Dairy manure treatment, digestion and nutrient recovery as a phosphate fertilizer

A combined approach of biological treatment, solids digestion and nutrient recovery was tested on dairy manure. A sequencing batch reactor (SBR) was operated in three modes, in order to optimize nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) removals. The highest average removal efficiencies of 91% for NH4-N, 59% for PO4-P and 80% for total chemical oxygen demand (COD) were achieved. Staining experiments suggested the coexistence of glycogen and phosphorus accumulating organisms. Anaerobic digestion of wasted bio-solids was able to produce a PO4-P concentration of 70 mgL-1 in the supernatant. A pilot-scale experiment, designed to recover phosphorus in the supernatant as struvite (magnesium ammonium phosphate), was able to remove 82% of soluble PO4-P.