Waste Water from Poultry Operations

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Waste Water from Poultry Operations

• Dr. Sam Heintz
• Southern Arkansas University

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Arkansas ranks among top states in agricultural
production

• Rice
• Soybean
• Cotton
• Wheat
• Hay
• Oats
• Poultry surpasses all of these combined in gross
  income.

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Arkansas ranks

• First in US in poultry production
• Fourth in turkey production
• Sixth in egg production

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• One-tenth of all Arkansas jobs are poultry
  related.
• Poultry industry is states largest taxpayer.

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Changes in Americas Diet

• Poultry production increased 500 from 1994 to
  2002.
• Over 7.5 billion birds are processed in US
  annually (over 25 million every day).

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Poultry industry is faced with 3 water quality
and pollution issues

• 1. Mortality management
• 2. Manure/litter management
• 3. Processing plant waste

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Chicken Coop

• Average house contains 15,000 to 30,000 birds
• Farmers averages 2.3 houses
• Usually built within a few feet of each other

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• Broilers are cycled through house for six weeks.
• Two weeks between birds.

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Mortality Causes

• A 40 by 400 broiler house holds 20,000 birds.
• A 5-lb bird gets only 0.8 sq. ft. of floor space.

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Mortality Rate

• 3 to 5 of production cycle
• For 5 houses, 250 dead birds (1000 lbs) a day.

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Composting of dead birds gaining wide acceptance

• Disposal pits 0.04/lb
• Large-bin composting 0.034/lb
• Flocks of 200,000 or more

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Manure/Litter Management

• 5100 tons of poultry manure produced daily in
  Arkansas
• 3100 lbs of manganese
• 3600 lbs of zinc
• 3300 lbs of iron
• 540 lbs of copper
• 300 lbs of arsenic

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• 22 of Arkansas poultry production occurs in
  Benton and Washington countries.
• 30,000,000 lbs of manure daily.
• A million hen complex produces 125 tons of wet
  manure daily

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Land application

• Nutrients in litter are used to grow fescue and
  Bermuda grass that becomes food for grazing
  cattle.
• Apply to land at an annual rate of 2 tons per
  acre.
• Replace litter with costly commercial fertilizers?

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Land Application (cont)

• Rice growers on eastern side of state desire
  litter, but transportation costs makes it
  impractical.

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New Arkansas Laws

• Act 1059 requires nutrient management planers
  be trained and certified by State.
• Act 1060 requires all poultry operations with a
  minimum of 2500 poultry to be registered with
  state.
• Act 1061 requires, in nutrient sensitive
  watersheds, producers implement nutrient
  management plans

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Management of Land Application

• Litter treatment with aluminum sulfate (alum)
  decreases phosphorus runoff by 70.

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Management of Litter

• Poultry litter as fuel source
• chicken manure 4400 Btu/lb
• wood 6700 Btu/lb
• coal 12,800 Btu/lb

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Management of Litter

• Anaerobic digestion
• Methane production

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Processing Plant Waste

• Catching, Cooping and Transportation
• Receiving, Holding and Unloading
• Stunning, Slaughtering and Bleeding

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Processing Plant Waste (cont)

• Scalding and Defeathering
• Eviscerating
• Chilling and Packaging

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Processing Wastewater

• Average 6 to 7 gallons per bird
• 20,000 tons of fat/blood/organic solid annually
• 8000 mg/L BOD
• 800 mg/L TSS
• Chlorine may be 77,000 mg/L
• pathogens

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Processing Wastewater

• DAF system
• Daily sludge averages 250,000 lbs/day
• _at_20 solids or 50,000 lbs/day
• Annual treatment cost 1.5 M per plant

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Process Plant Waste

• Feathers - filter paper
• - fiberboard
• - baby diapers
• Blood and guts animal feed

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• Thanks for your attention.
• Have a safe trip home!