Evaluation of Biogas Potential from Livestock Manures and Multicriteria Site Selection for Centralized Anaerobic Digester Systems: The Case of Jalisco, México

Abstract

The state of Jalisco is the largest livestock producer in Mexico, leading in the production of swine, eggs, and milk. This immense production generates enormous amounts of waste as a byproduct of the process itself. The poor management of livestock-derived waste can lead to multiple environmental problems like nutrient accumulation in soil, water eutrophication, and air pollution. The aim of this work is to establish a replicable geographic information system (GIS)-based methodology for selecting priority sites in which to implement anaerobic digestion units. These units will use multiple parameters that evaluate environmental risks and viability factors for the units themselves. A weighted overlay analysis was used to identify critical regions and, based on the results, clusters of individual livestock production units (LPUs) across the state were selected. Nitrogen and phosphorus recovery, as well as the energetic potential of the selected clusters, were calculated. Four clusters located mainly in the Los Altos region of Jalisco were selected as critical and analyzed. The results indicate that Jalisco has the potential to generate 5.5% of its total electricity demand if the entirety of its livestock waste is treated and utilized in centralized anaerobic digestion units. Additionally, 49.2 and 31.2 Gg of nitrogen and phosphorus respectively could be valorized, and there would be an estimated total reduction of 3012.6 Gg of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq).

An Integrated Approach for the Assessment of Environmental Sustainability in Agro-Industrial Waste Management Practices: The Case of the Tequila Industry

“…The following parameters were transformed into raster format for the weighted overlay analysis for the establishment of the critical regions: 1) vinasse production at the nearest TPU, 2) total vinasse production for the municipality, 3) distance to the nearest TPU, 4) distance to the nearest water body, and 5) distance to the nearest urban community. A similar approach was reported by (Díaz-Vázquez et al, 2020). These parameters were selected as they are commonly used for the evaluation of the pollution risk as well…”

“…as the spatial suitability for the implementation of management strategies and infrastructure for organic waste and wastewaters (Comber et al, 2015;Mukherjee et al, 2015;Venier and Yabar, 2017;Díaz-Vázquez et al, 2020). These parameters are further explained in the following paragraphs.…”

“…High production rates of vinasses, and organic waste in general, imply elevated transport costs due to the high water content of vinasses. As a consequence, vinasses tend to be disposed of and accumulated in areas nearby the TPUs in an attempt to reduce disposal costs (Carral et al, 2011;Shahmoradi and Isalou, 2013;Fuess and Garcia, 2017;Díaz-Vázquez et al, 2020). This leads to soil degradation, waterbody eutrophication and, in extreme cases, health hazards for nearby populations (Fuess and Garcia, 2014;Chowdhary et al, 2018).…”

“…These values were assigned based on how each of the selected parameters increases the risk of environmental pollution from the inadequate management of vinasses at every point in the territory of Jalisco. 1 was assigned to the areas with the lowest pollution risk, and 5 represents the highest pollution risk (Al-Anbari et al, 2018;Díaz-Vázquez et al, 2020).…”

“…To evaluate the overall risk of pollution as a result of the inadequate management of vinasses, at every point in the territory, weights were assigned to each parameter based on the literature and studies that evaluate similar parameters (Yager, 1988;Al-Hanbali et al, 2011;Shahmoradi and Isalou, 2013;Vaissi and Sharifi, 2019;Díaz-Vázquez et al, 2020). A WOA was performed using the five generated classified raster images according to Eq.…”