Bio slurry

PPRE Oldenburg University

April 26-28, 2011
Biogas Practice Area
Soil fertility
Soil air:
• Air / water critical
• Respiration: roots &
micro organisms
Biological population:
• Worms,insects,spiders
• Fungi, bacteria, algae
• 20% SOM
• Physical & decomp
Soil water:
• Held by clay & humus
• Transport nutrients
• Micro-organism activity
• Mineral weathering
Biogas Practice Area
Cultivation:
• Crop rotation Mineral matter:
• Slash & burn • Clay: < 0.002 mm
• Fallowing • Silt: 0.002 – 2mm
• Population pressure! • Stone: > 2mm
Climate:
• Temp: chemical
reaction for weathering
• Rainfall: washing out
weathering products
Organic matter:
• Decomposing organisms
• Humus, back (C) jelly, in
Larger organisms: mineral matrix
• Vegetation, animals
• Tropical soils: low C-
content
Biogas Practice Area
Nutrient depletion in Africa Biogas Practice Area

• Water & wind erosion = 16

- 300 x soil development
through weathering
• Nutrient export by product
export
Plant growth Biogas Practice Area

O2

CO2

Nutrient levels:
• Deficient: Severely limited growth
and yield
• Critical: Growth and yield below
average, good response on N-P-K
H2O
added nutrients Mg, Cu, Fe ….
• Sufficient: Added nutrients result
in added nutrient in produce
rather then increased yields
• Excessive: Reducing yields,
causing nutrient imbalances, toxic
Plant nutrients Biogas Practice Area

Macronutrients (0.2 - 4% DW)

• Primary: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K)
• Secondary: calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sulphur (S)
• Silicon (Si)

Micronutrients (trace elements, 5 – 200 ppm)

• boron (B), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), chlorine (Cl), manganese
(Mn), molybdenum (Mo), zinc (Zn)

Non-Mineral Nutrients
• hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), carbon (C)
Macro nutrients Biogas Practice Area

Nitrogen (N) Phosphorus (P) Potassium (K)

Increases growth and Helps in early maturing by Enhances the plant's
development of all living stimulating flowering ability to resist diseases
tissues.
Improves the quality of Helps in seed and fruit Assists carbohydrate
leafy vegetables and development. translocation and water
fodder and the protein utilization by stomatal
content of the food grains regulation.
and makes them green.
Helps uptake of Helps for the growth and Resist from wilting and
phosphorus, potash and development of root of the lodging of plants
micronutrients. plant
Soil Organic Matter Biogas Practice Area

Small fraction of soils: < 2 % (in tropics)

OM:
• Living organisms: roots,
fungi, earthworms, etc.
• Dead material: plant
residues, fym, compost,
humus, etc

Positive effects:
• Soil structure (roots, air)
• Water retention capacity
• Soil fertility (CEC = cation exchange capacity)
• Buffers soil pH
• Resistance to erosion
Fertilizers Biogas Practice Area

Organic fertilizer:
– Broad range of nutrients
– Low in N-P-K
– Long term effect (indirect)
– High soil organic matter content

Chemical fertilizers:
– Short term effect (direct)
– High in N, P or K

Integrated Soil Fertility Management:

– Optimal combination of organic and chemical fertilizers
Sustainable agriculture Biogas Practice Area

Ecologically sound, economically feasible, socially acceptable

Origins Characteristics
Farm yard manure Partly decomposed mix of High NPK and OM
dung and urine with content, handling is critical
bedding material to prevent nutrient losses
Animal manure Droppings and urine of Free ranging: nutrient loss
animals through evaporation and
washing
Compost Aerobically decomposed High carbon content
organic material (humus)
Bio-slurry Anaerobic decomposed Lower OM component,
organic material high available N
Anaerobic Digestion Process Biogas Practice Area

Acid Production
Liquefaction Biogas
Acid-Forming
Production End
Liquefying Bacteria
Methane-Forming Products
Bacteria
Bacteria
Liquefied
soluble organic Biogas
Simple
compounds
organic
(Methane,
acids
CO2, misc.)
Manure

Insoluble
Compounds Effluent
(organic,
inorganic,
water)
Bio-slurry characteristics Biogas Practice Area

An example of Nutrient contents of slurry at different situations/practices

(Gurung, 1997)

Average value (%)

Situation/practice Nitrogen Phosphorus Potash
Fresh wet slurry 1.03 0.82 1.07
Sun dried slurry 1.0 0.23 0.84
Over dried slurry 0.97 0.24 0.97
FYM 0.6 0.25 0.55
Factors affecting nutrient content Biogas Practice Area

• Species, age, and condition

of the animal from which the
dung is drawn
• Nutrition - composition of
diets
• Environmental factors
• The way the slurry is stored,
treated and applied to the
field
Farm system Biogas Practice Area

Crop
production
system

Bio slurry

Biogas plant

Animal
Household
production
system
system
Economic benefits of slurry Biogas Practice Area

• Higher yield kg/ha

• Better quality, higher price/kg
• Savings chemical fertilizer
• Savings on pesticides

Financial benefits of bioslurry is far greater

than that of biogas!
(Vietnam, India, China)
Effect of biogas slurry Biogas Practice Area

Dry and wet slurry on wheat

Treatment Grain yield Increment over

(kg/ha) control (kg/ha)
Avg over 3 yrs
Control 1288
Bio-slurry dry 1450 162
Bio-slurry wet 1842 554
50% dry slurry + 50% CF 2706 1418
75% dry slurry + 25% CF 1744 456
Chemical fertilizer 3503 2215

Source: Maskey, 1978 in Gurung, 1997

Slurry application methods Biogas Practice Area

• Slurry as a ready-made manure

• Application of slurry with irrigation water
• Slurry used as dried dust
• Use after composting
Other applications Biogas Practice Area

• Soil conditioning
• Starter for composting
• Enriched with organic fertilizer (urea, super
phosphate)
• Feed (fish culture, animal husbandry)
• Pesticide application
• Seed pelleting
• Mushroom cultivation
• Earthworm rearing
Wet Storage Biogas Practice Area
Shading Biogas Practice Area
(semi) Dry Storage Biogas Practice Area
Slurry hut Biogas Practice Area
Wet application Biogas Practice Area
Wet application II Biogas Practice Area
Dry Application Biogas Practice Area
Challenges of Bio-slurry utilization Biogas Practice Area

• Storage has significant deterioration effect on the

slurry quality
• It is expensive and labor intensive to transport
composted slurry, particularly, to fields far away from
homesteads
• Determining specific plant requirement and soil test is
required
• Determining optimum time and season for slurry
application
– Lack of knowledge and skill in the value and use of
the slurry
Thank you Biogas Practice Area