Feasibility and production costs of composting breeder and pullet litter with eggshell waste

Abstract

Phosphorus runoff from the land application of poultry litter has become a concern in watersheds in the Ozark Plateau region, prompting local growers to use alternative litter management practices. One option is the export of excess poultry litter from producers in nutrient-surplus watersheds to users located in areas where nutrient loads are not problematic. In 2006, nearly 100,000 tons of broiler and turkey litter was exported by BMPs Inc., a nonprofit corporation providing litter management services. However, breeder hen litter and pullet litter are rarely exported because there are limited outlets for these lower nutrient value litters. Another poultry industry by-product is eggshell waste from egg-breaking operations, most of which is currently landfilled at a cost of $25/ton. Composting was examined as an alternative method to convert litter and eggshell wastes into a marketable soil amendment, making use of the beneficial soil nutrients available in both; 4 blends and 2 production systems were analyzed. Process results indicated that during composting, the observed temperatures of each of the 4 blends were different, but all followed a similar trend throughout the production cycle. Functional group inventory and diversity analysis indicated that all blends fell within optimal ranges of microbial species, except for the ratio of aerobic to anaerobic bacteria; only blend 4 was within the optimal value for this parameter. Diversity values for each blend fell within the moderate diversity range (3 < d < 6.5). Maturity analysis results indicated that no blends were mature at 11 wk (index <50%) and could not safely be used in horticultural applications but could safely be used in field applications. Break-even analyses indicated that compost could be produced at an average cost (across the 4 blends) of $17.48 to $20.09/ton for systems 1 (small-scale) and 2 (large-scale), respectively.

Optimized extraction of calcium malate from eggshell treated by PEF and an absorption assessment in vitro

“…However, eggshells are a good calcium resource as a nutritional supplement, which enjoy great business prospects [1,2]. The eggshell calcium carbonate had been traditionally utilized as a fertilizer, soil conditioner or an additive for animal feed due to its high nutrient content [3][4][5][6][7][8]. Naves also found that traditional meals fortified with eggshell powder could significantly contribute to the adequate calcium intake and to prevent calcium deficiency, such as osteoporosis, in individuals of different age groups and socioeconomic statuses social levels [1].…”

Feasibility Study on Windrow Co-composting to Recycle Industrial Eggshell Waste

“…Thus, even if the starting mixture contains about 30 % of ES, no negative influence is observed in GI parameter. Lower GI (from 32.5 to 50 %) were obtained by [13] in composts produced with eggshell waste and breeder and pullet litter, which points out that the phytotoxic characteristics of the composts produced with eggshell waste could only be attributed to the properties of the animal manure used in the windrows composition.…”

“…To the best of our knowledge, eggshell waste composting with other ABP has not been considered. The only study found in the literature has used microbial inoculants to aid in the humus buildup [13].…”

Organic biowastes blend selection for composting industrial eggshell by-product: experimental and statistical mixture design

“…On the other hand, due to the high nutritional contents of ES, namely calcium, its application to acid soils with calcium deficiency may constitute an option to promote ES transformation into a value-added product and consequently recover a natural resource contained in this by-product. Nonetheless, according to our l<nowledge, industrial ES composting is scarcely addressed in literature (Kemper & Goodwin 2009). …”