ES2627488B1 - Process for the treatment of slurries to obtain biological products and products obtained by the process - Google Patents

Abstract

Process for the treatment of slurries to obtain biological products characterized by the following phases: collection of pig slurries in a tank in the form of a lagoon, homogenization of slurries with an agitator in an aqueous medium, channeling of the homogeneous purine to a bed slightly inclined not greater than 15 degrees, add and spread a culture of worms to the purine homogeneous, and allow the culture of worms to act on the homogeneous and finally collect the flow of the homogenous treated by worms in an aqueous product.

Description

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DESCRIPTION

Process for the treatment of slurries to obtain biological products and products obtained by the process.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention application aims at a process for the treatment of slurries to obtain biological products and their products obtained by said process, which incorporates notable innovations and advantages over the techniques used so far.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Purines are the solid and liquid excrements of the pig. These wastes are very polluting and their sanitary control is mandatory within the European community. The slurry is related to wet residual biomass and is generally used as fertilizer in underdeveloped agriculture countries. There is an urgent need to treat these wastes in view of the huge amount of slurry generated by pig farms, continued pollution on agricultural land, which results in environmental changes that are very harmful to nature.

The procedures for the treatment of known slurries involve the use of chemical products and / or the use of energy resources that require high costs in the form of specialized plants and highly prepared human material as described in patents ES 2 157 774 and ES 2 153 739

Most patent-protected processes focus on the treatment of water contaminated by slurries, which are very complex processes that aim to isolate specific ingredients from the resulting material. This resulting material is usually called "geopurin." This additional treatment is very laborious and requires great technological efforts as embodied in patents ES 2 007 239 and ES 2 034 878.

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On the other hand, earthworms have been used domestically in composting processes of varied plant or animal material (ES1 057 451). This product of domestic compost called "humus" must be treated and processed for later use. Therefore, the treatment of slurries at the compost level is not known either domestically or industrially. Additionally, the chemical and nutritional content A geopurin differs markedly from a humus of domestic compost.

A two-stage slurry treatment process, in which a vermiculture is applied in a first stage and microalgae separates in a second stage is described in the patent ES 2 376 580. This complicated process aims at the production of geopurines from the same way as the present invention. The mentioned process requires a high number of lagoons or pits to treat purine residues and a low level of exposure of the vermiculture residues given the delicate treatment of these organisms. Demanding an additional treatment of microalgae to pig waste, which demands more time and costs.

Surprisingly, the present invention provides a biological solution, continuous and without the use of chemicals or other organisms in a highly effective way to produce geopurines.

The present invention contributes to solve and solve the present problem, since the use of vermiculture in slurry treatment processes has not been possible to explore given the biological conditions that these organisms demand, limiting their use.

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DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been developed in order to provide a simple, low cost and environmentally friendly solution. The process of the invention meets these requirements given its surprising simplicity and application.

The process of the invention is used for the treatment of slurry generated by pig residues. The process enables the obtaining of biological products characterized by the following phases:

a) Collection of pig manure in a tank in the form of a lagoon,

b) Homogenization of slurry with an agitator in an aqueous medium,

c) Channeling the homogeneous purine to a slightly inclined bed not greater than 15 degrees,

d) Add and spread a vermiculture to the homogeneous purine in the raft or bed,

e) Allow the vermiculture to act on the homogeneous purine,

f) Collect by pumping an aqueous geopurine product to the storage tank.

Phase a) of collection is not limited to a particular use, but refers to the collection of slurry in a general way according to the state of the art and the artisan in the field.

Phase b) of homogenization of slurries, is not limited to a specific agitator, this can be manual or motorized and its objective is to prepare slurries for easy absorption and digestion of worms in their semi-humid environment. Agitation can be continuous or semi-continuous depending on the craftsman in the field.

Additionally, phase c) of channeling of the purine homogenous occurs through an evacuating outlet and by the action of a pump that regularly and moderately pumps the homogeneous to the bed or terrace where contact with the vermiculture occurs. The bed can be a base made of canvas, plastic, concrete or other

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appropriate material that supports the humidity conditions avoiding the filtration of the water and the contact between the slurry and the geopurin. The idea is to create a biological system or habitat, in which earthworms can transform slurry into geopurines as the homogeneous purine is irrigated on the bed either by the use of sprinklers or directly by regulated pumping according to the phase e) of the process of the invention.

The process for the treatment of slurries to obtain biological products also includes alternatively an appropriate habitat for worms and their survival (vermiculture). This habitat is built on the bed or raft with a few edges with a maximum height of 20 centimeters, preferably 15 centimeters. The slurry can never touch the base, otherwise it would be mixed with the geopurin according to phase d) of the process of the invention.

Additionally, a porous material in the form of agricultural (eg straw, hay) or industrial wastes is used to create an appropriate habitat for earthworms, where they avoid being suffocated or drowned either by excess slurry or the aqueous medium, for example Water.

In phase d), the worms chosen are of the Eisenia fetida type, with the common names: red earthworm, Californian red earthworm, composting earthworm, fertilizer earthworm. This is usually a small worm that is between 5 and 8 centimeters long. These worms are preselected in a vermiculture that is added to the base or bed prior to the flow of homogeneous purine.

The artificial biological system created by the process is maintained for a certain time, preferably 2 to 8 months, to allow the transformation of slurry into geopurines (phase e). The worms digest the slurry and excrement the geopurines, which are collected in an aqueous product (phase f). Once the slurry has disappeared and the defecation of the worms has been deposited at the base of the raft, a hole-shaped exit is made, where it is introduced

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a pump, which must be about 50 centrometers below it to pump the geopurin to the tank enabled for storage according to phase f) of the process of the invention.

In another aspect of the invention is the slurry treatment process that generates an aqueous geopurine product that can be treated aposteriori and in an isolated manner according to phase g). These aqueous geopurines can be treated by decantation, osmosis and / or separation or other known techniques, resulting in a solid product and / or a liquid product to be respectively packaged or packaged.

In a further aspect of the invention the process for the treatment of slurries for obtaining biological products can be actively improved, with the active use of sprinklers to conserve the wet medium of the worm culture in phase e). This increases the process of digestion of the vermiculture, significantly reducing the treatment time of the slurry. In addition, another effect of sprinkler use is that irrigation facilitates the collection of geopurines by gravity at the base of the raft or bed.

In one aspect of the invention, the process for the treatment of slurries to obtain biological products actively uses aspiration and separation filters in the phases of f) collection and / or g) of geopurine treatment. These filters can be of any preferably metallic, plastic or ceramic material.

The process for the treatment of slurries to obtain biological products can also be improved by the active use of additional pumps that conserve the flow of the purine homogenate and geopurine final product. In this way, the process is prevented from being blocked in one phase and a subsequent flooding of the bed, which leads to the death of the worm asphyxiation.

Thanks to the present invention, an adequate and improved treatment of the slurries is achieved, in which not only the slurries are recycled, but the water used for agricultural irrigation is treated. This process also reduces the number of tanks and

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retention pits. Finally, the biological system used in the process implies an improvement of an environmental type since the use of chemical products for the treatment of slurry is avoided.

Other features and advantages of the process of the invention that will be apparent from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment, which is illustrated by way of non-limiting example.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In an example of the process of the invention part of 50 kilos of pig waste is used:

a) Collection of pig manure in a tank in the form of a lagoon,

b) Homogenization of slurry with an agitator in an aqueous medium such as water,

c) Channeling by pumping the homogeneous purine to a slightly inclined bed (10 degrees), is properly prepared with a bed of straw and edges of 15 centimeters,

d) Add and spread a culture of worms to the homogeneous purine (5 Kilos), in which sprinklers continuously water with a flow of between 0.5 to 2 liters per minute,

e) Allow the culture of worms to act on the homogeneous for a period of 4 to 5 months,

f) Collect the flow of the homogeneous treated by the worms in a solid product by decantation. Resulting in a solid product of approximately 10 kilos of geopurines.

The details, shapes, dimensions and other accessory elements, as well as the materials used in the process of treating the slurry of the invention, may be conveniently replaced by others that are technically equivalent according to the artisan in the field and do not depart of the

essentiality of the invention or of the scope defined by the claims included below.

Claims (5)

5 10 fifteen twenty 25 30 1. Process for the treatment of slurries to obtain biological products characterized by the following phases: a) Collection of pig manure in a tank in the form of a lagoon, b) Homogenization of slurry with an agitator in an aqueous medium, c) Channeling the homogeneous purinic to a raft or slightly inclined bed not greater than 15 degrees, d) Add and spread a vermiculture to the homogeneous purine in the raft or bed, e) Allow the vermiculture to act on the homogeneous purine, f) Collect by pumping an aqueous geopurine product to the storage tank. 2. Process for the treatment of slurries for obtaining biological products according to claim 1, characterized by an additional phase g) for the decantation and separation of the treated homogeneous resulting in a solid and a liquid product to be respectively packaged or packaged. 3. Process for the treatment of slurries for obtaining biological products according to claim 1, characterized by the use of a raft or bed comprising edges with a maximum height of 20 centimeters and porous material in the form of agricultural or industrial waste for create the appropriate habitat of worms. 4. Process for the treatment of slurries to obtain biological products according to claim 1, characterized by the active use of sprinklers to conserve the humid medium of the vermiculture in phase e). 5. Process for the treatment of slurries for obtaining biological products according to claims 1 to 4, characterized by the use of filters aspiration and separation in the phases of f) collection and / or g) treatment of the geopurine product. 5 6. Process for the treatment of slurries to obtain products Biological according to claim 5, characterized by the active use of additional pumps to enable the flow of the purine homogenate in phase c) and the geopurine final product in phases f) and / or g). 7. Organic fertilizer obtained by the process according to claims 1 to 6.