BENTLEY, Alta. – With 18 million gallons of manure to handle each year, Will Kingma was looking for innovative technology.
Enter Calgary’s Livestock Water Recycling, an award winning system that breaks down manure to its lowest common denominator.
“As soon as I saw it, I was pretty impressed with it,” Kingma said.
The system received a technology award at the Banff Pork Seminar in 2009 and was also named one of the top 10 new products at the World Agriculture Expo in California in February.
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“We are always trying to find something that will reduce odours and reduce traffic. This will do both. There should be a payback on it, too,” he said.
Livestock Water Recycling’s patented process technology involves mechanical and chemical water treatment to separate manure components. The process works best with liquid manure from hog and dairy operations.
The system separates solids, phosphorus, potassium, ammonia and nitrogen from livestock waste water. The water can be reused, while the byproducts are suitable for fertilizer and soil amendments.
The fresh manure is pumped into the system directly from the pig barns through underground pipes. Solids are removed as the waste water flows through the system.
The resulting products include clean water, black water containing ammonia, dried solids that look like sawdust and a gelatinous mixture of phosphorus suspension. The black water still smells but it is not as pungent as fresh manure.
Sixty percent of the water is recovered on Kingma’s farm, although he is hoping for about 70 percent as the system improves.
The water is pumped back to a fresh-water dugout and will be used in the barns.
“Down the road, we are hoping to do some ethanol production and biodigestion and we would use the water in that process,” Kingma said.
His largest lagoon will be emptied as the material is pumped through the system. It will be used for backup manure storage.
The nutrients will be applied to his farmland or sold as fertilizer. The solids will be dried further and used for bedding. The material could also be plowed into the land as a soil amendment.
The phosphorus and ammonia solutions offer a more consistent product. The price is based on commercial fertilizer quotes.
No one has spread it yet because not enough has been produced, but it is expected to be applied using a conventional manure injection system.
“It is a good deal for farmers because they are getting an organic fertilizer and at less cost than a chemical fertilizer,” Kingma said.
As the first farmer to try the system, Kingma has had plenty of inquiries from other producers.
Members of the Natural Resources Conservation Board have inspected and approved the system. The Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency covered 25 percent of the costs.
