Pig waste system to cut greenhouse gases

Based on a mixture of technologies developed by ARS and companies in the United States, Spain and Japan, the system utilizes a series of tanks and staging areas spread out over 200 feet. In three stages, it separates the solids from the liquids in the wastewater, recovers the soluble phosphorus and processes the solids into fertilizer for plants.


Super soil system
The scientists’ earlier tests with the system showed that it removed more than 97% of total suspended solids from the wastewater. It also stripped the water of 95% of its total phosphorus, 99% of its ammonia and more than 97% of its odour-causing components.
This patented system is called the “Super Soil System,” named for Super Soil Systems USA, Inc., a North Carolina firm that implemented and is marketing the system.
In the latest round of tests, conducted on a 4,360-head pig finishing operation in North Carolina, the ARS scientists found that replacing conventional anaerobic pig-waste lagoon practices with the new system reduced greenhouse-gas emissions from the operation by 99%!


Fully automated
The system is fully automated, using sensors integrated with a programmable logic controller for round-the-clock operation. It also works well year-round. In earlier tests, the scientists showed that the system consistently removed more than 95 percent of the ammonia and total organic nitrogen present in the manure after the separation of the liquids, even when temperatures are below freezing.


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