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Oxidation of Liquid Animal Wastes in Soil¹

ABSTRACT

A theory of oxygen diffusion in soil in which the oxygen consumption rates varies with time was applied to describe the oxidation of liquid animal wastes in a soil irrigated by a slurry of pig manure. Soil column experiments with a pig slurry of known biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) showed that the aerobic return of the soil atmosphere composition to that approaching air is described by analytical solutions of the diffusion equation with a time-dependent sink term. The aerobic and anaerobic zones can be determined in the soil profile according to the solutions given for the transient state in two cases: (i) when uptake of oxygen is uniformly distributed over the soil profile; and (ii) when uptake of oxygen is limited to the upper part of the soil profile. These solutions may be used to determine maximum BOD loads for soils irrigated by waste water with relatively high organic content.

¹ Contribution from CSIRO Division of Environmental Mechanics, P.O. Box 821, Canberra City, A.C.T. 2601, Australia.

² Assistant Professor, Institute of Hydrotechnics, Technical Univ. 80952 Gdask, Poland, on leave (1977), and Pye Fellow, CSIRO.

³ Research Scientist, and Senior Principal Research Scientist, respectively.

Received for publication March 9, 1978. Accepted for publication November 28, 1978.