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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Florence, South Carolina » Coastal Plain Soil, Water and Plant Conservation Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #314144
Title: Extraction and recovery of phosphorus from pig manure using the quick wash process

Author
item Szogi, Ariel
item Vanotti, Matias
item HUNT, PATRICK - Retired ARS Employee

Submitted to: Meeting Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/30/2015
Publication Date: 3/30/2015
Citation: Szogi, A.A., Vanotti, M.B., Hunt, P.G. 2015. Extraction and recovery of phosphorus from pig manure using the quick wash process. In: Waste to Worth: Advancing Sustainability in Animal Agriculture. Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Center International Conference, March 30-April 3, 2015, Seattle, Washington. http://articles.extension.org/pages/72873/extraction-and-recovery-of-phosphorus-from-pig-manure-using-the-quick-wash-process.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Land disposal of manure is a challenging environmental problem in areas with intense confined pig production. Due to nutrient imbalance, manure applied to soil at optimal nitrogen rates for crop growth can promote soil phosphorus (P) surplus and potential pollution of water resources. Although manure can be transported to nutrient-deficient croplands, this practice becomes less economical with increasing distances from the farm. Thus, management alternatives to land application are needed to recycle manure P. A patented treatment process, called Quick Wash, was developed for extraction and recovery of P from animal manure solids. In the Quick Wash process, P is selectively extracted from pig manure solids by using mineral or organic acid solutions. Following, P is recovered by addition of liquid lime and an organic poly-electrolyte to the liquid extract to form a calcium-containing P precipitate. The quick wash process generates two products: 1) manure solids low in P; and 2) recovered P material. The Quick Wash process selectively extracts and recovers as much as 90% of the P from pig manure solids while leaving most of the nitrogen in the washed manure solids. Consequently, the washed solid residue has a more balanced nitrogen and P composition for crop production and is environmentally safer for land application. The concentrated P product contains more than 90% of its P in plant available form for use as crop fertilizer. The inclusion of this process in a waste management system offers pig producers a new and welcomed opportunity to minimize P losses into the environment, while recovering and recycling P as a valuable product.