Life cycle assessment on the environmental impacts of different pig manure management techniques

Abstract

The management of livestock waste is an effective way to achieve emission reduction and carbon fixation in agriculture and rural areas. At present, aerobic composting and anaerobic fermentation are widely used in livestock waste treatment technology. In this study, pig manure management was taken as an example, a comprehensive environmental load index was constructed to quantitatively evaluate the environmental impacts of global warming, environmental acidification, eutrophication, and photochemical ozone synthesis during aerobic composting and anaerobic fermentation based on the life cycle assessment. The results showed that the potential values of aerobic composting and anaerobic fermentation were similar, and the order was global warming, environmental acidification, eutrophication, and photochemical ozone synthesis. Anaerobic fermentation contributed more to global warming, while aerobic composting contributed more to environmental acidification, eutrophication, and photochemical ozone synthesis. In addition, the environmental load index of aerobic composting was significantly higher than that of anaerobic fermentation. There were certainly regional differences in the environmental load index, and the environmental impact effect of anaerobic fermentation was low and more environmentally friendly. These findings provided a technical basis for livestock manure management in different regions of China, which was conducive to promoting animal husbandry emission reduction and carbon sequestration.

Comparison of life cycle assessment of large-scale biogas projects with different raw materials in China

“…The research by Whiting shows that different forms of energy conversion, such as power generation or heat generation, can significantly reduce the impact on the environment and obtain clean energy through the AD of agricultural waste [17] . Large and mediumsized stover biogas projects and stover pyrolysis gasification projects is essential for energy substitution, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, reducing non-point source pollution caused by stover incineration and waste, and protecting the environment [18] .…”

Biosafety assessment of laying hens fed different treatments of black soldier flies (Hermetia illucens) under doxycycline stress

“…Therefore, it is necessary to carry out harmless treatments of livestock and poultry manure. Nonhazardous treatment methods for manure include anaerobic fermentation, aerobic composting, and insect treatment ( Dong et al, 2022 ; Mazza et al, 2020 ). In comparison to anaerobic fermentation and aerobic composting, the residue obtained after insect treatment of feces not only serves as organic fertilizer but also yields insects that can be used as animal protein feed, thereby increasing economic income ( Zhang et al, 2020 ).…”

Investigation of distribution uniformity of distributor for biogas slurry application based on CFD analysis

“…Intensive livestock production yields vast quantities of manure, especially in China, the total amount of livestock and poultry manure reaches 40×10 8 t/a, while the effective processing capacity is less than 50% [1][2][3] . The development of the biogas industry through anaerobic digestion has already solved some of the problems in the treatment of livestock and poultry manure, and simultaneously alleviated the demand for energy [4,5] .…”