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Grant support

This work was supported by the Nutri2Cycle project funded by the European Union'sHorizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 773682. The support of the CERCA Programme and of the Consolidated Research Group of Sustainability in Biosystems(ref. 2021 SGR 01568), both from the Generalitat de Catalunya, is also acknowledged.

Analysis of institutional authors

Cerrillo, MíriamCorresponding AuthorMoreno, MiguelAuthorBurgos, LauraAuthorBonmati, AugustCorresponding Author
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Article

Low-Temperature Vacuum Evaporation of Ammonia from Pig Slurry at Laboratory and Pilot-Plant Scale

Publicated to:Processes. 11 (10): 2910- - 2023-10-03 11(10), DOI: 10.3390/pr11102910

Authors: Cerrillo, M; Moreno, M; Burgos, L; Estéfano, R; Coll, D; Soraluce, J; Navarro, N; Arnau, PA; Bonmatí, A

Affiliations

CIMNE, Gran Capita S-N Edificio C1,Campus Nord UPC, Barcelona 08034, Spain - Author
Ecofert Bio SL, Carretera Berga 13, Barcelona 08670, Spain - Author
IRTA, Sustainabil Biosyst, Ctra C 59,Km 12,1, Barcelona 08140, Spain - Author
Sostenibilitat en Biosistemes. Producció Animal - Author
UPB Genet World SL, Carretera Berga 13, Barcelona 08670, Spain - Author
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Abstract

Livestock manure has a high ammonium content that can limit its direct application on soil as a fertiliser in nitrate-vulnerable zones. Treatment technologies that are able to extract ammonium from livestock manure allow it to be concentrated in small volumes, making it cheaper and easier to transport and use as fertiliser in crop areas where there is a deficit of nitrogen. This study proposed using low-temperature vacuum evaporation to treat pig slurry in order to obtain marketable products that can be used as fertilisers and help close the nitrogen cycle. Two different configurations and scales were used. The first was a seven-litre laboratory-scale evaporator complemented with a condenser, a condensate trapper, an acid trap and a vacuum pump operated at -90 kPa vacuum pressure and at three different temperatures: 50.1 +/- 0.2 degrees C, 46.0 +/- 0.1 degrees C and 45.3 +/- 1.3 degrees C. The second, Ammoneva, is an on-farm pilot-scale evaporator (6.4 m3), capable of working in four-hour batches of 1 t of liquid fraction of pig slurry with an operating temperature of 40-45 degrees C and -80 kPa vacuum pressure. The laboratory-scale evaporator, which features several novel improvements focused on increasing ammonia recovery, showed a higher nitrogen removal efficiency from the liquid fraction of pig slurry than the on-farm pilot plant, achieving 84% at 50.1 degrees C operation, and recovering most of it in ammonia solution (up to 77% of the initial nitrogen), with 7% of the ammonia not recovered. The Ammoneva pilot plant achieved a treated liquid fraction with 41% of initial nitrogen on average, recovering 15% in the ammonia solution in the acid trap; so, the NH3 gas absorption step needs to be further optimised. However, due to the simplicity of the Ammoneva pilot plant, which is easily placed inside a 20-foot container, and the complete automation of the process, it is suitable as an on-farm treatment for decentralised pig slurry management. The implementation of the novel design developed at laboratory-scale could help further increase recovery efficiencies at the pilot-plant scale.

Keywords
Acid absorption process,recoverAmmonium recovery,acid trap,pig slurry,vacuum,fertiliser,pilot plan

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Processes due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2023, it was in position 80/170, thus managing to position itself as a Q2 (Segundo Cuartil), in the category Engineering, Chemical. Notably, the journal is positioned en el Cuartil Q2 para la agencia Scopus (SJR) en la categoría Chemical Engineering (Miscellaneous).

Independientemente del impacto esperado determinado por el canal de difusión, es importante destacar el impacto real observado de la propia aportación.

Según las diferentes agencias de indexación, el número de citas acumuladas por esta publicación hasta la fecha 2025-05-02:

  • WoS: 2
  • Scopus: 3
  • OpenCitations: 2
Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-05-02:

  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 8 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

    It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

    • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
    • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12327/2468
    Leadership analysis of institutional authors

    There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (CERRILLO MORENO, MIRIAM) and Last Author (BONMATI BLASI, AUGUST).

    the authors responsible for correspondence tasks have been CERRILLO MORENO, MIRIAM and BONMATI BLASI, AUGUST.