Use of Cow Manure in Cement Kilns

In recent decades the farming industry has seen a gradual transformation from smaller farms to larger concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). This trend has led to large concentration of animals in select regions. For example, the California Chino Basin has one of the highest concentrations of dairy cows in the world, producing 600,000 tons of dry manure annually. Traditional utilization of manure as a local field crop fertilizer is severely restricted due to lack of available local farm land, and local concerns with ground water and surface water contamination and odor. Meanwhile, nearby cement kilns face problems associated with high fuel costs and increasing scrutiny with respect to emissions of air pollutants. EERGC Corporation proposes to develop a technology to utilize cow manure as a substitute for cement kiln fuels. Additional benefits of this technology include reducing emissions of NOx, SO2, toxic metals, and greenhouse gases. The proposed Phase I SBIR project will demonstrate the technical feasibility of the innovation, addressing issues of cement quality, energy and mass balances, and emissions impacts, as well as the economic feasibility from the perspective of both the dairies and the cement kilns. Once this technology has been shown to be technically and economically feasible, it will be applicable to cement kilns near cow handling facilities throughout the southwest and the application can be expanded to include other types of animal wastes (such as poultry and hog wastes) in other areas of the country where CAFOs are in close proximity to cement kilns.