Published online 1 March 2007
Published in J Environ Qual 36:557-567 (2007)
DOI: 10.2134/jeq2006.0174
© 2007 American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America
677 S. Segoe Rd., Madison, WI 53711 USA
TECHNICAL REPORTS
Waste Management
Precipitation of Liquid Swine Manure Phosphates Using Magnesium Smelting By-Products
Gaétan Parenta,*,
Gilles Bélangera,
Noura Ziadia,
Jean-Pierre Delandb and
Jean Laperrièreb
a Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Soils and Crops Research and Development Centre, 2560 Hochelaga Blvd., Quebec, QC, Canada G1V 2J3
b Norsk Hydro Canada Inc., 7000 Raoul-Duchesne Blvd., Bécancour, QC, Canada G9H 2V3
* Corresponding author (parentg{at}agr.gc.ca)
Received for publication May 2, 2006.
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ABSTRACT
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Swine manure contains considerable amounts of total (P) and soluble phosphorus (PO4P) which may increase the soil P content when applied in excess to crop requirements and, consequently, risk water eutrophication. The feasibility of using magnesium (Mg) from the by-product of electrolysis and foundries (BPEF) for the removal of P from liquid swine manure was studied by adding up to 3 g of Mg as BPEF per liter of nursery (NU) and grower-finisher (GF) swine manure in 25-L plastic buckets. Changes in P and other elements were monitored for up to 360 h. Small amounts of Mg as BPEF (0.5 and 1.0 g Mg L1 manure) reduced the total P concentration of the liquid fraction by 70 to 95% of both manure types with respect to the control treatment of mixed raw manure. A settling period of 8 h or more was necessary to significantly reduce the liquid fraction's total P concentration for both manure types. Reduction of PO4P varied from 96 to 100% in the liquid fractions for both manure types, which along with natural settling, explains most of the total P reduction in that fraction. The addition of BPEF did not influence the N content of manure. The low P liquid fraction can be safely applied to saturated P soils whereas the high P solid fraction offers the opportunity of transporting manure to agricultural soils deficient in P. Since N is conserved, both liquid and solid fractions could be valuable fertilizer manure by-products.
Abbreviations: BPEF, by-product of electrolysis and foundries DM, dry matter GF, grower-finisher swine manure LSD, least significant difference NU, nursery swine manure PO4P, water-soluble phosphorus
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INTRODUCTION
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SWINE manure has one of the highest contents of total P and soluble inorganic P among farmyard manures (Peperzak et al., 1959; Barnett, 1994). Repeated applications of manure beyond crop requirements increase the soil concentration of P (Simard et al., 1995) and the degree of P saturation (Nelson et al., 2005). As a result, P can be lost through runoff or leached into the ground water (Daniel et al., 1998), causing eutrophication of streams and lakes (Sharpley et al., 1999). To prevent excessive algae growth in fresh water, it is more effective to control P than N (Daniel et al., 1994). Within North America, regional regulations establish limits for manure applications on soils with a high P content. Consequently, several swine operators have insufficient land to spread all of their manure within the regulatory limits.
Removing P from manure and converting it into a valuable product for use outside the farm is a potential solution (Greaves et al., 1999). Physical separation, mechanically or by gravity-based sedimentation, effectively separates solids and liquids (Zhang and Westerman, 1997) but without chemical coagulants it has a limited effect on the dissolved P fraction of liquid manures (Westerman and Bicudo, 2000).
Precipitation of the inorganic dissolved P in manure is possible with coagulants, such as metal salts (Moore and Miller, 1994; Zhang and Lei, 1998), alkaline earth metal-containing compounds (Vanotti et al., 2003), or with industrial by-products (Stout et al., 1998; Dao, 1999; Barrington et al., 2004). Using Al or Fe metal salts in manure separation, however, may lead to increased soil content of those elements. Ippolito et al. (2003) report an increase in desorbed Al concentration in soils after applying residuals from water treatments. Aluminum-based agents may be linked to brain disease and their use should be avoided (World Health Organization, 1998).
Magnesium-based agents are used to remove nutrients from wastewater (Wu and Bishop, 2004) and struvite (MgNH4PO4.6H2O), considered to be a slow release fertilizer (Durrant et al., 1999), is produced. Soluble P was reduced by 76 to 91% in swine slurries when treated with Mg as magnesium chloride (MgCl2) (Burns et al., 2001). Although using Mg for P removal is technically feasible, the expense of high-grade Mg compounds makes this practice uneconomical (Chimeros et al., 2003). When magnesium hydroxide, for example, is used to remove soluble P from wastewater, the costs are eight to ten times more than for calcium hydroxide. However, the feasibility of using a more economical source of Mg, such as low-grade magnesium oxide, was confirmed for treating wastewater (Chimeros et al., 2003).
The Norsk Hydro Canada Inc. (NHCI) plant, located in Bécancour (QC, Canada), produces pure Mg. The process involves the dissolution of magnesite ore (MgCO3) in hydrochloric acid (HCl) and the formation of anhydrous MgCl2 granules that are then decomposed by electrolysis to produce metallic Mg. Because the by-product of electrolysis and foundries (BPEF), generated during the electrolysis, cannot be recycled in the production of metallic Mg, it could be a low-cost source of Mg for precipitating P in swine manure. Its effectiveness to precipitate P in swine manure, however, has not been reported. The objective of this study was to establish the feasibility of using BPEF as a Mg source to remove P from liquid swine manure. Specifically, the study sought to determine the amount of Mg as BPEF needed to be added to the manure and its required settling period.
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MATERIALS AND METHODS
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Sources and Transfer of Liquid Swine Manure
Two types of liquid swine manure (nursery, NU and grower-finisher, GF) were collected from two farms located in St-Germain de Grantham, QC, Canada. The manure from each farm was transferred from the concrete pit to a plastic tote tank (1500 L) on 1 May 2003. Before its transfer, the liquid swine manure was stirred for at least 4 h with a lagoon pump and brought to the Jean-Charles-Chapais Research Farm in Lévis (QC, Canada). On 2 May 2003, the liquid swine manure was transferred to 25-L plastic buckets using a tube connected to the bottom drain valve of the tote tank while vigorously stirring with an electric tote tank mixer; each bucket received 20.1 L of liquid manure. Four samples per manure type were collected during transfer and analyzed; selected chemical characteristics are presented in Table 1. A total of 28 buckets, representing the experimental units, were prepared for each manure type and placed on the concrete floor of a barn. The temperature in the barn during the settling period was maintained above 13°C; the maximum temperature reached was 28°C.
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Table 1. Selected chemical characteristics of the two types of liquid swine manure used in the study; average of four samples per manure type with coefficients of variation in parentheses.
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By-Product of Electrolysis and Foundries Application and Treatment Description
Selected BPEF chemical characteristics are presented in Table 2. On 5 May 2003, the BPEF was sprinkled and mixed thoroughly for 15 s in each bucket. This single application (dry matter [DM] basis) of 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 3.0 g Mg L1 manure to both types of liquid swine manure represents 0, 36, 72, 107, 143, and 214 g BPEF bucket1, respectively. The manure was then allowed to settle for the duration of the experiment. The solid particles that settled at the bottom were designated as the solid fraction whereas the liquid above the solid fraction was designated as the liquid fraction.
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Table 2. Selected chemical characteristics of by-product of electrolysis and foundries (BPEF) used in the study (dry matter [DM] basis).
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A mixed control treatment was also included in the experiment for each manure type and consisted in the homogenization of the manure by mixing. This mixed control treatment received no BPEF (0 g Mg L1 manure) but the manure was stirred immediately before any sampling. This mixed control treatment simulated the raw manure that is usually spread on agricultural fields by commercial swine growers and provided a basis for assessing the effects of adding BPEF to liquid swine manure.
Manure Sampling and Analysis
The liquid fraction of the manure treated with BPEF and that from the mixed control treatment were sampled with a plastic large-tip opening transfer pipette fitted with a rubber bulb at 2, 8, 24, 48, 168, and 360 h after the BPEF application. The transfer pipette allowed samples to be drawn without disturbing the liquid fraction. The transfer pipette was washed with distilled water before each collection. Manure in each bucket reached a height of 33 cm. Two depths were sampled which represented 30 and 60% of the depth of the manure from the bucket top at 23 and 13 cm from the bottom of the buckets. A 50-mL sample was collected for each sampling depth, at each sampling time.
The solid fraction at the bottom of the buckets was sampled only at the end of the experiment (360 h). The mixed control treatment was not considered for this sampling because it had no solid fraction. The liquid fraction was carefully and slowly removed using a small electric vacuum pump connected to a Pyrex aspirator bottle to prevent any mixing with the solid fraction. After the removal of the liquid fraction, the solid fraction was collected into 50-mL plastic bottles using a plastic spatula. The spatula was washed with distilled water before collecting each sample. All collected samples were frozen at 20°C until analysis.
Unfiltered samples were thawed at 4°C for 96 h and then digested using a modified wet acid (H2SO4 and H2SeO3) ashing digestion method to determine total N, P, Ca, and Mg (Chapman and Pratt, 1961). The digestions were processed on aliquots of 7 mL from the liquid fraction, 5 mL from the mixed control treatment, and 1 mL from the solid fraction. Samples were heated first at 100°C for 30 min on a digestion system to evaporate most of the moisture in the samples and to prevent any boiling over. Subsequently, the temperature was raised gradually over 1 h from 100 to 400°C. Samples were then digested for 45 min at 400°C and the supernatant was analyzed.
Phosphate (PO4P) was extracted by shaking unfiltered solid and liquid manure samples with distilled water in 35-mL Nalgene Oak Rigde polypropylene tubes with a manure/water ratio of 1:4 (Keeney and Nelson, 1971). Samples were agitated on a reciprocal shaker at 250 rpm for 30 min, centrifuged 10 min at 23 000 x g (15 000 rpm, Sorvall RC-5C plus, rotor SA-600, Sorvall, Newton, CT), and filtrated through VWR brand (West Chester, PA) #410 filter paper.
Concentrations of total Mg and Ca were determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy (PerkinElmer 3300, Überlingen, Germany). Concentrations of total N and P, and PO4P were determined on a Lachat QuikChem 8000 flow injection analysis system (Zellweger Analytic Inc., Lachat Instrument Division, Milwaukee, WI, methods No. 15-501-3 and 12-115-01-1-A). Concentrations were expressed in mg L1 manure by assuming a specific gravity of manures near unity. The pH of samples was determined using glass bulb electrodes connected to a dual-channel Accumet pH meter.
Statistical Analysis
The two sampling depths were averaged to represent the chemical composition of the liquid fraction of each manure type; there was no significant interaction between sampling depth, sampling time, and the amount of BPEF added (data not shown), except for the PO4P concentration of the liquid fraction. The experiment followed a split-plot design with four replicates. Manure type was assigned to the main plots and applications of Mg as BPEF to sub-plots. Due to significant interactions between sampling time and amount of Mg as BPEF or manure type, the analysis of variance for the liquid fraction was performed for each sampling time using the General Linear Models procedure (SAS Institute, 1990). A protected least significant difference (LSD) at the 0.05 level of probability was used to compare treatments. For the solid fraction, the effect of BPEF amounts was partitioned into linear and quadratic contrasts.
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RESULTS
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Liquid Fraction
Total Phosphorus
The difference between the concentration of total P in the mixed control treatment and that of the check with no BPEF (0 g Mg L1 manure) indicates the effect of natural settling. The greater settling of total P in the GF manure, compared with the NU manure (Fig. 1), can be explained by its higher DM content (Table 1). The observed maximum reduction in total P concentration noted with the natural settling of the manure was 52% for the GF manure and 23% for the NU manure. The total P concentration of both manure types with no BPEF applied remained relatively stable over the experimental period after the natural settling had occurred during the first 2 h of the settling period.

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Fig. 1. Total P concentration in the liquid fraction of two types of liquid swine manure (nursery and grower-finisher) treated with different amounts of Mg in the form of by-product of electrolysis and foundries (BPEF) as a function of time (2360 h) with x-axis on a log scale; the mixed control treatment received no BPEF but was stirred before each sampling. Vertical bars represent the LSD values (P 0.05) at each sampling time.
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Additions of BPEF greatly reduced the total P concentration, compared with the natural settling of the manure (0 g Mg L1 manure) (Fig. 1). Total P reduction at 360 h after the application of BPEF varied between 80 (0.5 g Mg L1 manure) and 90% (3.0 g Mg L1 manure) for the GF manure. When averaged across all BPEF additions, the reduction in the NU manure was 82%, compared with the mixed control treatment.
Total P concentration in the liquid fraction of the GF manure increased slightly at 2 h after the BPEF application when 2.0 g Mg L1 manure or more was used (Fig. 1). For a settling period of 8 h or more, additions as low as 0.5 g Mg L1 manure were sufficient to reduce total P concentration of the liquid fraction for both manure types. Higher BPEF additions did not significantly reduce further the total P concentration of the liquid fraction after 8 h. Most of the reduction in total P concentration of the liquid fraction occurred within the first 24 h. The total P concentration continued to decrease until the end of the sampling period, but at a much slower rate.
Water-Soluble Phosphorus
Natural settling, without BPEF, reduced the liquid fraction PO4P concentration of both manure types (23% with NU manure and 36% with GF manure, when averaged across all sampling times) compared with the mixed control treatment (Fig. 2). This natural settling had therefore less influence on the concentration of PO4P of the liquid fraction of GF manure than on the concentration of total P.

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Fig. 2. Soluble phosphorus (PO4P) concentration in the liquid fraction of two types of liquid swine manure (nursery and grower-finisher) treated with different amounts of Mg in the form of by-product of electrolysis and foundries (BPEF) as a function of time (2360 h) with x-axis on a log scale; the mixed control treatment received no BPEF but was stirred before sampling. Vertical bars represent the LSD values (P 0.05) at each sampling time.
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Additions of BPEF reduced the liquid fraction PO4P concentration by 94 (0.5 g Mg L1 manure) to 97% (3.0 g Mg L1 manure) in the NU manure; also by 94 (0.5 g Mg L1 manure) to 100% (3.0 g Mg L1 manure) in the GF manure compared with the mixed control treatment after 360 h (Fig. 2). A small addition of Mg as BPEF (0.5 g Mg L1 manure for the NU manure and 1.0 g Mg L1 manure for the GF manure) was sufficient to reduce the PO4P concentration of the liquid fraction of both manure types at every sampling time (Fig. 2). Additions of BPEF to liquid swine manure greatly reduced the PO4P concentration of the liquid fraction compared with the natural settling (0 g Mg L1 manure).
Total Nitrogen, Total Magnesium, pH, and Total Calcium
Additions of BPEF had no effect on the concentration of total N (Fig. 3) in the liquid fraction of both manure types after a settling period of up to 168 h. Greater BPEF additions significantly decreased total N concentration in the liquid fraction of GF manure after a settling period of 360 h.

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Fig. 3. Total N concentration in the liquid fraction of two types of liquid swine manure (nursery and grower-finisher) treated with different amounts of Mg in the form of by-product of electrolysis and foundries (BPEF) as a function of time (2360 h) with x-axis on a log scale; the mixed control treatment received no BPEF but was stirred before sampling. Vertical bars represent the LSD values (P 0.05) at each sampling time.
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Natural settling reduced the total Mg concentration in the liquid fraction of the GF manure by 182 mg L1 manure, on average, over all sampling times (Fig. 4). Natural settling of the NU manure did not significantly influence the total Mg concentration of the liquid fraction. Consequently, Mg in the GF manure was not entirely soluble because part of it settled with the solid fraction.

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Fig. 4. Total Mg concentration in the liquid fraction of two types of liquid swine manure (nursery and grower-finisher) treated with different amounts of Mg in the form of by-product of electrolysis and foundries (BPEF) as a function of time (2360 h) with x-axis on a log scale; the mixed control treatment received no BPEF but was stirred before sampling. Vertical bars represent the LSD values (P 0.05) at each sampling time.
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The addition of BPEF to the manure increased the total Mg concentration of the liquid fraction for both manure types. When sampled between 8 and 48 h, every gram of Mg added as BPEF increased the total Mg concentration of the liquid fraction by 313 mg Mg L1 manure (NU manure) and 352 mg Mg L1 manure (GF manure). Considering that almost 50% of the Mg contained in BPEF was soluble (Norsk Hydro Canada Inc., 2000), the difference between the potential total Mg concentration in solution (550 mg Mg L1 manure, Table 2) and that dissolved in the liquid fraction (313 to 352 mg Mg L1 manure) is assumed to be due to the Mg that reacted with PO4P; this fraction led to the formation of P minerals containing Mg which settled to the bottom of the buckets. When sampled at 168 and 360 h, the total Mg concentration of the liquid fraction of both manure types was higher than for samples taken between 2 and 48 h.
The addition of BPEF increased the pH of the liquid fraction for both manure types (Fig. 5). This increase was explained by the calcium carbonate equivalent content of BPEF (854 g kg1; Table 2). Averaged across all sampling times, the pH of the liquid fraction of both the mixed control treatment and the check without BPEF were 7.1 for the GF manure and 7.4 for the NU manure. Reduction of the liquid fraction's PO4P concentration of both manure types is associated with the increase in pH of the liquid fraction (Fig. 5). As the pH of the liquid fraction of both manure types increased, the concentration of PO4P decreased, suggesting that Mg-P compounds formed or that P precipitation is affected by the pH of the liquid fraction.

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Fig. 5. pH in the liquid fraction of two types of liquid swine manure (nursery and grower-finisher) treated with different amounts of Mg in the form of by-product of electrolysis and foundries (BPEF) as a function of time (2360 h) with x-axis on a log scale; the mixed control treatment received no BPEF but was stirred before sampling. Vertical bars represent the LSD values (P 0.05) at each sampling time.
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Additions of BPEF significantly increased the concentration of total Ca in the liquid fraction of both manure types compared with the mixed control treatment at 2 h (Fig. 6). The increase in BPEF amounts significantly increased the liquid fraction's total Ca concentration of both manure types for settling periods between 2 and 48 h. With longer settling periods, the total Ca concentration of the liquid fraction of the BPEF-treated manure was reduced compared with the mixed control treatment. Also, increased BPEF additions significantly decreased the total Ca concentration of the liquid fraction for both manure types at 360 h.

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Fig. 6. Total Ca concentration in the liquid fraction of two types of liquid swine manure (nursery and grower-finisher) treated with different amounts of Mg in the form of by-product of electrolysis and foundries (BPEF) as a function of time (2360 h) with x-axis on a log scale; the mixed control treatment received no BPEF but was stirred before sampling. Vertical bars represent the LSD values (P 0.05) at each sampling time.
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Solid Fraction
Additions of BPEF did not influence the solid fraction total P concentration of both manure types (Table 3). Even a small addition of BPEF (0.5 g Mg L1 manure) greatly reduced the PO4P concentration of the solid fraction of both manure types; this reduction was greater for the GF manure than for the NU manure. Additions of BPEF linearly increased the total Mg concentration of the solid fraction for both manure types. This result was attributed to the precipitation of the insoluble, or slowly soluble, Mg forms (almost 50% of the total Mg) from the BPEF (Norsk Hydro Canada Inc., 2000) and by the settling of Mg-P compounds that were precipitated after the addition of BPEF to the manure. Additions of BPEF increased the total Ca concentration and the pH of the solid fraction for both manure types.
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Table 3. Concentrations of total P, total N, total Mg, total Ca, PO4P, and pH of the solid fraction of two swine manures at 360 h following by-product of electrolysis and foundries (BPEF) addition.
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DISCUSSION
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Effect of Natural Settling on Phosphorus Reduction
Natural settling of total P was almost complete at 2 h. This result is in accordance with Zhu et al. (2004) who report that settling in swine manure occurs within 1.5 to 2 h. Natural settling of the liquid swine manure reduced the liquid fraction total P concentration by 23 to 52% compared with the manure from the mixed control treatment. The greater reduction with GF manure (DM content of 31.4 g DM kg1) than with NU manure (DM content of 11.3 g DM kg1) indicates that the potential for natural settling to reduce total P concentration is limited mainly to liquid swine manure with a high DM or organic P content. Furthermore, the natural settling of liquid swine manure had a limited effect on the PO4P concentration of the liquid fraction. Beyond the total P reduction with natural settling, a reduction in total Mg also occurred in the liquid fraction of both manure types. This result suggests that some Mg contained in the manure is relatively insoluble and subject to settling.
By-Product of Electrolysis and Foundries Addition and Settling Period Requirements for Phosphorus Removal
When comparing the BPEF-treated manure with the naturally settled manure (0 g Mg L1 manure) for sampling times of 8 to 360 h, the PO4P reduction represented 76 to 79% of the total P reduction in the liquid fraction for the NU manure and 94 to 100% for the GF manure. Although most of the total P reduction in the BPEF-treated manure was attributed to PO4P reduction, the addition of BPEF may also have led to the precipitation of some solid particles containing P.
Total P concentration of the GF manure at 2 h increased slightly when 2.0 or 3.0 g Mg L1 manure of BPEF was added. This minor and short-lasting increase may be explained by the presence of magnesium hydride (MgH2) in BPEF, which produces hydrogen when it is in contact with water (Huot et al., 2003). This release of hydrogen gas induced turbulence that suspended P from the solid fraction. This turbulence was not observed in the PO4P concentration for both manure types, hence indicating that the solid particles of swine manure are comprised primarily of organic or insoluble particulate P.
The PO4P reduction occurred rapidly after the addition of BPEF. According to Wu and Bishop (2004), the reduction of PO4P occurs as quickly as 20 min after increasing the pH and adding Mg-containing chemicals to wastewater. The PO4P concentration continued to decrease up to 168 h after BPEF addition. A settling period duration of BPEF with swine manure of 2 h or more is therefore required to observe a significant PO4P reduction compared with the mixed raw manure and the naturally settled manure (0 g Mg L1 manure). A settling period duration of 168 h or more would maximize the PO4P reduction in the liquid fraction.
Nitrogen in Manure
Adding BPEF to swine manure increased the pH of the liquid fraction for both manure types. Increasing the pH of swine manure usually leads to ammonia volatilization (Panetta et al., 2005). The absence of significant changes in the concentration of total N in the liquid fraction for a settling period duration of 168 h or less suggests that volatilization of ammonia did not significantly occur. Ammonia volatilization is affected by numerous factors such as pH, temperature, wind speed, surface cover, and concentration of ammonium in manure. Having the manure unstirred during the settling period probably minimized ammonia volatilization (Panetta et al., 2005). The relatively low air temperature in the building and the absence of wind may also explain the low ammonia volatilization in the first 7 d of the settling period (Arogo et al., 1999; Sommer and Olesen, 2000). For a settling period of 360 h, however, the pH values were the highest and the slight reduction in the concentration of total N with additions of BPEF of 1.5 g Mg L1 manure, or more, may be attributed to the volatilization of ammonia with the increased pH of the liquid fraction.
Minerals Formed in Manure
Optimal pH conditions (8.59.0; Stratful et al., 2001) for forming struvite were potentially met for the solid fraction after BPEF was added. High Mg concentrations enhance struvite formation in wastewaters (Schulze-Rettmer, 1991). The formation of struvite in wastewaters and slurries, following the addition of Mg, usually results in the reduction of both NH4N and PO4P concentrations in the liquid fraction. There is, however, no evidence that struvite was produced in this experiment. No significant reduction of total N concentration occurred in the liquid nor solid fractions of both manure types within the first 168 h of the settling period.
Newberyite is a magnesium phosphate that precipitates with struvite (Abbona et al., 1986). Struvite precipitates only when the pH is sufficiently high; however, newberyite is formed when the concentration of dissolved Mg is very high and the pH is relatively low (Abbona and Boistelle, 1988). The addition of Mg to a water solution may involve the formation of whitlockite and brushite (Abbona and Franchini-Angela, 1990). Burns et al. (2003) also obtained different forms of Mg-P compounds and concluded that brushite and other phosphate-containing compounds were synthesized using MgCl2 with manure. Analyses of manure samples by X-ray diffraction would be required to determine the nature of the mineral compounds formed after the addition of BPEF to manure.
Calcium and Magnesium Composition of By-Product of Electrolysis and Foundries-Treated Manure
Additions of BPEF to swine manure increased the Ca concentration of the liquid fraction for both manure types at 2 h. This result can be explained by the presence of Ca in the BPEF (Table 2). Total Ca concentration of the liquid fraction, however, decreased gradually during the settling period. This reduction could be attributed to the chemical speciation of PO4P with Ca. The decrease of the total Ca concentration of the liquid fraction, however, was greater than that of total P and PO4P concentrations between 168 and 360 h. The increased pH of the liquid fraction for both manures types may also have decreased the solubility of Ca and led to it being precipitated to the bottom of buckets, hence contributing to the decrease of the liquid fraction total Ca concentration.
The liquid fraction total Mg concentration was greater at 168 and 360 h than at 2 to 48 h. This increase during the settling period was attributed to the dissolution of slowly soluble Mg forms contained in BPEF, which represented around 50% of the total Mg (Norsk Hydro Canada Inc., 2000).
Total Phosphorus Content of the Solid Fraction of By-Product of Electrolysis and Foundry-Treated Manure
Even if the addition of Mg as BPEF greatly reduced the total P and PO4P concentrations of the liquid fraction, no significant increase of the total P concentration was observed in the solid fraction. This might be explained by the presence in the solid fraction of the remaining slowly soluble or insoluble fraction of the BPEF (
50% of the BPEF; Norsk Hydro Canada Inc., 2000), which caused a dilution of the total P and PO4P. Increasing the total Ca and Mg concentrations of the solid fraction with increasing amounts of Mg as BPEF at 168 and 360 h provides evidence for the presence of BPEF in the solid fraction (Table 3). This lack of increase in the solid fraction total P concentration could also be related to our sampling procedure. It is possible that part of the Mg-P compounds, primarily those formed later during the settling period, might be located at the top of the solid fraction and could have been removed with the liquid fraction.
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CONCLUSIONS
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The results of this study demonstrated the feasibility of using BPEF as a Mg source to remove P from liquid swine manure. The addition of 0.5 to 1.0 g Mg L1 manure as BPEF and a settling period of 8 h or more almost eliminated all the PO4P in the liquid fraction of swine manure and reduced the total P content, compared with the mixed raw manure. The utilization of this low P liquid fraction on high P soils would comply with environmental regulations and supply N to crops. In the long term, the use of this low P liquid fraction would reduce soil P levels and, therefore, the risk of water eutrophication. The solid fraction also had a reduced PO4P concentration for a 0.5 g Mg L1 manure addition and its utilization would be environmentally advantageous because of the reduced P solubility. The utilization of this Mg- and Ca-enriched solid fraction would also increase the Mg and Ca content of soils.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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The authors would like to acknowledge the technical assistance of Catherine Pinsonneault-Bélanger, Linda Gaulin, Caroline Morin, and Marie Bélanger; also the assistance of C.A. McRae, EditWorks, for structural editing of the manuscript. This research was supported in part by Norsk Hydro Canada Inc. and by the Matching Investment Initiative Program of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. An application for a U.S. (No. 10/536,896) and a Canadian (No. 2507388) patent protection on the concept has been submitted by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
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NOTES
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Contribution no. 814 from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
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