Granted Patent B2

US 12,330,971 · App. 18/756,900 · Granted Jun 17, 2025

Inventor: William E. Cumbie (Newport News, VA)

Assignee: Pancopia LLC

C02F3/303A01C3/023C02F1/5281C02F3/006C02F2001/007C02F2101/16C02F2103/20C02F2209/06C02F2303/02

Abstract

Claims (30)

1. A method comprising:

receiving wastewater, wherein the sum of the concentration of ammonia and concentration of ammonium in the wastewater is at least 50 mg/l;

nitrifying the received wastewater by using nitrifying bacteria to generate a treated fluid, wherein the treated fluid has a lower pH than the received wastewater and has a pH of 7.7 or lower; and

applying the treated fluid to a location within a livestock husbandry operation.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein within the livestock husbandry operation comprises at least one or more locations selected from the group consisting of a barn, a pit, a trough, a lagoon, a structure for preliminary settling of solid waste, a digester, a settling tank, a thickening tank, a flushing system, a discharge system, and a conveyance structure.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treated fluid is used as at least one of:

water to fill waste pits, water to flush waste pits, spray water for washdown for structures, spray water for washdown of animals, cooling water, spray irrigation, or mist spray.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treated fluid can be applied to a plurality of locations within a livestock husbandry operation.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein applying the treated fluid causes denitrification at the location.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein applying the treated fluid suppresses ammonia emissions in a barn; suppresses ammonia emissions at a lagoon; suppresses noxious gas at the location within the livestock husbandry operation; reduces nitrogen levels at the location within the livestock husbandry operation; removes nitrogen from the wastewater; or improves swine productivity, and any combination thereof.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein applying the treated fluid comprises adding the treated fluid to a flush water to freshen the flush water to produce a freshened fluid.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the freshened fluid is produced in a freshening flow storage tank.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein applying the treated fluid to a location within a livestock husbandry operation comprises applying the treated fluid as a spray.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein applying the treated fluid to a location comprises using the treated fluid as a spray fluid to wash down the location within the livestock husbandry operation.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein applying the treated fluid to a location comprises using the treated fluid as a flush fluid for a conveyance structure.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the flush fluid reduces precipitant build up in the conveyance structure.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the precipitant comprises struvite.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the nitrifying the received wastewater transforms at least 50 percent of ammonia and ammonium in the received wastewater to at least one of nitrite and nitrate in the treated fluid, and the pH of the treated fluid is at least 0.3 units less than the pH of the received wastewater.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein ammonia gas emissions are suppressed from off gassing from the treated fluid by 50%.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein ammonia gas emissions are suppressed from off gassing from the treated fluid by 90%.

17. A method comprising:

receiving wastewater, wherein the sum of the concentration of ammonia and concentration of ammonium in the wastewater is at least 50 mg/l; and

nitrifying the received wastewater by using nitrifying bacteria to generate a treated fluid; and

introducing the treated fluid to a barn to flush animal waste from the barn,

wherein the treated fluid has a lower pH than the received wastewater and the pH of the treated fluid is lowered to a pH of 7.7 or lower,

wherein ammonia gas emissions are suppressed from off gassing in the treated fluid based on the lowered pH of the treated fluid, and

wherein an atmospheric ammonia level in the barn after using the treated fluid to flush the barn is 25 ppm or less.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the nitrifying the received wastewater transforms at least 50 percent of ammonia and ammonium in the received wastewater to at least one of nitrite and nitrate in the treated fluid, and the pH of the treated fluid is at least 0.3 units less than the pH of the received wastewater.

19. The method of claim 17 , wherein the ammonia gas emissions are suppressed from off gassing from the treated fluid by 50%.

20. The method of claim 17 , wherein the ammonia gas emissions are suppressed from off gassing from the treated fluid by 90%.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (5)

References Cited (126)