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Browse by Author: Mahmoud Sharara
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Swine Manure as a Fertilizer Source

By: Steph Kulesza, Mahmoud Sharara SoilFacts

This factsheet explains the three factors of proper swine manure management: the nutrient content of the manure, the percentages of those nutrients that are available to the plant and the nutrient requirements of the plant.

Poultry Litter as a Fertilizer Source

By: Steph Kulesza, Mahmoud Sharara SoilFacts

This factsheet describes the nutrient composition of poultry manure and land application techniques based on matching the nutritional requirements of the crop with the nutrients available in manure. This publication also includes a worksheet to determine the nutrient needs of your crop.

Dairy Manure as a Fertilizer Source

By: Steph Kulesza, Mahmoud Sharara SoilFacts

This factsheet explains how to use dairy manure as a fertilizer source. Included are descriptions of nutrient content, application rates and application methods to ensure optimum benefit from the manure. A worksheet is provided for calculating application rates.

Waste Analysis

By: Steph Kulesza, Kristin Hicks, Mahmoud Sharara SoilFacts

This factsheet clarifies the importance of waste analysis and describes the procedures for taking reliable samples and submitting them to the Agronomic Division of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (NCDA&CS).

Sludge Survey Methods for Anaerobic Lagoons

By: Mahmoud Sharara

This publication for lagoon managers and operators describes how to carry out a sludge survey and discusses sludge depth measurement, volume determination, and nutrient sampling. It draws upon and supplements the information in another publication on sludge management in anaerobic lagoons: Sludge Management and Closure Procedures for Anaerobic Lagoons (AG-604).

Sludge Sampling in Anaerobic Treatment Swine Lagoons

By: Mahmoud Sharara, Maxwell Owusu-Twum

Anaerobic swine lagoon sludge sampling allows operators to determine the nutrient concentration in the sludge through laboratory analysis. This publication provides information about different options for sampling sludge in these lagoons.

Biochar Production through Slow Pyrolysis of Animal Manure

By: Joseph Sanford, Horacio Aguirre-Villegas, Rebecca Larson, Mahmoud Sharara, Zong Liu, Linda Schott Manure Processing for Farm Sustainability

Transporting livestock manure to nutrient deficient fields can often be cost prohibitive without manure processing. Pyrolysis converts manure solids into biochar resulting in significant mass and volume reduction, while retaining high nutrient value. This fact sheet introduces the basics of pyrolysis technology, discusses the benefits and end uses of manure-derived biochar, and provides an overview of cost and technology limitations.

Pelleting Animal Manures

By: Mahmoud Sharara, Horacio Aguirre-Villegas, Rebecca Larson, Joseph Sanford, Zong Liu, Linda Schott Manure Processing for Farm Sustainability

This factsheet summarizes key technologies used to produce pellets from animal manures and the impact of process variables (temperature, pressure, moisture content) on the final product. The factsheet reviews key quality indices used to evaluate manure pellet quality. It also presents an overview of how scale, cost and environmental benefits, and trade-offs impact technology adoption.

Reducing Drift and Odor With Wastewater Application

By: Steph Kulesza, Sanjay Shah, Mahmoud Sharara, Chad Poole SoilFacts

This publication addresses application techniques that affect drift and odor problems associated with wastewater application, so that managers and designers of land application systems can make wise decisions on how to apply wastewater with minimal impact on neighbors and the environment.

Screw Press Separation of Manure

By: Rebecca Larson, Horacio Aguirre-Villegas, Mahmoud Sharara, Joseph Sanford, Zong Liu, Linda Schott Manure Processing for Farm Sustainability

Screw press separators can divide a single by-product stream into a solid and liquid stream to improve handling and management. These processing systems are commonly used in manure handling systems but can be used for management of many organic streams. For example, a wet digestion system that accepts food waste may also integrate the technology following anaerobic digestion. Regardless of the application, screw press separators are more efficient in removing solids from manure slurry streams (greater than four percent total solids or dry matter content) than with more dilute liquid manure streams. The systems are known to improve manure handling as well as reduce environmental impacts of livestock systems.

Certification Training for Operators of Animal Waste Management Systems - Type A

By: Steph Kulesza, Mahmoud Sharara, Marti Day, Stefani Sykes, Amanda Hatcher, Nancy Keith, Max Knowles, Becky Spearman

This training program is designed to provide operators of animal waste management systems with the basic understanding needed to operate and maintain these systems in an efficient and environmentally sound manner. This manual is not intended to provide all of the technical details for the complete design of a waste management system or an approved animal waste management plan.

Sloped Screen Separator for Manure

By: Zong Liu, Horacio Aguirre-Villegas, Rebecca Larson, Mahmoud Sharara, Joseph Sanford, Linda Schott Manure Processing for Farm Sustainability

Including sloped screens for solid-liquid manure separation can have positive impacts on manure management systems by reducing lagoon sludge buildup, recycling manure fiber, and mitigating fibers. This fact sheet reviews the key indices used to evaluate the effectiveness, throughput, and other key factors, along with a summary of the cost and benefits of adopting sloped screen separation in multi-stage manure treatment systems.

Anaerobic Digestion from Animal Manure

By: Horacio A. Aguirre-Villegas, Rebecca A. Larson, Mahmoud Sharara, Joseph Sanford, Zong Liu, Linda Schott Manure Processing for Farm Sustainability

Manure is among the lowest methane yielding feedstocks in digesters, but it is widely used in agricultural anaerobic digestion systems due to its continuous availability in one location, its capacity to resist changes in pH, and its relatively easy integration into existing manure management systems. System types, costs, and environmental benefits are discussed.