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

• Main Authors: Beatriz Molinuevo-Salces, Berta Riaño, Matias B. Vanotti, David Hernández-González, María Cruz García-González
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-10-01
• Series: Membranes
• Subjects: swine manure; gas-permeable membranes; ammonia recovery; nitrogen recycling
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/10/10/270

Gas-permeable membranes technology presents a high potential for nitrogen (N) recovery from wastewaters rich in ammonia (NH₃). The EU project Ammonia Trapping (AT) is aimed at transferring knowledge from the lab-scale level to on-farm pilot-scale level, using this technology to recover NH₃ from livestock wastewaters. The goal of this study is to report the results of an on-farm pilot-scale demonstration plant using gas-permeable membranes to recover N from raw swine manure. After a setup optimization of the plant, stable, and continuous operation was achieved. The maximum NH₃ recovery rate obtained was 38.20 g NH₃-N m⁻² membrane day⁻¹. This recovery rate was greatly affected by the temperature of the process. In addition to its contribution to NH₃ emissions reduction, this technology contributes to the recovery of nutrients in the form of a concentrated stable ammonium sulphate solution. This solution contained 3.2% of N, which makes it suitable for fertigation. The economic approach revealed an economic feasibility of the technology, resulting in a cost of 2.07 € per kg N recovered.