Research Activities

There are variety of completed and ongoing research projects in line with the program objectives that cover a broad range of topical areas including manure odor control techniques; manure treatment techniques and processes for nutrient management; bioenergy production from animal manure and agricultural wastes; development of biological manure additives; covers for liquid storage facilities; aeration and surface aeration; solids-liquid separation and the effect of particle size on solids-liquid separation efficiency; odor dispersion modeling; chemical and physical treatment processes for nutrient removal; bioreactors; aerobic and anaerobic digestion; composting; seepage from deep-bedded animal feedlots, poultry litter systems, and manure stockpiles; diet manipulation for nutrient management; aeration for phosphorus removal; nutrient stratification study for deep-pitted buildings; value-added products from animal manure; biohydrogen production from liquid swine manure via fermentation; co-digesting swine manure with straws and corn stalks for methane production; on-farm hydrogen fueling station development; and novel wet scrubbers to recover NH₃ emitted from animal feeding operations for fertilizer.

People

• Jun Zhu, Professor of environmental engineering
• Curt Miller, Assistant Scientist

Current Projects

1. A field-scale surface aeration system to control odor from open liquid manure storage facilities
2. Investigating the potential of enhancing CH4 productivity by co-digesting swine manure with crop residues as an external carbon source
3. Converting liquid swine manure into bio-oils and hydrogen
4. A feasibility study on making L-lactic acid by Rhizopus oryzae using dairy manure
5. Wet scrubbers for the recovery of NH3 emission from animal feeding operations for fertilizer
6. "Biohydrogen-Based Biofuel Cells: Highly Efficient and Clean Electricity Generation Using Mixed Wastewater Feedstocks" - A Rural Development Project