MicroZyme - Slurry Lagoon Treatment

MicroZyme is a biological product for solids reduction, nitrogen conservation and odour control of animal wastes stored in lagoons and other holding pits. Treatment results in easier to handle material, greater fertilizer nutrient retained value and less environmental nuisance.

The storage and management of dairy manure is an important part of the farming operation not just for environmental and legislation reasons. This material is a good source of fertiliser due to it’s high content of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium and this valuable resource must be protected.

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Parameter	Dairy Cow @ 700 kg
Manure Prodn, kg/d	80
Nitrogen (N), kg/d	0.3
Phosphate (P), kg/d	0.15
Potash (K₂O), kg/d	0.25

A dairy cow produces approximately 10T of manure during a 180 day housing period.

This 10T of manure contains about 50 kg of Nitrogen when freshly produced by the cow.

While manure production is constant, it’s application as a fertilizer is seasonal and consideration should be given to how to best store it until needed. There are three major considerations for storage of manure.

Crust Formation – Undigested plant fibre material is made up of light particles which float to the surface where they dry out and compact to form a crust. This prevents oxygen and light from entering the lagoon resulting in low microbial activity to breakdown the manure solids.

Odour Production – Fresh cattle manure has a less offensive odour than stored manure because of the subsequent anaerobic fermentation in the lower layers of the lagoon. This is made worse by any crust layer that may form. These conditions result in the production of ammonia and hydrogen sulphide together with particularly noxious compounds resulting from protein breakdown.

Nutrient Losses – Losses of potassium and phosphorous during manure storage are minimal but significant amounts of nitrogen can be lost from manure before it can be applied as a source of fertiliser. The amount of loss varies with many factors and one of the most significant of these is the method of storage used.

Handling/Storage System	Nitrogen Loss ¹
Solids Systems:
Manure Pack	35 %
Liquid Systems:
Anaerobic Pit	25 %
Aerobic Pit	60 %
Lagoon	80 %

¹ potential losses of N based upon composition of manure applied to field vs. freshly excreted manure.

Clearly lagoon storage, the most common method used, incurs the largest nitrogen loss of up to 80%.

Nitrogen in fresh manure is principally in the form of urea. Within the lagoon this is eventually converted, through a number of intermediates, to nitrate:

UREA > AMMONIA > NITRITE > NITRATE

Water scene The conversion of urea to ammonia is the most rapid stage. This results in a build up of ammonia which is highly volatile and escapes from the lagoon at the liquid:air interface. This is the principal reason for such large losses of nitrogen from manure and the reduction in it’s value as a fertiliser. Storage and management of manure should include strategies to minimise these economic losses.

On a 100 cow herd, even a 60% loss represents a potential loss equivalent to almost 9 tonnes of 34% ammonium nitrate fertiliser. At £350 per tonne, this is worth over £3000 to replace with bought in supplies.

How Does MicroZyme Work?

Enzymes MicroZyme contains naturally occurring viable microorganisms and naturally produced active enzymes that work synergistically to accelerate and sustain the biological processes involved in the degradation of animal manure solids and urine wastes during storage as slurry.

MicroZyme MicroZyme contains aerobic and facultative bacteria that produce powerful digestive enzymes (cellulases, hemicellulases, amylases, proteases and lipases) that break down the organic matter in the manure.

MicroZyme enzymes promote bio-chemical processes that reduce odour and preserve fertilizer type nutrients (N, P & K) either by converting odiferous compounds into microbial protein or by suppressing the activities of the bacteria that produce foul odours.

MicroZyme contains powerful oxygenating compounds and surfactants to optimize microbial activity

MicroZyme contains micronutrients and growth stimulants to ensure rapid activation of microbial activities.

A regular MicroZyme program will liquefy manure solids, eliminate surface crusting, degrade bottom sludge and greatly reduce the foul odours that emanate from lagoons and pits.

Use of MicroZyme will also reduce the coliform level in lagoon slurry as solids digestion is increased thereby destroying fecal coliform breeding sites.

Research shows that using MicroZyme as part of a manure management program can cut fertiliser nitrogen losses in half.

MicroZyme Slurry Lagoon Treatment has applications for the following animal groups: