Clemson University

Awards Issued Prior to January 20, 2025, Were Funded Under Previous Administrations and May Not Reflect the Priorities and Policies of the Current Administration. Large-scale Livestock Farms With Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOS) Have Replaced Traditional Household Breeding to Meet the Increasing Demand for Animal Products. However, This Transformation Has Generated a Significant Volume of Livestock Wastewater With a Large Amount of Nutrients and Antibiotics. There Is Solid Evidence of the Significant Contribution of Livestock Farms to the Impairment of Surface Water and Groundwater. However, No Studies Propose an Effective and Sustainable Management Strategy for Their Remediation From Livestock Wastewaters. Intensive Livestock Farming Generates Huge Quantities of Livestock Wastewater With High Concentrations of Nutrients and Antibiotics, Which Leads to the Deterioration of Surrounding Freshwater Ecosystems Without Appropriate Management. on the Other Hand, Using the Nutrients in Wastewater to Cultivate Microalgae Is a Promising Strategy With the Advantages of Removing Nutrients and Micropollutants From Wastewater and Bringing Additional Values by Using the Harvested Microalgae as a Feedstock for Biofuel Production. There Is an Urgent Need to Identify the Best Management Strategies for Reducing Loads of Nutrients and Antibiotics From Livestock Wastewater to Freshwater Ecosystems via Microalgae Cultivation and Develop the Microalgae Process Models to Optimize the Pond Operations and Management Practices.our Project Proposes Identifying Effective Microalgae Strains Using Livestock Wastewater as a Growth Medium for Integrating the Removal of Multiple Nutrients and Antibiotics.we Will Optimize Initial Nutrient Compositions and Management Practices in Microalgae Cultivation and Harvesting for Effective Nutrient and Antibiotic Reduction From Livestock Wastewater Before Discharge to Surface Water or Groundwater. Moreover, We Will Conduct Field Experiments to Cultivate Microalgae in Open Storage Ponds in Farms and Develop Microalgae Models to Predict Microalgae Growth and Nutrient Removal and Optimize Pond Operations and Management Practices.both Food Productivity and Healthy Water Quality at Local, Regional, National, and Global Scales Are Critical to Sustainable Agriculture. This Project Addresses Enhancement of Agricultural and Natural Resource Sustainability by Combining One of the Fastest Growing Plants - Microalgae With Animal Production Practices of Cafos for the Long-term Goals: - 1) Help Meet Human Food Need on Animal Products; 2) Enhance Environmental Quality and a Natural Resource Base (WATER) Necessary for Agriculture; 3) Make Efficient Use of On-farm Resources (retaining Ponds and Lagoons) by Integrating Natural Biological Cycles (nutrient Cycles) and Controls (microalgae), Which Can, in Turn, 4) Sustain the Economic Viability of Farm Operations Through the Production of Microalgae Biomass That Can Be Harvested for Bioenergy Production. the Work Represents the First Integrated Attempt to Remediate the Nutrients and Antibiotics in Livestock Wastewater From a Circular Bioeconomy Perspective. Thus, Understanding These Processes and Interactions and Finding Practical and Economic Mitigation Approaches Would Help Maintain the Highest Food Crop Productivity Without Compromising Water Quality in Natural Environments.