Microwave treatment of dairy manure for resource recovery: Reaction kinetics and energy analysis.

A newly designed continuous-flow 915 MHz microwave wastewater treatment system was used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the microwave enhanced advanced oxidation process (MW/HO-AOP) for treating dairy manure. After the treatment, about 84% of total phosphorus and 45% of total chemical oxygen demand were solubilized with the highest HO dosage (0.4% HO per %TS). The reaction kinetics of soluble chemical oxygen demand revealed activation energy to be in the range of 5-22 kJ mole. The energy required by the processes was approximately 0.16 kWh per liter of dairy manure heated. A higher HO dosage used in the system had a better process performance in terms of solids solubilization, reaction kinetics, and energy consumption. Cost-benefit analysis for a farm-scale MW/HO-AOP treatment system was also presented. The results obtained from this study would provide the basic knowledge for designing an effective farm-scale dairy manure treatment system.