A method for producing an organic fertilizer enabling an increased microbial diversity and abundance in soil, and use of the organic fertilizer are provided. The method comprises composting fresh S. alopecuroides plants together with sheep and/or goat manure through anaerobic fermentation. It is found through experiments that, by applying the organic fertilizer produced by the method to a soil in which melon plants are grown, both abundance of bacterial and fungal communities in the rhizosphere of the plants and contents of soluble solids and sugar in fruit of the plants are increased. By a combination of taxonomic composition of the microbial communities in the rhizosphere and RDA analysis, it is further found that abundance of multiple bacterial and fungal species conducive to growth and disease resistance of the plants, is substantially increased and positively correlated with the soluble solids and sugar contents in the fruit.

A fertilizer derived from an organic source and a method of making are provided. The fertilizer of the present invention advantageously has a nitrogen content greater than 4%. The method of making the fertilizer also produces potable water.

A fertilizer derived from an organic source and a method of making are provided. The fertilizer of the present invention advantageously has a nitrogen content greater than 4%. The method of making the fertilizer also produces potable water.

Provided are compositions and processes concerning efficient downstream processing of products derived from organic acids pretreatment of plant materials.

Method for producing a fertilizer or herbicide from a whole stillage byproduct produced in a corn dry-milling process for making alcohol and system therefore is disclosed. In one embodiment, the method includes separating the whole stillage byproduct into an insoluble solids portion and a thin stillage portion. Thereafter, the thin stillage portion can be dewatered to provide a water soluble solids portion and a dewatered protein portion, which may be optionally dried. The protein in the resulting protein portion can serve as a nitrogen source and sulfur containing amino acids can serve as a sulfur source, which can be desirable components in fertilizers and herbicides. To that end, the resulting protein portion directly may be sold and/or used as a fertilizer or herbicide or can be combined with other components to provide the fertilizer or herbicide.

Primary leachate is used as a plant growth stimulant. A fermentation medium is fermented with a microbial culture in a bioreactor to produce a primary leachate comprising microorganisms derived from the microbial culture and/or naturally occurring microorganisms. The primary leachate is isolated from the bioreactor, diluted with water, and used to irrigate plants to reduce bacterial diversity and stimulate beneficial microorganisms in the rhizosphere around the plants. The fermentation medium may be organic waste, preferably food waste. A secondary leachate may also be used as a plant growth stimulant. The primary leachate is used to culture black soldier fly larvae with a substrate in a secondary processing bioreactor under suboptimal culture conditions, thereby producing secondary leachate. Melanin is extracted therefrom by acid precipitation. The secondary leachate is then diluted with water and used to irrigate plants, reducing bacterial diversity and stimulating beneficial microorganisms in the rhizosphere around the plants.

A food recycler can include a bucket with a certain configuration for processing waste food. A bucket includes an interior surface having thereon a set of projections. A grinding mechanism includes a first arm connected to a rotational member, the first arm having a first distal end adjacent to the interior surface of the bucket and that has notches that are complementary to the projections. A second arm has a second distal end also having notches complementary to projections. Waste food is processed with the grinding mechanism.

Devices, systems, and methods for drying a bulk waste product, such as animal waste, having a moisture content of 95% or more water can include a trough configured to receive the bulk waste product and to dispense it in a form suitable for convective drying, one or more conveyors having an air-permeable conveyor belt, each conveyor receiving the waste product from the trough and transporting the waste product along a transport path; and one or more air moving devices (AMDs) that pass air through the air-permeable conveyor belt and across the waste product as it is transported along the transport path to transform the bulk waste product into a dried waste product having a moisture content of about 5% to about 20%, inclusive.

Processes, systems and equipment are for treating a digestate resulting from the thin stillage of a bioethanol plant. They can include a decarbonizer system to reduce the carbon and water footprint in an ethanol plant and associated biogas plant by treating a digestate stream resulting from a thin stillage digester. The treatment includes heating the digestate stream to decompose ammonia bicarbonate contained in the digestate stream into ammonium and bicarbonate; and contacting the heated digestate stream with air so that a first portion of the ammonia is desorbed from the heated stream to mix with the air.

A method of producing a fertiliser composition, the method comprising the steps of: (a) contacting (i) ash from an organic source with (ii) a source of nitric acid; (b) contacting (iii) a composition comprising an amino compound with (iv) a composition comprising carbon dioxide; and (c) admixing the composition obtained in step (a) with the composition obtained in step (b).