Technical Bulletin No. 0026: Strawboard Waste Research Third Annual Report: Treatment of Strawboard Waste

The enclosed research report covers the third year's work at Purdue University directed toward finding practical methods for reducing the pollutions1 qualities of strawboard waste. Previous studies conducted both in the laboratory and in the field limited recent investigation to three phases. These are: the application of high-rate anaerobic digestion for purification of the waste; testing the effectiveness of controlled oxidation lagoons; and determining to what degree various unusable fractions of a bale of straw contribute to the strength of the liquid wastes. The last item was included since it was believed that a large reduction of the pollution load could be eliminated if the bulk of the extraneous matter present in the straw could be removed prior to processing. Also described in the report is the pilot plant of unique design employed to carry out development studies on the digestion process. This plant is now in operation and the findings resulting from this phase of the work will make up the bulk of the next report.