Compost i ng Dai r y Manur e i n a

D t E i t Deser t Envi r onment

FUNDING PROVIDED BY
David C. Johnson
davidcjohnson@nmsu.edu
Phone 575-646-4163
Topics To Be Discussed
Problems Encountered in Composting Dairy p g y
Manure and a Reactor Design that Solved Them
Quality Assessment of the Compost Product from
this Reactor
Demonstration of a potential Compost Quality
Indicator that is able to Predict Plant Growth
Current Results from a Next-Generation Compost
Quality Assessment Technology (Bio-informatics)
Problems Encountered Composting Dairy
Manure in a Desert Environment Manure in a Desert Environment
High Salinity substrate- Electrical conductivity
measurements 30-40 mS/cm
2
Extremely dry and windy conditions- greater than
one inch of water evaporation/day
Long Composting times- 12-16 months even then
poor quality end product
What was needed was a system that allowed:
minimum labor investment an efficient low-cost minimum labor investment, an efficient low-cost
process, a superior end product, and provides
ease of measurement for experimental variables
Johnson/Su Static Composting Technology
Little to no investment in specialized equipment,
Requires NO TURNING and little manpower, q p
Produces no odors or associated insects,
Reduces nutrient volatilization and leachingg
Reactor materials cost less that $35 and can be
reused more than 10 times (hard costs of less than (
$3.50 per batch)
Johnson/Su Static Composting Technology
Reduces water usage by a factor of 6 times Reduces water usage by a factor of 6 times
Reduces composting time by 66%
Results in a lowsalinity (~2-3 mS/cm
2
) Results in a low salinity ( 2 3 mS/cm)
Amenable to incorporation of vermicomposting after
thermophilic phase (observed 10X N increase in end product) thermophilic phase (observed 10X N increase in end product)
Produces a HIGH QUALITY nutrient rich,
high-microbial-biomass & biodiversity high-microbial-biomass & biodiversity
compost
Reactor Design
Materials List:
1 Pallet with 6 evenly spaced 4 1. Pallet with 6 evenly spaced 4
holes
2. Landscaping cloth- 5.1 oz needle
punched ( 2 6x6 6x12) punched ( 2- 6x6, 6x12)
3. Concrete remesh(6 x6 #10) wire
(5x12)
4. Six (6) 4 X 5 perforated plastic
drainfield pipe
5 S i kl t (Ti 5. Sprinkler system (Timer, spray
emitter)
Installation Instructions
1. Obtain pallet and cut 6 evenly spaced 4 holes
2. Cut Landscaping Cloth into (2 pieces 6x6, one piece 6x12)
Installation Instructions
Cut six 4 diameter Cut six 4 diameter
holes in pallet to
accommodate PVC
sewer drainfield pipe.
Overlay 6x6 landscape
cloth over pallet and cut
holes with torch.
davidcjohnson@nmsu.edu
Installation Instructions
Fold 6 of landscape cloth over top
and bottom of cage and weave with
tie wire to hold in place.
Place wire cage with fabric g
on top of pallet also
covered with cloth.
Installation Instructions
Place 4 diameter X 5 long
d i fi ld i i t h l t drainfield pipe into holes cut
in pallet.
Begin placing material into reactor
and arrange around piping.
Installation Instructions
Make sure to saturate the material sufficiently and to y
maintain spacing of PVC drainfield piping as you build the pile.
davidcjohnson@nmsu.edu
Installation Instructions
As you fill the container, do not pack the contents, let the weight of the
material determine the packing density Install the spray type irrigation material determine the packing density. Install the spray type irrigation
system and set to spray 1-2 minutes, three time/day. Cover with the 6x6
landscape cloth. Remove pipe after one day.
davidcjohnson@nmsu.edu
Installation Instructions
Secure covers in place and monitor for
proper operation of irrigation system
and system temperature. After 4-5
th th b t i d f i ill h months, the bacteria and fungi will have
reduced the volume of the pile by about
half. ( Mass reduced by 15%)
davidcjohnson@nmsu.edu
Installation Instructions
Relax and let it cook!
Reactor Operational Parameters
Oxygen concentration in compost remains aerobic
(>6 ppm O
2
in thermophilic phase and >18 ppm O
2
( pp
2
p p pp
2
in maturation phase) in all parts of pile, without
turning.
Moisture content remains high (>60%) in pile Moisture content remains high (>60%) in pile
without wetting/drying cycles as in windrows,
allowing maximum biodegradation by the bacterial,
fungal protozoan nematodes and micro arthropod fungal, protozoan ,nematodes and micro-arthropod
communities.
Compost substrates are quickly broken down in this p q y
environment to yield a highly beneficial nutrient rich
plant and soil amendment.
Composting System Benefits
NO odors, NO flies or pests, and NO leaching or , p , g
ground water contamination.
Low cost, low maintenance, biodegradation efficient
system that could be scaled up on any site.
(mechanized loading and parallel processing)
Yields a high quality compost: low salinity (2-4
mS/cm
2
), but most importantly an exceptionally
biodiverse and abundantly populated microbiome biodiverse, and abundantly populated microbiome.
Compost Quality???
How do we address the QUALITY issue
Most compost maturity measurements cannot
predict how well a plant will respond to the
components of a partic lar compost components of a particular compost..
Most tests only measure if the compost can be
degraded anymore (Dewar Self Heating, CO2 evolution, oxygen g y ( g, , yg
demand) or if it is still in a process of degrading (Ammonia
concentrations, volatile organic acid profiles)
Best case scenario is: Indirect interpretations for the Best case scenario is: Indirect interpretations for the
potential impact on plant growth
Conducted Standard Soil
Test and OrganismBiomass Survey Test and Organism Biomass Survey
Comparison of Growth Characteristics to
Nutrient Availability Nutrient Availability
Comparison of Growth Characteristics to
Other Characteristics Other Characteristics
Comparison of Growth Characteristics to
Fungal:Bacterial Ratio Fungal:Bacterial Ratio
Soil Foodweb
www.soilfoodweb.com
1)O i 1)Organism
Biomass Data
(g/g)
2) Organism
Biomass
Ratios Ratios
3) Hyphae
diameters
4) Nematode
details (#/g &
type)
Soil Foodweb
Bacterial and Fungal Biomass (g/g) Bacterial and Fungal Biomass (g/g)
Areas
shaded green
indicate
Expected
Range
Soil Food Web
Protozoa Quantification (Numbers/g) Protozoa Quantification (Numbers/g)
Areas
shaded green
indicate
Expected
Range Range
Bacterial Enumeration using Live/Dead Cell
Viability Assay Viability Assay
Fungal Enumeration using LIVE/DEAD

FUN
1 Yeast Viability 1 Yeast Viability
Next-Generation- Compost Microbiome
Community Structure Analysis Community Structure Analysis
16S bacterial Tag Encoded FLX Amplicon Pyro-sequencing
(bTEFAP)
Community Structure analysis using parallel sequencing of
common gene segments (16S 18S) and comparison of common gene segments (16S, 18S) and comparison of
these segments to derive organism identification. Capable
of identification down to the species (and sub-species) level
Research and Testing Laboratories
Dr. Scot Dowd
sdowd@pathogenresearch.org
Phyla Community Structure (% of Population)
Bacterial Species that Correlated with
Temperature Profile Temperature Profile
Fungal Species that Correlated with
Temperature Profile Temperature Profile
Special Appreciation to:
USDA/NIFA and Richard Hegg for supporting funding for this
research
Elaine Ingham of Soil Food eb Instit te for her e pertise and Elaine Ingham of Soil Foodweb Institute for her expertise and
knowledge. (www.soilfoodweb.com)
Scot Dowd of Research and Testing Laboratories for
providing technical expertise and sequencing data
( d d@ th h ) (sdowd@pathogenresearch.org )
Questions? Questions?
davidcjohnson@nmsu.edu 575-646-4163