Lagoon-biogas emissions and carbon balance estimates of a swine production facility

Gaseous emissions from animal manure storage facilities can contribute to global greenhouse gas inventories. Biogas fluxes were measured for one year from a 2-ha anaerobic lagoon that received waste from a 10500-head swine (Sus scrofa) finishing operation in southwestern Kansas. During 2001, ebullition of biogas was measured continuously by using floating platforms equipped with gas-collection domes. Periodically, the composition of the biogas was determined by using gas chromatography. Detailed records of feed quality and quantity and animal weights and gains also were obtained to determine the carbon budget of the facility (barns and lagoon). Flux of biogas was very seasonal, with peak emission (18.7 mol m(-2) d(-1)) occurring in early June. Nearly 50% of the annual biogas losses occurred during a 30-d period beginning on day of year (DOY) 146. Flux patterns suggest that the start of the high biogas production period was governed by temperature, while the decline in production in mid-June was caused by substrate limitations. Average biogas composition was 0.71 L CH4 L(-1). The quantity of CH4 released from the lagoon was 86.3 Mg yr(-1), which represents about 38 g of CH4 per kg of animal weight gain. The average flux density of biogas from the lagoon was 382 mol m(-2) yr(-1) or 728 mol yr(-1) per resident animal where the resident animal population was 10500. Flux rates of CH4 were 1.7 to 3.4 times less than predictions made with Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) models. Additional research is needed on the carbon budgets of other animal feeding operations so that better estimates of greenhouse gas emissions can be determined.     

Movement of lagoon-liquor constituents below four animal-waste lagoons

Movement of liquor constituents from animal-waste lagoons has the potential to degrade ground water quality. The depth of movement and concentrations of lagoon-liquor constituents in the soil underlying three cattle (Bos taurus)-waste retention lagoons and one swine (Sus scrofa)-waste lagoon were determined. Samples were taken by using a direct-push coring machine, dissected by depth, and analyzed for total N, organic C, CaCO3, pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), texture, and extractable NO3, NH(4), P, Cl, Ca, Mg, K, and Na. Ammonium N concentrations were greatest in the upper 0.5 m of soil under all four lagoons with concentrations ranging from 94 to 1139 mg kg(-1). Organic N was determined to make up between 39 and 74% of the total N beneath all lagoons. The swine lagoon had 2.4 kg N m(-2) in the underlying soil whereas the cattle lagoon with highest quantity of N had 1.2 kg N m(-2) in the underlying soil. Although N concentrations decreased with depth, N was greater than expected background levels at the bottom of some cores, indicating that the sampling efforts did not reach the bottom of the N plume. Nitrate N concentrations were generally less than 5 mg kg(-1) immediately below the lagoon floor. In the uppermost 0.5 m of soil underlying the swine and three cattle lagoons, NH4+ occupied 44% and between 1 and 22% of the soil cation exchange sites, respectively. The depth of movement of N under these lagoons, as much as 4 m, may pose remediation difficulties at lagoon closure.     

Evaluation of soils for use as liner materials: a soil chemistry approach

Movement of NH(4)(+) below animal waste lagoons is generally a function of the whole-lagoon seepage rate, soil mineralogy, cations in the lagoon liquor, and selectivity for NH(4)(+) on the soil-exchange sites. Binary exchange reactions (Ca(2+)-K(+), Ca(2+)-NH(4)(+), and K(+)-NH(4)(+)) were conducted on two soils from the Great Plains and with combinations of these soils with bentonite or zeolite added. Binary exchanges were used to predict ternary exchanges Ca(2+)-K(+)-NH(4)(+) following the Rothmund-Kornfeld approach and Gaines-Thomas convention. Potassium and NH(4)(+) were preferred over Ca(2+), and K(+) was preferred over NH(4)(+) in all soils and soils with amendments. Generally, the addition of bentonite did not change cation selectivity over the native soils, whereas the addition of zeolite did. The Rothmund-Kornfeld approach worked well for predicting equivalent fractions of cations on the exchanger phase when only ternary-solution phase compositions were known. Actual swine- and cattle-lagoon solution compositions and the Rothmund-Kornfeld approach were used to project that native soils are predicted to retain 53 and 23%, respectively, of the downward-moving NH(4)(+) on their exchange sites. Additions of bentonite or zeolite to soils under swine lagoons may only slightly improve the equivalent fraction of NH(4)(+) on the exchange sites. Although additions of bentonite or zeolite may not help increase the NH(4)(+) selectivity of a liner material, increases in the overall cation exchange capacity (CEC) of a soil will ultimately decrease the amount of soil needed to adsorb downward-moving NH(4)(+).     

Concrete grinding residue characterization and influence on infiltration

Concrete grinding residue (CGR) is a slurry byproduct created by concrete pavement maintenance operations. Disposal of CGR slurry is presently regulated on the basis of very minimal information. The least immediate expense is incurred by spreading CGR slurry directly on vegetated roadway ditches and embankments. The direct disposal impacts to environmental quality in terms of soil physical or chemical properties are not known. Five CGR materials from widely dispersed sites in the United States were analyzed for particle size distribution and evaluated with a suite of USEPA physical and chemical analyses. Values found for the parameters examined are not considered harmful. An infiltration column study was also conducted in which two CGRs were mixed at 8 and 25% by weight and also surface applied 2.5 mm deep with two contrasting (relatively fine and coarse textured) soils. With the finer soil, statistically (p < 0.05) significant decrease in infiltration time (increased infiltration rate) was associated with the 25% and surface-applied CGR treatments, compared with the untreated control soil. The results indicate that excessive application of CGR may increase water infiltration into soil in the short-term. This should be kept in mind, but does not appear to be generally detrimental.     

Ractopamine up take by alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and wheat (Triticum aestivum) from soil

Ractopamine is a beta adrenergic agonist used as a growth promoter in swine, cattle and turkeys. To test whether ractopamine has the potential to accumulate in plants grown in contaminated soil, a greenhouse study was conducted with alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and wheat (Triticum aestivum) grown in two soils having different concentrations of organic matter (1.3% and 2.1%), amended with 0, 0.5, and 10 μg/g of ractopamine. Plant growth ranged from 2.7 to 8.8 g dry weight (dw) for alfalfa, and 8.7 to 40 g dw for wheat and was generally greater in the higher organic matter content soil. The uptake of ractopamine in plant tissues ranged from non-detectable to 897 ng/g and was strongly dependent on soil ractopamine concentration across soil and plant tissue. When adjusted to the total fortified quantities, the amount of ractopamine taken up by the plant tissue was low, < 0.01% for either soil.