A kinetic study on an organic solid waste stabilization process on a pilot plant unit

The increasing quantity of such wastes as discussed in the previous section necessitates the development of more effective and economic managerial techniques for disposal. Various methods of disposal have been explored including field spreading, lagooning, and incineration (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38). A recent report states that it is possible to convert the refuse to crude oil under a controlled reaction condition, with or without carbon monoxide, although it is visionary for any economic purpose at its present stage (39, 40). The excreta of feedlot cattle contain valuable nutrients such as vitamins and amino acids in reasonably large amounts which cattle can utilize when the vitamins and acids are combined with other feed ingredients (41, 42). While there are many techniques for disposal of waste as mentioned above, none of these is satisfactory enough for universal acceptance. Equitable pollution control regulations have become difficult to develop for feedlot operations because of variation in climate and soil type, as well as different livestock management techniques, and economic considerations. Therefore, an intensified research program is imperative (43). An organized research program of feedlot pollution control has been conducted on the Texas Tech University campus and the investigation reported herein is a part of this overall research effort.