Harvest Energy │ Capture Nutrients │ Reclaim Water™ Ultrafiltration of Dairy Manure for Phosphorus and Pathogen Control VPIC 2018 Robert Levine, Ph.D. Matthew Biette 1
Nutrient Concentrate & Water Reclamation System™ 2
Product Volumes (% of raw manure basis) Focus for this proposal 3
Proposal Summary Assemble and operate a pilot-scale ultrafiltration system at three VT dairies to demonstrate the efficacy and cost- effectiveness of a stainless steel, tubular ultrafiltration system to process liquid dairy manure into “UF Permeate” (aka “tea - water”) with very low levels of phosphorus and “UF Concentrate.” 4
Hub and Spoke Model • Collate UF concentrate rich in phosphorus from numerous farms at a centralized location such as VT Natural Ag (Fosters) • Process UF concentrate along with other products into value-added soil amendments and composts • Export phosphorus-laden products from the watershed • Possible to replicate across the state by identifying suitable hubs closest to largest number of cows Letters of Support from Farms: Monument Farms Dairy, Dubois Dairy, Foster Brother’s Farm Letter of Support from “Hub”: VT Natural Ag Products 5
Key Benefits of On-Farm Ultrafiltration For the Watershed For the Farmer • Reduced runoff of phosphorus into nearby • Reduced hauling and spreading costs , surface waters due to improved agronomic especially for bringing manure nutrients to practices (application timing to maximize fields that are further away uptake, application to soils with lowest • Potential to use lower cost spreading phosphorus levels, placement of methods for UF permeate (with no concentrated fertilizer onto fields is less suspended solids or pathogens, spreading mobile than more dilute manure) through irrigation equipment is greatly • Reduction in the spreading of E. coli and improved and can be done at lower cost) other pathogens into groundwater and • Potential for new revenue source from sale surface bodies of concentrated fertilizer to composters, • Reduced soil compaction due to improved fertilizer manufacturers, and/or organic spreading practices producers • Reduced truck traffic on roads (community • Potential for higher crop yields due to benefits) improved agronomic practices that reduce runoff 6
Installation at Majestic Crossing Dairy (2016) Multi-stage process to obtain drinking-quality water for Majestic’s cows: • Screw-pressing to reclaim fiber • Ultrafiltration to remove suspended solids • Two-Step Reverse Osmosis™ to remove dissolved solids • Ultraviolet Disinfection 7
Fiber Separation 1 Material Analysis • FAN Screw-Presses • 750-micron screen size Electrical • Ideal soil amendment Dry Matter Moisture pH Conductivity • Compost feedstock • Bedding material 30.1% 69.9% 8.5 1.3 Fertilizer Value Phosphorus Potassium Nitrogen Sulfur TOTAL (P 2 O 5 ) (K 2 O) LBS/TON 8.0 2.1 5.1 1.2 16.4 $/TON $1.30 $1.41 $3.03 $0.34 $6.08 Typically higher value as compost or bedding 8
Ultrafiltration Module 2 18” diameter x 10’ long UF Permeate or “Tea Water” (goes to TSRO) View looking inside the module at tubular membranes 9
Ultrafiltration Module 2 Key Benefits • Porous stainless- steel tubular membranes (3/4”) • Welded and bolted construction in ASME pressure vessel • Designed to last 10-15 years with little downtime UF Permeate or “Tea Water” (goes to TSRO) • No internal moving parts • Can operate in batch-mode or continuously and be mounted horizontally or vertically • NO POLYMERS • Proudly manufactured in the USA View looking inside the module at tubular membranes 10
Recent analysis of UF permeate 2 Lbs/1000 gal DM Material (%) TN P2O5 K2O S Liquid manure 5.3 28 10 24 2.8 UF Permeate 1.4 14 0.2 19 1.0 % Capture by UF 73% 49% 98% 20% 65% UF Permeate or “Tea Water” Also removes >99.9% of bacteria and pathogens UF permeate ideal for irrigation 11
Ultrafiltration on four other WI dairies Phosphorus Removal by UF 12 10 8 P2O5 6 (lbs/1,000 gal) 4 2 0 Farm A Farm B Farm C Farm D UF Feed 6.47 8.83 6.93 9.59 UF Permeate 0.19 0.17 0.16 0.27 % Reduction 97.1% 98.1% 97.7% 97.2% UF Feed UF Permeate 12
Estimated Mass Balance for 500-head Farm in VT (assumes 80% permeate recovery on liquid manure) Percent of Concentration Concentration Amount P2O5 Volume (GPD) Mass in (lbs/1000 gal) (%) (lbs/year) Manure (%) Liquid Manure 15,000 8.8 0.1054 48,180 UF Permeate 12,000 0.17 0.002 745 2% UF Concentrate 3,000 43 0.5 47,435 98% Instead of the farm’s 48,100 lbs of P2O5 being distributed in 5,475,000 gallons of manure each year, now nearly all of that phosphorus is in just 1,095,000 gallons of UF concentrate . UF Concentrate: • Pumpable slurry • Ideal for hauling further distances to low-P land • Ideal to centralize for composting/fertilizer manufacturing 13
Automation & Online Dashboard • Little to no operator attention required • Remotely monitored • Customer dashboard 14
Harvest Energy | Capture Nutrients | Reclaim Water ™ Thank You Robert Levine , Ph.D. CEO & Co-Founder robert.levine@digestedorganics.com For more 844-9-DIGEST information 15
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