Bioorganically-augmented high value fertilizer

• US 8,920,733 B2
• Filed: 10/09/2013
• Issued: 12/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Profile Products LLC
• Original Assignee: Vitag Corporation
• Inventors: Burnham, Jeffrey C., Carr, James P., Dahms, Gary L.
• Primary Examiner(s): LANGEL, WAYNE A
• Application Number:
  US14/049,421
• Publication Number:
  US 20140137614A1
• Time in Patent Office: 447 Days
• Field of Search: 422129-242
• US Class Current: 422/119
• CPC Class Codes: C05B 17/00 Other phosphatic fertilisers, e.g. soft rock phosphates, bone meal
• CPC Class Codes: C05B 7/00 Fertilisers based essentially on alkali or ammonium orthophosphates C05B11/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C05C 1/00 Ammonium nitrate fertilisers
• CPC Class Codes: C05C 11/00 Other nitrogenous fertilisers
• CPC Class Codes: C05C 3/00 Fertilisers containing other salts of ammonia or ammonia itself, e.g. gas liquor
• CPC Class Codes: C05C 9/00 Fertilisers containing urea or urea compounds
• CPC Class Codes: C05D 1/00 Fertilisers containing potassium C05D7/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C05D 9/02 containing trace elements
• CPC Class Codes: C05F 11/00 Other organic fertilisers
• CPC Class Codes: C05F 11/08 Organic fertilisers containing added bacterial cultures, mycelia or the like
• CPC Class Codes: C05F 17/00 Preparation of fertilisers characterised by biological or biochemical treatment steps, e.g. composting or fermentation
• CPC Class Codes: C05F 17/50 Treatments combining two or more different biological or biochemical treatments, e.g. anaerobic and aerobic treatment or vermicomposting and aerobic treatment
• CPC Class Codes: C05F 3/00 Fertilisers from human or animal excrements, e.g. manure
• CPC Class Codes: C05F 3/06 Apparatus for the manufacture
• CPC Class Codes: C05F 5/008 Waste from biochemical processing of material, e.g. fermentation, breweries
• CPC Class Codes: C05F 7/00 Fertilisers from waste water, sewage sludge, sea slime, ooze or similar masses
• CPC Class Codes: C05F 9/00 Fertilisers from household or town refuse
• CPC Class Codes: C05G 1/00 Mixtures of fertilisers belonging individually to different subclasses of C05
• CPC Class Codes: C05G 3/00 Mixtures of one or more fertilisers with additives not having a specially fertilising activity
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 40/20 Fertilizers of biological origin, e.g. guano or fertilizers made from animal corpses
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 20/129 : Energy recovery, e.g. by cogeneration, H2recovery or pressure recovery turbines
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 20/145 : the feedstock being materials of biological origin
• CPC Class Codes: Y02W 30/40 : Bio-organic fraction processing; Production of fertilisers from the organic fraction of waste or refuse

Abstract

The invention is directed to processes for treating biosolids that result in high-value, nitrogen-containing, slow-release, organically-augmented inorganic fertilizer that are competitive with less valuable or more costly conventional commercially manufactured fertilizers. The process involves conditioning traditional waste-water biosolids and processing the conditioned biosolids continuously in a high throughput manufacturing facility. The exothermic design and closed loop control of the primary reaction vessel decreases significantly the amount of power necessary to run a manufacturing facility. The process utilizes green technologies to facilitate decreased waste and enhanced air quality standards over traditional processing plants. The fertilizer produced from recovered biosolid waste is safe and meets or exceeds the United States Environment Protection Agency (USEPA) Class A and Exceptional Quality standards and is not subject to restrictions or regulations.

Claims

1. A system for processing biosolids into fertilizer, comprising:

a first mixer adapted to blend the biosolids with acid and an oxidizing agent and convert the biosolids into a pumpable paste;

a pressure vessel with a head space pressure adapted to receive the pumpable paste from the first mixer, wherein the pressure vessel is adapted to retain the pumpable paste at a predetermined pressure and temperature as determined by the head space pressure and for a period of time;

a second mixer adapted to receive the pumpable paste from the pressure vessel and mix the pumpable paste with a hardening agent; and

a granulator adapted to break the hardened paste into pelletized fertilizer.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the biosolids comprise one or more of municipal biosolids, heat-dried biosolids, pharmaceutical fermentation wastes, microbial digests of organic products, food stuffs, food byproducts, animal manures, digested animal manures, organic biosolids, biosolids containing microorganisms, or combinations thereof.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a device adapted to dewater the biosolids by subjecting the biosolids to filtration, centrifugation, pressure, or a combination thereof.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the acid comprises at least phosphoric acid at a concentration of 50% or more.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the predetermined temperature is 230°

F. or greater.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising a device adapted to add one or more ferrates to the biosolids.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the one or more ferrates is selected from the group consisting of a calcium ferrate, a sodium ferrate, a potassium ferrate, ferrous sulfate heptahydrate, and combinations thereof.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the one or more ferrates is formed from reaction of a solid-state sodium hydroxide with sodium hypochlorite and ferric chloride.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the oxidizing agent is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen peroxide, calcium hypochlorite, sodium hypochlorite, potassium hypochlorite, chlorine dioxide, ozone, oxygen, and combinations thereof.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the period of time is 15 minutes or less.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising a closed-loop computer adapted to control one or more of acidity, pressure, flow speed, pH, or base infusion speed to maintain the predetermined reaction temperature.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein organic material in the biosolids is partially or completely hydrolyzed, denatured, or sterilized.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the organic material is one or more members selected from the group consisting of pharmaceutical compounds, antibiotics, hormones, hormone-like molecules, biologically active compounds, macromolecules, carbohydrates, nucleic acids, fats, lipids, proteins, and combinations thereof.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein phosphate content of the fertilizer is from 0.5% to 4%.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein nitrogen content of the fertilizer is enhanced by aqueous ammonia.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the granulator is adapted to add a granulating agent to form a dried and granulated mixture.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising a device adapted to crush the dried and granulated mixture.

18. The system of claim 16, further comprising one or more screens adapted to pass the dried and granulated mixture through to isolate granules of a predetermined size.

19. The system of claim 16, further comprising a device adapted to coat the dried granules with a coating agent.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the coating agent is applied to the granules within a cooling apparatus.

21. The system of claim 16, further comprising a cooling apparatus adapted to cool the dried and granulated mixture to a temperature of 140°

F. or less.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the cooling apparatus is a fluidized bed, an ammonia chiller, or a rotating drum.

23. The system of claim 1, further comprising a device adapted to add one or more plant nutrients to the pumpable paste.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the one or more plant nutrients are selected from the group consisting of urea, ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, monoammonium phosphate, diammonium phosphate, urea ammonium nitrate, liquid urea, potash, iron oxide, soluble iron, chelated iron and combinations thereof.

25. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more hardening agents are selected from the group consisting of ferric oxides, alum attapulgite clay, industrial molasses, lignon, ligno sulfonate, urea formaldehyde polymerizer and combinations thereof.

26. The system of claim 1, further comprising a steam generator adapted to inject steam produced by the steam generator into the first mixer.

27. The system of claim 1, wherein the pressure vessel further comprises a plurality of valves adapted to control at least one of steam levels, mixture levels, temperature, presser, pH, or nitrogen levels.

28. The system of claim 1, wherein air discharge from the facility is less than 30 CFM.

29. The system of claim 1, further comprising an ammonia vaporizer and a baghouse dryer.