Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
Agricultural Waste Management

Agricultural Waste Management Laboratory

The Iowa State University Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Agricultural Waste Management (AWM) Laboratory is situated in the National Swince Research and Information Center (NSRIC) in room 3252. An Environmental Monitoring Instrumentation Lab is located on the first floor of NSRIC in room 315. There is also a lab located in the Livestock Environment Building and Research Center (LEBRC) six miles from Ames off of Highway 30.

AWM Lab            

Environmental Monitoring Instrumentation Lab

LEBRC           

AWM  Team Pictures

 

Agricultural Waste Management Lab Personnel:

Dr. Robert Burns,
Associate Professor

Lara Moody, Extension Program Specialist

Dr. Hong Li, Research Associate

Carl Pederson, Research Associate

Ross Muhlbauer,
Research Associate

Ember Muhlbauer, Program Assistant

Dan Andersen, Graduate Research Assistant

Randy Swestka, Graduate Research Assistant

Brad Bond, Graduate Research Assistant

Wei Wu-Haan, Graduate Research Assistant

Jacob Baker, Undergraduate Research Assistant

Gayle Bishop, Undergraduate Research Assistant

Joe Freund, Undergraduate Research Assistant

Laura Pepple, Undergraduate Research Assistant

John Stinn, Undergraduate Computer Programmer

Neil Heithoff, Undergraduate Research Assistant

Jenae Baumert, Undergraduate Research Assistant

Emil Mitev, International
Research Associate

Todor Mitev, International
Research Associate

Recent Past Employees:

Isha Khanijo, Graduate Research Assistant

Timothy Shepherd, Graduate Research Assistant

John Lester, Undergraduate Research Assistant

Jay Duncan, Undergraduate Research Assistant


Jenny English, Undergraduate Research Assistant



Current team projects include:

1. Concentration and Extraction of Phosphorus from Swine Manure Slurries (as Struvite).

2. Non-Basin Technologies for Open Feedlot Runoff: Demonstration, Implementation, and Modeling.

3. Development and Testing of Hydrogen Sulfide Detection System for use in Swine Housing.

4. Quantification of Gaseous and particulate Emissions from Mechanically Ventilated Poultry Housing.

5. Biogas Methane Potential from Animal Waste and Ethanol Byproducts.

AWM Lab


                

Jay working in the Agricultural Waste Management Lab                Wei is Testing in the lab

      Ross and Randy working in the Data Processing Area on their Hydrogen Sulfied detection project


The Agricultural Waste Management (AWM) Lab's mission is to develop and identify manure management systems that are environmentally sustainable, economically feasible and socially acceptable. The AWM Lab houses a data processing area (75 ft2) which has two computer work stations for use by project personnel and a project research area (650 ft2) has 175 ft2 of surface area for work-space and a six ft fume hood. The research area provides space to perform wet chemistry lab work, to prototype and operate bench scale treatment systems, and to simulate various waste management system components.

Equipment:

  • Gas Chromatograph 5890 Series II HP
  • Gas Chromatograph GC-14A Shimauzu
  • Supreme Air Hood (Lab Fume Hood)
  • Rapidstill II Lanconco
  • Isotemp Muffle Furnace
  • Isotemp Oven
  • Spectrophotometer Genesys 6 Thermo Electron
  • Spectronic 20 Bausch and Lomb
  • Grating Spectrophotometer Beckman DB-G
  • Model 23012 Rapid Digestor
  • Model 23080 Rapid Digestor