Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Upcycling Dairy Manure Fine Solids Captured By Dissolved Air Flotation As Part Of A Phosphorus Recovery And Reuse Strategy, Katherine Keith Porterfield

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Dissolved air flotation (DAF) has shown potential to substantially improve phosphorus (P) mass balance on dairy farms by capturing P associated with fine solids from liquid manure, enabling new management options. However, at < 25% total solids, further dewatering and other upcycling is necessary to facilitate export of recovered fine solids off farm for use in bagged or bulk products. I generated plant foods using DAF-captured dairy manure fine solids thermally dried to 45% total solids blended with other organic residuals. Dry biomass of tomato and marigold seedlings amended with 6% v/v plant food was six-times greater than the unamended control and not significantly different from a market alternative treatment. Because thermal dewatering can be prohibitively costly, I generated a second batch of plant foods using DAF-captured dairy manure fine solids conditioned with 3, 4.5 and 6% (w/w) quicklime or lime kiln dust (LKD) and dewatered using a benchtop press for comparison with thermally dried fine solids. Tomato seedling biomass was similar for thermally dried and LKD plant foods, but quicklime plant foods had no effect compared to the unamended control. Quicklime and LKD conditioned fine solids contained approximately 30 and 10 times less plant-available P than thermally dried fine solids, respectively—likely due to precipitation of Ca-P minerals. These studies indicate that DAF-captured dairy manure fine solids could be upcycled to bagged horticultural products with substantial agronomic value, however sustainable materials drying remains a key challenge to realizing this potential.

Recovery Of Phosphorus From Florida Phosphatic Waste Clay, Amir Eskanlou

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This MS thesis examines the recovery of phosphorus (P) from Florida waste clay (WC). A comprehensive literature review revealed that: (i)-The most important values being lost to WC are P and rare earth elements (REEs). For the recovery of these values from WC, two crucial attempts are the removal of extremely fine-sized clays, followed by the recovery of phosphate content, which can pave the path for the recovery of REEs; (ii)-Any scientific/ technological solution should, at the same time, be economically and environmentally attractive to the industry. As such, moving from mostly chemical separation processes to the primarily physical/ physicochemical …

The Effect Of Soil Ph On Phosphorus Content Of Clover Pasture, David Weaver, Robert Summers, David Rogers, Peta Richards

Resource management technical reports

Testing of pasture soils from 2009 to 2018, as part of DPIRD’s Whole Farm Nutrient Mapping (WFNM) project in the coastal catchments of south-west Western Australia (WA), indicated that soil pH was so low it could be limiting plant access to nutrients. Observations by some farmers who had been involved in the soil testing were that lime application had not increased pasture production, even when pH_Ca (pH measured in calcium chloride) tests indicated that phosphorus (P) should become more available by increasing soil pH. Farmers also wanted to know if they needed to apply more P than soil testing …

Soil Amendment And Soil Testing As Nutrient Reduction Strategies For The Peel Integrated Water Initiative, Robert Summers, Peta Richards, David Weaver, David Rowe

Resource management technical reports

The Transform Peel program focuses on 42 000 hectares (ha) due east of Mandurah called the Peel Food Zone, 75 kilometres (km) south of Perth in the shires of Murray and Serpentine Jarrahdale and includes an assessment of intensified and enclosed agriculture and a business park. The Peel Integrated Water Initiative was developed through Transform Peel to identify water sources and minimise the effect of these projects on water quality by reducing the nutrient loads discharged into the Peel–Harvey Estuarine System, which has been suffering from poor water quality for this reason.

The mineral sand miner MZI Resources Pty Ltd …

Impacts Of Human Recreation On Nutrient Availability And Periphyton Abundance On The Niobrara River, Matthew Chen, Jessica Corman, Sydney Kimnach, Kayla Vondracek

UCARE Research Products

In freshwater ecosystems, eutrophication can create many problems. Excess nutrients, like nitrogen or phosphorus, promote algal or cyanobacterial growth. This growth also leads to increased organic matter production and decomposition, a process that can reduce oxygen concentration in the water. When this happens, species diversity declines, transparency of the water declines, and anoxia may lead to fish kills . Of particular concern is the possibility of cyanobacteria blooms that create compounds toxic for humans. Many of the waters across Nebraska receive excessive nutrients from human activities, largely related to agriculture (Dickey 1982). However, there is one river, the Niobrara River, …

Uncertainty Analysis Of The Performance Of A System Of Best Management Practices For Achieving Phosphorus Load Reduction To Surface Waters, Jason D.M. Igras

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The repeated occurrence of Lake Erie’s harmful algal blooms suggests an inadequate phosphorus management system that results in excessive loads to the lake. In response, Canadian and United States’ governments have issued a new management objective, a 40% reduction in total and dissolved reactive phosphorus loads relative to 2008. To provide scientific evidence to guide managers toward achieving their management objective, we used the International Organization of Standardization (ISO) 31010 Bowtie Risk Analysis Tool to analyze the performance of the phosphorus management system. The effectiveness of agricultural best management practices (BMPs) and their adoption were combined into a Bayesian belief …

Edge-Of-Field Water And Phosphorus Losses In Surface And Subsurface Agricultural Runoff, Laura B. Klaiber

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Quantifying effectiveness of soil management practices on surface and subsurface water quality at the field scale is becoming increasingly important in the Lake Champlain Basin and other agricultural watersheds. During 2012 and 2013, field plots (22.9 x 45.7 m) were established at the Lake Alice Wildlife Area in Chazy, NY to begin a long-term water quality monitoring study. Plots were established in a cool season grass field (1 ha) leased and managed by the William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute in Chazy, NY. The soil type transitions from an excessively drained outwash soil on the upslope to a very poorly …

Longevity Of Mineral Supplements Within The Soil And Associated Use By White-Tailed Deer, Brian C. Peterson, Keith D. Koupal, Andrew K. Schissel, Cody M. Siegel

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Humans have baited wildlife such as white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) for generations with the primary purpose of increasing hunting harvest success. Baiting regulation changes are often considered by state management agencies as they pertain to hunting opportunity, fair chase, and disease risk. Cervids require a variety of minerals to supplement biological processes, especially sodium (Na), calcium (Ca), and phosphorus (P). We developed artificial mineral supplement sites set in front of trail cameras to monitor deer use. Pooled soil samples were collected at mineral sites and compared to the surrounding area to determine the longevity of elevated minerals levels …

Evaluation Of The Feasibility Of Struvite Precipitation From Domestic Wastewater As An Alternative Phosphorus Fertilizer Resource, Amanda R. Bird

Master's Projects and Capstones

Finite phosphate rock ore reserves are estimated to be exhausted in 100 to 150 years. Phosphate rock ore is the single global source material for phosphorus fertilizer production. Once these reserves are gone, agricultural production will be negatively impacted. There are currently no alternative phosphorus resources. However, phosphorus concentrations present in human excrement traveling through domestic wastewater treatment facilities is being disposed of directly to the environment, often resulting in pollution problems. Recovering phosphorus from wastewater with struvite precipitation systems at wastewater treatment plants can alleviate future phosphorus scarcities. Evaluation of phosphorus recovery through struvite precipitation at wastewater treatment plants …

Report Card On Sustainable Natural Resource Use In Agriculture, Robert Summers, David Weaver

All other publications

Condition and trend Nutrients, such as phosphorus (P), are essential for profitable agriculture in the south-west of WA; however, excess P – more than is required for optimal production – is stored in many agricultural soils. On average, pasture soils and arable soils contain 1.3 times and 1.6 times respectively, as much P as is required for optimal production. Production in P-enriched soils is more likely to be constrained by soil acidity (50–60% of pasture and arable soils), potassium (K) (50% of pasture soils and less than 10% of arable soils), and sulphur (S) (30% of pasture soils). Management implications …

Phosphorus In Phoenix: A Budget And Spatial Representation Of Phosphorus In An Urban Ecosystem, Genevieve S. Metson, Rebecca L. Hale, David M. Iwaniec, Elizabeth M. Cook, Jessica R. Corman, Christopher S. Galletti, Daniel L. Childers

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

As urban environments dominate the landscape, we need to examine how limiting nutrients such as phosphorus (P) cycle in these novel ecosystems. Sustainable management of P resources is necessary to ensure global food security and to minimize freshwater pollution. We used a spatially explicit budget to quantify the pools and fluxes of P in the Greater Phoenix Area in Arizona, USA, using the boundaries of the Central Arizona– Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research site. Inputs were dominated by direct imports of food and fertilizer for local agriculture, while most outputs were small, including water, crops, and material destined for recycling. Internally, …

Riparian Conundra, David Weaver

Conference papers and presentations

Riparian vegetation is established or restored on the basis that it physically filters and traps hillslope derived particulate nutrients in surface runoff. Whilst many studies support this conventional model of riparian function, few test this models embedded assumptions. The assumptions are that catchments are surface runoff dominated, that most surface derived nutrients are transported in particulate form, and that riparian management targets locations that will result in the greatest change in water quality. This paper reviews studies in south west Western Australia that challenge these assumptions. Plots measuring leaching and runoff of nutrients showed that 20 times more water and …

Farm Gate Nutrient Balances In South West Western Australia – An Overview, Rebecca Ovens, David Weaver, Nardia Keipert, Simon Neville, Robert Summers, Martin Clarke

Conference papers and presentations

Farm-gate nutrient budgets can be used to identify the efficiency of nutrient use within and between individual enterprises and catchments, and may be used to represent a component of the risk that particular landuses represent to water quality. Over the past 5 years, more than 400 farm-gate nutrient balance audits have been conducted across a range of catchments and landuses in southwest Western Australia (WA). Values for nutrient use efficiency and surpluses across landuses and catchments are reported. Patterns of nitrogen and phosphorus signatures closely reflect one another across landuses, though nitrogen input, output and surplus values are consistently higher …

The Balancing Act, David Weaver

Conference papers and presentations

Nutrient management is as much a global issue as a local one with a balance required between economics and environment, inherent biological limitations and expectations of nutrient use efficiency, and traditional fertiliser practices and actual enterprise nutrient requirements. The concept of nutrient balance depends on context and scale. Nutrient balance can be considered at a global scale, where issues of nutrient stocks, cycles, depletion and transfer of a particular element are important. For a single farm enterprise, nutrient balance might be considered in terms of phosphorus (P) inputs into and outputs from the enterprise. This is commonly known as a …

Impact Of More Intensive Grazing On Nitrogen And Phosphorus In Shallow Aquifers Of The Southern Perth Basin, D L. Bennett, Patrick Donnelly, Peter J. Tille

Resource management technical reports

This study reports on the nutrient content, pH and salinity of groundwater samples collected from the watertable and within the Superficial and the upper Leederville Aquifers from the Southern Perth Basin, south of Pinjarra, Western Australia. Sampling was undertaken to determine the impact of intensification of broadscale grazing on groundwater nutrients in the area.

Current Status And 25 Year Trends For Soil Acidity, Fertility And Salinity In The Coastal Catchments Of The Peel-Harvey, Robert Summers, David Weaver

All other publications

The current status and trends of soil analyses in the coastal catchment of the Peel Harvey estuary were developed from historical soil data (1982 to 1991) combined with a renewed sampling to greater depth (1 m). This report encompasses the data collected from the first year of the project. Soil phosphorus content was found to be high but has dropped slightly since 1991. Soil pH is very low and is likely to be limiting production but have risen slightly since 1991. Soil potassium content is generally so low that it may be limiting production especially to the west of the …

Natural Resource Management Issues For The South Coast Regional Strategy, B Nicholas

Resource management technical reports

This report has been prepared by the Agricultural Resource Management Program of the Department of Agriculture to assist SCRIPT (South Coast Regional Initiative Planning Team) in preparing the regional strategy. It records the key natural resource management issues threatening agricultural land on the south coast of Western Australia. Managing agricultural land effectively should be a priority in reducing the risks of land degradation on all assets-productive agricultural land, biodiversity and waterways.

The Use Of Bauxite Residue To Control Diffuse Phosphorus Pollution In Western Australia – A Win-Win-Win Outcome, Robert Summers, Mark Rivers, Martin Clarke

Conference papers and presentations

The Department of Agriculture, Western Australia has been working with Alcoa World Alumina Australia Ltd for more than ten years investigating the potential to use bauxite refining residues as soil amendments for the poor, acidic, sandy soils of the Swan Coastal Plain in south west Australia. Regional waterways, especially the Peel Inlet and Harvey Estuary, have historically been susceptible to nuisance algal blooms fed by phosphorus in run-off from farmland and urban areas. Extensive laboratory, field and catchment-scale trials have shown the ability of soil amendment with fine bauxite refining residue (now trademarked in this context as Alkaloam™) to reduce …

Grass Or Trees? Performance Of Riparian Buffers Under Natural Rainfall Conditions, Australia, Lucy Mckergow, I Prosser, R Grayson, David Weaver, D Heiner

Journal articles

Riparian vegetation can trap sediment and nutrients derived from hillslopes. Most research into the effectiveness of riparian buffers has been experimental and little quantitative data exists on performance under natural field conditions. This study reports on grass and tree buffer performance under natural rainfall conditions in two contrasting Australian environments. Buffers receiving runoff from hillslopes cropped with bananas were monitored over a 4-year period in the wet topics of Far North Queensland (FNQ). Runoff, bedload and suspended loads were measured leaving the crop and leaving 15 m wide dense grass and remnant rainforest riparian buffers. The grass buffer was able …

Relationships Between Stream Order And Management Priority: A Water Quality Case Study, David Weaver, Adrian Reed, John Grant

Conference papers and presentations

Seagrass, which once dominated the habitat of Oyster Harbour on the south coast of Western Australia has been replaced by macroalgae because of increased nutrient and sediment discharge from the rural dominated catchment. Total Phosphorus (TP), Total Nitrogen (TN), Suspended Sediment (SS) and Electrical Conductivity (EC) concentrations from a catchment – wide (168 sites), event-driven snapshot, water quality monitoring program conducted from 1994 to 1996, were analysed in relation to stream order and published survey data on riparian zone condition. This analysis was performed to examine relationships between stream order, riparian zone condition and water quality, and implications for the …

Before And After Riparian Management: Sediment And Nutrient Exports From A Small Agricultural Catchment, Western Australia, Lucy Mckergow, David Weaver, I Prosser, R Grayson, A. E.G. Reed

Conference papers and presentations

Riparian vegetation can trap sediment and nutrients coming from hillslopes and reduce stream bank erosion. This study presents results from a 10 year stream monitoring program in a small agricultural catchment near Albany, Western Australia. In 1996, a 1.6 km stream reach was fenced, planted with eucalyptus species and managed separately from the adjacent paddocks. Stream flow, nutrient and sediment concentration data were collected at the downstream end of the fenced riparian area between 1991 and 2000, so there are data for the “before” and “after” riparian management periods. Suspended sediment concentrations fell dramatically following riparian management; the average event …

Tmdl Implementation Under The Clean Water Act, Bruce Zander

Strategies in Western Water Law and Policy: Courts, Coercion and Collaboration (Summer Conference, June 8-11)

17 pages (includes illustrations and maps).

Contains references.

Interagency Lake Mead And Las Vegas Wash Monitoring Program: Standard Operating Procedures Manual, Bureau Of Reclamation, City Of Henderson Water Reclamation Facility, City Of Las Vegas Water Pollution Control Facility, Clark County Sanitation District, Nevada, Southern Nevada Water Authority

Publications (WR)

A number of agencies sample Lake Mead and the Las Vegas Wash on a routine basis at several locations. In order to share and properly interpret the data, the Bureau of Reclamation, Southern Nevada Water Authority and the three Wastewater Treatment Facilities (City of Las Vegas, Clark County Sanitation District and City of Henderson) formed a committee to examine sampling and analytical protocols and to share information with the goal of maximizing the data quality. The group first met in April 1997.

It was agreed that an effort should be made to discuss and compare specific sampling and analytical techniques …

Phosphorus In The Landscape: Diffuse Sources To Surface Waters. Land And Water Resources Research And Development Corporation. Occasional Paper 16/98, Richard Davis, Anne Hamblin, E O'Loughlin, Nic Austin, R Banens, P Cornish, P Hairsin, M Mcculloch, Phil Moody, J Olley, B Prove, I Smalls, David Weaver

All other publications

The National Eutrophication Management Program (NEMP) and Environment Australia convened a workshop to develop a coherent overview of the sources and transport of diffuse phosphorus in Australian catchments based on the latest knowledge. The Land and Water Resources Research and Development Corporation (LWRRDC) and the Murray–Darling Basin Commission (MDBC) jointly fund NEMP. A select group of scientists attended the workshop and developed a coherent statement about phosphorus sources and transport in Australian catchments. The group did not extend this statement to include recommended management practices. This paper reports the findings from the workshop. State governments have developed algal and nutrient …

Ecological Water Treatment System For Removal Of Phosphorus And Nitrogen From Polluted Water, Ray W. Drenner, Donald J. Day, Stacy J. Basham, J. Durward Smith, Susan I. Jensen

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

We propose that phosphorus and nitrogen can be removed from polluted water using an ecological water treatment system consisting of periphyton and fish. In the proposed system, polluted water flows through a series of vessels, and the nutrients are taken up by periphyton growing on porous screens. Algal-grazing fish feed on the periphyton and either assimilate or egest the nutrients in mucus-bound feces that settle from the water into a sediment trap. Both the fish and their feces can be harvested as nutrient sinks. In this study we examined the effects of an algal-grazing cichlid (Tilapia mossambica) and …

Nutrient Limitation In A Southwestern Desert Reservoir: Eutrophication Of Las Vegas Bay, Lake Mead, Nevada, Davine M. Lieberman

Publications (WR)

Algal bioassay tests were conducted with Selenastrum capricornutum and natural algae on inner Las Vegas Bay, Lake Mead, Nevada, from December 1992 through September 1993, to identify any nutrient limitation in an area of the reservoir that has experienced problems associated with severe nutrient enrichment. Three areas were sampled based on a gradient of water quality conditions that existed in Las Vegas Bay (LVB). Disodium ethylenedinitrilotetraacetate (EDTA) significantly stimulated algal growth compared to non-EDTA treatment. Algal bioassays indicated that phosphorus (P) was the primary limiting nutrient at all stations for most of the test dates. Chl a response with EDTA …

Temporal And Spatial Patterns Of Abundance Of Age 0 Threadfin Shad (Dorosoma Petenense) In Overton Arm, Lake Mead, William Lee Pelle

Publications (WR)

Temporal and spatial patterns of age 0 threadfin shad (Dorosoma petenense) abundance and growth, in the Overton Arm of Lake Mead, were examined to evaluate the effects of resource availability on the young fish. This was part of a larger, game fishery enhancement study (Lake Mead Fertilization Project), designed to assess feasability of increasing survivorship of larval/juvenile shad by boosting phosphate levels, thereby increasing algal and zooplankton biomass, during the shad spawning period. Shad are the primary forage base for the striped bass (Morone saxatilis) and black bass (Macropterus salmoides) fisheries. Weekly samples were …

River Discharge Study, Laughlin, Nevada: Colorado River Model And Diffusion Study, B. Dennis Hugh, David L. Stringfield, Jill C. Bicknell, Robert A. Ryder, Clark County Sanitation District, Nevada

Publications (WR)

A water quality modeling study of the Mohave Reach of the Lower Colorado River (from Davis Dam to the Nevada/California Stateline) was conducted to evaluate potential water quality impacts resulting from a proposed Laughlin, Nevada wastewater effluent discharge. The study included four major components: (1) review of the current regulatory framework; (2) a field data collection program to document existing water quality conditions in winter, summer, and fall; (3) development and verification of far-field and near-field (mixing zone) water quality models; and (4) application of the models to project future river quality conditions for several treatment-discharge alternatives as well as …

Las Vegas Wash And Lake Mead Proposed Water Quality Standards: Revisions And Rationale, State Of Nevada: Division Of Environmental Protection

Publications (WR)

Rationale of review and for proposed changes to the Nevada Pollution Control Regulations (NAC 445.1354, 445.1355, 445.1356, 455.1367, 445.1352, 445.1353, 445.1350, 445.1351) before the State Environmental Commission on June 23 and 24, 1987.

Scientific Perspectives On Integrated Aquatic Resources Management Of The Colorado River, Larry J. Paulson

Publications (WR)

When management requires water quality standards, we should establish standards in a scientific and logical manner to serve the long-term needs of the users. It was this very process that led to enactment of the Reclamation Act of 1902 and the Boulder Canyon Project Act of 1928 - legislation that still serves the needs of users in the Colorado River Basin. This process can work again if we can make the "tradeoffs" that are so vital in management of a multi-purpose river.

In order to do this, however, we must first be able to identify "tradeoffs." This requires good scientific …