The Effect of Homogenized Biosolution Allocation in the Digestate on Reducing Ammonia Emissions

Abstract

Digestate (anaerobic ferment) is an organic substance remaining after the anaerobic processing of organic matter or biodegradable waste—biogas extraction or anaerobic alcoholic fermentation— or bioethanol extraction. Biogas production waste digestate is a valuable fertilizer in agriculture, but there are issues with odor emissions. Therefore, in order to reduce environmental air pollution, the efficiency of integrating a homogenized biosolution—an activator of rotting residues into the digestate for ammonia emission—was evaluated via scientific studies of ammonia gas emission. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effect of a homogenized biosolution—the rotting residue activator (carrier molasses without GMO) in the digestate—on reducing ammonia emissions. The assessment of ammonia gas emission was performed by measuring the average ammonia concentration values fixed in time intervals every 15 min via the automatic switching of the analyzer channels, in order to first assess the sudden immediate effect of the biosolution and the regular gradual long-term effect. After evaluating the average concentration and emission of ammonia gas from the control and digestate with biosolutions depending on the duration of digestate storage, the correlation of the values compared with each other was established and the effect of the allocation of the biosolution—the rotting residue activator in the digestate—on the reduction of ammonia concentration and emission was recorded. The highest efficiency of the biosolution in reducing ammonia emissions ranged from 3 to 43% in the period from 1 to 100 h, which reached up to 450,000 mg m−2h−1. After evaluating the overall average reduction in ammonia emissions from the digestate with the biosolution over the entire period, the essential effect of the use of biosolutions was proven and the highest effect was recorded in the first 24 h after the allocation of the biosolution—the activator of rotting residues in the digestate. Thus, supplementing the digestate with various nutrients and specialized biosolutions provides an even better fertilizing value and even better prospects for reducing odor emissions.

Keywords

• barley yield
• bacteria
• potassium
• phosphorus
• soil