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ARS Home » Plains Area » Bushland, Texas » Conservation and Production Research Laboratory » Soil and Water Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #355031
Research Project: Precipitation and Irrigation Management to Optimize Profits from Crop Production

Location: Soil and Water Management Research

Title: Treatment of beef cattle feedlot wastewater by electrocoagulation technology

Author
item BUTLER, ERICK - West Texas A & M University
item DEOTTE, ROBERT - West Texas A & M University
item CLEWETT, CATHERINE - West Texas A & M University
item MULAMBA, OLIVER - West Texas A & M University
item SPAAR, NOEL - West Texas A & M University
item HUNG, YUNG-TSE - Cleveland State University

Submitted to: Desalination and Water Treatment
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/25/2017
Publication Date: 1/15/2018
Citation: Butler, E., Deotte, R.E., Clewett, C.F., Mulamba, O., Spaar, N., Hung, Y. 2018. Treatment of beef cattle feedlot wastewater by electrocoagulation technology. Desalination and Water Treatment. 101:77-85.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5004/dwt.2018.21743

Interpretive Summary: Other sources of high quality water will need to be identified and developed as available water from the Ogallala Aquifer decreases. Cattle feedlot runoff and waste water contain substantial concentrations of salts, nutrients, pathogens, and organic matter, which limits its reuse. However, processes that can separate these contaminants from the water need to be developed. Therefore, scientists from West Texas A&M University and Cleveland State University in the ARS led Ogallala Aquifer Progam studied the efficiency of treating feedlot wastewater with an electrocoagulation process. The results demonstrated that most contaminants could be removed. These findings are vital for the development of methods to generate “clean” water from feedlot wastewater.

Technical Abstract: Regulatory requirements and waste management system operating practices continue to be developed to address environmental concerns regarding cattle feedlots. Cattle feedlot runoff is documented to contain substantial concentrations of salts, nutrients, pathogens, and organic matter, which all present potential pollution problems. This study focused on the efficiency of treating feedlot wastewater using an electrocoagulation process using aluminum electrodes to neutralize particles within the wastewater. The results demonstrated that an efficient removal of total phosphorus (0.58%–100%)and total organic carbon (7.97%–100%) within 30 min electrolysis time from commercial beef cattle feedyard wastewater. Factors such as the initial pH (4.0, 7.0, and 10.0), current density (2.6, 5.4, and 8.0 mA/cm2), water:wastewater dilution ratio (2:1, 1:2, and raw), and electrolysis time (0–30 min)were observed to have an effect on the efficiency of treatment. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used to assess the phosphate molecules formed based on the mentioned factors. The observed patterns assist in setting up and tailoring for specific removal treatments. The findings from this study are vital for the development of methods to generate phosphorus forms capable of being extracted for new products.