Cow Dung Organic Fertilizer Production Line: Complete Turnkey Plant for Dairy Farm Waste Processing

Project Overview

Agriculture — a dairy farming cooperative based in Western Europe commissioned a turnkey cow dung organic fertilizer plant to convert daily manure production from over 200 head of cattle into high-quality granular fertilizer. The line was designed for an initial capacity of 3-5 tons per hour, with future expansion capability up to 10 t/h. Shenghong Heavy Industry supplied the complete production line including pre-treatment, deep fermentation, stirring tooth-drum granulation, drying, cooling, screening, coating and automatic packing.

Key Challenges

The client faced three core issues:

• High-volume raw material — daily manure output from 200+ cattle required a system capable of continuous processing without bottlenecks.
• Moisture variability — cow manure moisture content varies from 60% to 80% depending on bedding material and season, requiring flexible dewatering capabilities.
• EU environmental regulations — strict requirements on odor control, pathogen elimination and nutrient recovery from agricultural waste.

Complete Plant Process Flow

The Shenghong turnkey line comprises the following stages:

1. Pre-treatment stage: Fresh cow manure is collected by automated scraper or conveyor system and fed into an SHLX280 or SHLX300 screw press dewatering machine to reduce moisture from ~75% to 30-40%. Sawdust or straw added as bulking agent during collection.
2. Formulation mixing: Dewatered manure, crop residues (straw/corn stalks), NPK supplements and commercial microbes are batched and thoroughly mixed in a SH900x1500 or SH1000x2000 spiral ribbon mixer to achieve the target formula.
3. Deep fermentation (in-vessel): The mixed material enters an in-vessel fermentation tank where temperature reaches 60-70 °C over 7-10 days, completing pathogen elimination, weed seed destruction and odor reduction.
4. Drum granulation: Fermented material enters the Drum Granulator (SH1.8x7 or SH2.0x8). The unique combination of mechanical stirring force and rotating drum action continuously mixes, granulates, forms balls, compacts and polishes powdery materials within the machine. No binder required — particles grow under controlled force to form dense spherical pellets.
5. Rotary drying: Wet granules (moisture ~30%) pass through a SHG8800 rotary dryer, reducing moisture to below 15% and hardening the pellets.
6. Rotary cooling: Hot dried granules are cooled to ambient temperature by counter-flow air in a GL series cooler drum.
7. Sieving: Oversize granules are crushed and returned; undersize fines are recycled back to the drum granulator inlet via a 1.2x4.0 rotary screener.
8. Coating: A thin anti-caking or nutrient film is applied in a 1000x3000 or 1200x4000 drum coater.
9. Packing: Finished granules are weighed and bagged by a BLD-K50/S automatic packer (25 kg/bag).

Main Equipment Configuration

Why Drum Granulation for Cow Manure?

For cow dung organic fertilizer, the Stirring Tooth-Drum Granulator offers distinct advantages:

• Handles 100% pure organic content — unlike disc pan granulators which work best at lower organic concentrations, the drum granulator can process nearly 100% organic material without binders.
• Adjustable granule diameter — granule size can be adjusted from 3mm to 30mm, suitable for different application scenarios (field spreading, soil amendment, specialty crops).
• Higher throughput per unit — individual units can produce 8-20 t/h, making them ideal for large-scale dairy operations.
• Rubber-lined drum body — prevents corrosion from acidic raw materials, extending equipment service life.
• Massy, uniform granules — particles can be sieved directly after granulation, reducing energy consumption compared to other methods.

Project Results

After installation and commissioning, the client achieved the following outcomes:

• Manure disposal eliminated: daily manure from 200+ head processed into marketable organic fertilizer.
• Finished product rate: stabilized at 85-90% (typical for drum granulation of cow manure).
• Granule quality: spherical, massy granules with adjustable diameter, excellent spreadability.
• EU compliance: fully meets EU organic fertilizer standards for nutrient content and pathogen elimination.
• Revenue diversification: converted previously costly manure management into a premium soil amendment product.

Plant Specification Snapshot

About This Solution

Every Shenghong production line is engineered to the client's raw material, site layout and budget. Whether you work with cow manure, chicken litter, pig slurry, pond sludge, food waste or agricultural residues, our engineering team will design a customized line from pre-treatment through packing. Contact us with your target capacity and material profile, and we will prepare a detailed configuration proposal and quotation.