Recycling poo into farm water

A year ago, Forsi Innovations unveiled at Fieldays an effluent recycling system it believed could revolutionise dairy farming.

The machine turned raw dairy effluent into clean, clear water and would change current farming practices by eliminating the need for effluent ponds, help farmers remain compliant and reduce waterway contamination.

It was a huge hit, with lots of publicity and inquiries from farmers. There were at least 10 people interested in purchasing the machine, Forsi operations and marketing manager Craig Hawes said.

Then the dairy payout dropped and that interest waned as farmers were forced to tighten their belts.

‘‘If that payout hadn’t dropped, we would have been in a totally different position.’’

He is philosophical about it. The issues around dairy effluent and its disposal have not disappeared with many farmers putting on hold effluent system upgrades until the milk price improves and there is more certainty over what rules would be imposed by the Waikato Regional Council under its Healthy Rivers plan change.

It made Forsi look at using the technology in other industries, creating a system for recycling the water used in car-washing, he said.

‘‘We have come a long way in the last 12 months.’’

The company recently installed the system at a car wash in Papamoa which uses 100 per cent recycled water.

‘‘It means the business does not have to buy fresh water from the local council.

‘‘It’s a proven system, running 24 hours a day nonstop and for the guy that owns the car wash.

‘‘It’s saving him $30,000 to $40,000 a year on his running costs because he doesn’t have to discharge [waste water].’’

Forsi is also looking to use the same technology to filter stormwater runoff and to clean up waste water in wineries. One winery in Akaroa is looking closely at the system.

The effluent recycling system is housed in a 12-metre shipping container and sits on a concrete pad next to the dairy shed.

It’s plumbed into the pipework set into the ground.

It takes raw effluent from the cattleyards through a large sand trap and over a slope screen separator. From there, it enters a suspended solid removal system.

The water is then put through further filtration to remove more contaminants and pathogens, and through four sterilisation steps, including UV sterilisation, before going into a holding tank.

That process takes five to six hours and can be completed in time for afternoon milking.

The system requires a bunker to compost solids in.

The solid can eventually be used as fertiliser.

The machine costs just under $300,000 and includes the processing plant and automated slope screen separation system that separates solids and liquid effluent before it goes into the filtration system.

Hawes said Forsi has improved the original system by adding a control panel, making it fully automated.

Nano filtration has also been added to provide an extra level of filtration.

The housing container has also been improved by adding a climatecontrol system to allow it to work in any conditions and has brought the system’s running costs right down, he said.

Forsi has retained the trial system on a Matamata farm and will construct another on a Palmerston North dairy farm.

‘‘If that payout hadn’t dropped, we would have been in a totally different position.’’