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Paper No.
984105
An ASAE Meeting Presentation
ANAEROBIC
DIGESTION AND WETLAND TREATMENT CASE STUDY:
COMPARING TWO MANURE ODOR CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR DAIRY FARMS
by
Peter
E. Wright
Senior
Extension Associate
Department
of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Cornell
Cooperative Extension
Ithaca,
NY, USA
Stephen
P. Perschke
Area
Engineer
UDSA
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Batavia,
NY, USA
Written
for presentation at the
1998
ASAE Annual International Meeting
Sponsored
by ASAE
Disney’s
Coronado Springs Resort
Orlando,
Florida
July
12-16, 1998
Summary:
A comparison of two existing
odor control treatments on dairy farms in NY shows the costs and
benefits of each system. On
one dairy farm an anaerobic digester is used to stabilize the manure and
collect methane for the production of electricity.
The effluent is then separated.
The solids are sold, and the liquid effluent is then land
applied. The other dairy
farm uses a wetland treatment system.
This farm uses flushing to carry the manure to shallow ponds for
solid settling. The solids
are recovered for off site sale. The liquid effluent is treated in a facultative lagoon.
The effluent from the lagoon is recycled for use as the liquid
for flushing the barn and land applied.
These systems have different costs, nutrient utilization and
management concerns. Both
of these systems achieve significant odor control and are feasible
alternatives for dairy farms.
Introduction
Dairy farms are coming under increasing pressure to
control the odors from their operations.
Often nutrient management plans designed to protect water quality
prescribe manure storage. Stored
manure can produce objectionable odors, creating a conflict with
neighbors. By comparing two
feasible alternatives to manure handling that achieve odor control,
agricultural engineers and producers will be better able to chose an
effective and economically viable system for farms.
These systems improve neighbor relations, reduce the impact on
the environment, and will help provide for sustainable development of
the dairy industry.
Objective
The objectives of this paper are to show the
material flow, nutrient content, and costs of two different manure
handling systems. The
advantages and disadvantages of each system are described so that
managers can decide if either system will meet their needs as a manure
handling system.
Farm A
This dairy farm is a 500 cow operation located in a
rural community in south central NY.
The farm is owned and managed by
one family. They are
in the process of completing their business plan goal of milking 1,000
cows. However, water
quality and odor concerns from the community that their land surrounds
has led them to choose a manure handling system that will both allow
them to utilize the nutrients in the manure and allow them to control
odors produced by the manure.
Figure 1 shows the layout of Farm A's buildings and
manure handling system. There
is a planned 500 cow freestall to the West of the existing milking
center. The milking center
and bunk silo are sized to meet the capacity of a 1,000 cow herd.
Their original plan was to expand rapidly to a 1,000 cow herd.
Figure 1.
Farm A layout of manure handling system.
They were unprepared to handle the manure produced
at the facility as they started operating in the summer of 1993.
Manure and wash water were stored in an underground reception pit
at the back of the holding area. This
pit could store manure and waste water from the milking parlor for about
two weeks. This was a long
enough time for the manure to partially decompose producing a putrid
odor. Due to equipment
problems and limited land to spread the manure, 2 week old manure was
spread daily the first summer. The
opposition that they faced from the community as the 500 cow barn began
operation was tremendous. The
people in the village objected to this new system, but under NY's right
to farm law they could not prevent the farm from operating.
Water quality issues could stop the farm from
operating. The majority of
the farm’s 1200 acres are on well drained valley land.
The farm lies on the primary aquifer for the village, the school,
as well as many private wells used for drinking water. The nearby creek has been identified as having water quality
problems due to high nutrient and organic loading and is on NYSDEC's
priority water problem list.
To address these water quality issues while using
the manure as the main nutrient source for the farm, the best solution
would be to store the manure and apply it only when the crops were
growing or immediately before the crops were to be planted.
This strategy would
result in all the corn land being spread heavily with manure in the
spring and the hay crops topdressed with manure after each cutting
throughout the summer. The
odor from these operations would create a major public relations problem
for the farm.
Anaerobic digestion could provide a way to reduce
the odor in the manure, reduce the solids content of the manure to
improve irrigation operation, and perhaps recover some costs from energy
production. The larger the
farm the greater the economic feasibility of anaerobic digestion.
Methane production has efficiencies of scale that turn positive
at around 500 cow farm sizes. Anaerobically
digested manure has a significantly limited odor.
Most easily digested organic matter will be broken down in the
anaerobic digestion process. The gas production is controlled and burned so no odors
escape from the digestion process.
The resulting effluent is mostly inert organics and does not
develop the objectionable odors that raw manure storage produces.
As the manure is anaerobically digested some of the
solids are converted to methane gas, carbon dioxide gas and water.
About 4% of the solids are converted reducing the solid content
and raising the moisture content of the effluent about 4%.
This change in addition to some breakdown of the fibers in the
manure, makes the resulting effluent much easier to pump.
Solid separation systems also seem to work better on digested
effluent than on the raw manure.
Dairy manure from 500 cows is estimated to produce
about 42,000 cubic feet of biogas per day.
Using a 70 kW engine and generator this could produce about 1390
kW/d of electricity and allow significant heat recovery from the engine.
It may be difficult to sell the electricity and to use all the
heat produced. There have
been a number of anaerobic digesters installed on farms.
These systems have a mixed record of success.
They are more likely to get the management attention they need to
work well where needed as an odor control system.
Anaerobic
Digestion Description
Manure from the 305 foot by 360 foot
free stall barn is automatically scraped into a cross alley with
step dams to facilitate gravity manure flow.
Ten cubic yards of kiln dried shavings are used for bedding each
week. The barn is insulated
below the rafters with 1.5 inches of foil faced insulation.
This was done to minimize the time that manure would freeze, both
to keep the alley scrapers running during the winter as well as to limit
the heating requirements for the manure.
The 20 hp submersible manure pump is used to pump manure into the
digester once a day. This
pump cost $9,000 and is used 1.5 hours a day.
The digester is a plug flow concrete tank 136 feet
long by 30 feet wide by 14 feet deep.
The engineering design was valued at $20,000.
It was sized to provide a hydraulic retention time of 20 days
when the herd gets to 1000 cows. It
cost $160,000 to build which includes the floating insulation, the gas
containing cover, and two hot water heating circuits.
Both circuits can use the heat off the engine or heat from a
separate boiler if the engine is not working.
One circuit in the front end of the digester is used to heat the
incoming manure while the other circuit runs the length of the digester
and is on a different thermostat to maintain the temperature of the
manure at about 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
The gas is run to a 130 kW 3306 Caterpillar engine.
The engine is a diesel block with a natural gas head that can be
easily converted to run on biogas.
The engine runs an induction generator to produce the electricity
that replaces 9 cents per kW electricity used by the farm.
The extra is sold back to the utility at 2 cents per kW, which is
the wholesale price. The
farm averaged $3,000 per month of electricity on all their sites.
They expect to reduce this to $1,000 per month with the
cogeneration system. This
generator will not work if the electric utility fails since the
induction generator needs an input from the utility to produce
electricity. For
emergencies a stand by generator will need to be installed.
The engine generator and switching equipment was
purchased used for $15,000. Additional
costs were $6,000 to rebuild the engine, $2,000 to rebuild the
generator, $9,000 for other plumbing, electric, and mechanical systems,
$8,000 to run 265 feet of parallel 3 phase cable to the utility hook-up,
$18,000 for an electrical engineer consultant,
and $5,000 to obtain the utility permit.
This system is sized for an ultimate herd size of 1,000 cows.
Five hundred cows will produce about 55 kW; 1,000 cows will produce about 110 kW. The maintenance cost of the digester and cogeneration system
is expected to be about 1.5 cents per kW hour or about $15,000 per year.
This includes oil changes, parts, replacing the digester cover
and grit removal. The
normal maintenance may average one half an hour per day.
The effluent leaving the digester is 6.7% solids.
It is pumped to a screw press separator with a 7.5 Hp pump.
This pump cost $1,800 and has a $1,200 variable speed drive.
The screw press separator will produce about 0.6 cubic foot of
30% solid recycled manure every half minute of operation. That rate will handle about two cows daily manure production
per minute. This rate may
change depending on the size of the solids, the moisture content of the
manure slurry, and the internal wear on the auger vanes.
The separator does seem to work better with digested manure than
with raw manure. The
remaining slurry is reduced in volume by about 15% allowing more storage
time for existing storage facilities.
The slurry has 4.5% solids remaining in it so it pumps much
easier than unseparated raw manure.
The separation equipment costs about $25,000 for
the machine, and is housed in a $25,000 existing building.
The separator uses 4 kW to turn the auger, and 0.15 kW to run a
vibrator to keep the manure entering smoothly.
There is a definite ammonia odor during this process.
Ammonia is lighter than air so this will not be an off site odor
problem.
The solids are sold to a bulk soil amendment
processor for $8 per cubic yard. The
liquids flow by gravity to a 2,400,000 gallon lined waste storage pond
to be stored or pumped to an existing 2,200,000 gallon waste storage
pond convenient to some of the crop fields.
The lined pit cost $18,000 for the excavation, fence, pipe, and
outlet structure, and $42,000 for the liner.
The liner was needed because of the gravel soils at the
farmstead. Five miles of 6
inch diameter plastic pipe will be buried to move the effluent to the
remote waste storage pond and to the fields. This pipe cost $2.50 per foot installed with valves and
risers for access.
An irrigation pump and reel with a hard hose and
big gun applicator will be purchased to apply the manure to growing
crops. The digestion
process should reduce the weed seeds and pathogens present in the
manure. Effects of unpalatableness from manure spread on
growing crops should also be reduced.
The anaerobic digestion to remove odors, and lowering the solid
content with anaerobic digestion, solid removal and dilution should make
the irrigation equipment run smoothly. Irrigation costs have been estimated from other operations at
thirty-four dollars per hour. They
were calculated from a 100 Hp chopper pump, 1.23 operators, 1 mile of
portable pipe, and a tractor run 23 % of the time to set up the
traveling gun reel. The
costs of irrigation will not be included in the process evaluation.
Samples of manure were taken at the end of each
process in this system. The
manure before and after anaerobic digestion was sampled, as well as both
flows from the separator. The
manure storage pond was sampled prior at the surface after winter
storage. There could be significant variation in these samples
especially the one from the waste storage pond.
Dilution by precipitation, milking center wash water, as well as
settling may have distorted the nutrient contents.
Table 1 shows the percentages from each sample.
Table 1.
Manure characteristics and estimated amounts per cow from Farm A
Anaerobic Digestion System.
|
|
%M
|
%N
|
%P
|
%K
|
Lb.
|
|
As produced per day
|
90
|
0.44
|
0.09
|
0.29
|
152
|
|
After digestion per day
|
93
|
0.45
|
0.07
|
0.26
|
146
|
|
Separated liquid per day
|
95
|
0.43
|
0.06
|
0.28
|
126
|
|
Separated solids per day
|
77
|
0.51
|
0.11
|
0.26
|
21
|
|
From storage per day
|
98
|
0.27
|
0.02
|
0.16
|
165
|
|
Nutrients available
Lb. per year
|
|
163
|
12
|
97
|
|
In table 1, the mass for the digester effluent was
estimated based on the change in moisture content in the samples.
The mass of solids was estimated using previously measured
densities of the separated solids of 30 pounds per cubic foot.
The mass of the separated liquid was determined by subtracting
the mass of the separated solids. The
mass of the stored liquid was estimated by adding in the average
precipitation for 180 days.
Predicting the amounts and concentrations of the
nutrients is difficult. Obtaining
representative samples and estimating the losses from biological,
chemical, and physical processes in the system can be difficult.
The biological reactions are not monitored or controlled fully
and there are some physical factors that are uncontrolled in the storage
pond that can effect the nutrient concentrations.
Costs on
Farm A
The $365,000 first year expense for this system is
high, but there is more opportunity for potential returns. After converting to a present value over a 20 year life with
8% interest, the net per cow benefit is $698.22.
Sales of electricity are assumed to be $24,000 per year.
The sales of solids are assumed to be $32,445 per year, and
assuming the value of the nutrients at $0.25 per pound; the nutrients
remaining are worth $34,060 per year. There are of course many factors not taken into account in
this analysis. The
nutrients were assumed to be needed when it may be that only nitrogen is
needed on the farm. The
electric value will depend on a number of pricing and production
interactions. The sales of
the solids hopefully will continue without competition from another farm
that might be closer to the market providing the organic material at a
lower cost.
Yearly expenses include $15,000 per year for the
maintenance of the digester, engine, and generator.
This will include occasionally replacing the cover and removing
the grit in the bottom of the digester.
The engines and generator repairs and scheduled overhauls are
also included in this yearly cost as is the one half hour of daily
maintenance to check the system. The
spreading costs of the manure were ignored as well as the offsite
storage. The cost of the alley scrapers is also not included in the
system. The pumps were
estimated to have a 10 year useful life.
Their replacement was included in the present value calculation.
These costs are shown in table 2.
Table 2.
Costs for anaerobic digestion manure handling system for Farm A.
|
|
Present Value
|
Yearly Amount
|
|
First Year Expense
|
($365,000)
|
|
|
Ten Year Expense
|
($22,696)
|
|
|
Operation and Maintenance
|
($151,786)
|
($15,460)
|
|
Nutrient Value Remaining
|
$334,406
|
$34,060
|
|
Solids Sold
|
$318,550
|
$32,445
|
|
Electricity Sold
|
$235,636
|
$24,000
|
|
Net Income
|
$349,109
|
|
|
Net Income per Cow
|
$698
|
$35
|
|
|
|
|
Without including the nutrient value the system has
a present value of $1 per cow over the 20 year life of the system.
Some farms may not be able to obtain a benefit from the manure.
Farms with fields that have high to excessive levels of
phosphorus and potassium may even see these nutrients as a detriment.
Appropriate nutrient management will be needed to utilize the
nutrients to maximize crop uptake.
The ability to irrigate the effluent on growing crops without
excessive odors will increase the likelihood that the nutrients can be
used.
Farm B
This dairy farm is presently a 170 cow operation
located in a rural area of the south west part of NY State. The farm is owned and managed by one family.
They rebuilt and expanded their farm in 1993 when a fire
destroyed their tie stall barn. Their
present facility can hold up to 300 cows.
They may expand beyond that some time in the future.
They chose a manure handling system that will both allow them to
minimize labor and allow them to control odors produced by the manure.
They hope that sales of the solids produced can help their cash
flow.
Figure 2 shows the layout of Farm B's buildings and
manure handling system. This
farm site is on a fairly steep hillside.
This facilitates the gravity flow of the manure system but added
to the construction costs for extra earthmoving.
The producer chose a new wetland treatment system for manure
handling that seemed to work well with his idea of minimizing labor by
using a flush system to remove the manure from the freestall barn.
The Bion system is a patented process that uses
managed shallow ponds to separate the manure solids into aquatically
stabilized solids. These
solids are then harvested, dried, screened and sold as a soil amendment.
The system recycles the biologically active liquid to move the
manure through the ponds. The
water from the facultative lagoon is used to supply the flush water for
the system. Odors are much
reduced when this system is operating correctly.
The effluent from the facultative lagoon is relatively low in
nutrients. Ammonium nitrogen is lost into the air from this system. Some nutrients are moved off the farm as solids.
There may be significant settling of phosphorus in the bottom of
the facultative lagoon.
Figure 2.
Farm B layout of manure handling system.
Wetland
System Description
Manure from the four freestall alleys is flushed 3
times a day into the wetland system.
Each flush consists of 10 thousand gallons of recycled water from
the facultative lagoon. There
is no noticeable odor in the barn as the flush system is operated.
The Waterman flush valves are opened for 4 to 6 minutes per
alley. The alleys are
sloped at a one percent grade toward 6 inch wide grate covered drop
inlets that lead to a 30 inch smooth plastic pipe that outlets next to
the first shallow settling pond. This
flow from the barn flush as well as flows from the milking center and
silage juice from the bunk are controlled and routed to the two shallow
settling ponds. The milking
center water can only go to the smaller pond because the elevation of
the larger pond is too high. The
pipes, valves, and holding tank to deliver the flush water to the barns
and return it to the wetland system cost $32,089.
This includes the four flush valves that each cost $550.
The settling ponds are designed to slowly build up
solids forcing new flows through the existing solids on the way to the
outlet. The excavation for
the ponds cost $60,000 plus $950 for the survey.
The outlet structures allow up to two feet of solid build up
while letting the liquids drain out.
When the larger pond is full, the flows are directed to the
smaller pond until the solids are drained and harvested.
The smaller pond is then cleaned by adding water, agitating and
pumping to the larger pond.
The removal of the manure solids is done every year
from the larger pond. A
back hoe with a 32 foot reach is used for 48 hours to place the material
on the banks. The track
mounted backhoe with an operator cost $70 per hour.
Bion provides the management and marketing of the "Bion
Soils". When the
material is dry and sold a $5 per cubic yard payment is given to the
farmer. The average amount
sold per year is 1200 cubic yards or about 0.5 cubic feet per cow per
day.
The liquids from the shallow solid settling ponds
outlet into the 25 foot deep facultative lagoon.
There is evidence of biological activity since fairly continuous gas bubbles up in the lagoon. The
liquids are stored in the facultative lagoon, pumped to an additional
1.5 million gallon waste storage pond, and then applied to the 440 acres
of farmed land from both the satellite storage as well as from the
facultative lagoon.
The lagoon holds 2 million gallons of waste water.
An intake suspended two feet below the surface recycles the waste
water through a 10 Hp self priming closed impeller, centrifugal pump,
costing $1,880, to a holding tank 27 feet higher in elevation than the
barn. This 20,000 gallon
holding tank provides the flush water to clean the barn.
The pump can deliver 100 gallons a minute and runs 20 hours per
day. The electric rate on
this farm is 5.5 cents per kW from an electric co-op.
By using this recycled water, only the water from
the milking center, silage leachate, and precipitation is added to the
manure system. The farm's
records show that the amount of waste water spread on the fields from
the system for 1997 was about equal to the manure and wastewater added. One of the perceived draw backs to this system is the extra
water handling from the surface area of the wetland.
There are about twelve acres that would add precipitation and
runoff to the site and about 3.5 acres of surface area for evaporation.
There is the possibility that the biological reactions in the
wetland area increase the evaporation to cancel out the extra
precipitation. An unknown
amount of water has overflowed from the facultative lagoon in extreme
events.
An irrigation pump and reel with a hard hose and
big gun applicator will be purchased to apply the manure to growing
crops. There is a slight
musty odor as the effluent is irrigated.
The Bion system should reduce the weed seeds, and some of the
pathogens present in the manure. Effects
of unpalatableness from manure spread on
growing crops should also be reduced.
The low solid content of the effluent from the facultative lagoon
should make the irrigation equipment run smoothly.
Irrigation costs have been estimated from other operations at
thirty-four dollars per hour. They
were calculated from a 100 Hp chopper pump, 1.23 operators, 1 mile of
portable pipe, and a tractor run 23 % of the time to set up the
traveling gun reel.
Samples of the solid leaving the farm and the
liquid effluent being applied to the fields were taken in this system.
There is a significant variation in these samples from ones taken
in 1997. There are
differences due to the weather and the uncontrolled nature of the
biological processes that will make the nutrient concentrations and the
volume of waste water vary considerably.
Dilution by precipitation, milking center wash water, and silage
leachate as well as settling may have distorted the nutrient contents.
Table 3 shows the percentages from each sample from the spring of
1998.
Table 3.
Manure characteristics and estimated amounts per cow from Farm B
Wetland treatment system.
|
|
%M
|
%N
|
%P
|
%K
|
Lb.
|
|
As produced
|
90
|
0.40
|
0.09
|
0.30
|
152
|
|
Separated liquid
|
99
|
0.08
|
0.01
|
0.07
|
135
|
|
Separated solids
|
83
|
0.37
|
0.10
|
0.07
|
17.5
|
|
Nutrients available
Lb. per year
|
|
39
|
5
|
35
|
|
In table 3, the mass of solids was estimated using
previously measured densities of the separated solids of 35 pounds per
cubic foot. The mass of the
separated liquid was determined by subtracting the mass of the separated
solids. This mass was
compared to the amount reported spread in 1997 and was only 10% lower. The farmer reported irrigating 148 pounds of liquid per cow
per day in 1997.
Predicting the amounts and concentrations of the
nutrients in this system is even more difficult.
Obtaining representative samples and estimating the losses from
biological, chemical, and physical processes in this relatively
uncontrolled system can be difficult.
The biological reactions are not monitored or controlled and the
temperature, precipitation, and evaporation are uncontrolled in the
ponds. There can be a large
effect on the nutrient concentrations.
Bion Technologies, Inc. is designing and installing
these systems throughout the US. The
capital costs for the installation and a management fee would be paid to
this company and the profits from the sale of the solids would be split
between the company and the farmer.
Wetland
Costs
The $94,919 first year expense for this system is a
moderate investment for a manure handling system.
There is some opportunity for potential returns, but the revenues
from the sale of the solids have to be split with the managing partner.
After converting to a present value over a 20 year life with 8%
interest, the net per cow cost of this system is ($390.27).
The sales of solids are assumed to be $6,000 per year, and
assuming the value of the nutrients at $0.25 per pound the nutrients
remaining are worth $3,354 per year.
There are of course many factors not taken into account in this
analysis. The nutrients
were assumed to be needed when it may be that only nitrogen is needed on
the farm. The sales of the
solids hopefully will continue without competition.
Yearly expenses include $2,995 per year for the
electricity and $3,360 to remove the solids from the shallow solid
settling ponds. The pump
was assigned a ten year life. The
spreading cost of the manure was ignored as well as the offsite storage
cost. The additional
benefit of cleaning the barn is included in this system.
The farmer, the veterinarian, and the hoof trimmer are pleased
with the results of the flush system.
These costs are shown in table 4.
Table 4.
Costs for wetland manure handling system for Farm B.
|
|
Present Value
|
Yearly Amount
|
|
First Year Expense
|
($94,920)
|
|
|
Ten Year Expense
|
($1,880)
|
|
|
Operation and Maintenance
|
($62,396)
|
($6,355)
|
|
Nutrient Value Remaining
|
$32,930
|
$3,354
|
|
Solids Sold
|
$58,910
|
$6,000
|
|
Net Income
|
($66,346)
|
|
|
Net Income per Cow
|
($390)
|
($20)
|
Without including the nutrient value the system has
a negative present value of ($584) per cow over the 20 year life of the
system. Some farms may not
be able to obtain a benefit from the manure.
Farms with fields that have high to excessive levels of
phosphorus and potassium may even see these nutrients as a detriment.
The lower amounts of these nutrients in the effluent of this
system will make this less likely.
Still appropriate nutrient management will be needed to utilize
the nutrients properly. The
variation of the nutrient concentrations because of the effects of
weather on the process may make this system a little more difficult to
develop a nutrient management plan.
The ability to irrigate the effluent on growing crops without
excessive odors will increase the likelihood that the nutrients can be
used.
Discussion
Both systems have some expansion capabilities
planned in them. Farm A
sized their system for 1000 cows while Farm B sized their system for 300
cows. Using their systems
to their full capacity would of course reduce the per cow costs.
A comparison on just the cost basis is not complete
since the electric prices, the farm sizes, and management objectives at
each farm are different. Still
table 5 shows the present value of each system with and without the
nutrient value of the effluent.
Table 5.
Present values of the manure handling systems with and without
the value of the nutrients.
|
|
Farm A
|
Farm B
|
|
Present Value
per cow (without nutrients)
|
$15
|
($584)
|
|
Present Value
per cow (with nutrients)
|
$698
|
($390)
|
The irrigation cost of the effluent was not
included on both systems. The
amount to be irrigated on a per cow basis will be similar for each farm.
Irrigation of the effluent should be the cheaper than tank
spreading for both farms. The
irrigation on both farms should be relatively easy since they both have
low total solids in the effluent. Farm
B has very low solids content in the effluent so irrigation will be very
efficient. Both systems
have biologically treated the effluent so that palatability problems as
the effluent is sprayed on growing forage crops should not be an issue.
Pathogen and weed seed reductions have probably occurred in both
systems. If spills occur,
the reduced BOD in the effluent should help reduce the effect on the
environment.
The pond system and recycling pump on Farm B were a
relatively low capital cost. A
flat site with low permeability soil could reduce the costs of
installation even further. Steep
sites that require an artificial liner would be much more expensive.
Retrofitting a flushing system into a flat barn would also be
more expensive. An existing
2% slope on the alleys would be ideal.
Farm A did a good job of finding an appropriately
sized used engine generator at a very reasonable cost.
There may be ways they could have used an earth reinforced
plastic lined digester to reduce the initial cost.
If they could find a use for more of the electricity to change
the value of the excess produced from $0.02 per kW sold to the utility
to $0.09 per kW of avoided cost on the farm, the digester system would
have even more value. They
are using some of the waste heat to heat water in the milking center.
Smaller farms have higher per cow costs for a digester system.
Conclusions
Both the wetland treatment system and the anaerobic
digester are feasible systems for dairy farms that will provide
excellent odor control. The
costs of these systems are comparable or less than other manure handling
systems. The management
required is well within the abilities of most dairy farms.
There are advantages and disadvantages to each
system that may be more or less important to each farm.
The wetland system works very well with a flushing system to
clean the barns. Gently
sloping topography and relatively impermeable soils will keep the
initial costs low. Farms
that don't need all the nutrients in the raw manure may benefit from the
nutrient losses of this system. The
anaerobic digester system would be best for a farm that had high
electric costs and could use the nutrients for crop production.
Nutrient utilization and by-product sales are
important in reducing the cost of a manure handling system.
Marketing the separated solids and fully utilizing the nutrients
in the manure can help pay for odor treatment systems.
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