FRACTIONATION OF POULTRY LITTER FOR ENHANCED UTILIZATION

A potential waste management system for the use of poultry litter was studied based upon the fractionation of litter. It was determined that the compositions of the litter by particle size varied both with the number of flocks that had been raised on the litter and the type of house. As the number of flocks raised on the litter increased from one to three flocks, the amount of fine material increased from 23 to 41%, while the concentration of the middle fraction decreased from 47 to 40%, and the coarse fraction decreased from 26 to 16%. The efficiency of retrieval of the fine fraction from the raw litter by either a vibrating screen separator or a rotary drum separator were found not to be significantly different. It was determined by chemical analysis that the P and K concentrations appeared to be distributed uniformly throughout the litter in each fraction while the N was nonuniformly distributed. The concentration of N was greatest in the fine fraction.