Researchers find manure suitable for construction

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Tweet University researchers might have found the solution to eliminating a campus manure problem by converting waste into construction products.

In January, university officials expressed their concerns with an increasing amount of research-animal manure and decreasing land space to spread it on.

Although the project to convert manure into construction materials is in its initial stages, MSU scientists said their experiments' results are promising.

Charles Gould, an agriculture and natural resources extension educator, created a medium-density fiberboard and a fiber-plastic composite material substituting animal waste where wood would normally be used.

The manure is separated in an anaerobic digester that creates a gas, liquid and solid form of the manure, Gould said.

"We can take 100 percent of this solid fraction and make this composite material," he said. "We can take the liquid and irrigate, raise crops and (use it) for land application. The gas is what we can use to run the manufacturing plant of this material. It's a closed-loop system."

Gould said the project's purpose was to prove materials could be made and exceed industry standards, which they did.

The medium-density fiberboard and fiber-plastic composite material underwent strenuous testing against wood fiber products, which are used in constructing decks, window frames and fences.

Political science junior Alex Cook was responsible for testing prototype materials and said his test results were "encouraging."

A three-point bend test was performed to stretch the materials across a 6-inch span, then a machine pushed directly in the center and registered its flexibilty and how much force was required to break it, Cook said.

"It's very close to the bend and the force wood usually has," he said.

Cook also conducted a water test in which the materials were dipped in water for 24 hours, frozen for 24 hours and thawed for 24 hours to measure how much water was collected.

"If it collects a lot of water, it's going to decay faster, so it'll be easier to break," Cook said.

"It actually turned out very well. It was comparable to the wood product as well. There's always a slight decrease in properties after you go through a water test."

Laurent Matuana, associate professor in the forestry department who also helped with the project, said the product does not smell like farm-animal waste because it is sterilized.

Combine that with the ecological safety of the manure composite and the products become more desirable to consumers, he said.

"The odor is gone because we are taking the manure and processing it," Matuana said. "It's really dangerous to call it manure anymore."

Now it's time to find a partner in the private industry to collaborate on the project, but some skeptics say marketing the environmentally friendly products to the construction industry could be difficult.

Cook said it would be hard to sell the respective products simply because they are made of animal waste, but added that if they're accepted by the construction industry, it would benefit the environment.

Fred Poston, vice president for finance and operations, said making a prototype material in a lab is one thing, but producing larger amounts for commercial use is another.

"There were some people in the industry saying, 'Yeah, OK, you have a marketing problem because of what it's made out of,'" he said. "You can make a lot of stuff with manure. The question becomes what is the most economical and environmentally safe?

"It has value, and it needs to be processed to get that value. There's a lot of issues."

Poston said finding a facility to create the products on a larger scale is another issue researchers are facing besides marketing.

However, Matuana said he's not discouraged.

"I received an e-mail from a manufacturer of wood-plastic composites who said they are interested in this," he said. "Anything is possible."

Kristi Jourdan can be reached at jourdank@msu.edu.

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