Eveporation of water for slurry

[Derry]

Hi all
New to the forum. I have a question we are dairy farming and we produce a lot of cattle slurry. There is a high water content in the slurry from washing surface area. We are need to find more land to spread the slurry, which will mean hauling longer distances. I was thinking is there anyway the slurry could be put through a machine and evaporate the water. This way we would have less manure to spread and it would have a much higher fertilizer value. I am just thinking out loud, any suggestion would be appreciate.

 

[CWatters]

Problem is it takes energy to evaporate (boil) off the water. You get that free from the sun when you spread it on the land. I don't know if there is a machine to do the job but it would need an energy source to power it.

 

[CWatters]

Google found that that there are slurry separators. This one used to produce bedding material..

http://www.farmersguardian.com/home/machinery/machinery-features/slurry-separator-system-turns-waste-into-free-bedding/55333.article

If you have access to lots of the stuff (or could form a co-operative with neighbours) it might be possible to use Anaerobic Digestion to generate power. In some countries there are generous "Feed in Tariffs" for such electricity. Google found this Review of Anaerobic Digestion Plants on UK Farms.

http://www.fre-energy.co.uk/pdf/RASE-On-Farm-AD-Review.pdf

 

[Derry]

Thanks for your reply, I have searched the net and can only find a few company's one called ww.evaporator.com that sells such machines going by their sites they are giving costs as low at 1 to 2 cents/ gal of per distilled waste. Which is reasonably low. We are restricted in the volumes we spread on the land so we would need less land to spread the slurry so this would also be a saving toward s the machine. We have looked Anaerobic digestion but with the tariffs we receive for electricity it does not pay. Anyone know what temp slurry would have to be heated up to, to evaporate of the water making it safe to either condense and put back in the water ways or just leave it off as steam.

 

[PJC01]

Hello, welcome to the forum. I can provide some information about the potential evaporation of water from slurry. Evaporation is a natural process that occurs when water is exposed to air and heat. However, it is not a feasible solution for removing water from slurry for several reasons.

Firstly, the amount of energy and time required to evaporate water from a large volume of slurry would be significant. This process would also require specialized equipment and expertise, which may not be cost-effective for a dairy farm.

Secondly, evaporating water from slurry would also result in the loss of valuable nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, which are essential for plant growth. These nutrients are present in the liquid portion of the slurry and would be lost during the evaporation process.

Lastly, the remaining solid portion of the slurry after evaporation would still need to be spread on land, as it contains organic matter and other beneficial nutrients. This would not reduce the need for finding more land to spread the slurry.

Instead of evaporation, there are other methods that can be used to reduce the water content in slurry, such as mechanical separation or composting. These methods can help to concentrate the nutrients in a smaller volume, making it easier to transport and spread on land.

I hope this information helps. It is important to consider the potential consequences and feasibility of any solution before implementing it on a large scale. I suggest consulting with experts in the field of dairy farming and nutrient management to find the best solution for your specific situation.