Turning chicken droppings into fertilizer proves to be fertile field of research for WVU environmental engineering student

WVU doctoral student Shannay Rawal collaborates with West Virginia farmers on managing poultry manure to reduce water pollution. (WVU Photo/Maddy Watson)

According to West Virginia University doctoral student Shannay Rawal, his research can be summed up with one essential question: “What do we do with all this crap?”

No, Rawal’s not the new Marie Kondo — when he says “crap,” he really means it. 

Originally from the Indian city of Ahmedabad, Rawal is part of a team of WVU engineers partnering with poultry farmers in the state’s Eastern Panhandle to find practical solutions for dealing with poultry manure and other forms of livestock litter in a way that’s environmentally friendly and economically viable.

Animal manure is often recycled as crop fertilizer, but Rawal explained that “when there’s an overapplication of fertilizer, the excess nutrients can run off into rivers and streams. Right now, communities in the Chesapeake Bay watershed are seeing issues like algal blooms because of nutrients arriving in the water from upstream states like Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.”

When nutrients from animal waste feed an overgrowth, or “bloom,” of algae, the algae use up too much of the oxygen in the water, suffocating other aquatic life.

“Instead of potentially overapplying fertilizer to fields and having some nutrients discharge into the water, we’re trying to recover and reuse the nutrients within the same circular economy, so they stay within the region,” Rawal said.

“Our first step is speaking with farmers and seeing how they’re doing things. I’m a big proponent of understanding systems and respecting the reason things are done a certain way. We want to figure out a system tailored for West Virginia and incorporate inputs from the local community at each stage.” 

In addition to turning litter into fertilizer, Rawal sees opportunities to look at other uses, like converting manure into biofuel by burning it in a process called “pyrolysis.” But first he must develop models that can accurately judge how different conditions might affect investments in those kinds of systems.

“We have to think about scaling the demand,” Rawal said, “working with local stakeholders to determine the best use for a kilogram of litter versus a ton, for example. There are also seasonal questions: ‘Are we getting the same amount of litter in the summer? Can we store it for a month in the hot, humid summer? What happens if we use the litter to create biofuel in winter when energy demand is higher and nobody is growing crops?’”

He added, “There’s a quote I love: ‘All models are wrong, some are useful.’ At some point we have to move past the theoretical search for a perfectly optimized solution and focus on creating maximum impact. We simply need larger, broader solutions to be deployed as soon as possible and to get positive outcomes flowing.”

His work in the Eastern Panhandle is part of a National Science Foundation CAREER Award-funded project led by Maurice and Jo Ann Wadsworth Faculty Fellow Kevin Orner, an assistant professor in the civil and environmental engineering program at the WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.

“I came to WVU to work with people like Kevin, who are here to help communities, and because I knew I’d have the freedom to take on the topics that matter to me,” Rawal said. “A Ph.D. is the culmination of a research experience, so the goal is to find several projects I strongly connect with and bring those together into a thesis. I’ve spent years of my life working toward this, so I wanted to make sure I could do work I really resonate with, and that is what happens in Kevin’s lab.”

His passion for sustainability is, he acknowledged, fueled by another obsession — coffee.

“I grew up in India’s very tea-centric culture, but I have always gravitated toward coffee. The notes and flavors and tastes — it just works for me. Researching the beans I want takes up a lot of my time.”

Rawal keeps his eye on reports from coffee distributors, so he can pre-book his orders for the whole roasted beans he gets from the producers in sources like Venezuela and Colombia.

“I like a medium-light roast, beans that are citrusy and floral. I make sure my kettle is set to the exact right temperature for each bean, and then I have a few different ways to brew. I have my pour-over pot, my drip pot, my AeroPress, and I have a special attachment called a ‘Prismo’ that converts the AeroPress into an espresso-style brewer. I have a bunch of different filters —  cloth, metal, bleached and unbleached paper. It’s my rabbit hole.”

This summer, Rawal said he is hoping his mother can visit him in the U.S. for the first time. They’re planning a highly caffeinated road trip to see some of their relatives around the country plus a stop at iconic Niagara Falls. 

As for West Virginia destinations they might experience together, Rawal said he’s actively on the lookout for insight and ideas from the local community, a signature attitude for this Mountaineer.

-WVU-

mm/3/31/25

MEDIA CONTACT: Micaela Morrissette
Research Writer
WVU Research Communications
304-709-6667; Micaela.Morrissette@mail.wvu.edu