Recent test results of Bion Dairy’s waste treatment installation at the 1250 head DeVries Dairy in Dublin are encouraging.

The seven-month performance evaluation shows a removal rate of 79 percent of phosphorus and 74 percent of the nitrogen from the DeVries dairy waste stream.

In addition, the Bion system achieved substantial reductions in air emissions. Test results show air emissions were 99.5 to 99.8 percent lower for ammonia, 95-99.5 percent lower for oxides of nitrogen and volatile organics, and 94 to 96.6 percent lower in hydrogen sulfide or sour gas.

The Bion system on the DeVries Dairy was designed and operated to maximize phosphorous removal from the entire dairy effluent stream by biologically converting the bulk of the phosphorous into solids and nitrogen into solids and nitrogen gas. The removal was accomplished by incorporating a combination of screens and centrifuge technology to enhance solids capture after the biological process. The remaining phosphorus and nitrogen was discharged in the effluent stream to a storage lagoon to be utilized for irrigation of cropland.

The Bion system is specifically designed to work in conjunction with waste from a free stall dairy and is transportable to any CAFO waste stream.

According to the evaluation report air and water emissions are linked by the ammonia issue. The report recommends a comprehensive environmental solution to deal with both types of emissions, which will require the development of new standards based upon current science.

Bion proposes two ways of paying for the Bion technology. They include sustainable incentives and herd expansion and call for funding by both private industry and the regulatory community.

Sustainable incentives would be regulations that support value creation to help pay for the environmental benefit that comes from widespread industry adoption of a solution. Included would be emission reduction credits that provide a mechanism for producers to monetize a portion of the benefits to offset compliance costs.

According to Bion, calculations indicate that an individual dairy herd expansion between 8 and 20 percent of its base should support the capital and ongoing operating costs associated with the implementation of a Bion system as well as the cost for the herd expansion without any other subsidy.

Bion estimates the cost to install a Bion system on a 1000-3000 cow dairy in Texas designed to maximize nutrient capture will cost in the range of $500-650 per dairy cow, depending upon size and site.

“We simply want to take the waste and turn it into usable resources,” said Dominic Bassani, General Manager. “If this is successful, it will open the door to other business opportunities. Affordability and certainty in comprehensively addressing new, rigorous air and water environmental standards becomes a goal for all stakeholders to work together to achieve.”—.