Ammonia emission is a complicated subject and can be an expensive treatment for farmers if they are forced to spend millions installing manure digesters.
Recently, governments worldwide are cracking-down on farm ammonia emissions due to environmental pollution and Green House Gases (GHG). In the Netherland the government is proposing to spend hundreds of millions of euros of taxpayers money buying out farmers to reduce ammonia emissions. Yet a simple, effective and cheap alternative is available and it wouldn’t cost the government – or the taxpayer – anything.
Methods of LIQUID manure treatment:
Basically there are currently two main methods of treating liquid manure from cow and pig origin:
Anaerobic digester method – Installation cost around € 2000.00 per cow – more per pig.
Aerobic method – requires a fixed installation and continual running of an air generator.
Both above mentioned system involve costly investment and running/maintenance costs. Many farmers simply cannot afford the price involved.
GierO2 - IT’S SIMPLE AND LOW COST.
GierO2 is an aerobic on farm in-situ treatment.
Its purpose is to treat the slurry while it’s still in the slurry pit and generally requires no investment unless a slurry circulation pump is not installed.
GierO2 was initially created specifically to treat liquid manure through NITRIFICATION by temporarily making the slurry oxygen rich to allow the process to take place.
In farms where GierO2 was tested ammonia levels were reduced to 0 to 2 ppm and there was no noticeable smell emanating from the slurry.
How does GierO2 work
GierO2 works on the basis of nitrification. Nitrification is a natural aerobic microbial process by which ammonia is sequentially oxidized to nitrite and nitrate.
This process occurs naturally in a composting environment but as pig slurry is a complete anaerobic environment the nitrification process cannot occur and the ammonia escapes into the air – which is technically a loss of a resource.
GIERO2 is highly stabilised
When deciding to make GierO2 we wanted to create a simple, environment friendly cost effective solution that used nature’s own technology to turn ammonia into nitrite and nitrate. Furthermore, the goal was to produce only molecular oxygen for the microorganisms given that this is what they require for the process of nitrification. Anything else would be wasted energy adding to higher costs.
The technology behind GierO2 is that the oxygen in the H2O2 decomposes in a controlled manner over a long period of time – at least until it is well mixed and well distributed in the slurry. For GierO2 we created a kind of "slow release" system in the same way as there are slow release fertilisers.
To further stimulate the microorganism, an energy source is added as support for the micro-organisms. Eventually after some ±24 hours the oxygen will run out, causing the process to stop and the slurry to become anaerobic again unless more GierO2 is added. However in this time period most if not all of the ammonia will have been converted to nitrite and nitrate.
Nitrite and nitrate cannot convert back to ammonia and therefore once treated the manure can be stored and will not emanate any ammonia and should be without smell.
HOW ITS DOSED:
Dosing GierO2 can easily be done manually using a simple watering can or if required the dosing can be automatic by installing a dosing system and a perforated hose system running just under the floor roasters the animals walk on.
Turn on mixing/circulation pump, dilute GierO2 1:20 with water pour over roasters so that it enters the slurry pit. Repeat same process with Energy Source, dilute 1:10 – 1:20 with water and pour over roasters so that it enter the slurry pit. Leave
Turn off mixing/circulation pump after about 10 minutes or 2-3 rotations.
Other Benefits of using GierO2
Phosphate:
Most of the phosphate in slurry is present as organic phosphate which cannot be absorbed by plants. By making the slurry temporarily aerobic, the organic phosphate will be converted to inorganic phosphate – this is purely an oxidation process that requires oxygen. Inorganic-phosphate is directly absorbed by plants.
A big advantage is that this greatly reduces the chance of phosphate leaching.
Increase in fertiliser value of the pig slurry:
Given that the ammonia is converted to the stable form of nitrite and nitrate no -nitrate fertilizer is needed which can add to big savings. Furthermore applying an aerobic slurry over the field has huge benefits compared to applying an anaerobic slurry on the field.
GIERO2 neutralises hydrogen sulphide
Hydrogen sulphide (H2S), is a colourless gas known for its pungent "rotten egg" odour at low concentrations.
Other benefits:
Cost savings: It has been calculated in the Netherlands that for each €1.00 spent the return can be as high as €3 – 3.50 through savings and benefits.
Consistency of the slurry is more homogenous / fluid without any hardened areas which generally occur in untreated slurry making it much harder to empty the slurry pit. Treated slurry is very easy to pump out without any clumps of hardened slurry. This makes emptying the slurry pit more efficient.
Better and faster regrowth rate of pastures after spreading. Pastures treated with manure + GierO2 generally yield 10% more Dry Matter per Hectare
Reduces fertiliser costs as the fertiliser value of treated slurry is significantly increased – Therefor no need to apply a Nitrogen based fertiliser after application of the liquid manure on the field.
These are just a few of the benefits we have come across when treating slurry with GierO2. For more information please contact your local representative.
References:
Treatment of swine manure: case studies in European’s N-surplus areas. Maria Cruz García-González, Marcin Proniewicz.
Ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions from slurry storage - A review. Thomas Kupper, Christoph Häni, Albrecht Neftel, Chris Kincaid, Marcel Bühler, Barbara Amon, Andrew Vander Zaag.
Industrial ammonia production emits more CO2 than any other chemical-making reaction. Leigh Krietsch Boerner, special to C&EN
Agricultural Emissions - greenhouse gases and ammonia – Agricultural and food development Authority, Ireland.
A Guide to Swine Manure Management Methods – Alberta farm machinery research centre & Prairie agricultural machinery institute