Development of a Real-Time Controlled Bio-Liquor Circulation System for Swine Farms: A Lab-Scale Study

Abstract

In this study, an attempt was made to develop a real-time control strategy using oxidation–reduction potential (ORP) and pH (mV) time profiles for the efficient operation of bio-liquor circulation system (BCS) in swine farms and its effectiveness in reducing odor emission through improving manure properties in the slurry pit was evaluated. The lab-scale BCS used in this study comprised a bioreactor and a slurry pit. The bioreactor was operated in a sequence of inflow of swine manure → anoxic phase → aerobic phase → circulation to the slurry pit. The improvement in swine manure properties was elucidated by comparing the results of the BCS slurry pit (circulation type, CT) and conventional slurry pit (non-circulation type, NCT). The results revealed that the ORP time profile successfully detected the nitrate knee point (NKP) in the anoxic phase. However, it was less stable in detecting the nitrogen break point (NBP) in the aerobic phase. The pH (mV) time profile showed a more efficient detection of NBP. Compared to the NCT slurry pit, concentrations of ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N) and soluble total organic carbon (STOC) and other analyzed swine manure properties were much lower in the CT slurry pit. In the aspect of odor reduction, around 98.3% of NH3 was removed in the CT slurry pit. The real-time controlled BCS can overcome the drawbacks of fixed time-based BCS operation and therefore can be considered as a useful tool to reduce odor emission from intensive swine farming operations. However, further studies and refinement in control algorithms might be required prior to its large-scale application.