagued by the pit foaming issues. Several features or properties found in foaming manure seem to be linked to the long term anaerobic storage. These are the presence of long chain fatty acids (LCFA) as well as tiny fibers that serve as stabilizers for foam creations. Understanding the mechanisms of foaming immensely helps develop technologies to prevent this hazardous situation from happening in confined swine production facilities. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Sun, J., J. Zhu, W. Li. 2012. L-(+) lacic acid production by Rhizopus Oryzae using pretreated dairy manure as carbon and nitrogen source. Biomass and Bioenergy 47: 442-450 What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? For project 1-3, 7-8, research will continue to collect data with findings to be reported in the next reporting period. For project 4, 5, and 6, no further work will be carried out in the next reporting period. These projects are considered complete at this moment, although the potential to further the research in these areas exists.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? There are eight projects in this reporting period. The first project is titled "Integration of Renewable and Efficient Energy Technologies to Greener Energy Consumed in Dairy and Swine Production Systems in Minnesota". This project has just started (July 1, 2013) with baseline energy audits at existing dairy and swine operations at the U of MN West Central Research and Outreach Center (WCROC) starting in August 2013. LCA analysis software has been selected and is proceeding along with the baseline audits. The second project is titled "Assessment of a Geothermal Heating/Cooling System in a Commercial Swine Grow-Finish Building for Reductions in Feed and Energy Use". This project, although funded a year ago, has just begun due to a delay in the installation and operation of the geothermal system at the commercial swine operation. Preliminary data collected in July, 2013 has shown reduced energy use for ventilation fans in rooms cooled with the geothermal systems compared to non-cooled rooms. However, energy used to circulate water in the geothermal system still needs to be measured so total energy use can be determined for both systems. The third project is titled “Integration of Renewable and Efficient Energy Technologies to Greener Energy Consumed in Agricultural Production Systems in Minnesota”. The project has just begun (July 1, 2013) and is a three year project. Baseline energy monitoring of a dairy operation has started and with energy consumption from crop production used to feed the dairy cows. Energy saving technology such as refrigeration heat recovery and solar thermal collectors are being purchased for a U of MN research center dairy center in west central MN. The fourth project is titled “L-(D) lactic acid production by Rhizopus oryzae using pretreated dairy manure as carbon and nitrogen source”. This project has been completed. The optimal pretreatment condition for dairy manure obtained through the Box Behnken experimental design was temperature 120C, H2SO4 concentration 1.61% and solid content 1%, among which temperature was the key factor. Under this condition, dry dairy manure could produce 60.8% of reducing sugar and 2.83% of protein. The pretreated dairy manure was then used as the fermentation substrate for producing L-(þ) lactic acid by Rhizopus oryzae without any supplement of additional carbon and nitrogen source. The fifth project is titled “Optimization of continuous hydrogen production from co-fermenting molasses with liquid swine manure in an anaerobic sequencing batch reactor”. This project is completed with optimal operating conditions in terms of pH, hydraulic retention time, and the mixing ratios of manure and sugar molasses for biohydrogen fermentation determined using central composite design and response surface methodology. The feasibility of producing biohydrogen from the two waste streams through fermentation is confirmed. The sixth project is titled “Improved performance of microbial fuel cells enriched with natural microbial inocula and treated by electrical current”. This project is completed with the effects of different inoculum sources (river sediment, activated sludge and anaerobic sludge) and electrical current stimulation evaluated using single-chamber air-cathode MFCs as model reactors based on performance in enrichment process and electrochemical characteristics of the reactors. The seventh project is titled “Identifying the Causes and Subsequent Remediation of Foaming in Swine Manure Management Systems”. This multi-state (IA, IL, and MN) was started in 2012 and has collected and analyzed manure samples collected by foaming and non-foaming farm sites to determine if the underlying cause of manure pit foaming can be found. To date, there is still no conclusive evidence to point to a definitive cause of manure pit foaming. The eighth project is titled “Determining PM and Odor Emission Reductions of a Geothermal Heating/Cooling System in a Grow-Finish Building”. This project has just started (July 1, 2013), although funded earlier it was delayed by the installation of the geothermal system on the farm. Only preliminary data has been collected so no emission reduction data is available.

Publications

Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: There are five projects in this reporting period. The first project is titled "Lactic acid fermentation using dairy manure as the sole carbon and nitrogen source". The project has been completed with optimal physical pretreatment conditions for the release of organic matter from dairy manure determined by the orthogonal experiment design. The feasibility and techniques of converting the hydrolysates from dairy manure into lactic acid through fermentation without external nutrients and optimizing fermentation conditions to enhance lactic acid production was determined. Results showed that the optimum conditions for release of protein, carbohydrate, and total phosphorus were pH 2.0, 90oC, particle size < 0.15mm, under which the carbohydrate and protein release rates could reach 373.36 and 233.36%, and total phosphorus concentration could be increased from 0.21 mg/l to 6.29 mg/l. The second project is titled "Co-digesting the wasted milk from dairy operations with cattle slurry to reduce water pollution". The project has been completed. A total of seven milk addition levels in terms of percent liquid volume in the digester were tested (1%, 3%, 5%, 7%, 9%, 14%, 19%, and a control (no milk addition)). The results clearly indicate that the added milk can be digested and the biogas productivity can be increased with the increasing milk amount in the digester content (from 5.6% at 1% milk to 103.8% at 19% milk). However, the CH4 concentration in the biogas produced could decrease slightly with the increasing milk content in the digester. The third project is titled "Synthetic Ecology on Hierarchical Carbon Electrodes for Clean Energy Generation from Biomass". The project just started this September to study potential methods to achieve desired biosynthesis using microbial consortia to produce electricity. The fourth project is titled "Reducing the Environmental Footprint of Swine Buildings or the Green Pig Barn (GPB) project". All four versions of the GPB project are expected to save energy in the winter due to better insulation and environmental control. Reduced emissions are also expected due to the lack of long term manure storage inside/under the barn and to the incorporation of barn cooling. Building construction costs per pig space, which includes an outside, covered, in-ground concrete manure storage tank, are expected to be 1.3 to 2 times higher than typical construction of the baseline TV barn. These costs are offset by a projected 3-7% increase in average daily gain and 5-10% decrease in feed consumption per pound of pork produced. Using these assumptions in a standard economic projection, annualized net present value per pig space is between $2.43 and $9.03 with 6.0 to 12.8 years to payback over the baseline tunnel ventilated facility. The fifth project is titled "Simultaneous Exoelectrogenesis and Nitrogen Removal for Swine Wastewater Treatment via Microbial Fuel Cells". This project just started with the aim of investigating and developing effective microbial fuel cells for treating swine wastewater to generate energy (electricity) and, at the same time, to achieve efficient removal of COD and total ammonium nitrogen. PARTICIPANTS: PIs: Jun Zhu and Larry Jacobson; PIs are responsible for overseeing and managing respective research projects in terms of progress, budget, and reporting. People involved in project 1 other than the PI (J Zhu) include: Jianping Sun (postdoc), Xiao Wu (postdoc), Wenhong Li (visiting scholar), and Curtis Miller (technician). People involved in project 2 other than the PI (J Zhu) include: Xiao Wu (postdoc), Hongjian Lin (PhD candidate), Curtis Miller (technician). People involved in project 3 other than the co-PIs (P Wang and J Zhu) include: Xiao Wu (postdoc), Xueyan Zhao (postdoc), Hongjian Lin (PhD candidate), and Curtis Miller (technician). People involved in project 4 other than the PI (L Jacobson) include: Chuck Clanton, Kevin Janni, and David Schmidt. People involved in project 5 other than the PI (J Zhu) include: Hongjian Lin (PhD candidate), Xiao Wu (postdoc), and Curtis Miller (technician). TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audiences for these projects are animal producers (dairy, swine, and poultry), agricultural consultants, agricultural environmental engineers, renewable energy industries, local and state environmental regulatory agencies, and the general public with interest in protecting the environment from pollution by agricultural productions and promoting "green" energy and operations. Information generated from these projects has been (or will be) disseminated through variety of avenues including workshops, seminars, incorporated into classroom teaching materials, conference and symposium presentations and proceedings, refereed journals, trade magazines, and extension/outreach events and activities. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.

Impacts
The impact of project 1: This project has the potential to produce lactic acid from nearly 640 million tons of dairy manure produced annually in the United States, thus minimizing pollution problems in land application of manure and protect water quality. The impact of project 2: Whether milk can be digested in an anaerobic digester has been an unanswered question for many dairy producers employing anaerobic digesters. A large COD loading to the digester was suspected to be able to disrupt the digestion process so the impact of this project lies in that it alleviates such a fear and dairy farmers can adopt anaerobic digesters on their farms without concerning about the milk leaking to the manure that goes to the digester. The impact of project 3: The proposed research will target the utilization of waste biomass from agricultural and food processing industries that leave behind a variety of waste biomass streams that can be used as non-food feedstocks for synthesis of biochemicals, biomaterials, biofuels and bioenergy. The impact of project 4: Results from the project indicate that current facilities in the upper Midwest can be modified or managed to reduce energy inputs. Results also indicate that there are alternatives to the current finishing facilities in the Midwest that could result in reduced energy and emissions per pound of meat produced while still being economically viable. The impact of project 5: Microbial fuel cell (MFC, also known as a type of bioelectro-chemical reactor) is an emerging technology that has the potential to be used in swine wastewater treatment via biological oxidation at anode for organic carbon, and electrochemical or biological reduction at cathode, accomplishing both wastewater treatment and electricity generation in the same MFC. This is vital for establishing a sustainable agriculture.

Publications

• Sun, J., J. Zhu, W. Li. 2012. l-(+) lactic acid production by Rhizopus oryzae using pretreated dairy manure as carbon and nitrogen source. Biomass & Bioenergy. In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 5 October 2012.

Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: There are four projects in this reporting period. The first project is titled "Biohydrogen-Based Biofuel Cells: Highly Efficient and Clean Electricity Generation Using Mixed Wastewater Feedstocks - A Rural Development Project". We successfully engineered and expressed the hydrogenase in E coli. We developed a novel carbon fiber electrode with branched carbon nanotubes for enhanced electrochemical performance. Experiments using mixed substrates of swine manure and molasses showed that the best results were observed for pH 5.0 and 5.5 using the mixing ratio of 1:1, under which, both the biogas and H2 production rates reached the highest. The second project is titled "Co-digesting the wasted milk from dairy operations with cattle slurry to reduce water pollution". Anaerobic digestion performance was evaluated at different milk levels (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 14, and 19%) and the percent cumulative biogas volume was increased by 5.6, 16.3, 26.5, 40.8, 50.2, 79.9, and 103.8%, as compared to the control. However, the CH4 content in the biogas decreased slightly as the milk content increased, implying that the added milk could promote CO2 production. The third project is titled "Lactic acid fermentation using dairy manure as the sole carbon and nitrogen source". The optimal physical pretreatment conditions for releasing organic matter from dairy manure were determined by the orthogonal experiment design. Manure particles ranging from 0.15 mm to 0.25 mm in size accounted for 42%, while particles with size above 1.4 mm and below 0.15 mm only accounted for 19%, with the rest between 1.0-1.4 mm. The carbohydrate content in the treated rose with reaction time but showed huge differences in the early stage. The optimal conditions for carbohydrate release were either particle size of 1.0-1.4 mm, pH 13, and reaction temperature of 90oC or particle size ＜0.15mm, pH 2.0 and temperature 90oC. The results also indicated that small particle sizes didn't guarantee the easy release of carbohydrates due possibly to the lignin effect, which was difficult to be destroyed by milling methods. The fourth project is titled "Reducing the Environmental Footprint of Swine Buildings". A final report was submitted to the funding organization (National Pork Board) that includes four GPB design variations. Version A features pens with partially slatted floors and in-floor heating and cooling in the solid floor section, shallow gutters under the slats with mechanical scrapers for manure removal to an outside covered manure storage tank, and an evaporative cooling system. Version B is similar to Version A but integrates a mechanical (geothermal) cooling system. Version C is similar to Version A, but has fully slatted floors and is cooled only with evaporative cooling pads. Version D is similar to Version B but has fully slatted floors. All versions are expected to save energy in the winter due to better insulation and environmental control. Reduced emissions are also expected due to the lack of long-term manure storage inside/under the barn and to the incorporation of barn cooling. Other benefits include better pig health and worker environment. PARTICIPANTS: PIs: Jun Zhu and Larry Jacobson; PIs are responsible for overseeing and managing respective research projects in terms of progress, budget, and reporting. People involved in project 1 other than the PI (J Zhu) include: Ping Wang (co-PI), Xiao Wu (postdoc), Xueyan Zhao (postdoc), and Curtis Miller (technician). People involved in project 2 other than the PI (J Zhu) include: Xiao Wu (postdoc), Wanying Yao (PhD candidate), Curtis Miller (technician). People involved in project 3 other than the PI (J Zhu) include: , Jianping Sun (postdoc) and Curtis Miller (technician). People involved in project 4 other than the PI (L Jacobson) include: Chuck Clanton, Kevin Janni, and David Schmidt. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audiences for these projects are animal producers (dairy, swine, and poultry), agricultural consultants, agricultural environmental engineers, renewable energy industries, pharmaceutical industries, local and state environmental regulatory agencies, and the general public with interest in protecting the environment from pollution by agricultural productions and promoting "green" energy and operations. Information generated from these projects has been disseminated through variety of avenues including workshops, seminars, incorporated into classroom teaching materials, conference and symposium presentations and proceedings, refereed journals, trade magazines, and extension/outreach events and activities. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.

Impacts
Impacts of project 1: The significance of this project lies in that two waste streams (swine manure and sugar processing wastewater) are brought together in one treatment and used as complementary substrates to produce bioenergy, which has never been reported before. The breakthrough of this project demonstrates that it is feasible and possible to generate clean energy solely from major waste streams from agricultural production without needing expensive chemicals. The impact of this newly developed technology on protecting the environment and promoting the renewable economy transition is thus immense. Although biohydrogen fermentation has been studied by researchers around the world, the technical difficulties of using the biohydrogen such produced due to its low purity have not been conquered satisfactorily. Therefore, the biological fuel cell system explored and developed in this project is innovative and groundbreaking with little or no such information available in literature. The technology can eliminate the costly gas cleaning process and afford economic and technical viability to biohydrogen production for continuing research, eventually leading to commercialization. Impacts of project 2: Some have thought that milk was difficult to digest in stable fashion. Since removal of COD is one of the major objectives for anaerobic treatment, a large loading of COD to an anaerobic digester may potentially overload the system, causing performance deterioration or system upset. The impact of this project lies in that it alleviates such a fear so dairy farmers can adopt anaerobic digesters on their farms without concerning about the milk inclusions. Impacts of project 3: In view of nearly 640 million tons of dairy manure produced annually in the United States, this project has the potential to greatly diversify the use of dairy manure by producing an important industrial biopolymer (poly-lactic acid) that is biodegradable. This will ameliorate the pollution problem in land application and protect water quality. Impacts of project 4: Results from the project indicate that current facilities in the upper Midwest can be modified or managed to reduce energy inputs. Results also indicate that there are alternatives to the current finishing facilities in the Midwest that could result in reduced energy and emissions per pound of meat produced while still being economically viable.

Publications

• Yao, W., X. Wu, J. Zhu, B. Sun, C. Miller. 2011. Enhanced Production of Glutamate Decarboxylase by Batch, Fed-Batch, and Repeated Batch Cultivations of Escherichia coli. ASABE Biological Engineering Transactions 4(4): 169-182.
• Yao, W., X. Wu, J. Zhu, B. Sun. 2011. Comprehensive evaluation and selection of the potential complex medium for industrial glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) production by Escherichia coli. Int. J. Agric. Biol. Eng. 4(2): 74-82.
• Yao, W., X. Wu, J. Zhu, B. Sun, C. F. Miller. 2011. System establishment of ATPS for one-step purification of glutamate decarboxylase from E. coli after cell disruption. Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology 164(8):1339-1349.
• Yao, W., X. Wu, J. Zhu, B. Sun, Y. Zhang, C. F. Miller. 2011. Bacterial cellulose membrane - a new support carrier for immobilization of yeast for ethanol fermentation. Process Biochemistry 46(10): 2054-2058.
• Wu, X., C. Dong, W. Yao, J. Zhu. 2011. Anaerobic digestion of dairy manure influenced by the wasted milk from milking operations. Journal of Dairy Science 94(8): 3778-3786.

Progress 01/01/10 to 12/31/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: There are five projects in this reporting period, each of which is narrated separately in terms of outputs. The first project is titled "Biohydrogen-Based Biofuel Cells: Highly Efficient and Clean Electricity Generation Using Mixed Wastewater Feedstocks - A Rural Development Project" including these activities: biohydrogen fermentation using sugar processing wastewater as supplement to swine manure to replace glucose that was commonly used; development of a bio-fuel cell. The main obstacle for the latter rests with the difficulties in expressing the key enzyme, hydrogenase, by bacterial cells. The second project is titled "Co-digesting the wasted milk from dairy operations with cattle slurry to reduce water pollution" including these activities: evaluation of anaerobic digestion performance at different milk levels, i.e., 1%, 3%, 5%, 7%, 9%, 14%, and 19%, to determine the maximum milk content that the digester can handle without adversely affecting biogas productivity and digester performance. At each milk level, experiments were run in triplicate with three digesters without addition of milk as the control. All digesters were placed in a water bath that maintained temperature at 35oC (mesophilic digestion) during experiments. The pilot-scale digester is under construction and will be tested next summer. The third project is titled "Lactic acid fermentation using dairy manure as the sole carbon and nitrogen source" including these activities: the project proposal has just received funding so preparation for experimental setup is initiated, with a new postdoctoral associated hired who is specifically designated to this project. The fourth project is titled "Reducing the Environmental Footprint of Swine Buildings" including these activities: advisory team meeting held along with a public stakeholder meeting that included representatives from Denmark and the Netherlands to discuss the development of this paper study. Specific barns components were discussed at these two meetings (stakeholders and advisory team) and consensus on some tentative designs were made. These systematic designs will integrate all these components with the goal of providing the optimum conditions for animal production and minimizing energy and air emissions. The fifth project is titled "Determining Commonality among Swine Barn Pit Explosions" including these activities: several farm visits completed where explosions, flash fires, and/or manure pit foaming has occurred in the recent 6 months; information being complied and shared with colleagues from other Midwestern universities, and case studies being prepared for each site; a producer survey developed to collect information from a number of Midwestern producers on pertinent information as to foaming of manure in deep pits and any flash fires and/or explosions that occurred in their facilities. PARTICIPANTS: PIs: Jun Zhu and Larry Jacobson; PIs are responsible for overseeing and managing respective research projects in terms of progress, budget, and reporting. People involved in project 1 other than the PI (J Zhu) include: Ping Wang (co-PI), Xiao Wu (postdoc), Xueyan Zhao (postdoc), and Curtis Miller (technician). People involved in project 2 other than the PI (J Zhu) include: Xiao Wu (postdoc), Wanying Yao (PhD candidate), Curtis Miller (technician). People involved in project 3 other than the PI (J Zhu) include: , Jianping Sun (postdoc), Wanying Yao (PhD candidate), and Curtis Miller (technician). People involved in project 4 other than the PI (L Jacobson) include: Chuck Clanton, Kevin Janni, and David Schmidt. People involved in project 5 other than the PI (L Jacobson) include: Chuck Clanton and David Schmidt. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audiences for these projects are animal producers (dairy, siwne, and poultry), agricultural consultants, agricultural environmental engineers, renewable energy industries, pharmaceutical industries, local and state environmental regulatory agencies, and the general public with interest in protecting the environment from pollution by agricultural productions and promoting "green" energy and operations. Information generated from these projects has been disseminated through variety of avenues including workshops, seminars, incorporated into classroom teaching materials, conference and symposium presentations and proceedings, refereed journals, trade magazines, and extension/outreach events and activities. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: None

Impacts
Impacts of project 1: Rural areas offer a variety of waste biomass streams including animal wastes that can be used as non-food feedstocks for biofuels and bioenergy production. The potential impacts of this project include 1) clean energy generation from two major waste streams from agricultural production that virtually have been untouched resources, 2) development of an innovative biological fuel cell with groundbreaking technology that will eliminate the costly gas cleaning process and afford economic and technical viability to the biohydrogen fermentation technology for commercialization. The outcomes of this project may have the potential to fundamentally change the current landscape of energy supply and utilization in rural communities. Impacts of project 2: Unlike the digesters treating other waste streams, the digesters on dairy farms have to deal with a waste substrate that contains not only dairy manure but also wasted milk, which can dramatically increase the COD level of such waste streams. Since removal of COD is one of the major objectives for anaerobic treatment, a large loading of COD to an anaerobic digester may potentially overload the system, causing performance deterioration or system upset. The impact of this project lies in its clearing the way for wide adoption of anaerobic digesters on dairy farms. Impacts of project 3: This project has the potential to dramatically change the current dairy manure utilization practice, i.e., land application, by directing it to the production of an important industrial biopolymer (poly-lactic acid) that is biodegradable. There are nearly 640 million tons of dairy manure produced annually in the United States, which can be used for value-added product production with unknown impact on the future of dairy industry. Besides, effective use of dairy manure can also ameliorate intractable pollution problems associated with its land application that has long been plaguing the dairy industry for years. Impacts of project 4: This project can have a major impact on the energy usage in constructing and operating swine buildings in cold climates such as Minnesota. The environmental impact can also be reduced at the same time using sustainable management and equipment. Impacts of project 5: The impact of this research will be significant if we can determine the cause of the foaming and subsequent explosion and fires and offer preventive measures. This is mainly a human and animal safety concern so it is a high priority for any producer or stakeholder involved in pig production in the Midwest. There is also a management concern with sufficient manure storage capacity for cropping schedules if large thicknesses of foam (several feet) develop on the manure surface.

Publications

• Wu, X., W. Yao, J. Zhu, C. Miller. 2010. Biogas and CH4 productivity by co-digesting swine manure with three crop residues as an external carbon source. Bioresource Technology 101(11):4042-4047.
• Wu, X., J. Zhu. 2010. The effect of milk co-digested with dairy manure on biogas production and COD removal in batch processes. J. Environ. Sci. Health, Part A 45(12): 1543-1549.
• Li, Y., J. Zhu, X. Wu, C. Miller, L. Wang. 2010. The Effect of pH on continuous biohydrogen production from swine wastewater supplemented with glucose. Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology 162(5): 1286-1296.
• Wu, X., W. Yao, J. Zhu. 2010. Effect of pH on continuous biohydrogen production from liquid swine manure with glucose supplement using an anaerobic sequencing batch reactor. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 35(13): 6592-6599.
• Yao, W., X. Wu, J. Zhu, B. Sun, C. F. Miller. 2010. Utilization of protein extract from dairy manure as a nitrogen source by Rhizopus oryzae NRRL-395 for L-lactic acid production. Bioresource Technology 101(11): 4132-4138.

Progress 01/01/09 to 12/31/09

Outputs
OUTPUTS: There are four projects in this reporting period, each of which is narrated separately in terms of outputs. The first project is titled "Development of a field-scale surface aeration system to treat swine manure for odor control" including these activities: field experiments with the developed aerator module using six venture injectors were carried out for four months during the summer of 2008 with all air and liquid sampling conducted to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of the surface aeration system in controlling odor emission from the treated swine manure lagoon. Two manuscripts based on the research data from this project have been published. The second project is titled "A two-step fed sequencing batch reactor combined with pre-nitritation for treating swine wastewater" including these activities: investigation of the possibility of accumulating nitrite from swine wastewater by adopting bench experiments including an effluent nitrogen composition stability test and a reducing load test. The nitrite production stability was tested using four different ammonium loading rates0.075, 0.062, 0.053, and 0.039 gNH4/gMLSS/d in a 2-month running period. In the denitrification step, three COD/NOx-N ratios (3.6, 4.8 and 6) and two solid retention times (SRTs), 16 and 23 days, were used to test the influence of carbon availability and SRT on the total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) reduction and phosphorus removal efficiencies for the step-fed SBR. The third project is titled "Bioconverting the nutrients in dairy manure for L-lactic acid production by Rhizopus oryzae NRRL395" including these activities: the extraction process was developed to separate crude protein from dairy manure. The extracted protein and protein hydrolysates were used as the nitrogen source for production of L-lactic acid by Rhizopus oryzae NRRL-395, using two uniform designs (seed medium and culture medium). Experiments using the Plackett-Burman design and a two-level, four-factor factorial design for the four most impacting medium components were also conducted. Two papers have been published based on the results from this study. The fourth project is titled "Reducing the Environmental Footprint of Swine Buildings". This project is a systematic approach for developing a swine finishing facility that reduces production inputs, reduces environmental impacts, and increases animal production efficiency. Most swine production facilities are built without proper integration of individual components (ventilation and heating/cooling, manure handling, flooring, insulation, feeding, watering, etc). A systematic design will integrate all these components with the goal of providing the optimum conditions for animal production and minimizing energy and air emissions. Many of the lessons learned in the development of such a facility will be transferred to existing facilities hopefully resulting in similar energy and emission reductions and production benefits. PARTICIPANTS: PIs: Jun Zhu and Larry Jacobson; PIs are responsible for overseeing and managing respective research projects in terms of progress, budget, and reporting. People involved in project 1 other than the PI (J Zhu) include: Chunying Dong (then PhD student) and Curtis Miller (technician), who both received full and partial financial support from the project funds. Also included was Saqib Muhktar who is associate professor from Texas A&M Univ. which is a sub-contractor for this project. People involved in project 2 other than the PI (J Zhu) include: Liang Wang (then PhD student) and Curtis Miller (technician). People involved in project 3 other than the PI (J Zhu) include: Wanying Yao (then MS student) and Curtis Miller (technician). People involved in project 4 other than the PI (Larry Jacobson) include: Chuck Clanton, Kevin Janni, and David Schmidt. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audiences for this project are animal producers (dairy, swine, and poultry), agricultural consultants, agricultural environmental engineers, local and state environmental regulatory agencies, renewable energy pharmaceutical industries, and the general public with interest in protecting the environmental from pollution by agricultural productions. Information generated from this project has been disseminated through variety of avenues including workshops, seminars, incorporated into classroom teaching materials, conference and symposium presentations, refereed journal articles, worldwide web presentations, trade magazines, and extension/outreach events and activities. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: None

Impacts
Impacts of project 1: Odors associated with anaerobic lagoons have been an uncontrolled nuisance due to lack of cost effective technologies. The outcome from this project presents an affordable, advanced surface aeration system that can reduce odor generation potential from open manure storages, thus improving the air quality surrounding swine production sites and softening the relationship between animal farmers and their neighboring residents. The method developed in this study helps sustain the productivity of animal producers using lagoons for manure storage. Impacts of project 2: Nitrogen and phosphorus are the two major polluting components originating from animal manure. The research is aimed at developing an advanced treatment based on nitritation SBR to reduce both N and P in the manure at a reduced cost which will provide a less expensive technology to the animal industry without sacrificing the treatment effectiveness. Impacts of project 3: Lactic acid has the potential to become a dominant commodity-chemical intermediate produced from renewable carbohydrates. One of the most promising applications of lactic acid is its use for biodegradable and biocompatible poly-lactic acid polymers. The outcome of this project sheds light on producing lactic acid using renewable biomaterials, which can contribute to the establishment of "green" economy, while reducing manure pollution at the same time. Impacts of project 4: This project can have a major impact on the energy usage in constructing and operating swine buildings in cold climates such as Minnesota. The environmental impact can also be reduced at the same time using sustainable management and equipment.

Publications

• Dong, C., J. Zhu, C. F. Miller. 2009. A Field-Scale Surface Aeration System to Reduce Odor Generation. Transactions of ASABE 52(2):615-620.
• Dong, C., J. Zhu, C. F. Miller. 2009. Evaluation of Six Aerator Modules Built on Venturi Air Injectors Using Clean Water Test. Wat. Sci. & Technol. 60(5): 1353-1359.
• Yao, W., X. Wu, J. Zhu, B. Sun, C. F. Miller. 2009. L-Lactic Acid Fermentation by Rhizopus Oryzae Using Dairy Manure as a Nitrogen Source. Transactions of ASABE 52(6): in press.
• Yao, W., J. Zhu, B. Sun, C. F. Miller. 2009. Development and Optimization of a Culture Medium for L-lactic Acid Production by Rhizopus oryzae Using Crude Protein from Dairy Manure as a Nitrogen Source. Journal of Environ. Sci. & Health Part A A44(12): 1306-1313.

Progress 01/01/08 to 12/31/08

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Development of a new aerator module for manure storage basins has been completed and the module has been tested in both water and liquid manure. Limited field tests were also conducted and data obtained. A study on producing hydrogen using a bioreactor showed that at 37 C, both pH and hydraulic retention time (HRT) had a strong influence on the reactor performance including gas volume, gas composition, reactor stabilization, microbial growth, and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and alcohol distribution. The optimal condition for hydrogen production was found at HRT 16 h and pH 5.0, under which the biogas comprised 35.8 percent of hydrogen with a production rate of 9.78 L-H2/day, a specific yield of 0.83 L-H2/ (g biomass), and a yield of 1.63 L-H2/L liquid swine manure, which demonstrated a significant and encouraging product to substrate ratio of 1.63. A study investigating the benefit of pit fans in production pig finishing barns for indoor air qaulity and the amount of gas emissions was begun in the summer of 2008. Tentative findings show air quality is not dependent of the presence of pit fans and hazardous and odor emissions are reduced when no pit fans are present on pig finishing barns that have deep pit manure storage PARTICIPANTS: Jun Zhu, Associate Professor, SROC Chuck Clanton, Professor Phil Goodich, Associate Professor Brian Hetchler, Research Fellow Curtis Miller, Assistant Scientist, Southern Research and Outreach Center (SROC), Waseca, MN David R. Schmidt, Research Associate TARGET AUDIENCES: Other animal manure researchers Federal and State environmental regulators Livestock and poultry producers Governmental policy makers PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Aerator findings indicated that it is possible and economically viable to use surface aeration to control odor emission from open manure storage facilities. It will make surface aeration technology a cost effective way for swine producers to reduce air pollution caused by the odor emanating from the current liquid manure storage facilities such as lagoons, earthen basins, and ponds. The hydrogen study findings clearly indicate that use of animal manure (swine manure) to produce biohydrogen is feasible, although there are still technical barriers needing to be overcome in process optimization. Downstream separation could be critical for biohydrogen application in fuel cells. The study on the value of pit fans in deep pit pig finishing barns would have a major impact on the construction and management of these present day facilities in the midwestern US since deep pit manure storage is the predominate type of building. Nearly all of these facilities have pit fans which are less energy efficient than wall fans and are not as durable (higher rate of repair and replacement).

Publications

• Zhu, J, Y. Li, X. Wu, C. Miller, P. Chen, R. Ruan. 2008. Swine Manure Fermentation to Produce Biohydrogen. In: Proc. of the 30th Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals. May 4 to 7, 2008. The Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.