News Release Energy & Environemental Research Center University of North Dakota Grand Forks, ND 58202
AUGUST 13, 1997 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Barley Straw Offers Effective, Low-Cost Solution to Industrial Odor Problems
EAST GRAND FORKS, MINN. -- Controlling odors from ponds holding industrial wastewater could be as easy as spreading a layer of barley straw over the water.
Results from an ongoing demonstration at the American Crystal Sugar Co. (ACS) beet- processing plant in East Grand Forks, Minn., have been so encouraging that the company is planning to use the technique next year at its plants in East Grand Forks, Crookston, Minn., and Hillsboro, N.D. Although ACS invests approximately $10 million annually in environmental measures, controlling odors from wastewater ponds has had its ups and downs.
"With barley straw over the ponds, they smell like straw in a country field," says Larry Carlson, ACS factory environmental coordinator. "Right now, this looks like the most promising opportunity we've seen."
ACS learned of the odor control technology through its membership in the Red River Water Management Consortium (RRWMC), a program founded and coordinated by the University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC), Grand Forks. The idea originated at the Prairie Agriculture Machinery Institute (PAMI) in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, Canada, which successfully used barley straw to control odors from half-acre hog manure lagoons. The EERC proposed using it on an even larger scale to cover five- to six-acre holding ponds at ACS plants.
ACS contracted with PAMI to conduct a demonstration this summer using the barley straw to cover one of five wastewater holding ponds at the East Grand Forks plant. In June during the first application of this technology in the United States, the barley straw was spread using a modified Bale Pro 6600 produced by Highline Manufacturing, Vonda, Saskatchewan, Canada. The project is being coordinated by the RRWMC. Researchers from the EERC are monitoring and evaluating the demonstration.
Odor problems were exacerbated at the ACS plant by the severe flooding that struck East Grand Forks and Grand Forks this past April. Carlson said the plant lost all electrical power and was shut down for five days. Storm water from the plant's postflood cleanup had to be stored in nearby wastewater treatment ponds. Because of extended operations, ACS was later than usual in discharging much of its treated wastewater.
"This is a really good test to find out how well the technology works," Carlson says.
Tom Moe, EERC research engineer, says that the Highline "straw cannon" shoots the barley straw up to 150 feet, depending on wind conditions. Once a straw matt is laid down, the wind is used to raft sections into place. Ideally, a layer of straw eight to 12 inches thick covers the entire pond, although Moe says that achieving total coverage can be difficult. The first application went so well that ACS decided to cover a second pond with barley straw.
"You can really notice a marked difference after the straw is applied," Moe says. "The key is to monitor the pond and touch up open areas that form because of changing wind conditions."
Dan Stepan, EERC project manager, says that once the straw is in place, it acts as a biofilter. Microbes living in the straw rapidly multiply and capture the volatile organic compounds that create odors, converting them into odorless carbon dioxide and water. Therefore, the straw doesn't simply serve as a cover on the pond, but acts as a home to a large population of odor-eating microbes.
EERC researchers will evaluate results from the barley straw demonstration throughout the year. Stepan says that questions remain about the straw's durability and the ultimate fate of the straw cover. He expects that it will eventually sink to the bottom of the pond to later be removed with the accumulated soil settled from the waste stream.
Carlson says that ACS is so impressed with the results thus far that plans are already being made to purchase a barley straw cannon from Highline Manufacturing. Arrangements are also being made to purchase and store enough barley straw for use at other ACS sugar beet processing facilities next year. Approximately 70 large, round straw bales are needed to cover one acre of water.
During 1997, the RRWMC received $280,000 in funding from the United States Department of Agriculture for a variety of projects addressing technical issues related to the development of a water management strategy for the Red River Basin. Stakeholders in the consortium are providing an additional $80,000 in funding.
The EERC is one of UND's major sources of research funding, attracting more than $25 million in fiscal year 1996 in federal, state and private contracts. The Center, which employs 220 people, is an international leader in energy and environmental research, conducting projects for clients from throughout the United States and the world.
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For More Information Contact:
Gerald Groenewold, EERC director, at (701) 777-5131 or [email protected]
Dan Stepan, EERC research manager, at (701) 777-5247 or [email protected]
Tom Moe, EERC research engineer, at (701) 777-5231 or [email protected]
Larry Carlson, factory environmental coordinator, American Crystal Sugar, at (218) 236-4380 or [email protected]
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