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Manure Digester Reduces Solids, Odors in Lagoons by Jill J. Dunkel Lagoon maintenance is often an unpleasant but necessary part of feedlot operations. In light of stricter proposed EPA guidelines, composting appears to be the wave of the future for pen maintenance, but what about composting in lagoons? Odors, solids build-up and nutrient contamination are all symptoms of a problem lagoon. But Gary Lehr of SHAC products contends the solids and odors are not the problems, but only the symptoms of the real problem -- a microbial and nutrient imbalance in the lagoon. "Mother Nature provided us ways to naturally handle the break down of organic wastes," says Lehr, General Manager of SHAC. "The natural system is the cheapest, however man's interference has messed up the system." Through biodigestion, or composting of manure and other organic matter, innumerable microbes from several different families work together in harmony under healthy, balanced conditions. Ideal conditions provide microbes with an adequate diet of nutrients and minerals, minimal contaminate interference and favorable temperatures and pH. A smelly lagoon with solids buildup typically has one or more key factors out of balance. These conditions result in a less efficient or possibly dormant microbial population. The founder of SHAC, Archie Fandrick, discovered a way to restore conditions favorable to the microbes in order to jump start Mother Nature. The SHAC Manure Digester is a form of liquified coal that activates resident microbes to enable the biodigestion system to balance itself. The liquified coal contains natural ingredients which provide a nutrient source for the microbes. It also provides activated carbon which attracts and ties up billions of particles of unwanted chemicals and toxins that inhibit microbial activity, enabling composting to start in the lagoon. "When treating a lagoon for the first time, we often probe the solids at the bottom to test for depth and density," says Lehr. "As the Manure Digester begins to break down the solids, the sludge at the bottom of the lagoon becomes softer." In addition to reducing solids in the lagoon, the Manure Digester also eliminates lagoon odors. "As the composting process takes place within the lagoon, more percolation will occur," says Lehr. "Observers will see bubbling on the surface due to the release of natural gasses created by the microbial process." Certain microbes work anaerobically, or without oxygen, at the bottom of the lagoon. As they break down manure, they create odors, which in a system out of balance will be released once they reach the surface. But with a balanced microbial population, aerobic microbes near the surface trap these odorous gasses and digest them further, greatly reducing the odors that are released by the lagoon. In a 1995 study conducted by Iowa State University that tested manure additives for odor control, the average odor threshold was reduced by 83 percent with the Manure Digester. Additionally, the total available nitrogen increased by an average of 44 percent with total ammonia nitrogen increasing by 36.6 percent. "The secret to the SHAC Manure Digester is releasing the nutrients and trace minerals that were locked in the coal millions of years ago," says Lehr. "We're not adding chemicals. We're just jump starting Mother Nature's natural process." |
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