Pilot-Scale Demonstration of Membrane-Based Nitrogen Recovery from Swine Manure

Area of Science:

• Environmental Engineering
• Chemical Engineering
• Agricultural Science

Background:

• Ammonia (NH3) recovery from livestock wastewater is crucial for environmental protection and nutrient recycling.
• Gas-permeable membrane technology offers a promising solution for efficient ammonia capture.
• The EU Ammonia Trapping (AT) project aims to scale this technology from lab to on-farm pilot applications.

Observation:

• An on-farm pilot-scale demonstration plant was established to recover nitrogen from raw swine manure using gas-permeable membranes.
• The plant achieved stable and continuous operation after initial setup optimization.
• Key operational parameters, particularly temperature, significantly influenced the ammonia recovery rate.

Findings:

• The maximum ammonia recovery rate achieved was 38.20 g NH3-N m-2 day-1.
• The recovered nitrogen was concentrated into a stable ammonium sulphate solution containing 3.2% N.
• The technology demonstrated economic feasibility with a recovery cost of €2.07 per kg N.

Implications:

• This technology contributes to reducing ammonia emissions from livestock farms.
• It enables the recovery of valuable nutrients, creating a usable ammonium sulphate fertilizer.
• The successful pilot-scale demonstration supports the broader implementation of membrane-based nitrogen recovery in agriculture.