A new way to treat waste water from hog production may benefit hog producers and the environment.
Researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and companies in the United States, Spain and Japan were satisfied with the system’s performance during a recent year-long evaluation, in which brown waste water from a lagoon was converted into blue, clean and aerated water.
During the evaluation, the system removed more than 97 percent of total suspended solids from waste water. It also stripped the water of 95 percent of total phosphorus, 99 percent of its ammonia and more than 97 percent of its odour-causing components.
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The system comprises tanks and staging areas laid out over 60 metres. In three stages, it separates solids from liquids, removes ammonia, recovers soluble phosphorus and processes the solids into plant fertilizer.
Researchers tested the system’s ability to eliminate animal-waste discharge and related release of ammonia, odours and pathogens in surface and ground water. They also gauged its ability to stem soil and ground water contamination by nutrients and heavy metals.
The evaluation was conducted on a full-scale version of the system built on a hog farm in North Carolina. A patent is pending on the system.
