The influence on biogas production of three slurry-handling systems in dairy farms

Coppolecchia, Damiano; Gardoni, Davide; Baldini, Cecilia; Borgonovo, Federica; Guarino, Marcella

doi:10.4081/jae.2015.449

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 25 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Methane yield resulted in 87. 4 The biogas yield of grass was higher than expected, similar to the yield from energy crops, especially in terms of NL•kg −1 VS [33,34]. Other authors reported BMP values of 337 NL•kg −1 VS for a mixture of switchgrass and swine manure without assessing the specific yield from grass [26].…”

Section: Biogas Production and Yieldmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…Methane yield resulted in 87. 4 (Figure 6). Results can be considered comparable, despite the higher production that was achieved, in reference to wet mass and TS, for summer grass and for spring grass in reference to VS.…”

Section: Biogas Production and Yieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sustainable development is a current notion strictly related to the concept of a circular economy. In this optic, the production of renewable energy by the valorization of wastes or by-products is considered as one of the most dominant future renewable energy sources [1][2][3][4][5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Biogas from Fresh Spring and Summer Grass: Effect of the Harvesting Period

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Yard trimmings, landscape management and agricultural practices determine the collection of biomass currently destined mainly to the production of a valuable soil amendant by composting. While composting requires energy, especially for the turning/aeration phases and for air treatment (i.e., biofilters in the case of enclosed systems), anaerobic digestion represents an energy positive process that results in production of biogas and digestate, which can be used as fuel and fertilizer, respectively. The focus of the present research was the evaluation of biogas and methane potential of grass collected in two different periods of the year (spring and summer) from riverbanks located in Northern Italy. The conversion to biogas of feedstocks is greatly influenced by the composition of the organic matter, content of cellulose, and lignin in particular. The production of biomass per hectare and the consequent biogas production were also evaluated. The experimental tests were performed on both samples of fresh grass in laboratory scale batch reactors, characterized by 4.0 L of volume and operated in mesophilic conditions (38 • C), for 40 days per cycle. The anaerobic digestion process was performed on a mixture of inoculum and grass, characterized by inoculum:substrate VS (volatile solids) ratio equal to 2. The inoculum was represented by digestate from a full-scale anaerobic digestion plant fed with dairy cow manure. The results in terms of biogas production, biogas quality (CH 4 , CO 2 , H 2 S), and emissions from digestates (NH 3 , CO 2 and CH 4) are presented in the paper. Total solids (TS), volatile solids (VS), pH, volatile fatty acids (VFA), alkalinity, acidity vs. alkalinity ratio, fibers (cellulose, lignin), and total Kjieldahl nitrogen (TKN) were determined both on input and output of the process. The biogas yield obtained from grass resulted higher than expected, quite similar to the yield obtained from energy crops, with Biomethane Potential (BMP) of 340.2 NL•kg −1 VS and of 307.7 NL•kg −1 VS, respectively, for spring and summer grass. Biogas quality was slightly lower for summer grass, perhaps in relation to the higher content of fibers (lignin). Alternatively, the yield of grass per surface was significantly different between spring and summer with the highest production in the summer. In fact, the results revealed a methane yield of 263 Nm 3 •ha −1 and of 1181 Nm 3 •ha −1 , respectively for spring and summer grass.

show abstract

Section: Biogas Production and Yieldmentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Biogas Production and Yieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Biogas from Fresh Spring and Summer Grass: Effect of the Harvesting Period

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For AD, that is a continuous process, and this presents a barrier to more widespread adoption. As manure-based AD captures most CH 4 and achieves the best environmental outcome when fed regularly on fresh manure that has not had time to degrade [22,23], it would not be efficient to store winter-produced slurry for use during the grazing season. Therefore, the potential size of any system on a pasture farm will be limited by the availability of slurry collected during the grazing season, unless another feedstock is available.…”

Section: Anaerobic Digestionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Anaerobic Digestion in Reducing Dairy Farm Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Scott

Blanchard

2021

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from dairy farms are significant contributors to global warming. However, much of the published work on GHG reduction is focused on either methane (CH4) or nitrous oxide (N2O), with few, if any, considering the interactions that changes to farming systems can have on both gases. This paper takes the raw data from a year of activity on a 300-cow commercial dairy farm in Northern Ireland to more accurately quantify GHG sources by use of a simple predictive model based on IPCC methodology. Differing herd management policies are examined together with the impact of integrating anaerobic digestion (AD) into each farming system. Whilst significant success can be predicted in capturing CH4 and carbon dioxide (CO2) as biogas and preventing N2O emissions, gains made can be lost in a subsequent process, negating some or all of the advantage. The process of extracting value from the captured resource is discussed in light of current farm parameters together with indications of other potential revenue streams. However, this study has concluded that despite the significant potential for GHG reduction, there is little incentive for widespread adoption of manure-based farm-scale AD in the UK at this time.

show abstract

“…The primary sector can play a significant role to reach the goals of sustainable development and circular economy by the exploitation of wastes or by-products for the production of renewable energy [1][2][3][4][5][6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploitation of Mowed Grass from Green Areas by Means of Anaerobic Digestion: Effects of Grass Conservation Methods (Drying and Ensiling) on Biogas and Biomethane Yield

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Grass from landscape management or from agricultural practices is currently destined mainly for composting, with the production of a valuable product; however, this process demands energy. Anaerobic digestion, instead, represents an energy-positive process that results in the production of fuel, biogas, and a fertilizer, namely digestate. Previous tests for the evaluation of biogas yield from freshly harvested grass gave promising results. However, for a practical exploitation of this resource, appropriate conservation is necessary in order to enable the daily load of digesters while reducing the loss of organic matter. The present work is focused on the evaluation of biogas and methane yield from dried and ensiled grass (without conditioning) in order to assess eventual biogas potential losses in comparison to digested fresh grass. Tests were performed with grass collected from riverbanks (Veneto, Northern Italy) in batch, lab scale digesters. Dry and ensiled grass showed a good potential for exploitation in the anaerobic digestion process, reaching biogas yields of 565.9 and 573.4 NL∙kgVS−1, respectively. Compared to the biogas yield of 639.7 NL∙kgVS−1 of the fresh grass, the conservation treatment determined yield reductions of 11.5% and 10.4% for dried and ensiled grass, respectively. However, considering the methane yields, conservation treatments showed lower reductions, amounting to 4.8% for dry grass and 0.5% for ensiled grass; presumably the higher concentration of organic acids in ensiled grass determined a higher methane content in biogas and the consequently lower reduction of methane yield.

show abstract

The influence on biogas production of three slurry-handling systems in dairy farms

Cited by 9 publications

References 25 publications

Biogas from Fresh Spring and Summer Grass: Effect of the Harvesting Period

Biogas from Fresh Spring and Summer Grass: Effect of the Harvesting Period

The Role of Anaerobic Digestion in Reducing Dairy Farm Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Exploitation of Mowed Grass from Green Areas by Means of Anaerobic Digestion: Effects of Grass Conservation Methods (Drying and Ensiling) on Biogas and Biomethane Yield

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About