Manure Separator Segmentation for Nutrient Recovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for separating manure or digestate into solid and liquid phases often result in excessive nutrient-rich solids being transported and stored, leading to soil contamination and environmental issues, as they are not optimized for needs-based production or value-adding processing.
Innovation Solution
A method utilizing a press screw separator with a sieve element that separates minerals, including nutrients, from fiber material, ensuring more than 85% of minerals remain in the liquid phase, allowing for the production of nutrient-poor fiber material and further processing into value-adding products like fuel pellets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If conventional separation methods (screw presses or decanter centrifuges) are used to separate liquid manure into solid and liquid phases, then dewatering is achieved, but excessive nutrient-rich solids are transported and stored leading to soil contamination and environmental issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the solid phase into two distinct fractions: fiber material (coarse solids) and particle material (fine solids containing nutrients). This segmentation is achieved through a two-stage separation process where the first separator produces a preliminary solid fraction, and a second separator further divides this into fiber material and particle material. By segmenting the solids, the patent enables selective handling - fiber material can be used for bedding or energy production while particle material rich in nutrients remains in the liquid phase for targeted application, thus preventing excessive nutrient accumulation in soils
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the nutrient-rich particle material from the solid phase and returns it to the liquid phase. The second separator is specifically configured to separate particle material (containing most nutrients) from fiber material, with the particle material being fed back into the liquid output stream. This extraction ensures that nutrients remain with the liquid fertilizer where they can be precisely applied based on crop needs, rather than being locked in solid form that leads to contamination
2Ease of operation
If all solids are separated and stored for later application, then storage and handling become easier, but transport costs and carbon dioxide emissions increase when transporting surplus manure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different handling strategies to different solid fractions based on their local qualities and uses. Fiber material (coarse, low nutrient content) is suitable for local use as bedding material or for energy production through combustion or anaerobic digestion. Particle material (fine, high nutrient content) is extracted and returned to the liquid phase for targeted field application. This local quality approach optimizes each fraction's use locally, reducing the need for long-distance transport of surplus materials
Solution Approach 2:
The patent discards the fiber material fraction from the nutrient circulation loop, using it for non-nutrient purposes like bedding or energy production where nutrient content is irrelevant. Meanwhile, the nutrient-rich particle material is recovered and returned to the liquid phase, maintaining the nutrient cycle. This selective discarding and recovering prevents the need to transport all separated solids, reducing transport costs and emissions while still achieving easy handling of the discarded fiber fraction
3Device complexity
If a single separation device is used to separate solids from liquid, then the process is simple, but particle-bound phosphate and other nutrients remain in the solid phase leading to contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the separation process into two distinct stages with two separate separation devices. The first separator (e.g., screw press) performs initial dewatering to produce a solid fraction. The second separator (e.g., centrifugal separator or fine screen) further processes this solid fraction to divide it into fiber material and particle material. This segmentation allows each device to be optimized for its specific function, with the second separator specifically designed to extract fine particles containing particle-bound phosphate, ensuring nutrients remain in the liquid phase
Solution Approach 2:
The first solid fraction produced by the initial separator acts as an intermediary material that is further processed by the second separator. This intermediary stage allows for progressive separation - the first separator handles the bulk dewatering, and the second separator refines the separation to extract nutrient-containing particles. This two-stage intermediary approach is more effective at removing particle-bound nutrients than a single separator could achieve alone
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces nutrient accumulation in soils, minimizes environmental impact, and enables the efficient production of high-energy fuel pellets from separated solids, addressing the need for needs-based production and value-adding processing.
Implementation Method 1
A method utilizing a press screw separator with a sieve element that separates minerals, including nutrients, from fiber material
Implementation Method 2
press screw separator with a sieve element that separates minerals, including nutrients, from fiber material
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a system (100) for the treatment of liquid manure, solid manure, and digestate with a liquid-solid separator (10) comprising a separation device (20) for separating a solid-liquid mixture, wherein the liquid-solid separator (10) is also configured as a solid-solid separator. To further develop the system in such a way as to ensure the demand-driven production of separated solids, the invention proposes that the separation device (20) also be configured to separate one solid, preferably in the form of particles, from another solid.