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For Immediate Release A&T
RESEARCHERS TRY UNIQUE SWINE WASTE TREATMENT Greensboro, NC: Researchers at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University are examining the use of duckweed in the treatment of swine waste. According to the project’s director, Dr. G. B. Reddy, chairperson of A&T’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Design, this treatment has the potential to remove the problem elements of swine waste. “Many of the problems associated with swine waste, including odor and water pollution, are due to the nutrients in it, such as nitrogen and phosphorus,” said Reddy. “Duckweed has the ability to remove these nutrients, leaving a liquid which can safely be used in agricultural applications. The duckweed itself can often be removed and used as fertilizer or livestock feed. Such integrated wetland treatment systems are encouraging to small-scale farmers, especially those who utilize the duckweed as a value-added feed additive.” Duckweeds are high-protein, small flowering plants that grow rapidly while floating in still or slow-moving fresh water. In the A&T project, duckweed will be allowed to grow in wetland cells used to treat waste originating in A&T’s Swine Facility. The duckweed will then be harvested weekly and tested for its nutrient value. The remaining wastewater will also be tested to measure the effectiveness of duckweed in removing nutrients from swine waste. The
A&T Swine Unit is home to a 100 to 150 head "farrow-to-finish"
swine operation. Waste from the swine is directed to a system of lagoons
and wetland cells before being applied to cultivated land. At the heart
of the waste disposal system are six constructed "wetland"
cells, which use selected aquatic vegetation to absorb nitrogen,
phosphorus and ammonium from the wastewater, while water in the cells
converts nitrogen to nitrogen gas, which is released into the air. - 30 - |