Most of the odor from animal manure/urea is generated from the conversion of ammonium (odorless) to ammonia gas and airborne nitrates and sulfates. Zeolite will absorb moisture and will hold the ammonium by two methods. First it will hold up to 55% of its weight in water in open pore spaces by absorption. Second, it will hold the ammonium cation in the mineral lattice by a method called "cation exchange" (measured as cation exchange capacity or “CEC”). In absorption, the ammonium is held loosely and is water soluble, but in the cation exchange position, the ammonium is held in the crystal lattice where it is not water-soluble but is plant accessible. In the cation exchange position, the nitrogen will not burn the plant.

PROCEDURES

The amount of BRZ™ used is dependent on the moisture and nitrogen content of the manure/urea
(see table below).  Reducing the moisture content with BRZ™ generally reduces the fly and maggot larvae.

Waste Material	Total Elemental Concentration -- Fresh Weight Basis
	Moisture Content	N	P	K
Animal Manures	-- % --	--- lbs / tons --
Beef manure	85	14	4	9
Dairy manure	85	10	2	8
Horse manure	80	13	5	10
Poultry litter - cleanout	75	60	62	37
Sheep manure	77	28	4	20
Swine manure	82	10	2.8	7.6

 

 

 

 

 

 

For odor, fly, and maggot control the following procedures are recommended:

• FEED.

Animals should be fed from ½ to 2% BRZ™ by weight of the total ration. Feeding BRZ™ is the most effective approach per pound used for odor.  

• BEDDING

BRZ™ should be laid down in the bedding or stall areas after clean out. Alternatively, if the clean out cycle is at long intervals, multiple layers of BRZ™ can be placed on top of the manure.

•   LAGOON

In the case of wet operations where wash-down is used, the water from the lagoon can be treated to remove the ammonium with a BRZ™ filter column. This will enable the reuse of the wash-down water. The zeolite can also be an effective air filter for ammonia gas and hydrogen sulfide.  The BRZ™ loaded with ammonium from the filter and off-gas system can be combined with the manure compost as a fertilizer/soil amendment. The off-gas system can be a floating lagoon cover with attachments to cycle the off-gas through a BRZ™ air filter column. A bio-filter using BRZ is another option to deal with lagoons. A 14 x 40 mesh or coarser product is recommended.     Adding 6.25% zeolite to manure slurry by wet weight reduced ammonium loss by 55%.

•  MANURE

The manure from dry operations or the manure sludge from wash-down operations should be composted with 100 to 300 pounds per ton of zeolite depending on the nitrogen content. This is generally done in rows where the compost can be turned after temperatures peak. Straw, saw dust, or other sources of carbon must be used with the proper water content to complete the composting process. Composting can take 6 to 10 weeks depending on the efficiency of the operation. A 14x40 mesh product is preferred.    

Compost turner

BENEFITS